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Form 497 NORTHERN LIGHTS FUND

February 2, 2023 3:47 PM EST

Persimmon Long/Short Fund

 

Class I Shares       LSEIX

 

 

PROSPECTUS

February 1, 2023

 

 

 

Adviser:

Dakota Wealth Management, LLC

11376 N. Jog Road

Palm Beach Gardens, FL 33418

 

www.persimmonfunds.com                                                                                            1-855-233-8300

 

This Prospectus provides important information about the Fund that you should know before investing. Please read it carefully and keep it for future reference.

 

These securities have not been approved or disapproved by the Securities and Exchange Commission nor has the Securities and Exchange Commission passed upon the accuracy or adequacy of this Prospectus. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.

 
 

 

Table of Contents

 

FUND SUMMARY  1 
Investment Objective  1 
Fees and Expenses of the Fund  1 
Principal Investment Strategies  1 
Principal Investment Risks  2 
Performance  3 
Management of the Fund  4 
Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares  4 
Tax Information  5 
Payments to Broker-Dealers and Other Financial Intermediaries  5 
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ABOUT
PRINCIPAL INVESTMENT STRATEGIES AND RELATED RISKS
 5 
Investment Objective  5 
Principal Investment Strategies  5 
Principal Investment Risks  5 
Temporary Investments  8 
Portfolio Holdings Disclosure  8 
Cybersecurity  8 
MANAGEMENT  9 
Investment Adviser  9 
Portfolio Managers  9 
HOW SHARES ARE PRICED  10 
HOW TO PURCHASE SHARES  11 
HOW TO REDEEM SHARES  12 
FREQUENT PURCHASES AND REDEMPTIONS OF FUND SHARES  15 
TAX STATUS, DIVIDENDS AND DISTRIBUTIONS  16 
DISTRIBUTION OF SHARES  17 
Distributor  17 
Additional Compensation to Financial Intermediaries  17 
Householding  17 
FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS  18 
PRIVACY NOTICE  19 

 

 

 
 

FUND SUMMARY 

 

Investment Objective: The Persimmon Long/Short Fund seeks long-term capital appreciation.

 

Fees and Expenses of the Fund: This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy, hold and sell shares of the Fund. 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.

 


Shareholder Fees
(fees paid directly from your investment)
Class I
Maximum Sales Charge (Load) Imposed on purchases
(as a percentage of offering price)
None
Maximum Deferred Sales Charge (Load)
(as a percentage of purchase price)
None
Redemption Fee
(as a % of amount redeemed if held less than 60 days)
1.00%
Annual Fund Operating Expenses
(expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)
Management Fees 1.25%
Distribution and/or Service (12b-1) Fees None
Total Other Expenses 0.66%
Short Selling Dividend and Interest Expense 0.09%
Remaining Other Expenses 0.57%
Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses(1) 0.02%
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses 1.93%
(1)Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses are the indirect costs of investing in other investment companies, including exchange traded funds. The operating expenses in this fee table will not correlate to the expense ratio in the Fund’s financial highlights because the financial statements include only the direct operating expenses incurred by the Fund, not the indirect costs of investing in other investment companies.

 

Example: This Example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other mutual funds.

 

The Example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and then redeem 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 the same. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based upon these assumptions your costs would be:

 

Class 1 Year 3 Years 5 Years 10 Years
I $196 $606 $1,042 $2,254

 

Portfolio Turnover: The Fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Fund shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in annual fund operating expenses or in the Example, affect the Fund’s performance. During the fiscal year ended September 30, 2022, the Fund’s portfolio turnover rate was 0% of the average value of its portfolio.

 

Principal Investment Strategies: In pursuing the Fund’s investment objective, the Adviser utilizes three strategies: (i) selecting individual equity securities, (ii) hedging that seeks to mitigate the downside risk of equities during unfavorable markets, and (iii) seeking to minimize shareholders’ tax liability in connection with the Fund’s distribution of realized capital gains.

 

Equity Instruments

 

Under normal market conditions, the Fund pursues its investment objective by investing at least 70% of its net assets in U.S. exchange listed common stock, preferred stock and depositary receipts (“Equity Instruments”). The Fund may invest in or have exposure to domestic and foreign companies of any market capitalization or sector. The Adviser primarily selects long equity positions from companies in the HFRX Equity Hedge Index.

 

 

Hedging

 

When the Adviser believes it is warranted by unfavorable market conditions, the Adviser uses its dynamic hedging strategy model to seek to reduce the downside risks associated with the Fund’s exposure to Equity Instruments. Exposure to the hedging strategy is gained through selling short exchange-traded equity index futures contracts.

 

The Fund expects to have net long exposure to equity markets. The Adviser uses the hedge strategy as an overlay to manage the Fund’s net exposure. The Adviser expects that the Fund’s exposure to equities will range from 40% to 100% net long.

 

Tax Management

 

The Adviser seeks to minimize shareholders’ tax liability in connection with the Fund’s distribution of realized capital gain by minimizing the net gains available for distribution. As part of its tax aware strategy, the Adviser seeks to sell any security that has breached a predetermined loss level. Thus, it seeks to accumulate capital losses to partially offset any realized capital gains. This strategy, commonly known as tax-loss harvesting, is combined with the equity portfolio with the objective of creating favorable after-tax returns. However, the Fund’s portfolio may not contain any securities in a loss position. The Adviser may use an exchange-traded fund (“ETF”) as a temporary substitute for an individual Equity Instrument or group of Equity Instruments.

 

Principal Investment Risks: As with all mutual funds, there is a risk that you could lose money through your investment in the Fund. The Fund is not intended to be a complete investment program. Many factors affect the Fund’s net asset value and performance.

  • Equity Risk: The net asset value of the Fund will fluctuate based on changes in the value of the equity securities held by the Fund or underlying funds that invest in U.S. and/or foreign equity securities. Equity prices can fall rapidly in response to developments affecting a specific company or industry, or to changing economic, political or market conditions.
  • Foreign Investment Risk: Foreign investing (including through American Depositary Receipts, European Depositary Receipts and Global Depositary Receipts) involves risks not typically associated with U.S. investments, including adverse fluctuations in foreign currency values, adverse political, social and economic developments, less liquidity, greater volatility, less developed or less efficient trading markets, political instability and differing auditing and legal standards. Investing in emerging markets imposes different or greater risks than those associated with foreign developed countries.
  • Futures Risk: The Fund’s use of futures involves risks different from, or possibly greater than, the risks associated with investing directly in securities and other traditional investments. These risks include (i) leverage risk (ii) risk of mispricing or improper valuation; and (iii) the risk that changes in the value of the futures contract may not correlate perfectly with the underlying index. Investments in futures involve leverage, which means a small percentage of assets invested in futures can have a disproportionately large impact on the Fund. This risk could cause the Fund to lose more than the principal amount invested. Futures contracts may become mispriced or improperly valued when compared to the Adviser’s expectation and may not produce the desired investment results. Additionally, changes in the value of futures contracts may not track or correlate perfectly with the underlying index because of temporary, or even long-term, supply and demand imbalances and because futures do not pay dividends unlike the stocks upon which they are based.
  • Hedging Risk: Investing for hedging purposes or to increase the Fund’s return may result in certain additional transaction costs that may reduce the Fund’s performance. When used for hedging purposes, no assurance can be given that each derivative position will achieve a perfect correlation with the security against which it is being hedged.
  • Issuer-Specific Risk: The value of securities of smaller issuers can be more volatile than those of larger issuers. The value of certain types of securities can be more volatile due to increased sensitivity to adverse issuer, political, regulatory, market, or economic developments.
  • Large Cap Stock Risk: To the extent the Fund invests in large capitalization stocks, the Fund may underperform funds that invest primarily in the stocks of lower quality, smaller capitalization companies during periods when the stocks of such companies are in favor.
  • Management Risk: The Adviser’s judgments about the attractiveness, value and potential appreciation of particular asset classes and securities in which the Fund invests (long or short) may prove to be incorrect and may not produce the desired results.
 
  • Market and Geopolitical Risk: The increasing interconnectivity between global economies and financial markets increases the likelihood that events or conditions in one region or financial market may adversely impact issuers in a different country, region or financial market. Securities in the Fund’s portfolio may underperform due to inflation (or expectations for inflation), interest rates, global demand for particular products or resources, natural disasters, climate change and climate-related events, pandemics, epidemics, terrorism, international conflicts, regulatory events and governmental or quasi-governmental actions. The occurrence of global events similar to those in recent years may result in market volatility and may have long term effects on both the U.S. and global financial markets.
  • Model Risk: Like any analysis, the Adviser’s investment model carries a risk that the model used might be based on one or more incorrect assumptions. Rapidly changing and unforeseen market dynamics could also lead to a decrease in short term effectiveness of the Adviser’s algorithmic model. No assurance can be given that the Fund will be successful under all or any market conditions.
  • Short Position Risk: The Fund will incur a potentially unlimited loss as a result of a short position if the price of the short position instrument increases in value between the date of the short position sale and the date on which the Fund purchases an offsetting position.
  • Small and Medium Capitalization Risk: The value of small or medium capitalization companies may be subject to more abrupt or erratic market movements than those of larger, more established companies or the market averages in general.
  • Tax Aware Investing Risk: The Adviser’s tax aware strategies may reduce shareholder taxable distributions but will not likely eliminate taxes. These strategies may require trade-offs that reduce pretax income. Managing the Fund to maximize after-tax returns may also potentially have a negative effect on the Fund’s performance. Because tax consequences are considered in managing the Fund, the Fund’s pre-tax performance may be lower than that of a similar fund that is not tax-managed.
  • Underlying Funds Risk: Investment companies, including ETFs and mutual funds, are subject to investment advisory and other expenses, which will be indirectly paid by the Fund. As a result, the cost of investing in the Fund will be higher than the cost of investing directly in investment companies and also may be higher than other mutual funds that invest directly in securities. Investment companies are subject to specific risks, depending on the nature of the fund.

 

Performance: The bar chart and performance table below show the variability of the Fund’s returns over time, which is some indication of the risks of investing in the Fund. The bar chart shows performance of the Fund’s Class I shares for each full calendar year since the Fund’s inception. The performance table compares the performance of the Fund over time to the performance of a broad-based market index and a supplemental index. You should be aware that the Fund’s past performance (before and after taxes) may not be an indication of how the Fund will perform in the future. Updated performance information is available at no cost by visiting www.persimmonfunds.com or by calling 1-855-233-8300.

 

Class I Performance Bar Chart For Calendar Years Ended December 31

 

 

Best Quarter: 6/30/2020 7.81%
Worst Quarter: 3/31/2020 (9.70)%
 

 

Performance Table

Average Annual Total Returns

(For periods ended December 31, 2022)

 

  One
Year
Five
Years
Ten
Years
Class I shares      
Return before taxes (9.95)% 1.99% 3.24%
Return after taxes on distributions (9.95)% 1.77% 2.78%
Return after taxes on distributions
and sale of Fund shares
(5.89)% 1.51% 2.49%

HFRX Equity Hedge Index(1)(2)

(reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)

(3.19)% 2.63% 3.27%
S&P 500 Total Return Index(3)
(reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)
(18.11)% 9.42% 12.56%
(1)The HFRX Equity Hedge Index is a broad-based index covering strategies that maintain positions both long and short in primarily equity and equity derivative securities. The index covers a wide variety of investment processes including both quantitative and fundamental techniques; strategies can be broadly diversified or narrowly focused on specific sectors and can range broadly in terms of levels of net exposure, leverage employed, holding period, concentrations of market capitalizations and valuation ranges of typical portfolios. The Persimmon Long Short Fund utilizes a systematic process to limit the net exposure of the strategy resulting in profile similar to that of the average Equity Hedge managers that typically maintain at least 50% exposure and may in some cases be substantially entirely invested in equities, both long and short. The HFRX Equity Hedge is a commonly used benchmark for alternative investments such as the Persimmon Long Short Fund.
(2)HFRX Equity Hedge Index is a daily index of Long/Short Equity Hedge Fund Returns provided by Hedge Fund Research (hedgefundresearch.com). Index performance returns do not reflect any management fees, transaction costs or expenses. You cannot invest directly in an index. The HFR Indices are being used under license from HFR, Inc., which does not approve of or endorse any of the products or the contents discussed in this these materials
(3)The S&P 500 Total Return Index is an unmanaged composite of 500 large capitalization companies and includes the reinvestment of dividends. This index is widely used by professional investors as a performance benchmark for large-cap stocks. You cannot invest directly in an index.

 

After-tax returns were calculated using the historical highest individual federal marginal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Actual after-tax returns depend on an investor’s tax situation and may differ from those shown, and after-tax returns shown are not relevant to investors who hold shares of the Fund through tax-deferred arrangements, such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts.

 

Management of the Fund:

 

Adviser Portfolio Manager Title and Length of Service
Dakota Wealth Management, LLC Greg Horn Portfolio Manager of the Fund since inception
Timothy Melly Portfolio Manager of the Fund since June 2015

 

Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares: You may purchase and redeem shares of the Fund on any day that the New York Stock Exchange is open for trading. The minimum initial investment in the Fund is $100,000. The minimum subsequent investment is $100.

 

Tax Information: Dividends and capital gain distributions you receive from the Fund, whether you reinvest your distributions in additional Fund shares or receive them in cash, are taxable to you at either ordinary income or capital gains tax rates unless you are investing through a tax-deferred plan such as an IRA or 401(k) plan. However, these dividend and capital gain distributions may be taxable upon their eventual withdrawal from tax-deferred plans.

 

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 website for more information.

 

 

 

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ABOUT PRINCIPAL INVESTMENT STRATEGIES AND RELATED RISKS 

 

Investment Objective:

 

The Fund seeks long-term capital appreciation. The Fund’s investment objective may be changed by the Board of Trustees (the “Board”) upon 60 days’ written notice to shareholders.

 

Principal Investment Strategies: In pursuing its investment objective, the Adviser utilizes three strategies: (i) selecting individual equity securities, (ii) hedging that seeks to mitigate the downside risk of equities during unfavorable markets, and (iii) seeking to minimize shareholders’ tax liability in connection with the Fund’s distribution of realized capital gains.

 

Equity Instruments

 

The Fund seeks to provide risk-adjusted returns with lower volatility compared to global equity markets. Under normal market conditions, the Fund pursues its investment objective by investing at least 70% of its net assets in U.S. exchange listed common stock, preferred stock and depositary receipts (“Equity Instruments”). The Fund may invest in or have exposure to domestic and foreign companies of any market capitalization or sector. The Adviser primarily selects long equity positions from companies in the HFRX Equity Hedge Index.

 

Hedging

 

When the Adviser believes it is warranted by unfavorable market conditions, the Adviser uses its dynamic hedging strategy model to seek to reduce the downside risks associated with the Fund’s exposure to Equity Instruments. Exposure to the hedging strategy is gained through selling short exchange traded equity index futures contracts.

 

The Fund expects to be more invested in long positions than in short positions (i.e., have net long exposure in equity markets). The Adviser uses the hedge strategy as an overlay to manage the Fund’s net exposure. The Adviser expects that the Fund’s exposure to equities will range from 40% to 100% net long.

 

Tax Management

 

To avoid Fund level taxation, the Fund is required to distribute to shareholders net income and net realized capital gains. Thus, when the Fund sells securities at a gain that is not offset, that gain must be passed along to shareholders of the Fund. The Adviser seeks to minimize shareholders’ tax liability in connection with the Fund’s distribution of realized capital gain by minimizing the net gains available for distribution. As part of its tax aware strategy, the Adviser seeks to sell any security that has breached a predetermined loss level. Thus, it seeks to accumulate capital losses to partially offset any realized capital gains. This strategy, commonly known as tax-loss harvesting, is combined with the equity portfolio with the objective of creating favorable after-tax returns. However, the Fund’s portfolio may not contain any securities in a loss position. This strategy may include minimizing the sale of securities with large unrealized gains, holding securities long enough to avoid short-term capital gains taxes, selling securities with a higher cost basis first. If the Adviser sells long positions at a loss for tax purposes the long position may need to be replaced with a highly correlated exchange traded fund (“ETF”). Tax wash sales rules disallow recognition of a loss if a security is sold and the repurchased shortly thereafter. Once the wash sale period expires, the Adviser may sell the ETF and replace it with the previously sold security.

 

Principal Investment Risks: The following risks may apply to the Fund’s direct investments as well the Fund’s indirect investments through Underlying Funds.

·Equity Risk: The net asset value of the Fund will fluctuate based on changes in the value of the equity securities held by the Fund or underlying funds that invest in U.S. and/or foreign equity securities. Equity prices can fall rapidly in response to developments affecting a specific company or industry, or to changing economic, political or market conditions.
·Foreign Investment Risk: Foreign investing (including through American Depositary Receipts, European Depositary Receipts and Global Depositary Receipts) involves risks not typically associated with U.S. investments, including adverse fluctuations in foreign currency values, adverse political, social and economic developments, less liquidity, greater volatility, less developed or less efficient trading markets, political instability and differing auditing and legal standards. Investing in emerging markets imposes risks different from, or greater than, risks of investing in foreign developed countries.
 

 

·Futures Risk: The Fund’s use of futures involves risks different from, or possibly greater than, the risks associated with investing directly in securities and other traditional investments. These risks include (i) leverage risk (ii) risk of mispricing or improper valuation; and (iii) the risk that changes in the value of the futures contract may not correlate perfectly with the underlying index. Investments in futures involve leverage, which means a small percentage of assets invested in futures can have a disproportionately large impact on the Fund. This risk could cause the Fund to lose more than the principal amount invested. Futures contracts may become mispriced or improperly valued when compared to the Adviser’s expectation and may not produce the desired investment results. Additionally, changes in the value of futures contracts may not track or correlate perfectly with the underlying index because of temporary, or even long-term, supply and demand imbalances and because futures do not pay dividends unlike the stocks upon which they are based.
·Hedging Risk: Investing for hedging purposes or to increase the Fund’s return may result in certain additional transaction costs that may reduce the Fund’s performance. When used for hedging purposes, no assurance can be given that each derivative position will achieve a perfect correlation with the security against which it is being hedged.
·Issuer-Specific Risk: The value of a specific security can be more volatile than the market as a whole and can perform differently from the value of the market as a whole. The value of securities of smaller issuers can be more volatile than those of larger issuers. The value of certain types of securities can be more volatile due to increased sensitivity to adverse issuer, political, regulatory, market, or economic developments.
·Large Cap Company Risk: To the extent the Fund invests in large capitalization companies, the Fund may underperform a fund that invests primarily in lower quality, smaller capitalization companies during periods when such companies are in favor.
·Management Risk: The Net Asset Value (“NAV”) of the Fund changes daily based on the performance of the securities and derivatives in which it invests. The Adviser’s judgments about the attractiveness, value and potential appreciation of particular asset classes and securities in which the Fund invests (long or short) may prove to be incorrect and may not produce the desired results.
·Market and Geopolitical Risk: The increasing interconnectivity between global economies and financial markets increases the likelihood that events or conditions in one region or financial market may adversely impact issuers in a different country, region or financial market. Securities in the Fund’s portfolio may underperform due to inflation (or expectations for inflation), interest rates, global demand for particular products or resources, natural disasters, climate change and climate-related events, pandemics, epidemics, terrorism, international conflicts, regulatory events and governmental or quasi-governmental actions. The occurrence of global events similar to those in recent years, such as terrorist attacks around the world, natural disasters, social and political discord or debt crises and downgrades, among others, may result in market volatility and may have long term effects on both the U.S. and global financial markets. It is difficult to predict when similar events affecting the U.S. or global financial markets may occur, the effects that such events may have and the duration of those effects. Any such event(s) could have a significant adverse impact on the value and risk profile of the Fund’s portfolio. The novel coronavirus (COVID-19) global pandemic and the aggressive responses taken by many governments, including closing borders, restricting international and domestic travel, and the imposition of prolonged quarantines or similar restrictions, as well as the forced or voluntary closure of, or operational changes to, many retail and other businesses, had negative impacts, and in many cases severe negative impacts, on markets worldwide. It is not known how long such impacts, or any future impacts of other significant events described above, will or would last, but there could be a prolonged period of global economic slowdown, which may impact your Fund investment. Therefore, the Fund could lose money over short periods due to short-term market movements and over longer periods during more prolonged market downturns. During a general market downturn, multiple asset classes may be negatively affected. Changes in market conditions and interest rates can have the same impact on all types of securities and instruments. In times of severe market disruptions you could lose your entire investment.
·Model Risk: Like any analysis, the Adviser’s investment model carries a risk that the model used might be based on one or more incorrect assumptions. Rapidly changing and unforeseen market dynamics could also lead to a decrease in short term effectiveness of the Adviser’s algorithmic model. No assurance can be given that the Fund will be successful under all or any market conditions.
·Short Position Risk: The Fund’s long positions could decline in value at the same time that the value of the short positions increase, thereby increasing the Fund’s overall potential for loss. The Fund’s short positions may result in a loss if the price of the short position instruments rises and it costs more to replace the short positions. In contrast to the Fund’s long positions, for which the risk of loss is typically limited to the amount invested, the potential loss on the Fund’s short positions is unlimited. Market factors may prevent the Fund from closing out a short position at the most desirable time or at a favorable price.
 
·Small and Medium Capitalization Company Risk: Small or medium capitalization companies may have limited product lines, markets or financial resources, and they may be dependent on a limited management group. Securities of smaller companies may be subject to more abrupt or erratic market movements than those of larger, more established companies or the market averages in general.
·Tax Aware Investing Risk: The Adviser’s tax aware strategies may reduce shareholder taxable distributions but will not likely eliminate taxes. Managing the Fund to maximize after-tax returns may also potentially have a negative effect on the Fund’s performance. Because tax consequences are considered in managing the Fund, the Fund’s pre-tax performance may be lower than that of a similar fund that is not tax-managed.
·Underlying Funds Risk: The Fund invests in investment companies, including ETFs and mutual funds (“Underlying Funds”). As a result, your cost of investing in the Fund will be higher than the cost of investing directly in investment companies and may be higher than other investment companies that invest directly in stocks and bonds. You will indirectly bear fees and expenses charged by the Underlying Funds in addition to the Fund’s direct fees and expenses. When the Fund invests in Underlying Funds that use margin, leverage, short sales and other forms of financial derivatives, such as options and futures, an investment in the Fund may be more volatile than investments in other mutual funds. Short sales are speculative investments and will cause the Fund to lose money if the value of a security sold short by the Underlying Fund in which the Fund invests, does not go down as the Underlying Fund manager expects. Additional risks of investing in investment companies are described below:
    • Expense Risk: The Fund invests in Underlying Funds. As a result, your cost of investing in the Fund will be higher than the cost of investing directly in an investment company and may be higher than other mutual funds that invest directly in stocks and bonds. You will indirectly bear fees and expenses charged by the Underlying Funds in addition to the Fund’s direct fees and expenses.
    • Leveraging Risk: The use of leverage by the Underlying Funds, such as borrowing money to purchase securities, engaging in reverse repurchase agreements, lending portfolio securities and engaging in forward commitment transactions, will magnify the Underlying Fund’s gains or losses. During periods in which an Underlying Fund is utilizing financial leverage, the fees that are payable to its Adviser as a percentage of the Underlying Fund’s assets may be higher than if the Underlying Fund did not use leverage, because the fees are calculated as a percentage of the Underlying Fund’s assets, including those purchased with leverage.
    • Management Risk: When the Fund invests in Underlying Funds there is a risk that the investment advisers of those Underlying Funds may make investment decisions that are detrimental to the performance of the Fund.
    • Mutual Fund Risk: The strategy of investing in Underlying Funds that are mutual funds could affect the timing, amount and character of distributions to you and therefore may increase the amount of taxes you pay. In addition, certain prohibitions on the acquisition of mutual fund shares by the Fund may prevent the Fund from allocating its investments in the manner the Adviser considers optimal. The Fund intends to purchase mutual funds that are either no-load or waive the sales load for purchases made by the Fund. The Fund will not purchase mutual funds that charge a sales load upon redemption, but the Fund may purchase mutual funds that have an early redemption fee. In the event that a mutual fund charges a redemption fee, then you will indirectly bear the expense by investing in the Fund. Mutual funds whose shares are purchased by the Fund will be obligated to redeem shares held by the Fund only in an amount up to 1% of the mutual fund’s outstanding shares during any period of less than 30 days. Therefore, shares held by the Fund in excess of 1% of a mutual fund’s outstanding shares may be considered not readily marketable securities, which together with other such securities, may not exceed 15% of the Fund’s total assets. When the Fund focuses its investments in certain mutual funds, the Fund’s portfolio will have a risk profile for such investments that will correspond to that of such mutual funds and Management Risk, described above, increases proportionately.
 
    • Net Asset Value and Market Price Risk: The market value of the closed-end shares may differ from their NAV. This difference in price may be due to the fact that the supply and demand in the market for fund shares at any point in time is not always identical to the supply and demand in the market for the underlying basket of securities. Accordingly, there may be times when shares trades at a premium or discount to net asset value.
    • Strategies Risk: Each Underlying Fund is subject to specific risks, depending on the nature of the fund. These risks could include liquidity risk, sector risk, and foreign currency risk, as well as risks associated with fixed income securities and commodities.

Temporary Investments: To respond to adverse market, economic, political or other conditions, the Fund may invest 100% of its total assets, without limitation, in high-quality short-term debt securities and money market instruments. These short-term debt securities and money market instruments include: shares of money market mutual funds, commercial paper, certificates of deposit, bankers’ acceptances, U.S. government securities and repurchase agreements.

 

While the Fund is in a defensive position, the opportunity to achieve its investment objective will be limited. Furthermore, to the extent that the Fund invests in money market mutual funds for cash positions, there will be some duplication of expenses because shareholders will pay the fees and expenses of the Fund and, indirectly, the fees and expenses of the underlying money market funds. The Fund may also invest a substantial portion of its assets in such instruments at any time to maintain liquidity or pending selection of investments in accordance with its policies. 

 

Portfolio Holdings Disclosure: A description of the Fund’s policies regarding the release of portfolio holdings information is available in the Fund’s Statement of Additional Information (“SAI”).

 

Cybersecurity 

 

The computer systems, networks and devices used by the Fund and its service providers to carry out routine business operations employ a variety of protections designed to prevent damage or interruption from computer viruses, network failures, computer and telecommunication failures, infiltration by unauthorized persons and security breaches. Despite the various protections utilized by the Fund and its service providers, systems, networks, or devices potentially can be breached. The Fund and its shareholders could be negatively impacted as a result of a cybersecurity breach.

 

Cybersecurity breaches can include unauthorized access to systems, networks, or devices; infection from computer viruses or other malicious software code; and attacks that shut down, disable, slow, or otherwise disrupt operations, business processes, or website access or functionality. Cybersecurity breaches may cause disruptions and impact the Fund’s business operations, potentially resulting in financial losses; interference with the Fund’s ability to calculate its net asset value; impediments to trading; the inability of the Fund, the Adviser, and other service providers to transact business; violations of applicable privacy and other laws; regulatory fines, penalties, reputational damage, reimbursement or other compensation costs, or additional compliance costs; as well as the inadvertent release of confidential information.

 

Similar adverse consequences could result from cybersecurity breaches affecting issuers of securities in which the Fund invests; counterparties with which the Fund engages in transactions; governmental and other regulatory authorities; exchange and other financial market operators, banks, brokers, dealers, insurance companies, and other financial institutions (including financial intermediaries and service providers for the Fund’s shareholders); and other parties. In addition, substantial costs may be incurred by these entities in order to prevent any cybersecurity breaches in the future.

 

MANAGEMENT 

 

Investment Adviser: Dakota Wealth Management, LLC, 11376 N. Jog Road, Palm Beach Gardens, FL 33418, serves as investment adviser to the Fund. Subject to the oversight of the Board, the Adviser is responsible for management of the Fund’s investment portfolio. The Adviser was established in 2018 for the purpose of advising individuals and institutions. As of September 30, 2022, the Adviser had approximately $2.4 billion in assets under management. The Adviser acquired Persimmon Capital Management L.P., the Fund’s previous adviser, and the Fund’s shareholders approved Dakota Wealth Management, LLC as the new investment adviser to the Fund on October 15, 2021. The same portfolio managers of the Fund employed by the previous adviser continue to service the Fund under the Adviser.

 

Pursuant to an investment advisory agreement with the Trust, on behalf of the Fund, the Adviser is entitled to receive, on a monthly basis, an annual advisory fee equal to 1.25% of the Fund’s average daily net assets. There was no change in the advisory fee from the previous adviser’s last advisory fee. From January 31, 2019 through December 31, 2020 the Fund’s previous adviser received an annual fee equal to 1.75%. The Adviser has contractually agreed to waive management fees and to make payments to limit Fund expenses, until February 1, 2024 so that the total annual operating expenses (excluding (i) any front-end or contingent deferred loads; (ii) brokerage fees and commissions, (iii) acquired fund fees and expenses; (iv) borrowing costs (such as interest and dividend expense on securities sold short); (v) taxes; and (vi) extraordinary expenses, such as litigation expenses (which may include indemnification of Fund officers and Trustees, contractual indemnification of Fund service providers (other than the Adviser))) of the Fund do not exceed 1.99% of average daily net assets attributable to Class I shares. From January 31, 2019 through December 31, 2020, the expense limitation was at 2.49%. This fee waiver and expense reimbursement is subject to possible recoupment from the Fund within three years after the fees have been waived or reimbursed, if such recoupment can be achieved within the lesser of the foregoing expense limits or the expense limits in place at the time of recapture. This agreement may be terminated only by the Board on 60 days’ written notice to the Adviser.

 

During the year ended September 30, 2022, the Fund paid 1.25% of its average daily net assets as an advisory fee. A discussion regarding the basis for the Board’s approval of the advisory agreement will be available in the Fund’s Semi-Annual Report to Shareholders for the period ending March 31, 2023.

 

Portfolio Managers: The Fund is managed on a day-to-day basis by the portfolio manager(s) listed below. The SAI provides additional information about each portfolio manager’s compensation, other accounts managed by each portfolio manager, and the portfolio manager’s ownership in the Fund.

 

Investment Adviser Portfolio Manager Experience over the last 5 years
Dakota Wealth Management, LLC Greg Horn Portfolio Manager of the Fund since inception; Chief Development Officer, Senior Managing Director, Dakota Wealth Management, LLC, July 2021 – present.  President and CEO of Persimmon Capital Management 1998 – July 2021.
Timothy Melly Portfolio Manager of the Fund since June 2015; Director of Investment Solutions, Dakota Wealth Management, LLC, July 2021 - present; Vice President of Research, Persimmon Capital Management, LP, 2014
 – July 2021.  Director of Investment Research at M Financial Planning Group from 2005 to 2014.
 

 

HOW SHARES ARE PRICED 

 

Shares of the Fund are sold at NAV. The NAV of the Fund is determined at close of regular trading (normally 4:00 p.m. Eastern Time) on each day the New York Stock Exchange (“NYSE”) is open for business. NAV is computed by determining, on a per class basis, the aggregate market value of all assets of the Fund, less its liabilities, divided by the total number of shares outstanding ((assets-liabilities)/number of shares = NAV). The NYSE is closed on weekends and New Year’s Day, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, Presidents’ Day, Good Friday, Memorial Day, Juneteenth, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day. The NAV takes into account, on a per class basis, the expenses and fees of the Fund, including management, administration, and distribution fees, which are accrued daily. The determination of NAV for a share class for a particular day is applicable to all applications for the purchase of shares, as well as all requests for the redemption of shares, received by the Fund (or an authorized broker or agent, or its authorized designee) before the close of trading on the NYSE on that day.

 

Generally, the Fund’s securities are valued each day at the last quoted sales price on each security’s primary exchange. Securities traded or dealt in upon one or more securities exchanges (whether domestic or foreign) for which market quotations are readily available and not subject to restrictions against resale shall be valued at the last quoted sales price on the primary exchange or, in the absence of a sale on the primary exchange, at the mean between the current bid ask prices on such exchanges. Securities primarily traded in the National Association of Securities Dealers’ Automated Quotation System (“NASDAQ”) National Market System for which market quotations are readily available shall be valued using the NASDAQ Official Closing Price. Securities that are not traded or dealt in any securities exchange (whether domestic or foreign) and for which over-the-counter market quotations are readily available generally shall be valued at the last sale price or, in the absence of a sale, at the mean between the current bid and ask price on such over-the-counter market. Debt securities not traded on an exchange may be valued at prices supplied by a pricing agent(s) based on broker or dealer supplied valuations or matrix pricing, a method of valuing securities by reference to the value of other securities with similar characteristics, such as rating, interest rate and maturity.

 

If market quotations are not readily available, securities will be valued at their fair market value as determined using the “fair value” procedures approved by the Board. Fair value pricing involves subjective judgments and it is possible that the fair value determined for a security may be materially different from the value that could be realized upon the sale of that security. The fair value prices can differ from market prices when they become available or when a price becomes available. The Board has designated the Adviser as its “Valuation Designee” to execute these procedures. The Adviser may also enlist third party consultants such as an audit firm or financial officer of a security issuer on an as-needed basis to assist in determining a security-specific fair value. The Board reviews the execution of this process and the resultant fair value prices at least quarterly to assure the process produces reliable results.

 

The Fund may use independent pricing services to assist in calculating the value of the Fund’s securities. In addition, market prices for foreign securities are not determined at the same time of day as the NAV for the Fund. Because the Fund may invest in underlying ETFs which hold portfolio securities primarily listed on foreign exchanges, and these exchanges may trade on weekends or other days when the underlying ETFs do not price their shares, the value of some of the Fund’s portfolio securities may change on days when you may not be able to buy or sell Fund shares.

 

In computing the NAV, the Fund values foreign securities held by the Fund at the latest closing price on the exchange in which they are traded immediately prior to closing of the NYSE. Prices of foreign securities quoted in foreign currencies are translated into U.S. dollars at current rates. If events materially affecting the value of a security in the Fund’s portfolio, particularly foreign securities, occur after the close of trading on a foreign market but before the Fund prices its shares, the security may be priced using alternative market prices provided by a pricing service. For example, if trading in a portfolio security is halted and does not resume before the Fund calculates its NAV, alternative market prices may be used to price the security. Without a fair value price, short-term traders could take advantage of the arbitrage opportunity and dilute the NAV of long-term investors. Fair valuation of the Fund’s portfolio securities can serve to reduce arbitrage opportunities available to short-term traders, but there is no assurance that fair value pricing policies will prevent dilution of the Fund’s NAV by short term traders. The determination of fair value involves subjective judgments. As a result, using fair value to price a security may result in a price materially different from the prices used by other mutual funds to determine NAV, or from the price that may be realized upon the actual sale of the security.

 

With respect to any portion of the Fund’s assets that are invested in one or more open-end management investment companies registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, the Fund’s NAV is calculated based upon the NAVs of those open-end management investment companies, and the prospectuses for these companies explain the circumstances under which those companies will use fair value pricing and the effects of using fair value pricing.

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HOW TO PURCHASE SHARES 

 

Shares of the fund are offered at the public offering price, which is NAV per share. The Fund has a minimum initial investment requirement of $100,000 and a minimum subsequent investment requirement of $100. The Fund and the Adviser may each waive investment minimums at their individual discretion. You may purchase shares of the Fund by sending a completed application form to the following address:

 

via Regular Mail

PERSIMMON LONG/SHORT FUND

c/o Ultimus Fund Solutions, LLC

P.O. Box 541150

Omaha, Nebraska 68154

or Overnight Mail

PERSIMMON LONG/SHORT FUND

c/o Ultimus Fund Solutions, LLC

4221 North 203rd Street, Suite 100

Elkhorn, Nebraska 68022-3474

 

The USA PATRIOT Act requires financial institutions, including the Fund, to adopt certain policies and programs to prevent money-laundering activities, including procedures to verify the identity of customers opening new accounts. As requested on the application, you should supply your full name, date of birth, social security number and permanent street address. Mailing addresses containing a P.O. Box will not be accepted. This information will assist the Fund in verifying your identity. Until such verification is made, the Fund may temporarily limit additional share purchases. In addition, the Fund may limit additional share purchases or close an account if it is unable to verify a shareholder’s identity. As required by law, the Fund may employ various procedures, such as comparing the information to fraud databases or requesting additional information or documentation from you, to ensure that the information supplied by you is correct.

 

Purchase through Brokers: You may invest in the Fund through brokers or agents who have entered into selling agreements with the Distributor (as identified below under the heading “Distributor”). The brokers and agents are authorized to receive purchase and redemption orders on behalf of the Fund. The Fund will be deemed to have received a purchase or redemption order when an authorized broker or its designee receives the order. The broker or agent may set their own initial and subsequent investment minimums. You may be charged a fee if you use a broker or agent to buy or redeem shares of the Fund. Finally, various servicing agents use procedures and impose restrictions that may be in addition to, or different from those applicable to investors purchasing shares directly from the Fund. You should carefully read the program materials provided to you by your servicing agent.

 

Purchase by Wire: If you wish to wire money to make an investment in the Fund, please call the Fund at 1-855-233-8300 for wiring instructions and to notify the Fund that a wire transfer is coming. Any commercial bank can transfer same-day funds via wire. The Fund will normally accept wired funds for investment on the day received if they are received by the Fund’s designated bank before the close of regular trading on the NYSE. Your bank may charge you a fee for wiring same-day funds.

 

Automated Clearing House (ACH) Purchase: Current shareholders may purchase additional shares via Automated Clearing House (“ACH”). To have this option added to your account, please send a letter to the Fund requesting this option and supply a voided check for the bank account. Only bank accounts held at domestic institutions that are ACH members may be used for these transactions.

 

You may not use ACH transactions for your initial purchase of Fund shares. ACH purchases will be effective at the closing price per share on the business day after the order is placed. The Fund may alter, modify or terminate this purchase option at any time.

Shares purchased by ACH will not be available for redemption until the transactions have cleared. Shares purchased via ACH transfer may take up to 15 days to clear.

 

Automatic Investment Plan: You may participate in the Fund’s Automatic Investment Plan, an investment plan that automatically moves money from your bank account and invests it in the Fund through the use of electronic funds transfers or automatic bank drafts. You may elect to make subsequent investments by transfers of a minimum of $100 on specified days of each month into your established Fund account. Please contact the Fund at 1-855-233-8300 for more information about the Fund’s Automatic Investment Plan.

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The Fund, however, reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to reject any application to purchase shares. Applications will not be accepted unless they are accompanied by a check drawn on a U.S. bank, thrift institutions, or credit union in U.S. funds for the full amount of the shares to be purchased. After you open an account, you may purchase additional shares by sending a check together with written instructions stating the name(s) on the account and the account number, to the above address. Make all checks payable to “Persimmon Long/Short Fund.” Cash, third party checks (except for properly endorsed IRA rollover checks), counter checks, starter checks, traveler’s checks, money orders, credit card checks, and checks drawn on non-U.S. financial institutions will not be accepted. Cashier’s checks, bank official checks, and bank money orders are reviewed on a case-by-case basis and may be accepted under certain circumstances. In such cases, a 15-business day hold will be applied to the Fund (which means that you may not redeem your shares until the holding period has expired). Redemptions of shares of the Fund purchased by check may be subject to a hold period until the check has been cleared by the issuing bank. To avoid such holding periods, shares may be purchased through a broker or by wire, as described in this section.

 

Note: Ultimus Fund Solutions, LLC, the Fund’s transfer agent (the “Transfer Agent”), will charge a $25 fee against a shareholder’s account, in addition to any loss sustained by the Fund, for any check or electronic payment returned to the Transfer Agent for insufficient funds.

 

When Order is Processed: All shares will be purchased at the NAV per share (plus applicable sales charges, if any) next determined after the Fund receives your application or request in good order. All requests received in good order by the Fund before 4:00 p.m. (Eastern Time) will be processed on that same day. Requests received after 4:00 p.m. will be processed on the next business day.

 

Good Order: When making a purchase request, make sure your request is in good order. “Good order” means your purchase request includes:

  • the name of the Fund and share class;
  • the dollar amount of shares to be purchased;
  • a completed purchase application or investment stub; and

·         check payable to the “Persimmon Long/Short Fund.”

 

Retirement Plans: You may purchase shares of the Fund for your individual retirement plans. Please call the Fund at 1-855-233-8300 for the most current listing and appropriate disclosure documentation on how to open a retirement account.

 

 

HOW TO REDEEM SHARES 

 

Redeeming Shares: The Fund typically expects that it will take up to three business days following the receipt of your redemption request to pay out redemption proceeds by check or electronic transfer. The Fund typically expects to pay redemptions from cash, cash equivalents, proceeds from the sale of Fund shares, any lines of credit, and then from the sale of portfolio securities. These redemption payment methods will be used in regular and stressed market conditions. You may redeem all or any portion of the shares credited to your account by submitting a written request for redemption to:

 

via Regular Mail

PERSIMMON LONG/SHORT FUND

c/o Ultimus Fund Solutions, LLC

P.O. Box 541150

Omaha, Nebraska 68154

or Overnight Mail

PERSIMMON LONG/SHORT FUND

c/o Ultimus Fund Solutions, LLC

4221 North 203rd Street, Suite 100

Elkhorn, Nebraska 68022-3474

 

Redemptions by Telephone: The telephone redemption privilege is automatically available to all new accounts. If you do not want the telephone redemption privilege, you must indicate this in the appropriate area on your account application or you must write to the Fund and instruct it to remove this privilege from your account.

 

The proceeds will be sent by mail to the address designated on your account or wired directly to your existing account in a bank or brokerage firm in the United States as designated on your application. To redeem by telephone, call
1-855-233-8300. If you own an IRA account and wish to redeem by telephone, you will be asked whether or not the Fund should withhold federal income tax

 

During periods of high market activity, you may encounter higher than usual wait times. Please allow sufficient time to ensure that you will be able to complete your telephone transaction prior to market close. Neither the Fund nor its Transfer Agent will be held liable if you are unable to place your trade due to high call volume.

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The Fund reserves the right to suspend the telephone redemption privileges with respect to your account if the name(s) or the address on the account has been changed within the previous 30 days. Neither the Fund, the Transfer Agent, nor their respective affiliates will be liable for complying with telephone instructions they reasonably believe to be genuine or for any loss, damage, cost or expenses in acting on such telephone instructions and you will be required to bear the risk of any such loss. The Fund or the Transfer Agent, or both, will employ reasonable procedures to determine that telephone instructions are genuine. If the Fund and/or the Transfer Agent do not employ these procedures, they may be liable to you for losses due to unauthorized or fraudulent instructions. These procedures may include, among others, requiring forms of personal identification prior to acting upon telephone instructions, providing written confirmation of the transactions and/or tape recording telephone instructions.

 

Redemptions through Broker: If shares of the Fund are held by a broker-dealer, financial institution or other servicing agent, you must contact that servicing agent to redeem shares of the Fund. The servicing agent may charge a fee for this service.

 

Redemptions by Wire: You may request that your redemption proceeds be wired directly to your bank account. The Transfer Agent imposes a $15 fee for each wire redemption and deducts the fee directly from your account. Your bank may also impose a fee for the incoming wire.

 

Systematic Withdrawal Plan: If your individual accounts, IRA or other qualified plan account have a current account value of at least $10,000, you may participate in the Fund’s Systematic Withdrawal Plan, an investment plan that automatically moves money to your bank account from the Fund through the use of electronic funds transfers. You may elect to make subsequent withdrawals by transfers of a minimum of $100 on specified days of each month into your established bank account. Please contact the Fund at 1-855-233-8300 for more information about the Fund’s Systematic Withdrawal Plan.

 

Redemptions in Kind: The Fund reserves the right to honor requests for redemption or repurchase orders by making payment in whole or in part in readily marketable securities (“redemption in kind”) if the amount is greater than the lesser of $250,000 or 1% of the Fund’s assets. The securities will be chosen by the Fund and valued under the Fund’s NAV procedures. A shareholder will be exposed to market risk until these securities are converted to cash and may incur transaction expenses in converting these securities to cash.

 

When Redemptions are Sent: Once the Fund receives your redemption request in “good order” as described below, it will issue a check based on the next determined NAV following your redemption request. If you purchase shares using a check and soon after request a redemption, your redemption proceeds, which are payable at the next determined NAV following the receipt your redemption request in “good order”, as described below, will not be sent until the check used for your purchase has cleared your bank.

 

Good Order: Your redemption request will be processed if it is in “good order.”
To be in good order, the following conditions must be satisfied:

·         The request should be in writing, unless redeeming by telephone, indicating the number of shares or dollar amount to be redeemed;

·         The request must identify your account number;

·         The request should be signed by you and any other person listed on the account, exactly as the shares are registered; and

·         If you request that the redemption proceeds be sent to a person, bank or an address other than that of record or paid to someone other than the record owner(s), or if the address was changed within the last 30 days, or if the proceeds of a requested redemption exceed $50,000, the signature(s) on the request must be medallion signature guaranteed by an eligible signature guarantor.

 

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Redemption Fee: The Fund will deduct a 1.00% redemption fee on your redemption amount if you sell your shares less than 60 days after purchase. Shares held longest will be treated as being redeemed first and shares held shortest as being redeemed last. Shares held for 60 days or more are not subject to the 1.00% fee. Redemption fees are paid to the Fund directly and are designed to offset costs associated with fluctuations in Fund asset levels and cash flow caused by short-term shareholder trading.

 

Waivers of Redemption Fees: The Fund has elected not to impose the redemption fee for:

  • redemptions and exchanges of Fund shares acquired through the reinvestment of dividends and distributions;
  • certain types of redemptions and exchanges of Fund shares owned through participant-directed retirement plans;
  • redemptions or exchanges in discretionary asset allocation, fee based or wrap programs (“wrap programs”) that are initiated by the sponsor/financial adviser as part of a periodic rebalancing;
  • redemptions or exchanges in a fee based or wrap program that are made as a result of a full withdrawal from the wrap program or as part of a systematic withdrawal plan;
  • involuntary redemptions, such as those resulting from a shareholder’s failure to maintain a minimum investment in the Fund, or to pay shareholder fees; or
  • other types of redemptions as the Adviser or the Trust may determine in special situations and approved by the Trust’s or the Adviser’s Chief Compliance Officer.

 

When You Need Medallion Signature Guarantees: If you wish to change the bank or brokerage account that you have designated on your account, you may do so at any time by writing to the Fund with your signature guaranteed. A medallion signature guarantee assures that a signature is genuine and protects you from unauthorized account transfers. You will need your signature guaranteed if:

·you request a redemption to be made payable to a person not on record with the Fund;
·you request that a redemption be mailed to an address other than that on record with the Fund;
·the proceeds of a requested redemption exceed $50,000;
·any redemption is transmitted by federal wire transfer to a bank other than the bank of record; or
·your address was changed within 30 days of your redemption request.

 

Signatures may be guaranteed by any eligible guarantor institution (including banks, brokers and dealers, credit unions, national securities exchanges, registered securities associations, clearing agencies and savings associations). Further documentation will be required to change the designated account if shares are held by a corporation, fiduciary or other organization. A notary public cannot guarantee signatures.

 

Retirement Plans: If you own an IRA or other retirement plan, you must indicate on your redemption request whether the Fund should withhold federal income tax. Unless you elect in your redemption request that you do not want to have federal tax withheld, the redemption will be subject to withholding.

 

Low Balances: If at any time your account balance in the Fund falls below $250, the Fund may notify you that, unless the account is brought up to at least $250 within 60 days of the notice, your account could be closed. After the notice period, the Fund may redeem all of your shares and close your account by sending you a check to the address of record. Your account will not be closed if the account balance drops below $250 due to a decline in NAV.

 

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FREQUENT PURCHASES AND REDEMPTIONS OF FUND SHARES 

 

The Fund discourages and does not accommodate market timing. Frequent trading into and out of the Fund can harm all Fund shareholders by disrupting the Fund’s investment strategies, increasing Fund expenses, decreasing tax efficiency and diluting the value of shares held by long-term shareholders. The Fund is designed for long-term investors and is not intended for market timing or other disruptive trading activities. Accordingly, the Board of Trustees has approved policies that seek to curb these disruptive activities while recognizing that shareholders may have a legitimate need to adjust their Fund investments as their financial needs or circumstances change. The Fund currently uses several methods to reduce the risk of market timing. These methods include:

  • Committing staff to review, on a continuing basis, recent trading activity in order to identify trading activity that may be contrary to the Fund’s Market Timing Trading Policy;
  • Assessing a 1.00% redemption fee for shares sold less than 60 days after purchase;
  • Rejecting or limiting specific purchase requests; and
  • Rejecting purchase requests from certain investors.

 

Though these methods involve judgments that are inherently subjective and involve some selectivity in their application, the Fund seeks to make judgments and applications that are consistent with the interests of the Fund’s shareholders.

 

Based on the frequency of redemptions in your account, the Adviser or Transfer Agent may in its sole discretion determine that your trading activity is detrimental to the Fund as described in the Fund’s Market Timing Trading Policy and elect to (i) reject or limit the amount, number, frequency or method for requesting future purchases into the Fund and/or (ii) reject or limit the amount, number, frequency or method for requesting future exchanges or redemptions out of the Fund.

 

The Fund reserves the right to reject or restrict purchase requests for any reason, particularly when the shareholder’s trading activity suggests that the shareholder may be engaged in market timing or other disruptive trading activities. Neither the Fund nor the Adviser will be liable for any losses resulting from rejected purchase orders. The Adviser may also bar an investor who has violated these policies (and the investor’s financial advisor) from opening new accounts with the Fund.

 

Although the Fund attempts to limit disruptive trading activities, some investors use a variety of strategies to hide their identities and their trading practices. There can be no guarantee that the Fund will be able to identify or limit these activities. Omnibus account arrangements are common forms of holding shares of the Fund. While the Fund encourages financial intermediaries to apply the Fund’s Market Timing Trading Policy to their customers who invest indirectly in the Fund, the Fund is limited in its ability to monitor the trading activity or enforce the Fund’s Market Timing Trading Policy with respect to customers of financial intermediaries. For example, should it occur, the Fund may not be able to detect market timing that may be facilitated by financial intermediaries or made difficult to identify in the omnibus accounts used by those intermediaries for aggregated purchases, exchanges and redemptions on behalf of all their customers. More specifically, unless the financial intermediaries have the ability to apply the Fund’s Market Timing Trading Policy to their customers through such methods as implementing short-term trading limitations or restrictions and monitoring trading activity for what might be market timing, the Fund may not be able to determine whether trading by customers of financial intermediaries is contrary to the Fund’s Market Timing Trading Policy. Brokers maintaining omnibus accounts with the Fund have agreed to provide shareholder transaction information to the extent known to the broker to the Fund upon request. If the Fund or its Transfer Agent or shareholder servicing agent suspects there is market timing activity in the account, the Fund will seek full cooperation from the service provider maintaining the account to identify the underlying participant. At the request of the Adviser, the service providers may take immediate action to stop any further short-term trading by such participants.

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TAX STATUS, DIVIDENDS AND DISTRIBUTIONS 

 

Any sale or exchange of the Fund’s shares may generate tax liability (unless you are a tax-exempt investor or your investment is in a qualified retirement account). When you redeem your shares you may realize a taxable gain or loss. This is measured by the difference between the proceeds of the sale and the tax basis for the shares you sold. (To aid in computing your tax basis, you generally should retain your account statements for the period that you hold shares in the Fund.)

 

The Fund intends to distribute substantially all of its net investment income and net capital gains annually in December. Both distributions will be reinvested in shares of the Fund unless you elect to receive cash. Dividends from net investment income (including any excess of net short-term capital gain over net long-term capital loss) are taxable to investors as ordinary income, while distributions of net capital gain (the excess of net long-term capital gain over net short-term capital loss) are generally taxable as long-term capital gain, regardless of your holding period for the shares. Any dividends or capital gain distributions you receive from the Fund will normally be taxable to you when made, regardless of whether you reinvest dividends or capital gain distributions or receive them in cash. Certain dividends or distributions declared in October, November or December will be taxed to shareholders as if received in December if they are paid during the following January. Each year the Fund will inform you of the amount and type of your distributions. IRAs and other qualified retirement plans are exempt from federal income taxation until retirement proceeds are paid out to the participant.

 

Your redemptions, including exchanges, may result in a capital gain or loss for federal tax purposes. A capital gain or loss on your investment is the difference between the cost of your shares, including any sales charges, and the amount you receive when you sell them.

 

The Fund must report to the IRS and furnish to shareholders the cost basis information for shares purchased and sold. The Fund has chosen average cost as its standing (default) tax lot identification method for all shareholders, which means the Fund uses this method to determine which specific shares are deemed to be sold when there are multiple purchases on different dates at differing NAVs, and the entire position is not sold at one time. Shareholders may, however, choose a method other than the Fund’s standing method at the time of their purchase or upon sale of covered shares. Shareholders should consult their tax advisors to determine the best IRS-accepted cost basis method for their tax situation and to obtain more information about how cost basis reporting applies to them. Shareholders also should carefully review the cost basis information provided to them by the Fund and make any additional basis, holding period or other adjustments that are required when reporting these amounts on their federal income tax returns.

 

On the account application, you will be asked to certify that your social security number or taxpayer identification number is correct and that you are not subject to backup withholding for failing to report income to the IRS. If you are subject to backup withholding or you did not certify your taxpayer identification number, the IRS requires the Fund to withhold a percentage of any dividend, redemption or exchange proceeds. The Fund reserves the right to reject any application that does not include a certified social security or taxpayer identification number. If you do not have a social security number, you should indicate on the purchase form that your application to obtain a number is pending. The Fund is required to withhold taxes if a number is not delivered to the Fund within seven days.

 

This summary is not intended to be and should not be construed to be legal or tax advice. You should consult your own tax advisors to determine the tax consequences of owning the Fund’s shares.

 

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DISTRIBUTION OF SHARES 

 

Distributor: Northern Lights Distributors, LLC, 4221 North 203rd Street, Suite 100, Elkhorn, Nebraska 68022-3474, is the distributor for the shares of the Fund (the “Distributor”). Northern Lights Distributors, LLC is a registered broker-dealer and member of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc. Shares of the Fund are offered on a continuous basis.

 

Additional Compensation to Financial Intermediaries: The Distributor, its affiliates, and the Adviser and its affiliates may, at their own expense and out of their own assets including their legitimate profits from Fund-related activities, provide additional cash payments to financial intermediaries who sell shares of the Fund or assist in the marketing of the Fund. Financial intermediaries include brokers, financial planners, banks, insurance companies, retirement or 401(k) plan administrators and others. These payments may be in addition to the Rule 12b-1 fees and any sales charges that are disclosed elsewhere in this Prospectus. These payments are generally made to financial intermediaries that provide shareholder or administrative services, or marketing support. Marketing support may include access to sales meetings, sales representatives and financial intermediary management representatives, inclusion of the Fund on a sales list, including a preferred or select sales list, or other sales programs. These payments also may be made as an expense reimbursement in cases where the financial intermediary provides shareholder services to Fund shareholders. The Distributor may, from time to time, provide promotional incentives to certain investment firms. Such incentives may, at the Distributor’s discretion, be limited to investment firms who allow their individual selling representatives to participate in such additional compensation.

 

Householding: To reduce expenses, the Fund mails only one copy of a Prospectus and each annual and semi-annual report to those addresses shared by accounts that have elected to receive paper copies of these documents. If you wish to receive individual copies of these documents, please call the Fund at 1-855-233-8300 on days the Fund is open for business or contact your financial institution. The Fund will begin sending you individual copies thirty days after receiving your request.

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FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS 

 

The financial highlights table is intended to help you understand the Fund’s financial performance for the past five years. Certain information reflects financial results for a single Fund share. The total returns in the table represent the rate that an investor would have earned (or lost) on an investment in the Fund (assuming reinvestment of all dividends and distributions). This information has been derived from the financial statements audited by RSM US LLP whose report, along with the Fund’s financial statements which are incorporated by reference into the SAI, and are included in the Fund’s September 30, 2022 Annual Report, which is available at no charge upon request.

 

Per Share Data and Ratios for a Share of Beneficial Interest Outstanding Throughout Each Year

 

    Class I  
    Year Ended   Year Ended   Year Ended   Year Ended   Year Ended  
    September 30, 2022   September 30, 2021   September 30, 2020   September 30, 2019   September 30, 2018  
Net asset value, beginning of year   $ 11.82   $ 10.50   $ 10.08   $ 11.18   $ 11.23  
                                 
Income (loss) from investment operations:                                
Net investment loss(1)     (0.06 )   (0.08 )   (0.10 )   (0.13 )   (0.31 )
Net realized and unrealized gain (loss)(2)     (0.68 )   1.40     0.64     (0.63 )   0.93  
Total from investment operations     (0.74 )    1.32     0.54     (0.76 )   0.62  
                                 
Less distributions from:                                
Net realized gains             (0.12 )   (0.34 )   (0.67 )
Total distributions             (0.12 )   (0.34 )   (0.67 )
                                 
Net asset value, end of year   $ 11.08   $ 11.82   $ 10.50   $ 10.08   $ 11.18  
                                 
Total return(3)     (6.26 )%(8)    12.57 %(8)   5.47 %   (6.72 )%   5.80 %
                                 
Net assets, at end of year (000s)   $ 38,218   $ 37,378   $ 33,275   $ 28,549   $ 31,633  
                                 
Ratios/Supplemental Data:                                
                                 
Ratio of gross expenses to average net assets before fee waiver/recapture(4)(6)(7)     1.91 %   2.07 %   2.44 %   2.85 %   3.88 %
                                 
Ratio of net expenses to average net assets
after fee waiver/recapture(6)(7)
    1.91 %   2.15 %   2.57 %   2.90 %   3.69 %
                                 
Ratio of net investment loss to average net assets before fee waiver/recapture(5)(7)     (0.47 )%   (0.62 )%   (0.85 )%   (1.20 )%   (2.96 )%
                                 
Ratio of net investment loss to average net assets after fee waiver/recapture(5)(7)     (0.47 )%   (0.70 )%   (0.98 )%   (1.24 )%   (2.78 )%
                                 
Portfolio Turnover Rate     0 %   6 %   227 %   326 %   263 %
                                 
(1)Per share amounts calculated using the average shares method, which more appropriately presents the per share data for the year.
(2)Realized and unrealized gains (loss) per share in this caption are balancing amounts necessary to reconcile the change in net assets value per share for the period, and may not reconcile with aggregate gains and losses in the Statement of Operations due to timing of share transactions during the year.
(3)Total returns shown exclude the effect of applicable sales charges and redemption fees and assumes reinvestment of all distributions, if any. Total returns would have been lower absent the fee waiver.
(4)Represents the ratio of expenses to average net assets absent fee waivers and/or fees recaptured by the advisor.
(5)Recognition of net investment loss by the Fund is affected by the timing of the declaration of dividends by the underlying investment companies in which the Fund invests.
(6)Excluding interest expense and dividends on securities sold short, the following ratios would have been:

Gross expenses to average net assets 1.82% 2.01% 2.36% 2.53% 2.93%

Net expenses to average net assets 1.82% 2.09% 2.49% 2.58% 2.75%

(7)Ratio does not include the expenses of other investment companies in which the Fund invests.
(8)Includes adjustments in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States and, consequently, the net asset value for financial reporting purposes and the returns based upon those net asset values may differ from the net asset values and returns for shareholder transactions.
18 
 

Rev. June 2021

PRIVACY NOTICE 

 

FACTS WHAT DOES NORTHERN LIGHTS FUND TRUST III DO WITH YOUR
PERSONAL INFORMATION?
    
Why? Financial companies choose how they share your personal information.  Federal law gives consumers the right to limit some but not all sharing.  Federal law also requires us to tell you how we collect, share, and protect your personal information.  Please read this notice carefully to understand what we do.
     
What? The types of personal information we collect and share depend on the product or service you have with us.  This information can include: § Social Security number § Purchase History § Assets § Account Balances § Retirement Assets § Account Transactions § Transaction History § Wire Transfer Instructions § Checking Account Information   When you are no longer our customer, we continue to share your information as described in this notice.
   
How? All financial companies need to share customers’ personal information to run their everyday business.  In the section below, we list the reasons financial companies can share their customers’ personal information; the reasons Northern Lights Fund Trust III chooses to share; and whether you can limit this sharing.
           
Reasons we can share your personal information Does Northern Lights Fund Trust III share?

Can you limit

this sharing?

For our everyday business purposes –

such as to process your transactions, maintain your account(s), respond to court orders and legal investigations, or report to credit bureaus

Yes No

For our marketing purposes –

to offer our products and services to you

No We don’t share
For joint marketing with other financial companies No We don’t share

For our affiliates’ everyday business purposes –

information about your transactions and experiences

No We don’t share

For our affiliates’ everyday business purposes –

information about your creditworthiness

No We don’t share
For nonaffiliates to market to you No We don’t share
     
Questions? Call (631) 490-4300
         
19 
 

 

Who we are
Who is providing
this notice?

Northern Lights Fund Trust III

 

What we do
How does Northern Lights Fund Trust III protect my personal information?

To protect your personal information from unauthorized access and use, we use security measures that comply with federal law. These measures include computer safeguards and secured files and buildings.

 

Our service providers are held accountable for adhering to strict policies and procedures to prevent any misuse of your nonpublic personal information.

How does Northern Lights Fund Trust III collect my personal information?

We collect your personal information, for example, when you

§  Open an account

§  Provide account information

§  Give us your contact information

§  Make deposits or withdrawals from your account

§  Make a wire transfer

§  Tell us where to send the money

§  Tells us who receives the money

§  Show your government-issued ID

§  Show your driver’s license

We also collect your personal information from other companies.

Why can’t I limit
all sharing?

Federal law gives you the right to limit only

§  Sharing for affiliates’ everyday business purposes – information about your creditworthiness

§  Affiliates from using your information to market to you

§  Sharing for nonaffiliates to market to you

State laws and individual companies may give you additional rights to limit sharing.

Definitions
Affiliates

Companies related by common ownership or control. They can be financial and nonfinancial companies.

§  Northern Lights Fund Trust III does not share with our affiliates.

Nonaffiliates

Companies not related by common ownership or control. They can be financial and nonfinancial companies

§  Northern Lights Fund Trust III does not share with nonaffiliates so they can market to you.

Joint marketing

A formal agreement between nonaffiliated financial companies that together market financial products or services to you.

§  Northern Lights Fund Trust III doesn’t jointly market.

20 
 

PERSIMMON LONG/SHORT FUND

 

Adviser

Dakota Wealth Management, LLC

11376 N. Jog Road

Palm Beach Gardens, FL 33418

Distributor

Northern Lights Distributors, LLC

4221 North 203rd Street, Suite 100

Elkhorn, NE 68022-3474

Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm

RSM US LLP

555 Seventeenth Street, Suite 1200

Denver, CO 80202

Legal Counsel

Thompson Hine LLP

41 South High Street, Suite 1700

Columbus, OH 43215

Custodian

U.S. Bank, N.A.

1555 North River Center Drive, Suite 302

Milwaukee, WI 53212

Transfer Agent

Ultimus Fund Solutions, LLC
225 Pictoria Drive, Suite 450

Cincinnati, OH 45246

 

Additional information about the Fund is included in the Fund’s SAI dated February 1, 2023. The SAI is incorporated into this Prospectus by reference (i.e., legally made a part of this Prospectus). The SAI provides more details about the Fund’s policies and management. Additional information about the Fund’s investments is also available in the Fund’s Annual and Semi-Annual Reports to Shareholders. 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 its last fiscal year.

 

To obtain a free copy of the SAI and the Annual and Semi-Annual Reports to Shareholders, or other information about the Fund, or to make shareholder inquiries about the Fund, please call
1-855-233-8300 or visit www.persimmonfunds.com. You may also write to:

 

PERSIMMON LONG/SHORT FUND

c/o Ultimus Fund Solutions, LLC

225 Pictoria Drive, Suite 450

Cincinnati, Ohio 45246

 

Reports and other information about the Fund are available on the EDGAR Database on the SEC’s Internet site at http://www.sec.gov. Copies of the information may be obtained, after paying a duplicating fee, by electronic request at the following E-mail address: [email protected].

 

 

Investment Company Act File # 811-22655

 
 

 

 

Persimmon Long/Short Fund

a series of Northern Lights Fund Trust III

 

Class I Shares LSEIX

 

 

 

 

 

STATEMENT OF ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

 

February 1, 2023

 

 

This Statement of Additional Information ("SAI") is not a Prospectus and should be read in conjunction with the Prospectus of the Persimmon Long/Short Fund (the "Fund") dated February 1, 2023, which is incorporated by reference into this SAI (i.e., legally made a part of this SAI). Copies may be obtained without charge by contacting the Fund's Transfer Agent, Ultimus Fund Solutions, LLC, 225 Pictoria Drive, Suite 450, Cincinnati, Ohio 45246 or by calling 1-855-233-8300. You may also obtain a Prospectus by visiting the Fund's website at www.persimmonfunds.com.

 

 
 

TABLE OF CONTENTS

 

THE FUND 1
INVESTMENTS AND RISKS 2
PORTFOLIO TURNOVER 9
INVESTMENT RESTRICTIONS 10
INVESTMENT ADVISER 11
PORTFOLIO MANAGERS 13
ALLOCATION OF BROKERAGE 14
POLICIES AND PROCEDURES FOR DISCLOSURE OF PORTFOLIO HOLDINGS 15
OTHER SERVICE PROVIDERS 16
INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM 18
LEGAL COUNSEL 19
DISTRIBUTOR 19
DESCRIPTION OF SHARES 19
CODE OF ETHICS 20
PROXY VOTING POLICIES 20
PURCHASE, REDEMPTION AND PRICING OF FUND SHARES 21
TAX STATUS 25
ANTI-MONEY LAUNDERING PROGRAM 31
CONTROL PERSONS AND PRINCIPAL HOLDERS OF SECURITIES 31
MANAGEMENT 32
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS 38
APPENDIX A A-1

 

 

 
 

THE FUND


 

The Persimmon Long/Short Fund is a diversified series of Northern Lights Fund Trust III, a Delaware statutory trust organized on December 5, 2011 (the "Trust"). The Trust is registered as an open-end management investment company. The Trust is governed by its Board of Trustees (the "Board”).

 

The Fund may issue an unlimited number of shares of beneficial interest. All shares of the Fund have equal rights and privileges. Each share of the Fund is entitled to one vote on all matters as to which shares are entitled to vote. In addition, each share of the Fund is entitled to participate equally with other shares, on a class-specific basis, (i) in dividends and distributions declared by the Fund and (ii) on liquidation to its proportionate share of the assets remaining after satisfaction of outstanding liabilities. Shares of the Fund are fully paid, non-assessable and fully transferable and have no pre-emptive, conversion or exchange rights. Fractional shares have proportionately the same rights, including voting rights, as are provided for a full share.

 

Dakota Wealth Management, LLC (the "Adviser") is the Fund's investment adviser. The Fund's investment objectives, restrictions and policies are more fully described here and in the Prospectus. The Board may start other series and offer shares of a new fund under the Trust at any time.

 

The Fund is authorized to offer three classes of shares: Class A shares, Class C shares and Class I shares. Class A and Class C shares are not currently available for sale. Each share class represents an interest in the same assets of the Fund, has the same rights and is identical in all material respects except that (i) each class of shares may be subject to different (or no) sales loads; (ii) each class of shares may bear different (or no) distribution fees; (iii) each class of shares may have different shareholder features, such as minimum investment amounts; (iv) certain other class-specific expenses will be borne solely by the class to which such expenses are attributable, including transfer agent fees attributable to a specific class of shares, printing and postage expenses related to preparing and distributing materials to current shareholders of a specific class, registration fees paid by a specific class of shares, the expenses of administrative personnel and services required to support the shareholders of a specific class, litigation or other legal expenses relating to a class of shares, Board fees or expenses paid as a result of issues relating to a specific class of shares and accounting fees and expenses relating to a specific class of shares; and (v) each class has exclusive voting rights with respect to matters relating to its own distribution arrangements. The Board may classify and reclassify the shares of the Fund into additional classes of shares at a future date.

 

Under the Trust's Agreement and Declaration of Trust, each Trustee will continue in office until the termination of the Trust or his/her earlier death, incapacity, resignation or removal. Shareholders can remove a Trustee to the extent provided by the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the "1940 Act"), and the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder. Vacancies may be filled by a majority of the remaining Trustees, except insofar as the 1940 Act may require the election by shareholders. As a result, no annual or regular meetings of shareholders will be held unless matters arise requiring a vote of shareholders under the Agreement and Declaration of Trust or the 1940 Act.

 

 

 

INVESTMENTS AND RISKS


 

The investment objective of the Fund and the descriptions of the Fund's principal investment strategies are set forth under the "Investment Objective,” “Principal Investment Strategies,” and “Principal Investment Risks" sections of the Prospectus. The Fund's investment objective is not fundamental and may be changed by the Board upon 60 days’ written notice to shareholders.

 

The following pages contain more detailed information about the types of instruments in which the Fund may invest, strategies the Adviser may employ in pursuit of the Fund's investment objective and a summary of related risks.

 

Equity Securities

 

Equity securities in which the Fund invests include common stocks, preferred stocks and securities convertible into common stocks, such as convertible bonds, warrants, rights, options, partnership interests and other investment companies including exchange traded funds (“ETFs”), American Depositary Receipts (“ADRs”), European Depositary Receipts (“EDRs”) and Global Depositary Receipts (“GDRs”). The value of equity securities varies in response to many factors, including the activities and financial condition of individual companies, the business market in which individual companies compete and general market and economic conditions. Equity securities fluctuate in value, often based on factors unrelated to the value of the issuer of the securities, and such fluctuations can be significant.

 

Common Stock

 

Common stock represents an equity (ownership) interest in a company, and usually possesses voting rights and earns dividends. Dividends on common stock are not fixed but are declared at the discretion of the issuer. Common stock generally represents the riskiest investment in a company. In addition, common stock generally has the greatest appreciation and depreciation potential because increases and decreases in earnings are usually reflected in a company's stock price.

 

Depositary Receipts

 

The Fund may invest in sponsored and unsponsored ADRs, which are receipts issued by an American bank or trust company evidencing ownership of underlying securities issued by a foreign issuer. ADRs, in registered form, are designed for use in U.S. securities markets. Unsponsored ADRs may be created without the participation of the foreign issuer. Holders of these ADRs generally bear all the costs of the ADR facility, whereas foreign issuers typically bear certain costs in a sponsored ADR. The bank or trust company depositary of an unsponsored ADR may be under no obligation to distribute shareholder communications received from the foreign issuer or to pass through voting rights. Many of the risks described below regarding foreign securities apply to investments in ADRs.

 

Income Trusts

 

The Fund may invest in income trusts which are investment trusts that hold assets that are income producing. The income is passed on to the "unitholders." Each income trust has an operating risk based on its underlying business. The term may also be used to designate a legal entity, capital structure and ownership vehicle for certain assets or businesses. Shares or "trust units" are traded on

 

securities exchanges just like stocks. Income is passed on to the investors, called unitholders, through monthly or quarterly distributions. Historically, distributions have typically been higher than dividends on common stocks. The unitholders are the beneficiaries of a trust, and their units represent their right to participate in the income and capital of the trust. Income trusts generally invest funds in assets that provide a return to the trust and its beneficiaries based on the cash flows of an underlying business. This return is often achieved through the acquisition by the trust of equity and debt instruments, royalty interests or real properties. The trust can receive interest, royalty or lease payments from an operating entity carrying on a business, as well as dividends and a return of capital.

 

Each income trust has an operating risk based on its underlying business; and, typically, the higher the yield, the higher the risk. They also have additional risk factors, including, but not limited to, poorer access to debt markets. Similar to a dividend paying stock, income trusts do not guarantee minimum distributions or even return of capital. If the business starts to lose money, the trust can reduce or even eliminate distributions; this is usually accompanied by sharp losses in a unit's market value. Since the yield is one of the main attractions of income trusts, there is the risk that trust units will decline in value if interest rates offering in competing markets, such as in the cash/treasury market, increase. Interest rate risk is also present within the trusts themselves because they hold very long term capital assets (e.g. pipelines, power plants, etc.), and much of the excess distributable income is derived from a maturity (or duration) mismatch between the life of the asset, and the life of the financing associated with it. In an increasing interest rate environment, not only does the attractiveness of trust distributions decrease, but quite possibly, the distributions may themselves decrease, leading to a double whammy of both declining yield and substantial loss of unitholder value. Because most income is passed on to unitholders, rather than reinvested in the business, in some cases, a trust can become a wasting asset unless more equity is issued. Because many income trusts pay out more than their net income, the unitholder equity (capital) may decline over time. To the extent that the value of the trust is driven by the deferral or reduction of tax, any change in government tax regulations to remove the benefit will reduce the value of the trusts. Generally, income trusts also carry the same risks as dividend paying stocks that are traded on stock markets.

 

Publicly Traded Partnerships

 

The Fund may invest in publicly traded partnerships ("PTPs"). PTPs are limited partnerships the interests in which (known as "units") are traded on public exchanges, just like corporate stock. PTPs are limited partnerships that provide an investor with a direct interest in a group of assets (generally, oil and gas properties). Publicly traded partnership units typically trade publicly, like stock, and thus may provide the investor more liquidity than ordinary limited partnerships. Publicly traded partnerships are also called master limited partnerships and public limited partnerships. A limited partnership has one or more general partners (they may be individuals, corporations, partnerships or another entity) which manage the partnership, and limited partners, which provide capital to the partnership but have no role in its management. When an investor buys units in a PTP, he or she becomes a limited partner. PTPs are formed in several ways. A non-traded partnership may decide to go public. Several non-traded partnerships may "roll up" into a single PTP. A corporation may spin off a group of assets or part of its business into a PTP of which it is the general partner, either to realize what it believes to be the assets' full value or as an alternative to issuing debt. A corporation may fully convert to a PTP, although since 1986 the tax consequences have made this an unappealing option; or, a newly formed company may operate as a PTP from its inception.

 

 

There are different types of risks to investing in PTPs including regulatory risks and interest rate risks. Currently most partnerships enjoy pass through taxation of their income to partners, which avoids double taxation of earnings. If the government were to change PTP business tax structure, unitholders would not be able to enjoy the relatively high yields in the sector for long. In addition, PTPs which charge government-regulated fees for transportation of oil and gas products through their pipelines are subject to unfavorable changes in government-approved rates and fees, which would affect a PTPs revenue stream negatively. PTPs also carry some interest rate risks. During increases in interest rates, PTPs may not produce decent returns to shareholders.

 

Real Estate Investment Trusts

 

The Fund may invest in securities of real estate investment trusts ("REITs"). REITs are publicly traded corporations or trusts that specialize in acquiring, holding and managing residential, commercial or industrial real estate. A REIT is not taxed at the entity level on income distributed to its shareholders or unitholders if it distributes to shareholders or unitholders at least 95% of its taxable income for each taxable year and complies with regulatory requirements relating to its organization, ownership, assets and income.

 

REITs generally can be classified as "Equity REITs", "Mortgage REITs" and "Hybrid REITs." An Equity REIT invests the majority of its assets directly in real property and derives its income primarily from rents and from capital gains on real estate appreciation, which are realized through property sales. A Mortgage REIT invests the majority of its assets in real estate mortgage loans and services its income primarily from interest payments. A Hybrid REIT combines the characteristics of an Equity REIT and a Mortgage REIT. Although the Fund can invest in all three kinds of REITs, its emphasis is expected to be on investments in Equity REITs.

 

Investments in the real estate industry involve particular risks. The real estate industry has been subject to substantial fluctuations and declines on a local, regional and national basis in the past and may continue to be in the future. Real property values and income from real property continue to be in the future. Real property values and income from real property may decline due to general and local economic conditions, overbuilding and increased competition, increases in property taxes and operating expenses, changes in zoning laws, casualty or condemnation losses, regulatory limitations on rents, changes in neighborhoods and in demographics, increases in market interest rates, or other factors. Factors such as these may adversely affect companies that own and operate real estate directly, companies that lend to such companies, and companies that service the real estate industry.

 

Investments in REITs also involve risks. Equity REITs will be affected by changes in the values of and income from the properties they own, while Mortgage REITs may be affected by the credit quality of the mortgage loans they hold. In addition, REITs are dependent on specialized management skills and on their ability to generate cash flow for operating purposes and to make distributions to shareholders or unitholders REITs may have limited diversification and are subject to risks associated with obtaining financing for real property, as well as to the risk of self-liquidation. REITs also can be adversely affected by their failure to qualify for tax-free pass-through treatment of their income under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, or their failure to maintain an exemption from registration under the 1940 Act. By investing in REITs indirectly through the Fund, a shareholder bears not only a proportionate share of the expenses of the Fund, but also may indirectly bear similar expenses of some of the REITs in which it invests.

 

 

United States Government Obligations

 

These consist of various types of marketable securities issued by the United States Treasury, i.e., bills, notes and bonds. Such securities are direct obligations of the United States government and differ mainly in the length of their maturity. Treasury bills, the most frequently issued marketable government security, have a maturity of up to one year and are issued on a discount basis. The Fund may also invest in Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities (“TIPS”). TIPS are special types of treasury bonds that were created in order to offer bond investors protection from inflation. The values of the TIPS are automatically adjusted to the inflation rate as measured by the Consumer Price Index (“CPI”). If the CPI goes up by half a percent, the value of the bond (the TIPS) would also go up by half a percent. If the CPI falls, the value of the bond does not fall because the government guarantees that the original investment will stay the same. TIPS decline in value when real interest rates rise. However, in certain interest rate environments, such as when real interest rates are rising faster than nominal interest rates, TIPS may experience greater losses than other fixed income securities with similar duration.

 

United States Government Agency Obligations

 

These consist of debt securities issued by agencies and instrumentalities of the United States government, including the various types of instruments currently outstanding or which may be offered in the future. Agencies include, among others, the Federal Housing Administration, Government National Mortgage Association ("GNMA"), Farmer's Home Administration, Export-Import Bank of the United States, Maritime Administration, and General Services Administration. Instrumentalities include, for example, each of the Federal Home Loan Banks, the National Bank for Cooperatives, the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation ("FHLMC"), the Farm Credit Banks, the Federal National Mortgage Association ("FNMA"), and the United States Postal Service. These securities are either: (i) backed by the full faith and credit of the United States government (e.g., United States Treasury Bills); (ii) guaranteed by the United States Treasury (e.g., GNMA mortgage-backed securities); (iii) supported by the issuing agency's or instrumentality's right to borrow from the United States Treasury (e.g., FNMA Discount Notes); or (iv) supported only by the issuing agency's or instrumentality's own credit (e.g., Tennessee Valley Association). On September 7, 2008, the U.S. Treasury Department and the Federal Housing Finance Authority (the "FHFA") announced that FNMA and FHLMC had been placed into conservatorship, a statutory process designed to stabilize a troubled institution with the objective of returning the entity to normal business operations. The U.S. Treasury Department and the FHFA at the same time established a secured lending facility and a Secured Stock Purchase Agreement with both FNMA and FHLMC to ensure that each entity had the ability to fulfill its financial obligations. The FHFA announced that it does not anticipate any disruption in pattern of payments or ongoing business operations of FNMA and FHLMC.

 

Government-related guarantors (i.e., not backed by the full faith and credit of the United States government) include FNMA and FHLMC. FNMA is a government-sponsored corporation owned entirely by private stockholders. It is subject to general regulation by the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development. FNMA purchases conventional (i.e., not insured or guaranteed by any government agency) residential mortgages from a list of approved seller/servicers which include state and federally chartered savings and loan associations, mutual savings banks, commercial banks and credit unions and mortgage bankers. Pass-through securities issued by FNMA are guaranteed as to timely payment of principal and interest by FNMA but are not backed by the full faith and credit of the United States government.

 

 

FHLMC was created by Congress in 1970 for the purpose of increasing the availability of mortgage credit for residential housing. It is a government-sponsored corporation formerly owned by the twelve Federal Home Loan Banks and now owned entirely by private stockholders. FHLMC issues participation certificates ("PCs"), which represent interests in conventional mortgages from FHLMC's national portfolio. FHLMC guarantees the timely payment of interest and ultimate collection of principal, but PCs are not backed by the full faith and credit of the United States government. Commercial banks, savings and loan institutions, private mortgage insurance companies, mortgage bankers and other secondary market issuers also create pass-through pools of conventional residential mortgage loans. Such issuers may, in addition, be the originators and/or servicers of the underlying mortgage loans as well as the guarantors of the mortgage-related securities. Pools created by such nongovernmental issuers generally offer a higher rate of interest than government and government-related pools because there are no direct or indirect government or agency guarantees of payments in the former pools. However, timely payment of interest and principal of these pools may be supported by various forms of insurance or guarantees, including individual loan, title, pool and hazard insurance and letters of credit. The insurance and guarantees are issued by governmental entities, private insurers and the mortgage poolers.

 

Securities of Other Investment Companies

 

The Fund may invest in securities issued by other investment companies. The Fund intends to limit its investments in accordance with applicable law or as permitted by Rule 12d1-4. Among other things, such law would limit these investments so that, as determined immediately after a securities purchase is made by the Fund: (a) not more than 5% of the value of its total assets will be invested in the securities of any one investment company (the "5% Limitation"); (b) not more than 10% of the value of its total assets will be invested in the aggregate in securities of investment companies as a group (the "10% Limitation"); (c) not more than 3% of the outstanding voting stock of any one investment company will be owned by the Fund (the "3% Limitation"); and (d) not more than 10% of the outstanding voting stock of any one closed-end investment company will be owned by the Fund together with all other investment companies that have the same advisor. Under certain sets of conditions, different sets of restrictions may be applicable. As a shareholder of another investment company, the Fund would bear, along with other shareholders, its proportionate share of that investment company’s expenses, including advisory fees. These expenses would be in addition to the advisory and other expenses that the Fund bears directly in connection with its own operations. Investment companies in which the Fund may invest may also impose a sales or distribution charge in connection with the purchase or redemption of their shares and other types of commissions or charges. Such charges will be payable by the Fund and, therefore, will be borne directly by the Fund’s shareholders.

 

To the extent applicable, the Fund intends to rely on Section 12(d)(1)(F) and Rule 12d1-4 under the 1940 Act which in conjunction with one another allow registered investment companies (such as the Fund) to exceed the 3%, 5% and 10% Limitation and the 10% Limitations, provided the aggregate sales loads any investor pays (i.e., the combined distribution expenses of both the acquiring fund and the acquired funds) do not exceed the limits on sales loads established by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”) for funds of funds, and the registered investment company “mirror votes” any securities purchased pursuant to Section 12(d)(1)(F).

 

Exchange Traded Funds

 

The Fund may invest in ETFs. An ETF is a type of open-end fund, however, unlike a mutual fund, its shares are bought and sold on a securities exchange at market price and only certain financial

 

institutions called authorized participants may buy and redeem shares of the ETF at net asset value. ETF shares can trade at either a premium or discount to net asset value. Each ETF like a mutual fund is subject to specific risks depending on the type of strategy (actively managed or passively tracking an index) and the composition of its underlying holdings. Investing in an ETF involves substantially the same risks as investing directly in the ETF’s underlying holdings. ETFs pay fees and incur operating expenses, which reduce the total return earned by the ETFs from their underlying holdings. An ETF may not achieve its investment objective or execute its investment strategy effectively, which may adversely affect the Fund’s performance.

 

Futures Contracts

 

A futures contract provides for the future sale by one party and purchase by another party of a specified amount of a specific financial instrument (e.g., units of a stock index) for a specified price, date, time and place designated at the time the contract is made. Brokerage fees are paid when a futures contract is bought or sold and margin deposits must be maintained. Entering into a contract to buy is commonly referred to as buying or purchasing a contract or holding a long position. Entering into a contract to sell is commonly referred to as selling a contract or holding a short position.

 

Unlike when the Fund purchases or sells a security, no price would be paid or received by the Fund upon the purchase or sale of a futures contract. The margin required for a particular futures contract is set by the exchange on which the contract is traded, and may be significantly modified from time to time by the exchange during the term of the contract. Futures contracts are customarily purchased and sold on margins that may range upward from less than 5% of the value of the contract being traded.

 

If the price of an open futures contract changes (by increase in underlying instrument or index in the case of a sale or by decrease in the case of a purchase) so that the loss on the futures contract reaches a point at which the margin on deposit does not satisfy margin requirements, the broker will require an increase in the margin. However, if the value of a position increases because of favorable price changes in the futures contract so that the margin deposit exceeds the required margin, the broker will pay the excess to the Fund.

 

These subsequent payments, called "variation margin," to and from the futures broker, are made on a daily basis as the price of the underlying assets fluctuate making the long and short positions in the futures contract more or less valuable, a process known as "marking to the market." The Fund expects to earn interest income on its margin deposits.

 

Although certain futures contracts, by their terms, require actual future delivery of and payment for the underlying instruments, in practice most futures contracts are usually closed out before the delivery date. Closing out an open futures contract purchase or sale is effected by entering into an offsetting futures contract sale or purchase, respectively, for the same aggregate amount of the identical underlying instrument or index and the same delivery date. If the offsetting purchase price is less than the original sale price, the Fund realizes a gain; if it is more, the Fund realizes a loss. Conversely, if the offsetting sale price is more than the original purchase price, the Fund realizes a gain; if it is less, the Fund realizes a loss. The transaction costs must also be included in these calculations. There can be no assurance, however, that the Fund will be able to enter into an offsetting transaction with respect to a particular futures contract at a particular time.

 

 

Settlement of a stock index futures contract may or may not be in the underlying instrument or index. If not in the underlying instrument or index, then settlement will be made in cash, equivalent over time to the difference between the contract price and the actual price of the underlying asset at the time the stock index futures contract expires.

 

Regulation as a Commodity Pool Operator

The Adviser, on behalf of the Fund, has filed with the National Futures Association, a notice claiming an exclusion from the definition of the term "commodity pool operator" under the Commodity Exchange Act, as amended, and the rules of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission promulgated thereunder, with respect to the Fund’s operations.  Accordingly, the Fund is not currently subject to registration or regulation as a commodity pool operator. 

 

When-Issued, Forward Commitments and Delayed Settlements

 

The Fund may purchase and sell securities on a when-issued, forward commitment or delayed settlement basis.

 

The Fund does not engage in these transactions for speculative purposes but only in furtherance of its investment objectives.

 

The Fund purchases securities on a when-issued, forward commitment or delayed settlement basis only with the intention of completing the transaction. If deemed advisable as a matter of investment strategy, however, the Fund may dispose of or renegotiate a commitment after it is entered into, and may sell securities it has committed to purchase before those securities are delivered to the Fund on the settlement date. In these cases, the Fund may realize a taxable capital gain or loss. When the Fund engages in when-issued, forward commitment and delayed settlement transactions, it relies on the other party to consummate the trade. Failure of such party to do so may result in the Fund incurring a loss or missing an opportunity to obtain a price credited to be advantageous.

 

The market value of the securities underlying a when-issued purchase, forward commitment to purchase securities, or a delayed settlement and any subsequent fluctuations in their market value is taken into account when determining the market value of the Fund starting on the day the Fund agrees to purchase the securities. The Fund does not earn interest on the securities it has committed to purchase until it has paid for and delivered on the settlement date.

 

Short Sales

 

Short Sales (excluding Short Sales “Against the Box”). The Fund may sell securities short. A short sale is a transaction in which the Fund sells securities it does not own in anticipation of a decline in the market price of the securities.

 

To deliver the securities to the buyer, the Fund must arrange through a broker to borrow the securities and, in so doing, the Fund becomes obligated to replace the securities borrowed at their market price at the time of replacement, whatever that price may be. The Fund will make a profit or incur a loss as a result of a short sale depending on whether the price of the securities decreases or increases between the date of the short sale and the date on which the Fund purchases the security to replace the borrowed securities that have been sold. The amount of any loss would be increased (and any gain decreased) by any premium or interest the Fund is required to pay in connection with a short sale.

 

 

The Fund’s obligation to replace the securities borrowed in connection with a short sale will be secured by cash or liquid securities deposited as collateral with the broker.

 

Short Sales “Against the Box.” The Fund may engage in short sales “against the box.” In a short sale, the Fund sells a borrowed security and has a corresponding obligation to the lender to return the identical security. The seller does not immediately deliver the securities sold and is said to have a short position in those securities until delivery occurs. The Fund may engage in a short sale if at the time of the short sale the Fund owns or has the right to obtain without additional cost an equal amount of the security being sold short. This investment technique is known as a short sale “against the box.” It may be entered into by the Fund to, for example, lock in a sale price for a security the Fund does not wish to sell immediately.

 

The Fund may make a short sale as a hedge, when it believes that the price of a security may decline, causing a decline in the value of a security owned by the Fund (or a security convertible or exchangeable for such security). In such case, any future losses in the Fund’s long position should be offset by a gain in the short position and, conversely, any gain in the long position should be reduced by a loss in the short position. The extent to which such gains or losses are reduced will depend upon the amount of the security sold short relative to the amount the Fund owns. There will be certain additional transaction costs associated with short sales “against the box,” but the Fund will endeavor to offset these costs with the income from the investment of the cash proceeds of short sales.

 

If the Fund effects a short sale of securities at a time when it has an unrealized gain on the securities, it may be required to recognize that gain as if it had actually sold the securities (as a “constructive sale”) on the date it effects the short sale. However, such constructive sale treatment may not apply if the Fund closes out the short sale with securities other than the appreciated securities held at the time of the short sale and if certain other conditions are satisfied. Uncertainty regarding the tax consequences of effecting short sales may limit the extent to which the Fund may effect short sales.

 

PORTFOLIO TURNOVER


 

The Fund may sell a portfolio investment soon after its acquisition if the Adviser believes that such a disposition is consistent with attaining the investment objective of the Fund. Portfolio investments may be sold for a variety of reasons, such as a more favorable investment opportunity or other circumstances bearing on the desirability of continuing to hold such investments. A high rate of portfolio turnover (over 100%) may involve correspondingly greater transaction costs, which must be borne directly by the Fund and ultimately by its shareholders. High portfolio turnover may result in the realization of substantial net capital gains. To the extent short-term capital gains are realized, distributions attributable to such gains will be ordinary income for federal income tax purposes. For the fiscal year ended September 30, 2021, the Fund’s portfolio turnover rate was 6%. For the fiscal year ended September 30, 2022, the Fund’s portfolio turnover rate was 0%. The most recent fiscal year has seen a cohesiveness in the strategy and minimal opportunities for tax loss related selling.

 

 

 

INVESTMENT RESTRICTIONS


 

The Fund has adopted the following investment restrictions that may not be changed without approval by a "majority of the outstanding shares" of the Fund which, as used in this SAI, means the vote of the lesser of (a) 67% or more of the shares of the Fund represented at a meeting, if the holders of more than 50% of the outstanding shares of the Fund are present or represented by proxy, or (b) more than 50% of the outstanding shares of the Fund. The Fund may not:

 

1.Issue senior securities. This limitation is not applicable to activities that may be deemed to involve the issuance or sale of a senior security by the Fund, provided that the Fund's engagement in such activities is consistent with or permitted by the 1940 Act, the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder or interpretations of the SEC or its staff;

 

2.Borrow money, except (a) from a bank, provided that immediately after such borrowing there is an asset coverage of 300% for all borrowings of the Fund; or (b) from a bank or other persons for temporary purposes only, provided that such temporary borrowings are in an amount not exceeding 5% of the Fund's total assets at the time when the borrowing is made. This limitation does not preclude the Fund from entering into reverse repurchase transactions, provided that the Fund has an asset coverage of 300% for all borrowings and repurchase commitments of the Fund pursuant to reverse repurchase transactions;

 

3.Purchase securities on margin, participate on a joint or joint and several basis in any securities trading account, or underwrite securities. This limitation does not preclude the Fund from obtaining such short-term credit as may be necessary for the clearance of purchases and sales of its portfolio securities, and except to the extent that the Fund may be deemed an underwriter under the Securities Act, by virtue of disposing of portfolio securities;

 

4.Purchase or sell real estate or interests in real estate. This limitation is not applicable to investments in marketable securities that are secured by or represent interests in real estate. This limitation does not preclude the Fund from investing in mortgage-related securities or investing in companies engaged in the real estate business or that have a significant portion of their assets in real estate (including real estate investment trusts);

 

5.Invest 25% or more of the market value of its assets in the securities of companies engaged in any one industry. This limitation does not apply to investment in the securities of the U.S. government, its agencies or instrumentalities;

 

6.Purchase or sell commodities (unless acquired as a result of ownership of securities or other investments or through commodity futures contracts), except that the Fund may purchase and sell futures contracts and options to the full extent permitted under the 1940 Act, sell foreign currency contracts in accordance with any rules of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, invest in securities or other instruments backed by commodities, and invest in companies that are engaged in a commodities business or have a significant portion of their assets in commodities; or

 

7.Make loans to others, except (a) through the purchase of debt securities in accordance with its investment objectives and policies, (b) to the extent the entry into a repurchase agreement is deemed to be a loan, and (c) by loaning portfolio securities.

 

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The Fund observes the following policies, which are not deemed fundamental and which may be changed without shareholder vote. The Fund may not:

 

1.Invest in any issuer for purposes of exercising control or management;

 

2.Invest in securities of other investment companies except as permitted under the 1940 Act;

 

3.Invest, in the aggregate, more than 15% of its net assets in securities with legal or contractual restrictions on resale, securities, which are not readily marketable and repurchase agreements with more than seven days to maturity. However, if more than 15% of Fund assets (defined as net assets plus the amount of any borrowing for investment purposes) are illiquid, the Adviser will reduce illiquid assets such that they do not represent more than 15% of Fund assets, subject to timing and other considerations which are in the best interests of the Fund and its shareholders; or

 

4.Mortgage, pledge, hypothecate or in any manner transfer, as security for indebtedness, any assets of the Fund except as may be necessary in connection with borrowings described in limitation (1) above. Margin deposits, security interests, liens and collateral arrangements with respect to transactions involving options, futures contracts, short sales and other permitted investments and techniques are not deemed to be a mortgage, pledge or hypothecation of assets for purposes of this limitation.

 

If a restriction on the Fund's investments is adhered to at the time an investment is made, a subsequent change in the percentage of Fund assets invested in certain securities or other instruments, or change in average duration of the Fund's investment portfolio, resulting from changes in the value of the Fund's total assets, will not be considered a violation of the restriction; provided, however, that the asset coverage requirement applicable to borrowings shall be maintained in the manner contemplated by applicable law.

 

INVESTMENT ADVISER


Investment Adviser and Advisory Agreement

 

Dakota Wealth Management, LLC, located at 11376 N. Jog Road, Palm Beach Gardens, FL 33418, serves as investment adviser to the Fund. Subject to the oversight of the Board, the Adviser is responsible for the overall management of the Fund's investment portfolio both directly, including selecting investments and ensuring that investments are made in accordance with the Fund's investment objective, policies and restrictions. The Adviser was established in 2018 for the purpose of advising individuals and institutions. As of September 30, 2022, the Adviser had approximately $2.4 billion in assets under management. The Adviser acquired Persimmon Capital Management L.P., the Fund’s previous adviser, and the Fund’s shareholders approved Dakota Wealth Management, LLC as the new investment adviser to the Fund on October 15, 2021. The same portfolio managers of the Fund employed by the previous adviser continue to service the Fund under the Adviser.

 

Pursuant to an investment advisory agreement between the Trust, on behalf of the Fund, and the Adviser (the “Advisory Agreement”), the Fund pays the Adviser, on a monthly basis, an annual advisory fee equivalent to 1.25% of the Fund's average daily net assets. There was no change in the advisory fee from the previous adviser’s last advisory fee. From January 31, 2019 through December 31, 2020 the previous adviser received an annual fee equal to 1.75%.

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The Advisory Agreement for the Fund was approved by the Board at a meeting held on June 17, 2021 and by the Fund’s shareholders on October 15, 2021. The Advisory Agreement shall continue in effect for two (2) years initially and thereafter shall continue from year to year provided such continuance is approved at least annually by (a) a vote of the majority of the Independent Trustees, cast in person at a meeting specifically called for the purpose of voting on such approval and by (b) the majority vote of either the Board or the vote of a majority of the outstanding shares of the Fund. The Advisory Agreement may be terminated without penalty on no more than 60 days’ written notice by a vote of a majority of the Board, by the Adviser, or by holders of a majority of that Trust's outstanding shares. The Advisory Agreement shall terminate automatically in the event of its assignment.

 

The Adviser has contractually agreed to reduce its fees and to reimburse expenses, at least until February 1, 2024, to ensure that total annual fund operating expenses after fee waiver and/or Expense Reimbursement (excluding (i) any front-end or contingent deferred loads; (ii) brokerage fees and commissions, (iii) acquired fund fees and expenses; (iv) borrowing costs (such as interest and dividend expense on securities sold short); (v) taxes; and (vi) extraordinary expenses, such as litigation expenses (which may include indemnification of Fund officers and Trustees, contractual indemnification of Fund service providers (other than the Adviser))) will not exceed 1.99% of average daily net assets attributable to Class I shares (the “expense limitation”). From January 21, 2019 through December 31, 2020, the expense limitation was at 2.49%. Fee waivers and expense reimbursements are subject to possible recoupment from the Fund in future years on a rolling three year basis (within the three years after the fees have been waived or reimbursed) if such recoupment can be achieved within the lesser of the expense limits then in place or in place at time of waiver. Fee waiver and reimbursement arrangements can decrease the Fund's expenses and boost its performance.

 

The table below provides information about the advisory fees earned by the Adviser by the Fund for the past three years:

 

Fiscal Year Ended Management Fee Fees Earned by the Adviser Advisory Fees (Waived) Recaptured Net Fees Earned by the Adviser Expenses Reimbursed Amount Subject to Recoupment
September 30, 2022 1.25% $514,459 $0 $514,459 - -
September 30, 2021 1.25% $497,324 $29,459 $526,783 - $0
September 30, 2020 1.75%* $544,330 $40,903 $585,233 - $0

* For the period November 28, 2018 to December 31, 2020, the Fund’s management fee was 1.75%. The Fund’s management fee was reduced to 1.25% on January 1, 2021.

 

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PORTFOLIO MANAGERS


 

Representatives of the Adviser serve as portfolio managers of the Fund. The Fund’s portfolio managers are:

 

Investment Adviser Portfolio Managers
Dakota Wealth Management, LLC Greg Horn

Timothy Melly

 

 

As of September 30, 2022, they were responsible for the portfolio management of the following types of accounts in addition to the Fund:

 

Adviser Portfolio Managers:

 

Dakota Wealth Management, LLC
      Other Registered Investment Companies   

Other Pooled

Investment Vehicles

   Other Accounts
Portfolio Manager    Number   

Total

Assets

   Number    Total Assets    Number   

Total

Assets

Greg Horn    0    $0    3    $19,000,000    350    $215,000,000
Timothy Melly   0   $0   3   $19,000,000   0   $0

 

Of the accounts above, none are subject to a performance fee.

 

Conflicts of Interest

 

In general, when a portfolio manager has responsibility for managing more than one account, potential conflicts of interest may arise. Those conflicts could include preferential treatment of one account over others in terms of allocation of resources or of investment opportunities. For instance, the Adviser may receive fees from certain accounts that are higher than the fee it receives from the Fund, or it could receive a performance-based fee on certain accounts. The procedures to address conflicts of interest, if any, are described below.

 

Adviser

 

The Adviser attempts to avoid conflicts of interest that may arise as a result of the management of multiple client accounts. From time to time, the Adviser may recommend or cause a client to invest in a security in which another client of the Adviser has an ownership position. The Adviser has adopted certain procedures intended to treat all client accounts in a fair and equitable manner. To the extent that the Adviser seeks to purchase or sell the same security for multiple client accounts, the Adviser may aggregate, or bunch, these orders where it deems this to be appropriate and consistent with applicable regulatory requirements. When a bunched order is filled in its entirety, each participating client account will participate at the average share prices for the bunched order. When a bunched

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order is only partially filled, the securities purchased will be allocated on a pro-rata basis to each account participating in the bunched order based upon the initial amount requested for the account, subject to certain exceptions. Each participating account will receive the average share price for the bunched order on the same business day.

 

Compensation

 

Dakota Wealth Management, LLC

 

Messrs. Horn and Melly are each compensated through a combination of base salary, discretionary bonus and equity participation in the Adviser.

 

Ownership of Securities.

 

The following table shows the dollar range of equity securities of the Fund beneficially owned by each portfolio manager as of September 30, 2022:

 

Portfolio Manager Dollar Range of Shares Beneficially Owned
Greg Horn $500,001-$1,000,000
Timothy Melly $100,001-$500,000

 

ALLOCATION OF BROKERAGE


 

Specific decisions to purchase or sell securities for the Fund are made by the Portfolio Managers who are employees of the Adviser. Generally, the Adviser are authorized by the Trustees to allocate the orders placed by it on behalf of the Fund to brokers or dealers who may, but need not, provide research or statistical material or other services to the Fund or the Adviser for the Fund's use. Such allocation is to be in such amounts and proportions as the Adviser may determine.

 

In selecting a broker or dealer to execute each particular transaction, the Adviser will generally take the following into consideration:

  • the best net price available;
  • the reliability, integrity and financial condition of the broker or dealer;
  • the size of and difficulty in executing the order; and
  • the value of the expected contribution of the broker or dealer to the investment performance of the Fund on a continuing basis.

 

Brokers or dealers executing a portfolio transaction on behalf of the Fund may receive a commission in excess of the amount of commission another broker or dealer would have charged for executing the transaction if the Adviser determines in good faith that such commission is reasonable in relation to the value of brokerage and research services provided to the Fund. In allocating portfolio brokerage, the Adviser may select brokers or dealers who also provide brokerage, research and other services to other accounts over which the Adviser exercises investment discretion. Some of the services received as the result of Fund transactions may primarily benefit accounts other than the Fund, while services received as the result of portfolio transactions effected on behalf of those other accounts

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may primarily benefit the Fund. For the fiscal year ended September 30, 2020, the Fund paid brokerage commissions of $9,040. For the fiscal year ended September 30, 2021, the Fund paid brokerage commissions of $429. For the fiscal year ended September 30, 2022, the Fund paid brokerage commissions of $0. Brokerage commissions within the strategy are driven in a given year by the opportunities to harvest tax losses within the long portfolio as well as the degree to which the fund is hedged throughout the year. With a strong market backdrop, tax losses selling was subdued, which resulted in futures-based commission as the primary contributor to the decrease in brokerage commissions paid during the recent fiscal years.

 

POLICIES AND PROCEDURES FOR DISCLOSURE OF PORTFOLIO HOLDINGS


 

The Trust has adopted policies and procedures that govern the disclosure of the Fund's portfolio holdings. These policies and procedures are designed to ensure that such disclosure is in the best interests of Fund shareholders.

 

It is the Trust's policy to: (1) ensure that any disclosure of portfolio holdings information is in the best interest of Trust shareholders; (2) protect the confidentiality of portfolio holdings information; (3) have procedures in place to guard against personal trading based on the information; and (4) ensure that the disclosure of portfolio holdings information does not create conflicts between the interests of the Trust's shareholders and those of the Trust's affiliates.

 

The Fund discloses its portfolio holdings by distributing the annual and semi-annual reports to shareholders approximately two months after the end of the fiscal year and semi-annual period. In addition, the Fund discloses its portfolio holdings reports on Form N-CSR two months after the end of each semi-annual period and Form N-PORT 30 days after the end of each calendar quarter.

 

Under limited circumstances, as described below, the Fund's portfolio holdings may be disclosed to, or known by, certain third parties in advance of their filing with the SEC on Form N-CSR or Form N-PORT. In each case, a determination has been made by the Trust’s Chief Compliance Officer that such advance disclosure is supported by a legitimate business purpose of the Fund and that the recipient is subject to a duty to keep the information confidential, including a duty not to trade on the information.

 

Adviser. Personnel of the Adviser, including personnel responsible for managing the Fund's portfolio, may have full daily access to Fund portfolio holdings since that information is necessary in order for them to provide management, administrative, and investment services to the Fund. As required for purposes of analyzing the impact of existing and future market changes on the prices, availability, demand and liquidity of such securities, as well as for the assistance of portfolio managers in the trading of such securities, Adviser personnel may also release and discuss certain portfolio holdings with various broker-dealers.

 

Ultimus Fund Solutions, LLC. Ultimus Fund Solutions, LLC is the transfer agent, fund accountant, administrator and custody administrator for the Fund; therefore, its personnel have full daily access to the Fund's portfolio holdings since that information is necessary in order for them to provide the agreed-upon services for the Trust.

 

U.S. Bank, N.A. U.S. Bank, N.A. is custodian for the Fund; therefore, its personnel have full daily access to the Fund's portfolio holdings since that information is necessary in order for them to provide the agreed-upon services for the Trust.

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RSM US LLP. RSM US LLP is the Fund’s independent registered public accounting firm; therefore, its personnel have access to the Fund’s portfolio holdings in connection with the audit of the Fund’s annual financial statements and providing other audit, tax and related services to the Fund.

 

Counsel to the Trust and Counsel to the Independent Trustees. Counsel to the Trust, counsel to the Independent Trustees and their respective personnel have access to the Fund’s portfolio holdings in connection with the review of the Fund’s annual and semi-annual shareholder reports and SEC filings.

 

Derivatives Risk Consultant. The Trust has engaged a derivatives risk consultant (“Consultant”) to consult with the Board, and the Adviser regarding the effectiveness of derivatives risk management. The Consultant therefore may have access to the Fund’s portfolio holdings in order to provide such services to the Trust.

 

Additions to List of Approved Recipients

 

The Trust's Chief Compliance Officer is the person responsible, and whose prior approval is required, for any disclosure of the Fund's portfolio securities at any time or to any persons other than those described above. In such cases, the recipient must have a legitimate business need for the information in connection with the operation or administration of the Fund, as determined by the Trust’s Chief Compliance Officer, and must be subject to a duty to keep the information confidential and not to trade on any material non-public information. There are no ongoing arrangements in place with respect to the disclosure of portfolio holdings. In no event shall the Fund, the Adviser, or any other party receive any direct or indirect compensation in connection with the disclosure of information about the Fund's portfolio holdings.

Compliance With Portfolio Holdings Disclosure Procedures

 

The Trust's Chief Compliance Officer will report periodically to the Board with respect to compliance with the Fund's portfolio holdings disclosure procedures, and from time to time will provide the Board any updates to the portfolio holdings disclosure policies and procedures.

 

There is no assurance that the Trust's policies on disclosure of portfolio holdings will protect the Fund from the potential misuse of holdings information by individuals or firms in possession of that information.

 

OTHER SERVICE PROVIDERS



Fund Administration, Fund Accounting and Transfer Agent Services

Ultimus Fund Solutions, LLC ("UFS"), which has its principal office at 225 Pictoria Drive, Suite 450, Cincinnati, Ohio 45246, serves as administrator, fund accountant and transfer agent for the Fund pursuant to the Fund Services Agreement (the "Agreement") with the Trust and subject to the supervision of the Board. UFS is primarily in the business of providing administrative, fund accounting and transfer agent services to retail and institutional mutual funds. UFS is an affiliate of the Distributor

16 
 

(as defined below). UFS may also provide persons to serve as officers of the Fund. Such officers may be directors, officers or employees of UFS or its affiliates.

 

The Agreement became effective on August 26, 2021 and will remain in effect for two years from the effective date and will continue thereafter in effect for successive twelve-month periods provided that such continuance is specifically approved at least annually by a majority of the Board. The Agreement is terminable by the Board or UFS on 90 days' written notice and may be assigned by either party, provided that the Trust may not assign the Agreement without the prior written consent of UFS. The Agreement provides that UFS shall be without liability for any action reasonably taken or omitted pursuant to the Agreement.

 

Under the Agreement, UFS performs administrative services, including: (1) monitoring the performance of administrative and professional services rendered to the Trust by others service providers; (2) monitoring Fund holdings and operations for post-trade compliance with the Fund’s registration statement and applicable laws and rules; (3) preparing and coordinating the printing of semi-annual and annual financial statements; (4) preparing selected management reports for performance and compliance analyses; (5) preparing and disseminating materials for and attending and participating in meetings of the Board; (6) determining income and capital gains available for distribution and calculating distributions required to meet regulatory, income, and excise tax requirements; (7) reviewing the Trust's federal, state, and local tax returns as prepared and signed by the Trust's independent public accountants; (8) preparing and maintaining the Trust's operating expense budget to determine proper expense accruals to be charged to the Fund to calculate its daily NAV; (9) assisting in and monitoring the preparation, filing, printing and where applicable, dissemination to shareholders of amendments to the Trust’s Registration Statement on Form N-1A, periodic reports to the Trustees, shareholders and the SEC, notices pursuant to Rule 24f-2, proxy materials and reports to the SEC on Forms N-CEN, N-CSR, N-PORT and N-PX; (10) coordinating the Trust's audits and examinations by assisting the Fund’s independent public accountants; (11) determining, in consultation with others, the jurisdictions in which shares of the Trust shall be registered or qualified for sale and facilitate such registration or qualification; (12) monitoring sales of shares and ensuring that the shares are properly and duly registered with the SEC; (13) monitoring the calculation of performance data for the Fund; (14) preparing, or causing to be prepared, expense and financial reports; (15) preparing authorization for the payment of Trust expenses and pay, from Trust assets, all bills of the Trust; (16) providing information typically supplied in the Investment Company industry to companies that track or report price, performance or other information with respect to investment companies; (17) upon request, assisting the Fund in the evaluation and selection of other service providers, such as independent public accountants, printers, EDGAR providers and proxy solicitors (such parties may be affiliates of UFS); and (18) performing other services, recordkeeping and assistance relating to the affairs of the Trust as the Trust may, from time to time, reasonably request.

 

UFS also provides the Fund with accounting services, including: (i) daily computation of NAV; (ii) maintenance of security ledgers and books and records as required by the 1940 Act; (iii) production of the Fund’s listing of portfolio securities and general ledger reports; (iv) reconciliation of accounting records; (v) calculation of yield and total return for the Fund; (vi) maintenance of certain books and records described in Rule 31a-1 under the 1940 Act, and reconciliation of account information and balances among the Custodian and Adviser; and (vii) monitoring and evaluation of daily income and expense accruals, and sales and redemptions of shares of the Fund.

 

UFS also acts as transfer, dividend disbursing, and shareholder servicing agent for the Fund pursuant to the Agreement. Under the Agreement, UFS is responsible for administering and performing

17 
 

transfer agent functions, dividend distribution, shareholder administration, and maintaining necessary records in accordance with applicable rules and regulations.

 

For the services rendered to the Fund by UFS, the Fund pays UFS the greater of an annual minimum fee or an asset-based fee, which scales downward based upon net assets for fund administration, fund accounting and transfer agency services. The Fund also pays UFS for any out-of-pocket expenses.

 

For the fiscal years ended September 30, the Fund paid the following fees to UFS:

 

Services 2020 2021 2022
Administration $44,453 $64,728 $65,331
Fund Accounting $24,774 $26,078 $26,254
Transfer Agent $28,193 $34,166 $28,744

 

Custodian

 

U.S. Bank, N.A. (the “Custodian”), located at 1555 North River Center Drive, Suite 302, Milwaukee, WI 53212, serves as the custodian of the Fund's assets pursuant to a custody agreement (the "Custody Agreement") by and between the Custodian and the Trust on behalf of the Fund. The Custodian's responsibilities include safeguarding and controlling the Fund's cash and securities, handling the receipt and delivery of securities, and collecting interest and dividends on the Fund's investments. Pursuant to the Custody Agreement, the Custodian also maintains original entry documents and books of record and general ledgers; posts cash receipts and disbursements; and records purchases and sales based upon communications from the Adviser. The Fund may employ foreign sub-custodians that are approved by the Board to hold foreign assets.

 

Compliance Services

 

Northern Lights Compliance Services, LLC ("NLCS"), located at 4221 North 203rd Street, Suite 100, Elkhorn, Nebraska 68022-3474, an affiliate of UFS and the Distributor, provides a Chief Compliance Officer to the Trust as well as related compliance services pursuant to a consulting agreement between NLCS and the Trust. NLCS’s compliance services consist primarily of reviewing and assessing the policies and procedures of the Trust and its service providers pertaining to compliance with applicable federal securities laws, including Rule 38a-1 under the 1940 Act. For the services rendered to the Fund by the NLCS, the Fund pays NLCS an annual fixed fee and an asset-based fee, which scales downward based upon the Fund’s net assets. The Fund also pays NLCS for any out-of-pocket expenses. For the fiscal years ended September 30, 2020, September 30, 2021 and September 30, 2022, the Fund paid $21,667, $24,411 and $24,148, respectively, for compliance services.

 

INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM


 

The Board, on behalf of the Fund, has selected RSM US LLP, located at 555 17th Street, Suite 1200, Denver CO 80202 as the Fund’s independent registered public accounting firm for the current fiscal year. The firm provides services including (i) audit of annual financial statements, and (ii) other audit, tax and related services to the Fund.

 

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LEGAL COUNSEL


 

Thompson Hine LLP, located at 41 South High Street, Suite 1700, Columbus, Ohio 43215 serves as the Trust's legal counsel.

 

DISTRIBUTOR


 

Northern Lights Distributors, LLC, located at 4221 North 203rd Street, Suite 100, Elkhorn, Nebraska 68022-3474 (the "Distributor") serves as the principal underwriter and national distributor for the shares of the Trust pursuant to an underwriting agreement with the Trust (the "Underwriting Agreement"). The Distributor is registered as a broker-dealer under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and each state's securities laws and is a member of FINRA. The offering of the Fund's shares is continuous. The Underwriting Agreement provides that the Distributor, as agent in connection with the distribution of Fund shares, will use reasonable efforts to facilitate the sale of the Fund’s shares.

 

The Underwriting Agreement provides that, unless sooner terminated, it continues in effect for two years initially and shall continue from year to year, subject to annual approval by (a) the Board or a vote of a majority of the outstanding shares, and (b) by a majority of the Trustees who are not interested persons of the Trust or of the Distributor by vote cast in person at a meeting called for the purpose of voting on such approval.

 

The Underwriting Agreement may be terminated by the Fund at any time, without the payment of any penalty, by vote of a majority of the entire Board or by vote of a majority of the outstanding shares of the Fund on 60 days’ written notice to the Distributor, or by the Distributor at any time, without the payment of any penalty, on 60 days’ written notice to the Fund. The Underwriting Agreement will automatically terminate in the event of its assignment.

 

The following table sets forth the total compensation received by the Distributor from the Fund during the fiscal year ended September 30, 2022:

 

Fund Net Underwriting Discounts and Commissions Compensation on Redemptions and Repurchases Brokerage Commissions Other Compensation
Persimmon Long/Short Fund Class I $0 $0 $0 -

 

DESCRIPTION OF SHARES


 

Each share of beneficial interest of the Trust has one vote in the election of Trustees. Cumulative voting is not authorized for the Trust. This means that the holders of more than 50% of the shares voting for the election of Trustees can elect 100% of the Trustees if they choose to do so, and, in that event, the holders of the remaining shares will be unable to elect any Trustees.

 

Shareholders of the Trust and any other future series of the Trust will vote in the aggregate and not by series except as otherwise required by law or when the Board determines that the matter to be voted upon affects only the interest of the shareholders of a particular series or classes. Matters such

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as election of Trustees are not subject to separate voting requirements and may be acted upon by shareholders of the Trust voting without regard to series.

 

The Trust is authorized to issue an unlimited number of shares of beneficial interest. Each share has equal dividend, distribution and liquidation rights. There are no conversion or preemptive rights applicable to any shares of the Fund. All shares issued are fully paid and non-assessable.

 

CODE OF ETHICS


 

The Trust, the Adviser, and the Distributor have each adopted a code of ethics under Rule 17j-1 under the 1940 Act that governs the personal securities transactions of their board members, officers and employees who may have access to current trading information of the Trust. Under the code of ethics adopted by the Trust, the Board is permitted to invest in securities that may also be purchased by the Fund.

 

In addition, the Trust has adopted a code of ethics (the "Code"), which applies only to the Trust's executive officers to ensure that these officers promote professional conduct in the practice of corporate governance and management. The purpose behind these guidelines is to promote (i) honest and ethical conduct, including the ethical handling of actual or apparent conflicts of interest between personal and professional relationships; (ii) full, fair, accurate, timely, and understandable disclosure in reports and documents that a registrant files with, or submits to, the SEC and in other public communications made by the Fund; (iii) compliance with applicable governmental laws, rule and regulations; (iv) the prompt internal reporting of violations of this Code to an appropriate person or persons identified in the Code; and (v) accountability for adherence to the Code.

 

PROXY VOTING POLICIES


 

The Board has adopted Proxy Voting Policies and Procedures ("Policies") on behalf of the Trust, which delegate the responsibility for voting proxies to the Adviser or its designee, subject to the Board's continuing oversight. The Policies require that the Adviser or its designee vote proxies received in a manner consistent with the best interests of the Fund and shareholders. The Policies also require the Adviser or its designee to present to the Board, at least annually, the Adviser's Proxy Policies, or the proxy policies of the Adviser's designee, and a record of each proxy voted by the Adviser or its designee on behalf of the Fund, including a report on the resolution of all proxies identified by the Adviser as involving a conflict of interest.

 

Where a proxy proposal raises a material conflict between the Adviser's interests and the Fund's interests, the Adviser will resolve the conflict by voting in accordance with the policy guidelines or at the client's directive using the recommendation of an independent third party. If the third party's recommendations are not received in a timely fashion, the Adviser will abstain from voting the securities held by that client's account. A copy of the Adviser's proxy voting policies is attached hereto as Appendix A.

 

Information regarding how the Fund voted proxies during the most recent 12-month period ended June 30 is available without charge, upon request, by calling toll free, 1-855-233-8300, or by accessing the information on proxy voting filed by the Fund on Form N-PX on the SEC's website at

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www.sec.gov. In addition, a copy of the Policies is also available by calling 1-855-233-8300 and will be sent within three business days of receipt of a request.

 

PURCHASE, REDEMPTION AND PRICING OF FUND SHARES


 

Calculation of Share Price

 

As indicated in the Prospectus under the heading "How Shares are Priced," the NAV of the Fund's shares, by class, is determined by dividing the total value of the Fund's portfolio investments and other assets, less any liabilities, by the total number of shares outstanding of the Fund.

 

Generally, the Fund’s domestic securities (including underlying ETFs which hold portfolio securities primarily listed on foreign (non-U.S.) exchanges) are valued each day at the last quoted sales price on each security’s primary exchange. Securities traded or dealt in upon one or more securities exchanges for which market quotations are readily available and not subject to restrictions against resale shall be valued at the last quoted sales price on the primary exchange or, in the absence of a sale on the primary exchange, at the mean between the current bid and ask prices on such exchange. Securities primarily traded in the National Association of Securities Dealers’ Automated Quotation System (“NASDAQ”) National Market System for which market quotations are readily available shall be valued using the NASDAQ Official Closing Price. If market quotations are not readily available, securities will be valued at their fair market value as determined in good faith by the Adviser in accordance with procedures approved by the Board and as further described below. Securities that are not traded or dealt in any securities exchange (whether domestic or foreign) and for which over-the-counter market quotations are readily available generally shall be valued at the last sale price or, in the absence of a sale, at the mean between the current bid and ask price on such over-the-counter market.

 

Certain securities or investments for which daily market quotes are not readily available may be valued, pursuant to guidelines established by the Board, with reference to other securities or indices. Debt securities not traded on an exchange may be valued at prices supplied by a pricing agent(s) based on broker or dealer supplied valuations or matrix pricing, a method of valuing securities by reference to the value of other securities with similar characteristics, such as rating, interest rate and maturity. Short-term debt obligations having 60 days or less remaining until maturity, at the time of purchase, may be valued at amortized cost.

 

Exchange traded options are valued at the last quoted sales price or, in the absence of a sale, at the mean between the current bid and ask prices on the exchange on which such options are traded. Futures and options on futures are valued at the settlement price determined by the exchange. Other securities for which market quotes are not readily available are valued at fair value as determined in good faith by the Board or persons acting at their direction. Swap agreements and other derivatives are generally valued daily based upon quotations from market makers or by a pricing service in accordance with the valuation procedures approved by the Board.

 

Under certain circumstances, the Fund may use an independent pricing service to calculate the fair market value of foreign equity securities on a daily basis by applying valuation factors to the last sale price or the mean price as noted above. The fair market values supplied by the independent pricing service will generally reflect market trading that occurs after the close of the applicable foreign markets of comparable securities or the value of other instruments that have a strong correlation to the fair-valued securities. The independent pricing service will also take into account the current relevant

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currency exchange rate. A security that is fair valued may be valued at a price higher or lower than actual market quotations or the value determined by other funds using their own fair valuation procedures. Because foreign securities may trade on days when Fund shares are not priced, the value of securities held by the Fund can change on days when Fund shares cannot be redeemed or purchased. In the event that a foreign security’s market quotations are not readily available or are deemed unreliable (for reasons other than because the foreign exchange on which it trades closed before the Fund’s calculation of NAV), the security will be valued at its fair market value as determined in good faith by the Adviser in accordance with procedures approved by the Board as discussed below. Without fair valuation, it is possible that short-term traders could take advantage of the arbitrage opportunity and dilute the NAV of long-term investors. Fair valuation of the Fund’s portfolio securities can serve to reduce arbitrage opportunities available to short-term traders, but there is no assurance that it will prevent dilution of the Fund’s NAV by short-term traders. In addition, because the Fund may invest in underlying ETFs which hold portfolio securities primarily listed on foreign (non-U.S.) exchanges, and these exchanges may trade on weekends or other days when the underlying ETFs do not price their shares, the value of these portfolio securities may change on days when you may not be able to buy or sell Fund shares.

 

Investments initially valued in currencies other than the U.S. dollar are converted to U.S. dollars using exchange rates obtained from pricing services. As a result, the NAV of the Fund's shares may be affected by changes in the value of currencies in relation to the U.S. dollar. The value of securities traded in markets outside the United States or denominated in currencies other than the U.S. dollar may be affected significantly on a day that the New York Stock Exchange is closed and an investor is not able to purchase, redeem or exchange shares.

 

Fund shares are valued at the close of regular trading on the New York Stock Exchange (normally 4:00 p.m., Eastern time) (the "NYSE Close") on each day that the New York Stock Exchange is open. For purposes of calculating the NAV, the Fund normally use pricing data for domestic equity securities received shortly after the NYSE Close and does not normally take into account trading, clearances or settlements that take place after the NYSE Close. Domestic fixed income and foreign securities are normally priced using data reflecting the earlier closing of the principal markets for those securities. Information that becomes known to the Fund or its agents after the NAV has been calculated on a particular day will not generally be used to retroactively adjust the price of the security or the NAV determined earlier that day.

 

When market quotations are insufficient or not readily available, the Fund may value securities at fair value or estimate their value as determined in good faith by the Board or its designees, pursuant to procedures approved by the Board. Fair valuation may also be used by the Board or its designee if extraordinary events occur after the close of the relevant market but prior to the NYSE Close.

 

The Fund may hold securities, such as private placements, interests in commodity pools, other non-traded securities or temporarily illiquid investments, for which market quotations are not readily available or are determined to be unreliable. These securities will be valued at their fair market value as determined using the “fair value” procedures approved by the Board. The Board has designated the Adviser as its “Valuation Designee” to execute these procedures. The Adviser may also enlist third party consultants such as an audit firm or financial officer of a security issuer on an as-needed basis to assist in determining a security-specific fair value. The Board reviews the execution of this process and the resultant fair value prices at least quarterly to assure the process produces reliable results.

 

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Valuation Process. Fair value determinations are required for the following securities: (i) securities for which market quotations are insufficient or not readily available on a particular business day (including securities for which there is a short and temporary lapse in the provision of a price by the regular pricing source); (ii) securities for which, in the judgment of the Adviser, the prices or values available do not represent the fair value of the instrument. Factors which may cause the Adviser to make such a judgment include, but are not limited to, the following: only a bid price or an asked price is available; the spread between bid and asked prices is substantial; the frequency of sales; the thinness of the market; the size of reported trades; and actions of the securities markets, such as the suspension or limitation of trading; (iii) securities determined to be illiquid; (iv) securities with respect to which an event that will affect the value thereof has occurred (a “significant event”) since the closing prices were established on the principal exchange on which they are traded, but prior to the Fund’s calculation of its NAV. Specifically, interests in commodity pools or managed futures pools are valued on a daily basis by reference to the closing market prices of each futures contract or other asset held by a pool, as adjusted for pool expenses. Restricted securities or illiquid investments, such as private placements or non-traded securities are valued via inputs from the Adviser valuation based upon the current bid for the security from two or more independent dealers or other parties reasonably familiar with the facts and circumstances of the security (who should take into consideration all relevant factors as may be appropriate under the circumstances). If the Adviser is unable to obtain a current bid from such independent dealers or other independent parties, the Adviser shall determine the fair value of such security using the following factors: (i) the type of security; (ii) the cost at date of purchase; (iii) the size and nature of the Fund's holdings; (iv) the discount from market value of unrestricted securities of the same class at the time of purchase and subsequent thereto; (v) information as to any transactions or offers with respect to the security; (vi) the nature and duration of restrictions on disposition of the security and the existence of any registration rights; (vii) how the yield of the security compares to similar securities of companies of similar or equal creditworthiness; (viii) the level of recent trades of similar or comparable securities; (ix) the liquidity characteristics of the security; (x) current market conditions; and (xi) the market value of any securities into which the security is convertible or exchangeable.

 

Standards For Fair Value Determinations. As a general principle, the fair value of a security is the amount that the Fund might reasonably expect to realize upon its current sale. The Trust has adopted Financial Accounting Standards Board Statement of Financial Accounting Standards Codification Topic 820, Fair Value Measurements and Disclosures ("ASC 820"). In accordance with ASC 820, fair value is defined as the price that the Fund would receive upon selling an investment in a timely transaction to an independent buyer in the principal or most advantageous market of the investment. ASC 820 establishes a three-tier hierarchy to maximize the use of observable market data and minimize the use of unobservable inputs and to establish classification of fair value measurements for disclosure purposes. Inputs refer broadly to the assumptions that market participants would use in pricing the asset or liability, including assumptions about risk, for example, the risk inherent in a particular valuation technique used to measure fair value including such a pricing model and/or the risk inherent in the inputs to the valuation technique. Inputs may be observable or unobservable. Observable inputs are inputs that reflect the assumptions market participants would use in pricing the asset or liability developed based on market data obtained from sources independent of the reporting entity. Unobservable inputs are inputs that reflect the reporting entity's own assumptions about the assumptions market participants would use in pricing the asset or liability, developed based on the best information available under the circumstances.

 

Various inputs are used in determining the value of the Fund's investments relating to ASC 820. These inputs are summarized in the three broad levels listed below.

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Level 1 – quoted prices in active markets for identical securities.

 

Level 2 – other significant observable inputs (including quoted prices for similar securities, interest rates, prepayment speeds, credit risk, etc.)

 

Level 3 – significant unobservable inputs (including the Fund’s own assumptions in determining the fair value of investments).

 

The Adviser takes into account the relevant factors and surrounding circumstances, which may include: (i) the nature and pricing history (if any) of the security; (ii) whether any dealer quotations for the security are available; (iii) possible valuation methodologies that could be used to determine the fair value of the security; (iv) the recommendation of a portfolio manager of the Fund with respect to the valuation of the security; (v) whether the same or similar securities are held by other funds managed by the Adviser or other funds and the method used to price the security in those funds; (vi) the extent to which the fair value to be determined for the security will result from the use of data or formulae produced by independent third parties; and (vii) the liquidity or illiquidity of the market for the security.

 

Board’s Determination. The Board meets at least quarterly to consider the valuations provided by the Adviser and to ratify the valuations made for the applicable securities. The Board considers the reports provided by the Adviser, including follow up studies of subsequent market-provided prices when available, in reviewing and determining in good faith the fair value of the applicable portfolio securities.

 

The Trust expects that the New York Stock Exchange (“NYSE”) will be closed on the following holidays: New Year's Day, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, Presidents’ Day, Good Friday, Memorial Day, Juneteenth, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day, and Christmas Day.

 

Purchase of Shares

 

Orders for shares received by the Fund in good order prior to the close of business on the NYSE on each day during such periods that the NYSE is open for trading are priced at the public offering price, which is NAV plus any sales charge, or at NAV per share (if no sales charges apply) computed as of the close of the regular session of trading on the NYSE. Orders received in good order after the close of the NYSE, or on a day it is not open for trading, are priced at the close of such NYSE on the next day on which it is open for trading at the next determined NAV per share plus sales charges, if any.

 

Redemption of Shares

 

The Fund will redeem all or any portion of a shareholder's shares of the Fund when requested in accordance with the procedures set forth in the "How to Redeem Shares" section of the Prospectus. Under the 1940 Act, a shareholder's right to redeem shares and to receive payment therefore may be suspended at times: (a) when the NYSE is closed, other than customary weekend and holiday closings; (b) when trading on that exchange is restricted for any reason; (c) when an emergency exists as a result of which disposal by the Fund of securities owned is not reasonably practicable or it is not reasonably practicable for the Fund to fairly determine the value of net assets, provided that applicable rules and regulations of the SEC (or any succeeding governmental authority) will govern as to whether the conditions prescribed in (b) or (c) exist; or (d) when the SEC by order permits a suspension of the right to redemption or a postponement of the date of payment on redemption.

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In case of suspension of the right of redemption, payment of a redemption request will be made based on the NAV next determined after the termination of the suspension.

 

Supporting documents in addition to those listed under "How to Redeem Shares" in the Prospectus will be required from executors, administrators, trustees, or if redemption is requested by someone other than the shareholder of record. Such documents include, but are not restricted to, stock powers, trust instruments, certificates of death, appointments as executor, certificates of corporate authority and waiver of tax required in some states when settling estates.

 

Redemption Fees

 

A redemption fee of 1.00% of the amount redeemed is assessed on shares that have been redeemed within 60 days of purchase.

 

Waivers of Redemption Fees: The Fund has elected not to impose the redemption fee for:

 

  • redemptions and exchanges of Fund shares acquired through the reinvestment of dividends and distributions;
  • certain types of redemptions and exchanges of Fund shares owned through participant-directed retirement plans;
  • redemptions or exchanges in discretionary asset allocation, fee based or wrap programs ("wrap programs") that are initiated by the sponsor/financial advisor as part of a periodic rebalancing;
  • redemptions or exchanges in a fee based or wrap program that are made as a result of a full withdrawal from the wrap program or as part of a systematic withdrawal plan including the Fund's systematic withdrawal plan;
  • involuntary redemptions, such as those resulting from a shareholder's failure to maintain a minimum investment in the Fund, or to pay shareholder fees; or
  • other types of redemptions as the Adviser or the Trust may determine in special situations and approved by the Trust's or the Adviser's Chief Compliance Officer.

 

TAX STATUS


 

The following discussion is general in nature and should not be regarded as an exhaustive presentation of all possible tax ramifications. All shareholders should consult a qualified tax adviser regarding their investment in the Fund.

 

The Fund intends to continue qualifying as a regulated investment company under Subchapter M of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the "IRS Code"), which requires compliance with certain requirements concerning the sources of its income, diversification of its assets, and the amount and timing of its distributions to shareholders. Such qualification does not involve supervision of management or investment practices or policies by any government agency or bureau. By so qualifying, the Fund should not be subject to federal income or excise tax on its net investment income or net capital gain, which are distributed to shareholders in accordance with the applicable timing requirements. Net investment income and net capital gain of the Fund will be computed in accordance with Section 852 of the IRS Code.

 

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As of September 30, 2022, the components of accumulated earnings/(deficit) on a tax basis were as follows:

 

Undistributed     Undistributed     Post October Loss     Capital Loss     Other     Unrealized     Total  
Ordinary     Long-Term     and     Carry     Book/Tax     Appreciation/     Accumulated  
Income     Gains     Late Year Loss     Forwards     Differences     (Depreciation)     Earnings/(Deficits)  
$     $     $ (151,779 )   $ (441,025 )   $     $ 6,556,921     $ 5,964,117  
                                                     

 

 

Net investment income is made up of dividends and interest less expenses. Net capital gain for a fiscal year is computed by taking into account any capital loss carryforward of the Fund. Capital losses may be carried forward indefinitely and retain the character of the original loss. Capital loss carry forwards are available to offset future realized capital gains. To the extent that these carry forwards are used to offset future capital gains it is probable that the amount offset will not be distributed to shareholders.

 

The Fund intends to distribute all of its net investment income, any excess of net short-term capital gains over net long-term capital losses, and any excess of net long-term capital gains over net short-term capital losses in accordance with the timing requirements imposed by the IRS Code and therefore should not be required to pay any federal income or excise taxes. Distributions of net investment income and net capital gain will be made after the end of each fiscal year, and no later than December 31 of each year. Both types of distributions will be in shares of the Fund unless a shareholder elects to receive cash.

 

As of September 30, 2022, the Fund had capital loss carry forwards (“CLCF”) for federal income tax purposes available to offset future capital gains, as follows:

 

Non-Expiring     Non-Expiring              
Short-Term     Long-Term     Total     CLCF Utilized  
$ 403,532     $ 37,493     $ 441,025     $ 94,276  
                             

 

To be treated as a regulated investment company under Subchapter M of the IRS Code, the Fund must also (a) derive at least 90% of its gross income from dividends, interest, payments with respect to securities loans, net income from certain publicly traded partnerships and gains from the sale or other disposition of securities or foreign currencies, or other income (including, but not limited to, gains from options, futures or forward contracts) derived with respect to the business of investing in such securities or currencies, and (b) diversify its holdings so that, at the end of each fiscal quarter, (i) at least 50% of the market value of the Fund's assets is represented by cash, U.S. government securities and securities of other regulated investment companies, and other securities (for purposes of this calculation, generally limited in respect of any one issuer, to an amount not greater than 5% of the market value of the Fund's assets and 10% of the outstanding voting securities of such issuer) and (ii) not more than 25% of the value of its assets is invested in the securities of (other than U.S. government securities or the securities of other regulated investment companies) any one issuer, two or more issuers which the Fund controls and which are determined to be engaged in the same or similar trades or businesses, or the securities of certain publicly traded partnerships.

 

If the Fund fails to qualify as a regulated investment company under Subchapter M in any fiscal year, it will be treated as a corporation for federal income tax purposes. As such, the Fund would be required to pay income taxes on its net investment income and net realized capital gains, if any, at the

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rates generally applicable to corporations. Shareholders of the Fund generally would not be liable for income tax on the Fund's net investment income or net realized capital gains in their individual capacities. Distributions to shareholders, whether from the Fund's net investment income or net realized capital gains, would be treated as taxable dividends to the extent of current or accumulated earnings and profits of the Fund.

 

The Fund is subject to a 4% nondeductible excise tax on certain undistributed amounts of ordinary income and capital gain under a prescribed formula contained in Section 4982 of the IRS Code. The formula requires payment to shareholders during a calendar year of distributions representing at least 98% of the Fund's ordinary income for the calendar year and at least 98.2% of its capital gain net income (i.e., the excess of its capital gains over capital losses) realized during the one-year period ending October 31 during such year plus 100% of any income that was neither distributed nor taxed to the Fund during the preceding calendar year. Under ordinary circumstances, the Fund expects to time its distributions so as to avoid liability for this tax.

 

The following discussion of tax consequences is for the general information of shareholders that are subject to tax. Shareholders that are IRAs or other qualified retirement plans are exempt from income taxation under the IRS Code.

 

Distributions of taxable net investment income and the excess of net short-term capital gain over net long-term capital loss are taxable to shareholders as ordinary income, unless such distributions are attributable to “qualified dividend income” eligible for the reduced federal income tax rates applicable to long-term capital gains, provided certain holding period and other requirements are satisfied.

 

Distributions of net capital gain ("capital gain dividends") generally are taxable to shareholders as long-term capital gain, regardless of the length of time the shares of the Fund have been held by such shareholders.

 

Certain U.S. shareholders, including individuals and estates and trusts, will be subject to an additional 3.8% Medicare tax on all or a portion of their “net investment income,” which should include dividends from the Fund and net gains from the disposition of shares of the Fund. U.S. shareholders are urged to consult their own tax advisors regarding the implications of the additional Medicare tax resulting from an investment in the Fund.

 

A redemption of Fund shares by a shareholder will result in the recognition of taxable gain or loss in an amount equal to the difference between the amount realized and the shareholder's tax basis in his or her Fund shares. Such gain or loss is treated as a capital gain or loss if the shares are held as capital assets. However, any loss realized upon the redemption of shares within six months from the date of their purchase will be treated as a long-term capital loss to the extent of any amounts treated as capital gain dividends during such six-month period. All or a portion of any loss realized upon the redemption of shares may be disallowed to the extent shares are purchased (including shares acquired by means of reinvested dividends) within 30 days before or after such redemption.

 

Distributions of taxable net investment income and net capital gain will be taxable as described above, whether received in additional cash or shares. Shareholders electing to receive distributions in the form of additional shares will have a cost basis for federal income tax purposes in each share so received equal to the NAV of a share on the reinvestment date.

 

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All distributions of taxable net investment income and net capital gain, whether received in shares or in cash, must be reported by each taxable shareholder on his or her federal income tax return. Dividends or distributions declared in October, November or December as of a record date in such a month, if any, will be deemed to have been received by shareholders on December 31, if paid during January of the following year. Redemptions of shares may result in tax consequences (gain or loss) to the shareholder and are also subject to these reporting requirements.

 

Under the IRS Code, the Fund will be required to report to the Internal Revenue Service all distributions of taxable income and capital gains as well as gross proceeds from the redemption or exchange of Fund shares, except in the case of certain exempt shareholders. Under the backup withholding provisions of Section 3406 of the IRS Code, distributions of taxable net investment income and net capital gain and proceeds from the redemption or exchange of the shares of a regulated investment company may be subject to withholding of federal income tax in the case of non-exempt shareholders who fail to furnish the Investment Company with their taxpayer identification numbers and with required certifications regarding their status under the federal income tax law, or if the Fund is notified by the IRS or a broker that withholding is required due to an incorrect TIN or a previous failure to report taxable interest or dividends. If the withholding provisions are applicable, any such distributions and proceeds, whether taken in cash or reinvested in additional shares, will be reduced by the amounts required to be withheld.

 

Payments to a shareholder that is either a foreign financial institution (“FFI”) or a non-financial foreign entity (“NFFE”) within the meaning of the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (“FATCA”) may be subject to a generally nonrefundable 30% withholding tax on: (a) income dividends paid by the Fund and (b) certain capital gain distributions and the proceeds arising from the sale of Fund shares paid by the Fund. FATCA withholding tax generally can be avoided: (a) by an FFI, subject to any applicable intergovernmental agreement or other exemption, if it enters into a valid agreement with the IRS to, among other requirements, report required information about certain direct and indirect ownership of foreign financial accounts held by U.S. persons with the FFI and (b) by an NFFE, if it: (i) certifies that it has no substantial U.S. persons as owners or (ii) if it does have such owners, reports information relating to them. The Fund may disclose the information that it receives from its shareholders to the IRS, non-U.S. taxing authorities or other parties as necessary to comply with FATCA. Withholding also may be required if a foreign entity that is a shareholder of the Fund fails to provide the Fund with appropriate certifications or other documentation concerning its status under FATCA.

 

Options, Futures, Forward Contracts and Swap Agreements

 

To the extent such investments are permissible for the Fund, the Fund's transactions in options, futures contracts, hedging transactions, forward contracts, straddles and foreign currencies will be subject to special tax rules (including mark-to-market, constructive sale, straddle, wash sale and short sale rules), the effect of which may be to accelerate income to the Fund, defer losses to the Fund, cause adjustments in the holding periods of the Fund's securities, convert long-term capital gains into short-term capital gains and convert short-term capital losses into long-term capital losses. These rules could therefore affect the amount, timing and character of distributions to shareholders.

 

To the extent such investments are permissible, certain of the Fund's hedging activities (including its transactions, if any, in foreign currencies or foreign currency-denominated instruments) are likely to produce a difference between its book income and its taxable income. If the Fund's book income exceeds its taxable income, the distribution (if any) of such excess book income will be treated

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as (i) a dividend to the extent of the Fund's remaining earnings and profits (including earnings and profits arising from tax-exempt income), (ii) thereafter, as a return of capital to the extent of the recipient's basis in the shares, and (iii) thereafter, as gain from the sale or exchange of a capital asset. If the Fund's book income is less than taxable income, the Fund could be required to make distributions exceeding book income to qualify as a regular investment company that is accorded special tax treatment.

 

Passive Foreign Investment Companies

 

Investment by the Fund in certain passive foreign investment companies ("PFICs") could subject the Fund to a U.S. federal income tax (including interest charges) on distributions received from the company or on proceeds received from the disposition of shares in the company, which tax cannot be eliminated by making distributions to Fund shareholders. However, the Fund may elect to treat a PFIC as a qualified electing fund ("QEF"), in which case the Fund will be required to include its share of the company's income and net capital gains annually, regardless of whether they receives any distribution from the company.

 

The Fund also may make an election to mark the gains (and to a limited extent losses) in such holdings "to the market" as though it had sold and repurchased its holdings in those PFICs on the last day of the Fund's taxable year. Such gains and losses are treated as ordinary income and loss. The QEF and mark-to-market elections may accelerate the recognition of income (without the receipt of cash) and increase the amount required to be distributed for the Fund to avoid taxation. Making either of these elections therefore may require the Fund to liquidate other investments (including when it is not advantageous to do so) to meet its distribution requirement, which also may accelerate the recognition of gain and affect the Fund's total return.

 

Foreign Currency Transactions

 

The Fund's transactions in foreign currencies, foreign currency-denominated debt securities and certain foreign currency options, futures contracts and forward contracts (and similar instruments) may give rise to ordinary income or loss to the extent such income or loss results from fluctuations in the value of the foreign currency concerned.

 

Foreign Taxation

 

Income received by the Fund from sources within foreign countries may be subject to withholding and other taxes imposed by such countries. Tax treaties and conventions between certain countries and the U.S. may reduce or eliminate such taxes. If more than 50% of the value of the Fund's total assets at the close of its taxable year consists of securities of foreign corporations, the Fund may be able to elect to "pass through" to the Fund's shareholders the amount of eligible foreign income and similar taxes paid by the Fund. If this election is made, a shareholder generally subject to tax will be required to include in gross income (in addition to taxable dividends actually received) his or her pro rata share of the foreign taxes paid by the Fund, and may be entitled either to deduct (as an itemized deduction) his or her pro rata share of foreign taxes in computing his or her taxable income or to use it as a foreign tax credit against his or her U.S. federal income tax liability, subject to certain limitations. In particular, a shareholder must hold his or her shares (without protection from risk of loss) on the ex-dividend date and for at least 15 more days during the 30-day period surrounding the ex-dividend date to be eligible to claim a foreign tax credit with respect to a gain dividend. No deduction for foreign taxes

29 
 

may be claimed by a shareholder who does not itemize deductions. Each shareholder will be notified within 60 days after the close of the Fund's taxable year whether the foreign taxes paid by the Fund will "pass through" for that year.

 

Generally, a credit for foreign taxes is subject to the limitation that it may not exceed the shareholder's U.S. tax attributable to his or her total foreign source taxable income. For this purpose, if the pass-through election is made, the source of the Fund's income will flow through to shareholders of the Fund. With respect to the Fund, gains from the sale of securities will be treated as derived from U.S. sources and certain currency fluctuation gains, including fluctuation gains from foreign currency-denominated debt securities, receivables and payables will be treated as ordinary income derived from U.S. sources. The limitation on the foreign tax credit is applied separately to foreign source passive income, and to certain other types of income. A shareholder may be unable to claim a credit for the full amount of his or her proportionate share of the foreign taxes paid by the Fund. The foreign tax credit can be used to offset only 90% of the revised alternative minimum tax imposed on corporations and individuals and foreign taxes generally are not deductible in computing alternative minimum taxable income.

 

Original Issue Discount and Pay-In-Kind Securities

 

Current federal tax law requires the holder of a U.S. Treasury or other fixed income zero coupon security to accrue as income each year a portion of the discount at which the security was purchased, even though the holder receives no interest payment in cash on the security during the year. In addition, pay-in-kind securities will give rise to income which is required to be distributed and is taxable even though the Fund holding the security receives no interest payment in cash on the security during the year.

 

Some of the debt securities (with a fixed maturity date of more than one year from the date of issuance) that may be acquired by the Fund may be treated as debt securities that are issued originally at a discount. Generally, the amount of the original issue discount ("OID") is treated as interest income and is included in income over the term of the debt security, even though payment of that amount is not received until a later time, usually when the debt security matures. A portion of the OID includable in income with respect to certain high-yield corporate debt securities (including certain pay-in-kind securities) may be treated as a dividend for U.S. federal income tax purposes.

 

Some of the debt securities (with a fixed maturity date of more than one year from the date of issuance) that may be acquired by the Fund in the secondary market may be treated as having market discount. Generally, any gain recognized on the disposition of, and any partial payment of principal on, a debt security having market discount is treated as ordinary income to the extent the gain, or principal payment, does not exceed the "accrued market discount" on such debt security. Market discount generally accrues in equal daily installments. The Fund may make one or more of the elections applicable to debt securities having market discount, which could affect the character and timing of recognition of income.

 

Some debt securities (with a fixed maturity date of one year or less from the date of issuance) that may be acquired by the Fund may be treated as having acquisition discount, or OID in the case of certain types of debt securities. Generally, the Fund will be required to include the acquisition discount, or OID, in income over the term of the debt security, even though payment of that amount is not received until a later time, usually when the debt security matures. The Fund may make one or more of the elections applicable to debt securities having acquisition discount, or OID, which could affect the character and timing of recognition of income.

30 
 

 

If the Fund holds the foregoing kinds of securities, it may be required to pay out as an income distribution each year an amount, which is greater than the total amount of cash interest the Fund actually received. Such distributions may be made from the cash assets of the Fund or by liquidation of portfolio securities, if necessary (including when it is not advantageous to do so). The Fund may realize gains or losses from such liquidations. In the event the Fund realizes net capital gains from such transactions, its shareholders may receive a larger capital gain distribution, if any, than they would in the absence of such transactions.

 

Shareholders of the Fund may be subject to state and local taxes on distributions received from the Fund and on redemptions of the Fund's shares.

 

A brief explanation of the form and character of the distribution accompany each distribution. In January of each year the Fund issues to each shareholder a statement of the federal income tax status of all distributions.

 

Shareholders should consult their tax advisers about the application of federal, state and local and foreign tax law in light of their particular situation.

 

ANTI-MONEY LAUNDERING PROGRAM


 

The Trust has established an Anti-Money Laundering Compliance Program (the "Program") as required by the Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act of 2001 ("USA PATRIOT Act"). To ensure compliance with this law, the Program provides for the development of internal practices, procedures and controls, designation of anti-money laundering compliance officers, an ongoing training program and an independent audit function to determine the effectiveness of the Program. The Trust's secretary serves as its Anti-Money Laundering Compliance Officer.

 

Procedures to implement the Program include, but are not limited to, determining that the Distributor and Transfer Agent have established proper anti-money laundering procedures, reporting suspicious and/or fraudulent activity and a providing a complete and thorough review of all new opening account applications. The Trust will not transact business with any person or entity whose identity cannot be adequately verified under the provisions of the USA PATRIOT Act.

 

As a result of the Program, the Trust may be required to "freeze" the account of a shareholder if the shareholder appears to be involved in suspicious activity or if certain account information matches information on government lists of known terrorists or other suspicious persons, or the Trust may be required to transfer the account or proceeds of the account to a governmental agency.

 

CONTROL PERSONS AND PRINCIPAL HOLDERS OF SECURITIES


 

A principal shareholder is any person who owns (either of record or beneficially) 5% or more of the outstanding shares of the Fund. A control person is one who owns, either directly or indirectly more than 25% of the voting securities of a company or acknowledges the existence of control. A shareholder owning of record or beneficially more than 25% of the Fund's outstanding shares may be considered a

31 
 

controlling person. That shareholder's vote could have more significant effect on matters presented at a shareholder's meeting than votes of other shareholders.

 

As of January 3, 2023, the following shareholder(s) of record owned 5% or more of the outstanding shares of the Fund.

 

Name & Address Shares Percentage of Class

CHARLES SCHWAB & CO INC/SPECIAL CUSTODY A/C FBO

CUSTOMERS

ATTN: MUTUAL FUNDS

211 MAIN STREET

SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94105

 

885,889.3450 26.79%

PERSHING LLC

P. O. BOX 2052

JERSEY CITY, NJ 07303-9998

442,908.5120 13.40%

PERSHING LLC

P. O. BOX 2052

JERSEY CITY, NJ 07303-9998

468,596.2500 14.17%

PERSHING LLC

P. O. BOX 2052

JERSEY CITY, NJ 07303-9998

394,558.0100 11.93%

PERSHING LLC

P. O. BOX 2052

JERSEY CITY, NJ 07303-9998

276,741.2780 8.37%

 

Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. is organized in the state of California and the parent company is Schwab Holdings Inc.; organized in the state of Delaware. The ultimate parent company of Schwab Holdings, Inc. is Charles Schwab Corporation; organized in the state of Delaware.

 

Management Ownership Information.  As of January 3, 2023, the Trustees and officers of the Trust, as a group, beneficially owned less than 1% of the outstanding shares of the Fund.

 

MANAGEMENT


 

The business of the Trust is managed under the direction of the Board in accordance with the Agreement and Declaration of Trust and the Trust's By-laws (the "Governing Documents"), which have been filed with the SEC and are available upon request. The Board consists of four individuals, all of whom are not "interested persons" (as defined under the 1940 Act) of the Trust and the Adviser ("Independent Trustees"). Pursuant to the Governing Documents, the Board shall elect officers including a President, a Secretary, a Treasurer, a Principal Executive Officer and a Principal Accounting Officer. The Board retains the power to conduct, operate and carry on the business of the Trust and has the power to incur and pay any expenses, which, in the opinion of the Board, are necessary or incidental to carry out any of the Trust's purposes. The Board, officers, employees and agents of the Trust, when acting in such capacities, shall not be subject to any personal liability except for his or her own bad faith, willful misfeasance, gross negligence or reckless disregard of his or her duties.

 

32 
 

Board Leadership Structure. The Board is led by John V. Palancia, who has served as the Chairman of the Board (the “Chairman”) since 2014. The Board has not appointed a Lead Independent Trustee because all Trustees are Independent Trustees. Under the Governing Documents, the Chairman is responsible for (a) presiding at Board meetings, (b) calling special meetings on an as-needed basis, and (c) execution and administration of Trust policies, including (i) setting the agendas for Board meetings and (ii) providing information to the Board members in advance of each Board meeting and between Board meetings. Generally, the Trust believes it best to have a non-executive Chairman, who together with the President (principal executive officer), are seen by its shareholders, business partners and other stakeholders as providing strong leadership. The Trust believes that its Chairman/Lead Independent Trustee, the independent chair of the Audit Committee, and, as an entity, the full Board, provide effective leadership that is in the best interests of the Trust, its funds and each shareholder.

 

Board of Trustees Risk Oversight. The Board is comprised entirely of Independent Trustees with an Audit Committee with a separate chair. The Board is responsible for overseeing risk management, and the Board regularly engages in discussions of risk management and receives compliance reports that inform its oversight of risk management from its Chief Compliance Officer at quarterly meetings and on an ad hoc basis, when and if necessary. The Audit Committee considers financial and risk reporting within its area of responsibilities. Generally, the Board believes that its oversight of material risks is adequately maintained through the compliance-reporting chain where the Chief Compliance Officer is the primary recipient and communicator of such risk-related information.

 

Trustee Qualifications.

 

Generally, the Fund believes that each Trustee is competent to serve because of his or her individual overall merits including his or her: (i) experience, (ii) qualifications, (iii) attributes and (iv) skills.

 

Patricia Luscombe, CFA, has more than 30 years in financial advisory and valuation services. She has delivered a broad range of corporate finance advice including fairness opinions and valuations. Ms. Luscombe joined Lincoln International in 2007 as a Managing Director and co-head of Lincoln's Valuations & Opinions Group. In this position, she assists regulated investment funds, business development companies, private equity funds and hedge funds in the valuation of illiquid securities for fair value accounting purposes. Ms. Luscombe's clients range from closely held businesses to large, publicly-traded companies. Previously, Ms. Luscombe spent 16 years with Duff & Phelps Corporation, as a Managing Director in the firm's valuation and financial advisory business. Prior to joining Duff & Phelps Corporation, Ms. Luscombe was an Associate at Smith Barney, a division of Citigroup Capital Markets, Inc., where she managed a variety of financial transactions, including mergers and acquisitions, leveraged buyouts, and equity and debt financings. Ms. Luscombe is a member of the Chicago Chapter of the Association for Corporate Growth, the Chartered Financial Analyst Society of Chicago and former president of the Chicago Finance Exchange. Ms. Luscombe holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics from Stanford University, a Masters degree in economics from the University of Chicago and a Master of Business Administration degree from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. In addition, Ms. Luscombe is licensed under the Series 24, 79 and 63 of FINRA.

 

John V. Palancia has over 40 years of business experience in the financial services industry including serving as the Director of Global Futures Operations for Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith, Inc. (“Merrill Lynch”). Mr. Palancia possesses an in depth understanding of broker-dealer operations from having served in various management capacities and has held industry registrations in both

33 
 

securities and futures. Based on his service at Merrill Lynch, he also possesses a strong understanding of risk management, balance sheet analysis, compliance and the regulatory framework under which regulated financial entities must operate. Additionally, he is well versed in the regulatory framework under which investment companies must operate based on his service as a member of three other mutual fund boards. This practical and extensive experience in the securities industry provides valuable insight into fund operations and enhances his ability to effectively serve as chairman of the Board. Mr. Palancia is a member of the Investment Company Institute and Mutual Fund Directors Forum. Mr. Palancia holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Economics.

 

Mark H. Taylor has over 30 years of academic and professional experience in the accounting and auditing fields, which makes him particularly qualified to chair the Board’s Audit Committee. Dr. Taylor holds PhD, Master’s and bachelor’s degrees in accountancy and is a licensed Certified Public Accountant and serves as a member of two other mutual fund boards within the Northern Lights Fund Complex. Dr. Taylor is the Director of the Lynn Pippenger School of Accountancy at the Muma College of Business at the University of South Florida and has been serving a three-year term as President of the American Accounting Association (AAA) since August 2022 (as President-Elect 8/22-7/23, President 8/23-8/24, and Past President 8/24-8/25).  Dr. Taylor previously served as Vice President-Finance of the AAA, and as President of the Auditing Section of the AAA. He previously served a three-year term on the AICPA’s Auditing Standards Board and completed a fellowship in the Professional Practice Group of the Office of the Chief Accountant at the headquarters of the United States Securities Exchange Commission. Dr. Taylor is a member of two research teams that received grants from the Center for Audit Quality to study how accounting firms’ tone-at-the-top messaging impacts audit performance and how auditors manage the process of auditing fair value measurements and other complex estimates in financial statements.  Dr. Taylor has had his research widely published in leading academic accounting and practice journals.  He has teaching interests in corporate governance and accounting policy as well as auditing and assurance services at the graduate and undergraduate levels and possesses a strong understanding of the regulatory framework under which investment companies operate.

 

Jeffery D. Young has over 40 years of business management experience, including in the transportation industry and operations and information technologies. He is currently Co-owner and Vice President of the Latin America Agriculture Development Corporation, an agribusiness exporting fruit to the United States and other Central American countries. He has served as Assistant Vice President of Transportation Systems at Union Pacific Railroad Company, where he was responsible for the development and implementation of large-scale command and control systems that support railroad operations and safety. In this position, Mr. Young was heavily involved in the regulatory compliance of safety and mission critical systems. Mr. Young also served as Chairman of the Association of American Railroads Policy Committee and represented both Union Pacific Railroad and the railroad industry in safety and regulatory hearings with the National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Railroad Administration in Washington, DC. Mr. Young was a member of the Board of Directors of PS Technologies, a Union Pacific affiliate serving as a technology supplier to the railroad industry. His practical business experience and understanding of regulatory compliance provides a different perspective that brings diversity to Board deliberations.

 

34 
 

 

Trustees and Officers. The Trustees and officers of the Trust, together with information as to their principal business occupations during the past five years and other information, are shown below. Unless otherwise noted, the address of each Trustee and officer is 225 Pictoria Drive, Suite 450, Cincinnati, Ohio 45246.

 

Independent Trustees
Name, Address, Year of Birth Position(s) Held with Registrant Length of Service and Term Principal Occupation(s) During Past 5 Years Number of Funds Overseen In The Fund Complex* Other Directorships Held During Past 5 Years**

Patricia

Luscombe

1961

Trustee Since January 2015, Indefinite Managing Director of the Valuations and Opinions Group, Lincoln International LLC (since August 2007). 1 Northern Lights Fund Trust III (for series not affiliated with the Fund since 2015); Monetta Mutual Funds (since November 2015).

John V.

Palancia

1954

Trustee, Chairman Trustee, since February 2012, Indefinite; Chairman of the Board since May 2014. Retired (since 2011); formerly, Director of Global Futures Operations Control, Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith, Inc. (1975-2011). 1 Northern Lights Fund Trust III (for series not affiliated with the Fund since 2012); Northern Lights Fund Trust (since 2011); Northern Lights Variable Trust (since 2011); Alternative Strategies Fund (since 2012).

Mark H.

Taylor

1964

Trustee, Chairman of the Audit Committee Since February 2012, Indefinite PhD (Accounting), CPA; Professor and Director, Lynn Pippenger School of Accountancy, Muma College of Business, University of South Florida (2019 – present); Professor and Department of Accountancy Chair, Case Western Reserve University (2009-2019); President, American Accounting Association (AAA) commencing August 2022 (President-Elect 2022-2023, President 2023-2024; Past President 2024-2025).  AAA Vice President-Finance (2017-2020); President, Auditing Section of the AAA; Member, AICPA Auditing Standards Board (2009-2012); Academic Fellow, Office of the Chief Accountant, United States Securities Exchange Commission (2005-2006); Center for Audit Quality research grants (2014, 2012). 1 Northern Lights Fund Trust III (for series not affiliated with the Fund since 2012); Northern Lights Fund Trust (since 2007); Northern Lights Variable Trust (since 2007); Alternative Strategies Fund (since June 2010).

Jeffery D. Young

1956

Trustee Since January 2015, Indefinite Co-owner and Vice President, Latin America Agriculture Development Corp. (since May 2015); President, Celeritas Rail Consulting (since June 2014); Asst. Vice President - Transportation Systems, Union 1 Northern Lights Fund Trust III (for series not affiliated with the Fund since 2015).
35 
 

 

 

    Pacific Railroad Company (June 1976 to April 2014).    

 

* As of December 31, 2022, the Trust was comprised of 31 active portfolios managed by 15 unaffiliated investment advisers. The term “Fund Complex” applies only to the Fund. The Fund does not hold itself out as related to any other series within the Trust for investment purposes, nor does it share the same investment adviser with any other series.

** Only includes directorships held within the past 5 years in a company with a class of securities registered pursuant to Section 12 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 or subject to the requirements of Section 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, or any company registered as an investment company under the 1940 Act.

 

Officers of the Trust

 

Name, Address, Year of Birth Position Held with Registrant Length of Service and Term Principal Occupation(s) During Past 5 Years

Eric Kane

1981

President

Since

August 2022, indefinite

Vice President and Senior Managing Counsel, Ultimus Fund Solutions, LLC (since 2022); Vice President and Managing Counsel, Ultimus Fund Solutions, LLC (2020-2022); Vice President and Counsel, Gemini Fund Services, LLC (2017-2020); Assistant Vice President, Gemini Fund Services, LLC (2014- 2017).

Brian Curley

1970

Treasurer

Since

February 2013, indefinite

Vice President, Ultimus Fund Solutions, LLC (since 2020); Vice President, Gemini Fund Services, LLC (2015-2020).

Viktoriya Pallino

1995

Secretary

Since

August 2022, indefinite

Legal Administrator II, Ultimus Fund Solutions, LLC (since 2021); Legal Administrator I, Ultimus Fund Solutions, LLC (2019-2021); Legal Administration Associate, Gemini Fund Services, LLC (2017-2019).

William Kimme

1962

Chief Compliance Officer

Since

February 2012, indefinite

Senior Compliance Officer of Northern Lights Compliance Services, LLC (since 2011).

 

Audit Committee. The Board has an Audit Committee that consists solely of Independent Trustees. The Audit Committee's responsibilities include: (i) recommending to the Board the selection, retention or termination of the Trust's independent auditors; (ii) reviewing with the independent auditors the scope, performance and anticipated cost of their audit; (iii) discussing with the independent auditors certain matters relating to the Trust's financial statements, including any adjustment to such financial statements recommended by such independent auditors, or any other results of any audit; (iv) reviewing on a periodic basis a formal written statement from the independent auditors with respect to their independence, discussing with the independent auditors any relationships or services disclosed in the statement that may impact the objectivity and independence of the Trust's independent auditors and recommending that the Board take appropriate action in response thereto to satisfy itself of the auditor's independence; and (v) considering the comments of the independent auditors and management's responses thereto with respect to the quality and adequacy of the Trust's accounting and financial reporting policies and practices and internal controls. The Audit Committee operates pursuant to an Audit Committee Charter. Dr. Taylor is Chairman of the Audit Committee. During the past fiscal year, the Audit Committee held five meetings.

 

Compensation of Directors. Effective January 1, 2022, each Trustee who is not affiliated with the Trust or an investment adviser to any series of the Trust receives a quarterly fee of $26,000, allocated among each of the various portfolios comprising the Trust, for his or her attendance at the regularly scheduled meetings of the Board, to be paid in advance of each calendar quarter, as well as

36 
 

reimbursement for any reasonable expenses incurred. Effective January 1, 2022, in addition to the quarterly fees and reimbursements, the Chairman of the Board receives a quarterly fee of $6,250, and the Audit Committee Chairman receives a quarterly fee of $4,500. From January 1, 2021 through December 31, 2021, each Trustee who was not affiliated with the Trust or an investment adviser to any series of the Trust received a quarterly fee of $23,500, allocated among each of the various portfolios comprising the Trust, for his or her attendance at the regularly scheduled meetings of the Board of Trustees, paid in advance of each calendar quarter, as well as reimbursement for any reasonable expenses incurred. From April 1, 2019 through December 31, 2020, each Trustee who was not affiliated with the Trust or an investment adviser to any series of the Trust received a quarterly fee of $21,500, allocated among each of the various portfolios comprising the Trust, for his or her attendance at the regularly scheduled meetings of the Board, paid in advance of each calendar quarter, as well as reimbursement for any reasonable expenses incurred. From January 1, 2017 through December 31, 2021, in addition to the quarterly fees and reimbursements, the Chairman received a quarterly fee of $5,000, and the Audit Committee Chairman received a quarterly fee of $3,750.  

 

Additionally, in the event an in person meeting of the Board other than its regularly scheduled meetings (a “Special Meeting”) is required, each Independent Trustee receives a fee of $2,500 per Special Meeting, as well as reimbursement for any reasonable expenses incurred, to be paid by the relevant series of the Trust or its investment adviser depending on the circumstances necessitating the Special Meeting. None of the executive officers receive compensation from the Trust.

 

The table below details the amount of compensation the Board received from the Persimmon Long/Short Fund during the fiscal year ended September 30, 2022. The Trust does not have a bonus, profit sharing, pension or retirement plan.

 


Name and Position
Persimmon Long/Short Fund Pension or Retirement Benefits Accrued as Part of Fund Expenses Estimated Annual Benefits Upon Retirement Total Compensation From Fund Complex* Paid to Trustees
Patricia Luscombe $3,148.08 None None $3,148.08
John V. Palancia $3,832.46 None None $3,832.46
Mark H. Taylor $3,558.70 None None $3,558.70
Jeffery D. Young $3,148.08 None None $3,148.08

* There are currently numerous series comprising the Trust. The term “Fund Complex” refers only to the Fund, and not to any other series of the Trust. For the fiscal year ended September 30, 2022, the aggregate independent Trustees’ fees paid by the entire Trust were $447,000.

 

Trustees' Ownership of Shares in the Fund. As of December 31, 2022, the Trustees beneficially owned the following amounts in the Fund:

 

Name of Trustee Dollar Range of Equity Securities in the Fund Aggregate Dollar Range of Equity Securities in All Registered Investment Companies Overseen by Trustee in Family of Investment Companies
Patricia Luscombe None $10,001-$50,000
John V. Palancia None $10,001-$50,000
Mark H. Taylor None $10,001-$50,000
Jeffery D. Young None None

 

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FINANCIAL STATEMENTS


 

The financial statements and report of the independent registered public accounting firm required to be included in this SAI are hereby incorporated by reference to the Annual Report for the Fund for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2022. You can obtain a copy of the financial statements contained in the Fund's Annual or Semi-Annual Report without charge by calling the Fund at 1-855-233-8300.

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APPENDIX A

PROXY VOTING POLICIES AND PROCEDURES

 

Dakota Wealth Management, LLC

 

I. Overview

In accordance with the Advisor’s fiduciary duty owed to Clients, the Advisor, has adopted and implemented these Proxy Voting Policies and Procedures (the “Policies”) that are believed to be reasonably designed to ensure that proxies are voted in the best interests of Clients.  Because the authority to vote proxies on behalf of Clients is established in the Advisory Agreement with Clients, the Policies have been tailored to reflect these specific contractual obligations.

 

II. Statement of Proxy Voting Policy

It is the policy of the Advisor to vote all proxies in the best interests and for the benefit of its clients.  We believe that this means voting in accordance with our judgment as to what voting decision is most likely to balance the risk of permanent capital loss with the desire to maximize total return to the client as an investor in the company whose securities are being voted, including, where applicable, returns to the client on positions held in non-voting securities of that issuer or securities of other issuers that may be materially affected by the outcome of the vote.

 

Some of the proxies received by the Advisor with respect to securities held in client accounts may relate to special situations, such as the restructuring of an issuer that is emerging or recently emerged from bankruptcy, that is in financial distress or that has significant debt obligations but improving fundamentals.  the Advisor believes that it is not appropriate, in most cases, to vote proxies with respect to the securities of such issuers in accordance with fixed, predetermined guidelines. Accordingly, the Advisor generally reviews and makes a voting decision on each matter presented in such proxy on an individual, case-by-case basis.  the Advisor generally gives similar, case-by-case treatment to proxies with respect to securities of other issuers.  Normally, voting decisions are made by the Supervised Person responsible at the time of the vote for monitoring the corporate events of the particular issuer of the securities to be voted.  the Advisor believes such individualized consideration of proxy voting decisions best serves our Clients’ interests. 

 

For certain more routine matters that are commonly presented to shareholders for vote and that do not involve issuers in special situations or other circumstances requiring individual analysis, the Advisor has established general voting guidelines in this policy.  However, with respect to any particular proxy, the Advisor is not obligated to follow these general voting guidelines.

 

In certain circumstances, the Advisor may elect to not vote proxies with respect to securities held in client accounts, including, but not limited to, situations where (a) the securities are no longer held in a client’s account; (b) the proxy or related materials are not received in sufficient time to allow the Advisor to analyze the material or cast an informed vote by the voting deadline; or (c) the Advisor concludes that the costs of voting a proxy outweigh any potential benefits to its clients.

                           

III. Proxy Voting Procedures

The respective delegated Supervised Person is responsible for coordinating the review and voting of client proxies. With respect to pending proxy matters, the respective Supervised Person reviews the information provided to us electronically or by paper copy by the custodians for our clients (generally, in whose name (or nominee name) the security has been registered). 

 

Following receipt of a proxy, the respective Supervised Person reviews the proxy and the matters to be voted therein. The respective Supervised Person also cross-checks the shareholdings information contained in the proxy with the applicable client holdings report to confirm that the ownership information on file with the custodian and/or the issuer matches our internal records; to the extent that it does not, the respective Supervised Person will attempt to reconcile the discrepancy directly with the applicable custodian.  Furthermore, any material conflicts of interest identified by the respective Supervised Person are resolved as described in Section IV below.  The respective Supervised Person then reviews the proxy in accordance with the procedures outlined in Section II above.  If the respective Supervised Person is aware of any matter that may constitute a material conflict of interest, s/he will contact the appropriate parties such that the conflict may be addressed in accordance with the procedures described in Section IV below. Otherwise, the respective Supervised Person votes the proxy either electronically or via paper ballot, as applicable. After the respective Supervised Person has voted the proxy, the Advisor keeps a copy of the proxy, together with a completed internal checklist of proxy procedures maintained by the Advisor (the form of which is attached hereto as Exhibit A), for record keeping purposes. 

 

IV. Conflicts of Interest

A-1 
 

From time to time, the Advisor (and/or its affiliates) may have a material conflict of interest with respect to a matter to be voted.  For example, it is possible that the Advisor (or one of its affiliates) may have a very significant business relationship with either the company whose stock is being voted, the person soliciting the proxy or a third-party that has a material interest in the outcome of the proxy vote.  If the respective Supervised Person identifies or is notified of a potential material conflict of interest, the respective Supervised Person will convene a meeting of the partners of the Advisor personnel to determine whether voting on such proxy matter presents a material conflict of interest.  In the event that the partners of the Advisor personnel conclude that there is a material conflict of interest, the Advisor generally will request a waiver of the conflict or voting instructions from the client, a representative of the client or an appropriate independent third-party.  Specifically:

 

  • for investment fund clients of the Advisor that have established an independent board of advisors, the Advisor will disclose the conflict to such board of advisers of the applicable investment fund, and either vote the proxy as instructed by the applicable board or obtain a waiver for the Advisor to vote the proxy;
  • for investment fund clients of the Advisor that have not established a board of advisors, the Advisor will disclose the conflict (a) to such fund’s independent accountants or another unaffiliated third-party advisor selected by the Advisor, and vote the proxy in accordance with the instructions of such proxy advisor, or (b) to the underlying investors (e.g., limited partners) of such investment fund and seek either voting instructions or a waiver of the conflict directly from a majority in interest with respect to such investors;
  • for any commingled vehicle established as a trust, the Advisor will disclose the conflict to the trustee of such entity (provided that the trustee is unaffiliated with the Advisor), and seek either voting instructions or a waiver of the conflict from such trustee;
  • for ERISA accounts, the Advisor will disclose the conflict to the plan sponsor, trustee or other named fiduciary for the plan and seek either voting instructions or a waiver of the conflict from such fiduciary; and
  • for other non-ERISA separate accounts, the Advisor will disclose the conflict to the underlying client and seek either voting instructions or a waiver of the conflict directly from such client.

 

In the event that the client, client representative or other third-party, as the case may be, does not desire to direct the vote of the proxy matter in question, the Advisor may, as circumstances warrant, take other steps, such as consulting with its outside legal counsel or an independent third-party service, which steps are designed to result in a decision that is demonstrably based on the clients’ best interests and not the product of the conflict.  If a material conflict cannot be resolved as described above, the Advisor will not vote the proxy.  

 

V. Maintenance of Proxy Voting Records

The Advisor is required to and maintains records of proxies that it has voted on behalf of its clients in a similar standard to that which is required by Rule 204-2 under the Advisers Act.  These records include:

               

  1. a copy of the Advisor’s internal policies and procedures with respect to proxy voting, as updated from time to time;
  2. copies of proxy statements received regarding securities held in client accounts, unless the materials are available electronically through the SEC’s EDGAR system;
  3. a record of each vote cast on behalf of our clients;
  4. a copy of any internal documents, if any, created by the Advisor that were material to making the decision how to vote proxies on behalf of its clients; and
  5. each written client request for proxy voting records and the Advisor’s written response to any (written or oral) client request for such records.

 

With respect to accounts managed on behalf of any plan subject to ERISA, the Advisor also maintains accurate proxy voting records to enable the named fiduciary of such accounts to determine whether the Advisor is fulfilling its ERISA obligations with respect to a particular account. the Advisor will maintain these proxy voting books and records for a period of six years. 

 

VI. Disclosure

The Advisor will provide Clients with information with respect to how they voted proxies on behalf of such client. Additionally, at the request of the Client, the Advisor will provide each client copies of its Proxy Voting Policies and Procedures.

 

VII. Proxy Voting Guidelines 

The following guidelines are not exhaustive and do not include all potential voting issues. Because proxy voting issues and the circumstances of individual portfolio companies are so varied, there may be instances when the Advisor will not vote in

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strict adherence to these guidelines.  In addition, votes on matters not covered by these guidelines will be determined in accordance with the proxy voting principles set forth above in Section II.  For example, proxy votes that present company-specific issues of a non-routine nature may be more appropriately handled on a case-by-case basis, as described above.  At any time, the Advisor may seek voting instructions from some or all of the clients holding the securities to be voted, and, as a result, client instructions may cause the Advisor to vote differently for different clients on the same matter.

 

The Board of Directors

  • Director Nominees in Uncontested Elections
    • Vote on a case-by-case basis for director nominees, taking into account the following factors:
      • long-term corporate performance record of the company and
      • composition of board and key board committees.
oIn certain cases, and when information is readily available, we may also review:
§corporate governance provisions and takeover activity;
§board decisions regarding executive pay;
§board decisions regarding majority-supported shareholder proposals in back-to-back years;
§director compensation; and
§number of other board seats held by nominee.
  • Majority of Independent Directors
    • Vote for proposals that the board be comprised of a majority of independent directors.
    • Vote for proposals that request that the board audit, compensation and/or nominating committees include independent directors exclusively.
  • Director and Officer Indemnification and Liability Protection
    • Vote on a case-by-case basis proposals concerning director and officer indemnification and liability protection.
    • Vote against proposals to limit or eliminate entirely director and officer liability for monetary damages for violating the duty of care.
    • Vote against indemnification proposals that would expand coverage beyond just legal expenses to include coverage for acts or omissions, such as gross negligence or worse, that are more serious violations of fiduciary obligations than mere carelessness.
    • Vote for only those proposals that provide such expanded coverage in cases when a director’s or officer’s legal defense was unsuccessful if:  (1) the director or officer was found to have acted in good faith and in a manner that he reasonably believed was in the best interests of the company, and (2) only if the director’s legal expenses would be covered.

 

Proxy Contests

  • Director Nominees in Contested Elections
    • Vote on a case-by-case basis when the election of directors is contested, taking into consideration some or all of the following factors:
      • long-term financial performance of the company;
      • management’s track record;
      • background to the proxy contest;
      • qualifications of director nominees (both slates);
      • evaluation of what each side is offering shareholders, as well as the likelihood that the proposed objectives and goals can be met; and
      • stock ownership positions of director nominees.

 

Auditors

  • Ratifying Auditors
    • Vote for proposals to ratify auditors, unless it appears that:  an auditor has a financial interest in or association with the company that impairs the auditor’s independence; or there is reason to believe that the independent auditor has rendered an opinion which is accurate nor indicative of the company’s financial position.

 

Proxy Contest Defenses

  • Shareholder Ability to Call Special Meetings
    • Vote against proposals to restrict or prohibit shareholder ability to call special meetings.
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    • Vote for proposals that remove restrictions on the right of shareholders to act independently of management.
  • Shareholder Ability to Act by Written Consent
    •  Vote against proposals to restrict or prohibit shareholder ability to take action by written consent.
    • Vote for proposals to allow or make easier shareholder action by written consent.
  • Shareholder Ability to Alter the Size of the Board
    • Vote for proposals that seek to fix the size of the board.
    • Vote against proposals that give management the ability to alter the size of the board without shareholder approval.

 

V. Capital Structure

  • Common Stock Authorization
    • Vote on a case-by-case basis proposals to increase the number of shares of common stock authorized for issue.
  • Stock Distributions:  Splits and Dividends
    • Vote for management proposals to increase common share authorization for a stock split, provided that the split does not result in an increase of authorized but unissued shares of more than 100% after giving effect to the shares needed for the split.
  • Reverse Stock Splits
    • Vote on a case-by-case basis with management proposals to implement a reverse stock split.
  • Share Repurchase Programs
    • Vote on a case-by-case basis management proposals to institute open-market share repurchase plans in which all shareholders may participate on equal terms.

 

VI. Executive and Director Compensation

In general, we vote on a case-by-case basis on executive and director compensation plans, with the view that viable compensation programs reward the creation of stockholder wealth by having a high payout sensitivity to increases in shareholder value.

 

In evaluating a pay plan, we may consider its dilutive effect both on shareholder wealth and on voting power.  We may consider equity-based compensation along with cash components of pay.  Administrative features may also be factored into our vote.  For example, our policy is that the plan should generally be overseen by a committee of independent directors; insiders should not generally serve on compensation committees.

 

Other factors, such as repricing underwater stock options without shareholder approval, may cause us to vote against a plan.  Additionally, in some cases we would vote against a plan deemed unnecessary.

 

  • Proposals to Limit Executive and Director Pay
    • Vote on a case-by-case basis all proposals that seek additional disclosure of executive and director pay information.
    • Vote on a case-by-case basis all other proposals that seek to limit executive and director pay.
    • Vote for proposals to expense options, unless the company has already publicly committed to expensing options by a specific date.
  • Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOPs)
    • Vote on a case-by-case basis proposals that request shareholder approval in order to implement an ESOP or to increase authorized shares for existing ESOPs, except in cases when the number of shares allocated to the ESOP is “excessive” (i.e., generally greater than 5% of outstanding shares).
  • 401(k) Employee Benefit Plans
    • Vote for proposals to implement a 401(k) savings plan for employees.

 

VII. Mergers and Corporate Restructurings

Vote on a case-by-case basis proposals related to mergers and acquisitions, taking into account some or all of the following factors:

  • anticipated financial and operating benefits;
  • offer price (cost vs. premium);
  • prospects of the combined companies;
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  • how the deal was negotiated; and
  • changes in corporate governance and their impact on shareholder rights.

 

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