2025-08-26EatonVanceFixed-IncomeETFs_Pro_January2026_485B
Eaton
Vance CLO
Investment Grade Income ETF
Eaton
Vance High Income
Municipal
ETF
Prospectus | January
28, 2026
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Portfolio |
Ticker
Symbol |
Exchange |
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Eaton
Vance CLO Investment Grade Income ETF |
ECLO |
NYSE
Arca |
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Eaton
Vance High Income Municipal ETF |
EVYM |
The
Nasdaq Stock Market LLC |
The
Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) has not approved or disapproved these
securities or passed upon the adequacy
of this Prospectus. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal
offense.
An
investment in a Fund is not guaranteed
or endorsed by a bank, is not a bank deposit or obligation
thereof,
and is not insured
or
guaranteed by
the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency. An
investment in a
Fund involves investment risks, and you may lose money investing
in
the Fund.
Eaton
Vance | Fund
Summary
Eaton
Vance CLO Investment Grade Income ETF
Investment
Objective
Eaton
Vance CLO Investment Grade Income ETF (the “Fund”) seeks current income, with a
secondary objective of capital preservation.
Fees
and Expenses
The
table below describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy, hold
and sell shares of the Fund. You
may pay fees other
than the fees and expenses of the Fund, such as brokerage commissions and other
fees charged by financial intermediaries,
which are not reflected in the tables and examples
below.
Annual
Fund Operating Expenses1 (expenses
that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your
investment)
| 1 |
The
Fund’s management agreement provides that the Fund’s “Adviser,” Morgan
Stanley Investment Management Inc., will pay substantially all expenses
of
the Fund (including expenses of Morgan Stanley ETF Trust (the “Trust”)
relating to the Fund), except for the distribution fees, if any, brokerage
expenses,
acquired fund fees and expenses, taxes, interest, litigation expenses, and
other extraordinary expenses, including the costs of proxies, not
incurred
in the ordinary course of the Fund’s
business. |
| 2 |
Other
Expenses have been estimated for the current fiscal
year. |
Example
The
example below is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund
with the cost of investing in other funds. The example
does not take into account brokerage commissions that you pay when purchasing or
selling shares of the Fund.
The
example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods
indicated and then sell all of your shares at the end of those
periods. The example also assumes your investment has a 5% return each year and
the Fund’s operating expenses remain the same.
Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions
your costs would be:
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 rate 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 Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses or
in the Example, affect the Fund’s performance.
Because the Fund had not yet commenced operations as of the most recent fiscal
year end, no portfolio turnover rate is available
for the Fund.
Principal
Investment Strategies
The
Fund is an actively managed exchange-traded fund (“ETF”) and does not seek to
track the performance of any particular index. The
Fund normally invests at least 80% of its net assets (plus borrowings for
investment purposes) in investment grade-rated debt tranches
of collateralized loan obligations (“CLOs”) of any maturity. Investment grade
CLO securities are rated inclusive and above
BBB- by S&P Global Ratings or Baa3 Moody’s Investors Service, Inc. (or
equivalent rating issued by a nationally recognized statistical
rating organization (“NRSRO”)), or if unrated, determined to be of comparable
credit quality by the Adviser. The Fund will
not invest in any CLO equity security or in any CLO debt security rated below
BB-/Ba3 or if unrated, determined to be of comparable
credit quality by the Adviser. For purposes of complying with its 80% investment
policy, the Fund may invest in CLO investments
directly or indirectly, for example by investing in closed-end funds and
exchange-traded funds (“ETFs”) or derivatives that
provide investment and economic exposure to investment-grade rated CLO debt
investments. The Fund will provide shareholders
with at least sixty days’ written notice of any change in this 80% investment
policy.
For
purposes of the Fund’s investment policies, CLOs are trusts that are
typically collateralized by a pool of loans, which may include,
among others, domestic and foreign senior secured loans, senior unsecured loans
and subordinate corporate loans, including loans
that may be rated below investment grade or equivalent unrated loans, and
including “covenant lite” loans, which have few or no
financial maintenance covenants. The Fund may purchase CLO securities both
in the primary (e.g., purchased directly from the issuer)
and secondary markets. The Adviser uses a bottom-up analysis to select CLO
investments which considers several factors, including
an assessment of the CLO manager, the CLO’s underlying collateral, an analysis
of the CLO’s documentation and structural
terms. The Fund’s portfolio is constructed using this security-level analysis,
combined with a top-down overlay which incorporates
the Adviser’s credit views as well as risk factor positioning. The Fund intends
to invest primarily in CLO securities that are
U.S.-dollar denominated. However, the Fund may from time to time invest up to
20% of its net assets in CLO securities that are
Eaton
Vance | Fund
Summary
Eaton
Vance CLO Investment Grade Income ETF (Con’t)
denominated
in foreign currencies. To the extent the Fund invests in non-U.S. dollar
denominated securities, it may seek to hedge its exposure
to foreign currency to U.S. dollars, as described more fully
below.
The
Fund may purchase up to 20% of its net assets in other types of investment
grade-rated fixed-rate or floating-rate bonds that are not
CLOs; shares of ETF and closed end funds; below investment
grade CLOs, non-US denominated investment grade CLOs; and private
credit CLOs. Private credit CLOs, often commonly referred to as “middle-market”
CLOs, are collateralized by directly-originated
loans to generally small or medium-sized firms and/or by loans of a small or
medium size. The Fund may invest a portion of
its assets in cash or other short-term instruments, such as money market
instruments or money market funds, while deploying new capital,
for liquidity management purposes, managing redemptions, or for defensive
purposes, including navigating unusual market conditions.
The
Fund may invest in derivatives in order to seek to mitigate risks associated
with the Fund’s existing portfolio of CLO securities. The
Fund’s
use of derivatives will be limited to currency forward contracts or futures
contracts to hedge certain foreign currency exposure.
Forward contracts may be used by the Fund for hedging purposes to protect
against uncertainty in the level of future foreign
currency exchange rates, such as when the Fund anticipates purchasing or selling
a foreign security. For example, this technique
would allow the Fund to “lock in” the U.S. dollar price of the security. Forward
contracts may also be used to attempt to protect
the value of the Fund’s existing holdings of foreign securities. The Fund’s
portfolio management utilizes the information provided
by, and the expertise of affiliates in making investment decisions. Derivative
instruments used by the Fund will be counted toward
the Fund’s 80% policy discussed above to the extent they have economic
characteristics similar to the securities included within
that policy.
When
deemed by the Adviser to be relevant to its evaluation of creditworthiness
and when applicable information is available, the Adviser
considers environmental, social and/or governance issues (referred to as ESG)
which may impact the prospects of an issuer (or
obligor) or financial performance of an obligation. When considered, one or more
ESG issues are taken into account alongside other
factors in the investment decision-making process and are not the sole
determinant of whether an investment can be made or will
remain in the Fund’s portfolio.
Principal
Risks
There
is no assurance that the Fund will achieve its investment objective, and you can
lose money investing in this Fund.
Investments
in
the Fund involve risks and you should not rely on the Fund as a complete
investment program. The relative significance of each risk
factor summarized below may change over time and you should review each risk
factor carefully because any one or more of these risks
may result in losses to the Fund. The
principal risks of investing in the Fund include:
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Collateralized
Loan Obligations Risk.
CLOs are a type of asset-backed security that is typically structured as a
trust collateralized by a
pool of loans. The cash flows from the trust are split into two or more
portions, called tranches, varying in risk and yield. The risks
of an investment in a CLO depend largely on the type of the collateral
securities and the class or tranche of the instrument in which
the Fund invests. In addition to the risks normally associated with fixed
income securities, such as interest rate risk, default risk,
credit risk and liquidity risk, CLOs carry additional risks including, but
not limited to: (i) the possibility that distributions from
collateral securities will not be adequate to make interest or other
payments; (ii) the quality of the collateral may decline in value
or default; (iii) the Fund may invest in CLOs that are subordinate to
other classes; and (iv) the complex structure of the security
may not be fully understood at the time of investment and may produce
disputes with the issuer or unexpected investment
results. The Fund and other investors in CLOs ultimately bear the
credit and interest rate risks of the underlying collateral.
CLOs, and their underlying loan obligations, are typically not registered
for sale to the public and therefore are subject to
certain restrictions on transfer and sale, potentially subjecting them to
increased liquidity risk as compared to other types of securities.
As a result, the proceeds from the sale of CLO securities may not be
readily available to meet the Fund’s redemption or other
obligations and the Fund may be unable to acquire or dispose of the
securities at a price and time the Fund deems advantageous. |
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CLOs
in which the Fund invests may be managed by investment advisers not
affiliated with the Adviser. CLO managers are responsible
for selecting, managing and replacing the underlying bank loans within a
CLO. CLO managers may have limited operating
histories and, may be subject to conflicts of interests, including
managing the assets of other clients or other investment vehicles,
or receiving fees that incentivize maximizing the yield, and indirectly
the risk, of a CLO. Adverse developments with respect
to a CLO manager may adversely impact the performance of the CLO
securities in which the Fund
invests. |
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Loan
Risks.
Investments in loans are subject to the risks generally associated with
other debt obligations (such as credit and interest rate
risk). Loans are also subject to additional risks, including subordination
to other creditors, no collateral or limited rights in collateral,
increased liquidity risks and lack of publicly available information.
Loans are subject to the risk of default in the payment
of interest or principal, which will result in a reduction of income or
other losses to the Fund, and a potential decrease in the
Fund’s NAV. Loans are traded in a private, unregulated inter-dealer or
interbank resale market and are generally subject to contractual
restrictions that must be satisfied before a loan can be bought or sold.
These restrictions may impede the Fund’s ability to
buy or sell loans (thus affecting their liquidity) and may negatively
impact the transaction price. It also may take longer than
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Eaton
Vance | Fund
Summary
Eaton
Vance CLO Investment Grade Income ETF (Con’t)
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seven
days for transactions in loans to settle. Due to the possibility of an
extended loan settlement process, the Fund may hold additional
cash, sell investments or temporarily borrow from banks or other lenders
to meet short-term liquidity needs. The types of
covenants included in loan agreements generally vary depending on market
conditions, the creditworthiness of the issuer, the nature
of the collateral securing the loan and possibly other factors. Loans with
fewer covenants that restrict activities of the borrower
may provide the borrower with more flexibility to take actions that may be
detrimental to the loan holders and provide fewer
investor protections in the event of such actions or if covenants are
breached. The Fund may experience relatively greater realized
or unrealized losses or delays and expense in enforcing its rights with
respect to loans with fewer restrictive covenants. Loans
to entities located outside of the U.S. may have substantially different
lender protections and covenants as compared to loans
to U.S. entities and generally involve greater and additional risks. The
Fund may have difficulties and incur expense enforcing
its rights with respect to loans and non-U.S. loans could be subject
to bankruptcy laws that are materially different than in
the U.S. Loans may be structured such that they are not securities under
securities laws, and in the event of fraud or misrepresentation
by a borrower, lenders may not have the protection of the anti-fraud
provisions of the federal securities laws. Loans
are also subject to risks associated with other types of income
investments, including credit risk and risks of lower rated investments.
In addition, bank loans are subject to the risk of default in the payment
of interest or principal on a loan, which will result
in a reduction of income to the Fund, and a potential decrease in the
Fund’s NAV. The risk of default on loans will increase in
the event of an economic downturn or a substantial increase in interest
rates. Because some loans rank lower in priority of payment
to other loans and other obligations, such loans present a greater degree
of investment risk and may exhibit greater price volatility. |
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Covenant
Lite Loans.
Some of the loans or other obligations in which the Fund may invest or
obtain exposure to may be “covenant lite”
loans or other obligations. Certain financial institutions may define
“covenant lite” loans or securities differently. Covenants contained
in loan documentation are intended to protect lenders and investors by
imposing certain restrictions and other limitations
on a borrower’s operations or assets and by providing certain information
and consent rights to lenders. Covenant lite loans
or securities, which have varied terms and conditions, may contain fewer
or no restrictive covenants compared to other loans that
might enable the Fund to, among other things, proactively enforce
financial covenants or prevent undesired actions by the borrower.
As a result, covenant lite loans generally carry greater risks because
they allow borrowers to exercise more flexibility with respect
to certain activities that may otherwise be limited or prohibited under
similar loan obligations that are not covenant lite. In addition,
the Fund may receive less or less frequent financial reporting from a
borrower under a covenant-lite obligation, which may
result in more limited access to financial information, difficulty
evaluating the borrower’s financial performance over time and
delays in exercising rights and remedies in the event of a significant
financial decline. The Fund may experience relatively greater
difficulty or delays in enforcing its rights on its holdings of certain
covenant lite loans and other similar obligations than its holdings
of loans or securities with more traditional financial covenants, which
may result in losses to the Fund. Many
loans and similar
debt obligations may not feature traditional financial maintenance
covenants, which are intended to protect lenders and investors
by imposing certain restrictions and other limitations on a borrower’s
operations or assets and by providing certain information
and consent rights to
lenders. |
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Liquidity.
The Fund may make investments that are less liquid, illiquid or restricted
or that may become illiquid or less liquid in response
to overall economic conditions or adverse investor perceptions, and which
may entail greater risk than investments in other
types of securities. These investments may be more difficult to value or
sell, particularly in times of market turmoil, and there
may be little trading in the secondary market available for particular
securities. Liquidity
risk may be magnified in a market where
credit spread and interest rate volatility is rising and where investor
redemptions from fixed-income funds may be higher than
normal.
If the Fund is forced to sell an illiquid or restricted security to
fund redemptions
or for other cash needs, it may be forced
to sell the security at a loss or for less than its fair value and may be
unable to sell the security at all. Certain
CLO securities may have limited liquidity in various market conditions,
and in such instances will be less liquid than more
senior or higher-rated CLOs. The price of CLO securities may rapidly
decline if a large number of holders of the CLO securities
decide to sell. The CLO market is smaller relative to other fixed-income
instrument markets. Historic liquidity measures of
CLOs may or may not be predictive of the liquidity of CLOs in the future.
During adverse market conditions, there may be instances
in which the market for trading CLOs becomes thin, or in extreme
circumstances, particularly with respect to subordinate
or lower-rated CLO tranches, may cease to exist during such
period. |
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Asset-Backed
Securities.
Asset-backed securities are subject to credit (such as a borrower’s
default on its mortgage obligation and the
default or failure of a guarantee underlying the asset-backed security),
interest rate and certain additional risks, including the risk
that various federal and state consumer laws and other legal and economic
factors may result in the collateral backing the securities
being insufficient to support payment on the securities. To the extent the
Fund invests in asset-backed securities issued by
non-governmental issuers, such as commercial banks, savings and loan
institutions, and other secondary market issuers, the Fund
will be exposed to additional risks because, among other things, there are
no direct or indirect government or agency guarantees
of payments in the pools underlying the securities. Some asset-backed
securities also entail prepayment risk and extension
risk, which may vary depending on the type of asset. Due to these and
other risks, asset-backed securities may become more
volatile in certain interest rate
environments. |
Eaton
Vance | Fund
Summary
Eaton
Vance CLO Investment Grade Income ETF (Con’t)
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Fixed-Income
Securities.
Fixed-income securities are subject to the risk of the issuer’s inability
to meet principal and interest payments
on its obligations (i.e., credit risk) and are subject to price volatility
resulting from, among other things, interest rate sensitivity
(i.e., interest rate risk), market perception of the creditworthiness of
the issuer and general market liquidity (i.e., market risk).
For example, a type of fixed-income securities in which the Fund may
invest are corporate debt obligations. In addition to interest
rate, credit and other risks, corporate debt obligations are also subject
to factors directly related to the issuer, such as the credit
rating of the corporation, the corporation’s performance and perceptions
of the corporation in the marketplace, and by factors
not directly related to the issuer, such as general market liquidity,
economic conditions and inflation. The Fund may face a heightened
level of interest rate risk in times of monetary policy change and/or
uncertainty, such as when the Federal Reserve Board
adjusts a quantitative easing program and/or changes rates. A changing
interest rate environment increases certain risks, including
the potential for periods of volatility, increased redemptions, shortened
durations (i.e., prepayment risk) and extended durations
(i.e., extension risk). The Fund is not limited as to the maturities (when
a debt security provides its final payment) or durations
(measure of interest rate sensitivity) of the securities in which it may
invest. Securities with longer durations are likely to be
more sensitive to changes in interest rates, generally making them more
volatile than securities with shorter durations. Lower rated
fixed-income securities have greater volatility because there is less
certainty that principal and interest payments will be made as
scheduled. The Fund may be subject to certain liquidity risks that may
result from the lack of an active market and the reduced number
and capacity of traditional market participants to make a market in
fixed-income
securities. |
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Credit
and Interest Rate Risk.
Credit risk refers to the possibility that the issuer or guarantor of a
security,
or counterparty to a transaction,
will be unable or unwilling or perceived to be unable or unwilling to make
interest payments and/or repay the principal
on its debt
or otherwise honor its obligations, including the risk of
default.
In such instances, the value of the Fund could
decline and the Fund could lose money. If
an issuer’s, guarantor’s or counterparty’s financial condition worsens,
the credit quality
of the issuer, guarantor or counterparty may deteriorate. Credit ratings
may not be an accurate assessment of financial condition,
liquidity or credit risk. Although credit ratings may not accurately
reflect the true credit risk of an instrument, a change in
the credit rating of an instrument or an issuer, guarantor or
counterparty, or the market’s perception of the creditworthiness of
an
instrument or issuer, guarantor or counterparty can have a rapid, adverse
effect on the instrument’s value and liquidity and make
it more difficult for the Fund to sell at an advantageous price or time.
Interest
rate risk refers to the decline in the value of a fixed-income
security resulting from changes in the general level of interest rates.
A
wide variety of market and economic factors can
cause interest rates to rise or fall, including central bank monetary
policy, rising inflation, disinflation or deflation, and changes
in general economic conditions. When
the general level of interest rates goes up, the prices of most
fixed-income securities
go down. When the general level of interest rates goes down, the prices of
most fixed-income securities go up
but the yield
or income from new issuances of fixed-income securities generally
decreases. Securities with longer durations will generally be
more sensitive to changes in interest rates than securities with shorter
durations. Fluctuations in interest rates may also affect the
liquidity of and income generated by fixed-income instruments held by the
Fund.
The Fund may invest in variable and floating
rate loans and other variable and floating rate securities. Although
the
value of these
instruments are generally less sensitive
to interest rate changes than fixed rate instruments, the value of
variable and floating rate loans and other securities may decline
if their interest rates do not rise as quickly, or as much, as general
interest rates. The
Fund may face a heightened level of interest
rate risk in times of monetary policy change and/or uncertainty, such as
when the Federal Reserve Board adjusts a quantitative
easing program and/or changes rates. Changing interest rates may have
unpredictable effects on the markets and may detract
from Fund performance. A changing interest rate environment increases
certain risks, including the potential for periods of market
volatility, increased redemptions, shortened durations (i.e., prepayment
risk) and extended durations (i.e., extension
risk). |
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High
Yield Securities (“Junk Bonds”).
The Fund’s investments in high yield securities expose it to increased
risks, including a substantial
degree of credit and default risks. High yield securities may be issued by
companies that are restructuring, are smaller and
less creditworthy or are more highly leveraged or indebted than
other companies or are financially distressed, and therefore they
typically have more difficulty making scheduled payments of principal and
interest than issuers of higher rated investments. High
yield securities are subject to greater risk of loss (including
substantial or total loss) of income and principal than higher
rated
securities and are considered speculative because of increased credit risk
relative to higher rated fixed income investments. High
yield securities are also subject to greater price volatility, including
sudden and substantial decreases in price, and less liquidity
than higher rated securities. High yield securities are particularly
sensitive to adverse economic, market, industry or issuer-specific
developments, which may result in an increased incidence of default. In
the event of a default, the Fund may incur additional
expenses to seek recovery or to negotiate new terms with a defaulting
issuer. |
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Foreign
Securities.
The Fund may invest in U.S. dollar-denominated securities issued by
foreign governmental or corporate issuers. Investing
in securities of foreign issuers involves some additional risks than
securities of U.S. issuers. While foreign securities, including
foreign money market securities, are subject to the same type of risks
that pertain to domestic issuers, namely credit risk and
interest rate risk, they are also subject to other additional risks.
Foreign issuers generally are subject to different accounting,
auditing
and financial reporting standards than U.S. issuers. There may be less
information available to the public about foreign issuers.
In some foreign countries, there is also the risk of government
expropriation, excessive taxation, political or social instability,
economic sanctions or other similar governmental activity or diplomatic
developments (including
regional and global, military
or other conflicts) that
could affect an investment. There also can be difficulty obtaining and
enforcing judgments against
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Eaton
Vance | Fund
Summary
Eaton
Vance CLO Investment Grade Income ETF (Con’t)
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issuers
in foreign countries. Governmental interventions
or other actions
can have a significant effect on the economic conditions in
foreign countries, which also may adversely affect the Fund’s investments
in foreign
issuers. |
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Foreign
Currency.
The Fund’s investments in foreign securities may be denominated in foreign
currencies. The value of foreign currencies
may fluctuate relative to the value of the U.S. dollar. Since the Fund may
invest in such non-U.S. dollar-denominated securities,
and therefore may convert the value of such securities into U.S. dollars,
changes in currency exchange rates can increase or
decrease the U.S. dollar value of the Fund’s assets. Currency exchange
rates may fluctuate significantly over short periods of time
for a number of reasons, including changes in interest rates and the
overall economic health of the issuer. Devaluation of a currency
by a country’s government or banking authority also will have a
significant impact on the value of any investments denominated
in that currency. The Adviser may use derivatives to reduce this risk. The
Adviser may in their discretion choose not to
hedge against currency risk. In addition, certain market conditions may
make it impossible or uneconomical to hedge against currency
risk. |
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• |
Derivatives.
Derivatives and other similar instruments that create synthetic exposure
often are subject to risks similar to those of the
underlying asset or instrument, including market risk, and may be subject
to additional risks, including imperfect correlation between
the value of the derivative and the underlying asset, risks of default by
the counterparty to certain transactions, magnification
of losses incurred due to changes in the market value of the securities,
instruments, indices or interest rates to which the
derivative instrument relates, risks that the transactions may not be
liquid, risks arising from margin and payment requirements,
risks arising from mispricing or valuation complexity and operational and
legal risks. Certain derivative transactions may
give rise to a form of leverage. Leverage magnifies the potential for gain
and the risk of
loss. |
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Market
and Geopolitical Risk.
The value of your investment in the Fund is based on the values of the
Fund’s investments, which change
due to economic, geopolitical and other events that affect the U.S. and
global markets generally, as well as those that affect or
are perceived or expected to affect particular regions, countries,
industries, companies, issuers, sectors, asset classes or governments.
These types of events may be sudden and unexpected, and could adversely
affect the value (or income generated by) and
liquidity of the Fund’s investments, which may in turn impact the Fund’s
ability to sell securities and/or its ability to meet redemptions.
The risks associated with these developments may be magnified if certain
social, political, economic and other conditions
and events (such as war, natural disasters or events, epidemics and
pandemics, terrorism, conflicts, social unrest, recessions,
inflation, interest rate changes, supply chain disruptions and the threat
or actual imposition of tariffs, trade barriers and other
protectionist or retaliatory measures) adversely interrupt or otherwise
affect the global economy and financial markets. It is difficult
to predict when events affecting the U.S. or global financial markets or
economies may occur, the effects that such events may
have and the duration of those effects (which may last for extended
periods). These types of events may negatively impact broad
segments of businesses and populations and have a significant and rapid
negative impact on the performance or value of the Fund’s
investments, adversely affect and increase the volatility of the Fund’s
share price and exacerbate pre-existing risks to the Fund.
The frequency and magnitude of resulting changes in the value of the
Fund’s investments cannot be
predicted. |
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Distressed
and Defaulted Securities.
Distressed and defaulted securities are speculative and involve
substantial risks in addition to the
risks of investing in high yield securities. The Fund will generally not
receive interest payments on the distressed securities and the
repayment of principal may also be subject to increased risk. These
securities may present a substantial risk of default or may be
in default at the time of investment, requiring the Fund to incur
additional costs. The repayment of defaulted securities is also
subject
to significant uncertainties. The Fund may incur substantial expenses in
seeking recovery upon a default in the payment of principal
of or interest on its portfolio
holdings. |
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LIBOR
Discontinuance or Unavailability Risk.
The Fund’s investments, payment obligations and financing terms may be
based on floating
rates, such as the London Interbank Offered Rates (collectively, “LIBOR”),
Euro Interbank Offered Rate, Secured Overnight
Financing Rate (“SOFR”) and other similar types of reference rates (each,
a “Reference Rate”). These Reference Rates are
generally intended to represent the rate at which contributing banks may
obtain short-term borrowings from each other within certain
financial markets. London Interbank Offered Rate (“LIBOR”) was the basic
rate of interest used in lending transactions between
banks on the London interbank market and has been widely used as a
reference for setting the interest rate on loans globally.
As a result of benchmark reforms, publication of LIBOR
settings has ceased. Certain
regulators and industry groups have taken
actions to establish alternative reference rates (e.g., the SOFR, which
measures the cost of overnight borrowings through repurchase
agreement transactions collateralized with U.S. Treasury securities and is
intended to replace U.S. dollar LIBORs with certain
adjustments). These developments could negatively impact financial markets
in general and present heightened risks, including
with respect to the Fund’s investments. As a result of the uncertainty and
developments relating to the transition process,
performance, price volatility, liquidity and value of the Fund and its
assets may be adversely
affected. |
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Authorized
Participant Concentration Risk.
Only an authorized participant may engage in creation or redemption
transactions directly
with the Fund. The Fund has a limited number of intermediaries that act as
authorized participants and none of these authorized
participants is or will be obligated to engage in creation or redemption
transactions. There can be no assurance that an active
trading market for the Fund’s shares will develop or be maintained. To the
extent that these intermediaries exit the business or
are unable to or choose not to proceed with creation and/or redemption
orders with respect to the Fund, such as during periods
|
Eaton
Vance | Fund
Summary
Eaton
Vance CLO Investment Grade Income ETF (Con’t)
| |
of
market stress, and no other authorized participant creates or redeems,
shares may trade at a discount to net asset value (“NAV”) per
share and possibly face trading halts and/or delisting. Authorized
participant concentration risk may be heightened to the extent
the Fund invests in securities issued by non-U.S. issuers or other
securities or instruments that have lower trading
volumes. |
| |
Cash
Transactions Risk.
Unlike certain ETFs, the Fund may effect creations and redemptions in cash
or partially in cash. Therefore,
it may be required to sell portfolio securities and subsequently recognize
gains on such sales that the Fund might not have
recognized if it were to distribute portfolio securities in-kind. As such,
investments in shares may be less tax-efficient than an investment
in an ETF that distributes portfolio securities entirely
in-kind. |
| |
Trading
Risk.
The market prices of shares are expected to fluctuate, in some cases
materially, in response to changes in the Fund’s NAV,
the intra-day value of the Fund’s holdings, and supply and demand for
shares. The Adviser cannot predict whether shares will
trade above, below or at their NAV. Disruptions to creations and
redemptions, the existence of significant market volatility or
potential
lack of an active trading market for the shares (including through a
trading halt), as well as other factors, may result in the
shares trading significantly above (at a premium) or below (at a discount)
to NAV or to the intraday value of the Fund’s holdings.
You may pay significantly more or receive significantly less than the
Fund’s NAV per share during periods when there is a
significant premium or discount. Buying or selling shares in the secondary
market may require paying brokerage commissions or other
charges imposed by brokers as determined by that broker. Brokerage
commissions are often a fixed amount and may be a significant
proportional cost when seeking to buy or sell relatively small amounts of
shares. In addition, the market price of shares, like
the price of any exchange-traded security, includes a “bid-ask spread”
charged by the market makers or other participants that trade
the particular security. The spread of the Fund’s shares varies over time
based on the Fund’s trading volume and market liquidity
and may increase if the Fund’s trading volume, the spread of the Fund’s
underlying securities, or market liquidity decrease. |
|
• |
Active
Management Risk.
In pursuing the Fund’s investment objective, the Adviser has considerable
leeway in deciding which investments
to buy, hold or sell on a day-to-day basis, and which trading strategies
to use. For example, the Adviser, in its discretion,
may determine to use some permitted trading strategies while not using
others. The success or failure of such decisions will
affect the Fund’s
performance. |
|
• |
Investment
Company Securities.
Subject to the limitations set forth in the Investment Company Act of
1940, as amended (the “1940
Act”), or as otherwise permitted by the SEC, the Fund may acquire shares
in other investment companies, including foreign
investment companies, closed-end funds, ETFs and money market funds which
may be managed by the Adviser or its affiliates.
The market value of the shares of other investment companies may differ
from the NAV of the Fund. The shares of certain
investment companies frequently trade at a discount to their NAV. As
a shareholder in an investment company, the Fund would
bear its ratable share of that entity’s expenses, including its investment
advisory and administration fees, and be subject to the
associated risks. At the same time, the Fund would continue to pay its own
advisory and administration fees and other expenses.
As a result, the Fund and its shareholders, in effect, will also be
absorbing fees with respect to investments in other investment
companies. |
|
• |
Non-Diversification.
The Fund is non-diversified, which means that the Fund may invest a
greater percentage of its assets in a smaller
number of issuers than a diversified fund. Because the Fund is
non-diversified, it may be more susceptible to an adverse event
affecting a single issuer or portfolio investment than a diversified
portfolio and a decline in the value of that issuer’s securities
or that portfolio investment may cause the Fund’s overall value to decline
to a greater degree than a diversified
portfolio. |
|
• |
New
Fund Risk.
A new fund’s performance may not represent how the fund is expected to or
may perform in the long term. In addition,
new funds have limited operating histories for investors to evaluate and
new funds may not attract sufficient assets to achieve
investment and trading
efficiencies. |
Please
see “Additional Information About Fund Investment Strategies and Related Risks”
in the Fund’s prospectus for a more detailed
description of risks of investing in the Fund. Shares
of the Fund are not bank deposits and are not guaranteed or insured by
the
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government
agency.
Performance
Information
As
of the date hereof, the Fund has not yet completed a full calendar year of
investment operations. Upon the completion of a full calendar
year of investment operations by the Fund, this section will include charts that
provide some indication of the risks of an investment
in the Fund, by showing the difference in annual total returns, highest and
lowest quarterly returns and average annual total
returns (before and after taxes) compared to the benchmark index selected for
the Fund. Performance information for the Fund will
be available online at www.eatonvance.com
or by calling toll-free 800-836-2414.
Fund
Management
Adviser.
Morgan Stanley Investment Management Inc.
Eaton
Vance | Fund
Summary
Eaton
Vance CLO Investment Grade Income ETF (Con’t)
Portfolio
Managers.
Information about the individuals jointly and primarily responsible for the
day-to-day management of the Fund is
shown below:
|
|
| |
|
Name |
Title
with Adviser |
Date
Began Managing
Fund |
|
Edward
Greenaway, CFA |
Executive
Director |
Since
Inception |
|
Steve
Sebo |
Executive
Director |
Since
Inception |
|
Brandon
Matsui, CFA |
Executive
Director |
Since
Inception |
Purchase
and Sale of Fund Shares
Individual
shares of the Fund may only be purchased and sold in secondary market
transactions through a broker or dealer at market price.
Because shares trade at market prices, rather than NAV, shares of the Fund may
trade at a price greater than NAV (i.e., a premium)
or less than NAV (i.e., a discount).
You
may incur costs attributable to the difference between the highest price a buyer
is willing to pay for shares (bid) and the lowest price
a seller is willing to accept for shares (ask) (the “bid-ask spread”) when
buying or selling shares in the secondary market.
Recent
information, including information about the Fund’s NAV, market price, premiums
and discounts, and bid-ask spreads (when
available), will be available on the Fund’s website at
www.eatonvance.com.
Tax
Information
The
Fund intends to make dividends and distributions that may be taxed as ordinary
income or capital gains, unless you are investing through
a tax-deferred arrangement, such as a 401(k) plan or an individual retirement
account.
Payments
to Broker-Dealers and Other Financial Intermediaries
If
you purchase shares of the Fund through a broker-dealer or financial
intermediary (such as a bank), the Adviser and/or Foreside Fund
Services, LLC (the “Distributor”) may pay the financial intermediary for
the sale of Fund shares and related services. These payments,
which may be significant in amount, may create a conflict of interest by
influencing the financial intermediary and your salesperson
to recommend the Fund over another investment. Ask your salesperson or visit
your financial intermediary’s website for more
information.
Eaton
Vance | Fund
Summary
Eaton
Vance High Income Municipal ETF
Investment
Objective
Eaton
Vance High Income
Municipal ETF
(the “Fund”) seeks to provide high current income exempt from regular federal
income tax.
Fees
and Expenses
The
table below describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy, hold
and sell shares of the Fund. You
may pay fees other
than the fees and expenses of the Fund, such as brokerage commissions and other
fees charged by financial intermediaries,
which are not reflected in the tables and examples
below.
Annual
Fund Operating Expenses1 (expenses
that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your
investment)
| 1 |
The
Fund’s management agreement provides that the Fund’s “Adviser,” Morgan
Stanley Investment Management Inc., will pay substantially all expenses
of
the Fund (including expenses of Morgan Stanley ETF Trust (the “Trust”)
relating to the Fund), except for the distribution fees, if any, brokerage
expenses,
acquired fund fees and expenses, taxes, interest, litigation expenses, and
other extraordinary expenses, including the costs of proxies, not
incurred
in the ordinary course of the Fund’s
business. |
Example
The
example below is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund
with the cost of investing in other funds. The example
does not take into account brokerage commissions that you pay when purchasing or
selling shares of the Fund.
The
example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods
indicated and then sell all of your shares at the end of those
periods. The example also assumes your investment has a 5% return each year and
the Fund’s operating expenses remain the same.
Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions
your costs would be:
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
1
Year |
3
Years |
5
Years |
10
Years |
|
|
|
$41 |
$128 |
$224 |
$505 |
|
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 rate 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 Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses or
in the Example, affect the Fund’s performance.
During the period from February 25, 2025 (commencement of operations) through
September 30, 2025, the Fund’s portfolio
turnover rate was 82%
of the average value of its portfolio.
Principal
Investment Strategies
Under
normal circumstances, the Fund invests at least 80% of its net assets (plus any
borrowings for investment purposes) in municipal
obligations, the interest on which is exempt from regular federal income tax.
This policy is fundamental and may not be changed
without shareholder approval. Municipal
obligations are debt obligations issued by or on behalf of states, territories
and possessions
of the United States, and the District of Columbia and their political
subdivisions, agencies or instrumentalities. The
Fund
may invest without limit in obligations the income from which is subject to the
federal alternative minimum tax. The Fund will
primarily invest in “high yield” municipal obligations under normal market
conditions. For this purpose, “high yield” municipal obligations
are municipal obligations rated at the time of investment either Baa or lower by
Moody’s Investors Service, Inc. (“Moody’s”),
or BBB or lower by either S&P Global Ratings (“S&P”) or Fitch Ratings
(“Fitch”) or, if unrated, determined by the investment
adviser to be of comparable quality. “High yield” municipal obligations rated
below investment grade are also known as “junk
bonds.” The Fund may invest in securities in any rating category, including
those in default. For purposes of rating restrictions, if
securities are rated differently by two or more rating agencies, the lowest
rating will be used for any Fund rating
restrictions.
The
Fund may invest up to 20% of its net assets in other debt obligations, including
(but not limited to) taxable municipal obligations, U.S.
Treasury securities and obligations of the U.S. Government, its agencies and
instrumentalities (“Agency Securities”).
The Fund may purchase or sell derivative instruments (such as residual interest
bonds, futures contracts and options thereon,
interest rate swaps, and forward rate contracts) for hedging purposes, to seek
total return or as a substitute for the purchase or
sale of securities. Derivative instruments used by the Fund will be counted
toward the Fund’s 80% policy discussed above to the extent
they have economic characteristics similar to the securities included within
that policy.
In
pursuing its objective, the Fund normally acquires municipal obligations
with maturities of ten years or more, but may acquire securities
with shorter maturities.
Eaton
Vance | Fund
Summary
Eaton
Vance High Income Municipal ETF (Con’t)
The
Fund may invest 25% or more of its total assets in certain types of municipal
obligations (such as general obligations, municipal leases,
principal only municipal investments, revenue bonds and industrial development
bonds) and in one or more states, territories and
economic sectors (such as housing, hospitals, healthcare facilities or
utilities). The Fund may invest in pooled investment vehicles,
including exchange-traded funds (“ETFs”), to seek exposure to the municipal
markets or municipal market sectors.
The
Adviser’s process for selecting obligations for purchase and sale emphasizes
the creditworthiness of the issuer or other person obligated
to repay the obligation and the relative value of the obligation in the market.
In evaluating creditworthiness, the Adviser considers
ratings assigned by rating agencies and generally performs additional credit and
investment analysis. When deemed by the Adviser
to be relevant to its evaluation of creditworthiness and when applicable
information is available, the Adviser considers environmental,
social and/or governance issues (referred to as ESG) which may impact the
prospects of an issuer (or obligor) or financial
performance of an obligation. When considered, one or more ESG issues are taken
into account alongside other factors in the
investment decision-making process and are not the sole determinant of whether
an investment can be made or will remain in the Fund’s
portfolio.
The
Fund may engage in relative value trading to take advantage of price
appreciation opportunities or to realize capital losses. The fund
also may trade securities to seek to minimize taxable capital gains to
shareholders. A portion of the Fund’s distributions generally
will be subject to the federal alternative minimum tax. The Fund may not be
suitable for investors subject to the federal alternative
minimum tax.
Principal
Risks
There
is no assurance that the Fund will achieve its investment objective, and you can
lose money investing in this Fund.
Investments
in
the Fund involve risks and you should not rely on the Fund as a complete
investment program. The relative significance of each risk
factor summarized below may change over time and you should review each risk
factor carefully because any one or more of these risks
may result in losses to the Fund. The
principal risks of investing in the Fund include:
|
• |
Fixed-Income
Securities.
Fixed-income securities are subject to the risk of the issuer’s inability
to meet principal and interest payments
on its obligations (i.e., credit risk) and are subject to price volatility
resulting from, among other things, interest rate sensitivity
(i.e., interest rate risk), market perception of the creditworthiness of
the issuer and general market liquidity (i.e., market risk).
For example, a type of fixed-income securities in which the Fund may
invest are corporate debt obligations. In addition to interest
rate, credit and other risks, corporate debt obligations are also subject
to factors directly related to the issuer, such as the credit
rating of the corporation, the corporation’s performance and perceptions
of the corporation in the marketplace, and by factors
not directly related to the issuer, such as general market liquidity,
economic conditions and inflation. The Fund may face a heightened
level of interest rate risk in times of monetary policy change and/or
uncertainty, such as when the Federal Reserve Board
adjusts a quantitative easing program and/or changes rates. A changing
interest rate environment increases certain risks, including
the potential for periods of volatility, increased redemptions, shortened
durations (i.e., prepayment risk) and extended durations
(i.e., extension risk). The
Fund is not limited as to the maturities (when a debt security provides
its final payment) or durations
(measure of interest rate sensitivity)
of the securities in which it may invest. Securities
with longer durations are likely to be
more sensitive to changes in interest rates, generally making them more
volatile than securities with shorter durations. Lower rated
fixed-income securities have greater volatility because there is less
certainty that principal and interest payments will be made as
scheduled. The Fund may be subject to certain liquidity risks that
may result from the lack of an active market and the reduced number
and capacity of traditional market participants to make a market in
fixed-income
securities. |
|
• |
High
Yield Securities (“Junk Bonds”).
The Fund’s investments in high yield securities expose it to increased
risks, including a substantial
degree of credit and default risks. High yield securities may be issued by
companies that are restructuring, are smaller and
less creditworthy or are more highly leveraged or indebted than
other companies or are financially distressed, and therefore they
typically have more difficulty making scheduled payments of principal and
interest than issuers of higher rated investments. High
yield securities are subject to greater risk of loss (including
substantial or total loss) of income and principal than higher
rated
securities and are considered speculative because of increased credit risk
relative to higher rated fixed income investments. High
yield securities are also subject to greater price volatility, including
sudden and substantial decreases in price, and less liquidity
than higher rated securities. High yield securities are particularly
sensitive to adverse economic, market, industry or issuer-specific
developments, which may result in an increased incidence of default. In
the event of a default, the Fund may incur additional
expenses to seek recovery or to negotiate new terms with a defaulting
issuer. |
|
• |
Credit
and Interest Rate Risk.
Credit risk refers to the possibility that the issuer or guarantor of a
security, or counterparty to a transaction,
will be unable or unwilling or perceived to be unable or unwilling to make
interest payments and/or repay the principal
on its debt or otherwise honor its obligations, including the risk of
default. In such instances, the value of the Fund could
decline and the Fund could lose money. If an issuer’s, guarantor’s or
counterparty’s financial condition worsens, the credit quality
of the issuer, guarantor or counterparty may deteriorate. Credit ratings
may not be an accurate assessment of financial condition,
liquidity or credit risk. Although credit ratings may not accurately
reflect the true credit risk of an instrument, a change in
the credit rating of an instrument or an issuer, guarantor or
counterparty, or the market’s perception of the creditworthiness of
an
instrument or issuer, guarantor or counterparty can have a rapid, adverse
effect on the instrument’s value and liquidity and
|
Eaton
Vance | Fund
Summary
Eaton
Vance High Income Municipal ETF (Con’t)
|
|
make
it more difficult for the Fund to sell at an advantageous price or time.
Interest rate risk refers to the decline in the value of a fixed-income
security resulting from changes in the general level of interest rates. A
wide variety of market and economic factors can
cause interest rates to rise or fall, including central bank monetary
policy, rising inflation, disinflation or deflation, and changes
in general economic conditions. When the general level of interest rates
goes up, the prices of most fixed-income securities
go down. When the general level of interest rates goes down, the prices of
most fixed-income securities go up but the yield
or income from new issuances of fixed-income securities generally
decreases. Securities with longer durations will generally be
more sensitive to changes in interest rates than securities with shorter
durations. Fluctuations in interest rates may also affect the
liquidity of and income generated by fixed-income instruments held by the
Fund. The Fund may invest in variable and floating
rate loans and other variable and floating rate securities. Although the
value of these instruments are generally less sensitive
to interest rate changes than fixed rate instruments, the value of
variable and floating rate loans and other securities may decline
if their interest rates do not rise as quickly, or as much, as general
interest rates. The Fund may face a heightened level of interest
rate risk in times of monetary policy change and/or uncertainty, such as
when the Federal Reserve Board adjusts a quantitative
easing program and/or changes rates. Changing interest rates may have
unpredictable effects on the markets and may detract
from Fund performance. A changing interest rate environment increases
certain risks, including the potential for periods of market
volatility, increased redemptions, shortened durations (i.e., prepayment
risk) and extended durations (i.e., extension
risk). |
|
• |
U.S.
Government Securities. Different
types of U.S. government securities are subject to different levels of
credit risk, including the risk
of default, depending on the nature of the particular government support
for that security. For example, a U.S. government-sponsored
entity, such as Federal National Mortgage Association or Federal Home Loan
Mortgage Corporation, although chartered
or sponsored by an Act of Congress, may issue securities that are neither
insured nor guaranteed by the U.S. Treasury and,
therefore, are not backed by the full faith and credit of the United
States. With respect to U.S. government securities that are not
backed by the full faith and credit of the United States, there is the
risk that the U.S. government will not provide financial support
to such U.S. government agencies, instrumentalities or sponsored
enterprises if it is not obligated to do so by law. U.S. government
securities are also subject to interest rate risks and can exhibit price
fluctuations resulting from increases or decreases in
interest rates. |
|
• |
Municipals.
Because the Fund may invest in municipal securities (also referred to as
municipal obligations), the Fund may be susceptible
to political, legislative, economic, regulatory, tax or other factors
affecting issuers of these municipal securities, such as state
and local governments and their agencies. To the extent that the Fund
invests in municipal securities of issuers in the same state
or economic sector, it could be more sensitive to economic, business or
political developments that affect such state or sector. Municipal
securities and their issuers may be more susceptible to downgrade, loss of
revenue, default and bankruptcy during periods
of economic stress. Municipal securities also involve the risk that an
issuer may call the securities for redemption, which could
force the Fund to reinvest the proceeds at a lower rate of interest. While
interest earned on municipal securities is generally not
subject to regular
federal income tax, any interest earned on taxable municipal securities is
fully taxable at the federal level and may
be subject to state and/or local income
tax. |
|
• |
Liquidity.
The Fund may make investments that are less liquid, illiquid or restricted
or that may become illiquid or less liquid in response
to overall economic conditions or adverse investor perceptions, and which
may entail greater risk than investments in other
types of securities. These investments may be more difficult to value or
sell, particularly in times of market turmoil, and there
may be little trading in the secondary market available for particular
securities. Liquidity risk may be magnified in a market where
credit spread and interest rate volatility is rising and where investor
redemptions from fixed-income funds may be higher than
normal. If the Fund is forced to sell an illiquid or restricted security
to fund redemptions or for other cash needs, it may be forced
to sell the security at a loss or for less than its fair value and may be
unable to sell the security at
all. |
|
• |
Market
and Geopolitical Risk.
The value of your investment in the Fund is based on the values of the
Fund’s investments, which change
due to economic, geopolitical and other events that affect the U.S. and
global markets generally, as well as those that affect or
are perceived or expected to affect particular regions, countries,
industries, companies, issuers, sectors, asset classes or governments.
These types of events may be sudden and unexpected, and could adversely
affect the value (or income generated by) and
liquidity of the Fund’s investments, which may in turn impact the Fund’s
ability to sell securities and/or its ability to meet redemptions.
The risks associated with these developments may be magnified if certain
social, political, economic and other conditions
and events (such as war, natural disasters or events, epidemics and
pandemics, terrorism, conflicts, social unrest, recessions,
inflation, interest rate changes, supply chain disruptions and the threat
or actual imposition of tariffs, trade barriers and other
protectionist or retaliatory measures) adversely interrupt or otherwise
affect the global economy and financial markets. It is difficult
to predict when events affecting the U.S. or global financial markets or
economies may occur, the effects that such events may
have and the duration of those effects (which may last for extended
periods). These types of events may negatively impact broad
segments of businesses and populations and have a significant and rapid
negative impact on the performance or value of the Fund’s
investments, adversely affect and increase the volatility of the Fund’s
share price and exacerbate pre-existing risks to the Fund.
The frequency and magnitude of resulting changes in the value of the
Fund’s investments cannot be
predicted. |
|
• |
Derivatives.
Derivatives and other similar instruments that create synthetic exposure
often are subject to risks similar to those of the
underlying asset or instrument, including market risk, and may be subject
to additional risks, including imperfect correlation between
the value of the derivative and the underlying asset, risks of default by
the counterparty to certain transactions,
|
Eaton
Vance | Fund
Summary
Eaton
Vance High Income Municipal ETF (Con’t)
|
|
magnification
of losses incurred due to changes in the market value of the securities,
instruments, indices or interest rates to which the
derivative instrument relates, risks that the transactions may not be
liquid, risks arising from margin and payment requirements,
risks arising from mispricing or valuation complexity and operational and
legal risks. Certain derivative transactions may
give rise to a form of leverage. Leverage magnifies the potential for gain
and the risk of
loss. |
| |
Authorized
Participant Concentration Risk.
Only an authorized participant may engage in creation or redemption
transactions directly
with the Fund. The Fund has a limited number of intermediaries that act as
authorized participants and none of these authorized
participants is or will be obligated to engage in creation or redemption
transactions. There can be no assurance that an active
trading market for the Fund’s shares will develop or be maintained. To the
extent that these intermediaries exit the business or
are unable to or choose not to proceed with creation and/or redemption
orders with respect to the Fund, such as during periods of
market stress, and no other authorized participant creates or redeems,
shares may trade at a discount to net asset value (“NAV”) per
share and possibly face trading halts and/or delisting. Authorized
participant concentration risk may be heightened to the extent
the Fund invests in securities issued by non-U.S. issuers or other
securities or instruments that have lower trading
volumes. |
| |
Cash
Transactions Risk.
Unlike certain ETFs, the Fund may effect creations and redemptions in cash
or partially in cash. Therefore,
it may be required to sell portfolio securities and subsequently recognize
gains on such sales that the Fund might not have
recognized if it were to distribute portfolio securities in-kind. As such,
investments in shares may be less tax-efficient than an investment
in an ETF that distributes portfolio securities entirely
in-kind. |
| |
Trading
Risk.
The market prices of shares are expected to fluctuate, in some cases
materially, in response to changes in the Fund’s NAV,
the intra-day value of the Fund’s holdings, and supply and demand for
shares. The Adviser cannot predict whether shares will
trade above, below or at their NAV. Disruptions to creations and
redemptions, the existence of significant market volatility or
potential
lack of an active trading market for the shares (including through a
trading halt), as well as other factors, may result in the
shares trading significantly above (at a premium) or below (at a discount)
to NAV or to the intraday value of the Fund’s holdings.
You may pay significantly more or receive significantly less than the
Fund’s NAV per share during periods when there is a
significant premium or discount. Buying or selling shares in the secondary
market may require paying brokerage commissions or other
charges imposed by brokers as determined by that broker. Brokerage
commissions are often a fixed amount and may be a significant
proportional cost when seeking to buy or sell relatively small amounts of
shares. In addition, the market price of shares, like
the price of any exchange-traded security, includes a “bid-ask spread”
charged by the market makers or other participants that trade
the particular security. The spread of the Fund’s shares varies over time
based on the Fund’s trading volume and market liquidity
and may increase if the Fund’s trading volume, the spread of the Fund’s
underlying securities, or market liquidity decrease. |
|
• |
Active
Management Risk.
In pursuing the Fund’s investment objective, the Adviser has considerable
leeway in deciding which investments
to buy, hold or sell on a day-to-day basis, and which trading strategies
to use. For example, the Adviser, in its discretion,
may determine to use some permitted trading strategies while not using
others. The success or failure of such decisions will
affect the Fund’s
performance. |
|
• |
Distressed
and Defaulted Securities.
Distressed and defaulted securities are speculative and involve
substantial risks in addition to the
risks of investing in high yield securities. The Fund will generally not
receive interest payments on the distressed securities and the
repayment of principal may also be subject to increased risk. These
securities may present a substantial risk of default or may be
in default at the time of investment, requiring the Fund to incur
additional costs. The repayment of defaulted securities is also
subject
to significant uncertainties. The Fund may incur substantial expenses in
seeking recovery upon a default in the payment of principal
of or interest on its portfolio
holdings. |
|
• |
Taxability
Risk. Changes
in tax laws or adverse determinations by the Internal Revenue Service
(“IRS”) may make the income from some
municipal obligations
taxable. |
|
• |
New
Fund Risk.
A new fund’s performance may not represent how the fund is expected to or
may perform in the long term. In addition,
new funds have limited operating histories for investors to evaluate and
new funds may not attract sufficient assets to achieve
investment and trading
efficiencies. |
|
• |
Investment
Company Securities.
Subject to the limitations set forth in the Investment Company Act of
1940, as amended (the “1940
Act”), or as otherwise permitted by the SEC, the Fund may acquire shares
in other investment companies, including foreign
investment companies, closed-end
funds, ETFs
and money market funds which may be managed by the Adviser or its
affiliates.
The market value of the shares of other investment companies may differ
from the NAV of the Fund. The shares of certain
investment companies frequently trade at a discount to their NAV. As a
shareholder in an investment company, the Fund would
bear its ratable share of that entity’s expenses, including its investment
advisory and administration fees, and be subject to the
associated risks. At the same time, the Fund would continue to pay its own
advisory and administration fees and other expenses.
As a result, the Fund and its shareholders, in effect, will also be
absorbing fees with respect to investments in other investment
companies. |
Eaton
Vance | Fund
Summary
Eaton
Vance High Income Municipal ETF (Con’t)
|
• |
Residual
Interest Bonds.
The Fund may enter into residual interest bond transactions, which expose
the Fund to leverage and greater
risk than an investment in a fixed-rate municipal bond. The interest
payments that the Fund receives on the residual interest
bonds acquired in such transactions vary inversely with short-term
interest rates, normally decreasing when short-term rates
increase. The value and market for residual interest bonds are volatile
and such bonds may have limited liquidity. As required by
applicable accounting standards, the Fund records interest expense as a
liability with respect to floating-rate notes and also records
offsetting interest income in an amount equal to this
expense. |
Please
see “Additional Information About Fund Investment Strategies and Related Risks”
in the Fund’s prospectus for a more detailed
description of risks of investing in the Fund. Shares
of the Fund are not bank deposits and are not guaranteed or insured by
the
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government
agency.
Performance
Information
As
of the date hereof, the Fund has not yet completed a full calendar year of
investment operations. Upon the completion of a full calendar
year of investment operations by the Fund, this section will include charts that
provide some indication of the risks of an investment
in the Fund, by showing the difference in annual total returns, highest and
lowest quarterly returns and average annual total
returns (before and after taxes) compared to the benchmark index selected for
the Fund. Performance information for the Fund will
be available online at www.eatonvance.com
or by calling toll-free 800-836-2414.
Fund
Management
Adviser.
Morgan Stanley Investment Management Inc.
Portfolio
Managers.
Information about the individuals jointly and primarily responsible for the
day-to-day management of the Fund is
shown below:
|
|
| |
|
Name |
Title
with Adviser |
Date
Began Managing
Fund |
|
Bill
Delahunty, CFA |
Managing
Director |
Since
Inception |
|
Trevor
Smith |
Executive
Director |
Since
Inception |
|
Carl
Thompson, CFA |
Executive
Director |
Since
Inception |
|
Brandon
Matsui, CFA |
Executive
Director |
Since
Inception |
Purchase
and Sale of Fund Shares
Individual
shares of the Fund may only be purchased and sold in secondary market
transactions through a broker or dealer at market price.
Because shares trade at market prices, rather than NAV, shares of the Fund may
trade at a price greater than NAV (i.e., a premium)
or less than NAV (i.e., a discount).
You
may incur costs attributable to the difference between the highest price a buyer
is willing to pay for shares (bid) and the lowest price
a seller is willing to accept for shares (ask) (the “bid-ask spread”) when
buying or selling shares in the secondary market.
Recent
information, including information about the Fund’s NAV, market price, premiums
and discounts, and bid-ask spreads (when
available), will be available on the Fund’s website at
www.eatonvance.com.
Tax
Information
The
Fund’s distributions of interest on municipal obligations generally are not
subject to federal income tax. The Fund’s distributions
from other portfolio securities may be subject to federal, state and/or local
income taxes. Income derived from some municipal
securities is subject to the federal alternative minimum tax. If the Fund makes
any capital gain distributions, those distributions
will normally be subject to federal and state income tax when they are paid,
whether you take them in cash or reinvest them
in Fund shares.
Payments
to Broker-Dealers and Other Financial Intermediaries
If
you purchase shares of the Fund through a broker-dealer or financial
intermediary (such as a bank), the Adviser and/or Foreside Fund
Services, LLC (the “Distributor”) may pay the financial intermediary for
the sale of Fund shares and related services. These payments,
which may be significant in amount, may create a conflict of interest by
influencing the financial intermediary and your salesperson
to recommend the Fund over another investment. Ask your salesperson or visit
your financial intermediary’s website for more
information.
Eaton
Vance | Details
of the Fund
Eaton
Vance CLO Investment Grade Income ETF
Investment
Objective
The
Fund seeks current income, with a secondary objective of capital
preservation.
The
Fund’s investment objective may be changed by the Trust’s Board of Trustees
without shareholder approval, but no change is anticipated.
If the Fund’s investment objective changes, the Fund will notify shareholders
and shareholders should consider whether the
Fund remains an appropriate investment in light of the change.
Approach
The
Fund is an actively managed exchange-traded fund (“ETF”) and does not seek to
track the performance of any particular index. The
Fund normally invests at least 80% of its net assets (plus borrowings for
investment purposes) in investment grade-rated debt tranches
of collateralized loan obligations (“CLOs”) of any maturity. Investment grade
CLO securities are rated inclusive and above BBB-
by S&P Global Ratings or Baa3 Moody’s Investors Service, Inc. (or equivalent
rating issued by a nationally recognized statistical
rating organization (“NRSRO”)), or if unrated, determined to be of comparable
credit quality by the Adviser. The Fund will
not invest in any CLO equity security or in any CLO debt security rated below
BB-/Ba3 or if unrated, determined to be of comparable
credit quality by the Adviser. For purposes of complying with its 80% investment
policy, the Fund may invest in CLO investments
directly or indirectly, for example by investing in closed-end funds and
exchange-traded funds (“ETFs”) or derivatives that
provide investment and economic exposure to investment-grade rated CLO debt
investments. The Fund will provide shareholders
with at least sixty days’ written notice of any change in this 80% investment
policy. For purposes of the Fund’s investment
policies, CLOs are trusts that are typically collateralized by a pool of loans,
which may include, among others, domestic and
foreign senior secured loans, senior unsecured loans and subordinate corporate
loans, including loans that may be rated below investment
grade or equivalent unrated loans, and including “covenant lite” loans, which
have few or no financial maintenance covenants.
The Fund may purchase CLO securities both in the primary (e.g., purchased
directly from the issuer) and secondary markets.
The Adviser uses a bottom-up analysis to select CLO investments which considers
several factors, including an assessment of the
CLO manager, the CLO’s underlying collateral, an analysis of the CLO’s
documentation and structural terms. The Fund’s portfolio
is constructed using this security-level analysis, combined with a top-down
overlay which incorporates the Adviser’s credit views
as well as risk factor positioning. The Fund intends to invest primarily in CLO
securities that are U.S.-dollar denominated. However,
the Fund may from time to time invest up to 20% of its net assets in CLO
securities that are denominated in foreign currencies.
To the extent the Fund invests in non-U.S. dollar denominated securities, it may
seek to hedge its exposure to foreign currency
to U.S. dollars, as described more fully below.
Process
The
Fund may purchase up to 20% of its net assets in other types of investment
grade-rated fixed-rate or floating-rate bonds that are not
CLOs; shares of ETF and closed end funds; below investment grade CLOs,
non-US denominated investment grade CLOs; and private
credit CLOs. Private credit CLOs, often commonly referred to as “middle-market”
CLOs, are collateralized by directly-originated
loans to generally small or medium-sized firms and/or by loans of a small or
medium size. The Fund may invest a portion of
its assets in cash or other short-term instruments, such as money market
instruments or money market funds, while deploying new capital,
for liquidity management purposes, managing redemptions, or for defensive
purposes, including navigating unusual market conditions.
The
Fund may invest in derivatives in order to seek to mitigate risks associated
with the Fund’s existing portfolio of CLO securities. The
Fund’s
use of derivatives will be limited to currency forward contracts or futures
contracts to hedge certain foreign currency exposure.
Forward contracts may be used by the Fund for hedging purposes to protect
against uncertainty in the level of future foreign
currency exchange rates, such as when the Fund anticipates purchasing or selling
a foreign security. For example, this technique
would allow the Fund to “lock in” the U.S. dollar price of the security. Forward
contracts may also be used to attempt to protect
the value of the Fund’s existing holdings of foreign securities. The Fund’s
portfolio management utilizes the information provided
by, and the expertise of affiliates in making investment decisions. Derivative
instruments used by the Fund will be counted toward
the Fund’s 80% policy discussed above to the extent they have economic
characteristics similar to the securities included within
that policy.
When
deemed by the Adviser to be relevant to its evaluation of creditworthiness
and when applicable information is available, the Adviser
considers environmental, social and/or governance issues (referred to as ESG)
which may impact the prospects of an issuer (or
obligor) or financial performance of an obligation. When considered, one or more
ESG issues are taken into account alongside other
factors in the investment decision-making process and are not the sole
determinant of whether an investment can be made or will
remain in the Fund’s portfolio.
Unless
otherwise required, the Fund may change its principal investment strategies at
any time without shareholder approval; however,
you would be notified of any changes as required by applicable
law.
Eaton
Vance | Details
of the Fund
Eaton
Vance High Income Municipal ETF
Investment
Objective
The
Fund seeks to provide high current income exempt from regular federal income
tax.
The
Fund’s investment objective may be changed by the Trust’s Board of Trustees
without shareholder approval, but no change is anticipated.
If the Fund’s investment objective changes, the Fund will notify shareholders
and shareholders should consider whether the
Fund remains an appropriate investment in light of the change.
Approach
Under
normal circumstances, the Fund invests at least 80% of its net assets (plus any
borrowings for investment purposes) in municipal
obligations, the interest on which is exempt from regular federal income tax.
This policy is fundamental and may not be changed
without shareholder approval. Municipal
obligations are debt obligations issued by or on behalf of states, territories
and possessions
of the United States, and the District of Columbia and their political
subdivisions, agencies or instrumentalities. The
Fund
may invest without limit in obligations the income from which is subject to the
federal alternative minimum tax. The Fund will
primarily invest in “high yield” municipal obligations under normal market
conditions. For this purpose, “high yield” municipal obligations
are municipal obligations rated at the time of investment either Baa or lower by
Moody’s Investors Service, Inc. (“Moody’s”),
or BBB or lower by either S&P Global Ratings (“S&P”) or Fitch Ratings
(“Fitch”) or, if unrated, determined by the investment
adviser to be of comparable quality. “High yield” municipal obligations rated
below investment grade are also known as “junk
bonds.” The Fund may invest in securities in any rating category, including
those in default. For purposes of rating restrictions, if
securities are rated differently by two or more rating agencies, the lowest
rating will be used for any Fund rating restrictions.
Process
The
Fund may invest up to 20% of its net assets in other debt obligations, including
(but not limited to) taxable municipal obligations,
U.S. Treasury securities and obligations of the U.S. Government, its agencies
and instrumentalities (“Agency Securities”).
The Fund may purchase or sell derivative instruments (such as residual interest
bonds, futures contracts and options thereon,
interest rate swaps, and forward rate contracts) for hedging purposes, to seek
total return or as a substitute for the purchase or
sale of securities. Derivative instruments used by the Fund will be counted
toward the Fund’s 80% policy discussed above to the extent
they have economic characteristics similar to the securities included within
that policy.
In
pursuing its objective, the Fund normally acquires municipal obligations
with maturities of ten years or more, but may acquire securities
with shorter maturities.
The
Fund may invest 25% or more of its total assets in certain types of municipal
obligations (such as general obligations, municipal leases,
principal only municipal investments, revenue bonds and industrial development
bonds) and in one or more states, territories and
economic sectors (such as housing, hospitals, healthcare facilities or
utilities). The Fund may invest in pooled investment vehicles,
including exchange-traded funds (“ETFs”), to seek exposure to the municipal
markets or municipal market sectors.
The
Adviser’s process for selecting obligations for purchase and sale emphasizes
the creditworthiness of the issuer or other person obligated
to repay the obligation and the relative value of the obligation in the market.
In evaluating creditworthiness, the Adviser considers
ratings assigned by rating agencies and generally performs additional credit and
investment analysis. When deemed by the Adviser
to be relevant to its evaluation of creditworthiness and when applicable
information is available, the Adviser considers environmental,
social and/or governance issues (referred to as ESG) which may impact the
prospects of an issuer (or obligor) or financial
performance of an obligation. When considered, one or more ESG issues are taken
into account alongside other factors in the
investment decision-making process and are not the sole determinant of whether
an investment can be made or will remain in the Fund’s
portfolio.
The
Fund may engage in relative value trading to take advantage of price
appreciation opportunities or to realize capital losses. The fund
also may trade securities to seek to minimize taxable capital gains to
shareholders. A portion of the Fund’s distributions generally
will be subject to the federal alternative minimum tax. The Fund may not be
suitable for investors subject to the federal alternative
minimum tax.
Unless
otherwise required, the Fund may change its principal investment strategies at
any time without shareholder approval; however,
you would be notified of any changes as required by applicable law.
Eaton
Vance | Additional
Information About Fund Investment Strategies and Related Risks
Additional
Information About Fund Investment Strategies and Related Risks
|
|
| |
|
This
section discusses additional information relating to Fund investment
strategies, other types of investments that the Fund
may make and related risk factors. “Fund” as used herein and in the
remainder of this Prospectus refers to each Fund listed
on the cover page of this Prospectus (unless otherwise noted). Fund
investment practices and limitations are described in
more detail in the Statement of Additional Information (“SAI”), which is
incorporated by reference and legally is a part of this
Prospectus. For details on how to obtain a copy of the SAI and other
reports and information, see the back cover of this
Prospectus.
|
Economies
and financial markets worldwide have experienced periods of increased
volatility, uncertainty, distress, government spending,
inflation, tariffs and disruption to consumer demand, economic output and supply
chains. To the extent these conditions exist
or continue, the risks associated with an investment in the Fund, including
those described below, could be heightened and the Fund’s
investments (and thus a shareholder’s investment in the Fund) may be
particularly susceptible to sudden and substantial losses,
reduced yield or income or other adverse developments. The occurrence, duration
and extent of these or other types of adverse economic
and market conditions and uncertainty over the long term cannot be reasonably
projected or estimated at this time.
The
name, investment objective and/or policies of the Fund may be similar to other
funds advised by the Adviser or its affiliates. However,
the investment results of the Fund may be higher or lower than, and there is no
guarantee that the investment results of the Fund
will be comparable to, any such other funds for any period of time.
The
Fund may be more significantly affected by purchases and redemptions of its
Creation Units (as defined below) than a fund with relatively
greater assets under management would be affected by purchases and redemptions
of its shares. As compared to a larger fund,
the Fund is more likely to sell a comparatively large portion of its portfolio
to meet significant Creation Unit redemptions or invest
a comparatively large amount of cash to facilitate Creation Unit purchases, in
each case when the Fund otherwise would not seek
to do so. Such transactions may cause the Fund to make investment decisions at
inopportune times or prices or miss attractive investment
opportunities. Such transactions may also accelerate the realization of taxable
income if sales of securities resulted in gains and
the Fund redeems Creation Units for cash, or otherwise cause the Fund to perform
differently than intended. While such risks may
apply to funds of any size, such risks are heightened in funds with fewer assets
under management.
In
pursuing the Fund’s investment objective, the Adviser has considerable leeway in
deciding which investments it buys, holds or sells on
a day-to-day basis and which trading strategies it uses. For example, the
Adviser in its discretion may determine to use some permitted
trading strategies while not using others.
The
percentage limitations (including the Fund’s 80% policy, if any) relating to the
composition of the Fund’s portfolio apply at the time
the Fund acquires an investment. Unless otherwise required by the 1940 Act or
rule thereunder, subsequent percentage changes that
result from market fluctuations generally will not require the Fund to sell any
portfolio security.
However,
the Fund may be required to reduce its borrowings, if any, in response to
fluctuations in the value of such holdings.
Fixed-Income
Securities
Fixed-income
securities are securities that pay a fixed or a variable rate of interest until
a stated maturity date. Fixed-income securities include
U.S. government securities, securities issued by federal or federally sponsored
agencies and instrumentalities, corporate bonds and
notes, asset-backed securities, mortgage-backed securities, securities rated
below investment grade (commonly referred to as “junk
bonds” or “high yield/high risk securities”), municipal bonds, loan
participations and assignments, zero coupon bonds, convertible
securities, Eurobonds, Brady Bonds, Yankee Bonds, repurchase agreements,
commercial paper and cash equivalents.
Fixed-income
securities are subject to the risk of the issuer’s inability to meet principal
and interest payments on its obligations (i.e., credit
risk) and are subject to price volatility resulting from, among other things,
interest rate sensitivity (i.e., interest rate risk), market
perception of the creditworthiness of the issuer and general market liquidity
(i.e., market risk). For example, a type of fixed-income
securities in which the Fund may invest are corporate debt obligations. In
addition to interest rate, credit and other risks, corporate
debt obligations are also subject to factors directly related to the issuer,
such as the credit rating of the corporation, the corporation’s
performance and perceptions of the corporation in the marketplace, and by
factors not directly related to the issuer, such
as general market liquidity, economic conditions and inflation. The Fund may
face a heightened level of interest rate risk in times
of monetary policy change and/or uncertainty, such as when the Federal Reserve
Board adjusts a quantitative easing program and/or
changes rates. A changing interest rate environment increases certain risks,
including the potential for periods of volatility, increased
redemptions, shortened durations (i.e., prepayment risk) and extended durations
(i.e., extension risk).
Fixed
income and other debt instruments, including mortgage- and other asset-backed
securities, are subject to prepayment risk, which
is the risk that the principal of such obligation is paid earlier than expected,
such as in the case of refinancing. This risk is increased
during periods of declining interest rates and prepayments may reduce the Fund’s
yield or income as a result of reinvesting the
income or other proceeds in lower yielding securities or instruments. These
investments are also subject to extension risk, which is
Eaton
Vance | Additional
Information About Fund Investment Strategies and Related Risks
Additional
Information About Fund Investment Strategies and Related Risks (Con’t)
the
risk that the principal of such obligation is paid slower or later than
expected. This may negatively affect Fund returns, as the value
of the investment decreases when principal payments are made later than
expected. This risk is elevated during periods of increasing
interest rates. In addition, because principal payments are made later than
expected, the investment’s duration may extend (and
result in increased interest rate risk) and the Fund may be prevented from
investing proceeds it would otherwise have received at the
higher prevailing interest rates. Prepayments and extensions may result in a
security or debt instrument offering less potential for gains
during periods of declining interest rates or rising interest rates,
respectively.
The
Fund is not limited as to the maturities (when a debt security provides its
final payment) or durations (measure of interest rate sensitivity)
of the securities in which it may invest. Securities with longer durations
are likely to be more sensitive to changes in interest
rates, generally making them more volatile than securities with shorter
durations. Lower rated fixed-income securities have greater
volatility because there is less certainty that principal and interest payments
will be made as scheduled. The Fund may be subject
to liquidity risk, which may result from the lack of an active market and the
reduced number and capacity of traditional market
participants to make a market in fixed-income securities. Fixed-income
securities may be called (i.e., redeemed by the issuer) prior
to final maturity. If a callable security is called, the Fund may have to
reinvest the proceeds at a lower rate of interest.
Corporate
Debt Obligations
Corporate
debt obligations are fixed-income securities issued by private corporations. The
investment return of corporate debt obligations
reflects interest earnings and changes in the market value of the security. The
market value of a corporate debt obligation may
be expected to rise and fall inversely with interest rates generally. There also
exists the risk that the issuers of the securities may not
be able to meet their obligations on interest or principal payments at the time
called for by an instrument or at all. Debtholders, as
creditors, have a prior legal claim over common and preferred stockholders of
the corporation as to both income and assets for the principal
and interest due to the bondholder.
Credit
and Interest Rate Risk
Fixed-income
securities, such as bonds, generally are subject to two primary types of risk:
credit risk and interest rate risk. Credit risk refers
to the possibility that the issuer or guarantor of a security, or counterparty
to a transaction, will be unable or unwilling or perceived
to be unable or unwilling to make interest payments and/or repay the principal
on its debt or otherwise honor its obligations,
including the risk of default. The risk of defaults across issuers, guarantors
and/or counterparties increases in adverse market
and economic conditions, and the degree of credit risk depends on the financial
condition of the issuer, guarantor or counterparty
and terms of the obligation. Credit ratings may not be an accurate assessment of
financial condition, volatility, liquidity or
credit risk, as the ratings do not evaluate market risks or necessarily reflect
the issuer’s, guarantor’s or counterparty’s current financial
condition or the volatility or liquidity of the security. Although credit
quality may not accurately reflect the true credit risk of
an instrument, a change in the credit rating of an instrument or an issuer,
guarantor or counterparty, or the market’s perception of the
creditworthiness of an instrument or issuer, guarantor or counterparty, can have
a rapid, adverse effect on the instrument’s value and
liquidity and make it more difficult for the Fund to sell at an advantageous
price or time. In addition, under certain conditions, there
may be an increasing amount of issuers that are unprofitable, have little cash
on hand and/or are unable to pay the interest owed
on their debt obligations and the number of such issuers may increase if demand
for their goods and services falls, borrowing costs
rise due to governmental action or inaction or other reasons. The Fund may also
be subject to credit spread risk, which is the risk
that economic and market conditions, or any actual or perceived credit
deterioration, may lead to an increase in credit spreads (i.e.,
the difference in yield between two securities of similar maturity but different
credit quality) and a decline in price of an issuer’s securities.
Interest
rate risk refers to fluctuations (such as a decline) in the value of (or yield
or income generated by) a fixed-income or other debt
security resulting from changes in the general level of interest rates. A wide
variety of market and economic factors can cause interest
rates to rise or fall, including central bank monetary policy, rising
inflation, disinflation or deflation, and changes in general economic
conditions. When the general level of interest rates goes up, the prices of most
fixed-income securities go down. When the general
level of interest rates goes down, the prices of most fixed-income securities go
up but the yield or income from new issuances of
fixed-income securities generally decreases. To the extent the Fund invests in
variable and floating rate securities, although these instruments
are generally less sensitive to interest rate changes than fixed rate
instruments, the value of these securities may decline if their
interest rates do not rise as quickly, or as much, as general interest rates.
Duration measures the time-weighted expected cash flows
of a fixed-income security. Securities with longer durations will
generally be more sensitive to changes in interest rates than securities
with shorter durations. Thus, the Fund’s susceptibility to interest rate risk
will increase to the extent it has a longer average portfolio
duration. The proceeds from prepaid or maturing instruments may have to be
reinvested at a lower interest rate or on other less
advantageous terms during a declining interest rate environment. In a rising
interest rate environment, the duration of fixed-income
securities may be extended, thus potentially reducing income and increasing
interest rate risk. The Fund may face a heightened
level of interest rate risk in times of monetary policy change and/or
uncertainty, such as when the Federal Reserve Board adjusts
a quantitative easing program and/or changes rates, which may occur at any time
based on a range of factors and may be sudden,
frequent and significant. For example, during periods when interest rates are
low, the Fund’s yield (and total return) also may
be low or otherwise adversely affected or the Fund may be unable to maintain
positive returns or pay Fund expenses out of current
income. Monetary policies, and market interest rates, are subject to change at
any time and potentially frequently based on a
Eaton
Vance | Additional
Information About Fund Investment Strategies and Related Risks
Additional
Information About Fund Investment Strategies and Related Risks (Con’t)
variety
of market and economic conditions. It is difficult to accurately predict the
pace at which the Federal Reserve Board will change
interest rates, or the timing, frequency or magnitude of such changes. The
impact on fixed income and other debt instruments
and market conditions from interest rate changes, regardless of the cause, could
be significant and could adversely affect the
Fund and its investments. Low or high interest rates could magnify the
risks associated with changes in interest rates.
In
general, changing interest rates could have unpredictable effects on markets and
may expose debt and related markets to heightened
volatility and may detract from Fund performance to the extent the Fund is
exposed to such interest rates and/or volatility.
Governmental
authorities and regulators may enact significant fiscal and monetary policy
changes, including providing direct capital infusions
into companies, creating new monetary programs and changing interest rates
considerably. These actions present heightened
risks to debt instruments, and such risks could be even further heightened if
these actions are unexpectedly or suddenly reversed
or are ineffective in achieving their desired outcomes.
Loans
of Portfolio Securities
The
Fund may lend its portfolio securities to brokers, dealers, banks and other
institutional investors. By lending its portfolio securities,
the Fund attempts to increase its net investment income through the receipt of
interest on the cash collateral with respect to
the loan or fees received from the borrower in connection with the loan. Any
gain or loss in the market price of the securities loaned
that might occur during the term of the loan would be for the account of the
Fund. The Fund employs an agent to implement
the securities lending program and the agent receives a fee from the Fund for
its services. The Fund will not lend more than
33⅓% of the value of its total assets.
The
Fund may lend its portfolio securities so long as the terms, structure and the
aggregate amount of such loans are not inconsistent with
the 1940 Act or the rules and regulations or interpretations of the SEC
thereunder, which currently require that (i) the borrower pledge
and maintain with the Fund collateral consisting of liquid, unencumbered assets
having a value not less than 100% of the value
of the securities loaned; (ii) the borrower adds to such collateral whenever the
price of the securities loaned rises (i.e., the borrower
“marks-to-market” on a daily basis); (iii) the loan be made subject to
termination by the Fund at any time; and (iv) the Fund
receives a reasonable return on the loan (which may include the Fund investing
any cash collateral in interest bearing short-term
investments), any distributions on the loaned securities and any increase in
their market value. In addition, voting rights may pass
with the loaned securities, but the Fund will retain the right to call any
security in anticipation of a vote that the Adviser deems material
to the security on loan.
Loans
of securities involve a risk that the borrower may fail to return the securities
or may fail to maintain the proper amount of collateral,
which may result in a loss of money by the Fund. There may be risks of delay and
costs involved in recovery of securities or even
loss of rights in the collateral should the borrower of the securities fail
financially. These delays and costs could be greater for foreign
securities. However, loans will be made only to borrowers deemed by the Adviser
to be creditworthy and when, in the judgment
of the Adviser, the income that can be earned from such securities loans
justifies the attendant risk. All relevant facts and circumstances,
including the creditworthiness of the broker, dealer, bank or institution, will
be considered in making decisions with respect
to the lending of securities, subject to review by the Trust’s Board of
Trustees. The Fund also bears the risk that the reinvestment
of collateral will result in a principal loss. Finally, there is the risk that
the price of the securities will increase while they are
on loan and the collateral will not be adequate to cover their
value.
Asset-Backed
Securities
Asset-backed
securities apply the securitization techniques used to develop mortgage-backed
securities to a broad range of other assets.
Various types of assets, primarily automobile and credit card receivables and
home equity loans, are pooled and securitized in pass-through
structures similar to pass-through structures developed with respect to mortgage
securitizations. Asset-backed securities have
risk characteristics similar to mortgage-backed securities. Like mortgage-backed
securities, they generally decrease in value as a result
of interest rate increases, but may benefit less than other fixed-income
securities from declining interest rates, principally because
of prepayments (i.e., when a borrower pays back the principal of a debt
obligation earlier than expected). Also, as in the case of
mortgage-backed securities, prepayments generally increase during a period of
declining interest rates, although other factors, such as
changes in credit use and payment patterns, may also influence prepayment rates.
Asset-backed securities also involve the risk that various
federal and state consumer laws and other legal and economic factors may result
in the collateral backing the securities being insufficient
to support payment on the securities.
To
the extent the Fund invests in asset-backed securities issued by
non-governmental issuers, such as commercial banks, savings and loan
institutions, and other secondary market issuers, the Fund will be exposed to
additional risks because, among other things, there are
no direct or indirect government or agency guarantees of payments in the pools
underlying the securities. Privately-issued asset-backed
securities may be less readily marketable, subject to heightened credit risk and
the market for such securities is typically smaller
and less liquid than other asset-backed securities.
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The
Fund may invest in other asset-backed or similarly structured securities, such
as collateralized debt obligations (“CDOs”), collateralized
bond obligations (“CBOs”), and collateralized loan obligations
(“CLOs”).
These investments are subject to many of the same
risks as other forms of asset-backed securities, including interest rate risk,
credit risk and default risk, and are also subject to additional
risks, including but not limited to: (i) the possibility that
distributions from collateral securities will not be adequate to make
interest or other payments; (ii) the risk that the collateral may default or
decline in value or be downgraded, if rated by a nationally
recognized statistical rating organization; (iii) the Fund may invest in
tranches of CDOs that are subordinate to other tranches;
(iv) the structure and complexity of the transaction and the legal documents
could lead to disputes among investors regarding
the characterization of proceeds; (v) the investment return achieved by the Fund
could be significantly different than those predicted
by financial models; (vi) the lack of a readily available secondary market for
CDOs; (vii) the risk of forced “fire sale” liquidation
due to technical defaults such as coverage test failures; and (viii) the CDO’s
manager may perform poorly. Investments in CDOs,
CBOs and CLOs are also subject to risks particular to their respective asset
class and structure.
For
example, because CLOs are backed primarily by commercial loans, CLOs also bear
many of the same risks as investing in loans directly.
However, in addition to the risks associated with investing in commercial loans,
the complex structure and highly leveraged nature
of a CLO poses additional risks. CLOs may experience substantial losses
attributable to loan defaults or trading losses. Such losses
on the underlying assets are borne first by the holders of subordinate tranches.
In addition, the Fund’s investments in CLOs may
decrease in market value when the CLO’s assets experience loan defaults or
credit impairment, losses that exceed the most subordinate
tranches, or market anticipation of loan defaults and investor aversion to CLO
securities as a class. CDOs are structured similarly
to CLOs and bear many of the same risks as CLOs as well as additional risks
because they are backed by pools of assets other than
commercial loans, including securities (such as other asset-backed securities),
synthetic instruments or bonds, and may be highly leveraged.
Like CLOs, losses incurred by a CDO are borne first by holders of the most
subordinate tranches. Accordingly, the risks of CDOs
depend largely on the type of underlying collateral and the tranche of CDOs in
which the Fund invests. Moreover, CDOs that
obtain their exposure through synthetic investments are exposed to risks
associated with derivative instruments.
Collateralized
Loan Obligations
A
CLO is an asset-backed security typically collateralized by a pool of loans,
which may include, among others, domestic and foreign senior
secured loans, senior unsecured loans, and subordinate corporate loans,
including loans that may be rated below investment grade
or equivalent unrated loans. The key feature of the CLO structure is the
prioritization of the cash flows from a pool of debt securities
among the several classes or tranches of CLO holders, thereby creating a series
of obligations with varying rates and maturities
appealing to a wide range of investors. The Fund and other investors in
CLOs ultimately bear the credit and interest rate risks
of the underlying collateral.
CLOs
issue classes or “tranches” that offer various maturity, risk and yield
characteristics. Tranches are categorized as senior, mezzanine
and subordinated/equity, according to their degree of risk. The risks of an
investment in a CLO depend largely on the type
of the collateral securities and the class or tranche of the instrument in which
the Fund invests. To the extent that the Fund invests
in tranches of CLOs that are rated below investment grade, the risks of
investing in CLOs will be greater. Below investment grade
securities may be subject to additional risks, including those associated with
high yield securities. In addition, to the extent that the
Fund invests in unrated CLO tranches, the Fund’s ability to achieve its
investment objective will be more dependent on the Adviser’s
credit analysis than would be the case if the Fund were to invest in rated CLO
tranches.
Interest
on a CLO may be paid in kind or deferred and capitalized (paid in the form
of obligations of the same type rather than cash),
which involves continued exposure to default risk with respect to such
payments.
In
the event of sufficient early prepayments on such debt instruments, the class or
series of
CLO first to mature generally will be retired
prior to maturity. Therefore, although in most cases the issuer of CLOs will not
supply additional collateral in the event of such
prepayments, there will be sufficient collateral to secure their priority with
respect to other CLO tranches that remain outstanding.
If there are defaults or the relevant collateral otherwise underperforms,
scheduled payments to senior tranches of the CLOs
take precedence over those of mezzanine tranches and scheduled payments to
mezzanine tranches take precedence over those to
subordinated/equity tranches. Because it is partially protected from defaults, a
senior tranche of a CLO typically has higher credit ratings
and lower yields than its underlying collateral and may be rated investment
grade. However,
it is possible that a senior tranche of
a CLO could experience losses, particularly in stressed market conditions, due
to defaults, downgrades of the underlying collateral by
rating agencies, forced liquidation of the collateral pool, increased
sensitivity to defaults due to collateral default, market anticipation
of defaults and investor aversion to CLO securities as an asset class.
If
a CLO triggers an event of default as a result of failing
to make payments when due or for other reasons, the CLO would be subject to the
possibility of liquidation, which could result
in full loss of value to the CLO equity or junior debt investors.
The
underlying assets (e.g., loans) are subject to prepayments which shorten the
securities’ weighted average maturity and may lower their
return. If the credit support or enhancement is exhausted, losses or delays in
payment may result if the required payments of principal
and interest are not made. The value of these securities also may change because
of changes in market value, which
may be caused
by, among other things,
changes in the market’s perception of the creditworthiness of the servicing
agent for the pool, the originator
of the pool, or the financial institution or fund providing the credit support
or enhancement.
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CLOs,
and their underlying loan obligations, are typically not registered for sale to
the public and therefore are subject to certain restrictions
on transfer and sale, potentially making them less liquid than other types of
securities. Additionally, when the Fund purchases
a newly issued CLO security in the primary market (rather than from the
secondary market), there often may be a delayed settlement
period during which the liquidity of the CLO may be further reduced. As a
result, the proceeds from the sale of CLO securities
may not be readily available to meet the Fund’s redemption or other obligations
and the Fund may be unable to acquire or dispose
of the securities at a price and time the Fund deems advantageous. There is no
guarantee that an active secondary market will exist
or be maintained for any given CLO.
CLOs
in which the Fund invests may be managed by investment advisers not affiliated
with the Adviser.
CLO managers are responsible
for selecting, managing and replacing the underlying bank loans within a CLO.
CLO managers may have limited operating
histories, may be subject to conflicts of interests, including managing the
assets of other clients or other investment vehicles,
or receiving fees that incentivize maximizing the yield, and indirectly the
risk, of a CLO.
Adverse developments with respect to
a CLO manager, such as personnel and resource constraints, regulatory issues or
other developments that may impact the ability and/or
performance of the CLO manager, may adversely impact the performance of the CLO
securities in which the Fund invests. In addition,
the Fund will indirectly bear any management fees and expenses incurred by a
CLO.
Mortgage-Backed
Securities
Mortgage-backed
securities are fixed-income securities representing an interest in a pool of
underlying mortgage loans. They are sensitive
to changes in interest rates, but may respond to these changes differently from
other fixed-income securities due to the possibility
of prepayment of the underlying mortgage loans (i.e., when a borrower pays back
the principal of a debt obligation earlier than
expected). As a result, it may not be possible to determine in advance the
actual maturity date or average life of a mortgage-backed
security. Rising interest rates tend to discourage refinancings, with the result
that the average life and volatility of the security will
increase and its market price will decrease. When interest rates fall, however,
mortgage-backed securities may not gain as much in market
value because additional mortgage prepayments must be reinvested at lower
interest rates. Prepayment risk may make it difficult
to calculate the average maturity of a portfolio of mortgage-backed securities
and, therefore, to assess the volatility risk of that
portfolio.
The
Fund may invest in mortgage-backed securities that are issued or guaranteed by
the U.S. Government, its agencies or instrumentalities.
These securities are either direct obligations of the U.S. Government or the
issuing agency or instrumentality has the
right to borrow from the U.S. Treasury to meet its obligations although it is
not legally required to extend credit to the agency or instrumentality.
Certain of these mortgage-backed securities purchased by the Fund, such as those
issued by the Government National
Mortgage Association and the Federal Housing Administration, are backed by the
full faith and credit of the United States. Other
of these mortgage-backed securities purchased by the Fund, such as those issued
by the Federal National Mortgage Association (“Fannie
Mae”) and Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (“Freddie Mac”), are not backed
by the full faith and credit of the United
States and there is a risk that the U.S. Government will not provide financial
support to these agencies if it is not obligated to do
so by law. The maximum potential liability of the issuers of some of the
mortgage-backed securities held by the Fund may greatly exceed
their current resources, including their legal right to support from the U.S.
Treasury. It is possible that these issuers will not have
the funds to meet their payment obligations in the future.
To
the extent the Fund invests in mortgage-backed securities issued by
non-governmental issuers, such as commercial banks, savings and
loan institutions, private mortgage insurance companies, mortgage bankers and
other secondary market issuers, the Fund may be subject
to additional risks. Pools created by such non-governmental 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 such pools. However,
timely payment of interest and principal of these pools may be supported by
various forms of private insurance or guarantees,
including individual loan, title, pool and hazard insurance and letters of
intent. The insurance and guarantees are issued by
governmental entities, private insurers and the mortgage poolers. There can be
no assurance that the private insurers or guarantors can
meet their obligations under the insurance policies or guarantee arrangements.
Mortgage pools underlying mortgage-backed securities
offered by non-governmental issuers more frequently include second mortgages,
high loan-to-value ratio mortgages and manufactured
housing loans, in addition to commercial mortgages and other types of mortgages
where a government or government-sponsored
entity guarantee is not available. An unexpectedly high rate of defaults on the
mortgages held by a mortgage pool may adversely
affect the value of a mortgage-backed security and could result in losses to the
Fund. The risk of such defaults is generally higher
in the case of mortgage pools that include subprime mortgages. Subprime
mortgages refer to loans made to borrowers with weakened
credit histories or with a lower capacity to make timely payments on their
mortgages. For these reasons, the loans underlying
these securities have had in many cases higher default rates than those loans
that meet government underwriting requirements.
The risk of non-payment is greater for mortgage-related securities that are
backed by loans that were originated under weak
underwriting standards, including loans made to borrowers with limited means to
make repayment. A level of risk exists for all loans,
although, historically, the poorest performing loans have been those classified
as subprime. Other types of privately issued mortgage-related
securities, such as those classified as pay-option adjustable rate or Alt-A,
have also performed poorly.
Non-agency
mortgage-backed securities are not traded on an exchange and there may be a
limited market for the securities, especially when
there is a perceived weakness in the mortgage and real estate market sectors.
Without an active trading market, mortgage-
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related
securities held in the Fund’s portfolio may be particularly difficult to value
because of the complexities involved in assessing the
value of the underlying mortgage loans or to sell. Non-agency mortgage-backed
securities include securities that reflect an interest in,
and are secured by, mortgage loans on commercial real property. Many of the
risks of investing in CMBS reflect the risks of investing
in the real estate securing the underlying mortgage loans. These risks reflect
the effects of local and other economic conditions
on real estate markets, the ability of tenants to make loan payments, and the
ability of a property to attract and retain tenants.
The
risks associated with mortgage-backed securities are elevated in distressed
economic, market, health and labor conditions, notably,
increased levels of unemployment, delays and delinquencies in payments of
mortgage and rent obligations, and uncertainty regarding
the effects and extent of government intervention with respect to mortgage
payments and other economic matters.
Delinquencies,
defaults and losses on residential mortgage loans may increase substantially
over certain periods, which may affect the performance
of the mortgage-backed securities in which the Fund may invest. Mortgage loans
backing non-agency mortgage-backed securities
are more sensitive to economic factors that could affect the ability of
borrowers to pay their obligations under the mortgage loans
backing these securities. In addition, housing prices and appraisal values in
many states and localities over certain periods have declined
or stopped appreciating. A sustained decline or an extended flattening of those
values may result in additional increases in delinquencies
and losses on mortgage-backed securities generally (including the
mortgaged-backed securities that the Fund may invest
in as described above). Adverse changes in market conditions and regulatory
climate may reduce the cash flow which the Fund, to
the extent it invests in mortgage-backed securities or other asset-backed
securities, receives from such securities and increase the incidence
and severity of credit events and losses in respect of such securities. In the
event that interest rate spreads for mortgage-backed
securities and other asset-backed securities widen following the purchase of
such assets by the Fund, the market value of such securities
is likely to decline and, in the case of a substantial spread widening, could
decline by a substantial amount. Furthermore, adverse
changes in market conditions may result in reduced liquidity in the market for
mortgage-backed securities and other asset-backed
securities (including the mortgage-backed securities and other asset-backed
securities in which the Fund may invest) and an unwillingness
by banks, financial institutions and investors to extend credit to servicers,
originators and other participants in the market
for mortgage-backed and other asset-backed securities. As a result, the
liquidity and/or the market value of any mortgage-backed
or asset-backed securities that are owned by the Fund may experience declines
after they are purchased by the Fund.
Collateralized Mortgage
Obligations. CMOs are
debt obligations collateralized by mortgage loans or mortgage pass-through
securities (collectively
“Mortgage Assets”). Payments of principal and interest on the Mortgage Assets
and any reinvestment income are used to make
payments on the CMOs. CMOs are issued in multiple classes. Each class has
a fixed or floating rate and a stated maturity or final
distribution date. The principal and interest on the Mortgage Assets may be
allocated among the classes in a number of different ways.
Certain classes will, as a result of the allocation, have more predictable cash
flows than others. As a general matter, the more predictable
the cash flow, the lower the yield relative to other Mortgage Assets. The less
predictable the cash flow, the higher the yield and
the greater the risk. The Fund may invest in any class of CMO, including classes
that vary inversely with interest rates and may be
more volatile and sensitive to prepayment rates.
The
principal and interest on the Mortgage Assets comprising a CMO may be allocated
among the several classes of a CMO in many ways.
The general goal in allocating cash flows on Mortgage Assets to the various
classes of a CMO is to create certain tranches on which
the expected cash flows have a higher degree of predictability than do the
underlying Mortgage Assets. As a general matter, the more
predictable the cash flow is on a particular CMO tranche, the lower the
anticipated yield on that tranche at the time of issue will
be relative to the prevailing market yields on the Mortgage Assets. As part of
the process of creating more predictable cash flows on
certain tranches of a CMO, one or more tranches generally must be created that
absorb most of the changes in the cash flows on the
underlying Mortgage Assets. The yields on these tranches are generally higher
than prevailing market yields on other mortgage related
securities with similar average lives. Principal prepayments on the underlying
Mortgage Assets may cause the CMOs to be retired
substantially earlier than their stated maturities or final distribution dates.
Because of the uncertainty of the cash flows on these
tranches, the market prices and yields of these tranches are more volatile and
may increase or decrease in value substantially with
changes in interest rates and/or the rates of prepayment relative to other
tranches. Due to the possibility that prepayments (on home
mortgages and other collateral) will alter the cash flow on CMOs, it is
not possible to determine in advance the final maturity date
or average life. Faster prepayment will shorten the average life and slower
prepayments will lengthen it. In addition, if the collateral
securing CMOs or any third party guarantees are insufficient to make payments,
the Fund could sustain a loss.
Stripped
Mortgage-Backed Securities. Stripped
mortgage-backed securities (“SMBS”) are derivative multi-class
mortgage-backed securities. SMBS
may be issued by agencies or instrumentalities of the U.S. Government, or by
private originators. A common type of
SMBS will have one class receiving some of the interest and most of the
principal from the mortgage assets, while the other class receives
most of the interest and the remainder of the principal. In the most extreme
case, one class will receive all of the interest (the interest
only or “IO” class), while the other class will receive all of the principal
(the principal-only or “PO” class). Investments in each
class of SMBS are extremely sensitive to changes in interest rates. IOs tend to
decrease in value substantially if interest rates decline
and prepayment rates become more rapid. POs tend to decrease in value
substantially if interest rates increase and the rate of prepayment
decreases. If the Fund invests in SMBS and interest rates move in a manner
not anticipated by management, it is possible
that the Fund could lose all or substantially all of its
investment.
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Commercial
Mortgage-Backed Securities.
CMBS are generally multi-class or pass-through securities backed by a
mortgage loan or a pool
of mortgage loans secured by commercial property, such as industrial and
warehouse properties, office buildings, retail space and shopping
malls, multifamily properties and cooperative apartments. The commercial
mortgage loans that underlie CMBS are generally
not amortizing or not fully amortizing. That is, at their maturity date,
repayment of their remaining principal balance or “balloon”
is due and is repaid through the attainment of an additional loan or sale of the
property. An extension of a final payment on
commercial mortgages will increase the average life of the CMBS, generally
resulting in a lower yield for discount bonds and a higher
yield for premium bonds.
CMBS
are subject to credit risk and prepayment risk, among other risks. Although
prepayment risk is present, it is of a lesser degree in
the CMBS market than in the residential mortgage market; commercial real estate
property loans often contain provisions that substantially
reduce the likelihood that such securities will be prepaid (e.g., significant
prepayment penalties on loans and, in some cases,
prohibition on principal payments for several years following
origination).
The
values of, and income generated by, CMBS may be adversely affected by changing
interest rates, tightening lending standards, and
other developments impacting the commercial real estate market, such as
population shifts and other demographic changes, increasing
vacancies (potentially for extended periods) and reduced demand for commercial
and office space as well as maintenance or
tenant improvement costs and costs to convert properties for other uses. These
developments could result from, among other things,
changing tastes and preferences (such as remote work arrangements) as well as
cultural, technological, global or local economic
and market developments. In addition, changing interest rate environments and
associated changes in lending standards and
higher refinancing rates may adversely affect the commercial real estate
and CMBS markets. The occurrence of any of the foregoing
or similar developments would likely increase default risk for the properties
and loans underlying these investments as well as
impact the value of, and income generated by, these investments. These
developments could also result in reduced liquidity for CMBS.
Equity
Securities
Equity
securities may include common and preferred stocks, convertible securities and
equity-linked securities, rights and warrants to purchase
common stocks, depositary receipts, shares of investment companies, limited
partnership interests and other specialty securities
having equity features. Many factors affect the value of equity securities,
including earnings, earnings forecasts, corporate events
and factors impacting the issuer’s financial
condition, sector, industry
and the market generally,
such as labor shortages or an increase
in production costs and competitive conditions within an industry. The value of
the equity securities held by the Fund may fluctuate
rapidly and unpredictably, and these fluctuations may be frequent and
significant. In addition, the Fund cannot accurately predict
the income it might receive from equity securities because issuers generally
have discretion as to the payment of dividends or distributions,
and the common stock of an issuer in the Fund’s portfolio may decline in price
if, for example, the issuer fails to make anticipated
dividend payments because of a decline in the issuer’s financial condition. The
Fund may
invest in equity securities that are
publicly traded on securities exchanges or over-the-counter (“OTC”) or in equity
securities that are not publicly traded. Equity
securities
are subject to the risk that stock prices in general (or in particular, the
prices of the types of securities in which the Fund invests)
may decline over short or extended periods of time. Equity securities
that
are not publicly traded may be more difficult to value
or sell and their value may fluctuate more dramatically than publicly
traded equity securities. Convertible securities are subject to
many of the risks associated with both
fixed-income securities
and equity securities.
The
value of equity securities and related instruments decline
in response to perceived
or actual adverse
changes in the economy,
economic
outlook
or the financial
markets;
deterioration in investor sentiment; inflation,
interest
rate, currency, and commodity price
fluctuations; adverse geopolitical, social or environmental developments;
issuer- and sector-specific considerations; unexpected trading
activity among retail investors; and other factors. Market conditions
affect
certain types of equity
securities
to a greater extent than
other types of equity
securities. In addition, holders of an issuer’s common stock may be subject to
greater risks than holders of its
preferred stock and debt securities because common stockholders’ claims are
subordinated to those of holders of preferred stocks and
debt securities upon the bankruptcy of an issuer.
If the stock market declines, the value of the
Fund’s equity securities
will also likely
decline,
which will result in a decrease in the value of your investment in the
Fund.
Although stock prices can rebound, there is no
assurance that values of
the Fund’s equity securities will
return to previous levels.
U.S.
and foreign stock markets, and equity securities of individual issuers, have
experienced periods of substantial price volatility in the
past and it is possible that they will do so again in the future. During
periods when equity securities experience heightened volatility,
such as during periods of market, economic or financial uncertainty or distress,
the Fund’s investments in equity securities are
subject to heightened risks.
In addition, the price of equity securities of an issuer may be particularly
sensitive to general movements
in the stock market and a drop in the stock market may depress the price of most
or all of the common stocks and other equity
securities held by the Fund.
Convertible
Securities
A
convertible security is a bond, debenture, note, preferred stock, right, warrant
or other security that may be converted into or exchanged
for a prescribed amount of common stock or other security of the same or a
different issuer or into cash within a particular period
of time at a specified price or formula. A convertible security generally
entitles the holder to receive interest paid or accrued on
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debt
securities or the dividend paid on preferred stock until the convertible
security matures or is redeemed, converted or exchanged. Before
conversion, convertible securities generally have characteristics similar to
and
are subject to many of the risks associated with both
debt and equity
securities. The value of convertible securities tends to decline as interest
rates rise and, because of the conversion feature,
tends to vary with fluctuations in the market value of the underlying
securities. Convertible securities ordinarily provide a stream
of income with generally higher yields than those of common stock of the same or
similar issuers. Convertible securities generally
rank senior to common stock in a corporation’s capital structure but are usually
subordinated to other comparable nonconvertible
fixed-income securities in such capital structure. Convertible securities
generally do not participate directly in any dividend
increases or decreases of the underlying securities although the market prices
of convertible securities may be affected by any dividend
changes or other changes in the underlying securities.
U.S.
Government Securities
The
U.S. government securities that the Fund may purchase include U.S. Treasury
bills, notes and bonds, all of which are direct obligations
of the U.S. government
and may differ in their interest rates, maturities and times of
issuance.
In addition, the Fund may purchase
securities issued or guaranteed by agencies and instrumentalities of the U.S.
government
which are backed by the full faith and
credit of the United States. Among the agencies and instrumentalities issuing
these obligations are the Government National Mortgage
Association and the Federal Housing Administration. Securities
issued by the U.S. Treasury and agencies and instrumentalities
of the U.S. government generally provide a lower current return than obligations
of other issuers. Also,
the Fund may
purchase securities issued by agencies and instrumentalities which are not
backed by the full faith and credit of the United States,
but whose issuing agency or instrumentality has the right to borrow, to meet its
obligations, from the U.S. Treasury. Among these
agencies and instrumentalities are the
Federal National Mortgage Association (“Fannie Mae”), the Federal Home Loan
Mortgage
Corporation (“Freddie Mac”)
and the Federal Home Loan Banks. Further, the Fund may purchase securities
issued by agencies
and instrumentalities which are backed solely by the credit of the issuing
agency or instrumentality. Among these agencies and
instrumentalities is the Federal Farm Credit System. With
respect to U.S. government securities
not backed by the full faith and credit
of the United States, there is a risk that the U.S. government
will not provide financial support to these agencies if it is not obligated
to do so by law, and therefore these U.S.
government securities involve greater credit risk than U.S.
government securities backed
by the full faith and credit of the
U.S. government.
The maximum potential liability of the issuers of some U.S. government
securities
held by the Fund may greatly exceed their current resources, including their
legal right to support from the U.S. Treasury. It
is possible that these issuers will not have the funds to meet their payment
obligations in the future. The interest from U.S. government
securities generally is not subject to state and local taxation. In addition,
uncertainty regarding the status of negotiations in
the U.S. government to increase the statutory debt ceiling could increase the
risk that the U.S. government may default on payments
on U.S.
government securities and may cause the credit rating of the U.S. government to
be downgraded. Any uncertainty regarding
the ability of the United States to repay its debt obligations, and any default
by the U.S. government, would have a negative
impact on the Fund’s investments in U.S. government securities.
U.S. government securities generally have a lower return than
other obligations.
Loans
Loans
may be primary, direct investments or investments in loan assignments or
participation interests. A loan assignment represents a
portion or the entirety of a loan and a portion or the entirety of a position
previously attributable to a different lender. The purchaser
of an assignment typically succeeds to all the rights and obligations under the
loan agreement and has the same rights and obligations
as the assigning investor. However, assignments through private negotiations may
cause the purchaser of an assignment to have
different and more limited rights than those held by the assigning investor.
Loan participation interests are interests issued by a lender
or other entity and represent a fractional interest in a loan. The Fund
typically will have a contractual relationship only with the
financial institution that issued the participation interest. As a result, the
Fund may have the right to receive payments of principal,
interest and any fees to which it is entitled only from the financial
institution and only upon receipt by such entity of such payments
from the borrower. In connection with purchasing a participation interest, the
Fund generally will have no right to enforce compliance
by the borrower with the terms of the loan agreement, nor any rights with
respect to any funds acquired by other investors
through set-off against the borrower and the Fund may not directly benefit from
the collateral supporting the loan in which it
has purchased the participation interest. As a result, the Fund would generally
assume the credit risk of both the borrower and the financial
institution issuing the participation interest. In the event of the insolvency
of the entity issuing a participation interest, the Fund
may be treated as a general creditor of such entity. Most loans are rated below
investment grade or, if unrated, are of similar credit
quality. Certain loans are illiquid, meaning the Fund may be unable to sell them
at an advantageous time or price. Illiquid securities
are also difficult to value.
Loan
investments may be made at par or at a discount or premium to par. The interest
payable on a loan may be fixed or floating rate,
and paid in cash or in-kind. In connection with transactions in loans, the Fund
may be subject to facility or other fees. Loans may
be secured by specific collateral or other assets of the borrower, guaranteed by
a third party, unsecured or subordinated. During the
term of a loan, the value of any collateral securing the loan may decline in
value, causing the loan to be under collateralized. Collateral
may consist of assets that may not be readily liquidated, and there is no
assurance that the collateral will be available and liquidation
of such assets would satisfy fully a borrower’s obligations under the loan. In
addition, if a loan is foreclosed, the Fund
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could
become part owner of the collateral and would bear the costs and liabilities
associated with owning and disposing of such collateral.
Certain
loans (“senior loans”) hold a senior position in the capital structure of a
business entity, are typically secured with specific collateral
and have a claim on the assets and/or stock of the borrower that is senior to
that held by subordinated debtholders and stockholders
of the borrower. Junior loans may be secured or unsecured subordinated loans,
second lien loans and subordinated bridge
loans, and typically carry greater risks. For example, second lien loans are
lower in priority to senior loans, but have seniority in
a company’s capital structure to other liabilities and a company is required to
pay down these second lien loans prior to other lower-ranked
claims on their assets. Floating-rate loans typically have rates of interest
which are re-determined daily, monthly, quarterly
or semi-annually by reference to a base lending rate, plus a premium.
Floating-rate loans held by the Fund typically have a dollar-weighted
average period until the next interest rate adjustment of approximately 90 days
or less.
A
lender’s repayment and other rights primarily are determined by governing loan,
assignment or participation documents, which (among
other things) typically establish the priority of payment on the loan relative
to other indebtedness and obligations of the borrower.
A borrower typically is required to comply with certain covenants contained in a
loan agreement between the borrower and the
holders of the loan. Covenants contained in loan documentation are intended to
protect lenders and investors by imposing certain
restrictions and other limitations on a borrower’s operations or assets and by
providing certain information and consent rights to
lenders. The types of covenants included in loan agreements generally vary
depending on market conditions, the creditworthiness of
the issuer, and the nature of the collateral securing the loan. Loans also known
as “covenant lite” loans may contain fewer covenants
that restrict activities of the borrower or that might enable the Fund to, among
other things, proactively enforce financial covenants
or prevent undesired actions by the borrower. As a result, “covenant lite” loans
may provide the borrower with more flexibility
to take actions that may otherwise be limited or prohibited under similar loan
obligations that are not covenant lite or that may
be detrimental to the loan holders and provide fewer investor protections in the
event covenants are breached. The Fund may experience
relatively greater realized or unrealized losses or delays and expense in
enforcing its rights with respect to loans with fewer restrictive
covenants than its holdings of loans or securities with more traditional
financial covenants. In addition, the Fund may receive
less or less frequent financial reporting from a borrower under a “covenant
lite” loan or obligation, which may result in more limited
access to financial information, difficulty evaluating the borrower’s financial
performance over time and delays in exercising rights
and remedies. Many loans and similar debt obligations may not feature
traditional financial maintenance covenants.
Loans
to entities located outside of the U.S. may have substantially different
lender protections and covenants as compared to loans to
U.S. entities and generally involve greater and additional risks. In the event
of bankruptcy, applicable law may impact a lender’s ability
to enforce its rights. Bankruptcy laws in foreign jurisdictions, including
emerging markets, may differ significantly from U.S. bankruptcy
law and the Fund’s rights with respect to a loan governed by the laws of a
foreign jurisdiction may be more limited.
Loans
may be originated by a lending agent, such as a financial institution or other
entity, on behalf of a group or “syndicate” of loan investors
(the “Loan Investors”). In such a case, the agent administers the terms of the
loan agreement and is responsible for the collection
of principal, and interest payments from the borrower and the apportionment of
these payments to the Loan Investors. Failure
by the agent to fulfill its obligations may delay or adversely affect receipt of
payment by the Fund. Furthermore, unless under the
terms of a loan agreement or participation (as applicable) the Fund has direct
recourse against the borrower, the Fund must rely on
the agent and the other Loan Investors to pursue appropriate remedies against
the borrower.
Although
the overall size and number of participants in the market for many loans has
grown over the past decade, such loans continue
to trade in a private, unregulated inter-dealer or inter-bank secondary market
and the amount of available public information
about loans may be less extensive than that available for registered or exchange
listed securities. Liquidity and valuation risk
is more pronounced for the Fund than for funds that invest primarily in other
types of fixed-income instruments or equity securities.
With limited exceptions, the Adviser will seek to take steps intended to ensure
that it does not receive material nonpublic information
about the issuers of loans that also issue publicly traded securities.
Therefore, the Adviser may have less information than other
investors about certain of the loans in which it seeks to invest. Purchases and
sales of loans are generally subject to contractual restrictions
that must be satisfied before a loan can be bought or sold. These restrictions
may (i) impede the Fund’s ability to buy or sell
loans, (ii) negatively impact the transaction price, (iii) impact the
counterparty and/or credit risks borne by the Fund, (iv) impede the
Fund’s ability to timely vote or otherwise act with respect to loans, (v) expose
the Fund to adverse tax or regulatory consequences and/or
(vi) result in delayed settlement of loan transactions. It may take longer than
seven days for a transaction in loans to settle, which
may impact the Fund’s process and ability to meet redemptions. This is partly
due to the nature or manner in which loans trade
and the contractual restrictions noted above, which require a written assignment
agreement and various ancillary documents for each
transfer, and frequently require discretionary consents from both the borrower
and the administrative agent. As a result, sale proceeds
related to the sale of loans may not be available to make additional investments
or to meet the Fund’s redemption or other obligations
for a period after the sale of the loans and, as a result, the Fund may have to
hold additional cash, sell other investments or
engage in borrowing transactions, such as borrowing from a credit facility, if
necessary to raise cash to meet its obligations.
Assignments
of loans through private negotiations may cause the purchaser of an assignment
to have different and more limited rights
than those held by the assigning investor. In connection with purchasing a
participation interest, the Fund generally will have
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no
right to enforce compliance by the borrower with the terms of the loan
agreement. In the event the borrower defaults, the Fund may
not directly benefit from the collateral supporting the loan (if any) in which
it has purchased the participation interest. As a result,
the Fund would generally assume the credit risk of both the borrower and the
financial institution issuing the participation interest,
subjecting the Fund to additional credit risk (including the creditworthiness of
the agent lender), and the Fund may be subject
to greater delays, expenses and risks than if the Fund had purchased a direct
obligation of the borrower. No active trading market
may exist for certain loans, which may impair the ability of the Fund to realize
full value in the event of the need to sell a loan and
which may make it difficult to value the loan. To the extent that a secondary
market does exist for certain loans, the market may be
subject to irregular trading activity, wide bid/ask spreads and extended trade
settlement periods.
In
addition to the risks generally associated with debt instruments, such as
credit, market, interest rate and liquidity risks, loans are also
subject to the risk that the value of any collateral securing a loan may
decline, be unavailable or insufficient to meet the obligations
of the borrower or be difficult to liquidate. The specific collateral used to
secure a loan may decline in value or become illiquid,
which would adversely affect the loan’s value. The Fund’s access to collateral
may be limited by bankruptcy, other insolvency laws
or by the type of loan the Fund has purchased. For example, if the Fund
purchases a participation instead of an assignment, it would
not have direct access to collateral of the borrower. As a result, a
floating-rate loan may not be fully collateralized and can decline
significantly in value. Additionally, collateral on loan instruments may not be
readily liquidated, and there is no assurance that
the liquidation of such assets will satisfy a borrower’s obligations under the
investment.
Loans
are subject to the risk that a court, pursuant to fraudulent conveyance or other
similar laws, could subordinate a loan to presently
existing or future indebtedness of the borrower, or take other action
detrimental to the holders of a loan including, in certain
circumstances, invalidating a loan or causing interest previously paid to be
refunded to the borrower. Any such actions by a court
could negatively affect the Fund’s performance. Loans that are secured and
senior to other debtholders of a borrower tend to have
more favorable loss recovery rates as compared to more junior types of below
investment grade debt obligations. Due to their lower
place in the borrower’s capital structure and, in some cases, their unsecured
status, junior loans involve a higher degree of overall
risk than senior loans of the same borrower.
Investing
in loans involves the risk of default in the payment of interest or principal by
the borrower or other party obligated to repay the
loan, which would result in a reduction of income to the Fund or in other losses
and a potential decrease in the Fund’s NAV. The
risk of default will increase in the event of an economic downturn or a
substantial increase in interest rates. In the event of insolvency
of the borrower or other obligated party, the Fund may be treated as a general
creditor of such entity unless it has rights that
are senior to that of other creditors or secured by specific collateral or
assets of the borrower. Fixed rate loans are also subject to the
risk that their value will decline in a rising interest rate environment. This
risk is mitigated for floating-rate loans, where the interest
rate payable on the loan resets periodically by reference to a base lending
rate.
Loans
that are rated below investment grade are also subject to the risks of other
below investment grade securities. Because loans in which
the Fund may invest could rank lower in priority of payment to senior loans,
they present greater degree of investment risk due
to the fact that the cash flow or other property of the borrower securing the
loan may be insufficient to meet scheduled payments after
meeting the senior secured payment obligations of the borrower. These loans may
also exhibit greater price volatility as well.
U.S.
federal securities laws afford certain protections against fraud and
misrepresentation in connection with the offering or sale of a security,
as well as against manipulation of trading markets for securities. The typical
practice of a lender in relying exclusively or primarily
on reports from the borrower may involve the risk of fraud, misrepresentation,
or market manipulation by the borrower. It is
unclear whether U.S. federal securities laws protections are available to an
investment in a loan. In certain circumstances, loans may not
be deemed to be securities, and in the event of fraud or misrepresentation by a
borrower, lenders may not have the protection of the
anti-fraud provisions of the federal securities laws. However, contractual
provisions in the loan documents may offer some protections,
and lenders may also avail themselves of common-law fraud protections under
applicable state law.
Covenant
Lite Investments
Some
of the loans or other obligations in which the Fund may invest or obtain
exposure to may be “covenant lite” loans or other obligations.
Certain financial institutions may define “covenant lite” loans or securities
differently. Covenants contained in loan documentation
are intended to protect lenders and investors by imposing certain restrictions
and other limitations on a borrower’s operations
or assets and by providing certain information and consent rights to lenders.
Covenant lite loans or securities, which have varied
terms and conditions, may contain fewer or no restrictive covenants compared to
other loans that might enable the Fund to, among
other things, proactively enforce financial covenants or prevent undesired
actions by the borrower. As a result, covenant lite loans
generally carry greater risks because they allow borrowers to exercise more
flexibility with respect to certain activities that may otherwise
be limited or prohibited under similar loan obligations that are not covenant
lite. In addition, the Fund may receive less or less
frequent financial reporting from a borrower under a covenant-lite obligation,
which may result in more limited access to financial
information, difficulty evaluating the borrower’s financial performance over
time and delays in exercising rights and remedies
in the event of a significant financial decline. The Fund may experience
relatively greater difficulty or delays in enforcing its rights
on its holdings of certain covenant lite loans and other similar obligations
than its holdings of loans or securities with more traditional
financial covenants, which may result in losses to the Fund. Many loans and
similar debt obligations may not feature
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traditional
financial maintenance covenants, which are intended to protect lenders and
investors by imposing certain restrictions and other
limitations on a borrower’s operations or assets and by providing certain
information and consent rights to lenders.
Repurchase
Agreements
Repurchase
agreements are transactions in which the
Fund purchases a security or basket of securities and simultaneously commits to
resell
that security or basket to the seller (a bank, broker or dealer) at a mutually
agreed-upon date and price. The resale price reflects the
purchase price plus an agreed-upon market rate of interest which is unrelated to
the coupon rate or date of maturity of the purchased
security. The term of these agreements usually ranges from overnight to one
week, and never exceeds one year. Repurchase agreements
with a term of over seven days are considered illiquid.
In
these transactions, the
Fund receives securities that have a market value at least equal to the purchase
price (including accrued interest)
of the repurchase agreement, and this value is maintained during the term of the
agreement. These securities are held by the
Fund’s
custodian
or an approved third-party for the benefit of the Fund until repurchased.
Repurchase agreements permit the Fund to
remain fully invested while retaining overnight flexibility to pursue
investments of a longer-term nature. If the seller defaults and the
value of the repurchased securities declines, the
Fund might incur a loss. If bankruptcy proceedings are commenced with respect
to
the seller, the
Fund’s realization upon the collateral may be delayed.
While
repurchase agreements involve certain risks not associated with direct
investments in debt securities, the
Fund follows procedures
approved by the Trustees
that are designed to minimize such risks. These procedures include effecting
repurchase transactions
only with large, well-capitalized and well-established financial institutions
whose financial condition will be continually monitored
by the Adviser. In addition, as described above, the value of the collateral
underlying the repurchase agreement will be at least
equal to the repurchase price, including any accrued interest earned on the
repurchase agreement. In the event of a default or bankruptcy
by a selling financial institution, the Fund will seek to liquidate such
collateral. However, the exercising of the Fund’s right
to liquidate such collateral could involve certain costs or delays and, to the
extent that proceeds from any sale upon a default of the
obligation to repurchase were less than the repurchase price, the Fund could
suffer a loss.
The
Fund’s
investments in repurchase agreements may at times be substantial when, for
example, in the view of the Fund’s Adviser, liquidity
or other conditions warrant.
Reverse
Repurchase Agreements
The
Fund may also use reverse repurchase agreements as part of its investment
strategies. Under a reverse repurchase agreement, the Fund
sells a security and promises to repurchase that security at an agreed-upon
future date and price. The price paid to repurchase the
security reflects interest accrued during the term of the agreement. Reverse
repurchase agreements may be entered into for, among
other things, obtaining leverage, facilitating short-term liquidity or when the
Adviser expects that the interest income to be earned
from the investment of the transaction proceeds will be greater than the related
interest expense. Reverse repurchase agreements
may be viewed as a speculative form of borrowing called leveraging. Furthermore,
reverse repurchase agreements involve the
risks that (i) the interest income earned in the investment of the proceeds will
be less than the interest expense, (ii) the market value
of the securities retained in lieu of sale by the Fund may decline below the
price of the securities the Fund has sold but is obligated
to repurchase, (iii) the market value of the securities sold will decline below
the price at which the Fund is required to repurchase
them and (iv) the securities will not be returned to the Fund.
In
addition, the use of leverage may cause the Fund to liquidate portfolio
positions when it may not be advantageous to do so to satisfy
its obligations. Leverage, including borrowing, may cause the Fund to be more
volatile than if the Fund had not been leveraged.
This is because leverage tends to exaggerate the effect of any increase or
decrease in the value of the Fund’s portfolio securities.
All forms of borrowing are limited in the aggregate and may not exceed 33⅓% of
the Fund’s total assets, except as permitted
by law or SEC requirements.
When-Issued
Securities, Delayed Delivery Securities, TBAs and Forward
Commitments
The
Fund may purchase or sell securities that it is entitled to receive on a
when-issued basis. The Fund may also purchase or sell securities
on a delayed delivery basis or through a forward commitment (including on a TBA
(to be announced) basis). These transactions
involve the purchase or sale of securities by the Fund at an established price
with payment and delivery taking place in the
future. The Fund enters into these transactions to obtain what is considered an
advantageous price to the Fund at the time of entering
into the transaction. Such
transactions entered into by the Fund will be counted towards the Fund’s
exposure in the types of securities
listed herein to the extent they have economic characteristics similar to such
securities. For
example, the Fund may invest in TBAs,
which settle on a delayed delivery basis. In a TBA transaction, the seller
agrees to deliver the MBS for an agreed upon price on an
agreed upon future date, but makes no guarantee as to which or how many
securities are to be delivered. Accordingly, the Fund’s investments
in TBAs are subject to risks such as failure of the counterparty to perform its
obligation to deliver the security, the characteristics
of a security delivered to the Fund may be less favorable than expected and the
security the Fund buys will lose value prior
to its delivery. Investments in TBAs may give rise to a form of leverage.
Leverage may cause the Fund to be more volatile than if the
Fund had not been leveraged and may increase the impact that gains (losses) have
on the Fund. Further, TBAs may increase the Fund’s
portfolio turnover rate. FINRA rules include mandatory margin requirements that
will require the Fund to post collateral in
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connection
with its TBA transactions, which could increase the cost of TBA transactions to
the Fund and impose added operational complexity.
The
Fund’s purchase of other securities on a when-issued, delayed delivery or
through a forward commitment basis are subject to similar
risks, including counterparty risk and that the value of securities in these
transactions on the delivery date may be less than the price
paid by the Fund to purchase the securities. In addition, there can be no
assurance that a security purchased on a when-issued basis
will be issued. When the Fund has sold a security on a when-issued, delayed
delivery, or forward commitment basis, the Fund does
not benefit if the value of the security appreciates above the sale price during
the commitment period and the Fund is subject to failure
of the counterparty to pay for the securities.
Short
Sales
A
short sale is a transaction in which the Fund sells securities that it owns
or has the right to acquire at no added cost (i.e., “against the
box”) or does not own (but has borrowed) in anticipation of a decline in the
market price of the securities. To deliver the securities
to the buyer, the Fund arranges 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. When
selling short, the Fund intends to replace the securities
at a lower price and therefore, profit from the difference between the cost to
replace the securities and the proceeds received from
the sale of the securities. When the Fund makes a short sale, the proceeds it
receives from the sale will be held on behalf of a broker
until the Fund replaces the borrowed securities. The Fund may have to pay
a premium to borrow the securities and must pay any
dividends or interest payable on the securities until they are
replaced.
The Fund’s
obligation to replace the securities borrowed in connection with a short sale
will be secured by collateral deposited with the
broker that consists of cash or other liquid securities. Short sales by
the Fund involve certain risks and special considerations. If the
Adviser incorrectly predicts that the price of the borrowed security will
decline, the Fund will have to replace the securities with securities
with a greater value than the amount received from the sale. As a result, losses
from short sales differ from losses that could be
incurred from a purchase of a security, because losses from short sales may be
unlimited, whereas losses from purchases can equal only
the total amount invested.
Money
Market Instruments
Money
market instruments may be adversely affected by market and economic events, such
as a change in prevailing short-term interest
rates; adverse developments in the banking industry, which issues or guarantees
many money market instruments; adverse economic,
political or other developments affecting issuers of money market instruments;
changes in the credit quality of issuers; and default
by a counterparty or an issuer. These instruments may be subject to federal
income, state income and/or other taxes. Instead of
investing in money market instruments directly, the Fund may invest money market
funds, including those advised by the Adviser or
its affiliates. These instruments may be adversely affected by changes to
interest rates, which may be sudden and significant. During
unusual market conditions, the Fund may invest up to 100% of its assets in cash
or cash equivalents temporarily, which may be
inconsistent with its investment objective(s) and other policies.
Non-Diversification
Risk
Eaton
Vance CLO Investment Grade Income ETF is non-diversified, which means that
the Fund may invest a greater percentage of its
assets in a smaller number of issuers than diversified funds. A fund that is
classified as non-diversified may be more susceptible to an
adverse event affecting a single issuer or portfolio investment than a
diversified portfolio and a decline in the value of issuer’s securities
or that portfolio that investment may cause the Fund’s overall value to decline
to a greater degree than a diversified portfolio.
Distressed
and Defaulted Securities
Distressed
and defaulted securities are speculative and involve substantial risks in
addition to the risks of investing in high yield securities.
The Fund will generally not receive interest payments on the distressed
securities and the repayment of principal may also be
at risk. These securities may present a substantial risk of default or may be in
default at the time of investment. The repayment of defaulted
securities is also subject to significant uncertainties. The Fund may incur
substantial expenses in seeking recovery upon a default
in the payment of principal of or interest on its portfolio holdings. If the
portfolio company is forced to reorganize or liquidate,
the Fund may lose its entire investment or may be required to accept cash or
securities with a value less than its original investment.
Distressed securities and any securities received in an exchange for such
securities may be subject to restrictions on resale.
Revenue
Bonds
Revenue
bonds are municipal obligations that are secured by the revenue from a specific
project. To the extent that such revenues do not
materialize, the revenue bonds may not be repaid. If the Fund invests in revenue
bonds that are issued by municipal issuers in the same
economic sector, the Fund would be particularly susceptible to developments
adversely affecting that sector. Revenue bonds historically
have been subject to a greater risk of default than general obligation bonds
because investors can look only to the revenue generated
by the project or other revenue source backing the project, rather than to the
general taxing authority of the state or local government
issuer of the obligations. For example, investments in revenue bonds backed by
receipts from hospitals are sensitive to hospital
bond ratings, which are often based on feasibility studies that contain
projections of expenses, revenues and occupancy levels.
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Additional
factors which could affect a hospital’s gross receipts and net income available
to service its debt are demand for hospital services,
the ability of the hospital to provide the services required, management
capabilities, economic developments in the service area,
efforts by insurers and government agencies to limit rates and expenses,
reputational issues, competition, availability and expenses
of malpractice insurance, Medicaid and Medicare funding and possible federal
legislation regulating hospital charges.
Municipals
Municipal
securities (also referred to as municipal obligations) include debt obligations
of states, territories or possessions of the United
States and the District of Columbia and their political subdivisions, agencies
and instrumentalities, such as local or regional governments.
The interest on municipal securities is generally exempt from regular federal
income tax at the time of issuance, in the opinion
of bond counsel or other counsel to the issuers of such securities. However, the
Fund may purchase municipal securities that pay
interest that is subject to the federal alternative minimum tax, and municipal
securities on which the interest payments are taxable.
Municipal securities typically are “general obligation” or “revenue” bonds,
notes or commercial paper, including participations
in lease obligations and installment purchase contracts of municipalities.
General obligation bonds are secured
by the issuer’s full faith and credit including its taxing power for payment of
principal and interest. Revenue bonds, however, are
generally payable from a specific revenue source. Revenue bonds are issued for a
wide variety of projects such as financing public utilities,
hospitals, housing, airports, highways and educational facilities. These types
of bonds involve the risk that the tax or other revenues
so derived will not be sufficient to meet interest and/or principal payment
obligations.
Municipal
obligations may have fixed, variable or floating rates. Because the Fund may
invest in municipal securities, the Fund may be
affected significantly by the economic, regulatory, legislative, tax or
political developments affecting the ability of issuers of municipal
securities to pay interest or repay principal. The risks of municipal securities
generally depend on the financial and credit status
of the issuer and may rely on a specific stream of revenue associated with a
project or other revenue source. Thus, adverse developments
related to a municipality’s ability to raise revenue, including through its
taxing authority, or the failure of specific revenues
to materialize would negatively impact such investments. These factors, which
may also impact other municipal obligations, include,
among others, changing demographic trends, such as population shifts or changing
tastes and values, or increasing vacancies or
declining rents resulting from legal, cultural, technological, global or local
economic developments, as well as reduced demand for properties,
revenues or goods. Changes in the financial health of an issuer of municipal
securities may make it difficult for the issuer to
make interest and principal payments when due. Some municipalities or issuers of
municipal securities have had significant financial
problems recently, and these and other municipalities or issuers of municipal
securities could, potentially, continue to experience
significant financial problems resulting from lower tax or other revenues and/or
decreased aid from state and local governments
in the event of an economic downturn. In addition, adverse legislative, tax,
regulatory, demographic or political changes may
negatively impact the Fund’s investments in municipal securities. These events
could decrease the Fund’s income and/or adversely
affect the Fund’s performance and investments. Municipal securities also involve
the risk that an issuer may call securities for
redemption, which could force the Fund to reinvest the proceeds at a lower rate
of interest, and the value of municipal securities may
be affected by the rights of municipal security holders. Municipal
securities may be more susceptible to downgrades, defaults or loss
of tax or other revenue during recessions or similar periods of economic stress.
Factors contributing to the financial stress on municipalities
and issuers of municipal securities may include, among other developments, lower
property tax collections as a result of
lower home values, lower sales tax revenue as a result of consumers cutting back
spending and lower income tax revenue as a result of
a higher unemployment rate. In addition, because some municipal obligations may
be secured or guaranteed by banks and other institutions,
the risk to the Fund associated with investments in such municipal securities
could increase if the banking or financial sector
suffers an economic downturn and/or if the credit ratings of the institutions
issuing the guarantee are downgraded or at risk of being
downgraded by a national rating organization. If such events occur, the value of
the security could decrease or the value could be
lost entirely, and it may be difficult or impossible for the Fund to sell the
security at the time and the price that normally prevails in
the market.
For
example, recent public health emergencies have significantly stressed the
financial resources of many municipalities and other issuers
of municipal securities, which may impair their ability to meet their financial
obligations and may harm the value or liquidity of
the Fund’s investments in municipal securities (or the income generated by such
investments). In particular, responses by municipalities
to recent public health emergencies have caused disruptions in business
activities. These and other effects of recent public
health emergencies, such as increased unemployment levels, have impacted tax and
other revenues of municipalities and other issuers
of municipal securities and the financial conditions of such issuers. As a
result, there is an increased budgetary and financial pressure
on municipalities and other issuers of municipal securities and heightened risk
of default or other adverse credit or similar events
for issuers of municipal securities, which would adversely impact the Fund’s
investments.
In
addition, the ability of an issuer to make payments or repay interest may be
affected by litigation or bankruptcy. In the event of bankruptcy
of such an issuer, the Fund investing in the issuer’s securities could
experience delays in collecting principal and interest, and
the Fund may not, in all circumstances, be able to collect all principal and
interest to which it is entitled. To enforce its rights in the
event of a default in the payment of interest or repayment of principal, or
both, the Fund may, in some instances, take possession of,
and manage, the assets securing the issuer’s obligations on such securities,
which may increase the Fund’s operating expenses. Any
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income
derived from the Fund’s ownership or operation of such assets may not be
tax-exempt. Municipal securities are subject to, among
other risks, credit and interest rate risk, liquidity risk and market and
geopolitical risk.
Because
many municipal securities are issued to finance similar projects (such as those
relating to education, health care, housing, transportation,
and utilities), conditions in those sectors, similar projects or particular
states or geographic regions may particularly affect
the overall municipal securities market. In addition, changes in the financial
condition of an individual municipal issuer can affect
the overall municipal market. Municipal securities backed by current or
anticipated revenues from a specific project or specific assets
can be negatively affected by the discontinuance of the supporting taxation or
the inability to collect revenues for the specific project
or specific assets. Moreover, as a result of various economic, market and other
factors, there could be reduced tax or other revenue
available to issuers of municipal obligations and, in turn, increased budgetary
and financial pressure on municipalities and other
issuers of municipal obligations, which could adversely impact the risks
associated with municipal obligations of such issuer. As a
result, the Fund’s investments in municipal obligations may be subject to
heightened risks relating to the occurrence of such developments.
Some
municipal securities are subject to the risk that the IRS may determine
that an issuer has not complied with applicable tax requirements
(or the occurrence of other adverse tax developments) and that interest from the
municipal security is taxable, which may
result in a significant decline in the value of the security. In addition,
interest on municipal obligations, while generally exempt from
regular federal income tax, may not be exempt from the federal alternative
minimum tax. Municipal securities may be less liquid
than taxable bonds and there may be less publicly available information on the
financial condition of municipal security issuers than
for issuers of other securities, and the investment performance of the Fund
investing in municipal securities may therefore be more
dependent on the analytical abilities of the Adviser than if the Fund held other
types of investments such as stocks or taxable bonds.
The secondary market for municipal securities also tends to be less well
developed or liquid than many other securities markets,
which may adversely affect the Fund’s ability to sell municipal securities it
holds at attractive prices or value municipal securities.
In addition, the demand for municipal securities is strongly influenced by the
value of tax-exempt income to investors and lower
income tax rates could reduce the advantage of owning municipal securities,
which may also adversely affect the value and liquidity
of municipal securities.
State
and Municipal Project-Specific Risk
The
Eaton Vance High Income
Municipal ETF
may invest in municipal securities that are related in such a way that an
economic, business,
or political development or change affecting one such security would likewise
affect the other municipal securities. For example,
the Fund may invest 25% or more of its total assets in certain types of
municipal obligations (such as general obligations, municipal
leases, principal only municipal investments, revenue bonds and industrial
development bonds) and in one or more states, territories
and economic sectors (such as housing, hospitals, healthcare facilities or
utilities). Because the Fund may invest a significant
portion of its assets in obligations issued in one or more states and/or U.S.
territories and in certain types of municipal or other
obligations and/or in certain sectors, the value of Fund shares may be affected
by events that adversely affect that state, U.S. territory,
sector or type of obligation and may fluctuate more than that of a fund that
invests more broadly. These developments or changes
may include, among other things, legislative developments involving the
financing of projects, judicial decisions regarding the
validity of the projects or the means of financing such projects, shortages or
price increases of materials needed for the project or declining
needs for the projects as well as other developments that may adversely affect
municipalities and other issuers of municipal securities
located within the same state, such as natural disasters, health emergencies,
and adverse economic, political or social environments.
General obligation bonds issued by municipalities can be adversely affected by,
among other things, economic downturns
and other developments that result in a decline in tax revenues. Revenue bonds
can be adversely affected by, among other things,
the negative economic performance or viability of the facility or revenue
source.
High
Yield Securities
Fixed-income
securities that are not investment grade are commonly referred to as “junk
bonds” or high yield, high risk securities. These
securities generally
offer
a higher yield than higher
rated securities
(including those of a similar maturity),
but they carry a greater
degree of risk,
including substantial credit and default risks.
High yield securities are subject to greater risk of loss (including
substantial
or total loss) of
income and principal than higher rated securities and are considered speculative
by the major credit rating agencies
because of increased credit risk relative to higher
rated
fixed income investments. High yield securities are
also subject to other
increased risks, including greater sensitivity to real or perceived economic
changes, increased price volatility, valuation difficulties,
lack of a regular trading market and greater potential illiquidity.
High
yield securities are particularly
susceptible to default
risk during periods of adverse market, industry or economic conditions or
issuer-specific developments and a high yield security
may lose significant value before a default occurs. In the event of a default,
the Fund may incur additional expenses to seek recovery
or to negotiate new terms with a defaulting issuer.
In
addition, the Fund’s investments in high yield securities are subject to the
risk of subordination to other creditors. Accordingly, in the
event of an issuer’s bankruptcy, claims of other creditors may have priority
over the claims of holders of these securities, leaving few
or no assets available to repay high yield securities holders, such as the Fund.
High yield securities may be issued by companies that
are restructuring, are smaller and less creditworthy or are more highly
leveraged or indebted than other companies or are financially
distressed. This means that they typically have more difficulty making scheduled
payments of principal and interest and a
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higher
risk of non-payment. An issuer’s ability to pay its debt obligations may also be
reduced by financial stress, specific issuer developments
or the unavailability of additional financing. Changes in the value of and
income from high yield securities are typically influenced
more by changes in the financial and business position of the issuing company
than by changes in interest rates when compared
to investment grade securities.
In
addition, high yield securities are subject to increased call risk, also known
as prepayment risk, which is the risk that an issuer may exercise
its right to redeem a fixed income security earlier than expected (a call).
Issuers may call outstanding securities prior to their maturity
for a number of reasons (e.g.,
declining interest rates, changes in credit spreads and improvements in the
issuer’s credit quality).
If an issuer calls a security in which the Fund has invested, the Fund may not
recoup the full amount of its initial investment (including
any premiums paid) or may not realize the full anticipated earnings from the
investment and may be forced to reinvest in lower-yielding
securities, securities with greater credit risks or securities with other, less
favorable features.
In
recent years, there has been a broad trend of weaker or less restrictive
covenant protections in the high yield market. Among other things,
under such weaker or less restrictive covenants, borrowers might be able to
exercise more flexibility with respect to certain activities
than borrowers who are subject to stronger or more protective covenants. For
example, borrowers might be able to incur more
debt, including secured debt, return more capital to shareholders, remove or
reduce assets that are designated as collateral securing
high yield securities, increase the claims against assets that are permitted
against collateral securing high yield securities or otherwise
manage their business in ways that could impact creditors negatively. In
addition, certain privately held borrowers might be permitted
to file or
provide less
frequent, less detailed or less timely financial reporting or other information,
which could negatively impact
the value of the high yield securities issued by such borrowers. Each of these
factors might negatively impact the high yield securities
held by the Fund.
Residual
Interest Bonds
The
Eaton Vance High Income Municipal ETF may enter into residual interest bond
transactions, which expose the Fund to leverage
and greater risk than an investment in a fixed-rate municipal bond. The interest
payments that the Fund receives on the residual
interest bonds acquired in such transactions vary inversely with short-term
interest rates, normally decreasing when short-term
rates increase. The value and market for residual interest bonds are volatile
and such bonds may have limited liquidity. As required
by applicable accounting standards, the Fund records interest expense as a
liability with respect to floating-rate notes and also
records offsetting interest income in an amount equal to this
expense.
Foreign
Securities
Investing
in foreign securities (including depositary receipts) involves certain special
and heightened risks, which are not typically associated
with investments in the securities of U.S. issuers, that can increase the
chances that the Fund will lose money. Foreign issuers
generally are subject to different corporate governance, accounting, auditing
and financial reporting standards than U.S. issuers.
There may be less information available to the public about foreign issuers.
Securities of foreign issuers can be less liquid, experience
greater price movements, and may be subject to foreign withholding taxes and/or
other taxes, which decreases the yield and/or
return of these securities. The Fund may experience losses if the Fund’s claim
to recover foreign withholding taxes is not successful.
In addition, the prices of foreign securities may be susceptible to influence by
large traders due to the limited size of many foreign
securities markets and there is the risk that news and events unique to a
country or region that would not necessarily have an effect
on the U.S. economy or similar issuers located in the United States will affect
those markets and their issuers and political events
in foreign countries may cause market and economic disruptions. Moreover,
investments in certain foreign markets that have historically
been considered stable may become more volatile and subject to increased risk
due to developments and changing conditions
in such markets. Also, the growing interconnectivity of global economies and
financial markets has increased the probability
that adverse developments and conditions in one country or region will affect
the stability of economies and financial markets
in other countries or regions. In some foreign countries, there is also the risk
of government expropriation, excessive or confiscatory
taxation, political or social instability, the imposition of currency controls
or diplomatic developments that could affect the
Fund’s investments. There also can be difficulty obtaining and enforcing
judgments against issuers in foreign countries. Foreign stock
exchanges, broker-dealers and listed issuers may be subject to less government
regulation and oversight. Securities registration, custody,
and settlement may be subject to delays and legal and administrative
uncertainties. If the Fund cannot settle or is delayed in settling
a purchase of securities, it may miss attractive investment opportunities and
experience other adverse consequences. In some non-U.S.
securities markets, custody arrangements for securities provide significantly
less protection than custody arrangements in U.S.
securities markets, and prevailing custody and trade settlement practices (e.g.,
the requirement to pay for securities prior to receipt)
expose the Fund to credit and other risks it does not have in the United States.
In addition, in certain markets the Fund may not
receive timely payment for securities or other instruments it has delivered or
receive delivery of securities paid for and may be subject
to increased risk that the counterparty will fail to make payments or delivery
when due or default completely. The cost of investing
in foreign securities, including brokerage commissions and custodial expenses,
can be higher than the cost of investing in domestic
securities. Foreign market trading hours, clearance and settlement procedures,
and holiday schedules may also limit the Fund’s
ability to buy and sell securities during certain periods.
The
economies of certain foreign markets may not compare favorably with the economy
of the United States with respect to such issues
as growth of gross national product, reinvestment of capital, resources and
balance of payments position. Certain foreign
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markets
may rely heavily on particular industries or foreign capital and are more
vulnerable to diplomatic developments (including regional
and global, military or other conflicts), the imposition of economic sanctions
against a particular country or countries, organizations,
companies, entities and/or individuals, changes in international trading
patterns, tariffs, trade barriers and other protectionist
or retaliatory measures. International trade barriers or economic sanctions
against foreign countries, organizations, companies,
entities and/or individuals may adversely affect the Fund’s foreign holdings or
exposures. Investments in foreign markets may
also be adversely affected by less stringent investor protections and disclosure
standards, and governmental interventions or other actions
such as the imposition of capital controls, nationalization of companies or
industries, expropriation of assets or the imposition of
punitive taxes. Governmental actions can have a significant effect on the
economic conditions in foreign countries, which also may adversely
affect the value and liquidity of the Fund’s investments. Foreign investment in
the securities markets of certain foreign countries
is restricted or controlled to varying degrees. For example, the governments of
certain countries may prohibit or impose substantial
restrictions on foreign investing in their capital markets or in certain sectors
or industries. In addition, a foreign government
may limit or cause delay in the convertibility or repatriation of its currency
which would adversely affect the U.S. dollar value
and/or liquidity of investments denominated in that currency. The value of
holdings traded outside the United States or denominated
in foreign currencies (and any hedging transactions in foreign currencies),
including underlying securities represented by
depositary receipts, will be affected by changes in currency exchange rates.
Changes in currency exchange rates may happen separately
from, and in response to, events that do not otherwise affect the value of the
holding in the issuer’s home country. These risks
may be intensified for the Fund’s investments in securities of issuers located
in emerging market or developing countries. Moreover,
if a deterioration occurs in a country’s balance of payments, the country could
impose temporary restrictions on foreign capital
remittances. The Fund could also be adversely affected by delays in, or a
refusal to grant, any required governmental approval for
repatriation, as well as by the application to it of other restrictions on
investment. Any of these actions could severely affect security
prices, which could result in losses to the Fund and increased transaction
costs, impair the Fund’s ability to purchase or sell foreign
securities (or force the Fund to sell foreign securities) or transfer the Fund’s
assets back into the United States, or otherwise adversely
affect the Fund’s operations. Certain foreign investments may become less liquid
and decline in value in response to market developments
or adverse investor perceptions, or become illiquid after purchase by the Fund,
particularly during periods of market, economic,
political and social turmoil. Certain foreign investments may become illiquid
when, for instance, there are few, if any, interested
buyers and sellers or when dealers are unwilling to make a market for certain
securities. When the Fund holds illiquid investments,
its portfolio may be harder to value.
Economic
sanctions or other similar measures may be, and have been, imposed against
certain countries, organizations, companies, entities
and/or individuals. The Fund’s investments in foreign securities are subject to
trade laws of and potential economic sanctions by
the United States and other jurisdictions. These laws and related governmental
actions, including counter-sanctions and other retaliatory
measures, can, from time to time, prevent or prohibit the Fund from investing in
certain foreign securities. In addition, economic
sanctions could prohibit the Fund from transacting with particular countries,
organizations, companies, entities and/or individuals
by banning them from global payment systems that facilitate cross-border
payments, restricting their ability to settle securities
transactions, and freezing their assets. The imposition of sanctions and other
similar measures also could, among other things,
cause a decline in the value of securities issued by the sanctioned country or
companies located in, or economically linked to, the
sanctioned country, downgrades in the credit ratings of the sanctioned country
or companies located in, or economically linked to,
the sanctioned country, devaluation of the sanctioned country’s currency, and
increased market volatility and disruption in the sanctioned
country and throughout the world. In addition, economic sanctions or other
similar measures could, among other things, effectively
restrict or eliminate the Fund’s ability to purchase or sell securities,
negatively impact the value or liquidity of the Fund’s investments,
significantly delay or prevent the settlement of the Fund’s securities
transactions, force the Fund to sell or otherwise dispose
of investments at inopportune times or prices, increase the Fund’s transaction
costs, make the Fund’s investments more difficult
to value or impair the Fund’s ability to meet its investment objective or invest
in accordance with its investment strategies. These
conditions may be in place for a substantial period of time and enacted with
limited advance notice to the Fund.
Even
if the Fund does not have significant investments in securities affected by
sanctions, sanctions or the threat of sanctions may cause
volatility in regional and global markets and may negatively impact the
performance of various sectors and industries, as well as companies
in other countries, including through global supply chain disruptions, increased
inflationary pressures, and reduced economic
activity, which could have a negative effect on the Fund’s performance. In
addition, trade disputes and changes in tariffs may
affect investor and consumer confidence and adversely affect financial markets
and the broader economy, perhaps suddenly and to
a significant degree. The type and severity of sanctions and other similar
measures, including counter sanctions and other retaliatory
actions, that may be imposed could vary broadly in scope, and their impact is
difficult to predict.
In
addition, the Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act (the “HFCAA”) could
cause securities of a foreign (non-U.S.) company,
including American Depositary Receipts, to be delisted from U.S. stock exchanges
if the company does not allow the U.S. government
to oversee the auditing of its financial information. Although the requirements
of the HFCAA apply to securities of all foreign
(non-U.S.) issuers, the SEC has thus far limited its enforcement efforts to
securities of Chinese companies. If securities are delisted,
the Fund’s ability to transact in such securities will be impaired, and the
liquidity and market price of the securities would likely
decline. The Fund may also need to seek other markets in which to transact in
such securities, which could increase the Fund’s costs.
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Sovereign
Debt Obligations
The Fund may
invest in debt obligations known as “sovereign debt,” which are obligations of
governmental issuers in emerging market
or developing countries and industrialized countries. Certain emerging market or
developing countries are among the largest debtors
to commercial banks and foreign governments. The issuer or governmental
authority that controls the repayment of sovereign
debt may not be willing or able to repay the principal and/or pay interest when
due in accordance with the terms of such obligations.
Uncertainty surrounding the level and sustainability of sovereign debt of
certain countries has at times increased volatility in
the financial markets. In addition, a number of Latin American countries are
among the largest debtors of developing countries and
have a long history of reliance on foreign debt. Additional factors that may
influence the ability or willingness to service debt include,
but are not limited to, a country’s cash flow situation, the availability of
sufficient foreign exchange on the date a payment is due,
the relative size of its debt service burden to the economy as a whole and its
government’s policy towards the International Monetary
Fund, the World Bank and other multilateral agencies. A country whose exports
are concentrated in a few commodities or whose
economy depends on certain strategic imports could be vulnerable to fluctuations
in international prices of these commodities or
imports. If a foreign sovereign obligor cannot generate sufficient earnings from
foreign trade to service its external debt, it may need
to depend on continuing loans and aid from foreign governments, commercial banks
and multilateral organizations, and inflows
of foreign investment. The commitment on the part of these foreign governments,
multilateral organizations and others to make
such disbursements may be conditioned on the government’s implementation of
economic reforms and/or economic performance
and the timely service of its obligations. Failure to implement such reforms,
achieve such levels of economic performance
or repay principal or interest when due may result in the cancellation of such
third-parties’ commitments to lend funds, which
may further impair the foreign sovereign obligor’s ability or willingness to
timely service its debts. In addition, there is no legal process
for collecting on a sovereign debt that a government does not pay or bankruptcy
proceeding by which all or part of the sovereign
debt that a government entity has not repaid may be collected.
Currency
Derivatives
Investments
in currency derivatives may substantially change the Fund’s exposure to currency
exchange rates and could result in losses
to the Fund if currencies do not perform as the Adviser expects. In addition,
investments in currency derivatives, to the extent that
they reduce the Fund’s exposure to currency risks, may also reduce the Fund’s
ability to benefit from favorable changes in currency
exchange rates. The Fund is not required to hedge any portfolio holding with the
use of currency derivatives. Accordingly, Fund
shareholders would bear the risk of currency fluctuations with respect to
unhedged portfolio positions.
Foreign
currency derivatives may involve, for example, the purchase of foreign
currencies for U.S. dollars or the maintenance of short positions
in foreign currencies. Foreign currency derivatives may involve the Fund
agreeing to exchange an amount of a currency it does
not currently own for another currency at a future date. The Fund would
typically engage in such a transaction in anticipation of
a decline in the value of the currency it sells relative to the currency that
the Fund has contracted to receive in the exchange. The Adviser’s
success in these transactions will depend principally on its ability to predict
accurately the future exchange rates between foreign
currencies and the U.S. dollar.
The
Fund may enter into foreign currency forward exchange contracts, and currency
and currency index futures and options contracts
for hedging and non-hedging purposes in pursuing its investment objectives.
Foreign currency forward exchange contracts are
transactions involving the Fund’s obligation to purchase or sell a specific
currency at a future date at a specified price. Foreign currency
forward exchange contracts may be used by the Fund for hedging purposes to
protect against uncertainty in the level of future non-U.S.
currency exchange rates, such as when the Fund anticipates purchasing or selling
a non-U.S. security. This technique would
allow the Fund to “lock in” the U.S. dollar price of the security. Foreign
currency forward exchange contracts may also be used
to attempt to protect the value of the Fund’s existing holdings of non-U.S.
securities. Imperfect correlation may exist, however, between
the Fund’s non-U.S. securities holdings and the foreign currency forward
exchange contracts entered into with respect to those
holdings. To the extent hedged by the use of foreign currency forward exchange
contracts, the precise matching of the foreign currency
forward exchange contract amounts and the value of the securities involved will
not generally be possible because the future value
of such securities in foreign currencies will change as a consequence of market
movements in the value of those securities between
the date on which the contract is entered into and the date it matures.
Furthermore, such transactions reduce or preclude the opportunity
for gain if the value of the currency should move in the direction opposite to
the position taken. Currency futures contracts
are similar to foreign currency forward exchange contracts, except that they are
traded on an exchange and standardized as to
contract size and delivery date. Most currency futures contracts call for
payment or delivery in U.S. dollars. The value of a foreign currency
option is dependent upon the value of the underlying foreign currency relative
to the U.S. dollar. The price of the option may
vary with changes in the value of either or both currencies and has no
relationship to the investment merits of a foreign security. Options
on foreign currencies are affected by all of those factors which influence
foreign exchange rates and foreign investment generally.
Unanticipated changes in currency prices may result in losses to the Fund and
poorer overall performance for the Fund than
if it had not entered into such contracts. The use of foreign currency forward
exchange contracts involves the risk of loss from the
insolvency or bankruptcy of the counterparty to the contract or the failure of
the counterparty to make payments or otherwise comply
with the terms of the contract.
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Foreign
currency forward exchange contracts and currency futures and options contracts
may be used for non-hedging purposes in seeking
to meet the Fund’s investment objectives, such as when the Adviser anticipates
that particular non-U.S. currencies will appreciate
or depreciate in value, even though securities denominated in those currencies
are not then held in the Fund’s investment portfolio.
Investing in foreign currencies for purposes of gaining from projected changes
in exchange rates, as opposed to hedging currency
risks applicable to the Fund’s holdings, further increases the Fund’s exposure
to foreign securities losses. There is no assurance
that the Adviser’s use of currency derivatives will benefit the Fund or that
they will be, or can be, used at appropriate times.
Depositary
Receipts
A
depositary receipt is generally issued by a bank or financial institution and
represents the common stock or other equity securities of
a foreign company. Depositary receipts involve many of the same risks as those
associated with direct investment in foreign securities.
In addition, the underlying issuers of certain depositary receipts, particularly
unsponsored or unregistered depositary receipts,
are under no obligation to distribute shareholder communications to the holders
of such receipts, or to pass through to them any
voting rights with respect to the deposited securities.
Foreign
Currency
Investments
in foreign securities may be denominated in foreign currencies. The value of
foreign currencies may fluctuate relative to the
value of the U.S. dollar or other applicable foreign currency. Since the Fund
may invest in non-U.S. dollar-denominated securities,
and therefore may convert the value of such securities into U.S. dollars,
changes in currency exchange rates can increase or decrease
the U.S. dollar value of the Fund’s assets. Currency exchange rates may
fluctuate significantly over short periods of time for a number
of reasons, including changes in interest rates and the overall economic health
of the issuer. Devaluation of a currency by a country’s
government or banking authority also will have a significant impact on the value
of any investments denominated in that currency.
The Adviser may use derivatives to seek to reduce this risk. The Adviser may in
its discretion choose not to hedge against currency
risk. In addition, certain market conditions may make it impossible or
uneconomical to hedge against currency risk.
Foreign
Currency Forward Exchange Contracts
In
connection with their investments in foreign securities, the Fund
also may enter into contracts with banks, brokers or dealers to purchase
or sell securities or foreign currencies at a future date. A foreign currency
forward exchange contract is a negotiated agreement
between the contracting parties to exchange a specified amount of currency at a
specified future time at a specified rate. The
rate can be higher or lower than the spot rate between the currencies that are
the subject of the contract. Foreign currency forward
exchange contracts may be used to seek to protect against uncertainty in the
level of future foreign currency exchange rates or to
gain or modify exposure to a particular currency. In addition, the Fund may use
cross currency hedging or proxy hedging with respect
to currencies in which the Fund has or expects to have portfolio or currency
exposure. Cross currency and proxy hedges involve
the sale of one currency against the positive exposure to a different currency
and may be used for hedging purposes or to establish
an active exposure to the exchange rate between any two currencies.
Investments
in foreign currency forward exchange contracts may substantially change the
Fund’s exposure to currency exchange rates and
could result in losses to the Fund if currencies do not perform as the Adviser
expect. The Adviser’s success in these transactions will
depend principally on its ability to predict accurately the future exchange
rates between foreign currencies and the U.S. dollar. Foreign
currency forward exchange contracts may be used for non-hedging purposes in
seeking to meet the Fund’s investment objectives,
such as when the Adviser anticipate that particular non-U.S. currencies will
appreciate or depreciate in value, even though securities
denominated in those currencies are not then held in the Fund’s investment
portfolios. Investing in foreign currency forward
exchange contracts for purposes of gaining from projected changes in exchange
rates, as opposed to hedging currency risks applicable
to the Fund’s holdings, further increases the Fund’s exposure to foreign
securities losses. There is no assurance that the Adviser’s
use of currency derivatives will benefit the Fund or that they will be, or can
be, used at appropriate times.
Restricted
Securities
The
Fund’s investments may include restricted securities, which are generally
subject to resale or transfer restrictions or prohibitions as
a matter of contract and/or under applicable U.S. federal securities laws,
including Rule 144A under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.
Restricted securities may not be listed on an exchange and may have no active
trading market. Because there may be relatively
few potential or interested purchasers for privately placed or restricted
securities, especially under adverse market or economic
conditions or in the event of adverse changes in the financial condition of the
issuer, the Fund may be unable to dispose of such
securities promptly or may be able to sell privately placed securities only at
disadvantageous times or prices.
There
is no assurance that a liquid market will exist for restricted securities and
these
securities could have the effect of increasing the level
of Fund illiquidity.
In addition,
the market for certain investments deemed liquid at the time of purchase may
become illiquid under
adverse market or economic conditions. The illiquidity of the market, as well as
the lack of publicly available information regarding
these securities, including
readily available market quotations, may
also adversely affect the ability to arrive at a fair value for
certain securities at certain times and could make it difficult for the Fund to
sell certain securities. Additionally,
the Fund may be unable
to sell a privately placed or restricted security if the Adviser or its
affiliates receive material non-public information about the security’s
issuer. If
the Fund is forced to sell an illiquid security to fund redemptions or for other
cash needs, it may be forced to sell the
security at a loss or for less than its fair value and may be unable to sell the
security at all.
There is typically less information
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available
about issuers of private placements and restricted securities and there is no
assurance that the information obtained by the Adviser
is reliable. In addition, private placements and restricted securities may
involve a high degree of business and financial risk, which
may result in substantial losses to the Fund.
Derivatives
The Fund may,
but is not required to, use derivatives and other similar instruments for a
variety of purposes, including hedging, risk management,
portfolio management or to seek to earn income. Derivative instruments used by
the Fund will be counted towards the Fund’s
exposure in the types of securities listed herein to the extent they have
economic characteristics similar to such securities. A derivative
is a financial instrument whose value is based, in part, on the value of an
underlying asset, interest rate, index or financial instrument.
Prevailing interest rates and volatility levels, among other things, also affect
the value of derivative instruments. Derivatives
and other similar instruments that create synthetic exposure often are subject
to risks similar to those of the underlying asset
or instrument and may be subject to additional risks, including imperfect
correlation between the value of the derivative and the underlying
asset, risks of default by the counterparty to certain transactions,
magnification of losses incurred due to changes in the market
value of the securities, instruments, indices or interest rates to which the
derivative instrument relates, risks that the transactions
may not be liquid, risks arising from margin and payment requirements, risks
arising from mispricing or valuation complexity
and operational and legal risks. The use of derivatives involves risks that are
different from, and possibly greater than, the risks
associated with other portfolio investments. Derivatives may involve the use of
highly specialized instruments that require investment
techniques and risk analyses different from those associated with other
portfolio investments.
Certain
derivative transactions may give rise to a form of leverage. Leverage magnifies
the potential for gain and the risk of loss. Leverage
associated with derivative transactions may cause the Fund to liquidate
portfolio positions when it may not be advantageous to
do so, or may cause the Fund to be more volatile than if the Fund had not been
leveraged. Although the Adviser seeks to use derivatives
to further the Fund’s investment objective, there is no assurance that the use
of derivatives will achieve this result.
The
derivative instruments and techniques that the Fund may use
include:
Futures.
A futures contract is a standardized, exchange-traded agreement to buy or sell a
specific quantity of an underlying asset, reference
rate or index at a specific price at a specific future time. While the value of
a futures contract tends to increase or decrease in tandem
with the value of the underlying instrument, differences between the futures
market and the market for the underlying asset may
result in an imperfect correlation. Depending on the terms of the particular
contract, futures contracts are settled through either physical
delivery of the underlying instrument on the settlement date or by payment of a
cash settlement amount on the settlement date.
A decision as to whether, when and how to use futures contracts involves the
exercise of skill and judgment and even a well-conceived
futures transaction may be unsuccessful because of market behavior or unexpected
events. In addition to the derivatives risks
discussed above, the prices of futures contracts can be highly volatile, using
futures contracts can lower total return, and the potential
loss from futures contracts can exceed the Fund’s initial investment in such
contracts. No assurance can be given that a liquid
market will exist for any particular futures contract at any particular time.
There is also the risk of loss by the Fund of margin deposits
in the event of bankruptcy of a broker with which the Fund has open
positions in the futures contract.
Options.
If the Fund buys an option, it buys a legal contract giving it the right to buy
or sell a specific amount of the underlying instrument,
foreign currency or contract, such as a swap agreement or futures contract, on
the underlying instrument or foreign currency
at an agreed-upon price during
a period of time or on a specified date typically
in exchange for a premium paid by the Fund.
If the Fund sells an option, it sells to another person the right to buy from or
sell to the Fund a specific amount of the underlying
instrument, swap, foreign currency, or futures contract on the underlying
instrument or foreign currency at an agreed-upon
price during a period of time or on a specified date typically in exchange for a
premium received by the Fund. When options are
purchased OTC, the Fund bears the risk that the counterparty that wrote the
option will be unable or unwilling to perform its obligations
under the option contract. Options may also be illiquid and the Fund may have
difficulty closing out its position. A decision
as to whether, when and how to use options involves the exercise of skill and
judgment and even a well-conceived option transaction
may be unsuccessful because of market behavior or unexpected events. The prices
of options can be highly volatile and the
use of options can lower total returns.
Investments
in foreign currency options may substantially change the Fund’s exposure to
currency exchange rates and could result in losses
to the Fund if currencies do not perform as the Adviser expects. There is a risk
that such transactions may reduce or preclude the
opportunity for gain if the value of the currency should move in the direction
opposite to the position taken. The value of a foreign
currency option is dependent upon the value of the underlying foreign currency
relative to the U.S. dollar or other applicable foreign
currency. The price of the option may vary with changes in the value of either
or both currencies and has no relationship to the
investment merits of a foreign security. Options on foreign currencies are
affected by all of those factors that influence foreign exchange
rates and foreign investment generally. Unanticipated changes in currency prices
may result in losses to the Fund and poorer
overall performance for the Fund than if it had not entered into such contracts.
Options on foreign currencies are traded primarily
in the OTC market, but may also be traded on U.S. and foreign
exchanges.
Foreign
currency options contracts may be used for hedging purposes or non-hedging
purposes in pursuing the Fund’s investment
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objective,
such as when the Adviser anticipates that particular non-U.S. currencies will
appreciate or depreciate in value, even though securities
denominated in those currencies are not then held in the Fund’s investment
portfolio. Investing in foreign currencies for purposes
of gaining from projected changes in exchange rates, as opposed to only hedging
currency risks applicable to the Fund’s holdings,
further increases the Fund’s exposure to foreign securities losses. There is no
assurance that the Adviser’s use of currency derivatives
will benefit the Fund or that they will be, or can be, used at appropriate
times.
Swaps.
The Fund may enter into OTC swap contracts or cleared swap transactions. An OTC
swap contract is an agreement between two
parties pursuant to which the parties exchange payments at specified dates on
the basis of a specified notional amount, with the payments
calculated by reference to specified securities, indices, reference rates,
currencies or other instruments. Typically swap agreements
provide that when the period payment dates for both parties are the same, the
payments are made on a net basis (i.e., the two
payment streams are netted out, with only the net amount paid by one party to
the other). The Fund’s obligations or rights under
a swap contract entered into on a net basis will generally be equal only to the
net amount to be paid or received under the agreement,
based on the relative values of the positions held by each party. Cleared swap
transactions may help reduce counterparty credit
risk. In a cleared swap, the Fund’s ultimate counterparty is a clearinghouse
rather than a swap dealer, bank or other financial institution.
OTC swap agreements are not entered into or traded on exchanges and often there
is no central clearing or guaranty function
for swaps. These OTC swaps are often subject to credit risk or the risk of
default or non-performance by the counterparty. Certain
swaps have begun trading on exchanges or
swap execution facilities. Exchange trading is expected to increase liquidity of
swaps
trading. Both OTC and cleared swaps could result in losses if interest rates,
foreign currency exchange rates or other factors are not
correctly anticipated by the Fund or if the reference index, security or
investments do not perform as expected. The Dodd-Frank Wall
Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act and related regulatory developments
require the clearing of
certain standardized swap
transactions. Swaps
subject to mandatory central clearing must be traded on an exchange or swap
execution facility unless no exchange
or swap execution facility “makes the swap available to trade.”
The Fund may pay fees or incur costs each time it enters into,
amends or terminates a swap agreement.
Liquidity
The
Fund may make investments that are less liquid, illiquid or restricted or that
may become illiquid or less liquid in response to, among
other developments, overall economic conditions or adverse investor perceptions,
and which may entail greater risk than investments
in other types of securities. Illiquidity can also be caused by, among other
things, a drop in overall market trading volume,
an inability to find a willing buyer, or legal restrictions on the securities’
resale. These investments may be more difficult to value
or sell, particularly in times of market turmoil, and there may be little
trading in the secondary market available for particular securities.
Liquidity risk may be magnified in a market where credit spread and interest
rate volatility is rising and where investor redemptions
from fixed-income funds may be higher than normal. If the Fund is forced to sell
an illiquid or restricted security to fund
redemptions or for other cash needs, it may be forced to sell the security at a
loss or for less than its fair value and may be unable to
sell the security at all.
Certain
CLO securities may have limited liquidity in various market conditions, and in
such instances will be less liquid than more senior
or higher-rated CLOs. The price of CLO securities may rapidly decline if a large
number of holders of the CLO securities decide
to sell. The CLO market is smaller relative to other fixed-income instrument
markets. Historic liquidity measures of CLOs may
or may not be predictive of the liquidity of CLOs in the future. During adverse
market conditions, there may be instances in which
the market for trading CLOs becomes thin, or in extreme circumstances,
particularly with respect to subordinate or lower-rated
CLO tranches, may cease to exist during such period.
Market
and Geopolitical Risk
The
value of your investment in the Fund is based on the values of the Fund’s
investments, which change due to economic and other events
that affect the U.S. and global markets generally, as well as those that affect
or are perceived or expected to affect particular regions,
countries, industries, companies, issuers, sectors, asset classes or
governments. Price movements, sometimes called volatility, may
be greater or less depending on the types of securities the Fund owns and the
markets in which the securities trade. Volatility and
disruption in financial markets and economies may be sudden and unexpected,
expose the Fund to greater risk, including risks associated
with reduced market liquidity and fair valuation, and adversely affect the
Fund’s operations. For example, the Adviser potentially
will be prevented from executing investment decisions at an advantageous time or
price as a result of any domestic or global
market disruptions and reduced market liquidity may impact the Fund’s ability to
sell securities to meet redemptions (i.e., increase
the risk that the Fund will not be able to pay redemption proceeds within the
allowable time period). In addition, no active trading
market may exist for certain investments held by the Fund, which may impair the
ability of the Fund to sell or to realize the current
valuation of such investments in the event of the need or decision to liquidate
such assets.
The
increasing interconnectivity between global economies and markets
increases the likelihood that events or conditions in one region
or market, or with respect to one company, may adversely impact other companies
and other issuers, including those in a different
country, region, sector, industry, or market. For example, adverse developments
in the banking or financial services sector could
impact companies operating in various sectors or industries and adversely impact
the Fund’s investments. Securities in the Fund’s
portfolio may underperform or otherwise be adversely affected due to inflation
(or expectations for inflation), deflation (or expectations
for deflation), interest rates (or changes in interest rates), global demand for
particular products or resources, market or
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financial
system instability or uncertainty, embargoes, the threat and/or actual
imposition of tariffs, sanctions and other trade barriers,
natural disasters and extreme weather events, health emergencies (such as
epidemics and pandemics), terrorism, regulatory events
and governmental or quasi-governmental actions. The occurrence of global events,
such as terrorist attacks, natural disasters, health
emergencies, social and political (including geopolitical) discord and tensions
or debt crises and downgrades, among others, may
result in increased market volatility and may have long term effects on both
the U.S. and global financial markets. Inflation rates may
change frequently and significantly because of various factors, including
unexpected shifts in the domestic or global economy and
changes in monetary or economic policies (or expectations that these policies
may change). Changes in inflation rates or expected inflation
rates may adversely affect market and economic conditions, an issuer’s financial
condition, the Fund’s investments and an investment
in the Fund. The market price of debt securities generally falls as inflation
increases because the purchasing power of the future
income and repaid principal is expected to be worth less when received by the
Fund. The risk of inflation is greater for debt instruments
with longer maturities and especially those that pay a fixed rather than
variable interest rate. Other financial, economic and
other global market and social developments or disruptions may result in similar
adverse circumstances, and it is difficult to predict
when similar events affecting the U.S. or global financial markets or economies
may occur, the effects that such events may have
and the duration of those effects (which may last for extended periods). In
general, the securities or other instruments that the Adviser
believes represent an attractive investment opportunity or in which the Fund
seeks to invest may be unavailable entirely or in the
specific quantities sought by the Fund. As a result, the Fund may need to obtain
the desired exposure through a less advantageous investment,
forgo the investment at the time or seek to replicate the desired exposure
through a derivative transaction or investment in
another investment vehicle. Any such event(s) could have a significant adverse
impact on the value and risk profile of the Fund’s portfolio.
There is a risk that you may lose money by investing in the Fund.
Social,
political, economic and other conditions and events, such as war, natural
disasters, health emergencies (e.g., epidemics and pandemics),
terrorism, conflicts, social unrest, recessions, inflation, interest rate
changes, the imposition of tariffs, trade restrictions or similar
actions by the U.S. or foreign governments (or retaliatory measures taken in
response to such actions) and supply chain disruptions
could reduce consumer demand or economic output, result in market closures,
travel restrictions or quarantines, and generally
have a significant impact on economies, financial markets, issuers and the
Adviser’s investment advisory activities and services
of other service providers, which in turn could adversely affect the Fund’s
investments and other operations.
Government
and other public debt, including municipal obligations, can be adversely
affected by changes in local and global economic
conditions, including those that result in increased debt levels. Although high
levels of government and other public debt do
not necessarily indicate or cause economic problems, high levels of debt may
create certain systemic risks if sound debt management
practices are not implemented. A high debt level may increase market pressures
to meet an issuer’s funding needs, which
may increase borrowing costs and cause a government or public or municipal
entity to issue additional debt, thereby increasing the
risk of refinancing. A high debt level also raises concerns that the issuer may
be unable or unwilling to repay the principal or interest
on its debt, which may adversely impact instruments held by the Fund that rely
on such payments.
Governmental
and quasi-governmental responses to certain economic or other conditions may
lead to increasing government and other
public debt, particularly when such responses are unprecedented, which heighten
these risks. Unsustainable debt levels can lead to
declines in the value of currency, and can prevent a government from
implementing effective counter-cyclical fiscal policy during economic
downturns, can generate or contribute to an economic downturn or cause other
adverse economic or market developments,
such as increases in inflation or volatility. Increasing government and other
public debt may adversely affect issuers, obligors,
guarantors or instruments across a variety of asset classes.
Global
events may negatively impact broad segments of businesses and populations, cause
a significant negative impact on the price of
performance of the Fund’s investments, reduce market liquidity adversely affect
and increase the volatility of markets and the Fund’s
share price, exacerbate pre-existing political, social, financial and economic
risks to the Fund and cause overall declines in the U.S.
and global markets. The Fund’s operations may be interrupted as a result, which
may contribute to the negative impact on investment
performance. In addition, governments, their regulatory agencies, or
self-regulatory organizations may take actions (including
monetary and/or fiscal actions intended to stimulate or stabilize the global
economy) that affect the instruments in which the
Fund invests, or the issuers of such instruments, in ways that could have a
significant negative impact on the Fund’s investment performance.
Monetary and/or fiscal actions taken by U.S. or foreign governments may not be
effective and could lead to increased market
volatility. In addition, government actions (such as changes to interest rates)
could have unintended economic and market consequences
that adversely affect the Fund’s investments. The frequency and magnitude of
resulting changes in the value of the Fund’s
investments cannot be predicted.
Emerging
Market Securities
The
Fund may invest in emerging market or developing countries, which are countries
that major international financial institutions generally
consider to be less economically mature than developed nations (such as the
United States or most nations in Western Europe).
Emerging market or developing countries may be more likely to experience
political turmoil or rapid changes in economic conditions
than more developed countries, and the financial condition of issuers in
emerging market or developing countries may be more
precarious than in other countries. Certain emerging market countries may be
subject to less stringent requirements regarding accounting,
auditing, financial reporting and record keeping and therefore, material
information related to an investment may not be
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available
or reliable. Such emerging market countries could also subject the Fund to
greater risk associated with the custody of its securities
than developed markets, which may adversely affect the Fund. In addition, the
Fund’s investments (including the companies
in which the Fund may invest) in emerging market or developing countries may be
subject to expropriation, nationalization
and confiscation of assets and property. Furthermore, the Fund is limited in its
ability to exercise its legal rights or enforce
a counterparty’s legal obligations in certain jurisdictions outside of the
United States, in particular, in emerging markets countries.
In addition, due to jurisdictional limitations, U.S. authorities (e.g., SEC and
the U.S. Department of Justice) may be limited
in their ability to enforce regulatory or legal obligations in emerging market
countries. In addition, emerging market securities
generally are less liquid and subject to wider price and currency fluctuations
than securities issued in more developed countries.
These characteristics result in greater risk of price volatility in emerging
market or developing countries, which may be heightened
by currency fluctuations relative to the U.S. dollar.
ESG
Investment Risk
To
the extent that the Adviser considers environmental, social and/or governance
(“ESG”) issues as a component in its investment decision-making
process, the Fund’s performance may be impacted. Additionally, the Adviser’s
consideration of ESG issues in its investment
decision-making process may require subjective analysis and the ability of the
Adviser to consider ESG issues may be difficult
if data about a particular issuer (or obligor) is limited. The Adviser’s
consideration of ESG issues may contribute to the Adviser’s
decision to forgo opportunities to buy certain securities. ESG issues with
respect to an issuer (or obligor) or the Adviser’s assessment
of such may change over time.
Large
Transactions Risk
The
Fund may experience adverse effects when large shareholders, or a number of
shareholders collectively, purchase or redeem large amounts
of shares of the Fund (“large shareholder transactions”). In addition, a third
party investor, the Adviser, or an affiliate of the Adviser,
an authorized participant, a lead market maker, or another entity (i.e., a seed
investor) may invest in the Fund and hold its investment
solely to facilitate commencement of the Fund or to facilitate the Fund’s
achieving a specified size or scale. Any such investment
may be held for a limited period of time. There can be no assurance that any
large shareholder would not redeem its investment,
that the size of the Fund would be maintained at such levels or that the Fund
would continue to meet applicable listing requirements.
Such larger than normal redemptions may cause the Fund to sell portfolio
securities at times when it would not otherwise
do so, which may negatively impact the Fund’s NAV and liquidity. Similarly,
large Fund share purchases may adversely affect
the Fund’s performance to the extent that the Fund is delayed in investing new
cash and is required to maintain a larger cash position
than it ordinarily would. These transactions may also result in taxable income
and/or gains for the Fund, which may increase taxable
distributions to shareholders, and may also increase transaction costs. The
effects of taxable income and/or gains resulting from
large shareholder transactions would particularly impact non-redeeming
shareholders who do not hold their Fund shares through
a tax deferred retirement account, such as a 401(k) plan or IRA. To the extent
that such transactions result in short-term capital
gains, such gains when distributed by the Fund will generally be taxed at the
ordinary income tax rate for individual shareholders
who hold Fund shares in a taxable account. In addition, a large redemption could
result in the Fund’s current expenses being
allocated over a smaller asset base, leading to an increase in the Fund’s
expense ratio. A number of circumstances may cause the Fund
to experience large redemptions, including, but not limited to, the occurrence
of significant events affecting investor demand for
securities or asset classes in which the Fund invests; changes in the
eligibility criteria for the Fund; liquidation, reorganization, repositioning,
or other announced Fund event; or changes in investment objectives, strategies,
policies, risks, or investment personnel.
Although large shareholder transactions may be more frequent under certain
circumstances, the Fund is generally subject to
the risk that shareholders can purchase or redeem a significant percentage of
Fund shares at any time. In addition, large shareholder
transactions may account for a large percentage of the trading volume on NYSE
Arca with respect to the Eaton Vance CLO
Investment Grade Income ETF and the Nasdaq Stock Market LLC with respect to the
Eaton Vance High Income Municipal ETF
(collectively, the “Listing Exchange”)
LIBOR
Discontinuance or Unavailability Risk
The
Fund’s investments, payment obligations and financing terms may be based on
floating rates, such as the London Interbank Offered
Rates (collectively, “LIBOR”), Euro Interbank Offered Rate, Secured Overnight
Financing Rate (“SOFR”) and other similar types
of reference rates (each, a “Reference Rate”). These Reference Rates are
generally intended to represent the rate at which contributing
banks may obtain short-term borrowings from each other within certain financial
markets. London Interbank Offered Rate
(“LIBOR”) was the basic rate of interest used in lending transactions between
banks on the London interbank market and has been
widely used as a reference for setting the interest rate on loans globally. As a
result of benchmark reforms, publication of LIBOR
settings
has ceased. Certain
regulators and industry groups have taken actions to establish alternative
reference rates (e.g., the SOFR, which
measures the cost of overnight borrowings through repurchase agreement
transactions collateralized with U.S. Treasury securities
and is intended to replace U.S. dollar LIBORs with certain adjustments). These
developments could negatively impact financial
markets in general and present heightened risks, including with respect to the
Fund’s investments. As a result of the uncertainty
and developments relating to the transition process, performance, price
volatility, liquidity and value of the Fund and its assets
may be adversely affected.
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Securities
Lending
The
Fund may lend its portfolio securities to broker-dealers and other institutional
borrowers. During the existence of a loan, the Fund
will continue to receive the equivalent of the interest paid by the issuer on
the securities loaned, or all or a portion of the interest
on investment of the collateral, if any. The Fund may pay lending fees to such
borrowers. Loans will only be made to firms that
have been approved by the Adviser, and the Adviser or the securities lending
agent will periodically monitor the financial condition
of such firms while such loans are outstanding. Securities loans will only be
made when the Adviser believes that the expected
returns, net of expenses, justify the attendant risks. Securities loans
currently are required to be secured continuously by collateral
in cash, cash equivalents (such as money market instruments) or other liquid
securities held by the custodian and maintained
in an amount at least equal to the market value of the securities loaned. The
Fund may engage in securities lending to seek
to generate income. Upon return of the loaned securities, the Fund would be
required to return the related collateral to the borrower
and may be required to liquidate portfolio securities in order to do so. The
Fund may lend up to one-third of the value of its
total assets or such other amount as may be permitted by law.
As
with other extensions of credit, there are risks of delay in recovery or even
loss of rights in the securities loaned if the borrower of the
securities fails financially. To the extent that the portfolio securities
acquired with such collateral have decreased in value, it may result
in the Fund realizing a loss at a time when it would not otherwise do so. As
such, securities lending may introduce leverage into the
Fund. The Fund also may incur losses if the returns on securities that it
acquires with cash collateral are less than the applicable rebate
rates paid to borrowers and related administrative costs.
Borrowing
The
Fund is permitted to borrow for temporary purposes (such as to satisfy
redemption requests, to remain fully invested in anticipation
of expected cash inflows and to settle transactions). Any borrowings by the Fund
are subject to the requirements of the 1940
Act. Borrowings are also subject to the terms of any credit agreement between
the Fund and lender(s). Fund borrowings may be equal
to as much as 33 1/3% of the value of the Fund’s total assets (including such
borrowings) less the Fund’s liabilities (other than borrowings).
The Fund will not purchase additional investments while outstanding borrowings
exceed 5% of the value of its total assets.
ETF
Structure Risks
| |
Authorized
Participant Concentration Risk.
Only an authorized participant may engage in creation or redemption
transactions directly
with the Fund. The Fund has a limited number of intermediaries that act as
authorized participants and none of these authorized
participants is or will be obligated to engage in creation or redemption
transactions. There can be no assurance that an active
trading market for the Fund’s shares will develop or be maintained. To the
extent that these intermediaries exit the business or
are unable to or choose not to proceed with creation and/or redemption
orders with respect to the Fund, such as during periods of
market stress, and no other authorized participant creates or redeems,
shares may trade at a discount to net asset value (“NAV”) and
possibly face trading halts and/or delisting. Authorized participant
concentration risk may be heightened to the extent the Fund
invests in securities issued by non-U.S. issuers or other securities or
instruments that have lower trading
volumes. |
| |
Cash
Transactions Risk.
Unlike certain ETFs, the Fund may effect its creations and redemptions in
cash or partially in cash. As a result,
an investment in the Fund may be less tax-efficient than an investment in
such ETFs. Other ETFs generally are able to make
in-kind redemptions and avoid realizing gains in connection with
transactions designed to raise cash to meet redemption requests.
To the extent the Fund effects its redemptions in-kind, the in-kind
redemption mechanism generally will not lead to a tax
event for the Fund or its non-redeeming shareholders. If the Fund effects
a portion of redemptions for cash, it may be required to
sell portfolio securities in order to obtain the cash needed to distribute
redemption proceeds, which also involves transaction costs.
If the Fund recognizes gain on these sales, this generally will cause the
Fund to recognize gain it might not otherwise have recognized
if it were to distribute portfolio securities in-kind, or to recognize
such gain sooner than would otherwise be required. The
Fund generally intends to distribute these gains to shareholders to avoid
being taxed on this gain at the Fund level and otherwise
comply with the special tax rules that apply to it. This strategy may
cause shareholders to be subject to tax on gains they would
not otherwise be subject to, or at an earlier date than, if they had made
an investment in a different ETF. |
| |
Trading
Risk.
The market prices of shares are expected to fluctuate, in some cases
materially, in response to changes in the Fund’s NAV,
the intra-day value of the Fund’s holdings, and supply and demand for
shares. The Adviser cannot predict whether shares will
trade above, below or at their NAV. Disruptions to creations and
redemptions, the existence of significant market volatility or
potential
lack of an active trading market for the shares (including through a
trading halt), as well as other factors, may result in the
shares trading significantly above (at a premium) or below (at a discount)
to NAV or to the intraday value of the Fund’s holdings.
You may pay significantly more or receive significantly less than the
Fund’s NAV per share during periods when there is a
significant premium or discount. |
| |
During
such periods, you may incur significant losses if you sell your shares.
Buying or selling shares in the secondary market may require
paying brokerage commissions or other charges imposed by brokers as
determined by that broker. Brokerage commissions are
often a fixed amount and may be a significant proportional cost when
seeking to buy or sell relatively small amounts of shares.
|
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| |
In
addition, the market price of shares, like the price of any
exchange-traded security, includes a “bid-ask spread” charged by the
market
makers or other participants that trade the particular security. The
spread of the Fund’s shares varies over time based on the
Fund’s trading volume and market liquidity and may increase if the Fund’s
trading volume, the spread of the Fund’s underlying
securities, or market liquidity decrease. |
Active
Management Risk
In
pursuing the Fund’s investment objective, the Adviser has considerable leeway in
deciding which investments to buy, hold or sell on
a day-to-day basis, and which trading strategies to use. For example, the
Adviser, in its discretion, may determine to use some permitted
trading strategies while not using others. The success or failure of such
decisions will affect the Fund’s performance. There is
no guarantee that the use of the Adviser’s investment techniques, and the
investments selected based on such techniques, will perform
as expected or produce the desired results.
In
addition, it is expected that confidential or material non-public information
regarding an investment or potential investment opportunity
may become available to the Adviser. If such information becomes available, the
Adviser may be precluded (including by applicable
law or internal policies or procedures) from pursuing an investment or
disposition opportunity with respect to such investment
or investment opportunity and the Adviser may be restricted in its ability to
cause the Fund to buy or sell securities of an issuer
for substantial periods of time when the Fund otherwise could realize profit or
avoid loss. This may adversely affect the Fund’s flexibility
with respect to buying or selling securities and may impair the Fund’s
liquidity.
Temporary
Investments
Under
adverse or unstable market conditions or abnormal circumstances or when the
Adviser believes that changes in market, economic,
political or other conditions warrant, the Fund may, in the discretion of the
Adviser, take temporary positions that are inconsistent
with the Fund’s principal investment strategies in attempting to respond to such
conditions or circumstances. For example,
the Fund may invest without limit in cash, cash equivalents or other
fixed-income instruments, derivatives, repurchase agreements
or securities of other investment companies, including money market funds, for
temporary purposes. For example, with respect
to the Eaton Vance High Income Municipal ETF, when the Adviser believes that
conditions warrant, including when suitable municipal
obligations are unavailable, the Fund may invest without limit in securities
subject to federal income tax or in securities that
pay interest income subject to the federal alternative minimum tax. Under such
circumstances, a higher portion of the Fund’s distributions
will likely be subject to federal income tax and/or the federal alternative
minimum tax. If the Adviser incorrectly predicts
the effects of these changes or during periods of temporary defensive or other
temporary positions, such temporary investments
may adversely affect the Fund’s performance and the Fund may not achieve its
investment objective.
Investment
Company Securities
Subject
to the limitations set forth in the 1940 Act, or as otherwise permitted by the
SEC, the Fund may acquire shares in other investment
companies, including foreign investment companies, closed-end funds, ETFs and
money market funds which may be managed
by the Adviser or its affiliates. The market value of the shares of other
investment companies may differ from the NAV of the
Fund. The shares of certain investment companies, principally closed-end
investment companies, frequently trade at a discount to
their NAV. As a shareholder in an investment company, the Fund would bear
its ratable share of that entity’s expenses, including its
investment advisory and administration fees and be subject to the associated
risks. At the same time, the Fund would continue to pay
its own advisory and administration fees and other expenses. As a result, the
Fund and its shareholders will directly bear the expenses
of their investment in the Fund and indirectly bear the expenses of the Fund’s
investments in other investment companies.
Taxability
Risk
Changes
in tax laws or adverse determinations by the IRS may make the income from some
municipal obligations taxable and adversely
affect the value of such obligations.
Cybersecurity
Risk
With
the increased use of technologies such as the internet to conduct business, the
Fund, the Adviser, authorized participants, service
providers and the relevant listing exchange,
as applicable,
are susceptible to operational, information security and related “cyber”
risks both directly and through the service providers. Similar types of
cybersecurity risks are also present for issuers of securities
in which the Fund invests, which could result in material adverse consequences
for such issuers and may cause the Fund’s investment
in such issuers to lose value. In general, cyber incidents can result from
deliberate attacks or unintentional events. Cyber incidents
include, but are not limited to, gaining unauthorized access to digital systems
(e.g., through “hacking” or malicious software coding)
for purposes of misappropriating assets or sensitive information, corrupting
data, or causing operational disruption. Cyberattacks
may also be carried out in a manner that does not require gaining unauthorized
access, such as causing denial-of-service attacks
on websites (i.e., efforts to make network services unavailable to intended
users). Recently, geopolitical tensions may have increased
the scale and sophistication of deliberate attacks, particularly those from
nation-states or from entities with nation-state backing.
Cybersecurity
failures by, or breaches of, the systems of the Adviser, distributor and other
service providers (including, but not limited
to, index and benchmark providers, fund accountants, custodians, transfer agents
and administrators), exchanges, market
Eaton
Vance | Additional
Information About Fund Investment Strategies and Related Risks
Additional
Information About Fund Investment Strategies and Related Risks (Con’t)
participants,
market makers, authorized participants or the issuers of securities in which the
Fund invests,
as applicable,
have the ability
to cause disruptions and impact business operations, potentially resulting in:
financial losses, interference with the Fund’s ability
to calculate its NAV, disclosure of confidential trading information,
impediments to trading, submission of erroneous trades or
erroneous creation or redemption orders, the inability of the Fund or its
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. In addition, cyberattacks may render records of Fund assets
and transactions, shareholder ownership of Fund
shares, and other data integral to the functioning of the Fund inaccessible,
inaccurate or incomplete. Substantial costs may be incurred
by the Fund in order to resolve or prevent cyber incidents in the future. While
the Fund has established business continuity plans
in the event of, and risk management systems to prevent, such cyber incidents,
there are inherent limitations in such plans and systems,
including the possibility that certain risks have not been identified, that
prevention and remediation efforts will not be successful
or that cyberattacks will go undetected. Furthermore, the Fund cannot control
the cybersecurity plans and systems put in place
by service providers to the Fund, issuers in which the Fund invests, market
makers or authorized participants,
as applicable.
The
Fund and its shareholders could be negatively impacted as a result.
Regulatory
and Legal Risk
U.S.
and non-U.S. governmental agencies and other regulators regularly implement
additional (or amended) regulations and legislators
pass new laws (or amend existing laws) that affect the investments held by the
Fund, the strategies used by the Fund or the level
of regulation or taxation applying to the Fund (such as regulations related to
investments in derivatives and other transactions). These
regulations and laws impact the investment strategies, performance, costs and
operations of the Fund or taxation of shareholders.
New
Fund Risk
A
new fund’s performance may not represent how the fund is expected to or may
perform in the long term. In addition, new funds have
limited operating histories for investors to evaluate and new funds may not
attract sufficient assets to achieve investment and trading
efficiencies. Moreover, a new fund may not be able to fully implement its
investment strategy immediately upon commencing
investment operations, which could reduce investment
performance.
Eaton
Vance |
Fund
Management
Adviser
Morgan
Stanley Investment Management Inc., with principal offices at 1585 Broadway, New
York, NY 10036, conducts a worldwide
portfolio management business and provides a broad range of portfolio management
services to customers in the United States
and abroad. Morgan Stanley (NYSE: “MS”) is the parent of the Adviser. Morgan
Stanley is a preeminent global financial services
firm engaged in securities trading and brokerage activities, as well as
providing investment banking, research and analysis, financing
and financial advisory services. As of December
31, 2025,
the Adviser, together with its affiliated asset management companies,
had approximately $1.9
trillion in assets under management or supervision.
A
discussion regarding the basis for the Board of Trustees’ approval of the
Management Agreement is
available for the Eaton Vance High
Income Municipal ETF’s report filed on Form N-CSR
for the period ended
March 31, 2025.
A discussion regarding the basis for
the Board of Trustees’ approval of the Management Agreement will be available in
the Eaton Vance CLO Investment Grade Income
ETF’s report filed on Form N-CSR once available.
The
Adviser and/or its affiliates may make payments to one or more investors that
contribute seed capital to the Fund. Such payments
may continue for a specified period of time and/or until a specified dollar
amount is reached. Those payments will be made from
the assets of the Adviser and/or such affiliates (and not the Fund). Seed
investors may contribute all or a majority of the assets in the
Fund. There is a risk that such seed investors may redeem their investments in
the Fund. As with redemptions
by other large shareholders,
such redemptions could have a significant negative impact on the
Fund.
Management
Fees
The
Adviser receives a fee for management services equal to the portion of the
average daily net assets as set forth in the table below.
|
|
| |
|
Fund
(as a percentage of average daily net assets) |
|
|
Eaton
Vance CLO Investment Grade Income ETF |
0.20% |
|
|
Eaton
Vance High Income Municipal ETF |
0.39% |
|
Under
the Management Agreement, the Adviser will pay substantially all the expenses of
the
Fund (including expenses of the Trust relating
to the
Fund), except for the distribution fees, if any, brokerage expenses, acquired
fund fees and expenses, taxes, interest, litigation
expenses, and other extraordinary expenses, including the costs of proxies, not
incurred in the ordinary course of the Fund’s
business.
Portfolio
Management
Eaton
Vance CLO
Investment Grade Income ETF
The
Fund is managed by members of the Floating-Rate Loans team. The team consists of
portfolio managers and analysts. The current
members of the team primarily responsible for the day-to-day management of the
Fund are Edward
Greenaway, CFA, Steve Sebo
and Brandon Matsui, CFA.
Mr.
Greenaway is an Executive Director of the Adviser, manages other funds and has
been employed by the Morgan Stanley organization
for more than five years. Mr. Sebo
is an Executive Director of the Adviser. Prior to joining the Adviser in 2023,
Mr. Sebo
served as a Director for Wells Fargo since 2014. Mr. Matsui is an Executive
Director of the Adviser. Prior to joining the Adviser in
2023, Mr. Matsui served as the Head of Fixed Income for DWS’ Systematic
Investment Solutions group since 2016.
Eaton
Vance High Income
Municipal
ETF
The
Fund is managed by members of the Municipals team. The team consists of
portfolio managers and analysts. The current members
of the team primarily responsible for the day-to-day management of the Fund are
Bill Delahunty, CFA, Trevor Smith, Carl Thompson,
CFA and Brandon Matsui, CFA.
Mr. Delahunty
is a Managing Director of the Advisor. Prior to joining the Adviser in 1998, Mr.
Delahunty was a financial analyst with
Grubb & Ellis since 1994. Mr. Smith and Mr. Thompson are Executive Directors
of the Adviser, manage other funds and have been
employed by the Morgan Stanley organization for more than five years. Mr. Matsui
is an Executive Director of the Adviser. Prior
to joining the Adviser in 2023, Mr. Matsui served as the Head of Fixed Income
for DWS’ Systematic Investment Solutions group
since 2016.
The
composition of the
Fund’s team may change from time to time.
The
Fund’s SAI provides additional information about the portfolio managers’
compensation structure, other accounts managed by the
portfolio managers and the portfolio managers’ ownership of securities in the
Fund.
Eaton
Vance |
Shareholder
Information
Distribution
of Fund Shares
The
Distributor is the exclusive distributor of Creation Units of the
Fund. The Distributor or its agent distributes Creation Units for the
Fund
on an agency basis. The Distributor does not maintain a secondary market in
shares of the Fund. The Distributor has no role
in determining the investment policies of the Fund
or the securities that are purchased or sold by the Fund. The Distributor’s
principal
address is 3 Canal Plaza Suite 100, Portland, ME 04101.
The
Board of Trustees of the Trust has adopted a distribution and service plan
(“Plan”) pursuant to Rule 12b-1 under the 1940 Act. Under
the Plan, the Fund
is
authorized to pay distribution fees in connection with the sale and distribution
of its shares and pay service
fees in connection with the provision of ongoing services to shareholders of the
Fund
and the maintenance of shareholder accounts
in an amount up to 0.25% of its average daily net assets each year.
No
Rule 12b-1 fees are currently paid by the Fund,
and there are no current plans to impose these fees. However, in the event Rule
12b-1
fees are charged in the future, because these fees are paid out of the
Fund’s
assets on an ongoing basis, these fees will increase the
cost of your investment in the Fund.
By purchasing shares subject to distribution fees and service fees, you may pay
more over time
than you would by purchasing shares with other types of sales charge
arrangements. Long-term shareholders may pay more than the
economic equivalent of the maximum front-end sales charge permitted by the rules
of FINRA.
The net income attributable to shares
will be reduced by the amount of distribution fees and service fees and other
expenses of the Fund.
About
Net Asset Value
The
Fund’s NAV per share is determined by dividing the total of the value of the
Fund’s investments and other assets, less any liabilities
attributable to the Fund, by the total number of outstanding shares of the Fund.
In making this calculation, the
Fund generally
values its portfolio securities and other assets at market price.
When
no market quotations are readily available for a security or other asset,
including as
a result of the occurrence of a significant event
or circumstances
under which the Adviser determines that a market quotation is not accurate, fair
value for the security or other asset
will be determined in good faith using methods approved by the Board of
Trustees. In
these cases, the Fund’s NAV will reflect certain
portfolio securities’ fair value rather than their market price. In addition,
the securities held by the
Fund may be traded in markets
that close at a different time than the exchange on which the Fund’s shares are
listed. Accordingly, during the time when the
Fund’s
listing exchange is open but after the applicable market closes, bid-ask spreads
may widen and Fund shares may trade at a premium
or discount to NAV. To the extent the
Fund invests in open-end management companies (other than ETFs) that are
registered
under the 1940 Act, the Fund’s NAV is calculated based in relevant part upon the
NAV of such funds. The prospectuses for
such funds explain the circumstances under which they will use fair value
pricing and its effects.
Fair
value pricing involves subjective judgments and it is possible that the fair
value determined for a security or other asset is materially
different than the value that could be realized upon the sale of that security
or other asset. With respect to securities that are
primarily listed on foreign exchanges, the values of the Fund’s
portfolio securities may change on days when you will not be able to
purchase or sell your shares. The NAV of the
Fund is based on the value of the Fund’s portfolio securities or other
assets.
The
Fund
relies
on various sources to calculate its
NAV. The ability of the Fund’s
provider of administrative services to calculate the NAV
per share of the Fund is subject to operational risks associated with processing
or human errors, systems or technology failures, cyber
attacks and errors caused by third party service providers, data sources, or
trading counterparties. Such failures may result in delays
in the calculation of the
Fund’s NAV and/or the inability to calculate NAV over extended time periods.
The
Fund may be unable
to recover any losses associated with such failures. In addition, if the third
party service providers and/or data sources upon which
the
Fund directly or indirectly relies to calculate its NAV or price individual
securities are unavailable or otherwise unable to calculate
the NAV correctly, it may be necessary for alternative procedures to be utilized
to price the securities at the time of determining
the Fund’s NAV.
The
Fund’s NAV per share is subject to various investment and other risks. Please
refer to the “Additional Information About Fund Investment
Strategies and Related Risks” and “Investment Strategies and Techniques”
sections of the Prospectus and SAI, respectively,
for more information regarding risks associated with an investment in the
Fund.
Book
Entry
The
Depository Trust Company (“DTC”) serves as securities depository for the shares.
The shares may be held only in book-entry form;
stock certificates will not be issued. DTC, or its nominee, is the record or
registered owner of all outstanding shares. Beneficial ownership
of shares will be shown on the records of DTC or its participants (described
below). Beneficial owners of shares are not entitled
to have shares registered in their names, will not receive or be entitled to
receive physical delivery of certificates in definitive form
and are not considered the registered holder thereof. Accordingly, to exercise
any rights of a holder of shares, each beneficial owner
must rely on the procedures of: (i) DTC; (ii) “DTC Participants,” i.e.,
securities brokers and dealers, banks, trust companies, clearing
corporations and certain other organizations, some of whom (and/or their
representatives) own DTC; and (iii) “Indirect Participants,”
i.e., brokers, dealers, banks and trust companies that clear through or maintain
a custodial relationship with a DTC Participant,
either directly or indirectly, through which such beneficial owner holds its
interests. The Trust understands that under
Eaton
Vance |
Shareholder
Information
Shareholder
Information (Con’t)
existing
industry practice, in the event the Trust requests any action of holders of
shares, or a beneficial owner desires to take any action
that DTC, as the record owner of all outstanding shares, is entitled to take,
DTC would authorize the DTC Participants to take
such action and that the DTC Participants would authorize the Indirect
Participants and beneficial owners acting through such DTC
Participants to take such action and would otherwise act upon the instructions
of beneficial owners owning through them. As described
above, the Trust recognizes DTC or its nominee as the owner of all shares for
all purposes.
Buying
and Selling Shares
Shares
of the
Fund may be acquired or redeemed directly from the
Fund at NAV only in Creation Units or multiples thereof, as discussed
in the Creations and Redemptions section of the Prospectus. Only an Authorized
Participant (as defined in the Creations and
Redemptions section below) may engage in creation or redemption transactions
directly with the
Fund. Once created, shares of the
Fund generally trade in the secondary market in amounts less than a Creation
Unit.
Shares
of the
Fund are listed for trading on a national securities exchange during the trading
day. Shares can be bought and sold throughout
the trading day at market price like shares of other publicly traded companies.
However, there can be no guarantee that an
active trading market will develop or be maintained, or that the Fund shares
listing will continue or remain unchanged. The Trust does
not impose any minimum investment for shares of the Fund purchased on an
exchange. Buying or selling the Fund’s shares involves
certain costs that apply to all securities transactions. When buying or selling
shares of the Fund through a financial intermediary,
you may incur a brokerage commission or other charges determined by your
financial intermediary. Due to these brokerage
costs, if any, frequent trading may detract significantly from investment
returns. In addition, you may also incur the cost of the
spread (the difference between the bid price and the ask price). The commission
is frequently a fixed amount and may be a significant
cost for investors seeking to buy or sell small amounts of shares. The spread
varies over time for shares of the Fund based on
its trading volume and market liquidity, and is generally less if the Fund has
more trading volume and market liquidity and more if
the Fund has less trading volume and market liquidity.
Eaton
Vance CLO
Investment Grade Income ETF’s primary listing exchange is NYSE Arca and
Eaton Vance High Income
Municipal
ETF’s primary
listing exchange is The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC. Each Listing Exchange is open
for trading Monday through
Friday and is closed on the following holidays: New Year’s Day, Martin Luther
King, Jr. Day, Presidents’ Day, Good Friday, Memorial
Day, Juneteenth National Independence Day, Independence Day, Labor Day,
Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day.
A
“business day” with respect to the Fund
is each day the New York Stock Exchange, the Listing Exchange and the
Trust are open and
includes any day that the
Fund is required to be open under Section 22(e) of the 1940 Act. Orders from
authorized participants to
create or redeem Creation Units will only be accepted on a business day. On days
when the Listing Exchange closes earlier than normal,
the
Fund may require orders to create or redeem Creation Units to be placed earlier
in the day. See the SAI for more information.
The
Trust’s Board of Trustees has not adopted a policy of monitoring for frequent
purchases and redemptions of Fund shares (“frequent
trading”) that appear to attempt to take advantage of potential arbitrage
opportunities presented by a lag between a change in
the value of the
Fund’s portfolio securities after the close of the primary markets for the
Fund’s portfolio securities and the reflection
of that change in the Fund’s NAV (“market timing”). The Trust believes this is
appropriate because ETFs, such as the Fund,
are intended to be attractive to arbitrageurs, as trading activity is critical
to ensuring that the market price of Fund shares remains
at or close to NAV.
Since the
Fund issues and redeems Creation Units at NAV plus applicable transaction fees,
and a Fund’s shares
may be purchased and sold on the Listing Exchange at prevailing market
prices, the risks of frequent trading are limited.
Section
12(d)(1) of the 1940 Act generally restricts investments by investment
companies, including foreign and unregistered investment
companies, in the securities of other investment companies. For example, a
registered investment company (the “Acquired
Fund”), such as the
Fund, may not knowingly sell or otherwise dispose of any security issued by the
Acquired Fund to any investment
company (the “Acquiring Fund”) or any company or companies controlled by the
Acquiring Fund if, immediately after such
sale or disposition: (i) more than 3% of the total outstanding voting stock of
the Acquired Fund is owned by the Acquiring Fund
and any company or companies controlled by the Acquiring Fund, or (ii) more than
10% of the total outstanding voting stock of
the Acquired Fund is owned by the Acquiring Fund and other investment companies
and companies controlled by them. However,
registered investment companies are permitted to invest in the
Fund beyond the limits set forth in Section 12(d)(1), subject
to certain terms and conditions set forth in SEC rules. In order for a
registered investment company to invest in shares of the
Fund
beyond the limitations of Section 12(d)(1) in reliance on Rule 12d1-4 under the
1940 Act, the registered investment company must,
among other things, enter into an agreement with the Trust. Foreign investment
companies are permitted to invest in the Fund
only up to the limits set forth in Section 12(d)(1), subject to any applicable
SEC Staff no-action relief.
The
Fund
and the Distributor will have the sole right to accept orders to purchase shares
and reserve the right to reject any purchase order
in whole or in part.
Eaton
Vance |
Shareholder
Information
Shareholder
Information (Con’t)
Creations
and Redemptions
Prior
to trading in the secondary market, shares of the Fund are “created” at NAV by
market makers, large investors and institutions only
in block-size Creation Units or multiples thereof. Each “creator” or authorized
participant (an “Authorized Participant”) enters into
an authorized participant agreement with the Fund’s Distributor. An Authorized
Participant is a member or participant of a clearing
agency registered with the SEC, which has a written agreement with the Fund or
one of its service providers that allows such member
or participant to place orders for the purchase and redemption of Creation
Units.
A
creation transaction, which is subject to acceptance by JPMorgan Chase Bank,
N.A., as the Trust’s transfer agent, generally takes place
when an Authorized Participant deposits into the Fund a designated portfolio of
securities (including any portion of such securities
for which cash may be substituted) and a specified amount of cash in exchange
for a specified number of Creation Units.
Similarly,
shares can be redeemed only in Creation Units, generally for a designated
portfolio of securities (including any portion of such
securities for which cash may be substituted) held by the Fund and a specified
amount of cash. Except when aggregated in Creation
Units, shares are not redeemable by the Fund.
The
prices at which creations and redemptions occur are based on the next
calculation of NAV after a creation or redemption order is received
in an acceptable form under the authorized participant agreement.
Only
an Authorized Participant may create or redeem Creation Units directly with the
Fund.
In
the event of a system failure or other interruption, including disruptions at
market makers or authorized participants, orders to purchase
or redeem Creation Units either may not be executed according to the Fund’s
instructions or may not be executed at all, or the
Fund may not be able to place or change orders.
To
the extent the Fund engages in in-kind transactions, the Fund intends to comply
with the U.S. federal securities laws in accepting securities
for deposit and satisfying redemptions with redemption securities by, among
other means, assuring that any securities accepted
for deposit and any securities used to satisfy redemption requests will be sold
in transactions that would be exempt from registration
under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”). Further, an
Authorized Participant that is not a “qualified
institutional buyer,” as such term is defined under Rule 144A of the Securities
Act, will not be able to receive restricted securities
eligible for resale under Rule 144A.
The
in-kind arrangements are intended to protect ongoing shareholders from adverse
effects on the Fund’s portfolio that could arise from
frequent cash creation and redemption transactions and generally will not lead
to a tax event for the Fund or its ongoing shareholders.
Creations
and redemptions must be made through a firm that is either a member of the
Continuous Net Settlement System of the National
Securities Clearing Corporation or a DTC Participant and has executed an
agreement with the Distributor with respect to creations
and redemptions of Creation Unit aggregations. Information about the procedures
regarding creation and redemption of Creation
Units (including the cut-off times for receipt of creation and redemption
orders) and the applicable transaction fees is included
in the Fund’s SAI.
Portfolio
Holdings
A
description of the Trust’s policies and procedures with respect to the
disclosure of the
Fund’s portfolio securities is available in the Trust’s
SAI.
Inactive
Accounts and Risk of Escheatment
In
accordance with state “unclaimed property” laws, your Fund shares may legally be
considered abandoned and required to be transferred
to the relevant state (also known as “escheatment”) under various circumstances.
These circumstances, which vary by state,
can include inactivity (e.g., no owner-initiated contact for a certain period),
returned mail (e.g., when mail sent to a shareholder is
returned by the post office as undeliverable), uncashed checks or a combination
of these. An incorrect address may cause a shareholder’s
account statements and other mailings to be returned to the Fund or your
financial intermediary. Since states’ statutory requirements
regarding inactivity differ, it is important to regularly contact your financial
intermediary or the Fund’s transfer agent. The
process described above, and the application of state escheatment laws, may vary
by state and/or depending on how shareholders hold
their shares in the Fund. Escheatment with respect to a retirement account is
subject to a 10% federal withholding on the account.
It
is your responsibility to ensure that you maintain a valid mailing address for
your account, keep your account active by contacting your
financial intermediary or the Fund’s transfer agent (e.g., by mail or
telephone), and promptly cash all checks for dividends, capital
gains and redemptions. Neither the Fund nor the Adviser will be liable to
shareholders or their representatives for good faith compliance
with escheatment laws.
For
more information, please contact us at 800-836-2414.
Eaton
Vance |
Shareholder
Information
Shareholder
Information (Con’t)
Dividends
and Distributions
General
Policies
Dividends
from net investment income, if any, generally are declared and paid monthly by
the
Fund. Distributions of net realized securities
gains, if any, generally are declared and paid once a year, but the Trust may
make distributions on a more frequent basis for the
Fund. The Trust reserves the right to declare special distributions if, in its
reasonable discretion, such action is necessary or advisable
to preserve its status as a regulated investment company or to avoid imposition
of income or excise taxes on undistributed income
or realized gains. Dividends and other distributions on shares of the
Fund are distributed on a pro rata basis to beneficial owners
of such shares. Dividend payments are made through DTC participants and indirect
participants to beneficial owners then of record
with proceeds received from the
Fund.
Dividend
Reinvestment Service
No
dividend reinvestment service is provided by the Trust. Broker-dealers may make
available the DTC book-entry dividend reinvestment
service for use by beneficial owners of the
Fund for reinvestment of their dividend distributions. Beneficial owners
should
contact their broker to determine the availability and costs of the service and
the details of participation therein. Brokers may require
beneficial owners to adhere to specific procedures and timetables. If this
service is available and used, dividend distributions of both
income and realized gains will be automatically reinvested in additional whole
shares of the
Fund purchased in the secondary market.
Taxes
As
with any investment, you should consider how your Fund investment will be taxed.
The tax information in this Prospectus is provided
as general information. You should consult your own tax professional about the
tax consequences of an investment in the
Fund.
Unless your investment in the
Fund is through a tax deferred retirement account, such as a 401(k) plan or IRA,
you need to be aware
of the possible tax consequences when the Fund makes distributions and when you
sell shares.
Taxation
of Distributions.
With respect to the Eaton
Vance CLO
Investment Grade Income ETF, your distributions normally are subject
to federal and state income tax when they are paid, whether you take them in
cash or reinvest them in Fund shares. A distribution
also may be subject to local income tax. Any income dividend distributions and
any short-term capital gain distributions are
taxable to you as ordinary income. Any long-term capital gain distributions are
taxable as long-term capital gains, no matter how long
you have owned shares in the
Fund. It is not anticipated that any portion
of the distributions by the Funds would qualify for a lower
tax rate as
qualified dividend income.
Further, such distributions are not anticipated to be eligible
for a dividends-received deduction
for corporate shareholders.
With
respect to the Eaton Vance High Income
Municipal ETF,
your income dividend distributions are normally exempt from federal
income tax—to the extent they are derived from municipal obligations. Income
derived from other portfolio securities may be subject
to federal, state and/or local income taxes. Income derived from some municipal
securities is subject to the federal alternative minimum
tax. Certain tax-exempt securities whose proceeds are used to finance private,
for-profit organizations are subject to this special
tax system that ensures that individuals pay at least some federal taxes.
Although interest on these securities is generally exempt from
federal income tax, some individual taxpayers who have many tax deductions or
exemptions nevertheless may have to pay tax on the
income. However, the alternative minimum tax consequences discussed in this
paragraph do not apply with respect to interest paid
on bonds issued after December 31, 2008 and before January 1, 2011 (including
refunding bonds issued during that period to refund
bonds originally issued after December 31, 2003 and before January 1,
2009).
The
Eaton Vance High Income
Municipal ETF may
derive gains in part from municipal obligations that the Fund purchased below
their
principal or face values. All or a portion of these gains may be taxable to you
as ordinary income rather than capital gains. If the Fund
makes any capital gain distributions, those distributions will normally be
subject to federal and state income tax when they are paid,
whether you take them in cash or reinvest them in Fund shares. Any short-term
capital gain distributions are taxable to you as ordinary
income. Any long-term capital gain distributions are taxable to you as long-term
capital gains, no matter how long you have owned
shares in the Fund. The Fund does not anticipate that it will make any
distributions eligible for the reduced rate of taxation applicable
to qualified dividend income or for a dividends-received deduction.
Depending
on your state’s rules, dividends attributable to interest earned by a Fund on
direct obligations of the U.S. Government may
be exempt from state and local taxes.
Shareholders
could periodically receive distributions which constitute a return of capital
for tax purposes. A return of capital is not taxable,
but it reduces the shareholder’s basis in their Fund shares, which reduces the
loss (or increases the gain) on a subsequent taxable
disposition by such shareholder of the shares.
The
Fund’s transactions in derivatives will be subject to special tax 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, and convert short-term capital losses into
Eaton
Vance |
Shareholder
Information
Shareholder
Information (Con’t)
long-term
capital losses. These rules could therefore affect the amount, timing and
character of distributions to shareholders. The
Fund’s
use of these types of transactions may result in the Fund realizing more
short-term capital gain and ordinary income subject to tax
at ordinary income tax rates than it would if it did not engage in such
transactions.
If
you borrow money to purchase shares of the Eaton Vance High Income
Municipal ETF,
the interest on the borrowed money is generally
not deductible for income tax purposes.
If
you buy shares of the
Fund before a distribution, you may be subject to tax on the entire amount of
the taxable distribution you receive.
Distributions are taxable to you even if they are paid from income or gain
earned by the Fund before your investment (and thus
were included in the price you paid for your Fund shares).
Investment
income received by the
Fund from sources within foreign countries may be subject to foreign income,
withholding, and other
taxes. Tax conventions between certain countries and the U.S. may reduce or
eliminate such taxes.
You
will be sent a statement IRS
Form 1099-DIV) by February of each year showing the taxable distributions paid
to you in the previous
year. The statement provides information on your dividends and any capital gains
for tax purposes.
Taxation
of Sales.
Your sale of Fund shares normally is subject to federal and state income tax and
may result in a taxable gain or loss to
you. A sale also may be subject to local income tax. When you sell your shares,
you will generally recognize a capital gain or loss in an
amount equal to the difference between your adjusted tax basis in
the shares and the amount received. Generally, this capital gain
or
loss is long-term or short-term depending on whether your holding period exceeds
one year, except that any loss realized on shares held
for six months or less will be treated as a long-term capital loss to the extent
of any long-term capital gain dividends that were received
on the shares. Further, any loss realized on the sale of shares held for
six months or less may be disallowed to the extent of any
distributions treated as exempt-interest dividends with respect to the shares.
Additionally, any loss realized on a sale of shares of the
Fund may be disallowed under “wash sale” rules to the extent the shares
disposed of are replaced with other shares of the Fund within
a period of 61 days beginning 30 days before and ending 30 days after the date
of disposition, such as pursuant to a dividend reinvestment
in Fund shares. If disallowed, the loss will be reflected in an adjustment to
the basis of the shares acquired.
Creations
and Redemptions.
A person who exchanges securities for Creation Units generally will recognize a
gain or loss. The gain or loss
will be equal to the difference between the market value of the Creation Units
at the time of exchange and the sum of the exchanger’s
aggregate basis in the securities surrendered and the amount of any cash paid
for such Creation Units. A person who exchanges
Creation Units for securities will generally recognize a gain or loss equal to
the difference between the exchanger’s basis in the
Creation Units and the sum of the aggregate market value of the securities
received. The IRS, however, may assert that a loss realized
upon an exchange of primarily securities for Creation Units cannot be deducted
currently under the rules governing “wash sales,”
or on the basis that there has been no significant change in economic position.
Persons exchanging securities for Creation Units
or redeeming Creation Units should consult their own tax adviser with respect to
whether wash sale rules apply and when a loss might
be deductible and the tax treatment of any creation or redemption
transaction.
Under
current U.S. federal income tax laws, any capital gain or loss realized upon a
redemption (or creation) of Creation Units is generally
treated as long-term capital gain or loss if the Fund shares (or securities
surrendered) have been held for more than one year and
as a short-term capital gain or loss if the Fund shares (or securities
surrendered) have been held for one year or less.
Other
Information.
An additional 3.8% Medicare tax is imposed on certain net investment income
(including ordinary dividends and capital
gain distributions received from the
Fund and net gains from redemptions or other taxable dispositions of Fund
shares) of U.S.
individuals, estates and trusts to the extent that such person’s “modified
adjusted gross income” (in the case of an individual) or “adjusted
gross income” (in the case of an estate or trust) exceeds certain threshold
amounts.
You
may be subject to backup withholding at a rate of 24% with respect to taxable
distributions if you do not provide your correct taxpayer
identification number, or certify that it is correct, or if you have been
notified by the IRS that you are subject to backup withholding.
Shareholders
who are not citizens or residents of the United States and certain foreign
entities will generally be subject to withholding of
U.S. tax of 30% on distributions made by the
Fund of investment income (other than exempt-interest dividends) and short-term
capital
gains.
Withholding
of U.S. tax is required (at a 30% rate) on payments of taxable dividends made to
certain non-U.S. entities that fail to comply
(or be deemed compliant) with extensive reporting and withholding requirements
designed to inform the U.S. Department of
the Treasury of U.S.-owned foreign investment accounts. Shareholders may be
requested to provide additional information to a Fund
to enable the Fund to determine whether withholding is required.
Reporting
to you and the IRS is required annually on Form 1099-B with respect to not only
the gross proceeds of Fund shares you sell
or redeem but also their cost basis. Shareholders should contact their
intermediaries with respect to reporting of cost basis and
Eaton
Vance |
Shareholder
Information
Shareholder
Information (Con’t)
available
elections with respect to their accounts. You should carefully review the cost
basis information provided by the applicable intermediary
and make any additional basis, holding period or other adjustments that are
required when reporting these amounts on your
federal income tax returns.
Because
each investor’s tax circumstances are unique and the tax laws may change, you
should consult your tax advisor about your investment.
Potential
Conflicts of Interest
As
a diversified global financial services firm, Morgan Stanley, the parent company
of the Adviser, engages in a broad spectrum of activities,
including financial advisory services, investment management activities,
lending, commercial banking, sponsoring and managing
private investment funds, engaging in broker-dealer transactions and principal
securities, commodities and foreign exchange
transactions, research publication and other activities. In the ordinary course
of its business, Morgan Stanley is a full-service investment
banking and financial services firm and therefore engages in activities where
Morgan Stanley’s interests or the interests of its
clients may conflict with the interests of the Fund. These activities could
cause Morgan Stanley to have an interest that is different from,
and potentially adverse to, that of the Fund, which may impede the Fund from
participating in certain opportunities. Morgan Stanley
advises clients and sponsors, manages or advises other investment funds and
investment programs, accounts and businesses (collectively,
together with any new or successor funds, programs, accounts or businesses
sponsored, managed, or advised by the Adviser
or one of its investment adviser affiliates, the “Affiliated Investment
Accounts”) with a wide variety of investment objectives that
in some instances may overlap or conflict with the Fund’s investment objectives
and present conflicts of interest. In addition, Morgan
Stanley, the Adviser and/or the Adviser’s investment adviser affiliates may also
from time to time create new or successor Affiliated
Investment Accounts that may compete with the Fund and present similar conflicts
of interest. The discussion below enumerates
certain actual, apparent and potential conflicts of interest. There is no
assurance that conflicts of interest will be resolved in
favor of Fund shareholders and, in fact, they may not be.
The
conflicts summarized herein do not purport to be a complete list or explanation
of the conflicts associated with the financial or other
interests the Adviser or its affiliates may have now or in the future. For more
information about conflicts of interest, see the section
entitled “Potential Conflicts of Interest” in the SAI. Conflicts of interest not
described below or in the SAI may also exist. References
to the Adviser in this section include the Fund’s affiliated sub-adviser (if
any) unless otherwise noted.
Material
Nonpublic and Other Information.
It is expected that confidential or material nonpublic information regarding an
investment
or potential investment opportunity may become available to the Adviser. If such
information becomes available, the Adviser
may be precluded (including by applicable law or internal policies or
procedures) from pursuing an investment or disposition opportunity
with respect to such investment or disposition opportunity, including for an
extended period of time. This inability to buy
or sell an investment could have an adverse effect on the Fund’s portfolio due
to, among other things, changes in an investment’s value
during the period its trading is restricted. Morgan Stanley has established
certain information barriers and other policies designed
to address the sharing of information between different businesses within Morgan
Stanley. As a result of information barriers,
the Adviser, in certain instances, will not have access, or will have limited
access, to certain information and personnel in other
areas of Morgan Stanley and, in such instances, will not manage the Fund with
the benefit of the information held by such other
areas. In other instances, Morgan Stanley personnel, including personnel of the
Adviser, will have access to information and personnel
of its affiliates. In managing conflicts of interest that arise because of the
foregoing, the Adviser generally will be subject to fiduciary
requirements. The Adviser also may implement internal information barriers or
ethical walls or other internal information sharing
protocols, and the conflicts described herein with respect to information
barriers and otherwise with respect to Morgan Stanley
and the Adviser will also apply internally within the Adviser. Information
sharing may limit or restrict the ability of the Adviser
to engage in or otherwise effect transactions on behalf of the Fund (including
purchasing or selling securities that the Adviser may
otherwise have purchased or sold for the Fund in the absence of the sharing of
information). The Adviser may face conflicts of interest
in determining whether to engage in the sharing of information with its
affiliates.
Investments
by Morgan Stanley and its Affiliated Investment Accounts.
In serving in multiple capacities to Affiliated Investment Accounts,
Morgan Stanley, including the Adviser and its investment teams, may have
obligations to other clients or investors in Affiliated
Investment Accounts, the fulfillment of which may not be in the best interests
of the Fund or its shareholders. An investment
team may have obligations to Affiliated Investment Accounts managed by both the
Adviser and one or more of the Adviser’s
investment adviser affiliates. The Fund’s investment objectives may overlap with
the investment objectives of certain Affiliated
Investment Accounts. As a result, the members of an investment team may face
conflicts in the allocation of investment opportunities
among the Fund and other investment funds, programs, accounts and businesses
advised by or affiliated with the Adviser
or its investment adviser affiliates. Certain Affiliated Investment Accounts may
provide for higher management or incentive fees
or greater expense reimbursements or overhead allocations, all of which may
contribute to this conflict of interest and create an incentive
for the Adviser to favor such other accounts. To seek to reduce potential
conflicts of interest and to attempt to allocate such investment
opportunities in a fair and equitable manner, the Adviser has implemented
allocation policies and procedures. These policies
and procedures are intended to give all clients of the Adviser, including the
Fund, fair access to investment opportunities consistent
with the requirements of organizational documents, investment strategies,
applicable laws and regulations, and the fiduciary
duties of the Adviser.
Eaton
Vance |
Shareholder
Information
Shareholder
Information (Con’t)
Payments
to Broker-Dealers and Other Financial Intermediaries.
The Adviser, Distributor and/or their affiliates may pay compensation,
out
of their own funds and not as an expense of the Fund, to certain Financial
Intermediaries (which may include affiliates of the Adviser
and the Distributor), including recordkeepers and administrators of
various deferred compensation plans, in connection with the
sale, distribution, marketing and retention of shares of the Fund and/or
shareholder servicing. The prospect of receiving, or the receipt
of, additional compensation, as described above, by Financial Intermediaries may
provide such Financial Intermediaries and their
financial advisors and other salespersons with an incentive to favor sales of
shares of the Fund over other investment options with
respect to which these Financial Intermediaries do not receive additional
compensation (or receives lower levels of additional compensation).
These payment arrangements, however, will not change the price that an investor
pays for shares of the Fund or the amount
that the Fund receives to invest on behalf of an investor. Investors may wish to
take such payment arrangements into account when
considering and evaluating any recommendations relating to Fund shares and
should review carefully any disclosures provided by
Financial Intermediaries as to their compensation. In addition, in certain
circumstances, the Adviser restricts, limits or reduces the amount
of the Fund’s investment, or restricts the type of governance or voting rights
it acquires or exercises, where the Fund (potentially
together with Morgan Stanley) exceeds a certain ownership interest, or possesses
certain degrees of voting or control or has
other interests.
Morgan
Stanley Trading and Principal Investing Activities.
Notwithstanding anything to the contrary herein, Morgan Stanley will
generally
conduct its sales and trading businesses, publish research and analysis, and
render investment advice without regard for the Fund’s
holdings, although these activities could have an adverse impact on the value of
one or more of the Fund’s investments, or could
cause Morgan Stanley to have an interest in one or more portfolio investments
that is different from, and potentially adverse to,
that of the Fund.
Morgan
Stanley’s Investment Banking and Other Commercial Activities.
Morgan Stanley advises clients on a variety of mergers, acquisitions,
restructuring, bankruptcy and financing transactions. Morgan Stanley may act as
an advisor to clients, including other investment
funds that may compete with the Fund and with respect to investments that the
Fund may hold. Morgan Stanley may give
advice and take action with respect to any of its clients or proprietary
accounts that may differ from the advice given, or may involve
an action of a different timing or nature than the action taken, by the Fund.
Morgan Stanley may give advice and provide recommendations
to persons competing with the Fund and/or any of the Fund’s investments that are
contrary to the Fund’s best interests
and/or the best interests of any of its investments. Morgan Stanley’s activities
on behalf of its clients (such as engagements as an
underwriter or placement agent) may restrict or otherwise limit investment
opportunities that may otherwise be available to the Fund.
Morgan
Stanley may be engaged to act as a financial advisor to a company in connection
with the sale of such company, or subsidiaries
or divisions thereof, may represent potential buyers of businesses through its
mergers and acquisition activities and may provide
lending and other related financing services in connection with such
transactions. Morgan Stanley’s compensation for such activities
is usually based upon realized consideration and is usually contingent, in
substantial part, upon the closing of the transaction.
Under these circumstances, the Fund may be precluded from participating in a
transaction with or relating to the company
being sold or participating in any financing activity related to a merger or an
acquisition.
Eaton
Vance |
Financial
Highlights
No
financial information is provided for the Eaton
Vance CLO Investment Grade Income ETF because it
had not yet commenced operations
as of the most
recent fiscal year end.
Financial information will be provided in the first Form N-CSR
filed after commencement
of operations.
The
financial highlights tables that follow are intended to help you understand the
financial performance of the shares of the Eaton Vance
High Income Municipal ETF since inception. Certain information reflects
financial results for a single Fund share. The total returns
in the tables represent the rate that an investor would have earned (or lost) on
an investment in the Eaton Vance High Income
Municipal ETF (assuming reinvestment of all dividends and
distributions).
The
information below has been derived from the financial statements audited
by Ernst & Young LLP, Eaton Vance High Income Municipal
ETF’s independent registered public accounting firm. Ernst & Young LLP’s
report, along with the Fund’s financial statements,
are incorporated by reference into the Fund’s SAI. The Fund’s financial
statements and additional information included in
the Fund’s most recent report filed on Form N-CSR and SAI are available at
no cost from the Trust at the toll-free number noted on
the back cover to this Prospectus.
Eaton
Vance |
Financial
Highlights
Eaton
Vance High Income Municipal ETF
|
|
| |
|
|
|
Selected
Per Share Data and Ratios |
For
the Period from February 25, 2025(1) to
September 30, 2025 |
|
Net
Asset Value, Beginning of Period |
$ |
50.00 |
|
Income
(Loss) from Investment Operations: |
|
Net
Investment Income(2)
|
|
1.41 |
|
Net
Realized and Unrealized Loss |
|
|
|
Total
from Investment Operations |
|
0.60 |
|
Distributions
from and/or in Excess of: |
|
Net
Investment Income |
|
|
|
Net
Asset Value, End of Period |
$ |
49.33 |
|
Total
Return(3)
|
|
|
|
Ratios
to Average Net Assets and Supplemental Data: |
|
Net
Assets, End of Period (Thousands) |
$ |
40,451 |
|
Ratio
of Expenses |
|
|
|
Ratio
of Net Investment Income |
|
|
|
Portfolio
Turnover Rate |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
(1) |
Commencement
of Operations. |
|
(2) |
Per
share amount is based on average shares outstanding. |
|
(3) |
Calculated
based on the net asset value as of the last business day of the
period. |
|
(4) |
Not
annualized. |
|
(5) |
Annualized. |
Eaton
Vance | Premium/Discount
Information
Premium/Discount
Information
Information
regarding how often the closing trading price of the shares of the Fund was
above (i.e., at a premium) or below (i.e., at a discount)
the NAV of the shares of the Fund for the most recently completed calendar year
and the most recently completed calendar quarter(s)
since that year (or the life of the Fund, if shorter) can be found at
www.eatonvance.com.
Eaton
Vance | Continuous
Offering Information
Continuous
Offering Information
The
method by which Creation Units are created and traded may raise certain issues
under applicable securities laws. Because new Creation
Units are issued and sold by the Trust on an ongoing basis, a “distribution,” as
such term is used in the Securities Act may occur
at any point. Broker dealers and other persons are cautioned that some
activities on their part may, depending on the circumstances,
result in their being deemed participants in a distribution in a manner which
could render them statutory underwriters
and subject them to the prospectus delivery and liability provisions of the
Securities Act.
For
example, a broker dealer firm or its client may be deemed a statutory
underwriter if it takes Creation Units after placing an order with
the Distributor, breaks them down into constituent shares, and sells such shares
directly to customers, or if it chooses to couple the
creation of a supply of new shares with an active selling effort involving
solicitation of secondary market demand for shares. A determination
of whether one is an underwriter for purposes of the Securities Act must take
into account all the facts and circumstances
pertaining to the activities of the broker dealer or its client in the
particular case, and the examples mentioned above should
not be considered a complete description of all the activities that could lead
to a categorization as an underwriter.
Broker
dealers who are not “underwriters” but are participating in a distribution (as
contrasted to ordinary secondary trading transactions),
and thus dealing with shares that are part of an “unsold allotment” within the
meaning of Section 4(a)(3)(C) of the Securities
Act, would be unable to take advantage of the prospectus delivery exemption
provided by Section 4(a)(3) of the Securities Act.
This is because the prospectus delivery exemption in Section 4(a)(3) of the
Securities Act is not available in respect of such transactions
as a result of Section 24(d) of the 1940 Act. As a result, broker dealer firms
should note that dealers who are not underwriters
but are participating in a distribution (as contrasted with ordinary secondary
market transactions) and thus dealing with the
shares that are part of an overallotment within the meaning of Section
4(a)(3)(A) of the Securities Act would be unable to take advantage
of the prospectus delivery exemption provided by Section 4(a)(3) of the
Securities Act. Firms that incur a prospectus delivery
obligation with respect to shares are reminded that, under Rule 153 of the
Securities Act, a prospectus delivery obligation under
Section 5(b)(2) of the Securities Act owed to an exchange member in connection
with a sale on the Exchange is satisfied by the fact
that the prospectus is available at the Exchange upon request. The prospectus
delivery mechanism provided in Rule 153 is only available
with respect to transactions on an exchange.
In
addition, certain affiliates of the Fund
and the Adviser may purchase and resell Fund shares pursuant to this
Prospectus.
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page intentionally left blank)
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Where
to Find Additional Information
Additional
information about the Fund’s investments is available in the Fund’s Annual and
Semi-Annual Reports to Shareholders (“Shareholder
Reports”) and Annual or Semi-Annual Financial Statements and Additional
Information filed in the Fund’s report on Form N-CSR.
In Form N-CSR, you will find the Fund’s annual and semi-annual financial
statements.
In
addition to this Prospectus, the Fund
has
an SAI,
dated January
28, 2026
(as may be supplemented from time to time), which includes
additional
information about the Trust and the Fund.
The SAI is incorporated by reference into this Prospectus and, therefore,
legally forms a part of this Prospectus. Certain affiliates of the Fund
and the Adviser may purchase and resell Fund shares pursuant
to this Prospectus. For a free copy of the Fund’s SAI, Shareholder Reports or
Financial Statements and Additional Information
included in the Fund’s most recent report filed on Form N-CSR, to request other
information about the Fund or to make
shareholder inquiries, please call toll-free 800-836-2414. If you purchased
shares through a Financial Intermediary, you may also
obtain these documents, without charge, by contacting your Financial
Intermediary. Free copies of the Fund’s SAI, Shareholder Reports
and Financial Statements and Additional Information included in the Fund’s most
recent report filed on Form N-CSR are also
available from our Internet site at: www.morganstanley.com/im/shareholderreports.
You
also may obtain information about the Fund by calling your Financial
Intermediary, if applicable, or by visiting our Internet site.
Shareholder
Reports and other information about the Fund,
such as Fund
financial statements, are available on the EDGAR Database
on the SEC’s Internet
site at: http://www.sec.gov,
and copies of this information may be obtained, after paying a duplicating
fee, by electronic request at the following E-mail
address: [email protected].
Morgan
Stanley Distribution, Inc., member FINRA.
The
Trust’s 1940 Act registration number is 811-23820.