SUBJECT TO COMPLETION
June 5, 2025
THE INFORMATION HEREIN IS NOT COMPLETE AND MAY BE CHANGED. WE MAY NOT SELL THESE SECURITIES UNTIL THE REGISTRATION STATEMENT FILED WITH THE U.S. SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION IS EFFECTIVE. THIS PROSPECTUS IS NOT AN OFFER TO SELL THESE SECURITIES AND IS NOT SOLICITING AN OFFER TO BUY THESE SECURITIES IN ANY JURISDICTION IN WHICH THE OFFER OR SALE IS NOT PERMITTED.

YieldMax®AFRM Option Income Strategy ETF ( )
YieldMax® APP Option Income Strategy ETF ( )
YieldMax® ARM Option Income Strategy ETF ( )
YieldMax® AVGO Option Income Strategy ETF ( )
YieldMax® CRWD Option Income Strategy ETF ( )
YieldMax® GME Option Income Strategy ETF ( )
YieldMax® HIMS Option Income Strategy ETF ( )
YieldMax® IONQ Option Income Strategy ETF ( )
YieldMax® LLY Option Income Strategy ETF ( )
YieldMax® RDDT Option Income Strategy ETF ( )
YieldMax® SPOT Option Income Strategy ETF ( )
YieldMax® UBER Option Income Strategy ETF ( )
Each listed on [ ]
PROSPECTUS
[ ], 2025
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) has not approved or disapproved of these securities or passed upon the accuracy or adequacy of this Prospectus. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
YieldMax® AFRM Option Income Strategy ETF - FUND SUMMARY
Investment Objective
The Fund’s primary investment objective is to seek current income.
The Fund’s secondary investment objective is to seek exposure to the share price of Affirm Holdings, Inc. (“AFRM” or “Underlying Security”), which is generally subject to a limit on potential investment gains.
Fees and Expenses of the Fund
This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy, hold, and sell shares of the Fund (“Shares”). You may pay other fees, such as brokerage commissions and other fees to financial intermediaries, which are not reflected in the table and Example below.
| Annual Fund Operating Expenses(1) (expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment) | |||
| Management Fee | [] | % | |
| Distribution and Service (12b-1) Fees | None | ||
| Other Expenses(2) | [] | % | |
| Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses | [] | % | |
| (1) | The Fund’s investment adviser, Tidal Investments LLC (the “Adviser”), a Tidal Financial Group company, will pay, or require a sub-adviser to pay, all of the Fund’s expenses, except for the following: advisory and sub-advisory fees, interest charges on any borrowings made for investment purposes, dividends and other expenses on securities sold short, taxes, brokerage commissions and other expenses incurred in placing orders for the purchase and sale of securities and other investment instruments, acquired fund fees and expenses, accrued deferred tax liability, distribution fees and expenses paid by the Fund under any distribution plan adopted pursuant to Rule 12b-1 under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”), litigation expenses, and other non-routine or extraordinary expenses. | |
| (2) | Based on estimated amounts for the current fiscal year. |
Expense Example
This Example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other funds. The Example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and then hold or redeem all of your Shares at the end of those periods. The Example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Fund’s operating expenses remain the same. The Example does not take into account brokerage commissions that you may pay on your purchases and sales of Shares. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:
| 1 Year | 3 Years |
| $[] | $[] |
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 Shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in total annual fund operating expenses or in the expense example above, affect the Fund’s performance. Because the Fund is newly organized, portfolio turnover information is not yet available.
Principal Investment Strategies
The Fund is an actively managed exchange-traded fund (“ETF”) that seeks current income while providing indirect exposure to the share price (i.e., the price returns) of Affirm Holdings, Inc. (Nasdaq: AFRM) (“AFRM” or the “Underlying Security”), which is generally subject to a limit on potential investment gains. The Fund will employ its investment strategy as it relates to AFRM regardless of whether there are periods of adverse market, economic, or other conditions and will not take temporary defensive positions during such periods. As further described below, the Fund primarily uses either a synthetic covered call strategy or synthetic covered call spread strategy to provide income and indirect exposure to the share price returns of AFRM, which is generally subject to a limit on potential investment gains as a result of the nature of the options strategy it employs. The Fund not only seeks to generate income from its options investments but also aims to derive gains when the value of AFRM increases. The Fund’s options contracts provide:
| ● | indirect exposure to the share price returns of AFRM, |
| ● | current income from the option premiums, and |
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| ● | at most times, a limit on the Fund’s participation in gains, if any, of the share price returns of AFRM. |
For more information, see sections “The Fund’s Use of Underlying Security Option Contracts,” “Synthetic Covered Call Strategy” and “SyntheticCovered Call Spread Strategy” below.
Why invest in the Fund?
| ● | The Fund seeks to generate monthly income, which is not dependent on the price appreciation of the Underlying Security. |
| ● | The Fund seeks to participate in a portion of the gains experienced by the Underlying Security. |
That is, although the Fund may not fully participate in gains in the Underlying Security’s stock price, the Fund’s portfolio is designed to generate income.
An Investment in the Fund is not an investment in the Underlying Security.
| ● | The Fund’s strategy will capture only a portion of its potential gains if the Underlying Security’s stock price increases in value. |
| ● | The Fund’s strategy is subject to all potential losses if the Underlying Security’s stock price decrease in value, which may not be offset by income received by the Fund. |
| ● | The Fund may invest directly in the Underlying Security, but expects to gain its Underlying Security exposure primarily through its synthetic covered call strategy or synthetic covered call spread strategy. |
| ● | Fund shareholders are not entitled to any Underlying Security dividends. |
Additional information regarding the Underlying Security is also set forth below.
The Fund’s Use of Underlying Security Option Contracts
As part of the Fund’s synthetic covered call strategy and synthetic covered call spread strategy, the Fund will purchase and sell a combination of standardized exchange-traded and FLexible EXchange® (“FLEX”) call and put option contracts that are based on the value of the price returns of the Underlying Security.
| ● | In general, an option contract gives the purchaser of the option contract the right to purchase (for a call option) or sell (for a put option) the underlying asset (like shares of the Underlying Security) at a specified price (the “strike price”). |
| ● | If exercised, an option contract obligates the seller to deliver shares (for a sold or “short” call) or buy shares (for a sold or “short” put) of the underlying asset at a specified price (the “strike price”). |
| ● | Options contracts must be exercised or traded to close within a specified time frame, or they expire. See the chart in section “Fund Portfolio” below for a description of the option contracts utilized by the Fund. |
Standardized exchange-traded options include standardized terms. FLEX options are also exchange-traded, but they allow for customizable terms (e.g., the strike price can be negotiated). For more information on FLEX options, see “Additional Information about the Funds – Exchange Traded Options Portfolio.”
The Fund’s options contracts are based on the value of the Underlying Security, which gives the Fund the right or obligation to receive or deliver shares of the Underlying Security on the expiration date of the applicable option contract in exchange for the stated strike price, depending on whether the option contract is a call option or a put option, and whether the Fund purchases or sells the option contract.
Synthetic Covered Call Strategy
In seeking to achieve its investment objective, the Fund may implement a “synthetic covered call” strategy using the standardized exchange-traded and FLEX options described above.
| ● | A traditional covered call strategy is an investment strategy where an investor (the Fund) sells a call option on an underlying security it owns. |
| ● | A synthetic covered call strategy is similar to a traditional covered call strategy in that the investor sells a call option that is based on the value of the underlying security. However, in a synthetic covered call strategy, the investor (the Fund) does not own the underlying security, but rather seeks to synthetically replicate 100% of the price movements of the underlying security through the use of various investment instruments. |
The Fund’s synthetic covered call strategies consists of the following three elements, each of which is described in greater detail farther below:
| ● | Synthetic long exposure to the Underlying Security, which allows the Fund to seek to participate in the changes, up or down, in the price of shares of the Underlying Security. |
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| ● | Covered call writing (where the Underlying Security’s call options are sold against the synthetic long portion of the strategy), which allows the Fund to generate income. |
| ● | U.S. Treasuries, which are used for collateral for the options, and which also generate income. |
| 1. | Synthetic Long Exposure |
To achieve a synthetic long exposure to the Underlying Security, the Fund will buy the Underlying Security’s call options and, simultaneously, sell the Underlying Security’s put options to try to replicate the price movements of the Underlying Security. The call options purchased by the Fund and the put options sold by the Fund will generally have one-month to six-month terms and strike prices that are approximately equal to the then-current share price of the Underlying Security at the time the contracts are purchased and sold, respectively. The combination of the long call options and sold put options provides the Fund with indirect investment exposure equal to approximately 100% of the Underlying Security for the duration of the applicable options exposure.
| 2. | Covered Call Strategies |
Covered Call Strategy
As part of its strategy, the Fund will write (sell) call option contracts on the Underlying Security to generate income. Since the Fund does not directly own the Underlying Security, these written call options will be sold short (i.e., selling a position it does not currently own). The Fund will seek to participate in the share price appreciation of the Underlying Security, if any. However, due to the nature of covered call strategies, the Fund’s participation may be subject to a cap (as described below). In this strategy, the call options written (sold) by the Fund will generally have 1- month or less expiration dates (the “Call Period”) and generally have a strike price that is approximately 0%-15% above the then-current share price of the Underlying Security.
It is important to note that the sale of the Underlying Security call option contracts will limit the Fund’s participation in the appreciation in the Underlying Security’s stock price. If the stock price of the Underlying Security increases, the above-referenced synthetic long exposure alone would allow the Fund to experience similar percentage gains. However, if the Underlying Security’s stock price appreciates beyond the strike price of one or more of the sold (short) call option contracts, the Fund will lose money on those short call positions, and the losses will, in turn, limit the upside return of the Fund’s synthetic long exposure. As a result, the Fund’s overall strategy (i.e., the combination of the synthetic long exposure to the Underlying Security and the sold (short) the Underlying Security call positions) will limit the Fund’s participation in gains in the Underlying Security’s stock price beyond a certain point.
Covered Call Spread Strategy
The Adviser will employ the Covered Call Spread Strategy when it believes it is a better strategy for the Fund as compared to the Covered Call Strategy. The Fund may write (sell) credit call spreads (described below) rather than stand-alone call option contracts to seek greater participation in the potential appreciation of its Underlying Security’s share price, while still generating net premium income. The Adviser will primarily employ this covered call spread strategy when it believes that the share price of its Underlying Security is likely to rise significantly in the short term (e.g., following a substantial selloff or overall positive market news). Additionally, the Adviser may use this strategy in other scenarios (e.g., if the market is undervaluing further out-of-the-money options relative to near-the-money options), where it believes the use of credit call spreads may prove more advantageous to the Fund’s total return than the covered call strategy.
A credit call spread involves selling a call option while simultaneously buying a call option with a higher strike price, both with the same expiration date. By writing credit call spreads, the Fund can potentially offset losses incurred from its short call positions if the Underlying Security’s share price rises above the strike price.
| 3. | U.S. Treasuries |
The Fund will hold short-term U.S. Treasury securities as collateral in connection with the Fund’s options contracts, as well as swaps as discussed in the “Additional Investment Strategies” section below.
The Fund intends to continuously maintain indirect exposure to the Underlying Security, primarily through the use of options contracts. As the options contracts it holds are exercised or expire it may enter into new options contracts, a practice referred to as “rolling.” The Fund’s practice of rolling options may result in high portfolio turnover.
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Additional Investment Strategies
In addition to the synthetic covered call strategy or synthetic covered call spread strategy described herein, the Fund may use the following additional strategies to gain exposure to the Underlying Security:
| ● | Swaps: The Fund may utilize swap contracts that provide exposure to the Underlying Security. |
| ● | Additional Options Strategies: The Fund may utilize additional options strategies, including purchasing call options that are “deep in the money” (i.e., the Underlying Security’s price is well above the strike price on the call option). |
| ● | Equity Securities: The Fund may purchase equity securities of the Underlying Security. |
While the Fund intends to primarily utilize its synthetic covered call strategy or synthetic covered call spread strategy to gain exposure to the Underlying Security, it may utilize each of the foregoing to the extent it is unable to achieve its targeted exposure through the use of these primary options strategies.
Fund’s Monthly Distributions
The Fund will seek to provide monthly income in the form of cash distributions. The Fund will seek to generate such income in the following ways:
| ● | Writing (selling) call option contracts on its Underlying Security as described above. The income comes mainly from the option premiums received from these option sales. A premium, in this context, refers to the price the option buyer pays to the option seller (the Fund) for the rights granted by the option. The amount of these premiums is largely affected by the fluctuations in the Underlying Security’s stock prices. However, other elements like interest rates can also influence the income level. |
| ● | Investing in short-term U.S. Treasury securities. The income generated by these securities will be influenced by interest rates at the time of investment. |
| ● | In addition to the income-seeking methodologies stated in the Prospectus, the Fund’s use of the Synthetic Covered Call Spread Strategy may occasionally allow it to capture a substantial portion of any significant increase in the price of its Underlying Security. When this happens, the Fund could receive profits exceeding the initial cost of the call options, and the Fund’s distributions may include some of those profits. | |
| ● | The Fund may receive some dividend income to the extent it invests directly in the Underlying Security. |
Fund’s Return Profile vs its Underlying Security
For the reasons stated above, the Fund’s performance will differ from that of the Underlying Security’s stock price. The performance differences will depend on, among other things, the price of the Underlying Security, changes in the value of the Underlying Security options contracts and swaps the Fund holds, and changes in the value of the U.S. Treasuries.
Fund Portfolio
| Principal Holdings | ||
| Portfolio
Holdings (All options are based on the value of the Underlying Security) |
Investment Terms | Expected Target Maturity |
| Purchased call option contracts (primary options strategies) |
“at-the-money” (i.e., the strike price is equal to the then-current share price of the Underlying Security at the time of purchase) to provide indirect exposure to positive price returns of the Underlying Security.
If the Underlying Security share price increases, these options will generate corresponding increases to the Fund. |
1-month to 6-month expiration dates |
| Purchased call option contracts (additional options strategies) |
“deep-in-the-money” (i.e., the Underlying Security’s price is well above the strike price on the call option) to provide indirect exposure to positive price returns of the Underlying Security.
If the Underlying Security share price increases, these options will generate corresponding increases to the Fund. |
1-month to 6-month expiration dates
|
| Sold put option contracts |
“at-the-money” (i.e., the strike price is equal to the then-current share price of the Underlying Security at the time of sale).
They are sold to help pay for the purchased call options described above.
However, the sold put option contracts provide exposure to the full extent of any share price losses experienced by the Underlying Security. |
1-month to 6-month expiration dates |
| Sold
(short) call option contracts (Covered Call Strategy) |
The strike price is approximately 0%-15% more than the then-current share price of the Underlying Security at the time of sale.
They generate current income. However, they also limit some potential positive returns that the Fund may have otherwise experienced from gains in the Underlying Security’s share price. |
1-month or less expiration dates |
|
Sold
(short) call option contracts
|
The strike price is approximately 0%-15% more than the then-current share price of the Fund’s Underlying Security at the time of sale.
Sold call option contracts provide inverse exposure to the full extent of any increases in the value experienced by the Fund’s Underlying Security, minus the premium received. |
1-month or less expiration dates |
| Purchased
call option contracts (Covered Call Spread Strategy) |
“out-of-the-money” (i.e., the strike price is above the strike price of the corresponding Covered Call Spread Strategy sold call).
Bought call option contracts provide exposure to the full extent of any increases in the value experienced by the Fund’s Underlying Security above the option’s strike price. |
1-month or less expiration dates |
| Equity Securities | Direct equity holdings of the Underlying Security. | N/A |
| Swaps |
Provides mark-to-market daily exposure to the total return of the Underlying Security over a particular period of time.
|
N/A |
| U.S Treasury Securities and Cash |
Multiple series of U.S. Treasury Bills supported by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government.
These instruments are used as collateral for the Fund’s derivative investments.
They will also generate income. |
6-month to 2-year maturities |
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The market value of the cash and treasuries held by the Fund is expected to be between 50% and 100% of the Fund’s net assets and the market value of the options, swaps and direct equity investments is expected to be between 0% and 50% of the Fund’s net assets. In terms of notional value, the combination of these investment instruments provides indirect investment exposure to AFRM equal to at least 100% of the Fund’s total assets.
Under normal circumstances, the Fund will invest at least 80% of its net assets, plus borrowings for investment purposes, in securities and financial instruments that provide indirect exposure to AFRM.
The Fund is classified as “non-diversified” under the 1940 Act.
There is no guarantee that the Fund’s investment strategy will be properly implemented, and an investor may lose some or all of its investment.
Affirm Holdings, Inc. (“AFRM”)
Affirm Holdings, Inc. is an American technology company that provides financial services for shoppers and merchants. AFRM is listed on The Nasdaq Global Select Market (Nasdaq). Per AFRM’s most recent Form 10-K filing, as of December 31, 2023, the aggregate market value of the registrant’s Class A common stock held by non-affiliates was approximately $12.5 billion.
AFRM is registered under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”). Information provided to or filed with the SEC by AFRM pursuant to the Exchange Act can be located by reference to the SEC file number 001-39888 through the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov. In addition, information regarding AFRM may be obtained from other sources including, but not limited to, press releases, newspaper articles and other publicly disseminated documents.
This document relates only to the securities offered hereby and does not relate to the shares of AFRM or other securities of Affirm Holdings, Inc. The Fund has derived all disclosures contained in this document regarding AFRM from the publicly available documents. None of the Fund, the Trust, or the Adviser, or their respective affiliates has participated in the preparation of such publicly available offering documents or made any due diligence inquiry regarding such documents with respect to AFRM. None of the Fund, the Trust, or the Adviser, or their respective affiliates makes any representation that such publicly available documents or any other publicly available information regarding AFRM is accurate or complete. Furthermore, the Fund cannot give any assurance that all events occurring prior to the date hereof (including events that would affect the accuracy or completeness of the publicly available documents described above) that would affect the trading price of AFRM (and therefore the share price of the Fund at the time we price the securities) have been publicly disclosed. Subsequent disclosure of any such events or the disclosure of or failure to disclose material future events concerning AFRM could affect the value received with respect to the securities and therefore the value of the securities.
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None of the Fund, the Trust, the Adviser, or their respective affiliates makes any representation to you as to the performance of AFRM.
NONE OF THE FUND, TIDAL TRUST II, OR TIDAL INVESTMENTS LLC ARE AFFILIATED WITH THE UNDERLYING SECURITY.
Due to the Fund’s investment strategy, the Fund’s investment exposure is concentrated in the same industry as that assigned to the Underlying Security. As of the date of the Prospectus, AFRM is assigned to the Financial Services industry.
Principal Investment Risks
The principal risks of investing in the Fund are summarized below. As with any investment, there is a risk that you could lose all or a portion of your investment in the Fund. Some or all of these risks may adversely affect the Fund’s net asset value (“NAV”) per share, trading price, yield, total return, and/or ability to meet its objective. For more information about the risks of investing in the Fund, see the section in the Fund’s Prospectus titled “Additional Information About the Funds—Principal Risks of Investing in the Funds.”
An investment in the Fund entails risk. The Fund may not achieve its investment objective and there is a risk that you could lose all of your money invested in the Fund. The Fund is not a complete investment program. It is important that investors closely review all of the risks listed below and understand them before making an investment in the Fund.
Each risk summarized below is considered a “principal risk” of investing in the Fund, regardless of the order in which they appear.
AFRM Risk. The Fund invests in instruments that are based on the value of AFRM. This subjects the Fund to certain of the same risks as if it owned shares of AFRM, even if it does not. By virtue of the Fund’s exposure to AFRM, the Fund may also be subject to the following risks:
Indirect Investment in AFRM Risk. AFRM is not affiliated with the Trust, the Fund, or the Adviser, or their respective affiliates and is not involved with this offering in any way and has no obligation to consider your Shares in taking any corporate actions that might affect the value of Shares. Investors in the Fund will not have voting rights and will not be able to influence management of AFRM but will be exposed to the performance of AFRM (the Underlying Security). Investors in the Fund will not have the right to receive dividends or other distributions or any other rights with respect to the Underlying Security but will be subject to declines in the performance of the Underlying Security.
AFRM Trading Risk. The trading price of AFRM may be subject to volatility and could experience wide fluctuations due to various factors. Short sellers may also play a significant role in trading AFRM, potentially affecting the supply and demand dynamics and contributing to market price volatility. Public perception and external factors beyond the company’s control may influence AFRM’s stock price disproportionately. Additionally, following periods of market volatility, companies have faced securities class action litigation. Any adverse judgment or future stockholder litigation could result in substantial costs and divert management’s attention and resources. In the event of a halt in trading of AFRM, trading in shares of related funds may be impacted, either temporarily or indefinitely.
AFRM Performance Risk. AFRM may fail to meet its publicly announced guidelines or other expectations about its business, which could cause the price of AFRM to decline. AFRM provides guidance regarding its expected financial and business performance, such as projections regarding sales and production, as well as anticipated future revenues, gross margins, profitability and cash flows. Correctly identifying key factors affecting business conditions and predicting future events is inherently an uncertain process, and the guidance AFRM provides may not ultimately be accurate. If AFRM’s guidance is not accurate or varies from actual results due to its inability to meet the assumptions or the impact on its financial performance that could occur as a result of various risks and uncertainties, the market value of common stock issued by AFRM could decline significantly.
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Financial Services Industry Risk. Financial services companies are subject to extensive governmental regulation which may limit both the amounts and types of loans and other financial commitments they can make, the interest rates and fees they can charge, the scope of their activities, the prices they can charge and the amount of capital they must maintain. Profitability is largely dependent on the availability and cost of capital funds and can fluctuate significantly when interest rates change or due to increased competition. In addition, deterioration of the credit markets generally may cause an adverse impact in a broad range of markets, including U.S. and international credit and interbank money markets generally, thereby affecting a wide range of financial institutions and markets. Certain events in the financial industry may cause an unusually high degree of volatility in the financial markets, both domestic and foreign, and cause certain financial services companies to incur large losses. Securities of financial services companies may experience a dramatic decline in value when such companies experience substantial declines in the valuations of their assets, take action to raise capital (such as the issuance of debt or equity securities), or cease operations. Credit losses resulting from financial difficulties of borrowers and financial losses associated with investment activities can negatively impact the industry. Insurance companies may be subject to severe price competition. Adverse economic, business or political developments could adversely affect financial institutions engaged in mortgage finance or other lending or investing activities directly or indirectly connected to the value of real estate.
Competitive Industry Risk. AFRM operates in a highly competitive and dynamic industry. AFRM’s technology platform faces competition from a variety of players, including those who enable transactions and commerce via digital payments. AFRM’s primary competition consists of: legacy payment methods, such as credit and debit cards, including those provided by established card issuing banks; technology solutions provided by payment companies; mobile wallets; and pay-over-time offerings by legacy financial and payments companies. Additionally, some merchants are increasingly offering proprietary pay-over-time options to consumers. AFRM expects competition to intensify in the future, especially as the pay-over-time industry has low barriers to entry, both as emerging technologies continue to enter the marketplace and as large financial incumbents increasingly seek to innovate the services that they offer to compete with AFRM’s platform. Technological advances and the continued growth of e-commerce activities have increased consumers’ accessibility to products and services and led to the expansion of competition in digital payment options such as pay-over-time solutions. AFRM’s pay-over-time offerings are increasingly presented alongside competitor options, including merchants’ proprietary pay-over-time options, at checkout, and AFRM expects this trend to continue.
Derivatives Risk. Derivatives are financial instruments that derive value from the underlying reference asset or assets, such as stocks, bonds, or funds (including ETFs), interest rates or indexes. The Fund’s investments in derivatives may pose risks in addition to, and greater than, those associated with directly investing in securities or other ordinary investments, including risk related to the market, imperfect correlation with underlying investments or the Fund’s other portfolio holdings, higher price volatility, lack of availability, counterparty risk, liquidity, valuation and legal restrictions. The use of derivatives is a highly specialized activity that involves investment techniques and risks different from those associated with ordinary portfolio securities transactions. The use of derivatives may result in larger losses or smaller gains than directly investing in securities. When the Fund uses derivatives, there may be an imperfect correlation between the value of the Underlying Security and the derivative, which may prevent the Fund from achieving its investment objective. Because derivatives often require only a limited initial investment, the use of derivatives may expose the Fund to losses in excess of those amounts initially invested. In addition, the Fund’s investments in derivatives are subject to the following risks:
Options Contracts. The use of options contracts involves investment strategies and risks different from those associated with ordinary portfolio securities transactions. The prices of options are volatile and are influenced by, among other things, actual and anticipated changes in the value of the underlying instrument, including the anticipated volatility, which are affected by fiscal and monetary policies and by national and international political, changes in the actual or implied volatility or the reference asset, the time remaining until the expiration of the option contract and economic events. For the Fund in particular, the value of the options contracts in which it invests are substantially influenced by the value of the Underlying Security. The Fund may experience substantial downside from specific option positions and certain option positions held by the Fund may expire worthless. The options held by the Fund are exercisable at the strike price on their expiration date. As an option approaches its expiration date, its value typically increasingly move with the value of the underlying instrument. However, prior to such date, the value of an option generally does not increase or decrease at the same rate at the underlying instrument. There may at times be an imperfect correlation between the movement in the values of options contracts and the underlying instrument, and there may at times not be a liquid secondary market for certain options contracts. The value of the options held by the Fund will be determined based on market quotations or other recognized pricing methods. Additionally, as the Fund intends to continuously maintain indirect exposure to the Underlying Security through the use of options contracts, as the options contracts it holds are exercised or expire it will enter into new options contracts, a practice referred to as “rolling.” If the expiring options contracts do not generate proceeds enough to cover the cost of entering into new options contracts, the Fund may experience losses.
Swaps. The use of swap transactions is a highly specialized activity, which involves investment techniques and risks different from those associated with ordinary portfolio securities transactions. Whether the Fund will be successful in using swap agreements to achieve its investment goal depends on the ability of the Adviser to structure such swap agreements in accordance with the Fund’s investment objective and to identify counterparties for those swap agreements. If the Adviser is unable to enter into swap agreements that provide leveraged exposure to the Underlying Security, the Fund may not meet its stated investment objective. Additionally, any financing, borrowing or other costs associated with using swap transactions may also have the effect of lowering the Fund’s return.
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The swap agreements in which the Fund invests are generally traded in the over-the-counter market, which generally has less transparency than exchange-traded derivatives instruments. In a standard swap transaction, two parties agree to exchange the return (or differentials in rates of return) earned or realized on particular predetermined reference assets or underlying securities or instruments. The gross return to be exchanged or swapped between the parties is calculated based on a notional amount or the return on or change in value of a particular dollar amount invested in a basket of securities.
If the Underlying Security has a dramatic move that causes a material decline in the Fund’s net assets, the terms of a swap agreement between the Fund and its counterparty may permit the counterparty to immediately close out the swap transaction with the Fund. In that event, the Fund may be unable to enter into another swap agreement or invest in other derivatives to achieve exposure consistent with the Fund’s investment objective. This may prevent the Fund from achieving its leveraged investment objective, even if the Underlying Security later reverses all or a portion of its movement.
Counterparty Risk. The Fund is subject to counterparty risk by virtue of its investments in derivative instruments. Transactions in some types of derivatives, including options, are required to be centrally cleared (“cleared derivatives”). In a transaction involving cleared derivatives, the Fund’s counterparty is a clearing house rather than a bank or broker. Since the Fund is not a member of clearing houses and only members of a clearing house (“clearing members”) can participate directly in the clearing house, the Fund will hold cleared derivatives through accounts at clearing members. In cleared derivatives positions, the Fund will make payments (including margin payments) to and receive payments from a clearing house through their accounts at clearing members. Customer funds held at a clearing organization in connection with any options contracts are held in a commingled omnibus account and are not identified to the name of the clearing member’s individual customers. As a result, assets deposited by the Fund with any clearing member as margin for options may, in certain circumstances, be used to satisfy losses of other clients of the Fund’s clearing member. In addition, although clearing members guarantee performance of their clients’ obligations to the clearing house, there is a risk that the assets of the Fund might not be fully protected in the event of the clearing member’s bankruptcy, as the Fund would be limited to recovering only a pro rata share of all available funds segregated on behalf of the clearing member’s customers for the relevant account class. The Fund is also subject to the risk that a limited number of clearing members are willing to transact on the Fund’s behalf, which heightens the risks associated with a clearing member’s default. This risk is greater for the Fund as it seeks to hold options contracts on a single security, and not a broader range of options contracts, which may limit the number of clearing members that are willing to transact on the Fund’s behalf. If a clearing member defaults the Fund could lose some or all of the benefits of a transaction entered into by the Fund with the clearing member. If the Fund cannot find a clearing member to transact with on the Fund’s behalf, the Fund may be unable to effectively implement its investment strategy.
The Fund is also subject to the risk that the counterparty will not fulfill its obligation to the Fund. Counterparty risk may arise because of the counterparty’s financial condition (i.e., financial difficulties, bankruptcy, or insolvency), market activities and developments, or other reasons, whether foreseen or not. A counterparty’s inability to fulfill its obligation may result in significant financial loss to the Fund and the Fund may be unable to recover its investment from such counterparty or may obtain a limited and/or delayed recovery.
Price Participation Risk. The Fund employs an investment strategy that includes the sale of call option contracts, which limits the degree to which the Fund will participate in increases in value experienced by the Underlying Security over the Call Period. This means that if the Underlying Security experiences an increase in value above the strike price of the sold call options during a Call Period, the Fund will likely not experience that increase to the same extent and may significantly underperform the Underlying Security over the Call Period. Additionally, because the Fund is limited in the degree to which it will participate in increases in value experienced by the Underlying Security over each Call Period, but has full exposure to any decreases in value experienced by the Underlying Security over the Call Period, the NAV of the Fund may decrease over any given time period. The Fund’s NAV is dependent on the value of each options portfolio, which is based principally upon the performance of the Underlying Security. The degree of participation in the Underlying Security gains the Fund will experience will depend on prevailing market conditions, especially market volatility, at the time the Fund enters into the sold call option contracts and will vary from Call Period to Call Period. The value of the options contracts is affected by changes in the value and dividend rates of the Underlying Security, changes in interest rates, changes in the actual or perceived volatility of the Underlying Security and the remaining time to the options’ expiration, as well as trading conditions in the options market. As the price of the Underlying Security changes and time moves towards the expiration of each Call Period, the value of the options contracts, and therefore the Fund’s NAV, will change. However, it is not expected for the Fund’s NAV to directly correlate on a day-to-day basis with the returns of the Underlying Security. The amount of time remaining until the options contract’s expiration date affects the impact of the potential options contract income on the Fund’s NAV, which may not be in full effect until the expiration date of the Fund’s options contracts. Therefore, while changes in the price of the Underlying Security will result in changes to the Fund’s NAV, the Fund generally anticipates that the rate of change in the Fund’s NAV will be different than that experienced by the Underlying Security.
Distribution Risk. As part of the Fund’s investment objective, the Fund seeks to provide current monthly income. There is no assurance that the Fund will make a distribution in any given month. If the Fund does make distributions, the amounts of such distributions will likely vary greatly from one distribution to the next. Additionally, monthly distributions, if any, may consist of returns of capital, which would decrease the Fund’s NAV and trading price over time. As a result, an investor may suffer significant losses to their investment.
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NAV Erosion Risk Due to Distributions. When the Fund makes a distribution, the Fund’s NAV will typically drop by the amount of the distribution on the related ex-dividend date. The repeated payment of distributions by the Fund, if any, may significantly erode the Fund’s NAV and trading price over time. As a result, an investor may suffer significant losses to their investment.
Call Strategy Risks. The path dependency (i.e., the continued use) of the Fund’s call writing strategy will impact the extent that the Fund participates in the positive price returns of the Underlying Security and, in turn, the Fund’s returns, both during the term of the sold call options and over longer time periods. If, for example, each month the Fund were to sell 7% out-of-the-money call options having a one-month term, the Fund’s participation in the positive price returns of the Underlying Security will be capped at 7% in any given month. However, over a longer period (e.g., 5 months), the Fund should not be expected to participate fully in the first 35% (i.e., 5 months x 7%) of the positive price returns of the Underlying Security, or the Fund may even lose money, even if the Underlying Security share price has appreciated by at least that much over such period, if during any month over that period the Underlying Security had a return less than 7%. This example illustrates that both the Fund’s participation in the positive price returns of the Underlying Security and its returns will depend not only on the price of the Underlying Security but also on the path that the Underlying Security takes over time.
Additionally, when implementing the Covered Call Spread Strategy, the use of credit call spreads introduces further complexities and risks. While purchasing a higher-strike call option limits potential losses from the short call position, it also reduces the net premium received, which may result in lower overall returns compared to a stand-alone covered call strategy. If the price of the Underlying Security rises rapidly, the call spread may still cap upside participation, leading to missed profit opportunities. Furthermore, market conditions, such as mispricing between near-the-money and further out-of-the-money options, may impact the effectiveness of the strategy, potentially resulting in lower-than-expected returns or increased losses. The relative pricing of options at different strike levels can vary due to volatility shifts, liquidity constraints, or other market dynamics, adding an additional layer of uncertainty to the Fund’s performance under this strategy.
Economic and Market Risk. Economies and financial markets throughout the world are becoming increasingly interconnected, which increases the likelihood that events or conditions in one country or region will adversely impact markets or issuers in other countries or regions. Securities in the Fund’s portfolio may underperform in comparison to securities in the general financial markets, a particular financial market, or other asset classes, due to a number of factors, including inflation (or expectations for inflation), deflation (or expectations for deflation), interest rates, global demand for particular products or resources, market instability, financial system instability, debt crises and downgrades, embargoes, tariffs, sanctions and other trade barriers, regulatory events, other governmental trade or market control programs and related geopolitical events. In addition, the value of the Fund’s investments may be negatively affected by the occurrence of global events such as war, terrorism, environmental disasters, natural disasters or events, country instability, and infectious disease epidemics or pandemics. The imposition by the U.S. of tariffs on goods imported from foreign countries and reciprocal tariffs levied on U.S. goods by those countries also may lead to volatility and instability in domestic and foreign markets.
Equity Market Risk. The prices of equity securities rise and fall daily. These price movements may result from factors affecting individual issuers, industries or the stock market as a whole. In addition, equity markets tend to move in cycles which may cause stock prices to fall over a short and extended periods of time. In a declining stock market, stock prices for all companies (including those in the Fund’s portfolio) may decline, regardless of their long-term prospects.
ETF Risks.
Authorized Participants, Market Makers, and Liquidity Providers Concentration Risk. The Fund has a limited number of financial institutions that are authorized to purchase and redeem Shares directly from the Fund (known as “Authorized Participants” or “APs”). In addition, there may be a limited number of market makers and/or liquidity providers in the marketplace. To the extent either of the following events occur, Shares may trade at a material discount to NAV and possibly face delisting: (i) APs exit the business or otherwise become unable to process creation and/or redemption orders and no other APs step forward to perform these services; or (ii) market makers and/or liquidity providers exit the business or significantly reduce their business activities and no other entities step forward to perform their functions.
Cash Redemption Risk. The Fund’s investment strategy may require it to redeem Shares for cash or to otherwise include cash as part of its redemption proceeds. For example, the Fund may not be able to redeem in-kind certain securities held by the Fund (e.g., derivative instruments). In such a case, the Fund may be required to sell or unwind portfolio investments to obtain the cash needed to distribute redemption proceeds. This may cause the Fund to recognize a capital gain that it might not have recognized if it had made a redemption in-kind. As a result, the Fund may pay out higher annual capital gain distributions than if the in-kind redemption process was used. By paying out higher annual capital gain distributions, investors may be subjected to increased capital gains taxes. Additionally, there may be brokerage costs or taxable gains or losses that may be imposed on the Fund in connection with a cash redemption that may not have occurred if the Fund had made a redemption in-kind. These costs could decrease the value of the Fund to the extent they are not offset by a transaction fee payable by an AP.
Costs of Buying or Selling Shares. Due to the costs of buying or selling Shares, including brokerage commissions imposed by brokers and bid-ask spreads, frequent trading of Shares may significantly reduce investment results and an investment in Shares may not be advisable for investors who anticipate regularly making small investments.
Management Risk. The Fund is subject to management risk because it is an actively managed portfolio. In managing the Fund’s investment portfolio, the portfolio managers will apply investment techniques and risk analyses that may not produce the desired result. There can be no guarantee that the Fund will meet its investment objective.
Shares May Trade at Prices Other Than NAV. As with all ETFs, Shares may be bought and sold in the secondary market at market prices. Although it is expected that the market price of Shares will approximate the Fund’s NAV, there may be times when the market price of Shares is more than the NAV intra-day (premium) or less than the NAV intra-day (discount) due to supply and demand of Shares or during periods of market volatility. This risk is heightened in times of market volatility, periods of steep market declines, and periods when there is limited trading activity for Shares in the secondary market, in which case such premiums or discounts may be significant.
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Trading. Although Shares are listed on a national securities exchange, such as [ ] (the “Exchange”), and may be traded on U.S. exchanges other than the Exchange, there can be no assurance that an active trading market for the Shares will develop or be maintained or that the Shares will trade with any volume, or at all, on any stock exchange. In stressed market conditions, the liquidity of Shares may begin to mirror the liquidity of the Fund’s underlying portfolio holdings, which can be significantly less liquid than Shares. Shares trade on the Exchange at market price that may be below, at or above the Fund’s NAV. Trading in Shares on the Exchange may be halted due to market conditions or for reasons that, in the view of the Exchange, make trading in Shares inadvisable. In addition, trading in Shares on the Exchange is subject to trading halts caused by extraordinary market volatility pursuant to the Exchange “circuit breaker” rules. There can be no assurance that the requirements of the Exchange necessary to maintain the listing of the Fund will continue to be met or will remain unchanged. In the event of an unscheduled market close for options contracts that are based on the value of an ETF, such as the Underlying Security being halted or a market wide closure, settlement prices will be determined by the procedures of the listing exchange of the options contracts. As a result, the Fund could be adversely affected and be unable to implement its investment strategies in the event of an unscheduled closing.
High Portfolio Turnover Risk. The Fund may actively and frequently trade all or a significant portion of the Fund’s holdings. A high portfolio turnover rate increases transaction costs, which may increase the Fund’s expenses. Frequent trading may also cause adverse tax consequences for investors in the Fund due to an increase in short-term capital gains.
Inflation Risk. Inflation risk is the risk that the value of assets or income from investments will be less in the future as inflation decreases the value of money. As inflation increases, the present value of the Fund’s assets and distributions, if any, may decline.
Liquidity Risk. Some securities held by the Fund, including options contracts, may be difficult to sell or be illiquid, particularly during times of market turmoil. This risk is greater for the Fund as it will hold options contracts on a single security, and not a broader range of options contracts. Markets for securities or financial instruments could be disrupted by a number of events, including, but not limited to, an economic crisis, natural disasters, epidemics/pandemics, new legislation or regulatory changes inside or outside the United States. Illiquid securities may be difficult to value, especially in changing or volatile markets. If the Fund is forced to sell an illiquid security at an unfavorable time or price, the Fund may be adversely impacted. Certain market conditions or restrictions, such as market rules related to short sales, may prevent the Fund from limiting losses, realizing gains or achieving a high correlation with the Underlying Security. There is no assurance that a security that is deemed liquid when purchased will continue to be liquid. Market illiquidity may cause losses for the Fund.
Money Market Instrument Risk. The Fund may use a variety of money market instruments for cash management purposes, including money market funds, depositary accounts and repurchase agreements. Repurchase agreements are contracts in which a seller of securities agrees to buy the securities back at a specified time and price. Repurchase agreements may be subject to market and credit risk related to the collateral securing the repurchase agreement. Money market instruments, including money market funds, may lose money through fees or other means.
New Fund Risk. The Fund is a recently organized management investment company with no operating history. As a result, prospective investors do not have a track record or history on which to base their investment decisions.
Non-Diversification Risk. Because the Fund is “non-diversified,” it may invest a greater percentage of its assets in the securities of a single issuer or a smaller number of issuers than if it was a diversified fund. As a result, a decline in the value of an investment in a single issuer or a smaller number of issuers could cause the Fund’s overall value to decline to a greater degree than if the Fund held a more diversified portfolio. This may increase the Fund’s volatility and cause the performance of a relatively smaller number of issuers to have a greater impact on the Fund’s performance.
Operational Risk. The Fund is subject to risks arising from various operational factors, including, but not limited to, human error, processing and communication errors, errors of the Fund’s service providers, counterparties or other third-parties, failed or inadequate processes and technology or systems failures. The Fund relies on third-parties for a range of services, including custody. Any delay or failure relating to engaging or maintaining such service providers may affect the Fund’s ability to meet its investment objective. Although the Fund and Adviser seek to reduce these operational risks through controls and procedures, there is no way to completely protect against such risks. This may increase the Fund’s volatility and cause the performance of a relatively smaller number of issuers to have a greater impact on the Fund’s performance.
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Single Issuer Risk. Issuer-specific attributes may cause an investment in the Fund to be more volatile than a traditional pooled investment which diversifies risk or the market generally. The value of the Fund, which focuses on an individual security (the Underlying Security), may be more volatile than a traditional pooled investment or the market as a whole and may perform differently from the value of a traditional pooled investment or the market as a whole.
Tax Risk. The Fund intends to elect and to qualify each year to be treated as a RIC under Subchapter M of the Code. As a RIC, the Fund will not be subject to U.S. federal income tax on the portion of its net investment income and net capital gain that it distributes to Shareholders, provided that it satisfies certain requirements of the Code. If the Fund does not qualify as a RIC for any taxable year and certain relief provisions are not available, the Fund’s taxable income will be subject to tax at the Fund level and to a further tax at the shareholder level when such income is distributed. To comply with the asset diversification test applicable to a RIC, the Fund will attempt to ensure that the value of financial instruments providing exposure to the Underlying Security are never 25% of the total value of Fund assets at the close of any quarter. If the Fund’s investments in such financial instruments were to exceed 25% of the Fund’s total assets at the end of a tax quarter, the Fund, generally, has a grace period to cure such lack of compliance. If the Fund fails to timely cure, it may no longer be eligible to be treated as a RIC.
U.S. Government and U.S. Agency Obligations Risk. The Fund may invest in securities issued by the U.S. government or its agencies or instrumentalities. U.S. Government obligations include securities issued or guaranteed as to principal and interest by the U.S. Government, its agencies or instrumentalities, such as the U.S. Treasury. Payment of principal and interest on U.S. Government obligations may be backed by the full faith and credit of the United States or may be backed solely by the issuing or guaranteeing agency or instrumentality itself. In the latter case, the investor must look principally to the agency or instrumentality issuing or guaranteeing the obligation for ultimate repayment, which agency or instrumentality may be privately owned. There can be no assurance that the U.S. Government would provide financial support to its agencies or instrumentalities (including government-sponsored enterprises) where it is not obligated to do so.
Performance
Performance information for the Fund is not included because the Fund has not completed a full calendar year of operations as of the date of this Prospectus. When such information is included, this section will provide some indication of the risks of investing in the Fund by showing changes in the Fund’s performance history from year to year and showing how the Fund’s average annual total returns compare with those of a broad measure of market performance. Although past performance of the Fund is no guarantee of how it will perform in the future, historical performance may give you some indication of the risks of investing in the Fund. Updated performance information will be available on the Fund’s website at www.yieldmaxetfs.com.
Management
Investment Adviser: Tidal Investments LLC (the “Adviser”) serves as investment adviser to the Fund.
Portfolio Managers:
The following individuals are jointly and primarily responsible for the day-to-day management of the Fund.
Matt Brandt, Portfolio Manager for the Adviser, has been a portfolio manager of the Fund since its inception in 2025.
Christopher P. Mullen, Portfolio Manager for the Adviser, has been a portfolio manager of the Fund since its inception in 2025.
Scott Snyder, Portfolio Manager for the Adviser, has been a portfolio manager of the Fund since its inception in 2025.
Purchase and Sale of Shares
The Fund issues and redeems Shares at NAV only in large blocks known as “Creation Units,” which only Authorized Participants (APs) (typically, broker-dealers) may purchase or redeem. The Fund generally issues and redeems Creation Units in exchange for a portfolio of securities (the “Deposit Securities”) and/or a designated amount of U.S. cash.
Shares are listed on a national securities exchange, such as the Exchange, and individual Shares may only be bought and sold in the secondary market through brokers at market prices, rather than NAV. Because Shares trade at market prices rather than NAV, Shares may trade at a price greater than NAV (premium) or less than NAV (discount).
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An investor may incur costs attributable to the difference between the highest price a buyer is willing to pay to purchase Shares (the “bid” price) and the lowest price a seller is willing to accept for Shares (the “ask” price) when buying or selling Shares in the secondary market. This difference in bid and ask prices is often referred to as the “bid-ask spread.”
When available, information regarding the Fund’s NAV, market price, how often Shares traded on the Exchange at a premium or discount, and bid-ask spreads can be found on the Fund’s website at www.yieldmaxetfs.com.
Tax Information
Fund distributions are generally taxable as ordinary income, qualified dividend income, or capital gains (or a combination), unless an investment is in an individual retirement account (“IRA”) or other tax-advantaged account. Distributions on investments made through tax-deferred arrangements may be taxed later upon withdrawal of assets from those accounts.
Financial Intermediary Compensation
If
you purchase Shares through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary
(such as a bank) (an “Intermediary”), the Adviser or its affiliates may pay
Intermediaries for certain activities related to the Fund, including
participation in activities that are designed to make Intermediaries more
knowledgeable about exchange-traded products, including the Fund, or for other
activities, such as marketing, educational training, or other initiatives
related to the sale or promotion of Shares. These payments may create a conflict
of interest by influencing the Intermediary and your salesperson to recommend
the Fund over another investment. Any such arrangements do not result in
increased Fund expenses. Ask your salesperson or visit the Intermediary’s
website for more information.
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YieldMax® APP Option Income Strategy ETF - FUND SUMMARY
Investment Objective
The Fund’s primary investment objective is to seek current income.
The Fund’s secondary investment objective is to seek exposure to the share price of AppLovin Corporation (“APP” or “Underlying Security”), which is generally subject to a limit on potential investment gains.
Fees and Expenses of the Fund
This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy, hold, and sell shares of the Fund (“Shares”). You may pay other fees, such as brokerage commissions and other fees to financial intermediaries, which are not reflected in the table and Example below.
| Annual Fund Operating Expenses(1) (expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment) | |||
| Management Fee | [] | % | |
| Distribution and Service (12b-1) Fees | None | ||
| Other Expenses(2) | [] | % | |
| Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses | [] | % | |
| (1) | The Fund’s investment adviser, Tidal Investments LLC (the “Adviser”), a Tidal Financial Group company, will pay, or require a sub-adviser to pay, all of the Fund’s expenses, except for the following: advisory and sub-advisory fees, interest charges on any borrowings made for investment purposes, dividends and other expenses on securities sold short, taxes, brokerage commissions and other expenses incurred in placing orders for the purchase and sale of securities and other investment instruments, acquired fund fees and expenses, accrued deferred tax liability, distribution fees and expenses paid by the Fund under any distribution plan adopted pursuant to Rule 12b-1 under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”), litigation expenses, and other non-routine or extraordinary expenses. | |
| (2) | Based on estimated amounts for the current fiscal year. |
Expense Example
This Example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other funds. The Example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and then hold or redeem all of your Shares at the end of those periods. The Example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Fund’s operating expenses remain the same. The Example does not take into account brokerage commissions that you may pay on your purchases and sales of Shares. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:
| 1 Year | 3 Years |
| $[] | $[] |
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 Shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in total annual fund operating expenses or in the expense example above, affect the Fund’s performance. Because the Fund is newly organized, portfolio turnover information is not yet available.
Principal Investment Strategies
The Fund is an actively managed exchange-traded fund (“ETF”) that seeks current income while providing indirect exposure to the share price (i.e., the price returns) of AppLovin Corporation (Nasdaq: APP) (“APP” or the “Underlying Security”), which is generally subject to a limit on potential investment gains. The Fund will employ its investment strategy as it relates to APP regardless of whether there are periods of adverse market, economic, or other conditions and will not take temporary defensive positions during such periods. As further described below, the Fund primarily uses either a synthetic covered call strategy or synthetic covered call spread strategy to provide income and indirect exposure to the share price returns of APP, which is generally subject to a limit on potential investment gains as a result of the nature of the options strategy it employs. The Fund not only seeks to generate income from its options investments but also aims to derive gains when the value of APP increases. The Fund’s options contracts provide:
| ● | indirect exposure to the share price returns of APP, |
| ● | current income from the option premiums, and |
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| ● | at most times, a limit on the Fund’s participation in gains, if any, of the share price returns of APP. |
For more information, see sections “The Fund’s Use of Underlying Security Option Contracts,” “Synthetic Covered Call Strategy” and “SyntheticCovered Call Spread Strategy” below.
Why invest in the Fund?
| ● | The Fund seeks to generate monthly income, which is not dependent on the price appreciation of the Underlying Security. |
| ● | The Fund seeks to participate in a portion of the gains experienced by the Underlying Security. |
That is, although the Fund may not fully participate in gains in the Underlying Security’s stock price, the Fund’s portfolio is designed to generate income.
An Investment in the Fund is not an investment in the Underlying Security.
| ● | The Fund’s strategy will capture only a portion of its potential gains if the Underlying Security’s stock price increases in value. |
| ● | The Fund’s strategy is subject to all potential losses if the Underlying Security’s stock price decrease in value, which may not be offset by income received by the Fund. |
| ● | The Fund may invest directly in the Underlying Security, but expects to gain its Underlying Security exposure primarily through its synthetic covered call strategy or synthetic covered call spread strategy. |
| ● | Fund shareholders are not entitled to any Underlying Security dividends. |
Additional information regarding the Underlying Security is also set forth below.
The Fund’s Use of Underlying Security Option Contracts
As part of the Fund’s synthetic covered call strategy and synthetic covered call spread strategy, the Fund will purchase and sell a combination of standardized exchange-traded and FLexible EXchange® (“FLEX”) call and put option contracts that are based on the value of the price returns of the Underlying Security.
| ● | In general, an option contract gives the purchaser of the option contract the right to purchase (for a call option) or sell (for a put option) the underlying asset (like shares of the Underlying Security) at a specified price (the “strike price”). |
| ● | If exercised, an option contract obligates the seller to deliver shares (for a sold or “short” call) or buy shares (for a sold or “short” put) of the underlying asset at a specified price (the “strike price”). |
| ● | Options contracts must be exercised or traded to close within a specified time frame, or they expire. See the chart in section “Fund Portfolio” below for a description of the option contracts utilized by the Fund. |
Standardized exchange-traded options include standardized terms. FLEX options are also exchange-traded, but they allow for customizable terms (e.g., the strike price can be negotiated). For more information on FLEX options, see “Additional Information about the Funds – Exchange Traded Options Portfolio.”
The Fund’s options contracts are based on the value of the Underlying Security, which gives the Fund the right or obligation to receive or deliver shares of the Underlying Security on the expiration date of the applicable option contract in exchange for the stated strike price, depending on whether the option contract is a call option or a put option, and whether the Fund purchases or sells the option contract.
Synthetic Covered Call Strategy
In seeking to achieve its investment objective, the Fund may implement a “synthetic covered call” strategy using the standardized exchange-traded and FLEX options described above.
| ● | A traditional covered call strategy is an investment strategy where an investor (the Fund) sells a call option on an underlying security it owns. |
| ● | A synthetic covered call strategy is similar to a traditional covered call strategy in that the investor sells a call option that is based on the value of the underlying security. However, in a synthetic covered call strategy, the investor (the Fund) does not own the underlying security, but rather seeks to synthetically replicate 100% of the price movements of the underlying security through the use of various investment instruments. |
The Fund’s synthetic covered call strategies consists of the following three elements, each of which is described in greater detail farther below:
| ● | Synthetic long exposure to the Underlying Security, which allows the Fund to seek to participate in the changes, up or down, in the price of shares of the Underlying Security. |
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| ● | Covered call writing (where the Underlying Security’s call options are sold against the synthetic long portion of the strategy), which allows the Fund to generate income. |
| ● | U.S. Treasuries, which are used for collateral for the options, and which also generate income. |
| 1. | Synthetic Long Exposure |
To achieve a synthetic long exposure to the Underlying Security, the Fund will buy the Underlying Security’s call options and, simultaneously, sell the Underlying Security’s put options to try to replicate the price movements of the Underlying Security. The call options purchased by the Fund and the put options sold by the Fund will generally have one-month to six-month terms and strike prices that are approximately equal to the then-current share price of the Underlying Security at the time the contracts are purchased and sold, respectively. The combination of the long call options and sold put options provides the Fund with indirect investment exposure equal to approximately 100% of the Underlying Security for the duration of the applicable options exposure.
| 2. | Covered Call Strategies |
Covered Call Strategy
As part of its strategy, the Fund will write (sell) call option contracts on the Underlying Security to generate income. Since the Fund does not directly own the Underlying Security, these written call options will be sold short (i.e., selling a position it does not currently own). The Fund will seek to participate in the share price appreciation of the Underlying Security, if any. However, due to the nature of covered call strategies, the Fund’s participation may be subject to a cap (as described below). In this strategy, the call options written (sold) by the Fund will generally have 1- month or less expiration dates (the “Call Period”) and generally have a strike price that is approximately 0%-15% above the then-current share price of the Underlying Security.
It is important to note that the sale of the Underlying Security call option contracts will limit the Fund’s participation in the appreciation in the Underlying Security’s stock price. If the stock price of the Underlying Security increases, the above-referenced synthetic long exposure alone would allow the Fund to experience similar percentage gains. However, if the Underlying Security’s stock price appreciates beyond the strike price of one or more of the sold (short) call option contracts, the Fund will lose money on those short call positions, and the losses will, in turn, limit the upside return of the Fund’s synthetic long exposure. As a result, the Fund’s overall strategy (i.e., the combination of the synthetic long exposure to the Underlying Security and the sold (short) the Underlying Security call positions) will limit the Fund’s participation in gains in the Underlying Security’s stock price beyond a certain point.
Covered Call Spread Strategy
The Adviser will employ the Covered Call Spread Strategy when it believes it is a better strategy for the Fund as compared to the Covered Call Strategy. The Fund may write (sell) credit call spreads (described below) rather than stand-alone call option contracts to seek greater participation in the potential appreciation of its Underlying Security’s share price, while still generating net premium income. The Adviser will primarily employ this covered call spread strategy when it believes that the share price of its Underlying Security is likely to rise significantly in the short term (e.g., following a substantial selloff or overall positive market news). Additionally, the Adviser may use this strategy in other scenarios (e.g., if the market is undervaluing further out-of-the-money options relative to near-the-money options), where it believes the use of credit call spreads may prove more advantageous to the Fund’s total return than the covered call strategy.
A credit call spread involves selling a call option while simultaneously buying a call option with a higher strike price, both with the same expiration date. By writing credit call spreads, the Fund can potentially offset losses incurred from its short call positions if the Underlying Security’s share price rises above the strike price.
| 3. | U.S. Treasuries |
The Fund will hold short-term U.S. Treasury securities as collateral in connection with the Fund’s options contracts, as well as swaps as discussed in the “Additional Investment Strategies” section below.
The Fund intends to continuously maintain indirect exposure to the Underlying Security, primarily through the use of options contracts. As the options contracts it holds are exercised or expire it may enter into new options contracts, a practice referred to as “rolling.” The Fund’s practice of rolling options may result in high portfolio turnover.
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Additional Investment Strategies
In addition to the synthetic covered call strategy or synthetic covered call spread strategy described herein, the Fund may use the following additional strategies to gain exposure to the Underlying Security:
| ● | Swaps: The Fund may utilize swap contracts that provide exposure to the Underlying Security. |
| ● | Additional Options Strategies: The Fund may utilize additional options strategies, including purchasing call options that are “deep in the money” (i.e., the Underlying Security’s price is well above the strike price on the call option). |
| ● | Equity Securities: The Fund may purchase equity securities of the Underlying Security. |
While the Fund intends to primarily utilize its synthetic covered call strategy or synthetic covered call spread strategy to gain exposure to the Underlying Security, it may utilize each of the foregoing to the extent it is unable to achieve its targeted exposure through the use of these primary options strategies.
Fund’s Monthly Distributions
The Fund will seek to provide monthly income in the form of cash distributions. The Fund will seek to generate such income in the following ways:
| ● | Writing (selling) call option contracts on its Underlying Security as described above. The income comes mainly from the option premiums received from these option sales. A premium, in this context, refers to the price the option buyer pays to the option seller (the Fund) for the rights granted by the option. The amount of these premiums is largely affected by the fluctuations in the Underlying Security’s stock prices. However, other elements like interest rates can also influence the income level. |
| ● | Investing in short-term U.S. Treasury securities. The income generated by these securities will be influenced by interest rates at the time of investment. |
| ● | In addition to the income-seeking methodologies stated in the Prospectus, the Fund’s use of the Synthetic Covered Call Spread Strategy may occasionally allow it to capture a substantial portion of any significant increase in the price of its Underlying Security. When this happens, the Fund could receive profits exceeding the initial cost of the call options, and the Fund’s distributions may include some of those profits. | |
| ● | The Fund may receive some dividend income to the extent it invests directly in the Underlying Security. |
Fund’s Return Profile vs its Underlying Security
For the reasons stated above, the Fund’s performance will differ from that of the Underlying Security’s stock price. The performance differences will depend on, among other things, the price of the Underlying Security, changes in the value of the Underlying Security options contracts and swaps the Fund holds, and changes in the value of the U.S. Treasuries.
Fund Portfolio
| Principal Holdings | ||
| Portfolio
Holdings (All options are based on the value of the Underlying Security) |
Investment Terms | Expected Target Maturity |
| Purchased call option contracts (primary options strategies) |
“at-the-money” (i.e., the strike price is equal to the then-current share price of the Underlying Security at the time of purchase) to provide indirect exposure to positive price returns of the Underlying Security.
If the Underlying Security share price increases, these options will generate corresponding increases to the Fund. |
1-month to 6-month expiration dates |
| Purchased call option contracts (additional options strategies) |
“deep-in-the-money” (i.e., the Underlying Security’s price is well above the strike price on the call option) to provide indirect exposure to positive price returns of the Underlying Security.
If the Underlying Security share price increases, these options will generate corresponding increases to the Fund. |
1-month to 6-month expiration dates
|
| Sold put option contracts |
“at-the-money” (i.e., the strike price is equal to the then-current share price of the Underlying Security at the time of sale).
They are sold to help pay for the purchased call options described above.
However, the sold put option contracts provide exposure to the full extent of any share price losses experienced by the Underlying Security. |
1-month to 6-month expiration dates |
| Sold
(short) call option contracts (Covered Call Strategy) |
The strike price is approximately 0%-15% more than the then-current share price of the Underlying Security at the time of sale.
They generate current income. However, they also limit some potential positive returns that the Fund may have otherwise experienced from gains in the Underlying Security’s share price. |
1-month or less expiration dates |
|
Sold
(short) call option contracts
|
The strike price is approximately 0%-15% more than the then-current share price of the Fund’s Underlying Security at the time of sale.
Sold call option contracts provide inverse exposure to the full extent of any increases in the value experienced by the Fund’s Underlying Security, minus the premium received. |
1-month or less expiration dates |
| Purchased
call option contracts (Covered Call Spread Strategy) |
“out-of-the-money” (i.e., the strike price is above the strike price of the corresponding Covered Call Spread Strategy sold call).
Bought call option contracts provide exposure to the full extent of any increases in the value experienced by the Fund’s Underlying Security above the option’s strike price. |
1-month or less expiration dates |
| Equity Securities | Direct equity holdings of the Underlying Security. | N/A |
| Swaps | Provides mark-to-market daily exposure to the total return of the Underlying Security over a particular period of time. | N/A |
| U.S Treasury Securities and Cash |
Multiple series of U.S. Treasury Bills supported by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government.
These instruments are used as collateral for the Fund’s derivative investments.
They will also generate income. |
6-month to 2-year maturities |
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The market value of the cash and treasuries held by the Fund is expected to be between 50% and 100% of the Fund’s net assets and the market value of the options, swaps and direct equity investments is expected to be between 0% and 50% of the Fund’s net assets. In terms of notional value, the combination of these investment instruments provides indirect investment exposure to APP equal to at least 100% of the Fund’s total assets.
Under normal circumstances, the Fund will invest at least 80% of its net assets, plus borrowings for investment purposes, in securities and financial instruments that provide indirect exposure to APP.
The Fund is classified as “non-diversified” under the 1940 Act.
There is no guarantee that the Fund’s investment strategy will be properly implemented, and an investor may lose some or all of its investment.
AppLovin Corporation (“APP”)
AppLovin Corporation is a leader in the advertising ecosystem providing an end-to-end software platform that allows businesses to reach, monetize and grow their global audiences. APP also has a globally diversified portfolio of apps — free-to-play mobile games that it operates through its studios. APP is listed on The Nasdaq Global Select Market (Nasdaq). Per APP’s most recent Form 10-K filing, the aggregate market value of APP’s voting and non-voting common equity held by non-affiliates of the registrant on June 28, 2024 was $23.7 billion based on the closing sales price of the registrant’s Class A common stock on that date.
APP is registered under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”). Information provided to or filed with the SEC by APP pursuant to the Exchange Act can be located by reference to the SEC file number 001-40325 through the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov. In addition, information regarding APP may be obtained from other sources including, but not limited to, press releases, newspaper articles and other publicly disseminated documents.
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This document relates only to the securities offered hereby and does not relate to the shares of APP or other securities of AppLovin Corporation. The Fund has derived all disclosures contained in this document regarding APP from the publicly available documents. None of the Fund, the Trust, or the Adviser, or their respective affiliates has participated in the preparation of such publicly available offering documents or made any due diligence inquiry regarding such documents with respect to APP. None of the Fund, the Trust, or the Adviser, or their respective affiliates makes any representation that such publicly available documents or any other publicly available information regarding APP is accurate or complete. Furthermore, the Fund cannot give any assurance that all events occurring prior to the date hereof (including events that would affect the accuracy or completeness of the publicly available documents described above) that would affect the trading price of APP (and therefore the share price of the Fund at the time we price the securities) have been publicly disclosed. Subsequent disclosure of any such events or the disclosure of or failure to disclose material future events concerning APP could affect the value received with respect to the securities and therefore the value of the securities.
None of the Fund, the Trust, the Adviser, or their respective affiliates makes any representation to you as to the performance of APP.
NONE OF THE FUND, TIDAL TRUST II, OR TIDAL INVESTMENTS LLC ARE AFFILIATED WITH THE UNDERLYING SECURITY.
Due to the Fund’s investment strategy, the Fund’s investment exposure is concentrated in the same industry as that assigned to the Underlying Security. As of the date of the Prospectus, APP is assigned to the Software industry.
Principal Investment Risks
The principal risks of investing in the Fund are summarized below. As with any investment, there is a risk that you could lose all or a portion of your investment in the Fund. Some or all of these risks may adversely affect the Fund’s net asset value (“NAV”) per share, trading price, yield, total return, and/or ability to meet its objective. For more information about the risks of investing in the Fund, see the section in the Fund’s Prospectus titled “Additional Information About the Funds—Principal Risks of Investing in the Funds.”
An investment in the Fund entails risk. The Fund may not achieve its investment objective and there is a risk that you could lose all of your money invested in the Fund. The Fund is not a complete investment program. It is important that investors closely review all of the risks listed below and understand them before making an investment in the Fund.
Each risk summarized below is considered a “principal risk” of investing in the Fund, regardless of the order in which they appear.
APP Risk. The Fund invests in instruments that are based on the value of APP. This subjects the Fund to certain of the same risks as if it owned shares of APP, even if it does not. By virtue of the Fund’s exposure to APP, the Fund may also be subject to the following risks:
Indirect Investment in APP Risk. APP is not affiliated with the Trust, the Fund, or the Adviser, or their respective affiliates and is not involved with this offering in any way and has no obligation to consider your Shares in taking any corporate actions that might affect the value of Shares. Investors in the Fund will not have voting rights and will not be able to influence management of APP but will be exposed to the performance of APP (the Underlying Security). Investors in the Fund will not have the right to receive dividends or other distributions or any other rights with respect to the Underlying Security but will be subject to declines in the performance of the Underlying Security.
APP Trading Risk. The trading price of APP may be subject to volatility and could experience wide fluctuations due to various factors. Short sellers may also play a significant role in trading APP, potentially affecting the supply and demand dynamics and contributing to market price volatility. Public perception and external factors beyond the company’s control may influence APP’s stock price disproportionately. Additionally, following periods of market volatility, companies have faced securities class action litigation. Any adverse judgment or future stockholder litigation could result in substantial costs and divert management’s attention and resources. In the event of a halt in trading of APP, trading in shares of related funds may be impacted, either temporarily or indefinitely.
APP Performance Risk. APP may fail to meet its publicly announced guidelines or other expectations about its business, which could cause the price of APP to decline. APP provides guidance regarding its expected financial and business performance, such as projections regarding sales and production, as well as anticipated future revenues, gross margins, profitability and cash flows. Correctly identifying key factors affecting business conditions and predicting future events is inherently an uncertain process, and the guidance APP provides may not ultimately be accurate. If APP’s guidance is not accurate or varies from actual results due to its inability to meet the assumptions or the impact on its financial performance that could occur as a result of various risks and uncertainties, the market value of common stock issued by APP could decline significantly.
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Software Industry Risk. The software industry can be significantly affected by intense competition, aggressive pricing, technological innovations, and product obsolescence. Companies in the software industry are subject to significant competitive pressures, such as aggressive pricing, new market entrants, competition for market share, short product cycles due to an accelerated rate of technological developments and the potential for limited earnings and/or falling profit margins. These companies also face the risks that new services, equipment or technologies will not be accepted by consumers and businesses or will become rapidly obsolete. These factors can affect the profitability of these companies and, as a result, the value of their securities. Also, patent protection is integral to the success of many companies in this industry, and profitability can be affected materially by, among other things, the cost of obtaining (or failing to obtain) patent approvals, the cost of litigating patent infringement and the loss of patent protection for products (which significantly increases pricing pressures and can materially reduce profitability with respect to such products). In addition, many software companies have limited operating histories. Prices of these companies’ securities historically have been more volatile than other securities, especially over the short term.
Computer Programming Company Risks. The Fund’s performance is subject to the risks of the computer programming companies. Such companies provide social networking, file sharing, and other web-based media applications. The risks related to investing in such companies include disruption in service caused by hardware or software failure, interruptions or delays in service by third-party data center hosting facilities and maintenance providers, security breaches involving certain private, sensitive, proprietary and confidential information managed and transmitted by social media companies, and privacy concerns and laws, evolving internet regulation and other foreign or domestic regulations that may limit or otherwise affect the operations of such companies. Additionally, the collection of data from consumers and other sources could face increased scrutiny as regulators consider how the data is collected, stored, safeguarded and used. Furthermore, the business models employed by these companies may not prove to be successful.
Derivatives Risk. Derivatives are financial instruments that derive value from the underlying reference asset or assets, such as stocks, bonds, or funds (including ETFs), interest rates or indexes. The Fund’s investments in derivatives may pose risks in addition to, and greater than, those associated with directly investing in securities or other ordinary investments, including risk related to the market, imperfect correlation with underlying investments or the Fund’s other portfolio holdings, higher price volatility, lack of availability, counterparty risk, liquidity, valuation and legal restrictions. The use of derivatives is a highly specialized activity that involves investment techniques and risks different from those associated with ordinary portfolio securities transactions. The use of derivatives may result in larger losses or smaller gains than directly investing in securities. When the Fund uses derivatives, there may be an imperfect correlation between the value of the Underlying Security and the derivative, which may prevent the Fund from achieving its investment objective. Because derivatives often require only a limited initial investment, the use of derivatives may expose the Fund to losses in excess of those amounts initially invested. In addition, the Fund’s investments in derivatives are subject to the following risks:
Options Contracts. The use of options contracts involves investment strategies and risks different from those associated with ordinary portfolio securities transactions. The prices of options are volatile and are influenced by, among other things, actual and anticipated changes in the value of the underlying instrument, including the anticipated volatility, which are affected by fiscal and monetary policies and by national and international political, changes in the actual or implied volatility or the reference asset, the time remaining until the expiration of the option contract and economic events. For the Fund in particular, the value of the options contracts in which it invests are substantially influenced by the value of the Underlying Security. The Fund may experience substantial downside from specific option positions and certain option positions held by the Fund may expire worthless. The options held by the Fund are exercisable at the strike price on their expiration date. As an option approaches its expiration date, its value typically increasingly move with the value of the underlying instrument. However, prior to such date, the value of an option generally does not increase or decrease at the same rate at the underlying instrument. There may at times be an imperfect correlation between the movement in the values of options contracts and the underlying instrument, and there may at times not be a liquid secondary market for certain options contracts. The value of the options held by the Fund will be determined based on market quotations or other recognized pricing methods. Additionally, as the Fund intends to continuously maintain indirect exposure to the Underlying Security through the use of options contracts, as the options contracts it holds are exercised or expire it will enter into new options contracts, a practice referred to as “rolling.” If the expiring options contracts do not generate proceeds enough to cover the cost of entering into new options contracts, the Fund may experience losses.
Swaps. The use of swap transactions is a highly specialized activity, which involves investment techniques and risks different from those associated with ordinary portfolio securities transactions. Whether the Fund will be successful in using swap agreements to achieve its investment goal depends on the ability of the Adviser to structure such swap agreements in accordance with the Fund’s investment objective and to identify counterparties for those swap agreements. If the Adviser is unable to enter into swap agreements that provide leveraged exposure to the Underlying Security, the Fund may not meet its stated investment objective. Additionally, any financing, borrowing or other costs associated with using swap transactions may also have the effect of lowering the Fund’s return.
The swap agreements in which the Fund invests are generally traded in the over-the-counter market, which generally has less transparency than exchange-traded derivatives instruments. In a standard swap transaction, two parties agree to exchange the return (or differentials in rates of return) earned or realized on particular predetermined reference assets or underlying securities or instruments. The gross return to be exchanged or swapped between the parties is calculated based on a notional amount or the return on or change in value of a particular dollar amount invested in a basket of securities.
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If the Underlying Security has a dramatic move that causes a material decline in the Fund’s net assets, the terms of a swap agreement between the Fund and its counterparty may permit the counterparty to immediately close out the swap transaction with the Fund. In that event, the Fund may be unable to enter into another swap agreement or invest in other derivatives to achieve exposure consistent with the Fund’s investment objective. This may prevent the Fund from achieving its leveraged investment objective, even if the Underlying Security later reverses all or a portion of its movement.
Counterparty Risk. The Fund is subject to counterparty risk by virtue of its investments in derivative instruments. Transactions in some types of derivatives, including options, are required to be centrally cleared (“cleared derivatives”). In a transaction involving cleared derivatives, the Fund’s counterparty is a clearing house rather than a bank or broker. Since the Fund is not a member of clearing houses and only members of a clearing house (“clearing members”) can participate directly in the clearing house, the Fund will hold cleared derivatives through accounts at clearing members. In cleared derivatives positions, the Fund will make payments (including margin payments) to and receive payments from a clearing house through their accounts at clearing members. Customer funds held at a clearing organization in connection with any options contracts are held in a commingled omnibus account and are not identified to the name of the clearing member’s individual customers. As a result, assets deposited by the Fund with any clearing member as margin for options may, in certain circumstances, be used to satisfy losses of other clients of the Fund’s clearing member. In addition, although clearing members guarantee performance of their clients’ obligations to the clearing house, there is a risk that the assets of the Fund might not be fully protected in the event of the clearing member’s bankruptcy, as the Fund would be limited to recovering only a pro rata share of all available funds segregated on behalf of the clearing member’s customers for the relevant account class. The Fund is also subject to the risk that a limited number of clearing members are willing to transact on the Fund’s behalf, which heightens the risks associated with a clearing member’s default. This risk is greater for the Fund as it seeks to hold options contracts on a single security, and not a broader range of options contracts, which may limit the number of clearing members that are willing to transact on the Fund’s behalf. If a clearing member defaults the Fund could lose some or all of the benefits of a transaction entered into by the Fund with the clearing member. If the Fund cannot find a clearing member to transact with on the Fund’s behalf, the Fund may be unable to effectively implement its investment strategy.
The Fund is also subject to the risk that the counterparty will not fulfill its obligation to the Fund. Counterparty risk may arise because of the counterparty’s financial condition (i.e., financial difficulties, bankruptcy, or insolvency), market activities and developments, or other reasons, whether foreseen or not. A counterparty’s inability to fulfill its obligation may result in significant financial loss to the Fund and the Fund may be unable to recover its investment from such counterparty or may obtain a limited and/or delayed recovery.
Price Participation Risk. The Fund employs an investment strategy that includes the sale of call option contracts, which limits the degree to which the Fund will participate in increases in value experienced by the Underlying Security over the Call Period. This means that if the Underlying Security experiences an increase in value above the strike price of the sold call options during a Call Period, the Fund will likely not experience that increase to the same extent and may significantly underperform the Underlying Security over the Call Period. Additionally, because the Fund is limited in the degree to which it will participate in increases in value experienced by the Underlying Security over each Call Period, but has full exposure to any decreases in value experienced by the Underlying Security over the Call Period, the NAV of the Fund may decrease over any given time period. The Fund’s NAV is dependent on the value of each options portfolio, which is based principally upon the performance of the Underlying Security. The degree of participation in the Underlying Security gains the Fund will experience will depend on prevailing market conditions, especially market volatility, at the time the Fund enters into the sold call option contracts and will vary from Call Period to Call Period. The value of the options contracts is affected by changes in the value and dividend rates of the Underlying Security, changes in interest rates, changes in the actual or perceived volatility of the Underlying Security and the remaining time to the options’ expiration, as well as trading conditions in the options market. As the price of the Underlying Security changes and time moves towards the expiration of each Call Period, the value of the options contracts, and therefore the Fund’s NAV, will change. However, it is not expected for the Fund’s NAV to directly correlate on a day-to-day basis with the returns of the Underlying Security. The amount of time remaining until the options contract’s expiration date affects the impact of the potential options contract income on the Fund’s NAV, which may not be in full effect until the expiration date of the Fund’s options contracts. Therefore, while changes in the price of the Underlying Security will result in changes to the Fund’s NAV, the Fund generally anticipates that the rate of change in the Fund’s NAV will be different than that experienced by the Underlying Security.
Distribution Risk. As part of the Fund’s investment objective, the Fund seeks to provide current monthly income. There is no assurance that the Fund will make a distribution in any given month. If the Fund does make distributions, the amounts of such distributions will likely vary greatly from one distribution to the next. Additionally, monthly distributions, if any, may consist of returns of capital, which would decrease the Fund’s NAV and trading price over time. As a result, an investor may suffer significant losses to their investment.
NAV Erosion Risk Due to Distributions. When the Fund makes a distribution, the Fund’s NAV will typically drop by the amount of the distribution on the related ex-dividend date. The repeated payment of distributions by the Fund, if any, may significantly erode the Fund’s NAV and trading price over time. As a result, an investor may suffer significant losses to their investment.
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Call Strategy Risks. The path dependency (i.e., the continued use) of the Fund’s call writing strategy will impact the extent that the Fund participates in the positive price returns of the Underlying Security and, in turn, the Fund’s returns, both during the term of the sold call options and over longer time periods. If, for example, each month the Fund were to sell 7% out-of-the-money call options having a one-month term, the Fund’s participation in the positive price returns of the Underlying Security will be capped at 7% in any given month. However, over a longer period (e.g., 5 months), the Fund should not be expected to participate fully in the first 35% (i.e., 5 months x 7%) of the positive price returns of the Underlying Security, or the Fund may even lose money, even if the Underlying Security share price has appreciated by at least that much over such period, if during any month over that period the Underlying Security had a return less than 7%. This example illustrates that both the Fund’s participation in the positive price returns of the Underlying Security and its returns will depend not only on the price of the Underlying Security but also on the path that the Underlying Security takes over time.
Additionally, when implementing the Covered Call Spread Strategy, the use of credit call spreads introduces further complexities and risks. While purchasing a higher-strike call option limits potential losses from the short call position, it also reduces the net premium received, which may result in lower overall returns compared to a stand-alone covered call strategy. If the price of the Underlying Security rises rapidly, the call spread may still cap upside participation, leading to missed profit opportunities. Furthermore, market conditions, such as mispricing between near-the-money and further out-of-the-money options, may impact the effectiveness of the strategy, potentially resulting in lower-than-expected returns or increased losses. The relative pricing of options at different strike levels can vary due to volatility shifts, liquidity constraints, or other market dynamics, adding an additional layer of uncertainty to the Fund’s performance under this strategy.
Economic and Market Risk. Economies and financial markets throughout the world are becoming increasingly interconnected, which increases the likelihood that events or conditions in one country or region will adversely impact markets or issuers in other countries or regions. Securities in the Fund’s portfolio may underperform in comparison to securities in the general financial markets, a particular financial market, or other asset classes, due to a number of factors, including inflation (or expectations for inflation), deflation (or expectations for deflation), interest rates, global demand for particular products or resources, market instability, financial system instability, debt crises and downgrades, embargoes, tariffs, sanctions and other trade barriers, regulatory events, other governmental trade or market control programs and related geopolitical events. In addition, the value of the Fund’s investments may be negatively affected by the occurrence of global events such as war, terrorism, environmental disasters, natural disasters or events, country instability, and infectious disease epidemics or pandemics. The imposition by the U.S. of tariffs on goods imported from foreign countries and reciprocal tariffs levied on U.S. goods by those countries also may lead to volatility and instability in domestic and foreign markets.
Equity Market Risk. The prices of equity securities rise and fall daily. These price movements may result from factors affecting individual issuers, industries or the stock market as a whole. In addition, equity markets tend to move in cycles which may cause stock prices to fall over a short and extended periods of time. In a declining stock market, stock prices for all companies (including those in the Fund’s portfolio) may decline, regardless of their long-term prospects.
ETF Risks.
Authorized Participants, Market Makers, and Liquidity Providers Concentration Risk. The Fund has a limited number of financial institutions that are authorized to purchase and redeem Shares directly from the Fund (known as “Authorized Participants” or “APs”). In addition, there may be a limited number of market makers and/or liquidity providers in the marketplace. To the extent either of the following events occur, Shares may trade at a material discount to NAV and possibly face delisting: (i) APs exit the business or otherwise become unable to process creation and/or redemption orders and no other APs step forward to perform these services; or (ii) market makers and/or liquidity providers exit the business or significantly reduce their business activities and no other entities step forward to perform their functions.
Cash Redemption Risk. The Fund’s investment strategy may require it to redeem Shares for cash or to otherwise include cash as part of its redemption proceeds. For example, the Fund may not be able to redeem in-kind certain securities held by the Fund (e.g., derivative instruments). In such a case, the Fund may be required to sell or unwind portfolio investments to obtain the cash needed to distribute redemption proceeds. This may cause the Fund to recognize a capital gain that it might not have recognized if it had made a redemption in-kind. As a result, the Fund may pay out higher annual capital gain distributions than if the in-kind redemption process was used. By paying out higher annual capital gain distributions, investors may be subjected to increased capital gains taxes. Additionally, there may be brokerage costs or taxable gains or losses that may be imposed on the Fund in connection with a cash redemption that may not have occurred if the Fund had made a redemption in-kind. These costs could decrease the value of the Fund to the extent they are not offset by a transaction fee payable by an AP.
Costs of Buying or Selling Shares. Due to the costs of buying or selling Shares, including brokerage commissions imposed by brokers and bid-ask spreads, frequent trading of Shares may significantly reduce investment results and an investment in Shares may not be advisable for investors who anticipate regularly making small investments.
Management Risk. The Fund is subject to management risk because it is an actively managed portfolio. In managing the Fund’s investment portfolio, the portfolio managers will apply investment techniques and risk analyses that may not produce the desired result. There can be no guarantee that the Fund will meet its investment objective.
Shares May Trade at Prices Other Than NAV. As with all ETFs, Shares may be bought and sold in the secondary market at market prices. Although it is expected that the market price of Shares will approximate the Fund’s NAV, there may be times when the market price of Shares is more than the NAV intra-day (premium) or less than the NAV intra-day (discount) due to supply and demand of Shares or during periods of market volatility. This risk is heightened in times of market volatility, periods of steep market declines, and periods when there is limited trading activity for Shares in the secondary market, in which case such premiums or discounts may be significant.
Trading. Although Shares are listed on a national securities exchange, such as [ ] (the “Exchange”), and may be traded on U.S. exchanges other than the Exchange, there can be no assurance that an active trading market for the Shares will develop or be maintained or that the Shares will trade with any volume, or at all, on any stock exchange. In stressed market conditions, the liquidity of Shares may begin to mirror the liquidity of the Fund’s underlying portfolio holdings, which can be significantly less liquid than Shares. Shares trade on the Exchange at market price that may be below, at or above the Fund’s NAV. Trading in Shares on the Exchange may be halted due to market conditions or for reasons that, in the view of the Exchange, make trading in Shares inadvisable. In addition, trading in Shares on the Exchange is subject to trading halts caused by extraordinary market volatility pursuant to the Exchange “circuit breaker” rules. There can be no assurance that the requirements of the Exchange necessary to maintain the listing of the Fund will continue to be met or will remain unchanged. In the event of an unscheduled market close for options contracts that are based on the value of an ETF, such as the Underlying Security being halted or a market wide closure, settlement prices will be determined by the procedures of the listing exchange of the options contracts. As a result, the Fund could be adversely affected and be unable to implement its investment strategies in the event of an unscheduled closing.
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High Portfolio Turnover Risk. The Fund may actively and frequently trade all or a significant portion of the Fund’s holdings. A high portfolio turnover rate increases transaction costs, which may increase the Fund’s expenses. Frequent trading may also cause adverse tax consequences for investors in the Fund due to an increase in short-term capital gains.
Inflation Risk. Inflation risk is the risk that the value of assets or income from investments will be less in the future as inflation decreases the value of money. As inflation increases, the present value of the Fund’s assets and distributions, if any, may decline.
Liquidity Risk. Some securities held by the Fund, including options contracts, may be difficult to sell or be illiquid, particularly during times of market turmoil. This risk is greater for the Fund as it will hold options contracts on a single security, and not a broader range of options contracts. Markets for securities or financial instruments could be disrupted by a number of events, including, but not limited to, an economic crisis, natural disasters, epidemics/pandemics, new legislation or regulatory changes inside or outside the United States. Illiquid securities may be difficult to value, especially in changing or volatile markets. If the Fund is forced to sell an illiquid security at an unfavorable time or price, the Fund may be adversely impacted. Certain market conditions or restrictions, such as market rules related to short sales, may prevent the Fund from limiting losses, realizing gains or achieving a high correlation with the Underlying Security. There is no assurance that a security that is deemed liquid when purchased will continue to be liquid. Market illiquidity may cause losses for the Fund.
Money Market Instrument Risk. The Fund may use a variety of money market instruments for cash management purposes, including money market funds, depositary accounts and repurchase agreements. Repurchase agreements are contracts in which a seller of securities agrees to buy the securities back at a specified time and price. Repurchase agreements may be subject to market and credit risk related to the collateral securing the repurchase agreement. Money market instruments, including money market funds, may lose money through fees or other means.
New Fund Risk. The Fund is a recently organized management investment company with no operating history. As a result, prospective investors do not have a track record or history on which to base their investment decisions.
Non-Diversification Risk. Because the Fund is “non-diversified,” it may invest a greater percentage of its assets in the securities of a single issuer or a smaller number of issuers than if it was a diversified fund. As a result, a decline in the value of an investment in a single issuer or a smaller number of issuers could cause the Fund’s overall value to decline to a greater degree than if the Fund held a more diversified portfolio. This may increase the Fund’s volatility and cause the performance of a relatively smaller number of issuers to have a greater impact on the Fund’s performance.
Operational Risk. The Fund is subject to risks arising from various operational factors, including, but not limited to, human error, processing and communication errors, errors of the Fund’s service providers, counterparties or other third-parties, failed or inadequate processes and technology or systems failures. The Fund relies on third-parties for a range of services, including custody. Any delay or failure relating to engaging or maintaining such service providers may affect the Fund’s ability to meet its investment objective. Although the Fund and Adviser seek to reduce these operational risks through controls and procedures, there is no way to completely protect against such risks. This may increase the Fund’s volatility and cause the performance of a relatively smaller number of issuers to have a greater impact on the Fund’s performance.
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Single Issuer Risk. Issuer-specific attributes may cause an investment in the Fund to be more volatile than a traditional pooled investment which diversifies risk or the market generally. The value of the Fund, which focuses on an individual security (the Underlying Security), may be more volatile than a traditional pooled investment or the market as a whole and may perform differently from the value of a traditional pooled investment or the market as a whole.
Tax Risk. The Fund intends to elect and to qualify each year to be treated as a RIC under Subchapter M of the Code. As a RIC, the Fund will not be subject to U.S. federal income tax on the portion of its net investment income and net capital gain that it distributes to Shareholders, provided that it satisfies certain requirements of the Code. If the Fund does not qualify as a RIC for any taxable year and certain relief provisions are not available, the Fund’s taxable income will be subject to tax at the Fund level and to a further tax at the shareholder level when such income is distributed. To comply with the asset diversification test applicable to a RIC, the Fund will attempt to ensure that the value of financial instruments providing exposure to the Underlying Security are never 25% of the total value of Fund assets at the close of any quarter. If the Fund’s investments in such financial instruments were to exceed 25% of the Fund’s total assets at the end of a tax quarter, the Fund, generally, has a grace period to cure such lack of compliance. If the Fund fails to timely cure, it may no longer be eligible to be treated as a RIC.
U.S. Government and U.S. Agency Obligations Risk. The Fund may invest in securities issued by the U.S. government or its agencies or instrumentalities. U.S. Government obligations include securities issued or guaranteed as to principal and interest by the U.S. Government, its agencies or instrumentalities, such as the U.S. Treasury. Payment of principal and interest on U.S. Government obligations may be backed by the full faith and credit of the United States or may be backed solely by the issuing or guaranteeing agency or instrumentality itself. In the latter case, the investor must look principally to the agency or instrumentality issuing or guaranteeing the obligation for ultimate repayment, which agency or instrumentality may be privately owned. There can be no assurance that the U.S. Government would provide financial support to its agencies or instrumentalities (including government-sponsored enterprises) where it is not obligated to do so.
Performance
Performance information for the Fund is not included because the Fund has not completed a full calendar year of operations as of the date of this Prospectus. When such information is included, this section will provide some indication of the risks of investing in the Fund by showing changes in the Fund’s performance history from year to year and showing how the Fund’s average annual total returns compare with those of a broad measure of market performance. Although past performance of the Fund is no guarantee of how it will perform in the future, historical performance may give you some indication of the risks of investing in the Fund. Updated performance information will be available on the Fund’s website at www.yieldmaxetfs.com.
Management
Investment Adviser: Tidal Investments LLC (the “Adviser”) serves as investment adviser to the Fund.
Portfolio Managers:
The following individuals are jointly and primarily responsible for the day-to-day management of the Fund.
Matt Brandt, Portfolio Manager for the Adviser, has been a portfolio manager of the Fund since its inception in 2025.
Christopher P. Mullen, Portfolio Manager for the Adviser, has been a portfolio manager of the Fund since its inception in 2025.
Scott Snyder, Portfolio Manager for the Adviser, has been a portfolio manager of the Fund since its inception in 2025.
Purchase and Sale of Shares
The Fund issues and redeems Shares at NAV only in large blocks known as “Creation Units,” which only Authorized Participants (APs) (typically, broker-dealers) may purchase or redeem. The Fund generally issues and redeems Creation Units in exchange for a portfolio of securities (the “Deposit Securities”) and/or a designated amount of U.S. cash.
Shares are listed on a national securities exchange, such as the Exchange, and individual Shares may only be bought and sold in the secondary market through brokers at market prices, rather than NAV. Because Shares trade at market prices rather than NAV, Shares may trade at a price greater than NAV (premium) or less than NAV (discount).
An investor may incur costs attributable to the difference between the highest price a buyer is willing to pay to purchase Shares (the “bid” price) and the lowest price a seller is willing to accept for Shares (the “ask” price) when buying or selling Shares in the secondary market. This difference in bid and ask prices is often referred to as the “bid-ask spread.”
When available, information regarding the Fund’s NAV, market price, how often Shares traded on the Exchange at a premium or discount, and bid-ask spreads can be found on the Fund’s website at www.yieldmaxetfs.com.
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Tax Information
Fund distributions are generally taxable as ordinary income, qualified dividend income, or capital gains (or a combination), unless an investment is in an individual retirement account (“IRA”) or other tax-advantaged account. Distributions on investments made through tax-deferred arrangements may be taxed later upon withdrawal of assets from those accounts.
Financial Intermediary Compensation
If
you purchase Shares through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary
(such as a bank) (an “Intermediary”), the Adviser or its affiliates may pay
Intermediaries for certain activities related to the Fund, including
participation in activities that are designed to make Intermediaries more
knowledgeable about exchange-traded products, including the Fund, or for other
activities, such as marketing, educational training, or other initiatives
related to the sale or promotion of Shares. These payments may create a conflict
of interest by influencing the Intermediary and your salesperson to recommend
the Fund over another investment. Any such arrangements do not result in
increased Fund expenses. Ask your salesperson or visit the Intermediary’s
website for more information.
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YieldMax® ARM Option Income Strategy ETF - FUND SUMMARY
Investment Objective
The Fund’s primary investment objective is to seek current income.
The Fund’s secondary investment objective is to seek exposure to the share price of the ADR of ARM Holdings plc (“ARM” or “Underlying Security”), which is generally subject to a limit on potential investment gains.
Fees and Expenses of the Fund
This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy, hold, and sell shares of the Fund (“Shares”). You may pay other fees, such as brokerage commissions and other fees to financial intermediaries, which are not reflected in the table and Example below.
| Annual Fund Operating Expenses(1) (expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment) | |||
| Management Fee | [] | % | |
| Distribution and Service (12b-1) Fees | None | ||
| Other Expenses(2) | [] | % | |
| Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses | [] | % | |
| (1) | The Fund’s investment adviser, Tidal Investments LLC (the “Adviser”), a Tidal Financial Group company, will pay, or require a sub-adviser to pay, all of the Fund’s expenses, except for the following: advisory and sub-advisory fees, interest charges on any borrowings made for investment purposes, dividends and other expenses on securities sold short, taxes, brokerage commissions and other expenses incurred in placing orders for the purchase and sale of securities and other investment instruments, acquired fund fees and expenses, accrued deferred tax liability, distribution fees and expenses paid by the Fund under any distribution plan adopted pursuant to Rule 12b-1 under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”), litigation expenses, and other non-routine or extraordinary expenses. | |
| (2) | Based on estimated amounts for the current fiscal year. |
Expense Example
This Example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other funds. The Example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and then hold or redeem all of your Shares at the end of those periods. The Example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Fund’s operating expenses remain the same. The Example does not take into account brokerage commissions that you may pay on your purchases and sales of Shares. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:
| 1 Year | 3 Years |
| $[] | $[] |
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 Shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in total annual fund operating expenses or in the expense example above, affect the Fund’s performance. Because the Fund is newly organized, portfolio turnover information is not yet available.
Principal Investment Strategies
The Fund is an actively managed exchange-traded fund (“ETF”) that seeks current income while providing indirect exposure to the share price (i.e., the price returns) of the ADR of ARM Holdings plc (Nasdaq: ARM) (“ARM” or the “Underlying Security”), which is generally subject to a limit on potential investment gains. The Fund will employ its investment strategy as it relates to ARM regardless of whether there are periods of adverse market, economic, or other conditions and will not take temporary defensive positions during such periods. As further described below, the Fund primarily uses either a synthetic covered call strategy or synthetic covered call spread strategy to provide income and indirect exposure to the share price returns of ARM, which is generally subject to a limit on potential investment gains as a result of the nature of the options strategy it employs. The Fund not only seeks to generate income from its options investments but also aims to derive gains when the value of ARM increases. The Fund’s options contracts provide:
| ● | indirect exposure to the share price returns of ARM, |
| ● | current income from the option premiums, and |
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| ● | at most times, a limit on the Fund’s participation in gains, if any, of the share price returns of ARM. |
For more information, see sections “The Fund’s Use of Underlying Security Option Contracts,” “Synthetic Covered Call Strategy” and “SyntheticCovered Call Spread Strategy” below.
Why invest in the Fund?
| ● | The Fund seeks to generate monthly income, which is not dependent on the price appreciation of the Underlying Security. |
| ● | The Fund seeks to participate in a portion of the gains experienced by the Underlying Security. |
That is, although the Fund may not fully participate in gains in the Underlying Security’s stock price, the Fund’s portfolio is designed to generate income.
An Investment in the Fund is not an investment in the Underlying Security.
| ● | The Fund’s strategy will capture only a portion of its potential gains if the Underlying Security’s stock price increases in value. |
| ● | The Fund’s strategy is subject to all potential losses if the Underlying Security’s stock price decrease in value, which may not be offset by income received by the Fund. |
| ● | The Fund may invest directly in the Underlying Security, but expects to gain its Underlying Security exposure primarily through its synthetic covered call strategy or synthetic covered call spread strategy. |
| ● | Fund shareholders are not entitled to any Underlying Security dividends. |
Additional information regarding the Underlying Security is also set forth below.
The Fund’s Use of Underlying Security Option Contracts
As part of the Fund’s synthetic covered call strategy and synthetic covered call spread strategy, the Fund will purchase and sell a combination of standardized exchange-traded and FLexible EXchange® (“FLEX”) call and put option contracts that are based on the value of the price returns of the Underlying Security.
| ● | In general, an option contract gives the purchaser of the option contract the right to purchase (for a call option) or sell (for a put option) the underlying asset (like shares of the Underlying Security) at a specified price (the “strike price”). |
| ● | If exercised, an option contract obligates the seller to deliver shares (for a sold or “short” call) or buy shares (for a sold or “short” put) of the underlying asset at a specified price (the “strike price”). |
| ● | Options contracts must be exercised or traded to close within a specified time frame, or they expire. See the chart in section “Fund Portfolio” below for a description of the option contracts utilized by the Fund. |
Standardized exchange-traded options include standardized terms. FLEX options are also exchange-traded, but they allow for customizable terms (e.g., the strike price can be negotiated). For more information on FLEX options, see “Additional Information about the Funds – Exchange Traded Options Portfolio.”
The Fund’s options contracts are based on the value of the Underlying Security, which gives the Fund the right or obligation to receive or deliver shares of the Underlying Security on the expiration date of the applicable option contract in exchange for the stated strike price, depending on whether the option contract is a call option or a put option, and whether the Fund purchases or sells the option contract.
Synthetic Covered Call Strategy
In seeking to achieve its investment objective, the Fund may implement a “synthetic covered call” strategy using the standardized exchange-traded and FLEX options described above.
| ● | A traditional covered call strategy is an investment strategy where an investor (the Fund) sells a call option on an underlying security it owns. |
| ● | A synthetic covered call strategy is similar to a traditional covered call strategy in that the investor sells a call option that is based on the value of the underlying security. However, in a synthetic covered call strategy, the investor (the Fund) does not own the underlying security, but rather seeks to synthetically replicate 100% of the price movements of the underlying security through the use of various investment instruments. |
The Fund’s synthetic covered call strategies consists of the following three elements, each of which is described in greater detail farther below:
| ● | Synthetic long exposure to the Underlying Security, which allows the Fund to seek to participate in the changes, up or down, in the price of shares of the Underlying Security. |
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| ● | Covered call writing (where the Underlying Security’s call options are sold against the synthetic long portion of the strategy), which allows the Fund to generate income. |
| ● | U.S. Treasuries, which are used for collateral for the options, and which also generate income. |
| 1. | Synthetic Long Exposure |
To achieve a synthetic long exposure to the Underlying Security, the Fund will buy the Underlying Security’s call options and, simultaneously, sell the Underlying Security’s put options to try to replicate the price movements of the Underlying Security. The call options purchased by the Fund and the put options sold by the Fund will generally have one-month to six-month terms and strike prices that are approximately equal to the then-current share price of the Underlying Security at the time the contracts are purchased and sold, respectively. The combination of the long call options and sold put options provides the Fund with indirect investment exposure equal to approximately 100% of the Underlying Security for the duration of the applicable options exposure.
| 2. | Covered Call Strategies |
Covered Call Strategy
As part of its strategy, the Fund will write (sell) call option contracts on the Underlying Security to generate income. Since the Fund does not directly own the Underlying Security, these written call options will be sold short (i.e., selling a position it does not currently own). The Fund will seek to participate in the share price appreciation of the Underlying Security, if any. However, due to the nature of covered call strategies, the Fund’s participation may be subject to a cap (as described below). In this strategy, the call options written (sold) by the Fund will generally have 1- month or less expiration dates (the “Call Period”) and generally have a strike price that is approximately 0%-15% above the then-current share price of the Underlying Security.
It is important to note that the sale of the Underlying Security call option contracts will limit the Fund’s participation in the appreciation in the Underlying Security’s stock price. If the stock price of the Underlying Security increases, the above-referenced synthetic long exposure alone would allow the Fund to experience similar percentage gains. However, if the Underlying Security’s stock price appreciates beyond the strike price of one or more of the sold (short) call option contracts, the Fund will lose money on those short call positions, and the losses will, in turn, limit the upside return of the Fund’s synthetic long exposure. As a result, the Fund’s overall strategy (i.e., the combination of the synthetic long exposure to the Underlying Security and the sold (short) the Underlying Security call positions) will limit the Fund’s participation in gains in the Underlying Security’s stock price beyond a certain point.
Covered Call Spread Strategy
The Adviser will employ the Covered Call Spread Strategy when it believes it is a better strategy for the Fund as compared to the Covered Call Strategy. The Fund may write (sell) credit call spreads (described below) rather than stand-alone call option contracts to seek greater participation in the potential appreciation of its Underlying Security’s share price, while still generating net premium income. The Adviser will primarily employ this covered call spread strategy when it believes that the share price of its Underlying Security is likely to rise significantly in the short term (e.g., following a substantial selloff or overall positive market news). Additionally, the Adviser may use this strategy in other scenarios (e.g., if the market is undervaluing further out-of-the-money options relative to near-the-money options), where it believes the use of credit call spreads may prove more advantageous to the Fund’s total return than the covered call strategy.
A credit call spread involves selling a call option while simultaneously buying a call option with a higher strike price, both with the same expiration date. By writing credit call spreads, the Fund can potentially offset losses incurred from its short call positions if the Underlying Security’s share price rises above the strike price.
| 3. | U.S. Treasuries |
The Fund will hold short-term U.S. Treasury securities as collateral in connection with the Fund’s options contracts, as well as swaps as discussed in the “Additional Investment Strategies” section below.
The Fund intends to continuously maintain indirect exposure to the Underlying Security, primarily through the use of options contracts. As the options contracts it holds are exercised or expire it may enter into new options contracts, a practice referred to as “rolling.” The Fund’s practice of rolling options may result in high portfolio turnover.
27
Additional Investment Strategies
In addition to the synthetic covered call strategy or synthetic covered call spread strategy described herein, the Fund may use the following additional strategies to gain exposure to the Underlying Security:
| ● | Swaps: The Fund may utilize swap contracts that provide exposure to the Underlying Security. |
| ● | Additional Options Strategies: The Fund may utilize additional options strategies, including purchasing call options that are “deep in the money” (i.e., the Underlying Security’s price is well above the strike price on the call option). |
| ● | Equity Securities: The Fund may purchase equity securities of the Underlying Security. |
While the Fund intends to primarily utilize its synthetic covered call strategy or synthetic covered call spread strategy to gain exposure to the Underlying Security, it may utilize each of the foregoing to the extent it is unable to achieve its targeted exposure through the use of these primary options strategies.
Fund’s Monthly Distributions
The Fund will seek to provide monthly income in the form of cash distributions. The Fund will seek to generate such income in the following ways:
| ● | Writing (selling) call option contracts on its Underlying Security as described above. The income comes mainly from the option premiums received from these option sales. A premium, in this context, refers to the price the option buyer pays to the option seller (the Fund) for the rights granted by the option. The amount of these premiums is largely affected by the fluctuations in the Underlying Security’s stock prices. However, other elements like interest rates can also influence the income level. |
| ● | Investing in short-term U.S. Treasury securities. The income generated by these securities will be influenced by interest rates at the time of investment. |
| ● | In addition to the income-seeking methodologies stated in the Prospectus, the Fund’s use of the Synthetic Covered Call Spread Strategy may occasionally allow it to capture a substantial portion of any significant increase in the price of its Underlying Security. When this happens, the Fund could receive profits exceeding the initial cost of the call options, and the Fund’s distributions may include some of those profits. | |
| ● | The Fund may receive some dividend income to the extent it invests directly in the Underlying Security. |
Fund’s Return Profile vs its Underlying Security
For the reasons stated above, the Fund’s performance will differ from that of the Underlying Security’s stock price. The performance differences will depend on, among other things, the price of the Underlying Security, changes in the value of the Underlying Security options contracts and swaps the Fund holds, and changes in the value of the U.S. Treasuries.
Fund Portfolio
| Principal Holdings | ||
| Portfolio
Holdings (All options are based on the value of the Underlying Security) |
Investment Terms | Expected Target Maturity |
| Purchased call option contracts (primary options strategies) |
“at-the-money” (i.e., the strike price is equal to the then-current share price of the Underlying Security at the time of purchase) to provide indirect exposure to positive price returns of the Underlying Security.
If the Underlying Security share price increases, these options will generate corresponding increases to the Fund. |
1-month to 6-month expiration dates |
| Purchased call option contracts (additional options strategies) |
“deep-in-the-money” (i.e., the Underlying Security’s price is well above the strike price on the call option) to provide indirect exposure to positive price returns of the Underlying Security.
If the Underlying Security share price increases, these options will generate corresponding increases to the Fund. |
1-month to 6-month expiration dates
|
| Sold put option contracts |
“at-the-money” (i.e., the strike price is equal to the then-current share price of the Underlying Security at the time of sale).
They are sold to help pay for the purchased call options described above.
However, the sold put option contracts provide exposure to the full extent of any share price losses experienced by the Underlying Security. |
1-month to 6-month expiration dates |
| Sold
(short) call option contracts (Covered Call Strategy) |
The strike price is approximately 0%-15% more than the then-current share price of the Underlying Security at the time of sale.
They generate current income. However, they also limit some potential positive returns that the Fund may have otherwise experienced from gains in the Underlying Security’s share price. |
1-month or less expiration dates |
|
Sold
(short) call option contracts
|
The strike price is approximately 0%-15% more than the then-current share price of the Fund’s Underlying Security at the time of sale.
Sold call option contracts provide inverse exposure to the full extent of any increases in the value experienced by the Fund’s Underlying Security, minus the premium received. |
1-month or less expiration dates |
| Purchased
call option contracts (Covered Call Spread Strategy) |
“out-of-the-money” (i.e., the strike price is above the strike price of the corresponding Covered Call Spread Strategy sold call).
Bought call option contracts provide exposure to the full extent of any increases in the value experienced by the Fund’s Underlying Security above the option’s strike price. |
1-month or less expiration dates |
| Equity Securities | Direct equity holdings of the Underlying Security. | N/A |
| Swaps | Provides mark-to-market daily exposure to the total return of the Underlying Security over a particular period of time. | N/A |
| U.S Treasury Securities and Cash |
Multiple series of U.S. Treasury Bills supported by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government.
These instruments are used as collateral for the Fund’s derivative investments.
They will also generate income. |
6-month to 2-year maturities |
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The market value of the cash and treasuries held by the Fund is expected to be between 50% and 100% of the Fund’s net assets and the market value of the options, swaps and direct equity investments is expected to be between 0% and 50% of the Fund’s net assets. In terms of notional value, the combination of these investment instruments provides indirect investment exposure to ARM equal to at least 100% of the Fund’s total assets.
Under normal circumstances, the Fund will invest at least 80% of its net assets, plus borrowings for investment purposes, in securities and financial instruments that provide indirect exposure to ARM.
The Fund is classified as “non-diversified” under the 1940 Act.
There is no guarantee that the Fund’s investment strategy will be properly implemented, and an investor may lose some or all of its investment.
ARM Holdings plc (“ARM”)
ARM Holdings plc designs and manufactures semiconductor technology and other related products such as computer processors, memory controllers, internet protocol system, graphic processor, security, and storage devices. ARM is listed on The Nasdaq Global Select Market (Nasdaq). Per ARM’s most recent Form 20-F filing, the number of ordinary shares outstanding of ARM as of March 31, 2024 was 1,040,330,497.
ARM is registered under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”). Information provided to or filed with the SEC by ARM pursuant to the Exchange Act can be located by reference to the SEC file number 001-41800 through the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov. In addition, information regarding ARM may be obtained from other sources including, but not limited to, press releases, newspaper articles and other publicly disseminated documents.
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This document relates only to the securities offered hereby and does not relate to the shares of ARM or other securities of ARM Holdings plc. The Fund has derived all disclosures contained in this document regarding ARM from the publicly available documents. None of the Fund, the Trust, or the Adviser, or their respective affiliates has participated in the preparation of such publicly available offering documents or made any due diligence inquiry regarding such documents with respect to ARM. None of the Fund, the Trust, or the Adviser, or their respective affiliates makes any representation that such publicly available documents or any other publicly available information regarding ARM is accurate or complete. Furthermore, the Fund cannot give any assurance that all events occurring prior to the date hereof (including events that would affect the accuracy or completeness of the publicly available documents described above) that would affect the trading price of ARM (and therefore the share price of the Fund at the time we price the securities) have been publicly disclosed. Subsequent disclosure of any such events or the disclosure of or failure to disclose material future events concerning ARM could affect the value received with respect to the securities and therefore the value of the securities.
None of the Fund, the Trust, the Adviser, or their respective affiliates makes any representation to you as to the performance of ARM.
NONE OF THE FUND, TIDAL TRUST II, OR TIDAL INVESTMENTS LLC ARE AFFILIATED WITH THE UNDERLYING SECURITY.
Due to the Fund’s investment strategy, the Fund’s investment exposure is concentrated in the same industry as that assigned to the Underlying Security. As of the date of the Prospectus, ARM is assigned to the Semiconductors & Semiconductor Equipment industry.
Principal Investment Risks
The principal risks of investing in the Fund are summarized below. As with any investment, there is a risk that you could lose all or a portion of your investment in the Fund. Some or all of these risks may adversely affect the Fund’s net asset value (“NAV”) per share, trading price, yield, total return, and/or ability to meet its objective. For more information about the risks of investing in the Fund, see the section in the Fund’s Prospectus titled “Additional Information About the Funds—Principal Risks of Investing in the Funds.”
An investment in the Fund entails risk. The Fund may not achieve its investment objective and there is a risk that you could lose all of your money invested in the Fund. The Fund is not a complete investment program. It is important that investors closely review all of the risks listed below and understand them before making an investment in the Fund.
Each risk summarized below is considered a “principal risk” of investing in the Fund, regardless of the order in which they appear.
ARM Risk. The Fund invests in instruments that are based on the value of ARM. This subjects the Fund to certain of the same risks as if it owned shares of ARM, even if it does not. By virtue of the Fund’s exposure to ARM, the Fund may also be subject to the following risks:
Indirect Investment in ARM Risk. ARM is not affiliated with the Trust, the Fund, or the Adviser, or their respective affiliates and is not involved with this offering in any way and has no obligation to consider your Shares in taking any corporate actions that might affect the value of Shares. Investors in the Fund will not have voting rights and will not be able to influence management of ARM but will be exposed to the performance of ARM (the Underlying Security). Investors in the Fund will not have the right to receive dividends or other distributions or any other rights with respect to the Underlying Security but will be subject to declines in the performance of the Underlying Security.
ARM Trading Risk. The trading price of ARM may be subject to volatility and could experience wide fluctuations due to various factors. Short sellers may also play a significant role in trading ARM, potentially affecting the supply and demand dynamics and contributing to market price volatility. Public perception and external factors beyond the company’s control may influence ARM’s stock price disproportionately. Additionally, following periods of market volatility, companies have faced securities class action litigation. Any adverse judgment or future stockholder litigation could result in substantial costs and divert management’s attention and resources. In the event of a halt in trading of ARM, trading in shares of related funds may be impacted, either temporarily or indefinitely.
ARM Performance Risk. ARM may fail to meet its publicly announced guidelines or other expectations about its business, which could cause the price of ARM to decline. ARM provides guidance regarding its expected financial and business performance, such as projections regarding sales and production, as well as anticipated future revenues, gross margins, profitability and cash flows. Correctly identifying key factors affecting business conditions and predicting future events is inherently an uncertain process, and the guidance ARM provides may not ultimately be accurate. If ARM’s guidance is not accurate or varies from actual results due to its inability to meet the assumptions or the impact on its financial performance that could occur as a result of various risks and uncertainties, the market value of common stock issued by ARM could decline significantly.
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Semiconductor Industry Risks: Competitive pressures may have a significant effect on the financial condition of semiconductor companies and, as product cycles shorten and manufacturing capacity increases, these companies may become increasingly subject to aggressive pricing, which hampers profitability. Reduced demand for end-user products, under-utilization of manufacturing capacity, and other factors could adversely impact the operating results of companies in the semiconductor sector. Semiconductor companies typically face high capital costs and may be heavily dependent on intellectual property rights. The semiconductor sector is highly cyclical, which may cause the operating results of many semiconductor companies to vary significantly. The stock prices of companies in the semiconductor sector have been and likely will continue to be extremely volatile.
Softbank Risk: SoftBank Group beneficially owns a majority of the total voting power of ARM’s ordinary shares. As a result of SoftBank Group’s ownership, ARM is a “controlled company” under the Nasdaq corporate governance standards. As long as SoftBank Group controls ARM, other holders of ARM’s shares will have limited ability to influence matters requiring shareholder approval or the composition of ARM’s Board of Directors. In addition, the interests of SoftBank Group may not coincide with ARM’s own interests or the interests of holders of ARM’s shares. SoftBank Group may cause ARM to take corporate actions, including engaging in transactions with SoftBank Group or affiliates of SoftBank Group, that members of ARM’s management or other shareholders do not view as beneficial, or that provide SoftBank Group with benefits at ARM’s expense. Such actions could have a material and adverse effect on ARM’s business and results of operations.
Derivatives Risk. Derivatives are financial instruments that derive value from the underlying reference asset or assets, such as stocks, bonds, or funds (including ETFs), interest rates or indexes. The Fund’s investments in derivatives may pose risks in addition to, and greater than, those associated with directly investing in securities or other ordinary investments, including risk related to the market, imperfect correlation with underlying investments or the Fund’s other portfolio holdings, higher price volatility, lack of availability, counterparty risk, liquidity, valuation and legal restrictions. The use of derivatives is a highly specialized activity that involves investment techniques and risks different from those associated with ordinary portfolio securities transactions. The use of derivatives may result in larger losses or smaller gains than directly investing in securities. When the Fund uses derivatives, there may be an imperfect correlation between the value of the Underlying Security and the derivative, which may prevent the Fund from achieving its investment objective. Because derivatives often require only a limited initial investment, the use of derivatives may expose the Fund to losses in excess of those amounts initially invested. In addition, the Fund’s investments in derivatives are subject to the following risks:
Options Contracts. The use of options contracts involves investment strategies and risks different from those associated with ordinary portfolio securities transactions. The prices of options are volatile and are influenced by, among other things, actual and anticipated changes in the value of the underlying instrument, including the anticipated volatility, which are affected by fiscal and monetary policies and by national and international political, changes in the actual or implied volatility or the reference asset, the time remaining until the expiration of the option contract and economic events. For the Fund in particular, the value of the options contracts in which it invests are substantially influenced by the value of the Underlying Security. The Fund may experience substantial downside from specific option positions and certain option positions held by the Fund may expire worthless. The options held by the Fund are exercisable at the strike price on their expiration date. As an option approaches its expiration date, its value typically increasingly move with the value of the underlying instrument. However, prior to such date, the value of an option generally does not increase or decrease at the same rate at the underlying instrument. There may at times be an imperfect correlation between the movement in the values of options contracts and the underlying instrument, and there may at times not be a liquid secondary market for certain options contracts. The value of the options held by the Fund will be determined based on market quotations or other recognized pricing methods. Additionally, as the Fund intends to continuously maintain indirect exposure to the Underlying Security through the use of options contracts, as the options contracts it holds are exercised or expire it will enter into new options contracts, a practice referred to as “rolling.” If the expiring options contracts do not generate proceeds enough to cover the cost of entering into new options contracts, the Fund may experience losses.
Swaps. The use of swap transactions is a highly specialized activity, which involves investment techniques and risks different from those associated with ordinary portfolio securities transactions. Whether the Fund will be successful in using swap agreements to achieve its investment goal depends on the ability of the Adviser to structure such swap agreements in accordance with the Fund’s investment objective and to identify counterparties for those swap agreements. If the Adviser is unable to enter into swap agreements that provide leveraged exposure to the Underlying Security, the Fund may not meet its stated investment objective. Additionally, any financing, borrowing or other costs associated with using swap transactions may also have the effect of lowering the Fund’s return.
The swap agreements in which the Fund invests are generally traded in the over-the-counter market, which generally has less transparency than exchange-traded derivatives instruments. In a standard swap transaction, two parties agree to exchange the return (or differentials in rates of return) earned or realized on particular predetermined reference assets or underlying securities or instruments. The gross return to be exchanged or swapped between the parties is calculated based on a notional amount or the return on or change in value of a particular dollar amount invested in a basket of securities.
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If the Underlying Security has a dramatic move that causes a material decline in the Fund’s net assets, the terms of a swap agreement between the Fund and its counterparty may permit the counterparty to immediately close out the swap transaction with the Fund. In that event, the Fund may be unable to enter into another swap agreement or invest in other derivatives to achieve exposure consistent with the Fund’s investment objective. This may prevent the Fund from achieving its leveraged investment objective, even if the Underlying Security later reverses all or a portion of its movement.
Counterparty Risk. The Fund is subject to counterparty risk by virtue of its investments in derivative instruments. Transactions in some types of derivatives, including options, are required to be centrally cleared (“cleared derivatives”). In a transaction involving cleared derivatives, the Fund’s counterparty is a clearing house rather than a bank or broker. Since the Fund is not a member of clearing houses and only members of a clearing house (“clearing members”) can participate directly in the clearing house, the Fund will hold cleared derivatives through accounts at clearing members. In cleared derivatives positions, the Fund will make payments (including margin payments) to and receive payments from a clearing house through their accounts at clearing members. Customer funds held at a clearing organization in connection with any options contracts are held in a commingled omnibus account and are not identified to the name of the clearing member’s individual customers. As a result, assets deposited by the Fund with any clearing member as margin for options may, in certain circumstances, be used to satisfy losses of other clients of the Fund’s clearing member. In addition, although clearing members guarantee performance of their clients’ obligations to the clearing house, there is a risk that the assets of the Fund might not be fully protected in the event of the clearing member’s bankruptcy, as the Fund would be limited to recovering only a pro rata share of all available funds segregated on behalf of the clearing member’s customers for the relevant account class. The Fund is also subject to the risk that a limited number of clearing members are willing to transact on the Fund’s behalf, which heightens the risks associated with a clearing member’s default. This risk is greater for the Fund as it seeks to hold options contracts on a single security, and not a broader range of options contracts, which may limit the number of clearing members that are willing to transact on the Fund’s behalf. If a clearing member defaults the Fund could lose some or all of the benefits of a transaction entered into by the Fund with the clearing member. If the Fund cannot find a clearing member to transact with on the Fund’s behalf, the Fund may be unable to effectively implement its investment strategy.
The Fund is also subject to the risk that the counterparty will not fulfill its obligation to the Fund. Counterparty risk may arise because of the counterparty’s financial condition (i.e., financial difficulties, bankruptcy, or insolvency), market activities and developments, or other reasons, whether foreseen or not. A counterparty’s inability to fulfill its obligation may result in significant financial loss to the Fund and the Fund may be unable to recover its investment from such counterparty or may obtain a limited and/or delayed recovery.
Price Participation Risk. The Fund employs an investment strategy that includes the sale of call option contracts, which limits the degree to which the Fund will participate in increases in value experienced by the Underlying Security over the Call Period. This means that if the Underlying Security experiences an increase in value above the strike price of the sold call options during a Call Period, the Fund will likely not experience that increase to the same extent and may significantly underperform the Underlying Security over the Call Period. Additionally, because the Fund is limited in the degree to which it will participate in increases in value experienced by the Underlying Security over each Call Period, but has full exposure to any decreases in value experienced by the Underlying Security over the Call Period, the NAV of the Fund may decrease over any given time period. The Fund’s NAV is dependent on the value of each options portfolio, which is based principally upon the performance of the Underlying Security. The degree of participation in the Underlying Security gains the Fund will experience will depend on prevailing market conditions, especially market volatility, at the time the Fund enters into the sold call option contracts and will vary from Call Period to Call Period. The value of the options contracts is affected by changes in the value and dividend rates of the Underlying Security, changes in interest rates, changes in the actual or perceived volatility of the Underlying Security and the remaining time to the options’ expiration, as well as trading conditions in the options market. As the price of the Underlying Security changes and time moves towards the expiration of each Call Period, the value of the options contracts, and therefore the Fund’s NAV, will change. However, it is not expected for the Fund’s NAV to directly correlate on a day-to-day basis with the returns of the Underlying Security. The amount of time remaining until the options contract’s expiration date affects the impact of the potential options contract income on the Fund’s NAV, which may not be in full effect until the expiration date of the Fund’s options contracts. Therefore, while changes in the price of the Underlying Security will result in changes to the Fund’s NAV, the Fund generally anticipates that the rate of change in the Fund’s NAV will be different than that experienced by the Underlying Security.
Distribution Risk. As part of the Fund’s investment objective, the Fund seeks to provide current monthly income. There is no assurance that the Fund will make a distribution in any given month. If the Fund does make distributions, the amounts of such distributions will likely vary greatly from one distribution to the next. Additionally, monthly distributions, if any, may consist of returns of capital, which would decrease the Fund’s NAV and trading price over time. As a result, an investor may suffer significant losses to their investment.
NAV Erosion Risk Due to Distributions. When the Fund makes a distribution, the Fund’s NAV will typically drop by the amount of the distribution on the related ex-dividend date. The repeated payment of distributions by the Fund, if any, may significantly erode the Fund’s NAV and trading price over time. As a result, an investor may suffer significant losses to their investment.
Foreign Investment Risk. Because the Fund has indirect exposure to the ADR of a foreign company, the Fund may be subject to risks associated with foreign investments.
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| ● | Currency Risk: Indirect exposure to foreign currencies subjects the Fund to the risk that currencies will decline in value relative to the U.S. dollar. Currency rates in foreign countries may fluctuate significantly over short periods of time for a number of reasons, including changes in interest rates and the imposition of currency controls or other political developments in the U.S. or abroad. |
| ● | Depositary Receipts Risk: Investment in ADRs may be less liquid than the underlying shares in their primary trading market. |
| ● | Foreign Market and Trading Risk: The trading markets for many foreign securities are not as active as U.S. markets and may have less governmental regulation and oversight. |
| ● | Foreign Securities Risk: Investments in securities of non-U.S. issuers involve certain risks that may not be present with investments in securities of U.S. issuers, such as risk of loss due to foreign currency fluctuations or to political or economic instability, as well as varying regulatory requirements applicable to investments in non-U.S. issuers. There may be less information publicly available about a non-U.S. issuer than a U.S. issuer. Non-U.S. issuers may also be subject to different regulatory, accounting, auditing, financial reporting and investor protection standards than U.S. issuers. |
Call Strategy Risks. The path dependency (i.e., the continued use) of the Fund’s call writing strategy will impact the extent that the Fund participates in the positive price returns of the Underlying Security and, in turn, the Fund’s returns, both during the term of the sold call options and over longer time periods. If, for example, each month the Fund were to sell 7% out-of-the-money call options having a one-month term, the Fund’s participation in the positive price returns of the Underlying Security will be capped at 7% in any given month. However, over a longer period (e.g., 5 months), the Fund should not be expected to participate fully in the first 35% (i.e., 5 months x 7%) of the positive price returns of the Underlying Security, or the Fund may even lose money, even if the Underlying Security share price has appreciated by at least that much over such period, if during any month over that period the Underlying Security had a return less than 7%. This example illustrates that both the Fund’s participation in the positive price returns of the Underlying Security and its returns will depend not only on the price of the Underlying Security but also on the path that the Underlying Security takes over time.
Additionally, when implementing the Covered Call Spread Strategy, the use of credit call spreads introduces further complexities and risks. While purchasing a higher-strike call option limits potential losses from the short call position, it also reduces the net premium received, which may result in lower overall returns compared to a stand-alone covered call strategy. If the price of the Underlying Security rises rapidly, the call spread may still cap upside participation, leading to missed profit opportunities. Furthermore, market conditions, such as mispricing between near-the-money and further out-of-the-money options, may impact the effectiveness of the strategy, potentially resulting in lower-than-expected returns or increased losses. The relative pricing of options at different strike levels can vary due to volatility shifts, liquidity constraints, or other market dynamics, adding an additional layer of uncertainty to the Fund’s performance under this strategy.
Economic and Market Risk. Economies and financial markets throughout the world are becoming increasingly interconnected, which increases the likelihood that events or conditions in one country or region will adversely impact markets or issuers in other countries or regions. Securities in the Fund’s portfolio may underperform in comparison to securities in the general financial markets, a particular financial market, or other asset classes, due to a number of factors, including inflation (or expectations for inflation), deflation (or expectations for deflation), interest rates, global demand for particular products or resources, market instability, financial system instability, debt crises and downgrades, embargoes, tariffs, sanctions and other trade barriers, regulatory events, other governmental trade or market control programs and related geopolitical events. In addition, the value of the Fund’s investments may be negatively affected by the occurrence of global events such as war, terrorism, environmental disasters, natural disasters or events, country instability, and infectious disease epidemics or pandemics. The imposition by the U.S. of tariffs on goods imported from foreign countries and reciprocal tariffs levied on U.S. goods by those countries also may lead to volatility and instability in domestic and foreign markets.
Equity Market Risk. The prices of equity securities rise and fall daily. These price movements may result from factors affecting individual issuers, industries or the stock market as a whole. In addition, equity markets tend to move in cycles which may cause stock prices to fall over a short and extended periods of time. In a declining stock market, stock prices for all companies (including those in the Fund’s portfolio) may decline, regardless of their long-term prospects.
ETF Risks.
Authorized Participants, Market Makers, and Liquidity Providers Concentration Risk. The Fund has a limited number of financial institutions that are authorized to purchase and redeem Shares directly from the Fund (known as “Authorized Participants” or “APs”). In addition, there may be a limited number of market makers and/or liquidity providers in the marketplace. To the extent either of the following events occur, Shares may trade at a material discount to NAV and possibly face delisting: (i) APs exit the business or otherwise become unable to process creation and/or redemption orders and no other APs step forward to perform these services; or (ii) market makers and/or liquidity providers exit the business or significantly reduce their business activities and no other entities step forward to perform their functions.
Cash Redemption Risk. The Fund’s investment strategy may require it to redeem Shares for cash or to otherwise include cash as part of its redemption proceeds. For example, the Fund may not be able to redeem in-kind certain securities held by the Fund (e.g., derivative instruments). In such a case, the Fund may be required to sell or unwind portfolio investments to obtain the cash needed to distribute redemption proceeds. This may cause the Fund to recognize a capital gain that it might not have recognized if it had made a redemption in-kind. As a result, the Fund may pay out higher annual capital gain distributions than if the in-kind redemption process was used. By paying out higher annual capital gain distributions, investors may be subjected to increased capital gains taxes. Additionally, there may be brokerage costs or taxable gains or losses that may be imposed on the Fund in connection with a cash redemption that may not have occurred if the Fund had made a redemption in-kind. These costs could decrease the value of the Fund to the extent they are not offset by a transaction fee payable by an AP.
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Costs of Buying or Selling Shares. Due to the costs of buying or selling Shares, including brokerage commissions imposed by brokers and bid-ask spreads, frequent trading of Shares may significantly reduce investment results and an investment in Shares may not be advisable for investors who anticipate regularly making small investments.
Management Risk. The Fund is subject to management risk because it is an actively managed portfolio. In managing the Fund’s investment portfolio, the portfolio managers will apply investment techniques and risk analyses that may not produce the desired result. There can be no guarantee that the Fund will meet its investment objective.
Shares May Trade at Prices Other Than NAV. As with all ETFs, Shares may be bought and sold in the secondary market at market prices. Although it is expected that the market price of Shares will approximate the Fund’s NAV, there may be times when the market price of Shares is more than the NAV intra-day (premium) or less than the NAV intra-day (discount) due to supply and demand of Shares or during periods of market volatility. This risk is heightened in times of market volatility, periods of steep market declines, and periods when there is limited trading activity for Shares in the secondary market, in which case such premiums or discounts may be significant.
Trading. Although Shares are listed on a national securities exchange, such as [ ] (the “Exchange”), and may be traded on U.S. exchanges other than the Exchange, there can be no assurance that an active trading market for the Shares will develop or be maintained or that the Shares will trade with any volume, or at all, on any stock exchange. In stressed market conditions, the liquidity of Shares may begin to mirror the liquidity of the Fund’s underlying portfolio holdings, which can be significantly less liquid than Shares. Shares trade on the Exchange at market price that may be below, at or above the Fund’s NAV. Trading in Shares on the Exchange may be halted due to market conditions or for reasons that, in the view of the Exchange, make trading in Shares inadvisable. In addition, trading in Shares on the Exchange is subject to trading halts caused by extraordinary market volatility pursuant to the Exchange “circuit breaker” rules. There can be no assurance that the requirements of the Exchange necessary to maintain the listing of the Fund will continue to be met or will remain unchanged. In the event of an unscheduled market close for options contracts that are based on the value of an ETF, such as the Underlying Security being halted or a market wide closure, settlement prices will be determined by the procedures of the listing exchange of the options contracts. As a result, the Fund could be adversely affected and be unable to implement its investment strategies in the event of an unscheduled closing.
High Portfolio Turnover Risk. The Fund may actively and frequently trade all or a significant portion of the Fund’s holdings. A high portfolio turnover rate increases transaction costs, which may increase the Fund’s expenses. Frequent trading may also cause adverse tax consequences for investors in the Fund due to an increase in short-term capital gains.
Inflation Risk. Inflation risk is the risk that the value of assets or income from investments will be less in the future as inflation decreases the value of money. As inflation increases, the present value of the Fund’s assets and distributions, if any, may decline.
Liquidity Risk. Some securities held by the Fund, including options contracts, may be difficult to sell or be illiquid, particularly during times of market turmoil. This risk is greater for the Fund as it will hold options contracts on a single security, and not a broader range of options contracts. Markets for securities or financial instruments could be disrupted by a number of events, including, but not limited to, an economic crisis, natural disasters, epidemics/pandemics, new legislation or regulatory changes inside or outside the United States. Illiquid securities may be difficult to value, especially in changing or volatile markets. If the Fund is forced to sell an illiquid security at an unfavorable time or price, the Fund may be adversely impacted. Certain market conditions or restrictions, such as market rules related to short sales, may prevent the Fund from limiting losses, realizing gains or achieving a high correlation with the Underlying Security. There is no assurance that a security that is deemed liquid when purchased will continue to be liquid. Market illiquidity may cause losses for the Fund.
Money Market Instrument Risk. The Fund may use a variety of money market instruments for cash management purposes, including money market funds, depositary accounts and repurchase agreements. Repurchase agreements are contracts in which a seller of securities agrees to buy the securities back at a specified time and price. Repurchase agreements may be subject to market and credit risk related to the collateral securing the repurchase agreement. Money market instruments, including money market funds, may lose money through fees or other means.
New Fund Risk. The Fund is a recently organized management investment company with no operating history. As a result, prospective investors do not have a track record or history on which to base their investment decisions.
Non-Diversification Risk. Because the Fund is “non-diversified,” it may invest a greater percentage of its assets in the securities of a single issuer or a smaller number of issuers than if it was a diversified fund. As a result, a decline in the value of an investment in a single issuer or a smaller number of issuers could cause the Fund’s overall value to decline to a greater degree than if the Fund held a more diversified portfolio. This may increase the Fund’s volatility and cause the performance of a relatively smaller number of issuers to have a greater impact on the Fund’s performance.
Operational Risk. The Fund is subject to risks arising from various operational factors, including, but not limited to, human error, processing and communication errors, errors of the Fund’s service providers, counterparties or other third-parties, failed or inadequate processes and technology or systems failures. The Fund relies on third-parties for a range of services, including custody. Any delay or failure relating to engaging or maintaining such service providers may affect the Fund’s ability to meet its investment objective. Although the Fund and Adviser seek to reduce these operational risks through controls and procedures, there is no way to completely protect against such risks. This may increase the Fund’s volatility and cause the performance of a relatively smaller number of issuers to have a greater impact on the Fund’s performance.
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Single Issuer Risk. Issuer-specific attributes may cause an investment in the Fund to be more volatile than a traditional pooled investment which diversifies risk or the market generally. The value of the Fund, which focuses on an individual security (the Underlying Security), may be more volatile than a traditional pooled investment or the market as a whole and may perform differently from the value of a traditional pooled investment or the market as a whole.
Tax Risk. The Fund intends to elect and to qualify each year to be treated as a RIC under Subchapter M of the Code. As a RIC, the Fund will not be subject to U.S. federal income tax on the portion of its net investment income and net capital gain that it distributes to Shareholders, provided that it satisfies certain requirements of the Code. If the Fund does not qualify as a RIC for any taxable year and certain relief provisions are not available, the Fund’s taxable income will be subject to tax at the Fund level and to a further tax at the shareholder level when such income is distributed. To comply with the asset diversification test applicable to a RIC, the Fund will attempt to ensure that the value of financial instruments providing exposure to the Underlying Security are never 25% of the total value of Fund assets at the close of any quarter. If the Fund’s investments in such financial instruments were to exceed 25% of the Fund’s total assets at the end of a tax quarter, the Fund, generally, has a grace period to cure such lack of compliance. If the Fund fails to timely cure, it may no longer be eligible to be treated as a RIC.
U.S. Government and U.S. Agency Obligations Risk. The Fund may invest in securities issued by the U.S. government or its agencies or instrumentalities. U.S. Government obligations include securities issued or guaranteed as to principal and interest by the U.S. Government, its agencies or instrumentalities, such as the U.S. Treasury. Payment of principal and interest on U.S. Government obligations may be backed by the full faith and credit of the United States or may be backed solely by the issuing or guaranteeing agency or instrumentality itself. In the latter case, the investor must look principally to the agency or instrumentality issuing or guaranteeing the obligation for ultimate repayment, which agency or instrumentality may be privately owned. There can be no assurance that the U.S. Government would provide financial support to its agencies or instrumentalities (including government-sponsored enterprises) where it is not obligated to do so.
Performance
Performance information for the Fund is not included because the Fund has not completed a full calendar year of operations as of the date of this Prospectus. When such information is included, this section will provide some indication of the risks of investing in the Fund by showing changes in the Fund’s performance history from year to year and showing how the Fund’s average annual total returns compare with those of a broad measure of market performance. Although past performance of the Fund is no guarantee of how it will perform in the future, historical performance may give you some indication of the risks of investing in the Fund. Updated performance information will be available on the Fund’s website at www.yieldmaxetfs.com.
Management
Investment Adviser: Tidal Investments LLC (the “Adviser”) serves as investment adviser to the Fund.
Portfolio Managers:
The following individuals are jointly and primarily responsible for the day-to-day management of the Fund.
Matt Brandt, Portfolio Manager for the Adviser, has been a portfolio manager of the Fund since its inception in 2025.
Christopher P. Mullen, Portfolio Manager for the Adviser, has been a portfolio manager of the Fund since its inception in 2025.
Scott Snyder, Portfolio Manager for the Adviser, has been a portfolio manager of the Fund since its inception in 2025.
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Purchase and Sale of Shares
The Fund issues and redeems Shares at NAV only in large blocks known as “Creation Units,” which only Authorized Participants (APs) (typically, broker-dealers) may purchase or redeem. The Fund generally issues and redeems Creation Units in exchange for a portfolio of securities (the “Deposit Securities”) and/or a designated amount of U.S. cash.
Shares are listed on a national securities exchange, such as the Exchange, and individual Shares may only be bought and sold in the secondary market through brokers at market prices, rather than NAV. Because Shares trade at market prices rather than NAV, Shares may trade at a price greater than NAV (premium) or less than NAV (discount).
An investor may incur costs attributable to the difference between the highest price a buyer is willing to pay to purchase Shares (the “bid” price) and the lowest price a seller is willing to accept for Shares (the “ask” price) when buying or selling Shares in the secondary market. This difference in bid and ask prices is often referred to as the “bid-ask spread.”
When available, information regarding the Fund’s NAV, market price, how often Shares traded on the Exchange at a premium or discount, and bid-ask spreads can be found on the Fund’s website at www.yieldmaxetfs.com.
Tax Information
Fund distributions are generally taxable as ordinary income, qualified dividend income, or capital gains (or a combination), unless an investment is in an individual retirement account (“IRA”) or other tax-advantaged account. Distributions on investments made through tax-deferred arrangements may be taxed later upon withdrawal of assets from those accounts.
Financial Intermediary Compensation
If
you purchase Shares through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary
(such as a bank) (an “Intermediary”), the Adviser or its affiliates may pay
Intermediaries for certain activities related to the Fund, including
participation in activities that are designed to make Intermediaries more
knowledgeable about exchange-traded products, including the Fund, or for other
activities, such as marketing, educational training, or other initiatives
related to the sale or promotion of Shares. These payments may create a conflict
of interest by influencing the Intermediary and your salesperson to recommend
the Fund over another investment. Any such arrangements do not result in
increased Fund expenses. Ask your salesperson or visit the Intermediary’s
website for more information.
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YieldMax® AVGO Option Income Strategy ETF - FUND SUMMARY
Investment Objective
The Fund’s primary investment objective is to seek current income.
The Fund’s secondary investment objective is to seek exposure to the share price of Broadcom Inc. (“AVGO” or “Underlying Security”), which is generally subject to a limit on potential investment gains.
Fees and Expenses of the Fund
This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy, hold, and sell shares of the Fund (“Shares”). You may pay other fees, such as brokerage commissions and other fees to financial intermediaries, which are not reflected in the table and Example below.
| Annual Fund Operating Expenses(1) (expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment) | |||
| Management Fee | [] | % | |
| Distribution and Service (12b-1) Fees | None | ||
| Other Expenses(2) | [] | % | |
| Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses | [] | % | |
| (1) | The Fund’s investment adviser, Tidal Investments LLC (the “Adviser”), a Tidal Financial Group company, will pay, or require a sub-adviser to pay, all of the Fund’s expenses, except for the following: advisory and sub-advisory fees, interest charges on any borrowings made for investment purposes, dividends and other expenses on securities sold short, taxes, brokerage commissions and other expenses incurred in placing orders for the purchase and sale of securities and other investment instruments, acquired fund fees and expenses, accrued deferred tax liability, distribution fees and expenses paid by the Fund under any distribution plan adopted pursuant to Rule 12b-1 under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”), litigation expenses, and other non-routine or extraordinary expenses. | |
| (2) | Based on estimated amounts for the current fiscal year. |
Expense Example
This Example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other funds. The Example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and then hold or redeem all of your Shares at the end of those periods. The Example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Fund’s operating expenses remain the same. The Example does not take into account brokerage commissions that you may pay on your purchases and sales of Shares. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:
| 1 Year | 3 Years |
| $[] | $[] |
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 Shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in total annual fund operating expenses or in the expense example above, affect the Fund’s performance. Because the Fund is newly organized, portfolio turnover information is not yet available.
Principal Investment Strategies
The Fund is an actively managed exchange-traded fund (“ETF”) that seeks current income while providing indirect exposure to the share price (i.e., the price returns) of Broadcom Inc. (Nasdaq: AVGO) (“AVGO” or the “Underlying Security”), which is generally subject to a limit on potential investment gains. The Fund will employ its investment strategy as it relates to AVGO regardless of whether there are periods of adverse market, economic, or other conditions and will not take temporary defensive positions during such periods. As further described below, the Fund primarily uses either a synthetic covered call strategy or synthetic covered call spread strategy to provide income and indirect exposure to the share price returns of AVGO, which is generally subject to a limit on potential investment gains as a result of the nature of the options strategy it employs. The Fund not only seeks to generate income from its options investments but also aims to derive gains when the value of AVGO increases. The Fund’s options contracts provide:
| ● | indirect exposure to the share price returns of AVGO, |
| ● | current income from the option premiums, and |
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| ● | at most times, a limit on the Fund’s participation in gains, if any, of the share price returns of AVGO. |
For more information, see sections “The Fund’s Use of Underlying Security Option Contracts,” “Synthetic Covered Call Strategy” and “SyntheticCovered Call Spread Strategy” below.
Why invest in the Fund?
| ● | The Fund seeks to generate monthly income, which is not dependent on the price appreciation of the Underlying Security. |
| ● | The Fund seeks to participate in a portion of the gains experienced by the Underlying Security. |
That is, although the Fund may not fully participate in gains in the Underlying Security’s stock price, the Fund’s portfolio is designed to generate income.
An Investment in the Fund is not an investment in the Underlying Security.
| ● | The Fund’s strategy will capture only a portion of its potential gains if the Underlying Security’s stock price increases in value. |
| ● | The Fund’s strategy is subject to all potential losses if the Underlying Security’s stock price decrease in value, which may not be offset by income received by the Fund. |
| ● | The Fund may invest directly in the Underlying Security, but expects to gain its Underlying Security exposure primarily through its synthetic covered call strategy or synthetic covered call spread strategy. |
| ● | Fund shareholders are not entitled to any Underlying Security dividends. |
Additional information regarding the Underlying Security is also set forth below.
The Fund’s Use of Underlying Security Option Contracts
As part of the Fund’s synthetic covered call strategy and synthetic covered call spread strategy, the Fund will purchase and sell a combination of standardized exchange-traded and FLexible EXchange® (“FLEX”) call and put option contracts that are based on the value of the price returns of the Underlying Security.
| ● | In general, an option contract gives the purchaser of the option contract the right to purchase (for a call option) or sell (for a put option) the underlying asset (like shares of the Underlying Security) at a specified price (the “strike price”). |
| ● | If exercised, an option contract obligates the seller to deliver shares (for a sold or “short” call) or buy shares (for a sold or “short” put) of the underlying asset at a specified price (the “strike price”). |
| ● | Options contracts must be exercised or traded to close within a specified time frame, or they expire. See the chart in section “Fund Portfolio” below for a description of the option contracts utilized by the Fund. |
Standardized exchange-traded options include standardized terms. FLEX options are also exchange-traded, but they allow for customizable terms (e.g., the strike price can be negotiated). For more information on FLEX options, see “Additional Information about the Funds – Exchange Traded Options Portfolio.”
The Fund’s options contracts are based on the value of the Underlying Security, which gives the Fund the right or obligation to receive or deliver shares of the Underlying Security on the expiration date of the applicable option contract in exchange for the stated strike price, depending on whether the option contract is a call option or a put option, and whether the Fund purchases or sells the option contract.
Synthetic Covered Call Strategy
In seeking to achieve its investment objective, the Fund may implement a “synthetic covered call” strategy using the standardized exchange-traded and FLEX options described above.
| ● | A traditional covered call strategy is an investment strategy where an investor (the Fund) sells a call option on an underlying security it owns. |
| ● | A synthetic covered call strategy is similar to a traditional covered call strategy in that the investor sells a call option that is based on the value of the underlying security. However, in a synthetic covered call strategy, the investor (the Fund) does not own the underlying security, but rather seeks to synthetically replicate 100% of the price movements of the underlying security through the use of various investment instruments. |
The Fund’s synthetic covered call strategies consists of the following three elements, each of which is described in greater detail farther below:
| ● | Synthetic long exposure to the Underlying Security, which allows the Fund to seek to participate in the changes, up or down, in the price of shares of the Underlying Security. |
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| ● | Covered call writing (where the Underlying Security’s call options are sold against the synthetic long portion of the strategy), which allows the Fund to generate income. |
| ● | U.S. Treasuries, which are used for collateral for the options, and which also generate income. |
| 1. | Synthetic Long Exposure |
To achieve a synthetic long exposure to the Underlying Security, the Fund will buy the Underlying Security’s call options and, simultaneously, sell the Underlying Security’s put options to try to replicate the price movements of the Underlying Security. The call options purchased by the Fund and the put options sold by the Fund will generally have one-month to six-month terms and strike prices that are approximately equal to the then-current share price of the Underlying Security at the time the contracts are purchased and sold, respectively. The combination of the long call options and sold put options provides the Fund with indirect investment exposure equal to approximately 100% of the Underlying Security for the duration of the applicable options exposure.
| 2. | Covered Call Strategies |
Covered Call Strategy
As part of its strategy, the Fund will write (sell) call option contracts on the Underlying Security to generate income. Since the Fund does not directly own the Underlying Security, these written call options will be sold short (i.e., selling a position it does not currently own). The Fund will seek to participate in the share price appreciation of the Underlying Security, if any. However, due to the nature of covered call strategies, the Fund’s participation may be subject to a cap (as described below). In this strategy, the call options written (sold) by the Fund will generally have 1- month or less expiration dates (the “Call Period”) and generally have a strike price that is approximately 0%-15% above the then-current share price of the Underlying Security.
It is important to note that the sale of the Underlying Security call option contracts will limit the Fund’s participation in the appreciation in the Underlying Security’s stock price. If the stock price of the Underlying Security increases, the above-referenced synthetic long exposure alone would allow the Fund to experience similar percentage gains. However, if the Underlying Security’s stock price appreciates beyond the strike price of one or more of the sold (short) call option contracts, the Fund will lose money on those short call positions, and the losses will, in turn, limit the upside return of the Fund’s synthetic long exposure. As a result, the Fund’s overall strategy (i.e., the combination of the synthetic long exposure to the Underlying Security and the sold (short) the Underlying Security call positions) will limit the Fund’s participation in gains in the Underlying Security’s stock price beyond a certain point.
Covered Call Spread Strategy
The Adviser will employ the Covered Call Spread Strategy when it believes it is a better strategy for the Fund as compared to the Covered Call Strategy. The Fund may write (sell) credit call spreads (described below) rather than stand-alone call option contracts to seek greater participation in the potential appreciation of its Underlying Security’s share price, while still generating net premium income. The Adviser will primarily employ this covered call spread strategy when it believes that the share price of its Underlying Security is likely to rise significantly in the short term (e.g., following a substantial selloff or overall positive market news). Additionally, the Adviser may use this strategy in other scenarios (e.g., if the market is undervaluing further out-of-the-money options relative to near-the-money options), where it believes the use of credit call spreads may prove more advantageous to the Fund’s total return than the covered call strategy.
A credit call spread involves selling a call option while simultaneously buying a call option with a higher strike price, both with the same expiration date. By writing credit call spreads, the Fund can potentially offset losses incurred from its short call positions if the Underlying Security’s share price rises above the strike price.
| 3. | U.S. Treasuries |
The Fund will hold short-term U.S. Treasury securities as collateral in connection with the Fund’s options contracts, as well as swaps as discussed in the “Additional Investment Strategies” section below.
The Fund intends to continuously maintain indirect exposure to the Underlying Security, primarily through the use of options contracts. As the options contracts it holds are exercised or expire it may enter into new options contracts, a practice referred to as “rolling.” The Fund’s practice of rolling options may result in high portfolio turnover.
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Additional Investment Strategies
In addition to the synthetic covered call strategy or synthetic covered call spread strategy described herein, the Fund may use the following additional strategies to gain exposure to the Underlying Security:
| ● | Swaps: The Fund may utilize swap contracts that provide exposure to the Underlying Security. |
| ● | Additional Options Strategies: The Fund may utilize additional options strategies, including purchasing call options that are “deep in the money” (i.e., the Underlying Security’s price is well above the strike price on the call option). |
| ● | Equity Securities: The Fund may purchase equity securities of the Underlying Security. |
While the Fund intends to primarily utilize its synthetic covered call strategy or synthetic covered call spread strategy to gain exposure to the Underlying Security, it may utilize each of the foregoing to the extent it is unable to achieve its targeted exposure through the use of these primary options strategies.
Fund’s Monthly Distributions
The Fund will seek to provide monthly income in the form of cash distributions. The Fund will seek to generate such income in the following ways:
| ● | Writing (selling) call option contracts on its Underlying Security as described above. The income comes mainly from the option premiums received from these option sales. A premium, in this context, refers to the price the option buyer pays to the option seller (the Fund) for the rights granted by the option. The amount of these premiums is largely affected by the fluctuations in the Underlying Security’s stock prices. However, other elements like interest rates can also influence the income level. |
| ● | Investing in short-term U.S. Treasury securities. The income generated by these securities will be influenced by interest rates at the time of investment. |
| ● | In addition to the income-seeking methodologies stated in the Prospectus, the Fund’s use of the Synthetic Covered Call Spread Strategy may occasionally allow it to capture a substantial portion of any significant increase in the price of its Underlying Security. When this happens, the Fund could receive profits exceeding the initial cost of the call options, and the Fund’s distributions may include some of those profits. | |
| ● | The Fund may receive some dividend income to the extent it invests directly in the Underlying Security. |
Fund’s Return Profile vs its Underlying Security
For the reasons stated above, the Fund’s performance will differ from that of the Underlying Security’s stock price. The performance differences will depend on, among other things, the price of the Underlying Security, changes in the value of the Underlying Security options contracts and swaps the Fund holds, and changes in the value of the U.S. Treasuries.
Fund Portfolio
| Principal Holdings | ||
| Portfolio
Holdings (All options are based on the value of the Underlying Security) |
Investment Terms | Expected Target Maturity |
| Purchased call option contracts (primary options strategies) |
“at-the-money” (i.e., the strike price is equal to the then-current share price of the Underlying Security at the time of purchase) to provide indirect exposure to positive price returns of the Underlying Security.
If the Underlying Security share price increases, these options will generate corresponding increases to the Fund. |
1-month to 6-month expiration dates |
| Purchased call option contracts (additional options strategies) |
“deep-in-the-money” (i.e., the Underlying Security’s price is well above the strike price on the call option) to provide indirect exposure to positive price returns of the Underlying Security.
If the Underlying Security share price increases, these options will generate corresponding increases to the Fund. |
1-month to 6-month expiration dates
|
| Sold put option contracts |
“at-the-money” (i.e., the strike price is equal to the then-current share price of the Underlying Security at the time of sale).
They are sold to help pay for the purchased call options described above.
However, the sold put option contracts provide exposure to the full extent of any share price losses experienced by the Underlying Security. |
1-month to 6-month expiration dates |
| Sold
(short) call option contracts (Covered Call Strategy) |
The strike price is approximately 0%-15% more than the then-current share price of the Underlying Security at the time of sale.
They generate current income. However, they also limit some potential positive returns that the Fund may have otherwise experienced from gains in the Underlying Security’s share price. |
1-month or less expiration dates |
|
Sold
(short) call option contracts
|
The strike price is approximately 0%-15% more than the then-current share price of the Fund’s Underlying Security at the time of sale.
Sold call option contracts provide inverse exposure to the full extent of any increases in the value experienced by the Fund’s Underlying Security, minus the premium received. |
1-month or less expiration dates |
| Purchased
call option contracts (Covered Call Spread Strategy) |
“out-of-the-money” (i.e., the strike price is above the strike price of the corresponding Covered Call Spread Strategy sold call).
Bought call option contracts provide exposure to the full extent of any increases in the value experienced by the Fund’s Underlying Security above the option’s strike price. |
1-month or less expiration dates |
| Equity Securities | Direct equity holdings of the Underlying Security. | N/A |
| Swaps | Provides mark-to-market daily exposure to the total return of the Underlying Security over a particular period of time. | N/A |
| U.S Treasury Securities and Cash |
Multiple series of U.S. Treasury Bills supported by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government.
These instruments are used as collateral for the Fund’s derivative investments.
They will also generate income. |
6-month to 2-year maturities |
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The market value of the cash and treasuries held by the Fund is expected to be between 50% and 100% of the Fund’s net assets and the market value of the options, swaps and direct equity investments is expected to be between 0% and 50% of the Fund’s net assets. In terms of notional value, the combination of these investment instruments provides indirect investment exposure to AVGO equal to at least 100% of the Fund’s total assets.
Under normal circumstances, the Fund will invest at least 80% of its net assets, plus borrowings for investment purposes, in securities and financial instruments that provide indirect exposure to AVGO.
The Fund is classified as “non-diversified” under the 1940 Act.
There is no guarantee that the Fund’s investment strategy will be properly implemented, and an investor may lose some or all of its investment.
Broadcom Inc. (“AVGO”)
Broadcom Inc. is a global technology company that designs, develops and supplies a broad range of semiconductor and infrastructure software solution. AVGO leverages global engineering expertise and an extensive patent portfolio to develop high-performance semiconductor devices and system-on-chip (SoC) solutions for niche markets, with applications ranging from data center networking to factory automation. AVGO’s infrastructure software and hybrid-cloud solutions, including those acquired with VMware, enable leading companies and government agencies to manage and secure complex IT environments, enhancing scalability, agility, and security. AVGO is listed on The Nasdaq Global Select Market (Nasdaq). Per AVGO’s most recent Form 10-K filing, the aggregate market value of voting and non-voting common equity held by non-affiliates as of May 3, 2024, based upon the closing sale price of such shares on Nasdaq on such date, was approximately $583.1 billion.
AVGO is registered under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”). Information provided to or filed with the SEC by AVGO pursuant to the Exchange Act can be located by reference to the SEC file number 001-38449 through the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov. In addition, information regarding AVGO may be obtained from other sources including, but not limited to, press releases, newspaper articles and other publicly disseminated documents.
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This document relates only to the securities offered hereby and does not relate to the shares of AVGO or other securities of Broadcom Inc. The Fund has derived all disclosures contained in this document regarding AVGO from the publicly available documents. None of the Fund, the Trust, or the Adviser, or their respective affiliates has participated in the preparation of such publicly available offering documents or made any due diligence inquiry regarding such documents with respect to AVGO. None of the Fund, the Trust, or the Adviser, or their respective affiliates makes any representation that such publicly available documents or any other publicly available information regarding AVGO is accurate or complete. Furthermore, the Fund cannot give any assurance that all events occurring prior to the date hereof (including events that would affect the accuracy or completeness of the publicly available documents described above) that would affect the trading price of AVGO (and therefore the share price of the Fund at the time we price the securities) have been publicly disclosed. Subsequent disclosure of any such events or the disclosure of or failure to disclose material future events concerning AVGO could affect the value received with respect to the securities and therefore the value of the securities.
None of the Fund, the Trust, the Adviser, or their respective affiliates makes any representation to you as to the performance of AVGO.
NONE OF THE FUND, TIDAL TRUST II, OR TIDAL INVESTMENTS LLC ARE AFFILIATED WITH THE UNDERLYING SECURITY.
Due to the Fund’s investment strategy, the Fund’s investment exposure is concentrated in the same industry as that assigned to the Underlying Security. As of the date of the Prospectus, AVGO is assigned to the Semiconductors & Semiconductor Equipment industry.
Principal Investment Risks
The principal risks of investing in the Fund are summarized below. As with any investment, there is a risk that you could lose all or a portion of your investment in the Fund. Some or all of these risks may adversely affect the Fund’s net asset value (“NAV”) per share, trading price, yield, total return, and/or ability to meet its objective. For more information about the risks of investing in the Fund, see the section in the Fund’s Prospectus titled “Additional Information About the Funds—Principal Risks of Investing in the Funds.”
An investment in the Fund entails risk. The Fund may not achieve its investment objective and there is a risk that you could lose all of your money invested in the Fund. The Fund is not a complete investment program. It is important that investors closely review all of the risks listed below and understand them before making an investment in the Fund.
Each risk summarized below is considered a “principal risk” of investing in the Fund, regardless of the order in which they appear.
AVGO Risk. The Fund invests in instruments that are based on the value of AVGO. This subjects the Fund to certain of the same risks as if it owned shares of AVGO, even if it does not. By virtue of the Fund’s exposure to AVGO, the Fund may also be subject to the following risks:
Indirect Investment in AVGO Risk. AVGO is not affiliated with the Trust, the Fund, or the Adviser, or their respective affiliates and is not involved with this offering in any way and has no obligation to consider your Shares in taking any corporate actions that might affect the value of Shares. Investors in the Fund will not have voting rights and will not be able to influence management of AVGO but will be exposed to the performance of AVGO (the Underlying Security). Investors in the Fund will not have the right to receive dividends or other distributions or any other rights with respect to the Underlying Security but will be subject to declines in the performance of the Underlying Security.
AVGO Trading Risk. The trading price of AVGO may be subject to volatility and could experience wide fluctuations due to various factors. Short sellers may also play a significant role in trading AVGO, potentially affecting the supply and demand dynamics and contributing to market price volatility. Public perception and external factors beyond the company’s control may influence AVGO’s stock price disproportionately. Additionally, following periods of market volatility, companies have faced securities class action litigation. Any adverse judgment or future stockholder litigation could result in substantial costs and divert management’s attention and resources. In the event of a halt in trading of AVGO, trading in shares of related funds may be impacted, either temporarily or indefinitely.
AVGO Performance Risk. AVGO may fail to meet its publicly announced guidelines or other expectations about its business, which could cause the price of AVGO to decline. AVGO provides guidance regarding its expected financial and business performance, such as projections regarding sales and production, as well as anticipated future revenues, gross margins, profitability and cash flows. Correctly identifying key factors affecting business conditions and predicting future events is inherently an uncertain process, and the guidance AVGO provides may not ultimately be accurate. If AVGO’s guidance is not accurate or varies from actual results due to its inability to meet the assumptions or the impact on its financial performance that could occur as a result of various risks and uncertainties, the market value of common stock issued by AVGO could decline significantly.
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Business and Operational Risks. AVGO faces numerous business and operational risks, including adverse global economic conditions that could negatively impact operations. Compliance with governmental regulations and trade restrictions may result in significant expenses, and failure to comply could lead to the cessation of product manufacture and distribution, administrative proceedings, and civil or criminal penalties. Global political and economic instability, along with the failure to realize expected benefits from the VMware Merger, further pose challenges. The company also encounters risks related to acquisitions, investments, joint ventures, and dispositions, which could adversely affect financial results. Additionally, dependency on senior management and the ability to attract and retain qualified personnel are critical to executing AVGO’s business strategy effectively.
Technological and Cybersecurity Risks. AVGO is subject to technological and cybersecurity risks, including potential impairments to the confidentiality, integrity, or availability of IT systems and those of corporate infrastructure vendors, which could have a material adverse effect on the business. Operating in the highly cyclical semiconductor industry, AVGO’s sales are largely dependent on a small number of customers, and any reduction in demand or loss of significant customers could adversely affect the business. Reliance on contract manufacturing and suppliers of critical components within the supply chain, along with the need to purchase materials from a limited number of suppliers, may impact AVGO’s ability to bring products to market. Furthermore, failure to adjust manufacturing and supply chains to meet customer demand accurately could adversely affect operational results.
Legal, Environmental, and Market Risks. AVGO is involved in various legal proceedings, including intellectual property, securities litigation, and employee-related claims, which could adversely affect the business. The company’s growth in the software segment depends on customer acceptance of newer products and services, and incompatibility with operating environments or third-party products could decrease demand. Failure to enter into satisfactory software license agreements and the availability of licensed third-party software are additional concerns. Environmental, social, and governance (ESG) matters, compliance with privacy and data security laws, and adherence to environmental, health, and safety regulations could increase costs and restrict operations. Rapidly decreasing average selling prices of semiconductor products and fluctuations in foreign exchange rates also pose significant risks.
Financial and Stock-Related Risks. AVGO’s financial health is affected by substantial indebtedness, which could hinder the ability to execute business strategies. Instruments governing indebtedness impose restrictions, and servicing debt requires significant cash flows, potentially impacting business operations. The volatility of AVGO’s stock price may result in substantial losses for investors and trigger class action litigation against the company and its management. Stock repurchase fluctuations, the concentration of stock held by a small number of large investors, and uncertainties regarding the continuation of cash dividends further contribute to financial risks. Changes in tax legislation, the maintenance of tax concessions, and potential tax liabilities from VMware’s former association with Dell also significantly impact AVGO’s financial position and operating results.
Derivatives Risk. Derivatives are financial instruments that derive value from the underlying reference asset or assets, such as stocks, bonds, or funds (including ETFs), interest rates or indexes. The Fund’s investments in derivatives may pose risks in addition to, and greater than, those associated with directly investing in securities or other ordinary investments, including risk related to the market, imperfect correlation with underlying investments or the Fund’s other portfolio holdings, higher price volatility, lack of availability, counterparty risk, liquidity, valuation and legal restrictions. The use of derivatives is a highly specialized activity that involves investment techniques and risks different from those associated with ordinary portfolio securities transactions. The use of derivatives may result in larger losses or smaller gains than directly investing in securities. When the Fund uses derivatives, there may be an imperfect correlation between the value of the Underlying Security and the derivative, which may prevent the Fund from achieving its investment objective. Because derivatives often require only a limited initial investment, the use of derivatives may expose the Fund to losses in excess of those amounts initially invested. In addition, the Fund’s investments in derivatives are subject to the following risks:
Options Contracts. The use of options contracts involves investment strategies and risks different from those associated with ordinary portfolio securities transactions. The prices of options are volatile and are influenced by, among other things, actual and anticipated changes in the value of the underlying instrument, including the anticipated volatility, which are affected by fiscal and monetary policies and by national and international political, changes in the actual or implied volatility or the reference asset, the time remaining until the expiration of the option contract and economic events. For the Fund in particular, the value of the options contracts in which it invests are substantially influenced by the value of the Underlying Security. The Fund may experience substantial downside from specific option positions and certain option positions held by the Fund may expire worthless. The options held by the Fund are exercisable at the strike price on their expiration date. As an option approaches its expiration date, its value typically increasingly move with the value of the underlying instrument. However, prior to such date, the value of an option generally does not increase or decrease at the same rate at the underlying instrument. There may at times be an imperfect correlation between the movement in the values of options contracts and the underlying instrument, and there may at times not be a liquid secondary market for certain options contracts. The value of the options held by the Fund will be determined based on market quotations or other recognized pricing methods. Additionally, as the Fund intends to continuously maintain indirect exposure to the Underlying Security through the use of options contracts, as the options contracts it holds are exercised or expire it will enter into new options contracts, a practice referred to as “rolling.” If the expiring options contracts do not generate proceeds enough to cover the cost of entering into new options contracts, the Fund may experience losses.
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Swaps. The use of swap transactions is a highly specialized activity, which involves investment techniques and risks different from those associated with ordinary portfolio securities transactions. Whether the Fund will be successful in using swap agreements to achieve its investment goal depends on the ability of the Adviser to structure such swap agreements in accordance with the Fund’s investment objective and to identify counterparties for those swap agreements. If the Adviser is unable to enter into swap agreements that provide leveraged exposure to the Underlying Security, the Fund may not meet its stated investment objective. Additionally, any financing, borrowing or other costs associated with using swap transactions may also have the effect of lowering the Fund’s return.
The swap agreements in which the Fund invests are generally traded in the over-the-counter market, which generally has less transparency than exchange-traded derivatives instruments. In a standard swap transaction, two parties agree to exchange the return (or differentials in rates of return) earned or realized on particular predetermined reference assets or underlying securities or instruments. The gross return to be exchanged or swapped between the parties is calculated based on a notional amount or the return on or change in value of a particular dollar amount invested in a basket of securities.
If the Underlying Security has a dramatic move that causes a material decline in the Fund’s net assets, the terms of a swap agreement between the Fund and its counterparty may permit the counterparty to immediately close out the swap transaction with the Fund. In that event, the Fund may be unable to enter into another swap agreement or invest in other derivatives to achieve exposure consistent with the Fund’s investment objective. This may prevent the Fund from achieving its leveraged investment objective, even if the Underlying Security later reverses all or a portion of its movement.
Counterparty Risk. The Fund is subject to counterparty risk by virtue of its investments in derivative instruments. Transactions in some types of derivatives, including options, are required to be centrally cleared (“cleared derivatives”). In a transaction involving cleared derivatives, the Fund’s counterparty is a clearing house rather than a bank or broker. Since the Fund is not a member of clearing houses and only members of a clearing house (“clearing members”) can participate directly in the clearing house, the Fund will hold cleared derivatives through accounts at clearing members. In cleared derivatives positions, the Fund will make payments (including margin payments) to and receive payments from a clearing house through their accounts at clearing members. Customer funds held at a clearing organization in connection with any options contracts are held in a commingled omnibus account and are not identified to the name of the clearing member’s individual customers. As a result, assets deposited by the Fund with any clearing member as margin for options may, in certain circumstances, be used to satisfy losses of other clients of the Fund’s clearing member. In addition, although clearing members guarantee performance of their clients’ obligations to the clearing house, there is a risk that the assets of the Fund might not be fully protected in the event of the clearing member’s bankruptcy, as the Fund would be limited to recovering only a pro rata share of all available funds segregated on behalf of the clearing member’s customers for the relevant account class. The Fund is also subject to the risk that a limited number of clearing members are willing to transact on the Fund’s behalf, which heightens the risks associated with a clearing member’s default. This risk is greater for the Fund as it seeks to hold options contracts on a single security, and not a broader range of options contracts, which may limit the number of clearing members that are willing to transact on the Fund’s behalf. If a clearing member defaults the Fund could lose some or all of the benefits of a transaction entered into by the Fund with the clearing member. If the Fund cannot find a clearing member to transact with on the Fund’s behalf, the Fund may be unable to effectively implement its investment strategy.
The Fund is also subject to the risk that the counterparty will not fulfill its obligation to the Fund. Counterparty risk may arise because of the counterparty’s financial condition (i.e., financial difficulties, bankruptcy, or insolvency), market activities and developments, or other reasons, whether foreseen or not. A counterparty’s inability to fulfill its obligation may result in significant financial loss to the Fund and the Fund may be unable to recover its investment from such counterparty or may obtain a limited and/or delayed recovery.
Price Participation Risk. The Fund employs an investment strategy that includes the sale of call option contracts, which limits the degree to which the Fund will participate in increases in value experienced by the Underlying Security over the Call Period. This means that if the Underlying Security experiences an increase in value above the strike price of the sold call options during a Call Period, the Fund will likely not experience that increase to the same extent and may significantly underperform the Underlying Security over the Call Period. Additionally, because the Fund is limited in the degree to which it will participate in increases in value experienced by the Underlying Security over each Call Period, but has full exposure to any decreases in value experienced by the Underlying Security over the Call Period, the NAV of the Fund may decrease over any given time period. The Fund’s NAV is dependent on the value of each options portfolio, which is based principally upon the performance of the Underlying Security. The degree of participation in the Underlying Security gains the Fund will experience will depend on prevailing market conditions, especially market volatility, at the time the Fund enters into the sold call option contracts and will vary from Call Period to Call Period. The value of the options contracts is affected by changes in the value and dividend rates of the Underlying Security, changes in interest rates, changes in the actual or perceived volatility of the Underlying Security and the remaining time to the options’ expiration, as well as trading conditions in the options market. As the price of the Underlying Security changes and time moves towards the expiration of each Call Period, the value of the options contracts, and therefore the Fund’s NAV, will change. However, it is not expected for the Fund’s NAV to directly correlate on a day-to-day basis with the returns of the Underlying Security. The amount of time remaining until the options contract’s expiration date affects the impact of the potential options contract income on the Fund’s NAV, which may not be in full effect until the expiration date of the Fund’s options contracts. Therefore, while changes in the price of the Underlying Security will result in changes to the Fund’s NAV, the Fund generally anticipates that the rate of change in the Fund’s NAV will be different than that experienced by the Underlying Security.
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Distribution Risk. As part of the Fund’s investment objective, the Fund seeks to provide current monthly income. There is no assurance that the Fund will make a distribution in any given month. If the Fund does make distributions, the amounts of such distributions will likely vary greatly from one distribution to the next. Additionally, monthly distributions, if any, may consist of returns of capital, which would decrease the Fund’s NAV and trading price over time. As a result, an investor may suffer significant losses to their investment.
NAV Erosion Risk Due to Distributions. When the Fund makes a distribution, the Fund’s NAV will typically drop by the amount of the distribution on the related ex-dividend date. The repeated payment of distributions by the Fund, if any, may significantly erode the Fund’s NAV and trading price over time. As a result, an investor may suffer significant losses to their investment.
Call Strategy Risks. The path dependency (i.e., the continued use) of the Fund’s call writing strategy will impact the extent that the Fund participates in the positive price returns of the Underlying Security and, in turn, the Fund’s returns, both during the term of the sold call options and over longer time periods. If, for example, each month the Fund were to sell 7% out-of-the-money call options having a one-month term, the Fund’s participation in the positive price returns of the Underlying Security will be capped at 7% in any given month. However, over a longer period (e.g., 5 months), the Fund should not be expected to participate fully in the first 35% (i.e., 5 months x 7%) of the positive price returns of the Underlying Security, or the Fund may even lose money, even if the Underlying Security share price has appreciated by at least that much over such period, if during any month over that period the Underlying Security had a return less than 7%. This example illustrates that both the Fund’s participation in the positive price returns of the Underlying Security and its returns will depend not only on the price of the Underlying Security but also on the path that the Underlying Security takes over time.
Additionally, when implementing the Covered Call Spread Strategy, the use of credit call spreads introduces further complexities and risks. While purchasing a higher-strike call option limits potential losses from the short call position, it also reduces the net premium received, which may result in lower overall returns compared to a stand-alone covered call strategy. If the price of the Underlying Security rises rapidly, the call spread may still cap upside participation, leading to missed profit opportunities. Furthermore, market conditions, such as mispricing between near-the-money and further out-of-the-money options, may impact the effectiveness of the strategy, potentially resulting in lower-than-expected returns or increased losses. The relative pricing of options at different strike levels can vary due to volatility shifts, liquidity constraints, or other market dynamics, adding an additional layer of uncertainty to the Fund’s performance under this strategy.
Economic and Market Risk. Economies and financial markets throughout the world are becoming increasingly interconnected, which increases the likelihood that events or conditions in one country or region will adversely impact markets or issuers in other countries or regions. Securities in the Fund’s portfolio may underperform in comparison to securities in the general financial markets, a particular financial market, or other asset classes, due to a number of factors, including inflation (or expectations for inflation), deflation (or expectations for deflation), interest rates, global demand for particular products or resources, market instability, financial system instability, debt crises and downgrades, embargoes, tariffs, sanctions and other trade barriers, regulatory events, other governmental trade or market control programs and related geopolitical events. In addition, the value of the Fund’s investments may be negatively affected by the occurrence of global events such as war, terrorism, environmental disasters, natural disasters or events, country instability, and infectious disease epidemics or pandemics. The imposition by the U.S. of tariffs on goods imported from foreign countries and reciprocal tariffs levied on U.S. goods by those countries also may lead to volatility and instability in domestic and foreign markets.
Equity Market Risk. The prices of equity securities rise and fall daily. These price movements may result from factors affecting individual issuers, industries or the stock market as a whole. In addition, equity markets tend to move in cycles which may cause stock prices to fall over a short and extended periods of time. In a declining stock market, stock prices for all companies (including those in the Fund’s portfolio) may decline, regardless of their long-term prospects.
ETF Risks.
Authorized Participants, Market Makers, and Liquidity Providers Concentration Risk. The Fund has a limited number of financial institutions that are authorized to purchase and redeem Shares directly from the Fund (known as “Authorized Participants” or “APs”). In addition, there may be a limited number of market makers and/or liquidity providers in the marketplace. To the extent either of the following events occur, Shares may trade at a material discount to NAV and possibly face delisting: (i) APs exit the business or otherwise become unable to process creation and/or redemption orders and no other APs step forward to perform these services; or (ii) market makers and/or liquidity providers exit the business or significantly reduce their business activities and no other entities step forward to perform their functions.
Cash Redemption Risk. The Fund’s investment strategy may require it to redeem Shares for cash or to otherwise include cash as part of its redemption proceeds. For example, the Fund may not be able to redeem in-kind certain securities held by the Fund (e.g., derivative instruments). In such a case, the Fund may be required to sell or unwind portfolio investments to obtain the cash needed to distribute redemption proceeds. This may cause the Fund to recognize a capital gain that it might not have recognized if it had made a redemption in-kind. As a result, the Fund may pay out higher annual capital gain distributions than if the in-kind redemption process was used. By paying out higher annual capital gain distributions, investors may be subjected to increased capital gains taxes. Additionally, there may be brokerage costs or taxable gains or losses that may be imposed on the Fund in connection with a cash redemption that may not have occurred if the Fund had made a redemption in-kind. These costs could decrease the value of the Fund to the extent they are not offset by a transaction fee payable by an AP.
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Costs of Buying or Selling Shares. Due to the costs of buying or selling Shares, including brokerage commissions imposed by brokers and bid-ask spreads, frequent trading of Shares may significantly reduce investment results and an investment in Shares may not be advisable for investors who anticipate regularly making small investments.
Management Risk. The Fund is subject to management risk because it is an actively managed portfolio. In managing the Fund’s investment portfolio, the portfolio managers will apply investment techniques and risk analyses that may not produce the desired result. There can be no guarantee that the Fund will meet its investment objective.
Shares May Trade at Prices Other Than NAV. As with all ETFs, Shares may be bought and sold in the secondary market at market prices. Although it is expected that the market price of Shares will approximate the Fund’s NAV, there may be times when the market price of Shares is more than the NAV intra-day (premium) or less than the NAV intra-day (discount) due to supply and demand of Shares or during periods of market volatility. This risk is heightened in times of market volatility, periods of steep market declines, and periods when there is limited trading activity for Shares in the secondary market, in which case such premiums or discounts may be significant.
Trading. Although Shares are listed on a national securities exchange, such as [ ] (the “Exchange”), and may be traded on U.S. exchanges other than the Exchange, there can be no assurance that an active trading market for the Shares will develop or be maintained or that the Shares will trade with any volume, or at all, on any stock exchange. In stressed market conditions, the liquidity of Shares may begin to mirror the liquidity of the Fund’s underlying portfolio holdings, which can be significantly less liquid than Shares. Shares trade on the Exchange at market price that may be below, at or above the Fund’s NAV. Trading in Shares on the Exchange may be halted due to market conditions or for reasons that, in the view of the Exchange, make trading in Shares inadvisable. In addition, trading in Shares on the Exchange is subject to trading halts caused by extraordinary market volatility pursuant to the Exchange “circuit breaker” rules. There can be no assurance that the requirements of the Exchange necessary to maintain the listing of the Fund will continue to be met or will remain unchanged. In the event of an unscheduled market close for options contracts that are based on the value of an ETF, such as the Underlying Security being halted or a market wide closure, settlement prices will be determined by the procedures of the listing exchange of the options contracts. As a result, the Fund could be adversely affected and be unable to implement its investment strategies in the event of an unscheduled closing.
High Portfolio Turnover Risk. The Fund may actively and frequently trade all or a significant portion of the Fund’s holdings. A high portfolio turnover rate increases transaction costs, which may increase the Fund’s expenses. Frequent trading may also cause adverse tax consequences for investors in the Fund due to an increase in short-term capital gains.
Inflation Risk. Inflation risk is the risk that the value of assets or income from investments will be less in the future as inflation decreases the value of money. As inflation increases, the present value of the Fund’s assets and distributions, if any, may decline.
Liquidity Risk. Some securities held by the Fund, including options contracts, may be difficult to sell or be illiquid, particularly during times of market turmoil. This risk is greater for the Fund as it will hold options contracts on a single security, and not a broader range of options contracts. Markets for securities or financial instruments could be disrupted by a number of events, including, but not limited to, an economic crisis, natural disasters, epidemics/pandemics, new legislation or regulatory changes inside or outside the United States. Illiquid securities may be difficult to value, especially in changing or volatile markets. If the Fund is forced to sell an illiquid security at an unfavorable time or price, the Fund may be adversely impacted. Certain market conditions or restrictions, such as market rules related to short sales, may prevent the Fund from limiting losses, realizing gains or achieving a high correlation with the Underlying Security. There is no assurance that a security that is deemed liquid when purchased will continue to be liquid. Market illiquidity may cause losses for the Fund.
Money Market Instrument Risk. The Fund may use a variety of money market instruments for cash management purposes, including money market funds, depositary accounts and repurchase agreements. Repurchase agreements are contracts in which a seller of securities agrees to buy the securities back at a specified time and price. Repurchase agreements may be subject to market and credit risk related to the collateral securing the repurchase agreement. Money market instruments, including money market funds, may lose money through fees or other means.
New Fund Risk. The Fund is a recently organized management investment company with no operating history. As a result, prospective investors do not have a track record or history on which to base their investment decisions.
Non-Diversification Risk. Because the Fund is “non-diversified,” it may invest a greater percentage of its assets in the securities of a single issuer or a smaller number of issuers than if it was a diversified fund. As a result, a decline in the value of an investment in a single issuer or a smaller number of issuers could cause the Fund’s overall value to decline to a greater degree than if the Fund held a more diversified portfolio. This may increase the Fund’s volatility and cause the performance of a relatively smaller number of issuers to have a greater impact on the Fund’s performance.
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Operational Risk. The Fund is subject to risks arising from various operational factors, including, but not limited to, human error, processing and communication errors, errors of the Fund’s service providers, counterparties or other third-parties, failed or inadequate processes and technology or systems failures. The Fund relies on third-parties for a range of services, including custody. Any delay or failure relating to engaging or maintaining such service providers may affect the Fund’s ability to meet its investment objective. Although the Fund and Adviser seek to reduce these operational risks through controls and procedures, there is no way to completely protect against such risks. This may increase the Fund’s volatility and cause the performance of a relatively smaller number of issuers to have a greater impact on the Fund’s performance.
Single Issuer Risk. Issuer-specific attributes may cause an investment in the Fund to be more volatile than a traditional pooled investment which diversifies risk or the market generally. The value of the Fund, which focuses on an individual security (the Underlying Security), may be more volatile than a traditional pooled investment or the market as a whole and may perform differently from the value of a traditional pooled investment or the market as a whole.
Tax Risk. The Fund intends to elect and to qualify each year to be treated as a RIC under Subchapter M of the Code. As a RIC, the Fund will not be subject to U.S. federal income tax on the portion of its net investment income and net capital gain that it distributes to Shareholders, provided that it satisfies certain requirements of the Code. If the Fund does not qualify as a RIC for any taxable year and certain relief provisions are not available, the Fund’s taxable income will be subject to tax at the Fund level and to a further tax at the shareholder level when such income is distributed. To comply with the asset diversification test applicable to a RIC, the Fund will attempt to ensure that the value of financial instruments providing exposure to the Underlying Security are never 25% of the total value of Fund assets at the close of any quarter. If the Fund’s investments in such financial instruments were to exceed 25% of the Fund’s total assets at the end of a tax quarter, the Fund, generally, has a grace period to cure such lack of compliance. If the Fund fails to timely cure, it may no longer be eligible to be treated as a RIC.
U.S. Government and U.S. Agency Obligations Risk. The Fund may invest in securities issued by the U.S. government or its agencies or instrumentalities. U.S. Government obligations include securities issued or guaranteed as to principal and interest by the U.S. Government, its agencies or instrumentalities, such as the U.S. Treasury. Payment of principal and interest on U.S. Government obligations may be backed by the full faith and credit of the United States or may be backed solely by the issuing or guaranteeing agency or instrumentality itself. In the latter case, the investor must look principally to the agency or instrumentality issuing or guaranteeing the obligation for ultimate repayment, which agency or instrumentality may be privately owned. There can be no assurance that the U.S. Government would provide financial support to its agencies or instrumentalities (including government-sponsored enterprises) where it is not obligated to do so.
Performance
Performance information for the Fund is not included because the Fund has not completed a full calendar year of operations as of the date of this Prospectus. When such information is included, this section will provide some indication of the risks of investing in the Fund by showing changes in the Fund’s performance history from year to year and showing how the Fund’s average annual total returns compare with those of a broad measure of market performance. Although past performance of the Fund is no guarantee of how it will perform in the future, historical performance may give you some indication of the risks of investing in the Fund. Updated performance information will be available on the Fund’s website at www.yieldmaxetfs.com.
Management
Investment Adviser: Tidal Investments LLC (the “Adviser”) serves as investment adviser to the Fund.
Portfolio Managers:
The following individuals are jointly and primarily responsible for the day-to-day management of the Fund.
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Matt Brandt, Portfolio Manager for the Adviser, has been a portfolio manager of the Fund since its inception in 2025.
Christopher P. Mullen, Portfolio Manager for the Adviser, has been a portfolio manager of the Fund since its inception in 2025.
Scott Snyder, Portfolio Manager for the Adviser, has been a portfolio manager of the Fund since its inception in 2025.
Purchase and Sale of Shares
The Fund issues and redeems Shares at NAV only in large blocks known as “Creation Units,” which only Authorized Participants (APs) (typically, broker-dealers) may purchase or redeem. The Fund generally issues and redeems Creation Units in exchange for a portfolio of securities (the “Deposit Securities”) and/or a designated amount of U.S. cash.
Shares are listed on a national securities exchange, such as the Exchange, and individual Shares may only be bought and sold in the secondary market through brokers at market prices, rather than NAV. Because Shares trade at market prices rather than NAV, Shares may trade at a price greater than NAV (premium) or less than NAV (discount).
An investor may incur costs attributable to the difference between the highest price a buyer is willing to pay to purchase Shares (the “bid” price) and the lowest price a seller is willing to accept for Shares (the “ask” price) when buying or selling Shares in the secondary market. This difference in bid and ask prices is often referred to as the “bid-ask spread.”
When available, information regarding the Fund’s NAV, market price, how often Shares traded on the Exchange at a premium or discount, and bid-ask spreads can be found on the Fund’s website at www.yieldmaxetfs.com.
Tax Information
Fund distributions are generally taxable as ordinary income, qualified dividend income, or capital gains (or a combination), unless an investment is in an individual retirement account (“IRA”) or other tax-advantaged account. Distributions on investments made through tax-deferred arrangements may be taxed later upon withdrawal of assets from those accounts.
Financial Intermediary Compensation
If
you purchase Shares through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary
(such as a bank) (an “Intermediary”), the Adviser or its affiliates may pay
Intermediaries for certain activities related to the Fund, including
participation in activities that are designed to make Intermediaries more
knowledgeable about exchange-traded products, including the Fund, or for other
activities, such as marketing, educational training, or other initiatives
related to the sale or promotion of Shares. These payments may create a conflict
of interest by influencing the Intermediary and your salesperson to recommend
the Fund over another investment. Any such arrangements do not result in
increased Fund expenses. Ask your salesperson or visit the Intermediary’s
website for more information.
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YieldMax® CRWD Option Income Strategy ETF - FUND SUMMARY
Investment Objective
The Fund’s primary investment objective is to seek current income.
The Fund’s secondary investment objective is to seek exposure to the share price of CrowdStrike Holdings, Inc. (“CRWD” or “Underlying Security”), which is generally subject to a limit on potential investment gains.
Fees and Expenses of the Fund
This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy, hold, and sell shares of the Fund (“Shares”). You may pay other fees, such as brokerage commissions and other fees to financial intermediaries, which are not reflected in the table and Example below.
| Annual Fund Operating Expenses(1) (expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment) | |||
| Management Fee | [] | % | |
| Distribution and Service (12b-1) Fees | None | ||
| Other Expenses(2) | [] | % | |
| Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses | [] | % | |
| (1) | The Fund’s investment adviser, Tidal Investments LLC (the “Adviser”), a Tidal Financial Group company, will pay, or require a sub-adviser to pay, all of the Fund’s expenses, except for the following: advisory and sub-advisory fees, interest charges on any borrowings made for investment purposes, dividends and other expenses on securities sold short, taxes, brokerage commissions and other expenses incurred in placing orders for the purchase and sale of securities and other investment instruments, acquired fund fees and expenses, accrued deferred tax liability, distribution fees and expenses paid by the Fund under any distribution plan adopted pursuant to Rule 12b-1 under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”), litigation expenses, and other non-routine or extraordinary expenses. | |
| (2) | Based on estimated amounts for the current fiscal year. |
Expense Example
This Example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other funds. The Example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and then hold or redeem all of your Shares at the end of those periods. The Example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Fund’s operating expenses remain the same. The Example does not take into account brokerage commissions that you may pay on your purchases and sales of Shares. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:
| 1 Year | 3 Years |
| $[] | $[] |
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 Shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in total annual fund operating expenses or in the expense example above, affect the Fund’s performance. Because the Fund is newly organized, portfolio turnover information is not yet available.
Principal Investment Strategies
The Fund is an actively managed exchange-traded fund (“ETF”) that seeks current income while providing indirect exposure to the share price (i.e., the price returns) of CrowdStrike Holdings, Inc. (Nasdaq: CRWD) (“CRWD” or the “Underlying Security”), which is generally subject to a limit on potential investment gains. The Fund will employ its investment strategy as it relates to CRWD regardless of whether there are periods of adverse market, economic, or other conditions and will not take temporary defensive positions during such periods. As further described below, the Fund primarily uses either a synthetic covered call strategy or synthetic covered call spread strategy to provide income and indirect exposure to the share price returns of CRWD, which is generally subject to a limit on potential investment gains as a result of the nature of the options strategy it employs. The Fund not only seeks to generate income from its options investments but also aims to derive gains when the value of CRWD increases. The Fund’s options contracts provide:
| ● | indirect exposure to the share price returns of CRWD, |
| ● | current income from the option premiums, and |
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| ● | at most times, a limit on the Fund’s participation in gains, if any, of the share price returns of CRWD. |
For more information, see sections “The Fund’s Use of Underlying Security Option Contracts,” “Synthetic Covered Call Strategy” and “SyntheticCovered Call Spread Strategy” below.
Why invest in the Fund?
| ● | The Fund seeks to generate monthly income, which is not dependent on the price appreciation of the Underlying Security. |
| ● | The Fund seeks to participate in a portion of the gains experienced by the Underlying Security. |
That is, although the Fund may not fully participate in gains in the Underlying Security’s stock price, the Fund’s portfolio is designed to generate income.
An Investment in the Fund is not an investment in the Underlying Security.
| ● | The Fund’s strategy will capture only a portion of its potential gains if the Underlying Security’s stock price increases in value. |
| ● | The Fund’s strategy is subject to all potential losses if the Underlying Security’s stock price decrease in value, which may not be offset by income received by the Fund. |
| ● | The Fund may invest directly in the Underlying Security, but expects to gain its Underlying Security exposure primarily through its synthetic covered call strategy or synthetic covered call spread strategy. |
| ● | Fund shareholders are not entitled to any Underlying Security dividends. |
Additional information regarding the Underlying Security is also set forth below.
The Fund’s Use of Underlying Security Option Contracts
As part of the Fund’s synthetic covered call strategy and synthetic covered call spread strategy, the Fund will purchase and sell a combination of standardized exchange-traded and FLexible EXchange® (“FLEX”) call and put option contracts that are based on the value of the price returns of the Underlying Security.
| ● | In general, an option contract gives the purchaser of the option contract the right to purchase (for a call option) or sell (for a put option) the underlying asset (like shares of the Underlying Security) at a specified price (the “strike price”). |
| ● | If exercised, an option contract obligates the seller to deliver shares (for a sold or “short” call) or buy shares (for a sold or “short” put) of the underlying asset at a specified price (the “strike price”). |
| ● | Options contracts must be exercised or traded to close within a specified time frame, or they expire. See the chart in section “Fund Portfolio” below for a description of the option contracts utilized by the Fund. |
Standardized exchange-traded options include standardized terms. FLEX options are also exchange-traded, but they allow for customizable terms (e.g., the strike price can be negotiated). For more information on FLEX options, see “Additional Information about the Funds – Exchange Traded Options Portfolio.”
The Fund’s options contracts are based on the value of the Underlying Security, which gives the Fund the right or obligation to receive or deliver shares of the Underlying Security on the expiration date of the applicable option contract in exchange for the stated strike price, depending on whether the option contract is a call option or a put option, and whether the Fund purchases or sells the option contract.
Synthetic Covered Call Strategy
In seeking to achieve its investment objective, the Fund may implement a “synthetic covered call” strategy using the standardized exchange-traded and FLEX options described above.
| ● | A traditional covered call strategy is an investment strategy where an investor (the Fund) sells a call option on an underlying security it owns. |
| ● | A synthetic covered call strategy is similar to a traditional covered call strategy in that the investor sells a call option that is based on the value of the underlying security. However, in a synthetic covered call strategy, the investor (the Fund) does not own the underlying security, but rather seeks to synthetically replicate 100% of the price movements of the underlying security through the use of various investment instruments. |
The Fund’s synthetic covered call strategies consists of the following three elements, each of which is described in greater detail farther below:
| ● | Synthetic long exposure to the Underlying Security, which allows the Fund to seek to participate in the changes, up or down, in the price of shares of the Underlying Security. |
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| ● | Covered call writing (where the Underlying Security’s call options are sold against the synthetic long portion of the strategy), which allows the Fund to generate income. |
| ● | U.S. Treasuries, which are used for collateral for the options, and which also generate income. |
| 1. | Synthetic Long Exposure |
To achieve a synthetic long exposure to the Underlying Security, the Fund will buy the Underlying Security’s call options and, simultaneously, sell the Underlying Security’s put options to try to replicate the price movements of the Underlying Security. The call options purchased by the Fund and the put options sold by the Fund will generally have one-month to six-month terms and strike prices that are approximately equal to the then-current share price of the Underlying Security at the time the contracts are purchased and sold, respectively. The combination of the long call options and sold put options provides the Fund with indirect investment exposure equal to approximately 100% of the Underlying Security for the duration of the applicable options exposure.
| 2. | Covered Call Strategies |
Covered Call Strategy
As part of its strategy, the Fund will write (sell) call option contracts on the Underlying Security to generate income. Since the Fund does not directly own the Underlying Security, these written call options will be sold short (i.e., selling a position it does not currently own). The Fund will seek to participate in the share price appreciation of the Underlying Security, if any. However, due to the nature of covered call strategies, the Fund’s participation may be subject to a cap (as described below). In this strategy, the call options written (sold) by the Fund will generally have 1- month or less expiration dates (the “Call Period”) and generally have a strike price that is approximately 0%-15% above the then-current share price of the Underlying Security.
It is important to note that the sale of the Underlying Security call option contracts will limit the Fund’s participation in the appreciation in the Underlying Security’s stock price. If the stock price of the Underlying Security increases, the above-referenced synthetic long exposure alone would allow the Fund to experience similar percentage gains. However, if the Underlying Security’s stock price appreciates beyond the strike price of one or more of the sold (short) call option contracts, the Fund will lose money on those short call positions, and the losses will, in turn, limit the upside return of the Fund’s synthetic long exposure. As a result, the Fund’s overall strategy (i.e., the combination of the synthetic long exposure to the Underlying Security and the sold (short) the Underlying Security call positions) will limit the Fund’s participation in gains in the Underlying Security’s stock price beyond a certain point.
Covered Call Spread Strategy
The Adviser will employ the Covered Call Spread Strategy when it believes it is a better strategy for the Fund as compared to the Covered Call Strategy. The Fund may write (sell) credit call spreads (described below) rather than stand-alone call option contracts to seek greater participation in the potential appreciation of its Underlying Security’s share price, while still generating net premium income. The Adviser will primarily employ this covered call spread strategy when it believes that the share price of its Underlying Security is likely to rise significantly in the short term (e.g., following a substantial selloff or overall positive market news). Additionally, the Adviser may use this strategy in other scenarios (e.g., if the market is undervaluing further out-of-the-money options relative to near-the-money options), where it believes the use of credit call spreads may prove more advantageous to the Fund’s total return than the covered call strategy.
A credit call spread involves selling a call option while simultaneously buying a call option with a higher strike price, both with the same expiration date. By writing credit call spreads, the Fund can potentially offset losses incurred from its short call positions if the Underlying Security’s share price rises above the strike price.
| 3. | U.S. Treasuries |
The Fund will hold short-term U.S. Treasury securities as collateral in connection with the Fund’s options contracts, as well as swaps as discussed in the “Additional Investment Strategies” section below.
The Fund intends to continuously maintain indirect exposure to the Underlying Security, primarily through the use of options contracts. As the options contracts it holds are exercised or expire it may enter into new options contracts, a practice referred to as “rolling.” The Fund’s practice of rolling options may result in high portfolio turnover.
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Additional Investment Strategies
In addition to the synthetic covered call strategy or synthetic covered call spread strategy described herein, the Fund may use the following additional strategies to gain exposure to the Underlying Security:
| ● | Swaps: The Fund may utilize swap contracts that provide exposure to the Underlying Security. |
| ● | Additional Options Strategies: The Fund may utilize additional options strategies, including purchasing call options that are “deep in the money” (i.e., the Underlying Security’s price is well above the strike price on the call option). |
| ● | Equity Securities: The Fund may purchase equity securities of the Underlying Security. |
While the Fund intends to primarily utilize its synthetic covered call strategy or synthetic covered call spread strategy to gain exposure to the Underlying Security, it may utilize each of the foregoing to the extent it is unable to achieve its targeted exposure through the use of these primary options strategies.
Fund’s Monthly Distributions
The Fund will seek to provide monthly income in the form of cash distributions. The Fund will seek to generate such income in the following ways:
| ● | Writing (selling) call option contracts on its Underlying Security as described above. The income comes mainly from the option premiums received from these option sales. A premium, in this context, refers to the price the option buyer pays to the option seller (the Fund) for the rights granted by the option. The amount of these premiums is largely affected by the fluctuations in the Underlying Security’s stock prices. However, other elements like interest rates can also influence the income level. |
| ● | Investing in short-term U.S. Treasury securities. The income generated by these securities will be influenced by interest rates at the time of investment. |
| ● | In addition to the income-seeking methodologies stated in the Prospectus, the Fund’s use of the Synthetic Covered Call Spread Strategy may occasionally allow it to capture a substantial portion of any significant increase in the price of its Underlying Security. When this happens, the Fund could receive profits exceeding the initial cost of the call options, and the Fund’s distributions may include some of those profits. | |
| ● | The Fund may receive some dividend income to the extent it invests directly in the Underlying Security. |
Fund’s Return Profile vs its Underlying Security
For the reasons stated above, the Fund’s performance will differ from that of the Underlying Security’s stock price. The performance differences will depend on, among other things, the price of the Underlying Security, changes in the value of the Underlying Security options contracts and swaps the Fund holds, and changes in the value of the U.S. Treasuries.
Fund Portfolio
| Principal Holdings | ||
| Portfolio
Holdings (All options are based on the value of the Underlying Security) |
Investment Terms | Expected Target Maturity |
| Purchased call option contracts (primary options strategies) |
“at-the-money” (i.e., the strike price is equal to the then-current share price of the Underlying Security at the time of purchase) to provide indirect exposure to positive price returns of the Underlying Security.
If the Underlying Security share price increases, these options will generate corresponding increases to the Fund. |
1-month to 6-month expiration dates |
| Purchased call option contracts (additional options strategies) |
“deep-in-the-money” (i.e., the Underlying Security’s price is well above the strike price on the call option) to provide indirect exposure to positive price returns of the Underlying Security.
If the Underlying Security share price increases, these options will generate corresponding increases to the Fund. |
1-month to 6-month expiration dates
|
| Sold put option contracts |
“at-the-money” (i.e., the strike price is equal to the then-current share price of the Underlying Security at the time of sale).
They are sold to help pay for the purchased call options described above.
However, the sold put option contracts provide exposure to the full extent of any share price losses experienced by the Underlying Security. |
1-month to 6-month expiration dates |
| Sold
(short) call option contracts (Covered Call Strategy) |
The strike price is approximately 0%-15% more than the then-current share price of the Underlying Security at the time of sale.
They generate current income. However, they also limit some potential positive returns that the Fund may have otherwise experienced from gains in the Underlying Security’s share price. |
1-month or less expiration dates |
|
Sold
(short) call option contracts
|
The strike price is approximately 0%-15% more than the then-current share price of the Fund’s Underlying Security at the time of sale.
Sold call option contracts provide inverse exposure to the full extent of any increases in the value experienced by the Fund’s Underlying Security, minus the premium received. |
1-month or less expiration dates |
| Purchased
call option contracts (Covered Call Spread Strategy) |
“out-of-the-money” (i.e., the strike price is above the strike price of the corresponding Covered Call Spread Strategy sold call).
Bought call option contracts provide exposure to the full extent of any increases in the value experienced by the Fund’s Underlying Security above the option’s strike price. |
1-month or less expiration dates |
| Equity Securities | Direct equity holdings of the Underlying Security. | N/A |
| Swaps | Provides mark-to-market daily exposure to the total return of the Underlying Security over a particular period of time. | N/A |
| U.S Treasury Securities and Cash |
Multiple series of U.S. Treasury Bills supported by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government.
These instruments are used as collateral for the Fund’s derivative investments.
They will also generate income. |
6-month to 2-year maturities |
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The market value of the cash and treasuries held by the Fund is expected to be between 50% and 100% of the Fund’s net assets and the market value of the options, swaps and direct equity investments is expected to be between 0% and 50% of the Fund’s net assets. In terms of notional value, the combination of these investment instruments provides indirect investment exposure to CRWD equal to at least 100% of the Fund’s total assets.
Under normal circumstances, the Fund will invest at least 80% of its net assets, plus borrowings for investment purposes, in securities and financial instruments that provide indirect exposure to CRWD.
The Fund is classified as “non-diversified” under the 1940 Act.
There is no guarantee that the Fund’s investment strategy will be properly implemented, and an investor may lose some or all of its investment.
CrowdStrike Holdings, Inc. (“CRWD”)
CrowdStrike Holdings, Inc. is an American cybersecurity technology company. CRWD is listed on The Nasdaq Global Select Market (Nasdaq). Per CRWD’s most recent Form 10-K filing, the aggregate market value of the common stock held by non-affiliates CRWD, based on the closing price of a share of the registrant’s common stock on July 31, 2024 as reported by Nasdaq on such date, was approximately $53.5 billion.
CRWD is registered under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”). Information provided to or filed with the SEC by CRWD pursuant to the Exchange Act can be located by reference to the SEC file number 001-38933 through the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov. In addition, information regarding CRWD may be obtained from other sources including, but not limited to, press releases, newspaper articles and other publicly disseminated documents.
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This document relates only to the securities offered hereby and does not relate to the shares of CRWD or other securities of CrowdStrike Holdings, Inc. The Fund has derived all disclosures contained in this document regarding CRWD from the publicly available documents. None of the Fund, the Trust, or the Adviser, or their respective affiliates has participated in the preparation of such publicly available offering documents or made any due diligence inquiry regarding such documents with respect to CRWD. None of the Fund, the Trust, or the Adviser, or their respective affiliates makes any representation that such publicly available documents or any other publicly available information regarding CRWD is accurate or complete. Furthermore, the Fund cannot give any assurance that all events occurring prior to the date hereof (including events that would affect the accuracy or completeness of the publicly available documents described above) that would affect the trading price of CRWD (and therefore the share price of the Fund at the time we price the securities) have been publicly disclosed. Subsequent disclosure of any such events or the disclosure of or failure to disclose material future events concerning CRWD could affect the value received with respect to the securities and therefore the value of the securities.
None of the Fund, the Trust, the Adviser, or their respective affiliates makes any representation to you as to the performance of CRWD.
NONE OF THE FUND, TIDAL TRUST II, OR TIDAL INVESTMENTS LLC ARE AFFILIATED WITH THE UNDERLYING SECURITY.
Due to the Fund’s investment strategy, the Fund’s investment exposure is concentrated in the same industry as that assigned to the Underlying Security. As of the date of the Prospectus, CRWD is assigned to the Software industry.
Principal Investment Risks
The principal risks of investing in the Fund are summarized below. As with any investment, there is a risk that you could lose all or a portion of your investment in the Fund. Some or all of these risks may adversely affect the Fund’s net asset value (“NAV”) per share, trading price, yield, total return, and/or ability to meet its objective. For more information about the risks of investing in the Fund, see the section in the Fund’s Prospectus titled “Additional Information About the Funds—Principal Risks of Investing in the Funds.”
An investment in the Fund entails risk. The Fund may not achieve its investment objective and there is a risk that you could lose all of your money invested in the Fund. The Fund is not a complete investment program. It is important that investors closely review all of the risks listed below and understand them before making an investment in the Fund.
Each risk summarized below is considered a “principal risk” of investing in the Fund, regardless of the order in which they appear.
CRWD Risk. The Fund invests in instruments that are based on the value of CRWD. This subjects the Fund to certain of the same risks as if it owned shares of CRWD, even if it does not. By virtue of the Fund’s exposure to CRWD, the Fund may also be subject to the following risks:
Indirect Investment in CRWD Risk. CRWD is not affiliated with the Trust, the Fund, or the Adviser, or their respective affiliates and is not involved with this offering in any way and has no obligation to consider your Shares in taking any corporate actions that might affect the value of Shares. Investors in the Fund will not have voting rights and will not be able to influence management of CRWD but will be exposed to the performance of CRWD (the Underlying Security). Investors in the Fund will not have the right to receive dividends or other distributions or any other rights with respect to the Underlying Security but will be subject to declines in the performance of the Underlying Security.
CRWD Trading Risk. The trading price of CRWD may be subject to volatility and could experience wide fluctuations due to various factors. Short sellers may also play a significant role in trading CRWD, potentially affecting the supply and demand dynamics and contributing to market price volatility. Public perception and external factors beyond the company’s control may influence CRWD’s stock price disproportionately. Additionally, following periods of market volatility, companies have faced securities class action litigation. Any adverse judgment or future stockholder litigation could result in substantial costs and divert management’s attention and resources. In the event of a halt in trading of CRWD, trading in shares of related funds may be impacted, either temporarily or indefinitely.
CRWD Performance Risk. CRWD may fail to meet its publicly announced guidelines or other expectations about its business, which could cause the price of CRWD to decline. CRWD provides guidance regarding its expected financial and business performance, such as projections regarding sales and production, as well as anticipated future revenues, gross margins, profitability and cash flows. Correctly identifying key factors affecting business conditions and predicting future events is inherently an uncertain process, and the guidance CRWD provides may not ultimately be accurate. If CRWD’s guidance is not accurate or varies from actual results due to its inability to meet the assumptions or the impact on its financial performance that could occur as a result of various risks and uncertainties, the market value of common stock issued by CRWD could decline significantly.
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Software Industry Risk. The software industry can be significantly affected by intense competition, aggressive pricing, technological innovations, and product obsolescence. Companies in the software industry are subject to significant competitive pressures, such as aggressive pricing, new market entrants, competition for market share, short product cycles due to an accelerated rate of technological developments and the potential for limited earnings and/or falling profit margins. These companies also face the risks that new services, equipment or technologies will not be accepted by consumers and businesses or will become rapidly obsolete. These factors can affect the profitability of these companies and, as a result, the value of their securities. Also, patent protection is integral to the success of many companies in this industry, and profitability can be affected materially by, among other things, the cost of obtaining (or failing to obtain) patent approvals, the cost of litigating patent infringement and the loss of patent protection for products (which significantly increases pricing pressures and can materially reduce profitability with respect to such products). In addition, many software companies have limited operating histories. Prices of these companies’ securities historically have been more volatile than other securities, especially over the short term.
Adverse Event Risk. On July 19, 2024, CRWD released a content configuration update for its software that resulted in system crashes for certain Windows systems (the “July 19 Incident”). CRWD has incurred, and expects to continue to incur, significant costs and expenses related to the incident, including in connection with remediation efforts, customer and partner relations, measures taken to address the damage to its reputation, and other measures taken in response to the incident. CRWD’s management and other personnel have devoted, and may continue to devote, significant time and resources to address the impacts of the July 19 Incident. CRWD also has hired, and in the future may hire, additional personnel to assist with its ongoing efforts. Any real or perceived failure, by CRWD or the third-party service providers CRWD engages, to remediate and respond to the July 19 Incident could adversely impact CRWD’s business. While CRWD is investing in enhancements to software resiliency, testing and customer controls following the July 19 Incident, CRWD cannot guarantee that such enhancements will be effective, or that its products do not have or will not have defects, errors, or vulnerabilities.
Cyber Risk. As a provider of security solutions, CRWD has in the past been, and may in the future be, specifically targeted by bad actors for attacks intended to circumvent CRWD’s security capabilities or to exploit CRWD’s platform as an entry point into customers’ endpoints, networks, or systems. In particular, because CRWD has been involved in the identification of organized cybercriminals and nation-state actors, CRWD has been the subject of intense efforts by sophisticated cyber adversaries who seek to compromise its systems. Such efforts may also intensify as geopolitical tensions increase.
Derivatives Risk. Derivatives are financial instruments that derive value from the underlying reference asset or assets, such as stocks, bonds, or funds (including ETFs), interest rates or indexes. The Fund’s investments in derivatives may pose risks in addition to, and greater than, those associated with directly investing in securities or other ordinary investments, including risk related to the market, imperfect correlation with underlying investments or the Fund’s other portfolio holdings, higher price volatility, lack of availability, counterparty risk, liquidity, valuation and legal restrictions. The use of derivatives is a highly specialized activity that involves investment techniques and risks different from those associated with ordinary portfolio securities transactions. The use of derivatives may result in larger losses or smaller gains than directly investing in securities. When the Fund uses derivatives, there may be an imperfect correlation between the value of the Underlying Security and the derivative, which may prevent the Fund from achieving its investment objective. Because derivatives often require only a limited initial investment, the use of derivatives may expose the Fund to losses in excess of those amounts initially invested. In addition, the Fund’s investments in derivatives are subject to the following risks:
Options Contracts. The use of options contracts involves investment strategies and risks different from those associated with ordinary portfolio securities transactions. The prices of options are volatile and are influenced by, among other things, actual and anticipated changes in the value of the underlying instrument, including the anticipated volatility, which are affected by fiscal and monetary policies and by national and international political, changes in the actual or implied volatility or the reference asset, the time remaining until the expiration of the option contract and economic events. For the Fund in particular, the value of the options contracts in which it invests are substantially influenced by the value of the Underlying Security. The Fund may experience substantial downside from specific option positions and certain option positions held by the Fund may expire worthless. The options held by the Fund are exercisable at the strike price on their expiration date. As an option approaches its expiration date, its value typically increasingly move with the value of the underlying instrument. However, prior to such date, the value of an option generally does not increase or decrease at the same rate at the underlying instrument. There may at times be an imperfect correlation between the movement in the values of options contracts and the underlying instrument, and there may at times not be a liquid secondary market for certain options contracts. The value of the options held by the Fund will be determined based on market quotations or other recognized pricing methods. Additionally, as the Fund intends to continuously maintain indirect exposure to the Underlying Security through the use of options contracts, as the options contracts it holds are exercised or expire it will enter into new options contracts, a practice referred to as “rolling.” If the expiring options contracts do not generate proceeds enough to cover the cost of entering into new options contracts, the Fund may experience losses.
Swaps. The use of swap transactions is a highly specialized activity, which involves investment techniques and risks different from those associated with ordinary portfolio securities transactions. Whether the Fund will be successful in using swap agreements to achieve its investment goal depends on the ability of the Adviser to structure such swap agreements in accordance with the Fund’s investment objective and to identify counterparties for those swap agreements. If the Adviser is unable to enter into swap agreements that provide leveraged exposure to the Underlying Security, the Fund may not meet its stated investment objective. Additionally, any financing, borrowing or other costs associated with using swap transactions may also have the effect of lowering the Fund’s return.
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The swap agreements in which the Fund invests are generally traded in the over-the-counter market, which generally has less transparency than exchange-traded derivatives instruments. In a standard swap transaction, two parties agree to exchange the return (or differentials in rates of return) earned or realized on particular predetermined reference assets or underlying securities or instruments. The gross return to be exchanged or swapped between the parties is calculated based on a notional amount or the return on or change in value of a particular dollar amount invested in a basket of securities.
If the Underlying Security has a dramatic move that causes a material decline in the Fund’s net assets, the terms of a swap agreement between the Fund and its counterparty may permit the counterparty to immediately close out the swap transaction with the Fund. In that event, the Fund may be unable to enter into another swap agreement or invest in other derivatives to achieve exposure consistent with the Fund’s investment objective. This may prevent the Fund from achieving its leveraged investment objective, even if the Underlying Security later reverses all or a portion of its movement.
Counterparty Risk. The Fund is subject to counterparty risk by virtue of its investments in derivative instruments. Transactions in some types of derivatives, including options, are required to be centrally cleared (“cleared derivatives”). In a transaction involving cleared derivatives, the Fund’s counterparty is a clearing house rather than a bank or broker. Since the Fund is not a member of clearing houses and only members of a clearing house (“clearing members”) can participate directly in the clearing house, the Fund will hold cleared derivatives through accounts at clearing members. In cleared derivatives positions, the Fund will make payments (including margin payments) to and receive payments from a clearing house through their accounts at clearing members. Customer funds held at a clearing organization in connection with any options contracts are held in a commingled omnibus account and are not identified to the name of the clearing member’s individual customers. As a result, assets deposited by the Fund with any clearing member as margin for options may, in certain circumstances, be used to satisfy losses of other clients of the Fund’s clearing member. In addition, although clearing members guarantee performance of their clients’ obligations to the clearing house, there is a risk that the assets of the Fund might not be fully protected in the event of the clearing member’s bankruptcy, as the Fund would be limited to recovering only a pro rata share of all available funds segregated on behalf of the clearing member’s customers for the relevant account class. The Fund is also subject to the risk that a limited number of clearing members are willing to transact on the Fund’s behalf, which heightens the risks associated with a clearing member’s default. This risk is greater for the Fund as it seeks to hold options contracts on a single security, and not a broader range of options contracts, which may limit the number of clearing members that are willing to transact on the Fund’s behalf. If a clearing member defaults the Fund could lose some or all of the benefits of a transaction entered into by the Fund with the clearing member. If the Fund cannot find a clearing member to transact with on the Fund’s behalf, the Fund may be unable to effectively implement its investment strategy.
The Fund is also subject to the risk that the counterparty will not fulfill its obligation to the Fund. Counterparty risk may arise because of the counterparty’s financial condition (i.e., financial difficulties, bankruptcy, or insolvency), market activities and developments, or other reasons, whether foreseen or not. A counterparty’s inability to fulfill its obligation may result in significant financial loss to the Fund and the Fund may be unable to recover its investment from such counterparty or may obtain a limited and/or delayed recovery.
Price Participation Risk. The Fund employs an investment strategy that includes the sale of call option contracts, which limits the degree to which the Fund will participate in increases in value experienced by the Underlying Security over the Call Period. This means that if the Underlying Security experiences an increase in value above the strike price of the sold call options during a Call Period, the Fund will likely not experience that increase to the same extent and may significantly underperform the Underlying Security over the Call Period. Additionally, because the Fund is limited in the degree to which it will participate in increases in value experienced by the Underlying Security over each Call Period, but has full exposure to any decreases in value experienced by the Underlying Security over the Call Period, the NAV of the Fund may decrease over any given time period. The Fund’s NAV is dependent on the value of each options portfolio, which is based principally upon the performance of the Underlying Security. The degree of participation in the Underlying Security gains the Fund will experience will depend on prevailing market conditions, especially market volatility, at the time the Fund enters into the sold call option contracts and will vary from Call Period to Call Period. The value of the options contracts is affected by changes in the value and dividend rates of the Underlying Security, changes in interest rates, changes in the actual or perceived volatility of the Underlying Security and the remaining time to the options’ expiration, as well as trading conditions in the options market. As the price of the Underlying Security changes and time moves towards the expiration of each Call Period, the value of the options contracts, and therefore the Fund’s NAV, will change. However, it is not expected for the Fund’s NAV to directly correlate on a day-to-day basis with the returns of the Underlying Security. The amount of time remaining until the options contract’s expiration date affects the impact of the potential options contract income on the Fund’s NAV, which may not be in full effect until the expiration date of the Fund’s options contracts. Therefore, while changes in the price of the Underlying Security will result in changes to the Fund’s NAV, the Fund generally anticipates that the rate of change in the Fund’s NAV will be different than that experienced by the Underlying Security.
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Distribution Risk. As part of the Fund’s investment objective, the Fund seeks to provide current monthly income. There is no assurance that the Fund will make a distribution in any given month. If the Fund does make distributions, the amounts of such distributions will likely vary greatly from one distribution to the next. Additionally, monthly distributions, if any, may consist of returns of capital, which would decrease the Fund’s NAV and trading price over time. As a result, an investor may suffer significant losses to their investment.
NAV Erosion Risk Due to Distributions. When the Fund makes a distribution, the Fund’s NAV will typically drop by the amount of the distribution on the related ex-dividend date. The repeated payment of distributions by the Fund, if any, may significantly erode the Fund’s NAV and trading price over time. As a result, an investor may suffer significant losses to their investment.
Call Strategy Risks. The path dependency (i.e., the continued use) of the Fund’s call writing strategy will impact the extent that the Fund participates in the positive price returns of the Underlying Security and, in turn, the Fund’s returns, both during the term of the sold call options and over longer time periods. If, for example, each month the Fund were to sell 7% out-of-the-money call options having a one-month term, the Fund’s participation in the positive price returns of the Underlying Security will be capped at 7% in any given month. However, over a longer period (e.g., 5 months), the Fund should not be expected to participate fully in the first 35% (i.e., 5 months x 7%) of the positive price returns of the Underlying Security, or the Fund may even lose money, even if the Underlying Security share price has appreciated by at least that much over such period, if during any month over that period the Underlying Security had a return less than 7%. This example illustrates that both the Fund’s participation in the positive price returns of the Underlying Security and its returns will depend not only on the price of the Underlying Security but also on the path that the Underlying Security takes over time.
Additionally, when implementing the Covered Call Spread Strategy, the use of credit call spreads introduces further complexities and risks. While purchasing a higher-strike call option limits potential losses from the short call position, it also reduces the net premium received, which may result in lower overall returns compared to a stand-alone covered call strategy. If the price of the Underlying Security rises rapidly, the call spread may still cap upside participation, leading to missed profit opportunities. Furthermore, market conditions, such as mispricing between near-the-money and further out-of-the-money options, may impact the effectiveness of the strategy, potentially resulting in lower-than-expected returns or increased losses. The relative pricing of options at different strike levels can vary due to volatility shifts, liquidity constraints, or other market dynamics, adding an additional layer of uncertainty to the Fund’s performance under this strategy.
Economic and Market Risk. Economies and financial markets throughout the world are becoming increasingly interconnected, which increases the likelihood that events or conditions in one country or region will adversely impact markets or issuers in other countries or regions. Securities in the Fund’s portfolio may underperform in comparison to securities in the general financial markets, a particular financial market, or other asset classes, due to a number of factors, including inflation (or expectations for inflation), deflation (or expectations for deflation), interest rates, global demand for particular products or resources, market instability, financial system instability, debt crises and downgrades, embargoes, tariffs, sanctions and other trade barriers, regulatory events, other governmental trade or market control programs and related geopolitical events. In addition, the value of the Fund’s investments may be negatively affected by the occurrence of global events such as war, terrorism, environmental disasters, natural disasters or events, country instability, and infectious disease epidemics or pandemics. The imposition by the U.S. of tariffs on goods imported from foreign countries and reciprocal tariffs levied on U.S. goods by those countries also may lead to volatility and instability in domestic and foreign markets.
Equity Market Risk. The prices of equity securities rise and fall daily. These price movements may result from factors affecting individual issuers, industries or the stock market as a whole. In addition, equity markets tend to move in cycles which may cause stock prices to fall over a short and extended periods of time. In a declining stock market, stock prices for all companies (including those in the Fund’s portfolio) may decline, regardless of their long-term prospects.
ETF Risks.
Authorized Participants, Market Makers, and Liquidity Providers Concentration Risk. The Fund has a limited number of financial institutions that are authorized to purchase and redeem Shares directly from the Fund (known as “Authorized Participants” or “APs”). In addition, there may be a limited number of market makers and/or liquidity providers in the marketplace. To the extent either of the following events occur, Shares may trade at a material discount to NAV and possibly face delisting: (i) APs exit the business or otherwise become unable to process creation and/or redemption orders and no other APs step forward to perform these services; or (ii) market makers and/or liquidity providers exit the business or significantly reduce their business activities and no other entities step forward to perform their functions.
Cash Redemption Risk. The Fund’s investment strategy may require it to redeem Shares for cash or to otherwise include cash as part of its redemption proceeds. For example, the Fund may not be able to redeem in-kind certain securities held by the Fund (e.g., derivative instruments). In such a case, the Fund may be required to sell or unwind portfolio investments to obtain the cash needed to distribute redemption proceeds. This may cause the Fund to recognize a capital gain that it might not have recognized if it had made a redemption in-kind. As a result, the Fund may pay out higher annual capital gain distributions than if the in-kind redemption process was used. By paying out higher annual capital gain distributions, investors may be subjected to increased capital gains taxes. Additionally, there may be brokerage costs or taxable gains or losses that may be imposed on the Fund in connection with a cash redemption that may not have occurred if the Fund had made a redemption in-kind. These costs could decrease the value of the Fund to the extent they are not offset by a transaction fee payable by an AP.
Costs of Buying or Selling Shares. Due to the costs of buying or selling Shares, including brokerage commissions imposed by brokers and bid-ask spreads, frequent trading of Shares may significantly reduce investment results and an investment in Shares may not be advisable for investors who anticipate regularly making small investments.
Management Risk. The Fund is subject to management risk because it is an actively managed portfolio. In managing the Fund’s investment portfolio, the portfolio managers will apply investment techniques and risk analyses that may not produce the desired result. There can be no guarantee that the Fund will meet its investment objective.
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Shares May Trade at Prices Other Than NAV. As with all ETFs, Shares may be bought and sold in the secondary market at market prices. Although it is expected that the market price of Shares will approximate the Fund’s NAV, there may be times when the market price of Shares is more than the NAV intra-day (premium) or less than the NAV intra-day (discount) due to supply and demand of Shares or during periods of market volatility. This risk is heightened in times of market volatility, periods of steep market declines, and periods when there is limited trading activity for Shares in the secondary market, in which case such premiums or discounts may be significant.
Trading. Although Shares are listed on a national securities exchange, such as [ ] (the “Exchange”), and may be traded on U.S. exchanges other than the Exchange, there can be no assurance that an active trading market for the Shares will develop or be maintained or that the Shares will trade with any volume, or at all, on any stock exchange. In stressed market conditions, the liquidity of Shares may begin to mirror the liquidity of the Fund’s underlying portfolio holdings, which can be significantly less liquid than Shares. Shares trade on the Exchange at market price that may be below, at or above the Fund’s NAV. Trading in Shares on the Exchange may be halted due to market conditions or for reasons that, in the view of the Exchange, make trading in Shares inadvisable. In addition, trading in Shares on the Exchange is subject to trading halts caused by extraordinary market volatility pursuant to the Exchange “circuit breaker” rules. There can be no assurance that the requirements of the Exchange necessary to maintain the listing of the Fund will continue to be met or will remain unchanged. In the event of an unscheduled market close for options contracts that are based on the value of an ETF, such as the Underlying Security being halted or a market wide closure, settlement prices will be determined by the procedures of the listing exchange of the options contracts. As a result, the Fund could be adversely affected and be unable to implement its investment strategies in the event of an unscheduled closing.
High Portfolio Turnover Risk. The Fund may actively and frequently trade all or a significant portion of the Fund’s holdings. A high portfolio turnover rate increases transaction costs, which may increase the Fund’s expenses. Frequent trading may also cause adverse tax consequences for investors in the Fund due to an increase in short-term capital gains.
Inflation Risk. Inflation risk is the risk that the value of assets or income from investments will be less in the future as inflation decreases the value of money. As inflation increases, the present value of the Fund’s assets and distributions, if any, may decline.
Liquidity Risk. Some securities held by the Fund, including options contracts, may be difficult to sell or be illiquid, particularly during times of market turmoil. This risk is greater for the Fund as it will hold options contracts on a single security, and not a broader range of options contracts. Markets for securities or financial instruments could be disrupted by a number of events, including, but not limited to, an economic crisis, natural disasters, epidemics/pandemics, new legislation or regulatory changes inside or outside the United States. Illiquid securities may be difficult to value, especially in changing or volatile markets. If the Fund is forced to sell an illiquid security at an unfavorable time or price, the Fund may be adversely impacted. Certain market conditions or restrictions, such as market rules related to short sales, may prevent the Fund from limiting losses, realizing gains or achieving a high correlation with the Underlying Security. There is no assurance that a security that is deemed liquid when purchased will continue to be liquid. Market illiquidity may cause losses for the Fund.
Money Market Instrument Risk. The Fund may use a variety of money market instruments for cash management purposes, including money market funds, depositary accounts and repurchase agreements. Repurchase agreements are contracts in which a seller of securities agrees to buy the securities back at a specified time and price. Repurchase agreements may be subject to market and credit risk related to the collateral securing the repurchase agreement. Money market instruments, including money market funds, may lose money through fees or other means.
New Fund Risk. The Fund is a recently organized management investment company with no operating history. As a result, prospective investors do not have a track record or history on which to base their investment decisions.
Non-Diversification Risk. Because the Fund is “non-diversified,” it may invest a greater percentage of its assets in the securities of a single issuer or a smaller number of issuers than if it was a diversified fund. As a result, a decline in the value of an investment in a single issuer or a smaller number of issuers could cause the Fund’s overall value to decline to a greater degree than if the Fund held a more diversified portfolio. This may increase the Fund’s volatility and cause the performance of a relatively smaller number of issuers to have a greater impact on the Fund’s performance.
Operational Risk. The Fund is subject to risks arising from various operational factors, including, but not limited to, human error, processing and communication errors, errors of the Fund’s service providers, counterparties or other third-parties, failed or inadequate processes and technology or systems failures. The Fund relies on third-parties for a range of services, including custody. Any delay or failure relating to engaging or maintaining such service providers may affect the Fund’s ability to meet its investment objective. Although the Fund and Adviser seek to reduce these operational risks through controls and procedures, there is no way to completely protect against such risks. This may increase the Fund’s volatility and cause the performance of a relatively smaller number of issuers to have a greater impact on the Fund’s performance.
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Single Issuer Risk. Issuer-specific attributes may cause an investment in the Fund to be more volatile than a traditional pooled investment which diversifies risk or the market generally. The value of the Fund, which focuses on an individual security (the Underlying Security), may be more volatile than a traditional pooled investment or the market as a whole and may perform differently from the value of a traditional pooled investment or the market as a whole.
Tax Risk. The Fund intends to elect and to qualify each year to be treated as a RIC under Subchapter M of the Code. As a RIC, the Fund will not be subject to U.S. federal income tax on the portion of its net investment income and net capital gain that it distributes to Shareholders, provided that it satisfies certain requirements of the Code. If the Fund does not qualify as a RIC for any taxable year and certain relief provisions are not available, the Fund’s taxable income will be subject to tax at the Fund level and to a further tax at the shareholder level when such income is distributed. To comply with the asset diversification test applicable to a RIC, the Fund will attempt to ensure that the value of financial instruments providing exposure to the Underlying Security are never 25% of the total value of Fund assets at the close of any quarter. If the Fund’s investments in such financial instruments were to exceed 25% of the Fund’s total assets at the end of a tax quarter, the Fund, generally, has a grace period to cure such lack of compliance. If the Fund fails to timely cure, it may no longer be eligible to be treated as a RIC.
U.S. Government and U.S. Agency Obligations Risk. The Fund may invest in securities issued by the U.S. government or its agencies or instrumentalities. U.S. Government obligations include securities issued or guaranteed as to principal and interest by the U.S. Government, its agencies or instrumentalities, such as the U.S. Treasury. Payment of principal and interest on U.S. Government obligations may be backed by the full faith and credit of the United States or may be backed solely by the issuing or guaranteeing agency or instrumentality itself. In the latter case, the investor must look principally to the agency or instrumentality issuing or guaranteeing the obligation for ultimate repayment, which agency or instrumentality may be privately owned. There can be no assurance that the U.S. Government would provide financial support to its agencies or instrumentalities (including government-sponsored enterprises) where it is not obligated to do so.
Performance
Performance information for the Fund is not included because the Fund has not completed a full calendar year of operations as of the date of this Prospectus. When such information is included, this section will provide some indication of the risks of investing in the Fund by showing changes in the Fund’s performance history from year to year and showing how the Fund’s average annual total returns compare with those of a broad measure of market performance. Although past performance of the Fund is no guarantee of how it will perform in the future, historical performance may give you some indication of the risks of investing in the Fund. Updated performance information will be available on the Fund’s website at www.yieldmaxetfs.com.
Management
Investment Adviser: Tidal Investments LLC (the “Adviser”) serves as investment adviser to the Fund.
Portfolio Managers:
The following individuals are jointly and primarily responsible for the day-to-day management of the Fund.
Matt Brandt, Portfolio Manager for the Adviser, has been a portfolio manager of the Fund since its inception in 2025.
Christopher P. Mullen, Portfolio Manager for the Adviser, has been a portfolio manager of the Fund since its inception in 2025.
Scott Snyder, Portfolio Manager for the Adviser, has been a portfolio manager of the Fund since its inception in 2025.
Purchase and Sale of Shares
The Fund issues and redeems Shares at NAV only in large blocks known as “Creation Units,” which only Authorized Participants (APs) (typically, broker-dealers) may purchase or redeem. The Fund generally issues and redeems Creation Units in exchange for a portfolio of securities (the “Deposit Securities”) and/or a designated amount of U.S. cash.
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Shares are listed on a national securities exchange, such as the Exchange, and individual Shares may only be bought and sold in the secondary market through brokers at market prices, rather than NAV. Because Shares trade at market prices rather than NAV, Shares may trade at a price greater than NAV (premium) or less than NAV (discount).
An investor may incur costs attributable to the difference between the highest price a buyer is willing to pay to purchase Shares (the “bid” price) and the lowest price a seller is willing to accept for Shares (the “ask” price) when buying or selling Shares in the secondary market. This difference in bid and ask prices is often referred to as the “bid-ask spread.”
When available, information regarding the Fund’s NAV, market price, how often Shares traded on the Exchange at a premium or discount, and bid-ask spreads can be found on the Fund’s website at www.yieldmaxetfs.com.
Tax Information
Fund distributions are generally taxable as ordinary income, qualified dividend income, or capital gains (or a combination), unless an investment is in an individual retirement account (“IRA”) or other tax-advantaged account. Distributions on investments made through tax-deferred arrangements may be taxed later upon withdrawal of assets from those accounts.
Financial Intermediary Compensation
If
you purchase Shares through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary
(such as a bank) (an “Intermediary”), the Adviser or its affiliates may pay
Intermediaries for certain activities related to the Fund, including
participation in activities that are designed to make Intermediaries more
knowledgeable about exchange-traded products, including the Fund, or for other
activities, such as marketing, educational training, or other initiatives
related to the sale or promotion of Shares. These payments may create a conflict
of interest by influencing the Intermediary and your salesperson to recommend
the Fund over another investment. Any such arrangements do not result in
increased Fund expenses. Ask your salesperson or visit the Intermediary’s
website for more information.
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YieldMax® GME Option Income Strategy ETF - FUND SUMMARY
Investment Objective
The Fund’s primary investment objective is to seek current income.
The Fund’s secondary investment objective is to seek exposure to the share price of GameStop Corp. (“GME” or “Underlying Security”), which is generally subject to a limit on potential investment gains.
Fees and Expenses of the Fund
This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy, hold, and sell shares of the Fund (“Shares”). You may pay other fees, such as brokerage commissions and other fees to financial intermediaries, which are not reflected in the table and Example below.
| Annual Fund Operating Expenses(1) (expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment) | |||
| Management Fee | [] | % | |
| Distribution and Service (12b-1) Fees | None | ||
| Other Expenses(2) | [] | % | |
| Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses | [] | % | |
| (1) | The Fund’s investment adviser, Tidal Investments LLC (the “Adviser”), a Tidal Financial Group company, will pay, or require a sub-adviser to pay, all of the Fund’s expenses, except for the following: advisory and sub-advisory fees, interest charges on any borrowings made for investment purposes, dividends and other expenses on securities sold short, taxes, brokerage commissions and other expenses incurred in placing orders for the purchase and sale of securities and other investment instruments, acquired fund fees and expenses, accrued deferred tax liability, distribution fees and expenses paid by the Fund under any distribution plan adopted pursuant to Rule 12b-1 under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”), litigation expenses, and other non-routine or extraordinary expenses. | |
| (2) | Based on estimated amounts for the current fiscal year. |
Expense Example
This Example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other funds. The Example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and then hold or redeem all of your Shares at the end of those periods. The Example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Fund’s operating expenses remain the same. The Example does not take into account brokerage commissions that you may pay on your purchases and sales of Shares. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:
| 1 Year | 3 Years |
| $[] | $[] |
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 Shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in total annual fund operating expenses or in the expense example above, affect the Fund’s performance. Because the Fund is newly organized, portfolio turnover information is not yet available.
Principal Investment Strategies
The Fund is an actively managed exchange-traded fund (“ETF”) that seeks current income while providing indirect exposure to the share price (i.e., the price returns) of GameStop Corp. (NYSE: GME) (“GME” or the “Underlying Security”), which is generally subject to a limit on potential investment gains. The Fund will employ its investment strategy as it relates to GME regardless of whether there are periods of adverse market, economic, or other conditions and will not take temporary defensive positions during such periods. As further described below, the Fund primarily uses either a synthetic covered call strategy or synthetic covered call spread strategy to provide income and indirect exposure to the share price returns of GME, which is generally subject to a limit on potential investment gains as a result of the nature of the options strategy it employs. The Fund not only seeks to generate income from its options investments but also aims to derive gains when the value of GME increases. The Fund’s options contracts provide:
| ● | indirect exposure to the share price returns of GME, |
| ● | current income from the option premiums, and |
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| ● | at most times, a limit on the Fund’s participation in gains, if any, of the share price returns of GME. |
For more information, see sections “The Fund’s Use of Underlying Security Option Contracts,” “Synthetic Covered Call Strategy” and “SyntheticCovered Call Spread Strategy” below.
Why invest in the Fund?
| ● | The Fund seeks to generate monthly income, which is not dependent on the price appreciation of the Underlying Security. |
| ● | The Fund seeks to participate in a portion of the gains experienced by the Underlying Security. |
That is, although the Fund may not fully participate in gains in the Underlying Security’s stock price, the Fund’s portfolio is designed to generate income.
An Investment in the Fund is not an investment in the Underlying Security.
| ● | The Fund’s strategy will capture only a portion of its potential gains if the Underlying Security’s stock price increases in value. |
| ● | The Fund’s strategy is subject to all potential losses if the Underlying Security’s stock price decrease in value, which may not be offset by income received by the Fund. |
| ● | The Fund may invest directly in the Underlying Security, but expects to gain its Underlying Security exposure primarily through its synthetic covered call strategy or synthetic covered call spread strategy. |
| ● | Fund shareholders are not entitled to any Underlying Security dividends. |
Additional information regarding the Underlying Security is also set forth below.
The Fund’s Use of Underlying Security Option Contracts
As part of the Fund’s synthetic covered call strategy and synthetic covered call spread strategy, the Fund will purchase and sell a combination of standardized exchange-traded and FLexible EXchange® (“FLEX”) call and put option contracts that are based on the value of the price returns of the Underlying Security.
| ● | In general, an option contract gives the purchaser of the option contract the right to purchase (for a call option) or sell (for a put option) the underlying asset (like shares of the Underlying Security) at a specified price (the “strike price”). |
| ● | If exercised, an option contract obligates the seller to deliver shares (for a sold or “short” call) or buy shares (for a sold or “short” put) of the underlying asset at a specified price (the “strike price”). |
| ● | Options contracts must be exercised or traded to close within a specified time frame, or they expire. See the chart in section “Fund Portfolio” below for a description of the option contracts utilized by the Fund. |
Standardized exchange-traded options include standardized terms. FLEX options are also exchange-traded, but they allow for customizable terms (e.g., the strike price can be negotiated). For more information on FLEX options, see “Additional Information about the Funds – Exchange Traded Options Portfolio.”
The Fund’s options contracts are based on the value of the Underlying Security, which gives the Fund the right or obligation to receive or deliver shares of the Underlying Security on the expiration date of the applicable option contract in exchange for the stated strike price, depending on whether the option contract is a call option or a put option, and whether the Fund purchases or sells the option contract.
Synthetic Covered Call Strategy
In seeking to achieve its investment objective, the Fund may implement a “synthetic covered call” strategy using the standardized exchange-traded and FLEX options described above.
| ● | A traditional covered call strategy is an investment strategy where an investor (the Fund) sells a call option on an underlying security it owns. |
| ● | A synthetic covered call strategy is similar to a traditional covered call strategy in that the investor sells a call option that is based on the value of the underlying security. However, in a synthetic covered call strategy, the investor (the Fund) does not own the underlying security, but rather seeks to synthetically replicate 100% of the price movements of the underlying security through the use of various investment instruments. |
The Fund’s synthetic covered call strategies consists of the following three elements, each of which is described in greater detail farther below:
| ● | Synthetic long exposure to the Underlying Security, which allows the Fund to seek to participate in the changes, up or down, in the price of shares of the Underlying Security. |
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| ● | Covered call writing (where the Underlying Security’s call options are sold against the synthetic long portion of the strategy), which allows the Fund to generate income. |
| ● | U.S. Treasuries, which are used for collateral for the options, and which also generate income. |
| 1. | Synthetic Long Exposure |
To achieve a synthetic long exposure to the Underlying Security, the Fund will buy the Underlying Security’s call options and, simultaneously, sell the Underlying Security’s put options to try to replicate the price movements of the Underlying Security. The call options purchased by the Fund and the put options sold by the Fund will generally have one-month to six-month terms and strike prices that are approximately equal to the then-current share price of the Underlying Security at the time the contracts are purchased and sold, respectively. The combination of the long call options and sold put options provides the Fund with indirect investment exposure equal to approximately 100% of the Underlying Security for the duration of the applicable options exposure.
| 2. | Covered Call Strategies |
Covered Call Strategy
As part of its strategy, the Fund will write (sell) call option contracts on the Underlying Security to generate income. Since the Fund does not directly own the Underlying Security, these written call options will be sold short (i.e., selling a position it does not currently own). The Fund will seek to participate in the share price appreciation of the Underlying Security, if any. However, due to the nature of covered call strategies, the Fund’s participation may be subject to a cap (as described below). In this strategy, the call options written (sold) by the Fund will generally have 1- month or less expiration dates (the “Call Period”) and generally have a strike price that is approximately 0%-15% above the then-current share price of the Underlying Security.
It is important to note that the sale of the Underlying Security call option contracts will limit the Fund’s participation in the appreciation in the Underlying Security’s stock price. If the stock price of the Underlying Security increases, the above-referenced synthetic long exposure alone would allow the Fund to experience similar percentage gains. However, if the Underlying Security’s stock price appreciates beyond the strike price of one or more of the sold (short) call option contracts, the Fund will lose money on those short call positions, and the losses will, in turn, limit the upside return of the Fund’s synthetic long exposure. As a result, the Fund’s overall strategy (i.e., the combination of the synthetic long exposure to the Underlying Security and the sold (short) the Underlying Security call positions) will limit the Fund’s participation in gains in the Underlying Security’s stock price beyond a certain point.
Covered Call Spread Strategy
The Adviser will employ the Covered Call Spread Strategy when it believes it is a better strategy for the Fund as compared to the Covered Call Strategy. The Fund may write (sell) credit call spreads (described below) rather than stand-alone call option contracts to seek greater participation in the potential appreciation of its Underlying Security’s share price, while still generating net premium income. The Adviser will primarily employ this covered call spread strategy when it believes that the share price of its Underlying Security is likely to rise significantly in the short term (e.g., following a substantial selloff or overall positive market news). Additionally, the Adviser may use this strategy in other scenarios (e.g., if the market is undervaluing further out-of-the-money options relative to near-the-money options), where it believes the use of credit call spreads may prove more advantageous to the Fund’s total return than the covered call strategy.
A credit call spread involves selling a call option while simultaneously buying a call option with a higher strike price, both with the same expiration date. By writing credit call spreads, the Fund can potentially offset losses incurred from its short call positions if the Underlying Security’s share price rises above the strike price.
| 3. | U.S. Treasuries |
The Fund will hold short-term U.S. Treasury securities as collateral in connection with the Fund’s options contracts, as well as swaps as discussed in the “Additional Investment Strategies” section below.
The Fund intends to continuously maintain indirect exposure to the Underlying Security, primarily through the use of options contracts. As the options contracts it holds are exercised or expire it may enter into new options contracts, a practice referred to as “rolling.” The Fund’s practice of rolling options may result in high portfolio turnover.
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Additional Investment Strategies
In addition to the synthetic covered call strategy or synthetic covered call spread strategy described herein, the Fund may use the following additional strategies to gain exposure to the Underlying Security:
| ● | Swaps: The Fund may utilize swap contracts that provide exposure to the Underlying Security. |
| ● | Additional Options Strategies: The Fund may utilize additional options strategies, including purchasing call options that are “deep in the money” (i.e., the Underlying Security’s price is well above the strike price on the call option). |
| ● | Equity Securities: The Fund may purchase equity securities of the Underlying Security. |
While the Fund intends to primarily utilize its synthetic covered call strategy or synthetic covered call spread strategy to gain exposure to the Underlying Security, it may utilize each of the foregoing to the extent it is unable to achieve its targeted exposure through the use of these primary options strategies.
Fund’s Monthly Distributions
The Fund will seek to provide monthly income in the form of cash distributions. The Fund will seek to generate such income in the following ways:
| ● | Writing (selling) call option contracts on its Underlying Security as described above. The income comes mainly from the option premiums received from these option sales. A premium, in this context, refers to the price the option buyer pays to the option seller (the Fund) for the rights granted by the option. The amount of these premiums is largely affected by the fluctuations in the Underlying Security’s stock prices. However, other elements like interest rates can also influence the income level. |
| ● | Investing in short-term U.S. Treasury securities. The income generated by these securities will be influenced by interest rates at the time of investment. |
| ● | In addition to the income-seeking methodologies stated in the Prospectus, the Fund’s use of the Synthetic Covered Call Spread Strategy may occasionally allow it to capture a substantial portion of any significant increase in the price of its Underlying Security. When this happens, the Fund could receive profits exceeding the initial cost of the call options, and the Fund’s distributions may include some of those profits. | |
| ● | The Fund may receive some dividend income to the extent it invests directly in the Underlying Security. |
Fund’s Return Profile vs its Underlying Security
For the reasons stated above, the Fund’s performance will differ from that of the Underlying Security’s stock price. The performance differences will depend on, among other things, the price of the Underlying Security, changes in the value of the Underlying Security options contracts and swaps the Fund holds, and changes in the value of the U.S. Treasuries.
Fund Portfolio
| Principal Holdings | ||
| Portfolio
Holdings (All options are based on the value of the Underlying Security) |
Investment Terms | Expected Target Maturity |
| Purchased call option contracts (primary options strategies) |
“at-the-money” (i.e., the strike price is equal to the then-current share price of the Underlying Security at the time of purchase) to provide indirect exposure to positive price returns of the Underlying Security.
If the Underlying Security share price increases, these options will generate corresponding increases to the Fund. |
1-month to 6-month expiration dates |
| Purchased call option contracts (additional options strategies) |
“deep-in-the-money” (i.e., the Underlying Security’s price is well above the strike price on the call option) to provide indirect exposure to positive price returns of the Underlying Security.
If the Underlying Security share price increases, these options will generate corresponding increases to the Fund. |
1-month to 6-month expiration dates
|
| Sold put option contracts |
“at-the-money” (i.e., the strike price is equal to the then-current share price of the Underlying Security at the time of sale).
They are sold to help pay for the purchased call options described above.
However, the sold put option contracts provide exposure to the full extent of any share price losses experienced by the Underlying Security. |
1-month to 6-month expiration dates |
| Sold
(short) call option contracts (Covered Call Strategy) |
The strike price is approximately 0%-15% more than the then-current share price of the Underlying Security at the time of sale.
They generate current income. However, they also limit some potential positive returns that the Fund may have otherwise experienced from gains in the Underlying Security’s share price. |
1-month or less expiration dates |
|
Sold
(short) call option contracts
|
The strike price is approximately 0%-15% more than the then-current share price of the Fund’s Underlying Security at the time of sale.
Sold call option contracts provide inverse exposure to the full extent of any increases in the value experienced by the Fund’s Underlying Security, minus the premium received. |
1-month or less expiration dates |
| Purchased
call option contracts (Covered Call Spread Strategy) |
“out-of-the-money” (i.e., the strike price is above the strike price of the corresponding Covered Call Spread Strategy sold call).
Bought call option contracts provide exposure to the full extent of any increases in the value experienced by the Fund’s Underlying Security above the option’s strike price. |
1-month or less expiration dates |
| Equity Securities | Direct equity holdings of the Underlying Security. | N/A |
| Swaps | Provides mark-to-market daily exposure to the total return of the Underlying Security over a particular period of time. | N/A |
| U.S Treasury Securities and Cash |
Multiple series of U.S. Treasury Bills supported by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government.
These instruments are used as collateral for the Fund’s derivative investments.
They will also generate income. |
6-month to 2-year maturities |
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The market value of the cash and treasuries held by the Fund is expected to be between 50% and 100% of the Fund’s net assets and the market value of the options, swaps and direct equity investments is expected to be between 0% and 50% of the Fund’s net assets. In terms of notional value, the combination of these investment instruments provides indirect investment exposure to GME equal to at least 100% of the Fund’s total assets.
Under normal circumstances, the Fund will invest at least 80% of its net assets, plus borrowings for investment purposes, in securities and financial instruments that provide indirect exposure to GME.
The Fund is classified as “non-diversified” under the 1940 Act.
There is no guarantee that the Fund’s investment strategy will be properly implemented, and an investor may lose some or all of its investment.
GameStop Corp. (“GME”)
GameStop Corp. offers games and entertainment products through its stores and e-commerce platforms. It operates in four geographic segments: United States, Canada, Australia and Europe. Each segment consists primarily of retail operations, with the significant majority focused on games, entertainment products and technology. GME is listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). Per GME’s most recent Form 10-K filing, the aggregate market value of the voting and non-voting Class A Common Stock held by non-affiliates of GME as of August 2, 2024 was approximately $8.2 billion.
GME is registered under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”). Information provided to or filed with the SEC by GME pursuant to the Exchange Act can be located by reference to the SEC file number 1-32637 through the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov. In addition, information regarding GME may be obtained from other sources including, but not limited to, press releases, newspaper articles and other publicly disseminated documents.
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This document relates only to the securities offered hereby and does not relate to the shares of GME or other securities of GameStop Corp. The Fund has derived all disclosures contained in this document regarding GME from the publicly available documents. None of the Fund, the Trust, or the Adviser, or their respective affiliates has participated in the preparation of such publicly available offering documents or made any due diligence inquiry regarding such documents with respect to GME. None of the Fund, the Trust, or the Adviser, or their respective affiliates makes any representation that such publicly available documents or any other publicly available information regarding GME is accurate or complete. Furthermore, the Fund cannot give any assurance that all events occurring prior to the date hereof (including events that would affect the accuracy or completeness of the publicly available documents described above) that would affect the trading price of GME (and therefore the share price of the Fund at the time we price the securities) have been publicly disclosed. Subsequent disclosure of any such events or the disclosure of or failure to disclose material future events concerning GME could affect the value received with respect to the securities and therefore the value of the securities.
None of the Fund, the Trust, the Adviser, or their respective affiliates makes any representation to you as to the performance of GME.
NONE OF THE FUND, TIDAL TRUST II, OR TIDAL INVESTMENTS LLC ARE AFFILIATED WITH THE UNDERLYING SECURITY.
Due to the Fund’s investment strategy, the Fund’s investment exposure is concentrated in the same industry as that assigned to the Underlying Security. As of the date of the Prospectus, GME is assigned to the Specialty Retail industry.
Principal Investment Risks
The principal risks of investing in the Fund are summarized below. As with any investment, there is a risk that you could lose all or a portion of your investment in the Fund. Some or all of these risks may adversely affect the Fund’s net asset value (“NAV”) per share, trading price, yield, total return, and/or ability to meet its objective. For more information about the risks of investing in the Fund, see the section in the Fund’s Prospectus titled “Additional Information About the Funds—Principal Risks of Investing in the Funds.”
An investment in the Fund entails risk. The Fund may not achieve its investment objective and there is a risk that you could lose all of your money invested in the Fund. The Fund is not a complete investment program. It is important that investors closely review all of the risks listed below and understand them before making an investment in the Fund.
Each risk summarized below is considered a “principal risk” of investing in the Fund, regardless of the order in which they appear.
GME Risk. The Fund invests in instruments that are based on the value of GME. This subjects the Fund to certain of the same risks as if it owned shares of GME, even if it does not. By virtue of the Fund’s exposure to GME, the Fund may also be subject to the following risks:
Indirect Investment in GME Risk. GME is not affiliated with the Trust, the Fund, or the Adviser, or their respective affiliates and is not involved with this offering in any way and has no obligation to consider your Shares in taking any corporate actions that might affect the value of Shares. Investors in the Fund will not have voting rights and will not be able to influence management of GME but will be exposed to the performance of GME (the Underlying Security). Investors in the Fund will not have the right to receive dividends or other distributions or any other rights with respect to the Underlying Security but will be subject to declines in the performance of the Underlying Security.
GME Trading Risk. The trading price of GME may be subject to volatility and could experience wide fluctuations due to various factors. Short sellers may also play a significant role in trading GME, potentially affecting the supply and demand dynamics and contributing to market price volatility. Public perception and external factors beyond the company’s control may influence GME’s stock price disproportionately. Additionally, following periods of market volatility, companies have faced securities class action litigation. Any adverse judgment or future stockholder litigation could result in substantial costs and divert management’s attention and resources. In the event of a halt in trading of GME, trading in shares of related funds may be impacted, either temporarily or indefinitely.
GME Performance Risk. GME may fail to meet its publicly announced guidelines or other expectations about its business, which could cause the price of GME to decline. GME provides guidance regarding its expected financial and business performance, such as projections regarding sales and production, as well as anticipated future revenues, gross margins, profitability and cash flows. Correctly identifying key factors affecting business conditions and predicting future events is inherently an uncertain process, and the guidance GME provides may not ultimately be accurate. If GME’s guidance is not accurate or varies from actual results due to its inability to meet the assumptions or the impact on its financial performance that could occur as a result of various risks and uncertainties, the market value of common stock issued by GME could decline significantly.
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Video Gaming and eSports Companies Risk. The Fund will be sensitive to, and its performance may depend to a greater extent on, the overall condition of video gaming and eSports companies. Video gaming and eSports companies face intense competition, both domestically and internationally, may have limited product lines, markets, financial resources, or personnel, may have products that face rapid obsolescence, and are heavily dependent on the protection of patent and intellectual property rights. Video gaming companies may be dependent on one or a small number of product or product franchises for a significant portion of their revenue and profits. They may also be subject to shifting consumer preferences, including preferences with respect to gaming console platforms, and changes in consumer discretionary spending. Such factors may adversely affect the profitability and value of video gaming and eSports companies. Video gaming companies are also subject to increasing regulatory constraints, particularly with respect to cybersecurity and privacy, and may be subject to sophisticated intellectual property infringement schemes and piracy efforts.
Bitcoin Risk. GME’s Board of Directors has approved the addition of bitcoin as a treasury reserve asset, whereby a portion of GME’s cash or future debt and equity issuances may be invested in bitcoin. While the Fund will not directly invest in digital assets, it may be subject to the risks associated with bitcoin by virtue of its investments in options contracts that reference GME. Investing in bitcoin exposes shareholders (such as GME) to significant risks that are not typically present in other investments. These risks include the uncertainty surrounding new technology, limited evaluation due to bitcoin’s short trading history, and the potential decline in adoption and value over the long term. The extreme volatility of bitcoin’s price is also a risk factor. Regulatory uncertainties, such as potential government interventions and conflicting regulations across jurisdictions, can impact the demand for bitcoin and restrict its usage. Additionally, risks associated with the sale of newly mined bitcoin, bitcoin trading platforms, competition from alternative digital assets, mining operations, network modifications, and intellectual property claims pose further challenges to bitcoin-linked investments.
Retail Industry Risks. Sales of GME’s products involve discretionary spending by consumers, making GME’s results highly dependent on the health of the economies and consumer confidence in the markets in which GME operates. Consumers are typically more likely to make discretionary purchases, including purchasing gaming and technology products, when there are favorable economic conditions. GME’s business may be affected by many economic, social, and political factors outside GME’s control. Some of these factors include consumer disposable income levels, consumer confidence in current and future economic conditions, levels of employment, consumer credit availability, consumer debt levels, interest rates, tax rates, housing market conditions, inflation, tariffs, socio-political factors, such as civil unrest or political uncertainty, and the effect of weather, natural disasters, and public health crises. Adverse economic, social and political changes in any of the regions in which GME sells its products could adversely affect GME’s business in many ways, including reduced sales and margins.
Short Selling Risk. A large proportion of GME’s common stock has been and may continue to be traded by short sellers which may increase the likelihood that GME’s common stock will be the target of a “short squeeze” (i.e., where a stock’s price rapidly increases, forcing short sellers to buy back shares to cover their positions). A short squeeze has previously led and could continue to lead to volatile price movements in shares of GME’s common stock that are unrelated or disproportionate to GME’s operating performance or prospects and, once investors purchase the shares of GME’s common stock necessary to cover their short positions, the price of GME’s common stock may rapidly decline. Stockholders that purchase shares of GME’s common stock during a short squeeze may lose a significant portion of their investment.
Derivatives Risk. Derivatives are financial instruments that derive value from the underlying reference asset or assets, such as stocks, bonds, or funds (including ETFs), interest rates or indexes. The Fund’s investments in derivatives may pose risks in addition to, and greater than, those associated with directly investing in securities or other ordinary investments, including risk related to the market, imperfect correlation with underlying investments or the Fund’s other portfolio holdings, higher price volatility, lack of availability, counterparty risk, liquidity, valuation and legal restrictions. The use of derivatives is a highly specialized activity that involves investment techniques and risks different from those associated with ordinary portfolio securities transactions. The use of derivatives may result in larger losses or smaller gains than directly investing in securities. When the Fund uses derivatives, there may be an imperfect correlation between the value of the Underlying Security and the derivative, which may prevent the Fund from achieving its investment objective. Because derivatives often require only a limited initial investment, the use of derivatives may expose the Fund to losses in excess of those amounts initially invested. In addition, the Fund’s investments in derivatives are subject to the following risks:
Options Contracts. The use of options contracts involves investment strategies and risks different from those associated with ordinary portfolio securities transactions. The prices of options are volatile and are influenced by, among other things, actual and anticipated changes in the value of the underlying instrument, including the anticipated volatility, which are affected by fiscal and monetary policies and by national and international political, changes in the actual or implied volatility or the reference asset, the time remaining until the expiration of the option contract and economic events. For the Fund in particular, the value of the options contracts in which it invests are substantially influenced by the value of the Underlying Security. The Fund may experience substantial downside from specific option positions and certain option positions held by the Fund may expire worthless. The options held by the Fund are exercisable at the strike price on their expiration date. As an option approaches its expiration date, its value typically increasingly move with the value of the underlying instrument. However, prior to such date, the value of an option generally does not increase or decrease at the same rate at the underlying instrument. There may at times be an imperfect correlation between the movement in the values of options contracts and the underlying instrument, and there may at times not be a liquid secondary market for certain options contracts. The value of the options held by the Fund will be determined based on market quotations or other recognized pricing methods. Additionally, as the Fund intends to continuously maintain indirect exposure to the Underlying Security through the use of options contracts, as the options contracts it holds are exercised or expire it will enter into new options contracts, a practice referred to as “rolling.” If the expiring options contracts do not generate proceeds enough to cover the cost of entering into new options contracts, the Fund may experience losses.
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Swaps. The use of swap transactions is a highly specialized activity, which involves investment techniques and risks different from those associated with ordinary portfolio securities transactions. Whether the Fund will be successful in using swap agreements to achieve its investment goal depends on the ability of the Adviser to structure such swap agreements in accordance with the Fund’s investment objective and to identify counterparties for those swap agreements. If the Adviser is unable to enter into swap agreements that provide leveraged exposure to the Underlying Security, the Fund may not meet its stated investment objective. Additionally, any financing, borrowing or other costs associated with using swap transactions may also have the effect of lowering the Fund’s return.
The swap agreements in which the Fund invests are generally traded in the over-the-counter market, which generally has less transparency than exchange-traded derivatives instruments. In a standard swap transaction, two parties agree to exchange the return (or differentials in rates of return) earned or realized on particular predetermined reference assets or underlying securities or instruments. The gross return to be exchanged or swapped between the parties is calculated based on a notional amount or the return on or change in value of a particular dollar amount invested in a basket of securities.
If the Underlying Security has a dramatic move that causes a material decline in the Fund’s net assets, the terms of a swap agreement between the Fund and its counterparty may permit the counterparty to immediately close out the swap transaction with the Fund. In that event, the Fund may be unable to enter into another swap agreement or invest in other derivatives to achieve exposure consistent with the Fund’s investment objective. This may prevent the Fund from achieving its leveraged investment objective, even if the Underlying Security later reverses all or a portion of its movement.
Counterparty Risk. The Fund is subject to counterparty risk by virtue of its investments in derivative instruments. Transactions in some types of derivatives, including options, are required to be centrally cleared (“cleared derivatives”). In a transaction involving cleared derivatives, the Fund’s counterparty is a clearing house rather than a bank or broker. Since the Fund is not a member of clearing houses and only members of a clearing house (“clearing members”) can participate directly in the clearing house, the Fund will hold cleared derivatives through accounts at clearing members. In cleared derivatives positions, the Fund will make payments (including margin payments) to and receive payments from a clearing house through their accounts at clearing members. Customer funds held at a clearing organization in connection with any options contracts are held in a commingled omnibus account and are not identified to the name of the clearing member’s individual customers. As a result, assets deposited by the Fund with any clearing member as margin for options may, in certain circumstances, be used to satisfy losses of other clients of the Fund’s clearing member. In addition, although clearing members guarantee performance of their clients’ obligations to the clearing house, there is a risk that the assets of the Fund might not be fully protected in the event of the clearing member’s bankruptcy, as the Fund would be limited to recovering only a pro rata share of all available funds segregated on behalf of the clearing member’s customers for the relevant account class. The Fund is also subject to the risk that a limited number of clearing members are willing to transact on the Fund’s behalf, which heightens the risks associated with a clearing member’s default. This risk is greater for the Fund as it seeks to hold options contracts on a single security, and not a broader range of options contracts, which may limit the number of clearing members that are willing to transact on the Fund’s behalf. If a clearing member defaults the Fund could lose some or all of the benefits of a transaction entered into by the Fund with the clearing member. If the Fund cannot find a clearing member to transact with on the Fund’s behalf, the Fund may be unable to effectively implement its investment strategy.
The Fund is also subject to the risk that the counterparty will not fulfill its obligation to the Fund. Counterparty risk may arise because of the counterparty’s financial condition (i.e., financial difficulties, bankruptcy, or insolvency), market activities and developments, or other reasons, whether foreseen or not. A counterparty’s inability to fulfill its obligation may result in significant financial loss to the Fund and the Fund may be unable to recover its investment from such counterparty or may obtain a limited and/or delayed recovery.
Price Participation Risk. The Fund employs an investment strategy that includes the sale of call option contracts, which limits the degree to which the Fund will participate in increases in value experienced by the Underlying Security over the Call Period. This means that if the Underlying Security experiences an increase in value above the strike price of the sold call options during a Call Period, the Fund will likely not experience that increase to the same extent and may significantly underperform the Underlying Security over the Call Period. Additionally, because the Fund is limited in the degree to which it will participate in increases in value experienced by the Underlying Security over each Call Period, but has full exposure to any decreases in value experienced by the Underlying Security over the Call Period, the NAV of the Fund may decrease over any given time period. The Fund’s NAV is dependent on the value of each options portfolio, which is based principally upon the performance of the Underlying Security. The degree of participation in the Underlying Security gains the Fund will experience will depend on prevailing market conditions, especially market volatility, at the time the Fund enters into the sold call option contracts and will vary from Call Period to Call Period. The value of the options contracts is affected by changes in the value and dividend rates of the Underlying Security, changes in interest rates, changes in the actual or perceived volatility of the Underlying Security and the remaining time to the options’ expiration, as well as trading conditions in the options market. As the price of the Underlying Security changes and time moves towards the expiration of each Call Period, the value of the options contracts, and therefore the Fund’s NAV, will change. However, it is not expected for the Fund’s NAV to directly correlate on a day-to-day basis with the returns of the Underlying Security. The amount of time remaining until the options contract’s expiration date affects the impact of the potential options contract income on the Fund’s NAV, which may not be in full effect until the expiration date of the Fund’s options contracts. Therefore, while changes in the price of the Underlying Security will result in changes to the Fund’s NAV, the Fund generally anticipates that the rate of change in the Fund’s NAV will be different than that experienced by the Underlying Security.
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Distribution Risk. As part of the Fund’s investment objective, the Fund seeks to provide current monthly income. There is no assurance that the Fund will make a distribution in any given month. If the Fund does make distributions, the amounts of such distributions will likely vary greatly from one distribution to the next. Additionally, monthly distributions, if any, may consist of returns of capital, which would decrease the Fund’s NAV and trading price over time. As a result, an investor may suffer significant losses to their investment.
NAV Erosion Risk Due to Distributions. When the Fund makes a distribution, the Fund’s NAV will typically drop by the amount of the distribution on the related ex-dividend date. The repeated payment of distributions by the Fund, if any, may significantly erode the Fund’s NAV and trading price over time. As a result, an investor may suffer significant losses to their investment.
Call Strategy Risks. The path dependency (i.e., the continued use) of the Fund’s call writing strategy will impact the extent that the Fund participates in the positive price returns of the Underlying Security and, in turn, the Fund’s returns, both during the term of the sold call options and over longer time periods. If, for example, each month the Fund were to sell 7% out-of-the-money call options having a one-month term, the Fund’s participation in the positive price returns of the Underlying Security will be capped at 7% in any given month. However, over a longer period (e.g., 5 months), the Fund should not be expected to participate fully in the first 35% (i.e., 5 months x 7%) of the positive price returns of the Underlying Security, or the Fund may even lose money, even if the Underlying Security share price has appreciated by at least that much over such period, if during any month over that period the Underlying Security had a return less than 7%. This example illustrates that both the Fund’s participation in the positive price returns of the Underlying Security and its returns will depend not only on the price of the Underlying Security but also on the path that the Underlying Security takes over time.
Additionally, when implementing the Covered Call Spread Strategy, the use of credit call spreads introduces further complexities and risks. While purchasing a higher-strike call option limits potential losses from the short call position, it also reduces the net premium received, which may result in lower overall returns compared to a stand-alone covered call strategy. If the price of the Underlying Security rises rapidly, the call spread may still cap upside participation, leading to missed profit opportunities. Furthermore, market conditions, such as mispricing between near-the-money and further out-of-the-money options, may impact the effectiveness of the strategy, potentially resulting in lower-than-expected returns or increased losses. The relative pricing of options at different strike levels can vary due to volatility shifts, liquidity constraints, or other market dynamics, adding an additional layer of uncertainty to the Fund’s performance under this strategy.
Economic and Market Risk. Economies and financial markets throughout the world are becoming increasingly interconnected, which increases the likelihood that events or conditions in one country or region will adversely impact markets or issuers in other countries or regions. Securities in the Fund’s portfolio may underperform in comparison to securities in the general financial markets, a particular financial market, or other asset classes, due to a number of factors, including inflation (or expectations for inflation), deflation (or expectations for deflation), interest rates, global demand for particular products or resources, market instability, financial system instability, debt crises and downgrades, embargoes, tariffs, sanctions and other trade barriers, regulatory events, other governmental trade or market control programs and related geopolitical events. In addition, the value of the Fund’s investments may be negatively affected by the occurrence of global events such as war, terrorism, environmental disasters, natural disasters or events, country instability, and infectious disease epidemics or pandemics. The imposition by the U.S. of tariffs on goods imported from foreign countries and reciprocal tariffs levied on U.S. goods by those countries also may lead to volatility and instability in domestic and foreign markets.
Equity Market Risk. The prices of equity securities rise and fall daily. These price movements may result from factors affecting individual issuers, industries or the stock market as a whole. In addition, equity markets tend to move in cycles which may cause stock prices to fall over a short and extended periods of time. In a declining stock market, stock prices for all companies (including those in the Fund’s portfolio) may decline, regardless of their long-term prospects.
ETF Risks.
Authorized Participants, Market Makers, and Liquidity Providers Concentration Risk. The Fund has a limited number of financial institutions that are authorized to purchase and redeem Shares directly from the Fund (known as “Authorized Participants” or “APs”). In addition, there may be a limited number of market makers and/or liquidity providers in the marketplace. To the extent either of the following events occur, Shares may trade at a material discount to NAV and possibly face delisting: (i) APs exit the business or otherwise become unable to process creation and/or redemption orders and no other APs step forward to perform these services; or (ii) market makers and/or liquidity providers exit the business or significantly reduce their business activities and no other entities step forward to perform their functions.
Cash Redemption Risk. The Fund’s investment strategy may require it to redeem Shares for cash or to otherwise include cash as part of its redemption proceeds. For example, the Fund may not be able to redeem in-kind certain securities held by the Fund (e.g., derivative instruments). In such a case, the Fund may be required to sell or unwind portfolio investments to obtain the cash needed to distribute redemption proceeds. This may cause the Fund to recognize a capital gain that it might not have recognized if it had made a redemption in-kind. As a result, the Fund may pay out higher annual capital gain distributions than if the in-kind redemption process was used. By paying out higher annual capital gain distributions, investors may be subjected to increased capital gains taxes. Additionally, there may be brokerage costs or taxable gains or losses that may be imposed on the Fund in connection with a cash redemption that may not have occurred if the Fund had made a redemption in-kind. These costs could decrease the value of the Fund to the extent they are not offset by a transaction fee payable by an AP.
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Costs of Buying or Selling Shares. Due to the costs of buying or selling Shares, including brokerage commissions imposed by brokers and bid-ask spreads, frequent trading of Shares may significantly reduce investment results and an investment in Shares may not be advisable for investors who anticipate regularly making small investments.
Management Risk. The Fund is subject to management risk because it is an actively managed portfolio. In managing the Fund’s investment portfolio, the portfolio managers will apply investment techniques and risk analyses that may not produce the desired result. There can be no guarantee that the Fund will meet its investment objective.
Shares May Trade at Prices Other Than NAV. As with all ETFs, Shares may be bought and sold in the secondary market at market prices. Although it is expected that the market price of Shares will approximate the Fund’s NAV, there may be times when the market price of Shares is more than the NAV intra-day (premium) or less than the NAV intra-day (discount) due to supply and demand of Shares or during periods of market volatility. This risk is heightened in times of market volatility, periods of steep market declines, and periods when there is limited trading activity for Shares in the secondary market, in which case such premiums or discounts may be significant.
Trading. Although Shares are listed on a national securities exchange, such as [ ] (the “Exchange”), and may be traded on U.S. exchanges other than the Exchange, there can be no assurance that an active trading market for the Shares will develop or be maintained or that the Shares will trade with any volume, or at all, on any stock exchange. In stressed market conditions, the liquidity of Shares may begin to mirror the liquidity of the Fund’s underlying portfolio holdings, which can be significantly less liquid than Shares. Shares trade on the Exchange at market price that may be below, at or above the Fund’s NAV. Trading in Shares on the Exchange may be halted due to market conditions or for reasons that, in the view of the Exchange, make trading in Shares inadvisable. In addition, trading in Shares on the Exchange is subject to trading halts caused by extraordinary market volatility pursuant to the Exchange “circuit breaker” rules. There can be no assurance that the requirements of the Exchange necessary to maintain the listing of the Fund will continue to be met or will remain unchanged. In the event of an unscheduled market close for options contracts that are based on the value of an ETF, such as the Underlying Security being halted or a market wide closure, settlement prices will be determined by the procedures of the listing exchange of the options contracts. As a result, the Fund could be adversely affected and be unable to implement its investment strategies in the event of an unscheduled closing.
High Portfolio Turnover Risk. The Fund may actively and frequently trade all or a significant portion of the Fund’s holdings. A high portfolio turnover rate increases transaction costs, which may increase the Fund’s expenses. Frequent trading may also cause adverse tax consequences for investors in the Fund due to an increase in short-term capital gains.
Inflation Risk. Inflation risk is the risk that the value of assets or income from investments will be less in the future as inflation decreases the value of money. As inflation increases, the present value of the Fund’s assets and distributions, if any, may decline.
Liquidity Risk. Some securities held by the Fund, including options contracts, may be difficult to sell or be illiquid, particularly during times of market turmoil. This risk is greater for the Fund as it will hold options contracts on a single security, and not a broader range of options contracts. Markets for securities or financial instruments could be disrupted by a number of events, including, but not limited to, an economic crisis, natural disasters, epidemics/pandemics, new legislation or regulatory changes inside or outside the United States. Illiquid securities may be difficult to value, especially in changing or volatile markets. If the Fund is forced to sell an illiquid security at an unfavorable time or price, the Fund may be adversely impacted. Certain market conditions or restrictions, such as market rules related to short sales, may prevent the Fund from limiting losses, realizing gains or achieving a high correlation with the Underlying Security. There is no assurance that a security that is deemed liquid when purchased will continue to be liquid. Market illiquidity may cause losses for the Fund.
Money Market Instrument Risk. The Fund may use a variety of money market instruments for cash management purposes, including money market funds, depositary accounts and repurchase agreements. Repurchase agreements are contracts in which a seller of securities agrees to buy the securities back at a specified time and price. Repurchase agreements may be subject to market and credit risk related to the collateral securing the repurchase agreement. Money market instruments, including money market funds, may lose money through fees or other means.
New Fund Risk. The Fund is a recently organized management investment company with no operating history. As a result, prospective investors do not have a track record or history on which to base their investment decisions.
Non-Diversification Risk. Because the Fund is “non-diversified,” it may invest a greater percentage of its assets in the securities of a single issuer or a smaller number of issuers than if it was a diversified fund. As a result, a decline in the value of an investment in a single issuer or a smaller number of issuers could cause the Fund’s overall value to decline to a greater degree than if the Fund held a more diversified portfolio. This may increase the Fund’s volatility and cause the performance of a relatively smaller number of issuers to have a greater impact on the Fund’s performance.
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Operational Risk. The Fund is subject to risks arising from various operational factors, including, but not limited to, human error, processing and communication errors, errors of the Fund’s service providers, counterparties or other third-parties, failed or inadequate processes and technology or systems failures. The Fund relies on third-parties for a range of services, including custody. Any delay or failure relating to engaging or maintaining such service providers may affect the Fund’s ability to meet its investment objective. Although the Fund and Adviser seek to reduce these operational risks through controls and procedures, there is no way to completely protect against such risks. This may increase the Fund’s volatility and cause the performance of a relatively smaller number of issuers to have a greater impact on the Fund’s performance.
Single Issuer Risk. Issuer-specific attributes may cause an investment in the Fund to be more volatile than a traditional pooled investment which diversifies risk or the market generally. The value of the Fund, which focuses on an individual security (the Underlying Security), may be more volatile than a traditional pooled investment or the market as a whole and may perform differently from the value of a traditional pooled investment or the market as a whole.
Tax Risk. The Fund intends to elect and to qualify each year to be treated as a RIC under Subchapter M of the Code. As a RIC, the Fund will not be subject to U.S. federal income tax on the portion of its net investment income and net capital gain that it distributes to Shareholders, provided that it satisfies certain requirements of the Code. If the Fund does not qualify as a RIC for any taxable year and certain relief provisions are not available, the Fund’s taxable income will be subject to tax at the Fund level and to a further tax at the shareholder level when such income is distributed. To comply with the asset diversification test applicable to a RIC, the Fund will attempt to ensure that the value of financial instruments providing exposure to the Underlying Security are never 25% of the total value of Fund assets at the close of any quarter. If the Fund’s investments in such financial instruments were to exceed 25% of the Fund’s total assets at the end of a tax quarter, the Fund, generally, has a grace period to cure such lack of compliance. If the Fund fails to timely cure, it may no longer be eligible to be treated as a RIC.
U.S. Government and U.S. Agency Obligations Risk. The Fund may invest in securities issued by the U.S. government or its agencies or instrumentalities. U.S. Government obligations include securities issued or guaranteed as to principal and interest by the U.S. Government, its agencies or instrumentalities, such as the U.S. Treasury. Payment of principal and interest on U.S. Government obligations may be backed by the full faith and credit of the United States or may be backed solely by the issuing or guaranteeing agency or instrumentality itself. In the latter case, the investor must look principally to the agency or instrumentality issuing or guaranteeing the obligation for ultimate repayment, which agency or instrumentality may be privately owned. There can be no assurance that the U.S. Government would provide financial support to its agencies or instrumentalities (including government-sponsored enterprises) where it is not obligated to do so.
Performance
Performance information for the Fund is not included because the Fund has not completed a full calendar year of operations as of the date of this Prospectus. When such information is included, this section will provide some indication of the risks of investing in the Fund by showing changes in the Fund’s performance history from year to year and showing how the Fund’s average annual total returns compare with those of a broad measure of market performance. Although past performance of the Fund is no guarantee of how it will perform in the future, historical performance may give you some indication of the risks of investing in the Fund. Updated performance information will be available on the Fund’s website at www.yieldmaxetfs.com.
Management
Investment Adviser: Tidal Investments LLC (the “Adviser”) serves as investment adviser to the Fund.
Portfolio Managers:
The following individuals are jointly and primarily responsible for the day-to-day management of the Fund.
Matt Brandt, Portfolio Manager for the Adviser, has been a portfolio manager of the Fund since its inception in 2025.
Christopher P. Mullen, Portfolio Manager for the Adviser, has been a portfolio manager of the Fund since its inception in 2025.
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Scott Snyder, Portfolio Manager for the Adviser, has been a portfolio manager of the Fund since its inception in 2025.
Purchase and Sale of Shares
The Fund issues and redeems Shares at NAV only in large blocks known as “Creation Units,” which only Authorized Participants (APs) (typically, broker-dealers) may purchase or redeem. The Fund generally issues and redeems Creation Units in exchange for a portfolio of securities (the “Deposit Securities”) and/or a designated amount of U.S. cash.
Shares are listed on a national securities exchange, such as the Exchange, and individual Shares may only be bought and sold in the secondary market through brokers at market prices, rather than NAV. Because Shares trade at market prices rather than NAV, Shares may trade at a price greater than NAV (premium) or less than NAV (discount).
An investor may incur costs attributable to the difference between the highest price a buyer is willing to pay to purchase Shares (the “bid” price) and the lowest price a seller is willing to accept for Shares (the “ask” price) when buying or selling Shares in the secondary market. This difference in bid and ask prices is often referred to as the “bid-ask spread.”
When available, information regarding the Fund’s NAV, market price, how often Shares traded on the Exchange at a premium or discount, and bid-ask spreads can be found on the Fund’s website at www.yieldmaxetfs.com.
Tax Information
Fund distributions are generally taxable as ordinary income, qualified dividend income, or capital gains (or a combination), unless an investment is in an individual retirement account (“IRA”) or other tax-advantaged account. Distributions on investments made through tax-deferred arrangements may be taxed later upon withdrawal of assets from those accounts.
Financial Intermediary Compensation
If
you purchase Shares through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary
(such as a bank) (an “Intermediary”), the Adviser or its affiliates may pay
Intermediaries for certain activities related to the Fund, including
participation in activities that are designed to make Intermediaries more
knowledgeable about exchange-traded products, including the Fund, or for other
activities, such as marketing, educational training, or other initiatives
related to the sale or promotion of Shares. These payments may create a conflict
of interest by influencing the Intermediary and your salesperson to recommend
the Fund over another investment. Any such arrangements do not result in
increased Fund expenses. Ask your salesperson or visit the Intermediary’s
website for more information.
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YieldMax® HIMS Option Income Strategy ETF - FUND SUMMARY
Investment Objective
The Fund’s primary investment objective is to seek current income.
The Fund’s secondary investment objective is to seek exposure to the share price of Hims & Hers Health Inc. (“HIMS” or “Underlying Security”), which is generally subject to a limit on potential investment gains.
Fees and Expenses of the Fund
This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy, hold, and sell shares of the Fund (“Shares”). You may pay other fees, such as brokerage commissions and other fees to financial intermediaries, which are not reflected in the table and Example below.
| Annual Fund Operating Expenses(1) (expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment) | |||
| Management Fee | [] | % | |
| Distribution and Service (12b-1) Fees | None | ||
| Other Expenses(2) | [] | % | |
| Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses | [] | % | |
| (1) | The Fund’s investment adviser, Tidal Investments LLC (the “Adviser”), a Tidal Financial Group company, will pay, or require a sub-adviser to pay, all of the Fund’s expenses, except for the following: advisory and sub-advisory fees, interest charges on any borrowings made for investment purposes, dividends and other expenses on securities sold short, taxes, brokerage commissions and other expenses incurred in placing orders for the purchase and sale of securities and other investment instruments, acquired fund fees and expenses, accrued deferred tax liability, distribution fees and expenses paid by the Fund under any distribution plan adopted pursuant to Rule 12b-1 under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”), litigation expenses, and other non-routine or extraordinary expenses. | |
| (2) | Based on estimated amounts for the current fiscal year. |
Expense Example
This Example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other funds. The Example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and then hold or redeem all of your Shares at the end of those periods. The Example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Fund’s operating expenses remain the same. The Example does not take into account brokerage commissions that you may pay on your purchases and sales of Shares. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:
| 1 Year | 3 Years |
| $[] | $[] |
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 Shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in total annual fund operating expenses or in the expense example above, affect the Fund’s performance. Because the Fund is newly organized, portfolio turnover information is not yet available.
Principal Investment Strategies
The Fund is an actively managed exchange-traded fund (“ETF”) that seeks current income while providing indirect exposure to the share price (i.e., the price returns) of Hims & Hers Health Inc. (NYSE: HIMS) (“HIMS” or the “Underlying Security”), which is generally subject to a limit on potential investment gains. The Fund will employ its investment strategy as it relates to HIMS regardless of whether there are periods of adverse market, economic, or other conditions and will not take temporary defensive positions during such periods. As further described below, the Fund primarily uses either a synthetic covered call strategy or synthetic covered call spread strategy to provide income and indirect exposure to the share price returns of HIMS, which is generally subject to a limit on potential investment gains as a result of the nature of the options strategy it employs. The Fund not only seeks to generate income from its options investments but also aims to derive gains when the value of HIMS increases. The Fund’s options contracts provide:
| ● | indirect exposure to the share price returns of HIMS, |
| ● | current income from the option premiums, and |
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| ● | at most times, a limit on the Fund’s participation in gains, if any, of the share price returns of HIMS. |
For more information, see sections “The Fund’s Use of Underlying Security Option Contracts,” “Synthetic Covered Call Strategy” and “SyntheticCovered Call Spread Strategy” below.
Why invest in the Fund?
| ● | The Fund seeks to generate monthly income, which is not dependent on the price appreciation of the Underlying Security. |
| ● | The Fund seeks to participate in a portion of the gains experienced by the Underlying Security. |
That is, although the Fund may not fully participate in gains in the Underlying Security’s stock price, the Fund’s portfolio is designed to generate income.
An Investment in the Fund is not an investment in the Underlying Security.
| ● | The Fund’s strategy will capture only a portion of its potential gains if the Underlying Security’s stock price increases in value. |
| ● | The Fund’s strategy is subject to all potential losses if the Underlying Security’s stock price decrease in value, which may not be offset by income received by the Fund. |
| ● | The Fund may invest directly in the Underlying Security, but expects to gain its Underlying Security exposure primarily through its synthetic covered call strategy or synthetic covered call spread strategy. |
| ● | Fund shareholders are not entitled to any Underlying Security dividends. |
Additional information regarding the Underlying Security is also set forth below.
The Fund’s Use of Underlying Security Option Contracts
As part of the Fund’s synthetic covered call strategy and synthetic covered call spread strategy, the Fund will purchase and sell a combination of standardized exchange-traded and FLexible EXchange® (“FLEX”) call and put option contracts that are based on the value of the price returns of the Underlying Security.
| ● | In general, an option contract gives the purchaser of the option contract the right to purchase (for a call option) or sell (for a put option) the underlying asset (like shares of the Underlying Security) at a specified price (the “strike price”). |
| ● | If exercised, an option contract obligates the seller to deliver shares (for a sold or “short” call) or buy shares (for a sold or “short” put) of the underlying asset at a specified price (the “strike price”). |
| ● | Options contracts must be exercised or traded to close within a specified time frame, or they expire. See the chart in section “Fund Portfolio” below for a description of the option contracts utilized by the Fund. |
Standardized exchange-traded options include standardized terms. FLEX options are also exchange-traded, but they allow for customizable terms (e.g., the strike price can be negotiated). For more information on FLEX options, see “Additional Information about the Funds – Exchange Traded Options Portfolio.”
The Fund’s options contracts are based on the value of the Underlying Security, which gives the Fund the right or obligation to receive or deliver shares of the Underlying Security on the expiration date of the applicable option contract in exchange for the stated strike price, depending on whether the option contract is a call option or a put option, and whether the Fund purchases or sells the option contract.
Synthetic Covered Call Strategy
In seeking to achieve its investment objective, the Fund may implement a “synthetic covered call” strategy using the standardized exchange-traded and FLEX options described above.
| ● | A traditional covered call strategy is an investment strategy where an investor (the Fund) sells a call option on an underlying security it owns. |
| ● | A synthetic covered call strategy is similar to a traditional covered call strategy in that the investor sells a call option that is based on the value of the underlying security. However, in a synthetic covered call strategy, the investor (the Fund) does not own the underlying security, but rather seeks to synthetically replicate 100% of the price movements of the underlying security through the use of various investment instruments. |
The Fund’s synthetic covered call strategies consists of the following three elements, each of which is described in greater detail farther below:
| ● | Synthetic long exposure to the Underlying Security, which allows the Fund to seek to participate in the changes, up or down, in the price of shares of the Underlying Security. |
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| ● | Covered call writing (where the Underlying Security’s call options are sold against the synthetic long portion of the strategy), which allows the Fund to generate income. |
| ● | U.S. Treasuries, which are used for collateral for the options, and which also generate income. |
| 1. | Synthetic Long Exposure |
To achieve a synthetic long exposure to the Underlying Security, the Fund will buy the Underlying Security’s call options and, simultaneously, sell the Underlying Security’s put options to try to replicate the price movements of the Underlying Security. The call options purchased by the Fund and the put options sold by the Fund will generally have one-month to six-month terms and strike prices that are approximately equal to the then-current share price of the Underlying Security at the time the contracts are purchased and sold, respectively. The combination of the long call options and sold put options provides the Fund with indirect investment exposure equal to approximately 100% of the Underlying Security for the duration of the applicable options exposure.
| 2. | Covered Call Strategies |
Covered Call Strategy
As part of its strategy, the Fund will write (sell) call option contracts on the Underlying Security to generate income. Since the Fund does not directly own the Underlying Security, these written call options will be sold short (i.e., selling a position it does not currently own). The Fund will seek to participate in the share price appreciation of the Underlying Security, if any. However, due to the nature of covered call strategies, the Fund’s participation may be subject to a cap (as described below). In this strategy, the call options written (sold) by the Fund will generally have 1- month or less expiration dates (the “Call Period”) and generally have a strike price that is approximately 0%-15% above the then-current share price of the Underlying Security.
It is important to note that the sale of the Underlying Security call option contracts will limit the Fund’s participation in the appreciation in the Underlying Security’s stock price. If the stock price of the Underlying Security increases, the above-referenced synthetic long exposure alone would allow the Fund to experience similar percentage gains. However, if the Underlying Security’s stock price appreciates beyond the strike price of one or more of the sold (short) call option contracts, the Fund will lose money on those short call positions, and the losses will, in turn, limit the upside return of the Fund’s synthetic long exposure. As a result, the Fund’s overall strategy (i.e., the combination of the synthetic long exposure to the Underlying Security and the sold (short) the Underlying Security call positions) will limit the Fund’s participation in gains in the Underlying Security’s stock price beyond a certain point.
Covered Call Spread Strategy
The Adviser will employ the Covered Call Spread Strategy when it believes it is a better strategy for the Fund as compared to the Covered Call Strategy. The Fund may write (sell) credit call spreads (described below) rather than stand-alone call option contracts to seek greater participation in the potential appreciation of its Underlying Security’s share price, while still generating net premium income. The Adviser will primarily employ this covered call spread strategy when it believes that the share price of its Underlying Security is likely to rise significantly in the short term (e.g., following a substantial selloff or overall positive market news). Additionally, the Adviser may use this strategy in other scenarios (e.g., if the market is undervaluing further out-of-the-money options relative to near-the-money options), where it believes the use of credit call spreads may prove more advantageous to the Fund’s total return than the covered call strategy.
A credit call spread involves selling a call option while simultaneously buying a call option with a higher strike price, both with the same expiration date. By writing credit call spreads, the Fund can potentially offset losses incurred from its short call positions if the Underlying Security’s share price rises above the strike price.
| 3. | U.S. Treasuries |
The Fund will hold short-term U.S. Treasury securities as collateral in connection with the Fund’s options contracts, as well as swaps as discussed in the “Additional Investment Strategies” section below.
The Fund intends to continuously maintain indirect exposure to the Underlying Security, primarily through the use of options contracts. As the options contracts it holds are exercised or expire it may enter into new options contracts, a practice referred to as “rolling.” The Fund’s practice of rolling options may result in high portfolio turnover.
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Additional Investment Strategies
In addition to the synthetic covered call strategy or synthetic covered call spread strategy described herein, the Fund may use the following additional strategies to gain exposure to the Underlying Security:
| ● | Swaps: The Fund may utilize swap contracts that provide exposure to the Underlying Security. |
| ● | Additional Options Strategies: The Fund may utilize additional options strategies, including purchasing call options that are “deep in the money” (i.e., the Underlying Security’s price is well above the strike price on the call option). |
| ● | Equity Securities: The Fund may purchase equity securities of the Underlying Security. |
While the Fund intends to primarily utilize its synthetic covered call strategy or synthetic covered call spread strategy to gain exposure to the Underlying Security, it may utilize each of the foregoing to the extent it is unable to achieve its targeted exposure through the use of these primary options strategies.
Fund’s Monthly Distributions
The Fund will seek to provide monthly income in the form of cash distributions. The Fund will seek to generate such income in the following ways:
| ● | Writing (selling) call option contracts on its Underlying Security as described above. The income comes mainly from the option premiums received from these option sales. A premium, in this context, refers to the price the option buyer pays to the option seller (the Fund) for the rights granted by the option. The amount of these premiums is largely affected by the fluctuations in the Underlying Security’s stock prices. However, other elements like interest rates can also influence the income level. |
| ● | Investing in short-term U.S. Treasury securities. The income generated by these securities will be influenced by interest rates at the time of investment. |
| ● | In addition to the income-seeking methodologies stated in the Prospectus, the Fund’s use of the Synthetic Covered Call Spread Strategy may occasionally allow it to capture a substantial portion of any significant increase in the price of its Underlying Security. When this happens, the Fund could receive profits exceeding the initial cost of the call options, and the Fund’s distributions may include some of those profits. | |
| ● | The Fund may receive some dividend income to the extent it invests directly in the Underlying Security. |
Fund’s Return Profile vs its Underlying Security
For the reasons stated above, the Fund’s performance will differ from that of the Underlying Security’s stock price. The performance differences will depend on, among other things, the price of the Underlying Security, changes in the value of the Underlying Security options contracts and swaps the Fund holds, and changes in the value of the U.S. Treasuries.
Fund Portfolio
| Principal Holdings | ||
| Portfolio
Holdings (All options are based on the value of the Underlying Security) |
Investment Terms | Expected Target Maturity |
| Purchased call option contracts (primary options strategies) |
“at-the-money” (i.e., the strike price is equal to the then-current share price of the Underlying Security at the time of purchase) to provide indirect exposure to positive price returns of the Underlying Security.
If the Underlying Security share price increases, these options will generate corresponding increases to the Fund. |
1-month to 6-month expiration dates |
| Purchased call option contracts (additional options strategies) |
“deep-in-the-money” (i.e., the Underlying Security’s price is well above the strike price on the call option) to provide indirect exposure to positive price returns of the Underlying Security.
If the Underlying Security share price increases, these options will generate corresponding increases to the Fund. |
1-month to 6-month expiration dates
|
| Sold put option contracts |
“at-the-money” (i.e., the strike price is equal to the then-current share price of the Underlying Security at the time of sale).
They are sold to help pay for the purchased call options described above.
However, the sold put option contracts provide exposure to the full extent of any share price losses experienced by the Underlying Security. |
1-month to 6-month expiration dates |
| Sold
(short) call option contracts (Covered Call Strategy) |
The strike price is approximately 0%-15% more than the then-current share price of the Underlying Security at the time of sale.
They generate current income. However, they also limit some potential positive returns that the Fund may have otherwise experienced from gains in the Underlying Security’s share price. |
1-month or less expiration dates |
|
Sold
(short) call option contracts
|
The strike price is approximately 0%-15% more than the then-current share price of the Fund’s Underlying Security at the time of sale.
Sold call option contracts provide inverse exposure to the full extent of any increases in the value experienced by the Fund’s Underlying Security, minus the premium received. |
1-month or less expiration dates |
| Purchased
call option contracts (Covered Call Spread Strategy) |
“out-of-the-money” (i.e., the strike price is above the strike price of the corresponding Covered Call Spread Strategy sold call).
Bought call option contracts provide exposure to the full extent of any increases in the value experienced by the Fund’s Underlying Security above the option’s strike price. |
1-month or less expiration dates |
| Equity Securities | Direct equity holdings of the Underlying Security. | N/A |
| Swaps | Provides mark-to-market daily exposure to the total return of the Underlying Security over a particular period of time. | N/A |
| U.S Treasury Securities and Cash |
Multiple series of U.S. Treasury Bills supported by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government.
These instruments are used as collateral for the Fund’s derivative investments.
They will also generate income. |
6-month to 2-year maturities |
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The market value of the cash and treasuries held by the Fund is expected to be between 50% and 100% of the Fund’s net assets and the market value of the options, swaps and direct equity investments is expected to be between 0% and 50% of the Fund’s net assets. In terms of notional value, the combination of these investment instruments provides indirect investment exposure to HIMS equal to at least 100% of the Fund’s total assets.
Under normal circumstances, the Fund will invest at least 80% of its net assets, plus borrowings for investment purposes, in securities and financial instruments that provide indirect exposure to HIMS.
The Fund is classified as “non-diversified” under the 1940 Act.
There is no guarantee that the Fund’s investment strategy will be properly implemented, and an investor may lose some or all of its investment.
Hims & Hers Health Inc. (“HIMS”)
Hims & Hers Health Inc. is a consumer-first health and wellness platform focused on providing modern personalized health and wellness solutions to consumers. HIMS offers access to a range of health and wellness products and services available for customers to purchase through its websites and mobile applications.. HIMS is listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). Per HIMS’s most recent Form 10-K filing, the aggregate market value of the voting and non-voting common equity of HIMS held by non-affiliates as of June 28, 2024 was $3.9 billion.
HIMS is registered under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”). Information provided to or filed with the SEC by HIMS pursuant to the Exchange Act can be located by reference to the SEC file number 001-38986 through the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov. In addition, information regarding HIMS may be obtained from other sources including, but not limited to, press releases, newspaper articles and other publicly disseminated documents.
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This document relates only to the securities offered hereby and does not relate to the shares of HIMS or other securities of Hims & Hers Health Inc. The Fund has derived all disclosures contained in this document regarding HIMS from the publicly available documents. None of the Fund, the Trust, or the Adviser, or their respective affiliates has participated in the preparation of such publicly available offering documents or made any due diligence inquiry regarding such documents with respect to HIMS. None of the Fund, the Trust, or the Adviser, or their respective affiliates makes any representation that such publicly available documents or any other publicly available information regarding HIMS is accurate or complete. Furthermore, the Fund cannot give any assurance that all events occurring prior to the date hereof (including events that would affect the accuracy or completeness of the publicly available documents described above) that would affect the trading price of HIMS (and therefore the share price of the Fund at the time we price the securities) have been publicly disclosed. Subsequent disclosure of any such events or the disclosure of or failure to disclose material future events concerning HIMS could affect the value received with respect to the securities and therefore the value of the securities.
None of the Fund, the Trust, the Adviser, or their respective affiliates makes any representation to you as to the performance of HIMS.
NONE OF THE FUND, TIDAL TRUST II, OR TIDAL INVESTMENTS LLC ARE AFFILIATED WITH THE UNDERLYING SECURITY.
Due to the Fund’s investment strategy, the Fund’s investment exposure is concentrated in the same industry as that assigned to the Underlying Security. As of the date of the Prospectus, HIMS is assigned to the Health Care Providers & Services industry.
Principal Investment Risks
The principal risks of investing in the Fund are summarized below. As with any investment, there is a risk that you could lose all or a portion of your investment in the Fund. Some or all of these risks may adversely affect the Fund’s net asset value (“NAV”) per share, trading price, yield, total return, and/or ability to meet its objective. For more information about the risks of investing in the Fund, see the section in the Fund’s Prospectus titled “Additional Information About the Funds—Principal Risks of Investing in the Funds.”
An investment in the Fund entails risk. The Fund may not achieve its investment objective and there is a risk that you could lose all of your money invested in the Fund. The Fund is not a complete investment program. It is important that investors closely review all of the risks listed below and understand them before making an investment in the Fund.
Each risk summarized below is considered a “principal risk” of investing in the Fund, regardless of the order in which they appear.
HIMS Risk. The Fund invests in instruments that are based on the value of HIMS. This subjects the Fund to certain of the same risks as if it owned shares of HIMS, even if it does not. By virtue of the Fund’s exposure to HIMS, the Fund may also be subject to the following risks:
Indirect Investment in HIMS Risk. HIMS is not affiliated with the Trust, the Fund, or the Adviser, or their respective affiliates and is not involved with this offering in any way and has no obligation to consider your Shares in taking any corporate actions that might affect the value of Shares. Investors in the Fund will not have voting rights and will not be able to influence management of HIMS but will be exposed to the performance of HIMS (the Underlying Security). Investors in the Fund will not have the right to receive dividends or other distributions or any other rights with respect to the Underlying Security but will be subject to declines in the performance of the Underlying Security.
HIMS Trading Risk. The trading price of HIMS may be subject to volatility and could experience wide fluctuations due to various factors. Short sellers may also play a significant role in trading HIMS, potentially affecting the supply and demand dynamics and contributing to market price volatility. Public perception and external factors beyond the company’s control may influence HIMS’s stock price disproportionately. Additionally, following periods of market volatility, companies have faced securities class action litigation. Any adverse judgment or future stockholder litigation could result in substantial costs and divert management’s attention and resources. In the event of a halt in trading of HIMS, trading in shares of related funds may be impacted, either temporarily or indefinitely.
HIMS Performance Risk. HIMS may fail to meet its publicly announced guidelines or other expectations about its business, which could cause the price of HIMS to decline. HIMS provides guidance regarding its expected financial and business performance, such as projections regarding sales and production, as well as anticipated future revenues, gross margins, profitability and cash flows. Correctly identifying key factors affecting business conditions and predicting future events is inherently an uncertain process, and the guidance HIMS provides may not ultimately be accurate. If HIMS’s guidance is not accurate or varies from actual results due to its inability to meet the assumptions or the impact on its financial performance that could occur as a result of various risks and uncertainties, the market value of common stock issued by HIMS could decline significantly.
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Healthcare Providers & Services Industry Risks. The healthcare providers and services industry can be significantly affected by changing economic conditions, evolving patient demographics, and fluctuations in demand for healthcare services. Profitability in this industry is often dependent on reimbursement rates from government programs and private payors, as well as the ability to manage operational costs effectively. Changes in healthcare regulations and policies, including those related to insurance coverage and reimbursement, can materially impact the industry. Companies in the healthcare providers and services industry are subject to extensive and frequently changing government regulation, which may affect the scope of their activities, the rates they can charge for services, and their compliance costs. Additionally, the industry faces risks related to litigation, operational disruptions, and evolving technologies that may alter traditional service delivery models.
Business Risks. HIMS’s limited operating history and evolving business model make it difficult to evaluate its prospects, and fluctuations in its operational results and key performance metrics could lead to unmet investor expectations. The ability to expand offerings, attract and retain customers, and navigate evolving privacy, healthcare, and regulatory frameworks is critical; failure in these areas could materially and adversely impact HIMS’s business and financial condition. HIMS operates in highly competitive markets, facing challenges from established healthcare providers, retailers, pharmaceutical companies, and technology firms, which may affect its competitive position. Additionally, the success of HIMS is heavily reliant on its brand reputation, relationships with healthcare providers and medical groups, and compliance with complex healthcare and pharmacy regulations. Security breaches, data loss, legal proceedings, or regulatory changes could harm its operations and reputation. HIMS may require additional capital to support growth, which may not be available on favorable terms. Furthermore, its dual-class stock structure concentrates voting power with the company’s CEO, limiting investors’ influence on critical decisions.
Derivatives Risk. Derivatives are financial instruments that derive value from the underlying reference asset or assets, such as stocks, bonds, or funds (including ETFs), interest rates or indexes. The Fund’s investments in derivatives may pose risks in addition to, and greater than, those associated with directly investing in securities or other ordinary investments, including risk related to the market, imperfect correlation with underlying investments or the Fund’s other portfolio holdings, higher price volatility, lack of availability, counterparty risk, liquidity, valuation and legal restrictions. The use of derivatives is a highly specialized activity that involves investment techniques and risks different from those associated with ordinary portfolio securities transactions. The use of derivatives may result in larger losses or smaller gains than directly investing in securities. When the Fund uses derivatives, there may be an imperfect correlation between the value of the Underlying Security and the derivative, which may prevent the Fund from achieving its investment objective. Because derivatives often require only a limited initial investment, the use of derivatives may expose the Fund to losses in excess of those amounts initially invested. In addition, the Fund’s investments in derivatives are subject to the following risks:
Options Contracts. The use of options contracts involves investment strategies and risks different from those associated with ordinary portfolio securities transactions. The prices of options are volatile and are influenced by, among other things, actual and anticipated changes in the value of the underlying instrument, including the anticipated volatility, which are affected by fiscal and monetary policies and by national and international political, changes in the actual or implied volatility or the reference asset, the time remaining until the expiration of the option contract and economic events. For the Fund in particular, the value of the options contracts in which it invests are substantially influenced by the value of the Underlying Security. The Fund may experience substantial downside from specific option positions and certain option positions held by the Fund may expire worthless. The options held by the Fund are exercisable at the strike price on their expiration date. As an option approaches its expiration date, its value typically increasingly move with the value of the underlying instrument. However, prior to such date, the value of an option generally does not increase or decrease at the same rate at the underlying instrument. There may at times be an imperfect correlation between the movement in the values of options contracts and the underlying instrument, and there may at times not be a liquid secondary market for certain options contracts. The value of the options held by the Fund will be determined based on market quotations or other recognized pricing methods. Additionally, as the Fund intends to continuously maintain indirect exposure to the Underlying Security through the use of options contracts, as the options contracts it holds are exercised or expire it will enter into new options contracts, a practice referred to as “rolling.” If the expiring options contracts do not generate proceeds enough to cover the cost of entering into new options contracts, the Fund may experience losses.
Swaps. The use of swap transactions is a highly specialized activity, which involves investment techniques and risks different from those associated with ordinary portfolio securities transactions. Whether the Fund will be successful in using swap agreements to achieve its investment goal depends on the ability of the Adviser to structure such swap agreements in accordance with the Fund’s investment objective and to identify counterparties for those swap agreements. If the Adviser is unable to enter into swap agreements that provide leveraged exposure to the Underlying Security, the Fund may not meet its stated investment objective. Additionally, any financing, borrowing or other costs associated with using swap transactions may also have the effect of lowering the Fund’s return.
The swap agreements in which the Fund invests are generally traded in the over-the-counter market, which generally has less transparency than exchange-traded derivatives instruments. In a standard swap transaction, two parties agree to exchange the return (or differentials in rates of return) earned or realized on particular predetermined reference assets or underlying securities or instruments. The gross return to be exchanged or swapped between the parties is calculated based on a notional amount or the return on or change in value of a particular dollar amount invested in a basket of securities.
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If the Underlying Security has a dramatic move that causes a material decline in the Fund’s net assets, the terms of a swap agreement between the Fund and its counterparty may permit the counterparty to immediately close out the swap transaction with the Fund. In that event, the Fund may be unable to enter into another swap agreement or invest in other derivatives to achieve exposure consistent with the Fund’s investment objective. This may prevent the Fund from achieving its leveraged investment objective, even if the Underlying Security later reverses all or a portion of its movement.
Counterparty Risk. The Fund is subject to counterparty risk by virtue of its investments in derivative instruments. Transactions in some types of derivatives, including options, are required to be centrally cleared (“cleared derivatives”). In a transaction involving cleared derivatives, the Fund’s counterparty is a clearing house rather than a bank or broker. Since the Fund is not a member of clearing houses and only members of a clearing house (“clearing members”) can participate directly in the clearing house, the Fund will hold cleared derivatives through accounts at clearing members. In cleared derivatives positions, the Fund will make payments (including margin payments) to and receive payments from a clearing house through their accounts at clearing members. Customer funds held at a clearing organization in connection with any options contracts are held in a commingled omnibus account and are not identified to the name of the clearing member’s individual customers. As a result, assets deposited by the Fund with any clearing member as margin for options may, in certain circumstances, be used to satisfy losses of other clients of the Fund’s clearing member. In addition, although clearing members guarantee performance of their clients’ obligations to the clearing house, there is a risk that the assets of the Fund might not be fully protected in the event of the clearing member’s bankruptcy, as the Fund would be limited to recovering only a pro rata share of all available funds segregated on behalf of the clearing member’s customers for the relevant account class. The Fund is also subject to the risk that a limited number of clearing members are willing to transact on the Fund’s behalf, which heightens the risks associated with a clearing member’s default. This risk is greater for the Fund as it seeks to hold options contracts on a single security, and not a broader range of options contracts, which may limit the number of clearing members that are willing to transact on the Fund’s behalf. If a clearing member defaults the Fund could lose some or all of the benefits of a transaction entered into by the Fund with the clearing member. If the Fund cannot find a clearing member to transact with on the Fund’s behalf, the Fund may be unable to effectively implement its investment strategy.
The Fund is also subject to the risk that the counterparty will not fulfill its obligation to the Fund. Counterparty risk may arise because of the counterparty’s financial condition (i.e., financial difficulties, bankruptcy, or insolvency), market activities and developments, or other reasons, whether foreseen or not. A counterparty’s inability to fulfill its obligation may result in significant financial loss to the Fund and the Fund may be unable to recover its investment from such counterparty or may obtain a limited and/or delayed recovery.
Price Participation Risk. The Fund employs an investment strategy that includes the sale of call option contracts, which limits the degree to which the Fund will participate in increases in value experienced by the Underlying Security over the Call Period. This means that if the Underlying Security experiences an increase in value above the strike price of the sold call options during a Call Period, the Fund will likely not experience that increase to the same extent and may significantly underperform the Underlying Security over the Call Period. Additionally, because the Fund is limited in the degree to which it will participate in increases in value experienced by the Underlying Security over each Call Period, but has full exposure to any decreases in value experienced by the Underlying Security over the Call Period, the NAV of the Fund may decrease over any given time period. The Fund’s NAV is dependent on the value of each options portfolio, which is based principally upon the performance of the Underlying Security. The degree of participation in the Underlying Security gains the Fund will experience will depend on prevailing market conditions, especially market volatility, at the time the Fund enters into the sold call option contracts and will vary from Call Period to Call Period. The value of the options contracts is affected by changes in the value and dividend rates of the Underlying Security, changes in interest rates, changes in the actual or perceived volatility of the Underlying Security and the remaining time to the options’ expiration, as well as trading conditions in the options market. As the price of the Underlying Security changes and time moves towards the expiration of each Call Period, the value of the options contracts, and therefore the Fund’s NAV, will change. However, it is not expected for the Fund’s NAV to directly correlate on a day-to-day basis with the returns of the Underlying Security. The amount of time remaining until the options contract’s expiration date affects the impact of the potential options contract income on the Fund’s NAV, which may not be in full effect until the expiration date of the Fund’s options contracts. Therefore, while changes in the price of the Underlying Security will result in changes to the Fund’s NAV, the Fund generally anticipates that the rate of change in the Fund’s NAV will be different than that experienced by the Underlying Security.
Distribution Risk. As part of the Fund’s investment objective, the Fund seeks to provide current monthly income. There is no assurance that the Fund will make a distribution in any given month. If the Fund does make distributions, the amounts of such distributions will likely vary greatly from one distribution to the next. Additionally, monthly distributions, if any, may consist of returns of capital, which would decrease the Fund’s NAV and trading price over time. As a result, an investor may suffer significant losses to their investment.
NAV Erosion Risk Due to Distributions. When the Fund makes a distribution, the Fund’s NAV will typically drop by the amount of the distribution on the related ex-dividend date. The repeated payment of distributions by the Fund, if any, may significantly erode the Fund’s NAV and trading price over time. As a result, an investor may suffer significant losses to their investment.
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Call Strategy Risks. The path dependency (i.e., the continued use) of the Fund’s call writing strategy will impact the extent that the Fund participates in the positive price returns of the Underlying Security and, in turn, the Fund’s returns, both during the term of the sold call options and over longer time periods. If, for example, each month the Fund were to sell 7% out-of-the-money call options having a one-month term, the Fund’s participation in the positive price returns of the Underlying Security will be capped at 7% in any given month. However, over a longer period (e.g., 5 months), the Fund should not be expected to participate fully in the first 35% (i.e., 5 months x 7%) of the positive price returns of the Underlying Security, or the Fund may even lose money, even if the Underlying Security share price has appreciated by at least that much over such period, if during any month over that period the Underlying Security had a return less than 7%. This example illustrates that both the Fund’s participation in the positive price returns of the Underlying Security and its returns will depend not only on the price of the Underlying Security but also on the path that the Underlying Security takes over time.
Additionally, when implementing the Covered Call Spread Strategy, the use of credit call spreads introduces further complexities and risks. While purchasing a higher-strike call option limits potential losses from the short call position, it also reduces the net premium received, which may result in lower overall returns compared to a stand-alone covered call strategy. If the price of the Underlying Security rises rapidly, the call spread may still cap upside participation, leading to missed profit opportunities. Furthermore, market conditions, such as mispricing between near-the-money and further out-of-the-money options, may impact the effectiveness of the strategy, potentially resulting in lower-than-expected returns or increased losses. The relative pricing of options at different strike levels can vary due to volatility shifts, liquidity constraints, or other market dynamics, adding an additional layer of uncertainty to the Fund’s performance under this strategy.
Economic and Market Risk. Economies and financial markets throughout the world are becoming increasingly interconnected, which increases the likelihood that events or conditions in one country or region will adversely impact markets or issuers in other countries or regions. Securities in the Fund’s portfolio may underperform in comparison to securities in the general financial markets, a particular financial market, or other asset classes, due to a number of factors, including inflation (or expectations for inflation), deflation (or expectations for deflation), interest rates, global demand for particular products or resources, market instability, financial system instability, debt crises and downgrades, embargoes, tariffs, sanctions and other trade barriers, regulatory events, other governmental trade or market control programs and related geopolitical events. In addition, the value of the Fund’s investments may be negatively affected by the occurrence of global events such as war, terrorism, environmental disasters, natural disasters or events, country instability, and infectious disease epidemics or pandemics. The imposition by the U.S. of tariffs on goods imported from foreign countries and reciprocal tariffs levied on U.S. goods by those countries also may lead to volatility and instability in domestic and foreign markets.
Equity Market Risk. The prices of equity securities rise and fall daily. These price movements may result from factors affecting individual issuers, industries or the stock market as a whole. In addition, equity markets tend to move in cycles which may cause stock prices to fall over a short and extended periods of time. In a declining stock market, stock prices for all companies (including those in the Fund’s portfolio) may decline, regardless of their long-term prospects.
ETF Risks.
Authorized Participants, Market Makers, and Liquidity Providers Concentration Risk. The Fund has a limited number of financial institutions that are authorized to purchase and redeem Shares directly from the Fund (known as “Authorized Participants” or “APs”). In addition, there may be a limited number of market makers and/or liquidity providers in the marketplace. To the extent either of the following events occur, Shares may trade at a material discount to NAV and possibly face delisting: (i) APs exit the business or otherwise become unable to process creation and/or redemption orders and no other APs step forward to perform these services; or (ii) market makers and/or liquidity providers exit the business or significantly reduce their business activities and no other entities step forward to perform their functions.
Cash Redemption Risk. The Fund’s investment strategy may require it to redeem Shares for cash or to otherwise include cash as part of its redemption proceeds. For example, the Fund may not be able to redeem in-kind certain securities held by the Fund (e.g., derivative instruments). In such a case, the Fund may be required to sell or unwind portfolio investments to obtain the cash needed to distribute redemption proceeds. This may cause the Fund to recognize a capital gain that it might not have recognized if it had made a redemption in-kind. As a result, the Fund may pay out higher annual capital gain distributions than if the in-kind redemption process was used. By paying out higher annual capital gain distributions, investors may be subjected to increased capital gains taxes. Additionally, there may be brokerage costs or taxable gains or losses that may be imposed on the Fund in connection with a cash redemption that may not have occurred if the Fund had made a redemption in-kind. These costs could decrease the value of the Fund to the extent they are not offset by a transaction fee payable by an AP.
Costs of Buying or Selling Shares. Due to the costs of buying or selling Shares, including brokerage commissions imposed by brokers and bid-ask spreads, frequent trading of Shares may significantly reduce investment results and an investment in Shares may not be advisable for investors who anticipate regularly making small investments.
Management Risk. The Fund is subject to management risk because it is an actively managed portfolio. In managing the Fund’s investment portfolio, the portfolio managers will apply investment techniques and risk analyses that may not produce the desired result. There can be no guarantee that the Fund will meet its investment objective.
Shares May Trade at Prices Other Than NAV. As with all ETFs, Shares may be bought and sold in the secondary market at market prices. Although it is expected that the market price of Shares will approximate the Fund’s NAV, there may be times when the market price of Shares is more than the NAV intra-day (premium) or less than the NAV intra-day (discount) due to supply and demand of Shares or during periods of market volatility. This risk is heightened in times of market volatility, periods of steep market declines, and periods when there is limited trading activity for Shares in the secondary market, in which case such premiums or discounts may be significant.
Trading. Although Shares are listed on a national securities exchange, such as [ ] (the “Exchange”), and may be traded on U.S. exchanges other than the Exchange, there can be no assurance that an active trading market for the Shares will develop or be maintained or that the Shares will trade with any volume, or at all, on any stock exchange. In stressed market conditions, the liquidity of Shares may begin to mirror the liquidity of the Fund’s underlying portfolio holdings, which can be significantly less liquid than Shares. Shares trade on the Exchange at market price that may be below, at or above the Fund’s NAV. Trading in Shares on the Exchange may be halted due to market conditions or for reasons that, in the view of the Exchange, make trading in Shares inadvisable. In addition, trading in Shares on the Exchange is subject to trading halts caused by extraordinary market volatility pursuant to the Exchange “circuit breaker” rules. There can be no assurance that the requirements of the Exchange necessary to maintain the listing of the Fund will continue to be met or will remain unchanged. In the event of an unscheduled market close for options contracts that are based on the value of an ETF, such as the Underlying Security being halted or a market wide closure, settlement prices will be determined by the procedures of the listing exchange of the options contracts. As a result, the Fund could be adversely affected and be unable to implement its investment strategies in the event of an unscheduled closing.
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High Portfolio Turnover Risk. The Fund may actively and frequently trade all or a significant portion of the Fund’s holdings. A high portfolio turnover rate increases transaction costs, which may increase the Fund’s expenses. Frequent trading may also cause adverse tax consequences for investors in the Fund due to an increase in short-term capital gains.
Inflation Risk. Inflation risk is the risk that the value of assets or income from investments will be less in the future as inflation decreases the value of money. As inflation increases, the present value of the Fund’s assets and distributions, if any, may decline.
Liquidity Risk. Some securities held by the Fund, including options contracts, may be difficult to sell or be illiquid, particularly during times of market turmoil. This risk is greater for the Fund as it will hold options contracts on a single security, and not a broader range of options contracts. Markets for securities or financial instruments could be disrupted by a number of events, including, but not limited to, an economic crisis, natural disasters, epidemics/pandemics, new legislation or regulatory changes inside or outside the United States. Illiquid securities may be difficult to value, especially in changing or volatile markets. If the Fund is forced to sell an illiquid security at an unfavorable time or price, the Fund may be adversely impacted. Certain market conditions or restrictions, such as market rules related to short sales, may prevent the Fund from limiting losses, realizing gains or achieving a high correlation with the Underlying Security. There is no assurance that a security that is deemed liquid when purchased will continue to be liquid. Market illiquidity may cause losses for the Fund.
Money Market Instrument Risk. The Fund may use a variety of money market instruments for cash management purposes, including money market funds, depositary accounts and repurchase agreements. Repurchase agreements are contracts in which a seller of securities agrees to buy the securities back at a specified time and price. Repurchase agreements may be subject to market and credit risk related to the collateral securing the repurchase agreement. Money market instruments, including money market funds, may lose money through fees or other means.
New Fund Risk. The Fund is a recently organized management investment company with no operating history. As a result, prospective investors do not have a track record or history on which to base their investment decisions.
Non-Diversification Risk. Because the Fund is “non-diversified,” it may invest a greater percentage of its assets in the securities of a single issuer or a smaller number of issuers than if it was a diversified fund. As a result, a decline in the value of an investment in a single issuer or a smaller number of issuers could cause the Fund’s overall value to decline to a greater degree than if the Fund held a more diversified portfolio. This may increase the Fund’s volatility and cause the performance of a relatively smaller number of issuers to have a greater impact on the Fund’s performance.
Operational Risk. The Fund is subject to risks arising from various operational factors, including, but not limited to, human error, processing and communication errors, errors of the Fund’s service providers, counterparties or other third-parties, failed or inadequate processes and technology or systems failures. The Fund relies on third-parties for a range of services, including custody. Any delay or failure relating to engaging or maintaining such service providers may affect the Fund’s ability to meet its investment objective. Although the Fund and Adviser seek to reduce these operational risks through controls and procedures, there is no way to completely protect against such risks. This may increase the Fund’s volatility and cause the performance of a relatively smaller number of issuers to have a greater impact on the Fund’s performance.
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Single Issuer Risk. Issuer-specific attributes may cause an investment in the Fund to be more volatile than a traditional pooled investment which diversifies risk or the market generally. The value of the Fund, which focuses on an individual security (the Underlying Security), may be more volatile than a traditional pooled investment or the market as a whole and may perform differently from the value of a traditional pooled investment or the market as a whole.
Tax Risk. The Fund intends to elect and to qualify each year to be treated as a RIC under Subchapter M of the Code. As a RIC, the Fund will not be subject to U.S. federal income tax on the portion of its net investment income and net capital gain that it distributes to Shareholders, provided that it satisfies certain requirements of the Code. If the Fund does not qualify as a RIC for any taxable year and certain relief provisions are not available, the Fund’s taxable income will be subject to tax at the Fund level and to a further tax at the shareholder level when such income is distributed. To comply with the asset diversification test applicable to a RIC, the Fund will attempt to ensure that the value of financial instruments providing exposure to the Underlying Security are never 25% of the total value of Fund assets at the close of any quarter. If the Fund’s investments in such financial instruments were to exceed 25% of the Fund’s total assets at the end of a tax quarter, the Fund, generally, has a grace period to cure such lack of compliance. If the Fund fails to timely cure, it may no longer be eligible to be treated as a RIC.
U.S. Government and U.S. Agency Obligations Risk. The Fund may invest in securities issued by the U.S. government or its agencies or instrumentalities. U.S. Government obligations include securities issued or guaranteed as to principal and interest by the U.S. Government, its agencies or instrumentalities, such as the U.S. Treasury. Payment of principal and interest on U.S. Government obligations may be backed by the full faith and credit of the United States or may be backed solely by the issuing or guaranteeing agency or instrumentality itself. In the latter case, the investor must look principally to the agency or instrumentality issuing or guaranteeing the obligation for ultimate repayment, which agency or instrumentality may be privately owned. There can be no assurance that the U.S. Government would provide financial support to its agencies or instrumentalities (including government-sponsored enterprises) where it is not obligated to do so.
Performance
Performance information for the Fund is not included because the Fund has not completed a full calendar year of operations as of the date of this Prospectus. When such information is included, this section will provide some indication of the risks of investing in the Fund by showing changes in the Fund’s performance history from year to year and showing how the Fund’s average annual total returns compare with those of a broad measure of market performance. Although past performance of the Fund is no guarantee of how it will perform in the future, historical performance may give you some indication of the risks of investing in the Fund. Updated performance information will be available on the Fund’s website at www.yieldmaxetfs.com.
Management
Investment Adviser: Tidal Investments LLC (the “Adviser”) serves as investment adviser to the Fund.
Portfolio Managers:
The following individuals are jointly and primarily responsible for the day-to-day management of the Fund.
Matt Brandt, Portfolio Manager for the Adviser, has been a portfolio manager of the Fund since its inception in 2025.
Christopher P. Mullen, Portfolio Manager for the Adviser, has been a portfolio manager of the Fund since its inception in 2025.
Scott Snyder, Portfolio Manager for the Adviser, has been a portfolio manager of the Fund since its inception in 2025.
Purchase and Sale of Shares
The Fund issues and redeems Shares at NAV only in large blocks known as “Creation Units,” which only Authorized Participants (APs) (typically, broker-dealers) may purchase or redeem. The Fund generally issues and redeems Creation Units in exchange for a portfolio of securities (the “Deposit Securities”) and/or a designated amount of U.S. cash.
Shares are listed on a national securities exchange, such as the Exchange, and individual Shares may only be bought and sold in the secondary market through brokers at market prices, rather than NAV. Because Shares trade at market prices rather than NAV, Shares may trade at a price greater than NAV (premium) or less than NAV (discount).
An investor may incur costs attributable to the difference between the highest price a buyer is willing to pay to purchase Shares (the “bid” price) and the lowest price a seller is willing to accept for Shares (the “ask” price) when buying or selling Shares in the secondary market. This difference in bid and ask prices is often referred to as the “bid-ask spread.”
When available, information regarding the Fund’s NAV, market price, how often Shares traded on the Exchange at a premium or discount, and bid-ask spreads can be found on the Fund’s website at www.yieldmaxetfs.com.
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Tax Information
Fund distributions are generally taxable as ordinary income, qualified dividend income, or capital gains (or a combination), unless an investment is in an individual retirement account (“IRA”) or other tax-advantaged account. Distributions on investments made through tax-deferred arrangements may be taxed later upon withdrawal of assets from those accounts.
Financial Intermediary Compensation
If
you purchase Shares through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary
(such as a bank) (an “Intermediary”), the Adviser or its affiliates may pay
Intermediaries for certain activities related to the Fund, including
participation in activities that are designed to make Intermediaries more
knowledgeable about exchange-traded products, including the Fund, or for other
activities, such as marketing, educational training, or other initiatives
related to the sale or promotion of Shares. These payments may create a conflict
of interest by influencing the Intermediary and your salesperson to recommend
the Fund over another investment. Any such arrangements do not result in
increased Fund expenses. Ask your salesperson or visit the Intermediary’s
website for more information.
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YieldMax® IONQ Option Income Strategy ETF - FUND SUMMARY
Investment Objective
The Fund’s primary investment objective is to seek current income.
The Fund’s secondary investment objective is to seek exposure to the share price of IonQ, Inc. (“IONQ” or “Underlying Security”), which is generally subject to a limit on potential investment gains.
Fees and Expenses of the Fund
This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy, hold, and sell shares of the Fund (“Shares”). You may pay other fees, such as brokerage commissions and other fees to financial intermediaries, which are not reflected in the table and Example below.
| Annual Fund Operating Expenses(1) (expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment) | |||
| Management Fee | [] | % | |
| Distribution and Service (12b-1) Fees | None | ||
| Other Expenses(2) | [] | % | |
| Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses | [] | % | |
| (1) | The Fund’s investment adviser, Tidal Investments LLC (the “Adviser”), a Tidal Financial Group company, will pay, or require a sub-adviser to pay, all of the Fund’s expenses, except for the following: advisory and sub-advisory fees, interest charges on any borrowings made for investment purposes, dividends and other expenses on securities sold short, taxes, brokerage commissions and other expenses incurred in placing orders for the purchase and sale of securities and other investment instruments, acquired fund fees and expenses, accrued deferred tax liability, distribution fees and expenses paid by the Fund under any distribution plan adopted pursuant to Rule 12b-1 under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”), litigation expenses, and other non-routine or extraordinary expenses. | |
| (2) | Based on estimated amounts for the current fiscal year. |
Expense Example
This Example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other funds. The Example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and then hold or redeem all of your Shares at the end of those periods. The Example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Fund’s operating expenses remain the same. The Example does not take into account brokerage commissions that you may pay on your purchases and sales of Shares. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:
| 1 Year | 3 Years |
| $[] | $[] |
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 Shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in total annual fund operating expenses or in the expense example above, affect the Fund’s performance. Because the Fund is newly organized, portfolio turnover information is not yet available.
Principal Investment Strategies
The Fund is an actively managed exchange-traded fund (“ETF”) that seeks current income while providing indirect exposure to the share price (i.e., the price returns) of IonQ, Inc. (NYSE: IONQ) (“IONQ” or the “Underlying Security”), which is generally subject to a limit on potential investment gains. The Fund will employ its investment strategy as it relates to IONQ regardless of whether there are periods of adverse market, economic, or other conditions and will not take temporary defensive positions during such periods. As further described below, the Fund primarily uses either a synthetic covered call strategy or synthetic covered call spread strategy to provide income and indirect exposure to the share price returns of IONQ, which is generally subject to a limit on potential investment gains as a result of the nature of the options strategy it employs. The Fund not only seeks to generate income from its options investments but also aims to derive gains when the value of IONQ increases. The Fund’s options contracts provide:
| ● | indirect exposure to the share price returns of IONQ, |
| ● | current income from the option premiums, and |
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| ● | at most times, a limit on the Fund’s participation in gains, if any, of the share price returns of IONQ. |
For more information, see sections “The Fund’s Use of Underlying Security Option Contracts,” “Synthetic Covered Call Strategy” and “SyntheticCovered Call Spread Strategy” below.
Why invest in the Fund?
| ● | The Fund seeks to generate monthly income, which is not dependent on the price appreciation of the Underlying Security. |
| ● | The Fund seeks to participate in a portion of the gains experienced by the Underlying Security. |
That is, although the Fund may not fully participate in gains in the Underlying Security’s stock price, the Fund’s portfolio is designed to generate income.
An Investment in the Fund is not an investment in the Underlying Security.
| ● | The Fund’s strategy will capture only a portion of its potential gains if the Underlying Security’s stock price increases in value. |
| ● | The Fund’s strategy is subject to all potential losses if the Underlying Security’s stock price decrease in value, which may not be offset by income received by the Fund. |
| ● | The Fund may invest directly in the Underlying Security, but expects to gain its Underlying Security exposure primarily through its synthetic covered call strategy or synthetic covered call spread strategy. |
| ● | Fund shareholders are not entitled to any Underlying Security dividends. |
Additional information regarding the Underlying Security is also set forth below.
The Fund’s Use of Underlying Security Option Contracts
As part of the Fund’s synthetic covered call strategy and synthetic covered call spread strategy, the Fund will purchase and sell a combination of standardized exchange-traded and FLexible EXchange® (“FLEX”) call and put option contracts that are based on the value of the price returns of the Underlying Security.
| ● | In general, an option contract gives the purchaser of the option contract the right to purchase (for a call option) or sell (for a put option) the underlying asset (like shares of the Underlying Security) at a specified price (the “strike price”). |
| ● | If exercised, an option contract obligates the seller to deliver shares (for a sold or “short” call) or buy shares (for a sold or “short” put) of the underlying asset at a specified price (the “strike price”). |
| ● | Options contracts must be exercised or traded to close within a specified time frame, or they expire. See the chart in section “Fund Portfolio” below for a description of the option contracts utilized by the Fund. |
Standardized exchange-traded options include standardized terms. FLEX options are also exchange-traded, but they allow for customizable terms (e.g., the strike price can be negotiated). For more information on FLEX options, see “Additional Information about the Funds – Exchange Traded Options Portfolio.”
The Fund’s options contracts are based on the value of the Underlying Security, which gives the Fund the right or obligation to receive or deliver shares of the Underlying Security on the expiration date of the applicable option contract in exchange for the stated strike price, depending on whether the option contract is a call option or a put option, and whether the Fund purchases or sells the option contract.
Synthetic Covered Call Strategy
In seeking to achieve its investment objective, the Fund may implement a “synthetic covered call” strategy using the standardized exchange-traded and FLEX options described above.
| ● | A traditional covered call strategy is an investment strategy where an investor (the Fund) sells a call option on an underlying security it owns. |
| ● | A synthetic covered call strategy is similar to a traditional covered call strategy in that the investor sells a call option that is based on the value of the underlying security. However, in a synthetic covered call strategy, the investor (the Fund) does not own the underlying security, but rather seeks to synthetically replicate 100% of the price movements of the underlying security through the use of various investment instruments. |
The Fund’s synthetic covered call strategies consists of the following three elements, each of which is described in greater detail farther below:
| ● | Synthetic long exposure to the Underlying Security, which allows the Fund to seek to participate in the changes, up or down, in the price of shares of the Underlying Security. |
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| ● | Covered call writing (where the Underlying Security’s call options are sold against the synthetic long portion of the strategy), which allows the Fund to generate income. |
| ● | U.S. Treasuries, which are used for collateral for the options, and which also generate income. |
| 1. | Synthetic Long Exposure |
To achieve a synthetic long exposure to the Underlying Security, the Fund will buy the Underlying Security’s call options and, simultaneously, sell the Underlying Security’s put options to try to replicate the price movements of the Underlying Security. The call options purchased by the Fund and the put options sold by the Fund will generally have one-month to six-month terms and strike prices that are approximately equal to the then-current share price of the Underlying Security at the time the contracts are purchased and sold, respectively. The combination of the long call options and sold put options provides the Fund with indirect investment exposure equal to approximately 100% of the Underlying Security for the duration of the applicable options exposure.
| 2. | Covered Call Strategies |
Covered Call Strategy
As part of its strategy, the Fund will write (sell) call option contracts on the Underlying Security to generate income. Since the Fund does not directly own the Underlying Security, these written call options will be sold short (i.e., selling a position it does not currently own). The Fund will seek to participate in the share price appreciation of the Underlying Security, if any. However, due to the nature of covered call strategies, the Fund’s participation may be subject to a cap (as described below). In this strategy, the call options written (sold) by the Fund will generally have 1- month or less expiration dates (the “Call Period”) and generally have a strike price that is approximately 0%-15% above the then-current share price of the Underlying Security.
It is important to note that the sale of the Underlying Security call option contracts will limit the Fund’s participation in the appreciation in the Underlying Security’s stock price. If the stock price of the Underlying Security increases, the above-referenced synthetic long exposure alone would allow the Fund to experience similar percentage gains. However, if the Underlying Security’s stock price appreciates beyond the strike price of one or more of the sold (short) call option contracts, the Fund will lose money on those short call positions, and the losses will, in turn, limit the upside return of the Fund’s synthetic long exposure. As a result, the Fund’s overall strategy (i.e., the combination of the synthetic long exposure to the Underlying Security and the sold (short) the Underlying Security call positions) will limit the Fund’s participation in gains in the Underlying Security’s stock price beyond a certain point.
Covered Call Spread Strategy
The Adviser will employ the Covered Call Spread Strategy when it believes it is a better strategy for the Fund as compared to the Covered Call Strategy. The Fund may write (sell) credit call spreads (described below) rather than stand-alone call option contracts to seek greater participation in the potential appreciation of its Underlying Security’s share price, while still generating net premium income. The Adviser will primarily employ this covered call spread strategy when it believes that the share price of its Underlying Security is likely to rise significantly in the short term (e.g., following a substantial selloff or overall positive market news). Additionally, the Adviser may use this strategy in other scenarios (e.g., if the market is undervaluing further out-of-the-money options relative to near-the-money options), where it believes the use of credit call spreads may prove more advantageous to the Fund’s total return than the covered call strategy.
A credit call spread involves selling a call option while simultaneously buying a call option with a higher strike price, both with the same expiration date. By writing credit call spreads, the Fund can potentially offset losses incurred from its short call positions if the Underlying Security’s share price rises above the strike price.
| 3. | U.S. Treasuries |
The Fund will hold short-term U.S. Treasury securities as collateral in connection with the Fund’s options contracts, as well as swaps as discussed in the “Additional Investment Strategies” section below.
The Fund intends to continuously maintain indirect exposure to the Underlying Security, primarily through the use of options contracts. As the options contracts it holds are exercised or expire it may enter into new options contracts, a practice referred to as “rolling.” The Fund’s practice of rolling options may result in high portfolio turnover.
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Additional Investment Strategies
In addition to the synthetic covered call strategy or synthetic covered call spread strategy described herein, the Fund may use the following additional strategies to gain exposure to the Underlying Security:
| ● | Swaps: The Fund may utilize swap contracts that provide exposure to the Underlying Security. |
| ● | Additional Options Strategies: The Fund may utilize additional options strategies, including purchasing call options that are “deep in the money” (i.e., the Underlying Security’s price is well above the strike price on the call option). |
| ● | Equity Securities: The Fund may purchase equity securities of the Underlying Security. |
While the Fund intends to primarily utilize its synthetic covered call strategy or synthetic covered call spread strategy to gain exposure to the Underlying Security, it may utilize each of the foregoing to the extent it is unable to achieve its targeted exposure through the use of these primary options strategies.
Fund’s Monthly Distributions
The Fund will seek to provide monthly income in the form of cash distributions. The Fund will seek to generate such income in the following ways:
| ● | Writing (selling) call option contracts on its Underlying Security as described above. The income comes mainly from the option premiums received from these option sales. A premium, in this context, refers to the price the option buyer pays to the option seller (the Fund) for the rights granted by the option. The amount of these premiums is largely affected by the fluctuations in the Underlying Security’s stock prices. However, other elements like interest rates can also influence the income level. |
| ● | Investing in short-term U.S. Treasury securities. The income generated by these securities will be influenced by interest rates at the time of investment. |
| ● | In addition to the income-seeking methodologies stated in the Prospectus, the Fund’s use of the Synthetic Covered Call Spread Strategy may occasionally allow it to capture a substantial portion of any significant increase in the price of its Underlying Security. When this happens, the Fund could receive profits exceeding the initial cost of the call options, and the Fund’s distributions may include some of those profits. | |
| ● | The Fund may receive some dividend income to the extent it invests directly in the Underlying Security. |
Fund’s Return Profile vs its Underlying Security
For the reasons stated above, the Fund’s performance will differ from that of the Underlying Security’s stock price. The performance differences will depend on, among other things, the price of the Underlying Security, changes in the value of the Underlying Security options contracts and swaps the Fund holds, and changes in the value of the U.S. Treasuries.
Fund Portfolio
| Principal Holdings | ||
| Portfolio
Holdings (All options are based on the value of the Underlying Security) |
Investment Terms | Expected Target Maturity |
| Purchased call option contracts (primary options strategies) |
“at-the-money” (i.e., the strike price is equal to the then-current share price of the Underlying Security at the time of purchase) to provide indirect exposure to positive price returns of the Underlying Security.
If the Underlying Security share price increases, these options will generate corresponding increases to the Fund. |
1-month to 6-month expiration dates |
| Purchased call option contracts (additional options strategies) |
“deep-in-the-money” (i.e., the Underlying Security’s price is well above the strike price on the call option) to provide indirect exposure to positive price returns of the Underlying Security.
If the Underlying Security share price increases, these options will generate corresponding increases to the Fund. |
1-month to 6-month expiration dates
|
| Sold put option contracts |
“at-the-money” (i.e., the strike price is equal to the then-current share price of the Underlying Security at the time of sale).
They are sold to help pay for the purchased call options described above.
However, the sold put option contracts provide exposure to the full extent of any share price losses experienced by the Underlying Security. |
1-month to 6-month expiration dates |
| Sold
(short) call option contracts (Covered Call Strategy) |
The strike price is approximately 0%-15% more than the then-current share price of the Underlying Security at the time of sale.
They generate current income. However, they also limit some potential positive returns that the Fund may have otherwise experienced from gains in the Underlying Security’s share price. |
1-month or less expiration dates |
|
Sold
(short) call option contracts
|
The strike price is approximately 0%-15% more than the then-current share price of the Fund’s Underlying Security at the time of sale.
Sold call option contracts provide inverse exposure to the full extent of any increases in the value experienced by the Fund’s Underlying Security, minus the premium received. |
1-month or less expiration dates |
| Purchased
call option contracts (Covered Call Spread Strategy) |
“out-of-the-money” (i.e., the strike price is above the strike price of the corresponding Covered Call Spread Strategy sold call).
Bought call option contracts provide exposure to the full extent of any increases in the value experienced by the Fund’s Underlying Security above the option’s strike price. |
1-month or less expiration dates |
| Equity Securities | Direct equity holdings of the Underlying Security. | N/A |
| Swaps | Provides mark-to-market daily exposure to the total return of the Underlying Security over a particular period of time. | N/A |
| U.S Treasury Securities and Cash |
Multiple series of U.S. Treasury Bills supported by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government.
These instruments are used as collateral for the Fund’s derivative investments.
They will also generate income. |
6-month to 2-year maturities |
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The market value of the cash and treasuries held by the Fund is expected to be between 50% and 100% of the Fund’s net assets and the market value of the options, swaps and direct equity investments is expected to be between 0% and 50% of the Fund’s net assets. In terms of notional value, the combination of these investment instruments provides indirect investment exposure to IONQ equal to at least 100% of the Fund’s total assets.
Under normal circumstances, the Fund will invest at least 80% of its net assets, plus borrowings for investment purposes, in securities and financial instruments that provide indirect exposure to IONQ.
The Fund is classified as “non-diversified” under the 1940 Act.
There is no guarantee that the Fund’s investment strategy will be properly implemented, and an investor may lose some or all of its investment.
IonQ, Inc. (“IONQ”)
IonQ, Inc. sells quantum computing hardware together with related maintenance and support. IONQ also sells access to several quantum computers of various qubit capacities and is in the process of researching and developing technologies for quantum computers with increasing computational capabilities. IONQ is listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). Per IONQ’s most recent Form 10-K filing, the aggregate market value of the voting stock of IONQ held by non-affiliates as of June 30, 2024 was $1.2 billion.
IONQ is registered under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”). Information provided to or filed with the SEC by IONQ pursuant to the Exchange Act can be located by reference to the SEC file number 001-39694 through the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov. In addition, information regarding IONQ may be obtained from other sources including, but not limited to, press releases, newspaper articles and other publicly disseminated documents.
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This document relates only to the securities offered hereby and does not relate to the shares of IONQ or other securities of IonQ, Inc. The Fund has derived all disclosures contained in this document regarding IONQ from the publicly available documents. None of the Fund, the Trust, or the Adviser, or their respective affiliates has participated in the preparation of such publicly available offering documents or made any due diligence inquiry regarding such documents with respect to IONQ. None of the Fund, the Trust, or the Adviser, or their respective affiliates makes any representation that such publicly available documents or any other publicly available information regarding IONQ is accurate or complete. Furthermore, the Fund cannot give any assurance that all events occurring prior to the date hereof (including events that would affect the accuracy or completeness of the publicly available documents described above) that would affect the trading price of IONQ (and therefore the share price of the Fund at the time we price the securities) have been publicly disclosed. Subsequent disclosure of any such events or the disclosure of or failure to disclose material future events concerning IONQ could affect the value received with respect to the securities and therefore the value of the securities.
None of the Fund, the Trust, the Adviser, or their respective affiliates makes any representation to you as to the performance of IONQ.
NONE OF THE FUND, TIDAL TRUST II, OR TIDAL INVESTMENTS LLC ARE AFFILIATED WITH THE UNDERLYING SECURITY.
Due to the Fund’s investment strategy, the Fund’s investment exposure is concentrated in the same industry as that assigned to the Underlying Security. As of the date of the Prospectus, IONQ is assigned to the Technology Hardware, Storage & Peripherals industry.
Principal Investment Risks
The principal risks of investing in the Fund are summarized below. As with any investment, there is a risk that you could lose all or a portion of your investment in the Fund. Some or all of these risks may adversely affect the Fund’s net asset value (“NAV”) per share, trading price, yield, total return, and/or ability to meet its objective. For more information about the risks of investing in the Fund, see the section in the Fund’s Prospectus titled “Additional Information About the Funds—Principal Risks of Investing in the Funds.”
An investment in the Fund entails risk. The Fund may not achieve its investment objective and there is a risk that you could lose all of your money invested in the Fund. The Fund is not a complete investment program. It is important that investors closely review all of the risks listed below and understand them before making an investment in the Fund.
Each risk summarized below is considered a “principal risk” of investing in the Fund, regardless of the order in which they appear.
IONQ Risk. The Fund invests in instruments that are based on the value of IONQ. This subjects the Fund to certain of the same risks as if it owned shares of IONQ, even if it does not. By virtue of the Fund’s exposure to IONQ, the Fund may also be subject to the following risks:
Indirect Investment in IONQ Risk. IONQ is not affiliated with the Trust, the Fund, or the Adviser, or their respective affiliates and is not involved with this offering in any way and has no obligation to consider your Shares in taking any corporate actions that might affect the value of Shares. Investors in the Fund will not have voting rights and will not be able to influence management of IONQ but will be exposed to the performance of IONQ (the Underlying Security). Investors in the Fund will not have the right to receive dividends or other distributions or any other rights with respect to the Underlying Security but will be subject to declines in the performance of the Underlying Security.
IONQ Trading Risk. The trading price of IONQ may be subject to volatility and could experience wide fluctuations due to various factors. Short sellers may also play a significant role in trading IONQ, potentially affecting the supply and demand dynamics and contributing to market price volatility. Public perception and external factors beyond the company’s control may influence IONQ’s stock price disproportionately. Additionally, following periods of market volatility, companies have faced securities class action litigation. Any adverse judgment or future stockholder litigation could result in substantial costs and divert management’s attention and resources. In the event of a halt in trading of IONQ, trading in shares of related funds may be impacted, either temporarily or indefinitely.
IONQ Performance Risk. IONQ may fail to meet its publicly announced guidelines or other expectations about its business, which could cause the price of IONQ to decline. IONQ provides guidance regarding its expected financial and business performance, such as projections regarding sales and production, as well as anticipated future revenues, gross margins, profitability and cash flows. Correctly identifying key factors affecting business conditions and predicting future events is inherently an uncertain process, and the guidance IONQ provides may not ultimately be accurate. If IONQ’s guidance is not accurate or varies from actual results due to its inability to meet the assumptions or the impact on its financial performance that could occur as a result of various risks and uncertainties, the market value of common stock issued by IONQ could decline significantly.
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Technology Hardware, Storage & Peripherals Risks. Companies in the technology hardware, storage, and peripherals industry may face intense competition, both domestically and internationally, which can pressure profit margins and market share. These companies often rely on complex supply chains and third-party providers for components, manufacturing, and services. Supply chain disruptions, including the unavailability of critical materials or components, price increases, or delays in production, can adversely affect operations. Many companies in this industry depend on a limited number of suppliers or suppliers concentrated in specific geographic regions, which may increase vulnerability to geopolitical risks, natural disasters, or regulatory changes. Identifying and qualifying alternative suppliers can be time-consuming and costly, with no guarantee of availability. Additionally, operations may be impacted by resource constraints, including shortages of electricity, rare earth elements, or other essential materials. Companies in this industry are also exposed to cybersecurity threats, intellectual property risks, and evolving technological standards, which may increase operational costs and hinder competitiveness.
Business Risks: IONQ is an early-stage business with a limited operating history, a history of operating losses, and an expectation of significant expenses and losses for the foreseeable future. IONQ faces challenges scaling its business, managing growth, and effectively executing its strategies in a nascent and volatile quantum computing industry. The company’s success is highly dependent on its ability to develop scalable quantum computing systems, achieve cost reductions, and maintain competitive positioning in a rapidly evolving market. There is no assurance that IONQ’s technology will achieve broad market adoption, particularly given the technical and economic challenges of the quantum computing sector.
IONQ’s reliance on key employees and its ability to retain talent with specialized knowledge is critical to its operations. Additionally, much of its revenue is concentrated among a few customers, making the business vulnerable to contract terminations or customer loss. Dependence on proprietary ion trap technology and specific isotopic materials introduces supply chain risks, while compatibility with industry-standard software and hardware remains a concern. Intellectual property risks, including the loss or compromise of trade secrets, inability to maintain patent protections, or litigation claims, could harm the company’s competitive edge.
IONQ is also exposed to risks related to international expansion, government contracts, and regulatory changes, including tariffs and trade restrictions. Operational disruptions, cybersecurity threats, and adverse global economic conditions could further impact IONQ’s growth and profitability. If IONQ fails to meet market expectations or achieve forecasted growth, its stock price and long-term prospects could be materially affected.
Derivatives Risk. Derivatives are financial instruments that derive value from the underlying reference asset or assets, such as stocks, bonds, or funds (including ETFs), interest rates or indexes. The Fund’s investments in derivatives may pose risks in addition to, and greater than, those associated with directly investing in securities or other ordinary investments, including risk related to the market, imperfect correlation with underlying investments or the Fund’s other portfolio holdings, higher price volatility, lack of availability, counterparty risk, liquidity, valuation and legal restrictions. The use of derivatives is a highly specialized activity that involves investment techniques and risks different from those associated with ordinary portfolio securities transactions. The use of derivatives may result in larger losses or smaller gains than directly investing in securities. When the Fund uses derivatives, there may be an imperfect correlation between the value of the Underlying Security and the derivative, which may prevent the Fund from achieving its investment objective. Because derivatives often require only a limited initial investment, the use of derivatives may expose the Fund to losses in excess of those amounts initially invested. In addition, the Fund’s investments in derivatives are subject to the following risks:
Options Contracts. The use of options contracts involves investment strategies and risks different from those associated with ordinary portfolio securities transactions. The prices of options are volatile and are influenced by, among other things, actual and anticipated changes in the value of the underlying instrument, including the anticipated volatility, which are affected by fiscal and monetary policies and by national and international political, changes in the actual or implied volatility or the reference asset, the time remaining until the expiration of the option contract and economic events. For the Fund in particular, the value of the options contracts in which it invests are substantially influenced by the value of the Underlying Security. The Fund may experience substantial downside from specific option positions and certain option positions held by the Fund may expire worthless. The options held by the Fund are exercisable at the strike price on their expiration date. As an option approaches its expiration date, its value typically increasingly move with the value of the underlying instrument. However, prior to such date, the value of an option generally does not increase or decrease at the same rate at the underlying instrument. There may at times be an imperfect correlation between the movement in the values of options contracts and the underlying instrument, and there may at times not be a liquid secondary market for certain options contracts. The value of the options held by the Fund will be determined based on market quotations or other recognized pricing methods. Additionally, as the Fund intends to continuously maintain indirect exposure to the Underlying Security through the use of options contracts, as the options contracts it holds are exercised or expire it will enter into new options contracts, a practice referred to as “rolling.” If the expiring options contracts do not generate proceeds enough to cover the cost of entering into new options contracts, the Fund may experience losses.
Swaps. The use of swap transactions is a highly specialized activity, which involves investment techniques and risks different from those associated with ordinary portfolio securities transactions. Whether the Fund will be successful in using swap agreements to achieve its investment goal depends on the ability of the Adviser to structure such swap agreements in accordance with the Fund’s investment objective and to identify counterparties for those swap agreements. If the Adviser is unable to enter into swap agreements that provide leveraged exposure to the Underlying Security, the Fund may not meet its stated investment objective. Additionally, any financing, borrowing or other costs associated with using swap transactions may also have the effect of lowering the Fund’s return.
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The swap agreements in which the Fund invests are generally traded in the over-the-counter market, which generally has less transparency than exchange-traded derivatives instruments. In a standard swap transaction, two parties agree to exchange the return (or differentials in rates of return) earned or realized on particular predetermined reference assets or underlying securities or instruments. The gross return to be exchanged or swapped between the parties is calculated based on a notional amount or the return on or change in value of a particular dollar amount invested in a basket of securities.
If the Underlying Security has a dramatic move that causes a material decline in the Fund’s net assets, the terms of a swap agreement between the Fund and its counterparty may permit the counterparty to immediately close out the swap transaction with the Fund. In that event, the Fund may be unable to enter into another swap agreement or invest in other derivatives to achieve exposure consistent with the Fund’s investment objective. This may prevent the Fund from achieving its leveraged investment objective, even if the Underlying Security later reverses all or a portion of its movement.
Counterparty Risk. The Fund is subject to counterparty risk by virtue of its investments in derivative instruments. Transactions in some types of derivatives, including options, are required to be centrally cleared (“cleared derivatives”). In a transaction involving cleared derivatives, the Fund’s counterparty is a clearing house rather than a bank or broker. Since the Fund is not a member of clearing houses and only members of a clearing house (“clearing members”) can participate directly in the clearing house, the Fund will hold cleared derivatives through accounts at clearing members. In cleared derivatives positions, the Fund will make payments (including margin payments) to and receive payments from a clearing house through their accounts at clearing members. Customer funds held at a clearing organization in connection with any options contracts are held in a commingled omnibus account and are not identified to the name of the clearing member’s individual customers. As a result, assets deposited by the Fund with any clearing member as margin for options may, in certain circumstances, be used to satisfy losses of other clients of the Fund’s clearing member. In addition, although clearing members guarantee performance of their clients’ obligations to the clearing house, there is a risk that the assets of the Fund might not be fully protected in the event of the clearing member’s bankruptcy, as the Fund would be limited to recovering only a pro rata share of all available funds segregated on behalf of the clearing member’s customers for the relevant account class. The Fund is also subject to the risk that a limited number of clearing members are willing to transact on the Fund’s behalf, which heightens the risks associated with a clearing member’s default. This risk is greater for the Fund as it seeks to hold options contracts on a single security, and not a broader range of options contracts, which may limit the number of clearing members that are willing to transact on the Fund’s behalf. If a clearing member defaults the Fund could lose some or all of the benefits of a transaction entered into by the Fund with the clearing member. If the Fund cannot find a clearing member to transact with on the Fund’s behalf, the Fund may be unable to effectively implement its investment strategy.
The Fund is also subject to the risk that the counterparty will not fulfill its obligation to the Fund. Counterparty risk may arise because of the counterparty’s financial condition (i.e., financial difficulties, bankruptcy, or insolvency), market activities and developments, or other reasons, whether foreseen or not. A counterparty’s inability to fulfill its obligation may result in significant financial loss to the Fund and the Fund may be unable to recover its investment from such counterparty or may obtain a limited and/or delayed recovery.
Price Participation Risk. The Fund employs an investment strategy that includes the sale of call option contracts, which limits the degree to which the Fund will participate in increases in value experienced by the Underlying Security over the Call Period. This means that if the Underlying Security experiences an increase in value above the strike price of the sold call options during a Call Period, the Fund will likely not experience that increase to the same extent and may significantly underperform the Underlying Security over the Call Period. Additionally, because the Fund is limited in the degree to which it will participate in increases in value experienced by the Underlying Security over each Call Period, but has full exposure to any decreases in value experienced by the Underlying Security over the Call Period, the NAV of the Fund may decrease over any given time period. The Fund’s NAV is dependent on the value of each options portfolio, which is based principally upon the performance of the Underlying Security. The degree of participation in the Underlying Security gains the Fund will experience will depend on prevailing market conditions, especially market volatility, at the time the Fund enters into the sold call option contracts and will vary from Call Period to Call Period. The value of the options contracts is affected by changes in the value and dividend rates of the Underlying Security, changes in interest rates, changes in the actual or perceived volatility of the Underlying Security and the remaining time to the options’ expiration, as well as trading conditions in the options market. As the price of the Underlying Security changes and time moves towards the expiration of each Call Period, the value of the options contracts, and therefore the Fund’s NAV, will change. However, it is not expected for the Fund’s NAV to directly correlate on a day-to-day basis with the returns of the Underlying Security. The amount of time remaining until the options contract’s expiration date affects the impact of the potential options contract income on the Fund’s NAV, which may not be in full effect until the expiration date of the Fund’s options contracts. Therefore, while changes in the price of the Underlying Security will result in changes to the Fund’s NAV, the Fund generally anticipates that the rate of change in the Fund’s NAV will be different than that experienced by the Underlying Security.
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Distribution Risk. As part of the Fund’s investment objective, the Fund seeks to provide current monthly income. There is no assurance that the Fund will make a distribution in any given month. If the Fund does make distributions, the amounts of such distributions will likely vary greatly from one distribution to the next. Additionally, monthly distributions, if any, may consist of returns of capital, which would decrease the Fund’s NAV and trading price over time. As a result, an investor may suffer significant losses to their investment.
NAV Erosion Risk Due to Distributions. When the Fund makes a distribution, the Fund’s NAV will typically drop by the amount of the distribution on the related ex-dividend date. The repeated payment of distributions by the Fund, if any, may significantly erode the Fund’s NAV and trading price over time. As a result, an investor may suffer significant losses to their investment.
Call Strategy Risks. The path dependency (i.e., the continued use) of the Fund’s call writing strategy will impact the extent that the Fund participates in the positive price returns of the Underlying Security and, in turn, the Fund’s returns, both during the term of the sold call options and over longer time periods. If, for example, each month the Fund were to sell 7% out-of-the-money call options having a one-month term, the Fund’s participation in the positive price returns of the Underlying Security will be capped at 7% in any given month. However, over a longer period (e.g., 5 months), the Fund should not be expected to participate fully in the first 35% (i.e., 5 months x 7%) of the positive price returns of the Underlying Security, or the Fund may even lose money, even if the Underlying Security share price has appreciated by at least that much over such period, if during any month over that period the Underlying Security had a return less than 7%. This example illustrates that both the Fund’s participation in the positive price returns of the Underlying Security and its returns will depend not only on the price of the Underlying Security but also on the path that the Underlying Security takes over time.
Additionally, when implementing the Covered Call Spread Strategy, the use of credit call spreads introduces further complexities and risks. While purchasing a higher-strike call option limits potential losses from the short call position, it also reduces the net premium received, which may result in lower overall returns compared to a stand-alone covered call strategy. If the price of the Underlying Security rises rapidly, the call spread may still cap upside participation, leading to missed profit opportunities. Furthermore, market conditions, such as mispricing between near-the-money and further out-of-the-money options, may impact the effectiveness of the strategy, potentially resulting in lower-than-expected returns or increased losses. The relative pricing of options at different strike levels can vary due to volatility shifts, liquidity constraints, or other market dynamics, adding an additional layer of uncertainty to the Fund’s performance under this strategy.
Economic and Market Risk. Economies and financial markets throughout the world are becoming increasingly interconnected, which increases the likelihood that events or conditions in one country or region will adversely impact markets or issuers in other countries or regions. Securities in the Fund’s portfolio may underperform in comparison to securities in the general financial markets, a particular financial market, or other asset classes, due to a number of factors, including inflation (or expectations for inflation), deflation (or expectations for deflation), interest rates, global demand for particular products or resources, market instability, financial system instability, debt crises and downgrades, embargoes, tariffs, sanctions and other trade barriers, regulatory events, other governmental trade or market control programs and related geopolitical events. In addition, the value of the Fund’s investments may be negatively affected by the occurrence of global events such as war, terrorism, environmental disasters, natural disasters or events, country instability, and infectious disease epidemics or pandemics. The imposition by the U.S. of tariffs on goods imported from foreign countries and reciprocal tariffs levied on U.S. goods by those countries also may lead to volatility and instability in domestic and foreign markets.
Equity Market Risk. The prices of equity securities rise and fall daily. These price movements may result from factors affecting individual issuers, industries or the stock market as a whole. In addition, equity markets tend to move in cycles which may cause stock prices to fall over a short and extended periods of time. In a declining stock market, stock prices for all companies (including those in the Fund’s portfolio) may decline, regardless of their long-term prospects.
ETF Risks.
Authorized Participants, Market Makers, and Liquidity Providers Concentration Risk. The Fund has a limited number of financial institutions that are authorized to purchase and redeem Shares directly from the Fund (known as “Authorized Participants” or “APs”). In addition, there may be a limited number of market makers and/or liquidity providers in the marketplace. To the extent either of the following events occur, Shares may trade at a material discount to NAV and possibly face delisting: (i) APs exit the business or otherwise become unable to process creation and/or redemption orders and no other APs step forward to perform these services; or (ii) market makers and/or liquidity providers exit the business or significantly reduce their business activities and no other entities step forward to perform their functions.
Cash Redemption Risk. The Fund’s investment strategy may require it to redeem Shares for cash or to otherwise include cash as part of its redemption proceeds. For example, the Fund may not be able to redeem in-kind certain securities held by the Fund (e.g., derivative instruments). In such a case, the Fund may be required to sell or unwind portfolio investments to obtain the cash needed to distribute redemption proceeds. This may cause the Fund to recognize a capital gain that it might not have recognized if it had made a redemption in-kind. As a result, the Fund may pay out higher annual capital gain distributions than if the in-kind redemption process was used. By paying out higher annual capital gain distributions, investors may be subjected to increased capital gains taxes. Additionally, there may be brokerage costs or taxable gains or losses that may be imposed on the Fund in connection with a cash redemption that may not have occurred if the Fund had made a redemption in-kind. These costs could decrease the value of the Fund to the extent they are not offset by a transaction fee payable by an AP.
Costs of Buying or Selling Shares. Due to the costs of buying or selling Shares, including brokerage commissions imposed by brokers and bid-ask spreads, frequent trading of Shares may significantly reduce investment results and an investment in Shares may not be advisable for investors who anticipate regularly making small investments.
Management Risk. The Fund is subject to management risk because it is an actively managed portfolio. In managing the Fund’s investment portfolio, the portfolio managers will apply investment techniques and risk analyses that may not produce the desired result. There can be no guarantee that the Fund will meet its investment objective.
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Shares May Trade at Prices Other Than NAV. As with all ETFs, Shares may be bought and sold in the secondary market at market prices. Although it is expected that the market price of Shares will approximate the Fund’s NAV, there may be times when the market price of Shares is more than the NAV intra-day (premium) or less than the NAV intra-day (discount) due to supply and demand of Shares or during periods of market volatility. This risk is heightened in times of market volatility, periods of steep market declines, and periods when there is limited trading activity for Shares in the secondary market, in which case such premiums or discounts may be significant.
Trading. Although Shares are listed on a national securities exchange, such as [ ] (the “Exchange”), and may be traded on U.S. exchanges other than the Exchange, there can be no assurance that an active trading market for the Shares will develop or be maintained or that the Shares will trade with any volume, or at all, on any stock exchange. In stressed market conditions, the liquidity of Shares may begin to mirror the liquidity of the Fund’s underlying portfolio holdings, which can be significantly less liquid than Shares. Shares trade on the Exchange at market price that may be below, at or above the Fund’s NAV. Trading in Shares on the Exchange may be halted due to market conditions or for reasons that, in the view of the Exchange, make trading in Shares inadvisable. In addition, trading in Shares on the Exchange is subject to trading halts caused by extraordinary market volatility pursuant to the Exchange “circuit breaker” rules. There can be no assurance that the requirements of the Exchange necessary to maintain the listing of the Fund will continue to be met or will remain unchanged. In the event of an unscheduled market close for options contracts that are based on the value of an ETF, such as the Underlying Security being halted or a market wide closure, settlement prices will be determined by the procedures of the listing exchange of the options contracts. As a result, the Fund could be adversely affected and be unable to implement its investment strategies in the event of an unscheduled closing.
High Portfolio Turnover Risk. The Fund may actively and frequently trade all or a significant portion of the Fund’s holdings. A high portfolio turnover rate increases transaction costs, which may increase the Fund’s expenses. Frequent trading may also cause adverse tax consequences for investors in the Fund due to an increase in short-term capital gains.
Inflation Risk. Inflation risk is the risk that the value of assets or income from investments will be less in the future as inflation decreases the value of money. As inflation increases, the present value of the Fund’s assets and distributions, if any, may decline.
Liquidity Risk. Some securities held by the Fund, including options contracts, may be difficult to sell or be illiquid, particularly during times of market turmoil. This risk is greater for the Fund as it will hold options contracts on a single security, and not a broader range of options contracts. Markets for securities or financial instruments could be disrupted by a number of events, including, but not limited to, an economic crisis, natural disasters, epidemics/pandemics, new legislation or regulatory changes inside or outside the United States. Illiquid securities may be difficult to value, especially in changing or volatile markets. If the Fund is forced to sell an illiquid security at an unfavorable time or price, the Fund may be adversely impacted. Certain market conditions or restrictions, such as market rules related to short sales, may prevent the Fund from limiting losses, realizing gains or achieving a high correlation with the Underlying Security. There is no assurance that a security that is deemed liquid when purchased will continue to be liquid. Market illiquidity may cause losses for the Fund.
Money Market Instrument Risk. The Fund may use a variety of money market instruments for cash management purposes, including money market funds, depositary accounts and repurchase agreements. Repurchase agreements are contracts in which a seller of securities agrees to buy the securities back at a specified time and price. Repurchase agreements may be subject to market and credit risk related to the collateral securing the repurchase agreement. Money market instruments, including money market funds, may lose money through fees or other means.
New Fund Risk. The Fund is a recently organized management investment company with no operating history. As a result, prospective investors do not have a track record or history on which to base their investment decisions.
Non-Diversification Risk. Because the Fund is “non-diversified,” it may invest a greater percentage of its assets in the securities of a single issuer or a smaller number of issuers than if it was a diversified fund. As a result, a decline in the value of an investment in a single issuer or a smaller number of issuers could cause the Fund’s overall value to decline to a greater degree than if the Fund held a more diversified portfolio. This may increase the Fund’s volatility and cause the performance of a relatively smaller number of issuers to have a greater impact on the Fund’s performance.
Operational Risk. The Fund is subject to risks arising from various operational factors, including, but not limited to, human error, processing and communication errors, errors of the Fund’s service providers, counterparties or other third-parties, failed or inadequate processes and technology or systems failures. The Fund relies on third-parties for a range of services, including custody. Any delay or failure relating to engaging or maintaining such service providers may affect the Fund’s ability to meet its investment objective. Although the Fund and Adviser seek to reduce these operational risks through controls and procedures, there is no way to completely protect against such risks. This may increase the Fund’s volatility and cause the performance of a relatively smaller number of issuers to have a greater impact on the Fund’s performance.
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Single Issuer Risk. Issuer-specific attributes may cause an investment in the Fund to be more volatile than a traditional pooled investment which diversifies risk or the market generally. The value of the Fund, which focuses on an individual security (the Underlying Security), may be more volatile than a traditional pooled investment or the market as a whole and may perform differently from the value of a traditional pooled investment or the market as a whole.
Tax Risk. The Fund intends to elect and to qualify each year to be treated as a RIC under Subchapter M of the Code. As a RIC, the Fund will not be subject to U.S. federal income tax on the portion of its net investment income and net capital gain that it distributes to Shareholders, provided that it satisfies certain requirements of the Code. If the Fund does not qualify as a RIC for any taxable year and certain relief provisions are not available, the Fund’s taxable income will be subject to tax at the Fund level and to a further tax at the shareholder level when such income is distributed. To comply with the asset diversification test applicable to a RIC, the Fund will attempt to ensure that the value of financial instruments providing exposure to the Underlying Security are never 25% of the total value of Fund assets at the close of any quarter. If the Fund’s investments in such financial instruments were to exceed 25% of the Fund’s total assets at the end of a tax quarter, the Fund, generally, has a grace period to cure such lack of compliance. If the Fund fails to timely cure, it may no longer be eligible to be treated as a RIC.
U.S. Government and U.S. Agency Obligations Risk. The Fund may invest in securities issued by the U.S. government or its agencies or instrumentalities. U.S. Government obligations include securities issued or guaranteed as to principal and interest by the U.S. Government, its agencies or instrumentalities, such as the U.S. Treasury. Payment of principal and interest on U.S. Government obligations may be backed by the full faith and credit of the United States or may be backed solely by the issuing or guaranteeing agency or instrumentality itself. In the latter case, the investor must look principally to the agency or instrumentality issuing or guaranteeing the obligation for ultimate repayment, which agency or instrumentality may be privately owned. There can be no assurance that the U.S. Government would provide financial support to its agencies or instrumentalities (including government-sponsored enterprises) where it is not obligated to do so.
Performance
Performance information for the Fund is not included because the Fund has not completed a full calendar year of operations as of the date of this Prospectus. When such information is included, this section will provide some indication of the risks of investing in the Fund by showing changes in the Fund’s performance history from year to year and showing how the Fund’s average annual total returns compare with those of a broad measure of market performance. Although past performance of the Fund is no guarantee of how it will perform in the future, historical performance may give you some indication of the risks of investing in the Fund. Updated performance information will be available on the Fund’s website at www.yieldmaxetfs.com.
Management
Investment Adviser: Tidal Investments LLC (the “Adviser”) serves as investment adviser to the Fund.
Portfolio Managers:
The following individuals are jointly and primarily responsible for the day-to-day management of the Fund.
Matt Brandt, Portfolio Manager for the Adviser, has been a portfolio manager of the Fund since its inception in 2025.
Christopher P. Mullen, Portfolio Manager for the Adviser, has been a portfolio manager of the Fund since its inception in 2025.
Scott Snyder, Portfolio Manager for the Adviser, has been a portfolio manager of the Fund since its inception in 2025.
Purchase and Sale of Shares
The Fund issues and redeems Shares at NAV only in large blocks known as “Creation Units,” which only Authorized Participants (APs) (typically, broker-dealers) may purchase or redeem. The Fund generally issues and redeems Creation Units in exchange for a portfolio of securities (the “Deposit Securities”) and/or a designated amount of U.S. cash.
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Shares are listed on a national securities exchange, such as the Exchange, and individual Shares may only be bought and sold in the secondary market through brokers at market prices, rather than NAV. Because Shares trade at market prices rather than NAV, Shares may trade at a price greater than NAV (premium) or less than NAV (discount).
An investor may incur costs attributable to the difference between the highest price a buyer is willing to pay to purchase Shares (the “bid” price) and the lowest price a seller is willing to accept for Shares (the “ask” price) when buying or selling Shares in the secondary market. This difference in bid and ask prices is often referred to as the “bid-ask spread.”
When available, information regarding the Fund’s NAV, market price, how often Shares traded on the Exchange at a premium or discount, and bid-ask spreads can be found on the Fund’s website at www.yieldmaxetfs.com.
Tax Information
Fund distributions are generally taxable as ordinary income, qualified dividend income, or capital gains (or a combination), unless an investment is in an individual retirement account (“IRA”) or other tax-advantaged account. Distributions on investments made through tax-deferred arrangements may be taxed later upon withdrawal of assets from those accounts.
Financial Intermediary Compensation
If
you purchase Shares through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary
(such as a bank) (an “Intermediary”), the Adviser or its affiliates may pay
Intermediaries for certain activities related to the Fund, including
participation in activities that are designed to make Intermediaries more
knowledgeable about exchange-traded products, including the Fund, or for other
activities, such as marketing, educational training, or other initiatives
related to the sale or promotion of Shares. These payments may create a conflict
of interest by influencing the Intermediary and your salesperson to recommend
the Fund over another investment. Any such arrangements do not result in
increased Fund expenses. Ask your salesperson or visit the Intermediary’s
website for more information.
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YieldMax® LLY Option Income Strategy ETF - FUND SUMMARY
Investment Objective
The Fund’s primary investment objective is to seek current income.
The Fund’s secondary investment objective is to seek exposure to the share price of Eli Lilly and Company (“LLY” or “Underlying Security”), which is generally subject to a limit on potential investment gains.
Fees and Expenses of the Fund
This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy, hold, and sell shares of the Fund (“Shares”). You may pay other fees, such as brokerage commissions and other fees to financial intermediaries, which are not reflected in the table and Example below.
| Annual Fund Operating Expenses(1) (expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment) | |||
| Management Fee | [] | % | |
| Distribution and Service (12b-1) Fees | None | ||
| Other Expenses(2) | [] | % | |
| Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses | [] | % | |
| (1) | The Fund’s investment adviser, Tidal Investments LLC (the “Adviser”), a Tidal Financial Group company, will pay, or require a sub-adviser to pay, all of the Fund’s expenses, except for the following: advisory and sub-advisory fees, interest charges on any borrowings made for investment purposes, dividends and other expenses on securities sold short, taxes, brokerage commissions and other expenses incurred in placing orders for the purchase and sale of securities and other investment instruments, acquired fund fees and expenses, accrued deferred tax liability, distribution fees and expenses paid by the Fund under any distribution plan adopted pursuant to Rule 12b-1 under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”), litigation expenses, and other non-routine or extraordinary expenses. | |
| (2) | Based on estimated amounts for the current fiscal year. |
Expense Example
This Example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other funds. The Example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and then hold or redeem all of your Shares at the end of those periods. The Example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Fund’s operating expenses remain the same. The Example does not take into account brokerage commissions that you may pay on your purchases and sales of Shares. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:
| 1 Year | 3 Years |
| $[] | $[] |
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 Shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in total annual fund operating expenses or in the expense example above, affect the Fund’s performance. Because the Fund is newly organized, portfolio turnover information is not yet available.
Principal Investment Strategies
The Fund is an actively managed exchange-traded fund (“ETF”) that seeks current income while providing indirect exposure to the share price (i.e., the price returns) of Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE: LLY) (“LLY” or the “Underlying Security”), which is generally subject to a limit on potential investment gains. The Fund will employ its investment strategy as it relates to LLY regardless of whether there are periods of adverse market, economic, or other conditions and will not take temporary defensive positions during such periods. As further described below, the Fund primarily uses either a synthetic covered call strategy or synthetic covered call spread strategy to provide income and indirect exposure to the share price returns of LLY, which is generally subject to a limit on potential investment gains as a result of the nature of the options strategy it employs. The Fund not only seeks to generate income from its options investments but also aims to derive gains when the value of LLY increases. The Fund’s options contracts provide:
| ● | indirect exposure to the share price returns of LLY, |
| ● | current income from the option premiums, and |
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| ● | at most times, a limit on the Fund’s participation in gains, if any, of the share price returns of LLY. |
For more information, see sections “The Fund’s Use of Underlying Security Option Contracts,” “Synthetic Covered Call Strategy” and “SyntheticCovered Call Spread Strategy” below.
Why invest in the Fund?
| ● | The Fund seeks to generate monthly income, which is not dependent on the price appreciation of the Underlying Security. |
| ● | The Fund seeks to participate in a portion of the gains experienced by the Underlying Security. |
That is, although the Fund may not fully participate in gains in the Underlying Security’s stock price, the Fund’s portfolio is designed to generate income.
An Investment in the Fund is not an investment in the Underlying Security.
| ● | The Fund’s strategy will capture only a portion of its potential gains if the Underlying Security’s stock price increases in value. |
| ● | The Fund’s strategy is subject to all potential losses if the Underlying Security’s stock price decrease in value, which may not be offset by income received by the Fund. |
| ● | The Fund may invest directly in the Underlying Security, but expects to gain its Underlying Security exposure primarily through its synthetic covered call strategy or synthetic covered call spread strategy. |
| ● | Fund shareholders are not entitled to any Underlying Security dividends. |
Additional information regarding the Underlying Security is also set forth below.
The Fund’s Use of Underlying Security Option Contracts
As part of the Fund’s synthetic covered call strategy and synthetic covered call spread strategy, the Fund will purchase and sell a combination of standardized exchange-traded and FLexible EXchange® (“FLEX”) call and put option contracts that are based on the value of the price returns of the Underlying Security.
| ● | In general, an option contract gives the purchaser of the option contract the right to purchase (for a call option) or sell (for a put option) the underlying asset (like shares of the Underlying Security) at a specified price (the “strike price”). |
| ● | If exercised, an option contract obligates the seller to deliver shares (for a sold or “short” call) or buy shares (for a sold or “short” put) of the underlying asset at a specified price (the “strike price”). |
| ● | Options contracts must be exercised or traded to close within a specified time frame, or they expire. See the chart in section “Fund Portfolio” below for a description of the option contracts utilized by the Fund. |
Standardized exchange-traded options include standardized terms. FLEX options are also exchange-traded, but they allow for customizable terms (e.g., the strike price can be negotiated). For more information on FLEX options, see “Additional Information about the Funds – Exchange Traded Options Portfolio.”
The Fund’s options contracts are based on the value of the Underlying Security, which gives the Fund the right or obligation to receive or deliver shares of the Underlying Security on the expiration date of the applicable option contract in exchange for the stated strike price, depending on whether the option contract is a call option or a put option, and whether the Fund purchases or sells the option contract.
Synthetic Covered Call Strategy
In seeking to achieve its investment objective, the Fund may implement a “synthetic covered call” strategy using the standardized exchange-traded and FLEX options described above.
| ● | A traditional covered call strategy is an investment strategy where an investor (the Fund) sells a call option on an underlying security it owns. |
| ● | A synthetic covered call strategy is similar to a traditional covered call strategy in that the investor sells a call option that is based on the value of the underlying security. However, in a synthetic covered call strategy, the investor (the Fund) does not own the underlying security, but rather seeks to synthetically replicate 100% of the price movements of the underlying security through the use of various investment instruments. |
The Fund’s synthetic covered call strategies consists of the following three elements, each of which is described in greater detail farther below:
| ● | Synthetic long exposure to the Underlying Security, which allows the Fund to seek to participate in the changes, up or down, in the price of shares of the Underlying Security. |
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| ● | Covered call writing (where the Underlying Security’s call options are sold against the synthetic long portion of the strategy), which allows the Fund to generate income. |
| ● | U.S. Treasuries, which are used for collateral for the options, and which also generate income. |
| 1. | Synthetic Long Exposure |
To achieve a synthetic long exposure to the Underlying Security, the Fund will buy the Underlying Security’s call options and, simultaneously, sell the Underlying Security’s put options to try to replicate the price movements of the Underlying Security. The call options purchased by the Fund and the put options sold by the Fund will generally have one-month to six-month terms and strike prices that are approximately equal to the then-current share price of the Underlying Security at the time the contracts are purchased and sold, respectively. The combination of the long call options and sold put options provides the Fund with indirect investment exposure equal to approximately 100% of the Underlying Security for the duration of the applicable options exposure.
| 2. | Covered Call Strategies |
Covered Call Strategy
As part of its strategy, the Fund will write (sell) call option contracts on the Underlying Security to generate income. Since the Fund does not directly own the Underlying Security, these written call options will be sold short (i.e., selling a position it does not currently own). The Fund will seek to participate in the share price appreciation of the Underlying Security, if any. However, due to the nature of covered call strategies, the Fund’s participation may be subject to a cap (as described below). In this strategy, the call options written (sold) by the Fund will generally have 1- month or less expiration dates (the “Call Period”) and generally have a strike price that is approximately 0%-15% above the then-current share price of the Underlying Security.
It is important to note that the sale of the Underlying Security call option contracts will limit the Fund’s participation in the appreciation in the Underlying Security’s stock price. If the stock price of the Underlying Security increases, the above-referenced synthetic long exposure alone would allow the Fund to experience similar percentage gains. However, if the Underlying Security’s stock price appreciates beyond the strike price of one or more of the sold (short) call option contracts, the Fund will lose money on those short call positions, and the losses will, in turn, limit the upside return of the Fund’s synthetic long exposure. As a result, the Fund’s overall strategy (i.e., the combination of the synthetic long exposure to the Underlying Security and the sold (short) the Underlying Security call positions) will limit the Fund’s participation in gains in the Underlying Security’s stock price beyond a certain point.
Covered Call Spread Strategy
The Adviser will employ the Covered Call Spread Strategy when it believes it is a better strategy for the Fund as compared to the Covered Call Strategy. The Fund may write (sell) credit call spreads (described below) rather than stand-alone call option contracts to seek greater participation in the potential appreciation of its Underlying Security’s share price, while still generating net premium income. The Adviser will primarily employ this covered call spread strategy when it believes that the share price of its Underlying Security is likely to rise significantly in the short term (e.g., following a substantial selloff or overall positive market news). Additionally, the Adviser may use this strategy in other scenarios (e.g., if the market is undervaluing further out-of-the-money options relative to near-the-money options), where it believes the use of credit call spreads may prove more advantageous to the Fund’s total return than the covered call strategy.
A credit call spread involves selling a call option while simultaneously buying a call option with a higher strike price, both with the same expiration date. By writing credit call spreads, the Fund can potentially offset losses incurred from its short call positions if the Underlying Security’s share price rises above the strike price.
| 3. | U.S. Treasuries |
The Fund will hold short-term U.S. Treasury securities as collateral in connection with the Fund’s options contracts, as well as swaps as discussed in the “Additional Investment Strategies” section below.
The Fund intends to continuously maintain indirect exposure to the Underlying Security, primarily through the use of options contracts. As the options contracts it holds are exercised or expire it may enter into new options contracts, a practice referred to as “rolling.” The Fund’s practice of rolling options may result in high portfolio turnover.
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Additional Investment Strategies
In addition to the synthetic covered call strategy or synthetic covered call spread strategy described herein, the Fund may use the following additional strategies to gain exposure to the Underlying Security:
| ● | Swaps: The Fund may utilize swap contracts that provide exposure to the Underlying Security. |
| ● | Additional Options Strategies: The Fund may utilize additional options strategies, including purchasing call options that are “deep in the money” (i.e., the Underlying Security’s price is well above the strike price on the call option). |
| ● | Equity Securities: The Fund may purchase equity securities of the Underlying Security. |
While the Fund intends to primarily utilize its synthetic covered call strategy or synthetic covered call spread strategy to gain exposure to the Underlying Security, it may utilize each of the foregoing to the extent it is unable to achieve its targeted exposure through the use of these primary options strategies.
Fund’s Monthly Distributions
The Fund will seek to provide monthly income in the form of cash distributions. The Fund will seek to generate such income in the following ways:
| ● | Writing (selling) call option contracts on its Underlying Security as described above. The income comes mainly from the option premiums received from these option sales. A premium, in this context, refers to the price the option buyer pays to the option seller (the Fund) for the rights granted by the option. The amount of these premiums is largely affected by the fluctuations in the Underlying Security’s stock prices. However, other elements like interest rates can also influence the income level. |
| ● | Investing in short-term U.S. Treasury securities. The income generated by these securities will be influenced by interest rates at the time of investment. |
| ● | In addition to the income-seeking methodologies stated in the Prospectus, the Fund’s use of the Synthetic Covered Call Spread Strategy may occasionally allow it to capture a substantial portion of any significant increase in the price of its Underlying Security. When this happens, the Fund could receive profits exceeding the initial cost of the call options, and the Fund’s distributions may include some of those profits. | |
| ● | The Fund may receive some dividend income to the extent it invests directly in the Underlying Security. |
Fund’s Return Profile vs its Underlying Security
For the reasons stated above, the Fund’s performance will differ from that of the Underlying Security’s stock price. The performance differences will depend on, among other things, the price of the Underlying Security, changes in the value of the Underlying Security options contracts and swaps the Fund holds, and changes in the value of the U.S. Treasuries.
Fund Portfolio
| Principal Holdings | ||
| Portfolio
Holdings (All options are based on the value of the Underlying Security) |
Investment Terms | Expected Target Maturity |
| Purchased call option contracts (primary options strategies) |
“at-the-money” (i.e., the strike price is equal to the then-current share price of the Underlying Security at the time of purchase) to provide indirect exposure to positive price returns of the Underlying Security.
If the Underlying Security share price increases, these options will generate corresponding increases to the Fund. |
1-month to 6-month expiration dates |
| Purchased call option contracts (additional options strategies) |
“deep-in-the-money” (i.e., the Underlying Security’s price is well above the strike price on the call option) to provide indirect exposure to positive price returns of the Underlying Security.
If the Underlying Security share price increases, these options will generate corresponding increases to the Fund. |
1-month to 6-month expiration dates
|
| Sold put option contracts |
“at-the-money” (i.e., the strike price is equal to the then-current share price of the Underlying Security at the time of sale).
They are sold to help pay for the purchased call options described above.
However, the sold put option contracts provide exposure to the full extent of any share price losses experienced by the Underlying Security. |
1-month to 6-month expiration dates |
| Sold
(short) call option contracts (Covered Call Strategy) |
The strike price is approximately 0%-15% more than the then-current share price of the Underlying Security at the time of sale.
They generate current income. However, they also limit some potential positive returns that the Fund may have otherwise experienced from gains in the Underlying Security’s share price. |
1-month or less expiration dates |
|
Sold
(short) call option contracts
|
The strike price is approximately 0%-15% more than the then-current share price of the Fund’s Underlying Security at the time of sale.
Sold call option contracts provide inverse exposure to the full extent of any increases in the value experienced by the Fund’s Underlying Security, minus the premium received. |
1-month or less expiration dates |
| Purchased
call option contracts (Covered Call Spread Strategy) |
“out-of-the-money” (i.e., the strike price is above the strike price of the corresponding Covered Call Spread Strategy sold call).
Bought call option contracts provide exposure to the full extent of any increases in the value experienced by the Fund’s Underlying Security above the option’s strike price. |
1-month or less expiration dates |
| Equity Securities | Direct equity holdings of the Underlying Security. | N/A |
| Swaps | Provides mark-to-market daily exposure to the total return of the Underlying Security over a particular period of time. | N/A |
| U.S Treasury Securities and Cash |
Multiple series of U.S. Treasury Bills supported by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government.
These instruments are used as collateral for the Fund’s derivative investments.
They will also generate income. |
6-month to 2-year maturities |
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The market value of the cash and treasuries held by the Fund is expected to be between 50% and 100% of the Fund’s net assets and the market value of the options, swaps and direct equity investments is expected to be between 0% and 50% of the Fund’s net assets. In terms of notional value, the combination of these investment instruments provides indirect investment exposure to LLY equal to at least 100% of the Fund’s total assets.
Under normal circumstances, the Fund will invest at least 80% of its net assets, plus borrowings for investment purposes, in securities and financial instruments that provide indirect exposure to LLY.
The Fund is classified as “non-diversified” under the 1940 Act.
There is no guarantee that the Fund’s investment strategy will be properly implemented, and an investor may lose some or all of its investment.
Eli Lilly and Company (“LLY”)
Eli Lilly and Company is a global pharmaceutical company, which is dedicated to discovering, developing, manufacturing, and marketing innovative medicines in various therapeutic areas, including neuroscience, endocrinology, oncology, cardiovascular diseases, and immunology. LLY’s portfolio encompasses a wide range of prescription drugs, biologics, and animal health products. LLY is listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). Per LLY’s most recent Form 10-K filing, the aggregate market value of the voting and non-voting common equity held by non-affiliates of LLY (based on the last reported sale price of its common equity on June 30, 2024 on the New York Stock Exchange) was approximately $769.8 billion.
LLY is registered under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”). Information provided to or filed with the SEC by LLY pursuant to the Exchange Act can be located by reference to the SEC file number 001-06351 through the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov. In addition, information regarding LLY may be obtained from other sources including, but not limited to, press releases, newspaper articles and other publicly disseminated documents.
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This document relates only to the securities offered hereby and does not relate to the shares of LLY or other securities of Eli Lilly and Company. The Fund has derived all disclosures contained in this document regarding LLY from the publicly available documents. None of the Fund, the Trust, or the Adviser, or their respective affiliates has participated in the preparation of such publicly available offering documents or made any due diligence inquiry regarding such documents with respect to LLY. None of the Fund, the Trust, or the Adviser, or their respective affiliates makes any representation that such publicly available documents or any other publicly available information regarding LLY is accurate or complete. Furthermore, the Fund cannot give any assurance that all events occurring prior to the date hereof (including events that would affect the accuracy or completeness of the publicly available documents described above) that would affect the trading price of LLY (and therefore the share price of the Fund at the time we price the securities) have been publicly disclosed. Subsequent disclosure of any such events or the disclosure of or failure to disclose material future events concerning LLY could affect the value received with respect to the securities and therefore the value of the securities.
None of the Fund, the Trust, the Adviser, or their respective affiliates makes any representation to you as to the performance of LLY.
NONE OF THE FUND, TIDAL TRUST II, OR TIDAL INVESTMENTS LLC ARE AFFILIATED WITH THE UNDERLYING SECURITY.
Due to the Fund’s investment strategy, the Fund’s investment exposure is concentrated in the same industry as that assigned to the Underlying Security. As of the date of the Prospectus, LLY is assigned to the Pharmaceuticals industry.
Principal Investment Risks
The principal risks of investing in the Fund are summarized below. As with any investment, there is a risk that you could lose all or a portion of your investment in the Fund. Some or all of these risks may adversely affect the Fund’s net asset value (“NAV”) per share, trading price, yield, total return, and/or ability to meet its objective. For more information about the risks of investing in the Fund, see the section in the Fund’s Prospectus titled “Additional Information About the Funds—Principal Risks of Investing in the Funds.”
An investment in the Fund entails risk. The Fund may not achieve its investment objective and there is a risk that you could lose all of your money invested in the Fund. The Fund is not a complete investment program. It is important that investors closely review all of the risks listed below and understand them before making an investment in the Fund.
Each risk summarized below is considered a “principal risk” of investing in the Fund, regardless of the order in which they appear.
LLY Risk. The Fund invests in instruments that are based on the value of LLY. This subjects the Fund to certain of the same risks as if it owned shares of LLY, even if it does not. By virtue of the Fund’s exposure to LLY, the Fund may also be subject to the following risks:
Indirect Investment in LLY Risk. LLY is not affiliated with the Trust, the Fund, or the Adviser, or their respective affiliates and is not involved with this offering in any way and has no obligation to consider your Shares in taking any corporate actions that might affect the value of Shares. Investors in the Fund will not have voting rights and will not be able to influence management of LLY but will be exposed to the performance of LLY (the Underlying Security). Investors in the Fund will not have the right to receive dividends or other distributions or any other rights with respect to the Underlying Security but will be subject to declines in the performance of the Underlying Security.
LLY Trading Risk. The trading price of LLY may be subject to volatility and could experience wide fluctuations due to various factors. Short sellers may also play a significant role in trading LLY, potentially affecting the supply and demand dynamics and contributing to market price volatility. Public perception and external factors beyond the company’s control may influence LLY’s stock price disproportionately. Additionally, following periods of market volatility, companies have faced securities class action litigation. Any adverse judgment or future stockholder litigation could result in substantial costs and divert management’s attention and resources. In the event of a halt in trading of LLY, trading in shares of related funds may be impacted, either temporarily or indefinitely.
LLY Performance Risk. LLY may fail to meet its publicly announced guidelines or other expectations about its business, which could cause the price of LLY to decline. LLY provides guidance regarding its expected financial and business performance, such as projections regarding sales and production, as well as anticipated future revenues, gross margins, profitability and cash flows. Correctly identifying key factors affecting business conditions and predicting future events is inherently an uncertain process, and the guidance LLY provides may not ultimately be accurate. If LLY’s guidance is not accurate or varies from actual results due to its inability to meet the assumptions or the impact on its financial performance that could occur as a result of various risks and uncertainties, the market value of common stock issued by LLY could decline significantly.
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Pharmaceutical Industry Risks: Pharmaceutical research and development are very costly and highly uncertain; LLY may not succeed in developing, licensing, or acquiring commercially successful products sufficient in number or value to replace revenues of products that have lost or will lose intellectual property protection or are displaced by competing products or therapies. LLY and LLY’s products face intense competition from multinational pharmaceutical companies, biotechnology companies, and lower-cost generic and biosimilar manufacturers, and such competition could have a material adverse effect on LLY’s business. LLY’s business is subject to increasing government price controls and other public and private restrictions on pricing, reimbursement, and access for LLY’s drugs, which could have a material adverse effect on LLY’s results of operations, reputation or business. Pharmaceutical products can develop safety or efficacy concerns, which could have a material adverse effect on LLY’s revenues, income, and reputation.
Intellectual Property Risks: LLY derives a significant percentage of its total revenue from relatively few products and sells products through increasingly consolidated supply chain entities, which may subject LLY to, or exacerbate, various risks. LLY depends on products with intellectual property protection for most of LLY’s revenues, cash flows, and earnings; the loss of effective intellectual property protection for certain of LLY’s products has resulted, and in the future is likely to continue to result, in rapid and severe declines in revenues for those products. LLY’s long-term success depends on intellectual property protection; if LLY’s intellectual property rights are invalidated, circumvented, or weakened, LLY’s business will be adversely affected.
Operations Risks: Failure, inadequacy, breach of, or unauthorized access to, LLY’s IT systems or those of LLY’s third-party service providers, unauthorized access to LLY’s confidential information, or violations of data protection laws, could each result in material harm to LLY’s business and reputation. Manufacturing, quality, or supply chain difficulties, disruptions, or shortages could lead to product supply problems. Reliance on third-party relationships and outsourcing arrangements could adversely affect LLY’s business. LLY’s use of artificial intelligence or other emerging technologies could adversely impact LLY’s business and financial results.
International Business Risks: Uneven economic growth or downturns or international trade and other global disruptions, geopolitical tensions, or disputes could adversely affect LLY’s business and operating results. Changes in foreign currency rates, interest rate risks, and inflation affect LLY’s results of operations.
Government Regulation and Litigation Risks: LLY faces litigation and investigations related to its products, how LLY price or commercialize its products, and other aspects of LLY’s business, which could adversely affect LLY’s business, and LLY is self-insured for such matters. LLY is subject to evolving and complex tax laws, which may result in additional liabilities and affect LLY’s results of operations. Regulatory compliance problems could be damaging to LLY.
Derivatives Risk. Derivatives are financial instruments that derive value from the underlying reference asset or assets, such as stocks, bonds, or funds (including ETFs), interest rates or indexes. The Fund’s investments in derivatives may pose risks in addition to, and greater than, those associated with directly investing in securities or other ordinary investments, including risk related to the market, imperfect correlation with underlying investments or the Fund’s other portfolio holdings, higher price volatility, lack of availability, counterparty risk, liquidity, valuation and legal restrictions. The use of derivatives is a highly specialized activity that involves investment techniques and risks different from those associated with ordinary portfolio securities transactions. The use of derivatives may result in larger losses or smaller gains than directly investing in securities. When the Fund uses derivatives, there may be an imperfect correlation between the value of the Underlying Security and the derivative, which may prevent the Fund from achieving its investment objective. Because derivatives often require only a limited initial investment, the use of derivatives may expose the Fund to losses in excess of those amounts initially invested. In addition, the Fund’s investments in derivatives are subject to the following risks:
Options Contracts. The use of options contracts involves investment strategies and risks different from those associated with ordinary portfolio securities transactions. The prices of options are volatile and are influenced by, among other things, actual and anticipated changes in the value of the underlying instrument, including the anticipated volatility, which are affected by fiscal and monetary policies and by national and international political, changes in the actual or implied volatility or the reference asset, the time remaining until the expiration of the option contract and economic events. For the Fund in particular, the value of the options contracts in which it invests are substantially influenced by the value of the Underlying Security. The Fund may experience substantial downside from specific option positions and certain option positions held by the Fund may expire worthless. The options held by the Fund are exercisable at the strike price on their expiration date. As an option approaches its expiration date, its value typically increasingly move with the value of the underlying instrument. However, prior to such date, the value of an option generally does not increase or decrease at the same rate at the underlying instrument. There may at times be an imperfect correlation between the movement in the values of options contracts and the underlying instrument, and there may at times not be a liquid secondary market for certain options contracts. The value of the options held by the Fund will be determined based on market quotations or other recognized pricing methods. Additionally, as the Fund intends to continuously maintain indirect exposure to the Underlying Security through the use of options contracts, as the options contracts it holds are exercised or expire it will enter into new options contracts, a practice referred to as “rolling.” If the expiring options contracts do not generate proceeds enough to cover the cost of entering into new options contracts, the Fund may experience losses.
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Swaps. The use of swap transactions is a highly specialized activity, which involves investment techniques and risks different from those associated with ordinary portfolio securities transactions. Whether the Fund will be successful in using swap agreements to achieve its investment goal depends on the ability of the Adviser to structure such swap agreements in accordance with the Fund’s investment objective and to identify counterparties for those swap agreements. If the Adviser is unable to enter into swap agreements that provide leveraged exposure to the Underlying Security, the Fund may not meet its stated investment objective. Additionally, any financing, borrowing or other costs associated with using swap transactions may also have the effect of lowering the Fund’s return.
The swap agreements in which the Fund invests are generally traded in the over-the-counter market, which generally has less transparency than exchange-traded derivatives instruments. In a standard swap transaction, two parties agree to exchange the return (or differentials in rates of return) earned or realized on particular predetermined reference assets or underlying securities or instruments. The gross return to be exchanged or swapped between the parties is calculated based on a notional amount or the return on or change in value of a particular dollar amount invested in a basket of securities.
If the Underlying Security has a dramatic move that causes a material decline in the Fund’s net assets, the terms of a swap agreement between the Fund and its counterparty may permit the counterparty to immediately close out the swap transaction with the Fund. In that event, the Fund may be unable to enter into another swap agreement or invest in other derivatives to achieve exposure consistent with the Fund’s investment objective. This may prevent the Fund from achieving its leveraged investment objective, even if the Underlying Security later reverses all or a portion of its movement.
Counterparty Risk. The Fund is subject to counterparty risk by virtue of its investments in derivative instruments. Transactions in some types of derivatives, including options, are required to be centrally cleared (“cleared derivatives”). In a transaction involving cleared derivatives, the Fund’s counterparty is a clearing house rather than a bank or broker. Since the Fund is not a member of clearing houses and only members of a clearing house (“clearing members”) can participate directly in the clearing house, the Fund will hold cleared derivatives through accounts at clearing members. In cleared derivatives positions, the Fund will make payments (including margin payments) to and receive payments from a clearing house through their accounts at clearing members. Customer funds held at a clearing organization in connection with any options contracts are held in a commingled omnibus account and are not identified to the name of the clearing member’s individual customers. As a result, assets deposited by the Fund with any clearing member as margin for options may, in certain circumstances, be used to satisfy losses of other clients of the Fund’s clearing member. In addition, although clearing members guarantee performance of their clients’ obligations to the clearing house, there is a risk that the assets of the Fund might not be fully protected in the event of the clearing member’s bankruptcy, as the Fund would be limited to recovering only a pro rata share of all available funds segregated on behalf of the clearing member’s customers for the relevant account class. The Fund is also subject to the risk that a limited number of clearing members are willing to transact on the Fund’s behalf, which heightens the risks associated with a clearing member’s default. This risk is greater for the Fund as it seeks to hold options contracts on a single security, and not a broader range of options contracts, which may limit the number of clearing members that are willing to transact on the Fund’s behalf. If a clearing member defaults the Fund could lose some or all of the benefits of a transaction entered into by the Fund with the clearing member. If the Fund cannot find a clearing member to transact with on the Fund’s behalf, the Fund may be unable to effectively implement its investment strategy.
The Fund is also subject to the risk that the counterparty will not fulfill its obligation to the Fund. Counterparty risk may arise because of the counterparty’s financial condition (i.e., financial difficulties, bankruptcy, or insolvency), market activities and developments, or other reasons, whether foreseen or not. A counterparty’s inability to fulfill its obligation may result in significant financial loss to the Fund and the Fund may be unable to recover its investment from such counterparty or may obtain a limited and/or delayed recovery.
Price Participation Risk. The Fund employs an investment strategy that includes the sale of call option contracts, which limits the degree to which the Fund will participate in increases in value experienced by the Underlying Security over the Call Period. This means that if the Underlying Security experiences an increase in value above the strike price of the sold call options during a Call Period, the Fund will likely not experience that increase to the same extent and may significantly underperform the Underlying Security over the Call Period. Additionally, because the Fund is limited in the degree to which it will participate in increases in value experienced by the Underlying Security over each Call Period, but has full exposure to any decreases in value experienced by the Underlying Security over the Call Period, the NAV of the Fund may decrease over any given time period. The Fund’s NAV is dependent on the value of each options portfolio, which is based principally upon the performance of the Underlying Security. The degree of participation in the Underlying Security gains the Fund will experience will depend on prevailing market conditions, especially market volatility, at the time the Fund enters into the sold call option contracts and will vary from Call Period to Call Period. The value of the options contracts is affected by changes in the value and dividend rates of the Underlying Security, changes in interest rates, changes in the actual or perceived volatility of the Underlying Security and the remaining time to the options’ expiration, as well as trading conditions in the options market. As the price of the Underlying Security changes and time moves towards the expiration of each Call Period, the value of the options contracts, and therefore the Fund’s NAV, will change. However, it is not expected for the Fund’s NAV to directly correlate on a day-to-day basis with the returns of the Underlying Security. The amount of time remaining until the options contract’s expiration date affects the impact of the potential options contract income on the Fund’s NAV, which may not be in full effect until the expiration date of the Fund’s options contracts. Therefore, while changes in the price of the Underlying Security will result in changes to the Fund’s NAV, the Fund generally anticipates that the rate of change in the Fund’s NAV will be different than that experienced by the Underlying Security.
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Distribution Risk. As part of the Fund’s investment objective, the Fund seeks to provide current monthly income. There is no assurance that the Fund will make a distribution in any given month. If the Fund does make distributions, the amounts of such distributions will likely vary greatly from one distribution to the next. Additionally, monthly distributions, if any, may consist of returns of capital, which would decrease the Fund’s NAV and trading price over time. As a result, an investor may suffer significant losses to their investment.
NAV Erosion Risk Due to Distributions. When the Fund makes a distribution, the Fund’s NAV will typically drop by the amount of the distribution on the related ex-dividend date. The repeated payment of distributions by the Fund, if any, may significantly erode the Fund’s NAV and trading price over time. As a result, an investor may suffer significant losses to their investment.
Call Strategy Risks. The path dependency (i.e., the continued use) of the Fund’s call writing strategy will impact the extent that the Fund participates in the positive price returns of the Underlying Security and, in turn, the Fund’s returns, both during the term of the sold call options and over longer time periods. If, for example, each month the Fund were to sell 7% out-of-the-money call options having a one-month term, the Fund’s participation in the positive price returns of the Underlying Security will be capped at 7% in any given month. However, over a longer period (e.g., 5 months), the Fund should not be expected to participate fully in the first 35% (i.e., 5 months x 7%) of the positive price returns of the Underlying Security, or the Fund may even lose money, even if the Underlying Security share price has appreciated by at least that much over such period, if during any month over that period the Underlying Security had a return less than 7%. This example illustrates that both the Fund’s participation in the positive price returns of the Underlying Security and its returns will depend not only on the price of the Underlying Security but also on the path that the Underlying Security takes over time.
Additionally, when implementing the Covered Call Spread Strategy, the use of credit call spreads introduces further complexities and risks. While purchasing a higher-strike call option limits potential losses from the short call position, it also reduces the net premium received, which may result in lower overall returns compared to a stand-alone covered call strategy. If the price of the Underlying Security rises rapidly, the call spread may still cap upside participation, leading to missed profit opportunities. Furthermore, market conditions, such as mispricing between near-the-money and further out-of-the-money options, may impact the effectiveness of the strategy, potentially resulting in lower-than-expected returns or increased losses. The relative pricing of options at different strike levels can vary due to volatility shifts, liquidity constraints, or other market dynamics, adding an additional layer of uncertainty to the Fund’s performance under this strategy.
Economic and Market Risk. Economies and financial markets throughout the world are becoming increasingly interconnected, which increases the likelihood that events or conditions in one country or region will adversely impact markets or issuers in other countries or regions. Securities in the Fund’s portfolio may underperform in comparison to securities in the general financial markets, a particular financial market, or other asset classes, due to a number of factors, including inflation (or expectations for inflation), deflation (or expectations for deflation), interest rates, global demand for particular products or resources, market instability, financial system instability, debt crises and downgrades, embargoes, tariffs, sanctions and other trade barriers, regulatory events, other governmental trade or market control programs and related geopolitical events. In addition, the value of the Fund’s investments may be negatively affected by the occurrence of global events such as war, terrorism, environmental disasters, natural disasters or events, country instability, and infectious disease epidemics or pandemics. The imposition by the U.S. of tariffs on goods imported from foreign countries and reciprocal tariffs levied on U.S. goods by those countries also may lead to volatility and instability in domestic and foreign markets.
Equity Market Risk. The prices of equity securities rise and fall daily. These price movements may result from factors affecting individual issuers, industries or the stock market as a whole. In addition, equity markets tend to move in cycles which may cause stock prices to fall over a short and extended periods of time. In a declining stock market, stock prices for all companies (including those in the Fund’s portfolio) may decline, regardless of their long-term prospects.
ETF Risks.
Authorized Participants, Market Makers, and Liquidity Providers Concentration Risk. The Fund has a limited number of financial institutions that are authorized to purchase and redeem Shares directly from the Fund (known as “Authorized Participants” or “APs”). In addition, there may be a limited number of market makers and/or liquidity providers in the marketplace. To the extent either of the following events occur, Shares may trade at a material discount to NAV and possibly face delisting: (i) APs exit the business or otherwise become unable to process creation and/or redemption orders and no other APs step forward to perform these services; or (ii) market makers and/or liquidity providers exit the business or significantly reduce their business activities and no other entities step forward to perform their functions.
Cash Redemption Risk. The Fund’s investment strategy may require it to redeem Shares for cash or to otherwise include cash as part of its redemption proceeds. For example, the Fund may not be able to redeem in-kind certain securities held by the Fund (e.g., derivative instruments). In such a case, the Fund may be required to sell or unwind portfolio investments to obtain the cash needed to distribute redemption proceeds. This may cause the Fund to recognize a capital gain that it might not have recognized if it had made a redemption in-kind. As a result, the Fund may pay out higher annual capital gain distributions than if the in-kind redemption process was used. By paying out higher annual capital gain distributions, investors may be subjected to increased capital gains taxes. Additionally, there may be brokerage costs or taxable gains or losses that may be imposed on the Fund in connection with a cash redemption that may not have occurred if the Fund had made a redemption in-kind. These costs could decrease the value of the Fund to the extent they are not offset by a transaction fee payable by an AP.
Costs of Buying or Selling Shares. Due to the costs of buying or selling Shares, including brokerage commissions imposed by brokers and bid-ask spreads, frequent trading of Shares may significantly reduce investment results and an investment in Shares may not be advisable for investors who anticipate regularly making small investments.
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Management Risk. The Fund is subject to management risk because it is an actively managed portfolio. In managing the Fund’s investment portfolio, the portfolio managers will apply investment techniques and risk analyses that may not produce the desired result. There can be no guarantee that the Fund will meet its investment objective.
Shares May Trade at Prices Other Than NAV. As with all ETFs, Shares may be bought and sold in the secondary market at market prices. Although it is expected that the market price of Shares will approximate the Fund’s NAV, there may be times when the market price of Shares is more than the NAV intra-day (premium) or less than the NAV intra-day (discount) due to supply and demand of Shares or during periods of market volatility. This risk is heightened in times of market volatility, periods of steep market declines, and periods when there is limited trading activity for Shares in the secondary market, in which case such premiums or discounts may be significant.
Trading. Although Shares are listed on a national securities exchange, such as [ ] (the “Exchange”), and may be traded on U.S. exchanges other than the Exchange, there can be no assurance that an active trading market for the Shares will develop or be maintained or that the Shares will trade with any volume, or at all, on any stock exchange. In stressed market conditions, the liquidity of Shares may begin to mirror the liquidity of the Fund’s underlying portfolio holdings, which can be significantly less liquid than Shares. Shares trade on the Exchange at market price that may be below, at or above the Fund’s NAV. Trading in Shares on the Exchange may be halted due to market conditions or for reasons that, in the view of the Exchange, make trading in Shares inadvisable. In addition, trading in Shares on the Exchange is subject to trading halts caused by extraordinary market volatility pursuant to the Exchange “circuit breaker” rules. There can be no assurance that the requirements of the Exchange necessary to maintain the listing of the Fund will continue to be met or will remain unchanged. In the event of an unscheduled market close for options contracts that are based on the value of an ETF, such as the Underlying Security being halted or a market wide closure, settlement prices will be determined by the procedures of the listing exchange of the options contracts. As a result, the Fund could be adversely affected and be unable to implement its investment strategies in the event of an unscheduled closing.
High Portfolio Turnover Risk. The Fund may actively and frequently trade all or a significant portion of the Fund’s holdings. A high portfolio turnover rate increases transaction costs, which may increase the Fund’s expenses. Frequent trading may also cause adverse tax consequences for investors in the Fund due to an increase in short-term capital gains.
Inflation Risk. Inflation risk is the risk that the value of assets or income from investments will be less in the future as inflation decreases the value of money. As inflation increases, the present value of the Fund’s assets and distributions, if any, may decline.
Liquidity Risk. Some securities held by the Fund, including options contracts, may be difficult to sell or be illiquid, particularly during times of market turmoil. This risk is greater for the Fund as it will hold options contracts on a single security, and not a broader range of options contracts. Markets for securities or financial instruments could be disrupted by a number of events, including, but not limited to, an economic crisis, natural disasters, epidemics/pandemics, new legislation or regulatory changes inside or outside the United States. Illiquid securities may be difficult to value, especially in changing or volatile markets. If the Fund is forced to sell an illiquid security at an unfavorable time or price, the Fund may be adversely impacted. Certain market conditions or restrictions, such as market rules related to short sales, may prevent the Fund from limiting losses, realizing gains or achieving a high correlation with the Underlying Security. There is no assurance that a security that is deemed liquid when purchased will continue to be liquid. Market illiquidity may cause losses for the Fund.
Money Market Instrument Risk. The Fund may use a variety of money market instruments for cash management purposes, including money market funds, depositary accounts and repurchase agreements. Repurchase agreements are contracts in which a seller of securities agrees to buy the securities back at a specified time and price. Repurchase agreements may be subject to market and credit risk related to the collateral securing the repurchase agreement. Money market instruments, including money market funds, may lose money through fees or other means.
New Fund Risk. The Fund is a recently organized management investment company with no operating history. As a result, prospective investors do not have a track record or history on which to base their investment decisions.
Non-Diversification Risk. Because the Fund is “non-diversified,” it may invest a greater percentage of its assets in the securities of a single issuer or a smaller number of issuers than if it was a diversified fund. As a result, a decline in the value of an investment in a single issuer or a smaller number of issuers could cause the Fund’s overall value to decline to a greater degree than if the Fund held a more diversified portfolio. This may increase the Fund’s volatility and cause the performance of a relatively smaller number of issuers to have a greater impact on the Fund’s performance.
Operational Risk. The Fund is subject to risks arising from various operational factors, including, but not limited to, human error, processing and communication errors, errors of the Fund’s service providers, counterparties or other third-parties, failed or inadequate processes and technology or systems failures. The Fund relies on third-parties for a range of services, including custody. Any delay or failure relating to engaging or maintaining such service providers may affect the Fund’s ability to meet its investment objective. Although the Fund and Adviser seek to reduce these operational risks through controls and procedures, there is no way to completely protect against such risks. This may increase the Fund’s volatility and cause the performance of a relatively smaller number of issuers to have a greater impact on the Fund’s performance.
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Single Issuer Risk. Issuer-specific attributes may cause an investment in the Fund to be more volatile than a traditional pooled investment which diversifies risk or the market generally. The value of the Fund, which focuses on an individual security (the Underlying Security), may be more volatile than a traditional pooled investment or the market as a whole and may perform differently from the value of a traditional pooled investment or the market as a whole.
Tax Risk. The Fund intends to elect and to qualify each year to be treated as a RIC under Subchapter M of the Code. As a RIC, the Fund will not be subject to U.S. federal income tax on the portion of its net investment income and net capital gain that it distributes to Shareholders, provided that it satisfies certain requirements of the Code. If the Fund does not qualify as a RIC for any taxable year and certain relief provisions are not available, the Fund’s taxable income will be subject to tax at the Fund level and to a further tax at the shareholder level when such income is distributed. To comply with the asset diversification test applicable to a RIC, the Fund will attempt to ensure that the value of financial instruments providing exposure to the Underlying Security are never 25% of the total value of Fund assets at the close of any quarter. If the Fund’s investments in such financial instruments were to exceed 25% of the Fund’s total assets at the end of a tax quarter, the Fund, generally, has a grace period to cure such lack of compliance. If the Fund fails to timely cure, it may no longer be eligible to be treated as a RIC.
U.S. Government and U.S. Agency Obligations Risk. The Fund may invest in securities issued by the U.S. government or its agencies or instrumentalities. U.S. Government obligations include securities issued or guaranteed as to principal and interest by the U.S. Government, its agencies or instrumentalities, such as the U.S. Treasury. Payment of principal and interest on U.S. Government obligations may be backed by the full faith and credit of the United States or may be backed solely by the issuing or guaranteeing agency or instrumentality itself. In the latter case, the investor must look principally to the agency or instrumentality issuing or guaranteeing the obligation for ultimate repayment, which agency or instrumentality may be privately owned. There can be no assurance that the U.S. Government would provide financial support to its agencies or instrumentalities (including government-sponsored enterprises) where it is not obligated to do so.
Performance
Performance information for the Fund is not included because the Fund has not completed a full calendar year of operations as of the date of this Prospectus. When such information is included, this section will provide some indication of the risks of investing in the Fund by showing changes in the Fund’s performance history from year to year and showing how the Fund’s average annual total returns compare with those of a broad measure of market performance. Although past performance of the Fund is no guarantee of how it will perform in the future, historical performance may give you some indication of the risks of investing in the Fund. Updated performance information will be available on the Fund’s website at www.yieldmaxetfs.com.
Management
Investment Adviser: Tidal Investments LLC (the “Adviser”) serves as investment adviser to the Fund.
Portfolio Managers:
The following individuals are jointly and primarily responsible for the day-to-day management of the Fund.
Matt Brandt, Portfolio Manager for the Adviser, has been a portfolio manager of the Fund since its inception in 2025.
Christopher P. Mullen, Portfolio Manager for the Adviser, has been a portfolio manager of the Fund since its inception in 2025.
Scott Snyder, Portfolio Manager for the Adviser, has been a portfolio manager of the Fund since its inception in 2025.
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Purchase and Sale of Shares
The Fund issues and redeems Shares at NAV only in large blocks known as “Creation Units,” which only Authorized Participants (APs) (typically, broker-dealers) may purchase or redeem. The Fund generally issues and redeems Creation Units in exchange for a portfolio of securities (the “Deposit Securities”) and/or a designated amount of U.S. cash.
Shares are listed on a national securities exchange, such as the Exchange, and individual Shares may only be bought and sold in the secondary market through brokers at market prices, rather than NAV. Because Shares trade at market prices rather than NAV, Shares may trade at a price greater than NAV (premium) or less than NAV (discount).
An investor may incur costs attributable to the difference between the highest price a buyer is willing to pay to purchase Shares (the “bid” price) and the lowest price a seller is willing to accept for Shares (the “ask” price) when buying or selling Shares in the secondary market. This difference in bid and ask prices is often referred to as the “bid-ask spread.”
When available, information regarding the Fund’s NAV, market price, how often Shares traded on the Exchange at a premium or discount, and bid-ask spreads can be found on the Fund’s website at www.yieldmaxetfs.com.
Tax Information
Fund distributions are generally taxable as ordinary income, qualified dividend income, or capital gains (or a combination), unless an investment is in an individual retirement account (“IRA”) or other tax-advantaged account. Distributions on investments made through tax-deferred arrangements may be taxed later upon withdrawal of assets from those accounts.
Financial Intermediary Compensation
If
you purchase Shares through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary
(such as a bank) (an “Intermediary”), the Adviser or its affiliates may pay
Intermediaries for certain activities related to the Fund, including
participation in activities that are designed to make Intermediaries more
knowledgeable about exchange-traded products, including the Fund, or for other
activities, such as marketing, educational training, or other initiatives
related to the sale or promotion of Shares. These payments may create a conflict
of interest by influencing the Intermediary and your salesperson to recommend
the Fund over another investment. Any such arrangements do not result in
increased Fund expenses. Ask your salesperson or visit the Intermediary’s
website for more information.
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YieldMax® RDDT Option Income Strategy ETF - FUND SUMMARY
Investment Objective
The Fund’s primary investment objective is to seek current income.
The Fund’s secondary investment objective is to seek exposure to the share price of Reddit, Inc. (“RDDT” or “Underlying Security”), which is generally subject to a limit on potential investment gains.
Fees and Expenses of the Fund
This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy, hold, and sell shares of the Fund (“Shares”). You may pay other fees, such as brokerage commissions and other fees to financial intermediaries, which are not reflected in the table and Example below.
| Annual Fund Operating Expenses(1) (expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment) | |||
| Management Fee | [] | % | |
| Distribution and Service (12b-1) Fees | None | ||
| Other Expenses(2) | [] | % | |
| Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses | [] | % | |
| (1) | The Fund’s investment adviser, Tidal Investments LLC (the “Adviser”), a Tidal Financial Group company, will pay, or require a sub-adviser to pay, all of the Fund’s expenses, except for the following: advisory and sub-advisory fees, interest charges on any borrowings made for investment purposes, dividends and other expenses on securities sold short, taxes, brokerage commissions and other expenses incurred in placing orders for the purchase and sale of securities and other investment instruments, acquired fund fees and expenses, accrued deferred tax liability, distribution fees and expenses paid by the Fund under any distribution plan adopted pursuant to Rule 12b-1 under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”), litigation expenses, and other non-routine or extraordinary expenses. | |
| (2) | Based on estimated amounts for the current fiscal year. |
Expense Example
This Example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other funds. The Example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and then hold or redeem all of your Shares at the end of those periods. The Example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Fund’s operating expenses remain the same. The Example does not take into account brokerage commissions that you may pay on your purchases and sales of Shares. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:
| 1 Year | 3 Years |
| $[] | $[] |
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 Shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in total annual fund operating expenses or in the expense example above, affect the Fund’s performance. Because the Fund is newly organized, portfolio turnover information is not yet available.
Principal Investment Strategies
The Fund is an actively managed exchange-traded fund (“ETF”) that seeks current income while providing indirect exposure to the share price (i.e., the price returns) of Reddit, Inc. (NYSE: RDDT) (“RDDT” or the “Underlying Security”), which is generally subject to a limit on potential investment gains. The Fund will employ its investment strategy as it relates to RDDT regardless of whether there are periods of adverse market, economic, or other conditions and will not take temporary defensive positions during such periods. As further described below, the Fund primarily uses either a synthetic covered call strategy or synthetic covered call spread strategy to provide income and indirect exposure to the share price returns of RDDT, which is generally subject to a limit on potential investment gains as a result of the nature of the options strategy it employs. The Fund not only seeks to generate income from its options investments but also aims to derive gains when the value of RDDT increases. The Fund’s options contracts provide:
| ● | indirect exposure to the share price returns of RDDT, |
| ● | current income from the option premiums, and |
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| ● | at most times, a limit on the Fund’s participation in gains, if any, of the share price returns of RDDT. |
For more information, see sections “The Fund’s Use of Underlying Security Option Contracts,” “Synthetic Covered Call Strategy” and “SyntheticCovered Call Spread Strategy” below.
Why invest in the Fund?
| ● | The Fund seeks to generate monthly income, which is not dependent on the price appreciation of the Underlying Security. |
| ● | The Fund seeks to participate in a portion of the gains experienced by the Underlying Security. |
That is, although the Fund may not fully participate in gains in the Underlying Security’s stock price, the Fund’s portfolio is designed to generate income.
An Investment in the Fund is not an investment in the Underlying Security.
| ● | The Fund’s strategy will capture only a portion of its potential gains if the Underlying Security’s stock price increases in value. |
| ● | The Fund’s strategy is subject to all potential losses if the Underlying Security’s stock price decrease in value, which may not be offset by income received by the Fund. |
| ● | The Fund may invest directly in the Underlying Security, but expects to gain its Underlying Security exposure primarily through its synthetic covered call strategy or synthetic covered call spread strategy. |
| ● | Fund shareholders are not entitled to any Underlying Security dividends. |
Additional information regarding the Underlying Security is also set forth below.
The Fund’s Use of Underlying Security Option Contracts
As part of the Fund’s synthetic covered call strategy and synthetic covered call spread strategy, the Fund will purchase and sell a combination of standardized exchange-traded and FLexible EXchange® (“FLEX”) call and put option contracts that are based on the value of the price returns of the Underlying Security.
| ● | In general, an option contract gives the purchaser of the option contract the right to purchase (for a call option) or sell (for a put option) the underlying asset (like shares of the Underlying Security) at a specified price (the “strike price”). |
| ● | If exercised, an option contract obligates the seller to deliver shares (for a sold or “short” call) or buy shares (for a sold or “short” put) of the underlying asset at a specified price (the “strike price”). |
| ● | Options contracts must be exercised or traded to close within a specified time frame, or they expire. See the chart in section “Fund Portfolio” below for a description of the option contracts utilized by the Fund. |
Standardized exchange-traded options include standardized terms. FLEX options are also exchange-traded, but they allow for customizable terms (e.g., the strike price can be negotiated). For more information on FLEX options, see “Additional Information about the Funds – Exchange Traded Options Portfolio.”
The Fund’s options contracts are based on the value of the Underlying Security, which gives the Fund the right or obligation to receive or deliver shares of the Underlying Security on the expiration date of the applicable option contract in exchange for the stated strike price, depending on whether the option contract is a call option or a put option, and whether the Fund purchases or sells the option contract.
Synthetic Covered Call Strategy
In seeking to achieve its investment objective, the Fund may implement a “synthetic covered call” strategy using the standardized exchange-traded and FLEX options described above.
| ● | A traditional covered call strategy is an investment strategy where an investor (the Fund) sells a call option on an underlying security it owns. |
| ● | A synthetic covered call strategy is similar to a traditional covered call strategy in that the investor sells a call option that is based on the value of the underlying security. However, in a synthetic covered call strategy, the investor (the Fund) does not own the underlying security, but rather seeks to synthetically replicate 100% of the price movements of the underlying security through the use of various investment instruments. |
The Fund’s synthetic covered call strategies consists of the following three elements, each of which is described in greater detail farther below:
| ● | Synthetic long exposure to the Underlying Security, which allows the Fund to seek to participate in the changes, up or down, in the price of shares of the Underlying Security. |
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| ● | Covered call writing (where the Underlying Security’s call options are sold against the synthetic long portion of the strategy), which allows the Fund to generate income. |
| ● | U.S. Treasuries, which are used for collateral for the options, and which also generate income. |
| 1. | Synthetic Long Exposure |
To achieve a synthetic long exposure to the Underlying Security, the Fund will buy the Underlying Security’s call options and, simultaneously, sell the Underlying Security’s put options to try to replicate the price movements of the Underlying Security. The call options purchased by the Fund and the put options sold by the Fund will generally have one-month to six-month terms and strike prices that are approximately equal to the then-current share price of the Underlying Security at the time the contracts are purchased and sold, respectively. The combination of the long call options and sold put options provides the Fund with indirect investment exposure equal to approximately 100% of the Underlying Security for the duration of the applicable options exposure.
| 2. | Covered Call Strategies |
Covered Call Strategy
As part of its strategy, the Fund will write (sell) call option contracts on the Underlying Security to generate income. Since the Fund does not directly own the Underlying Security, these written call options will be sold short (i.e., selling a position it does not currently own). The Fund will seek to participate in the share price appreciation of the Underlying Security, if any. However, due to the nature of covered call strategies, the Fund’s participation may be subject to a cap (as described below). In this strategy, the call options written (sold) by the Fund will generally have 1- month or less expiration dates (the “Call Period”) and generally have a strike price that is approximately 0%-15% above the then-current share price of the Underlying Security.
It is important to note that the sale of the Underlying Security call option contracts will limit the Fund’s participation in the appreciation in the Underlying Security’s stock price. If the stock price of the Underlying Security increases, the above-referenced synthetic long exposure alone would allow the Fund to experience similar percentage gains. However, if the Underlying Security’s stock price appreciates beyond the strike price of one or more of the sold (short) call option contracts, the Fund will lose money on those short call positions, and the losses will, in turn, limit the upside return of the Fund’s synthetic long exposure. As a result, the Fund’s overall strategy (i.e., the combination of the synthetic long exposure to the Underlying Security and the sold (short) the Underlying Security call positions) will limit the Fund’s participation in gains in the Underlying Security’s stock price beyond a certain point.
Covered Call Spread Strategy
The Adviser will employ the Covered Call Spread Strategy when it believes it is a better strategy for the Fund as compared to the Covered Call Strategy. The Fund may write (sell) credit call spreads (described below) rather than stand-alone call option contracts to seek greater participation in the potential appreciation of its Underlying Security’s share price, while still generating net premium income. The Adviser will primarily employ this covered call spread strategy when it believes that the share price of its Underlying Security is likely to rise significantly in the short term (e.g., following a substantial selloff or overall positive market news). Additionally, the Adviser may use this strategy in other scenarios (e.g., if the market is undervaluing further out-of-the-money options relative to near-the-money options), where it believes the use of credit call spreads may prove more advantageous to the Fund’s total return than the covered call strategy.
A credit call spread involves selling a call option while simultaneously buying a call option with a higher strike price, both with the same expiration date. By writing credit call spreads, the Fund can potentially offset losses incurred from its short call positions if the Underlying Security’s share price rises above the strike price.
| 3. | U.S. Treasuries |
The Fund will hold short-term U.S. Treasury securities as collateral in connection with the Fund’s options contracts, as well as swaps as discussed in the “Additional Investment Strategies” section below.
The Fund intends to continuously maintain indirect exposure to the Underlying Security, primarily through the use of options contracts. As the options contracts it holds are exercised or expire it may enter into new options contracts, a practice referred to as “rolling.” The Fund’s practice of rolling options may result in high portfolio turnover.
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Additional Investment Strategies
In addition to the synthetic covered call strategy or synthetic covered call spread strategy described herein, the Fund may use the following additional strategies to gain exposure to the Underlying Security:
| ● | Swaps: The Fund may utilize swap contracts that provide exposure to the Underlying Security. |
| ● | Additional Options Strategies: The Fund may utilize additional options strategies, including purchasing call options that are “deep in the money” (i.e., the Underlying Security’s price is well above the strike price on the call option). |
| ● | Equity Securities: The Fund may purchase equity securities of the Underlying Security. |
While the Fund intends to primarily utilize its synthetic covered call strategy or synthetic covered call spread strategy to gain exposure to the Underlying Security, it may utilize each of the foregoing to the extent it is unable to achieve its targeted exposure through the use of these primary options strategies.
Fund’s Monthly Distributions
The Fund will seek to provide monthly income in the form of cash distributions. The Fund will seek to generate such income in the following ways:
| ● | Writing (selling) call option contracts on its Underlying Security as described above. The income comes mainly from the option premiums received from these option sales. A premium, in this context, refers to the price the option buyer pays to the option seller (the Fund) for the rights granted by the option. The amount of these premiums is largely affected by the fluctuations in the Underlying Security’s stock prices. However, other elements like interest rates can also influence the income level. |
| ● | Investing in short-term U.S. Treasury securities. The income generated by these securities will be influenced by interest rates at the time of investment. |
| ● | In addition to the income-seeking methodologies stated in the Prospectus, the Fund’s use of the Synthetic Covered Call Spread Strategy may occasionally allow it to capture a substantial portion of any significant increase in the price of its Underlying Security. When this happens, the Fund could receive profits exceeding the initial cost of the call options, and the Fund’s distributions may include some of those profits. | |
| ● | The Fund may receive some dividend income to the extent it invests directly in the Underlying Security. |
Fund’s Return Profile vs its Underlying Security
For the reasons stated above, the Fund’s performance will differ from that of the Underlying Security’s stock price. The performance differences will depend on, among other things, the price of the Underlying Security, changes in the value of the Underlying Security options contracts and swaps the Fund holds, and changes in the value of the U.S. Treasuries.
Fund Portfolio
| Principal Holdings | ||
| Portfolio
Holdings (All options are based on the value of the Underlying Security) |
Investment Terms | Expected Target Maturity |
| Purchased call option contracts (primary options strategies) |
“at-the-money” (i.e., the strike price is equal to the then-current share price of the Underlying Security at the time of purchase) to provide indirect exposure to positive price returns of the Underlying Security.
If the Underlying Security share price increases, these options will generate corresponding increases to the Fund. |
1-month to 6-month expiration dates |
| Purchased call option contracts (additional options strategies) |
“deep-in-the-money” (i.e., the Underlying Security’s price is well above the strike price on the call option) to provide indirect exposure to positive price returns of the Underlying Security.
If the Underlying Security share price increases, these options will generate corresponding increases to the Fund. |
1-month to 6-month expiration dates
|
| Sold put option contracts |
“at-the-money” (i.e., the strike price is equal to the then-current share price of the Underlying Security at the time of sale).
They are sold to help pay for the purchased call options described above.
However, the sold put option contracts provide exposure to the full extent of any share price losses experienced by the Underlying Security. |
1-month to 6-month expiration dates |
| Sold
(short) call option contracts (Covered Call Strategy) |
The strike price is approximately 0%-15% more than the then-current share price of the Underlying Security at the time of sale.
They generate current income. However, they also limit some potential positive returns that the Fund may have otherwise experienced from gains in the Underlying Security’s share price. |
1-month or less expiration dates |
|
Sold
(short) call option contracts
|
The strike price is approximately 0%-15% more than the then-current share price of the Fund’s Underlying Security at the time of sale.
Sold call option contracts provide inverse exposure to the full extent of any increases in the value experienced by the Fund’s Underlying Security, minus the premium received. |
1-month or less expiration dates |
| Purchased
call option contracts (Covered Call Spread Strategy) |
“out-of-the-money” (i.e., the strike price is above the strike price of the corresponding Covered Call Spread Strategy sold call).
Bought call option contracts provide exposure to the full extent of any increases in the value experienced by the Fund’s Underlying Security above the option’s strike price. |
1-month or less expiration dates |
| Equity Securities | Direct equity holdings of the Underlying Security. | N/A |
| Swaps | Provides mark-to-market daily exposure to the total return of the Underlying Security over a particular period of time. | N/A |
| U.S Treasury Securities and Cash |
Multiple series of U.S. Treasury Bills supported by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government.
These instruments are used as collateral for the Fund’s derivative investments.
They will also generate income. |
6-month to 2-year maturities |
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The market value of the cash and treasuries held by the Fund is expected to be between 50% and 100% of the Fund’s net assets and the market value of the options, swaps and direct equity investments is expected to be between 0% and 50% of the Fund’s net assets. In terms of notional value, the combination of these investment instruments provides indirect investment exposure to RDDT equal to at least 100% of the Fund’s total assets.
Under normal circumstances, the Fund will invest at least 80% of its net assets, plus borrowings for investment purposes, in securities and financial instruments that provide indirect exposure to RDDT.
The Fund is classified as “non-diversified” under the 1940 Act.
There is no guarantee that the Fund’s investment strategy will be properly implemented, and an investor may lose some or all of its investment.
Redditt, Inc. (“RDDT”)
Redditt, Inc. is a social media platform that hosts user-generated content and discussions organized into thematic communities, known as “subreddits.” RDDT generates revenue primarily through advertising, premium memberships, and virtual goods. Founded in 2005, the company is headquartered in San Francisco, California. RDDT is listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). Per RDDT’s most recent Form 10-K filing, the aggregate market value of the voting and non-voting common stock held by non-affiliates of RDDT, based on the closing price of the shares of Class A common stock on the NYSE on June 28, 2024, was approximately $10.4 billion.
RDDT is registered under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”). Information provided to or filed with the SEC by RDDT pursuant to the Exchange Act can be located by reference to the SEC file number 001-41983 through the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov. In addition, information regarding RDDT may be obtained from other sources including, but not limited to, press releases, newspaper articles and other publicly disseminated documents.
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This document relates only to the securities offered hereby and does not relate to the shares of RDDT or other securities of Reddit, Inc. The Fund has derived all disclosures contained in this document regarding RDDT from the publicly available documents. None of the Fund, the Trust, or the Adviser, or their respective affiliates has participated in the preparation of such publicly available offering documents or made any due diligence inquiry regarding such documents with respect to RDDT. None of the Fund, the Trust, or the Adviser, or their respective affiliates makes any representation that such publicly available documents or any other publicly available information regarding RDDT is accurate or complete. Furthermore, the Fund cannot give any assurance that all events occurring prior to the date hereof (including events that would affect the accuracy or completeness of the publicly available documents described above) that would affect the trading price of RDDT (and therefore the share price of the Fund at the time we price the securities) have been publicly disclosed. Subsequent disclosure of any such events or the disclosure of or failure to disclose material future events concerning RDDT could affect the value received with respect to the securities and therefore the value of the securities.
None of the Fund, the Trust, the Adviser, or their respective affiliates makes any representation to you as to the performance of RDDT.
NONE OF THE FUND, TIDAL TRUST II, OR TIDAL INVESTMENTS LLC ARE AFFILIATED WITH THE UNDERLYING SECURITY.
Due to the Fund’s investment strategy, the Fund’s investment exposure is concentrated in the same industry as that assigned to the Underlying Security. As of the date of the Prospectus, RDDT is assigned to the Interactive Media & Services industry.
Principal Investment Risks
The principal risks of investing in the Fund are summarized below. As with any investment, there is a risk that you could lose all or a portion of your investment in the Fund. Some or all of these risks may adversely affect the Fund’s net asset value (“NAV”) per share, trading price, yield, total return, and/or ability to meet its objective. For more information about the risks of investing in the Fund, see the section in the Fund’s Prospectus titled “Additional Information About the Funds—Principal Risks of Investing in the Funds.”
An investment in the Fund entails risk. The Fund may not achieve its investment objective and there is a risk that you could lose all of your money invested in the Fund. The Fund is not a complete investment program. It is important that investors closely review all of the risks listed below and understand them before making an investment in the Fund.
Each risk summarized below is considered a “principal risk” of investing in the Fund, regardless of the order in which they appear.
RDDT Risk. The Fund invests in instruments that are based on the value of RDDT. This subjects the Fund to certain of the same risks as if it owned shares of RDDT, even if it does not. By virtue of the Fund’s exposure to RDDT, the Fund may also be subject to the following risks:
Indirect Investment in RDDT Risk. RDDT is not affiliated with the Trust, the Fund, or the Adviser, or their respective affiliates and is not involved with this offering in any way and has no obligation to consider your Shares in taking any corporate actions that might affect the value of Shares. Investors in the Fund will not have voting rights and will not be able to influence management of RDDT but will be exposed to the performance of RDDT (the Underlying Security). Investors in the Fund will not have the right to receive dividends or other distributions or any other rights with respect to the Underlying Security but will be subject to declines in the performance of the Underlying Security.
RDDT Trading Risk. The trading price of RDDT may be subject to volatility and could experience wide fluctuations due to various factors. Short sellers may also play a significant role in trading RDDT, potentially affecting the supply and demand dynamics and contributing to market price volatility. Public perception and external factors beyond the company’s control may influence RDDT’s stock price disproportionately. Additionally, following periods of market volatility, companies have faced securities class action litigation. Any adverse judgment or future stockholder litigation could result in substantial costs and divert management’s attention and resources. In the event of a halt in trading of RDDT, trading in shares of related funds may be impacted, either temporarily or indefinitely.
RDDT Performance Risk. RDDT may fail to meet its publicly announced guidelines or other expectations about its business, which could cause the price of RDDT to decline. RDDT provides guidance regarding its expected financial and business performance, such as projections regarding sales and production, as well as anticipated future revenues, gross margins, profitability and cash flows. Correctly identifying key factors affecting business conditions and predicting future events is inherently an uncertain process, and the guidance RDDT provides may not ultimately be accurate. If RDDT’s guidance is not accurate or varies from actual results due to its inability to meet the assumptions or the impact on its financial performance that could occur as a result of various risks and uncertainties, the market value of common stock issued by RDDT could decline significantly.
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Advertising Industry Risks. RDDT’s business is heavily dependent on advertising revenue, which may be influenced by macroeconomic factors, including inflation, recessionary pressures, and changes in advertiser spending patterns. Shifts in digital advertising trends, including increased competition from other platforms or changes in targeting regulations, may negatively impact revenue growth. RDDT’s ability to monetize its user base effectively depends on its capacity to balance user engagement with advertiser needs, which is a complex and evolving challenge.
Technology Infrastructure Risks. RDDT’s operations depend on maintaining a reliable and scalable technology infrastructure. Outages, system failures, or cybersecurity breaches could disrupt services, undermine user trust, and lead to financial losses. Given its reliance on third-party cloud services, RDDT is also exposed to risks related to the reliability and security of external service providers.
Content Moderation and Compliance Risks. RDDT operates user-generated content platforms that face scrutiny related to harmful or illegal content, misinformation, and privacy concerns. Regulatory actions or public backlash regarding its handling of these issues could result in fines, litigation, or damage to its reputation. Efforts to improve content moderation practices may increase operational costs and strain resources, potentially impacting profitability.
International and Regulatory Risks. RDDT operates globally and is subject to varying laws and regulations concerning data privacy, advertising practices, and content moderation. Compliance with international regulations, such as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), a data privacy law enforced by the European Union (EU), increases operational complexity and costs. Changes in international trade policies, geopolitical tensions, or unfavorable economic conditions in key markets may also negatively affect RDDT’s growth and profitability.
Derivatives Risk. Derivatives are financial instruments that derive value from the underlying reference asset or assets, such as stocks, bonds, or funds (including ETFs), interest rates or indexes. The Fund’s investments in derivatives may pose risks in addition to, and greater than, those associated with directly investing in securities or other ordinary investments, including risk related to the market, imperfect correlation with underlying investments or the Fund’s other portfolio holdings, higher price volatility, lack of availability, counterparty risk, liquidity, valuation and legal restrictions. The use of derivatives is a highly specialized activity that involves investment techniques and risks different from those associated with ordinary portfolio securities transactions. The use of derivatives may result in larger losses or smaller gains than directly investing in securities. When the Fund uses derivatives, there may be an imperfect correlation between the value of the Underlying Security and the derivative, which may prevent the Fund from achieving its investment objective. Because derivatives often require only a limited initial investment, the use of derivatives may expose the Fund to losses in excess of those amounts initially invested. In addition, the Fund’s investments in derivatives are subject to the following risks:
Options Contracts. The use of options contracts involves investment strategies and risks different from those associated with ordinary portfolio securities transactions. The prices of options are volatile and are influenced by, among other things, actual and anticipated changes in the value of the underlying instrument, including the anticipated volatility, which are affected by fiscal and monetary policies and by national and international political, changes in the actual or implied volatility or the reference asset, the time remaining until the expiration of the option contract and economic events. For the Fund in particular, the value of the options contracts in which it invests are substantially influenced by the value of the Underlying Security. The Fund may experience substantial downside from specific option positions and certain option positions held by the Fund may expire worthless. The options held by the Fund are exercisable at the strike price on their expiration date. As an option approaches its expiration date, its value typically increasingly move with the value of the underlying instrument. However, prior to such date, the value of an option generally does not increase or decrease at the same rate at the underlying instrument. There may at times be an imperfect correlation between the movement in the values of options contracts and the underlying instrument, and there may at times not be a liquid secondary market for certain options contracts. The value of the options held by the Fund will be determined based on market quotations or other recognized pricing methods. Additionally, as the Fund intends to continuously maintain indirect exposure to the Underlying Security through the use of options contracts, as the options contracts it holds are exercised or expire it will enter into new options contracts, a practice referred to as “rolling.” If the expiring options contracts do not generate proceeds enough to cover the cost of entering into new options contracts, the Fund may experience losses.
Swaps. The use of swap transactions is a highly specialized activity, which involves investment techniques and risks different from those associated with ordinary portfolio securities transactions. Whether the Fund will be successful in using swap agreements to achieve its investment goal depends on the ability of the Adviser to structure such swap agreements in accordance with the Fund’s investment objective and to identify counterparties for those swap agreements. If the Adviser is unable to enter into swap agreements that provide leveraged exposure to the Underlying Security, the Fund may not meet its stated investment objective. Additionally, any financing, borrowing or other costs associated with using swap transactions may also have the effect of lowering the Fund’s return.
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The swap agreements in which the Fund invests are generally traded in the over-the-counter market, which generally has less transparency than exchange-traded derivatives instruments. In a standard swap transaction, two parties agree to exchange the return (or differentials in rates of return) earned or realized on particular predetermined reference assets or underlying securities or instruments. The gross return to be exchanged or swapped between the parties is calculated based on a notional amount or the return on or change in value of a particular dollar amount invested in a basket of securities.
If the Underlying Security has a dramatic move that causes a material decline in the Fund’s net assets, the terms of a swap agreement between the Fund and its counterparty may permit the counterparty to immediately close out the swap transaction with the Fund. In that event, the Fund may be unable to enter into another swap agreement or invest in other derivatives to achieve exposure consistent with the Fund’s investment objective. This may prevent the Fund from achieving its leveraged investment objective, even if the Underlying Security later reverses all or a portion of its movement.
Counterparty Risk. The Fund is subject to counterparty risk by virtue of its investments in derivative instruments. Transactions in some types of derivatives, including options, are required to be centrally cleared (“cleared derivatives”). In a transaction involving cleared derivatives, the Fund’s counterparty is a clearing house rather than a bank or broker. Since the Fund is not a member of clearing houses and only members of a clearing house (“clearing members”) can participate directly in the clearing house, the Fund will hold cleared derivatives through accounts at clearing members. In cleared derivatives positions, the Fund will make payments (including margin payments) to and receive payments from a clearing house through their accounts at clearing members. Customer funds held at a clearing organization in connection with any options contracts are held in a commingled omnibus account and are not identified to the name of the clearing member’s individual customers. As a result, assets deposited by the Fund with any clearing member as margin for options may, in certain circumstances, be used to satisfy losses of other clients of the Fund’s clearing member. In addition, although clearing members guarantee performance of their clients’ obligations to the clearing house, there is a risk that the assets of the Fund might not be fully protected in the event of the clearing member’s bankruptcy, as the Fund would be limited to recovering only a pro rata share of all available funds segregated on behalf of the clearing member’s customers for the relevant account class. The Fund is also subject to the risk that a limited number of clearing members are willing to transact on the Fund’s behalf, which heightens the risks associated with a clearing member’s default. This risk is greater for the Fund as it seeks to hold options contracts on a single security, and not a broader range of options contracts, which may limit the number of clearing members that are willing to transact on the Fund’s behalf. If a clearing member defaults the Fund could lose some or all of the benefits of a transaction entered into by the Fund with the clearing member. If the Fund cannot find a clearing member to transact with on the Fund’s behalf, the Fund may be unable to effectively implement its investment strategy.
The Fund is also subject to the risk that the counterparty will not fulfill its obligation to the Fund. Counterparty risk may arise because of the counterparty’s financial condition (i.e., financial difficulties, bankruptcy, or insolvency), market activities and developments, or other reasons, whether foreseen or not. A counterparty’s inability to fulfill its obligation may result in significant financial loss to the Fund and the Fund may be unable to recover its investment from such counterparty or may obtain a limited and/or delayed recovery.
Price Participation Risk. The Fund employs an investment strategy that includes the sale of call option contracts, which limits the degree to which the Fund will participate in increases in value experienced by the Underlying Security over the Call Period. This means that if the Underlying Security experiences an increase in value above the strike price of the sold call options during a Call Period, the Fund will likely not experience that increase to the same extent and may significantly underperform the Underlying Security over the Call Period. Additionally, because the Fund is limited in the degree to which it will participate in increases in value experienced by the Underlying Security over each Call Period, but has full exposure to any decreases in value experienced by the Underlying Security over the Call Period, the NAV of the Fund may decrease over any given time period. The Fund’s NAV is dependent on the value of each options portfolio, which is based principally upon the performance of the Underlying Security. The degree of participation in the Underlying Security gains the Fund will experience will depend on prevailing market conditions, especially market volatility, at the time the Fund enters into the sold call option contracts and will vary from Call Period to Call Period. The value of the options contracts is affected by changes in the value and dividend rates of the Underlying Security, changes in interest rates, changes in the actual or perceived volatility of the Underlying Security and the remaining time to the options’ expiration, as well as trading conditions in the options market. As the price of the Underlying Security changes and time moves towards the expiration of each Call Period, the value of the options contracts, and therefore the Fund’s NAV, will change. However, it is not expected for the Fund’s NAV to directly correlate on a day-to-day basis with the returns of the Underlying Security. The amount of time remaining until the options contract’s expiration date affects the impact of the potential options contract income on the Fund’s NAV, which may not be in full effect until the expiration date of the Fund’s options contracts. Therefore, while changes in the price of the Underlying Security will result in changes to the Fund’s NAV, the Fund generally anticipates that the rate of change in the Fund’s NAV will be different than that experienced by the Underlying Security.
Distribution Risk. As part of the Fund’s investment objective, the Fund seeks to provide current monthly income. There is no assurance that the Fund will make a distribution in any given month. If the Fund does make distributions, the amounts of such distributions will likely vary greatly from one distribution to the next. Additionally, monthly distributions, if any, may consist of returns of capital, which would decrease the Fund’s NAV and trading price over time. As a result, an investor may suffer significant losses to their investment.
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NAV Erosion Risk Due to Distributions. When the Fund makes a distribution, the Fund’s NAV will typically drop by the amount of the distribution on the related ex-dividend date. The repeated payment of distributions by the Fund, if any, may significantly erode the Fund’s NAV and trading price over time. As a result, an investor may suffer significant losses to their investment.
Call Strategy Risks. The path dependency (i.e., the continued use) of the Fund’s call writing strategy will impact the extent that the Fund participates in the positive price returns of the Underlying Security and, in turn, the Fund’s returns, both during the term of the sold call options and over longer time periods. If, for example, each month the Fund were to sell 7% out-of-the-money call options having a one-month term, the Fund’s participation in the positive price returns of the Underlying Security will be capped at 7% in any given month. However, over a longer period (e.g., 5 months), the Fund should not be expected to participate fully in the first 35% (i.e., 5 months x 7%) of the positive price returns of the Underlying Security, or the Fund may even lose money, even if the Underlying Security share price has appreciated by at least that much over such period, if during any month over that period the Underlying Security had a return less than 7%. This example illustrates that both the Fund’s participation in the positive price returns of the Underlying Security and its returns will depend not only on the price of the Underlying Security but also on the path that the Underlying Security takes over time.
Additionally, when implementing the Covered Call Spread Strategy, the use of credit call spreads introduces further complexities and risks. While purchasing a higher-strike call option limits potential losses from the short call position, it also reduces the net premium received, which may result in lower overall returns compared to a stand-alone covered call strategy. If the price of the Underlying Security rises rapidly, the call spread may still cap upside participation, leading to missed profit opportunities. Furthermore, market conditions, such as mispricing between near-the-money and further out-of-the-money options, may impact the effectiveness of the strategy, potentially resulting in lower-than-expected returns or increased losses. The relative pricing of options at different strike levels can vary due to volatility shifts, liquidity constraints, or other market dynamics, adding an additional layer of uncertainty to the Fund’s performance under this strategy.
Economic and Market Risk. Economies and financial markets throughout the world are becoming increasingly interconnected, which increases the likelihood that events or conditions in one country or region will adversely impact markets or issuers in other countries or regions. Securities in the Fund’s portfolio may underperform in comparison to securities in the general financial markets, a particular financial market, or other asset classes, due to a number of factors, including inflation (or expectations for inflation), deflation (or expectations for deflation), interest rates, global demand for particular products or resources, market instability, financial system instability, debt crises and downgrades, embargoes, tariffs, sanctions and other trade barriers, regulatory events, other governmental trade or market control programs and related geopolitical events. In addition, the value of the Fund’s investments may be negatively affected by the occurrence of global events such as war, terrorism, environmental disasters, natural disasters or events, country instability, and infectious disease epidemics or pandemics. The imposition by the U.S. of tariffs on goods imported from foreign countries and reciprocal tariffs levied on U.S. goods by those countries also may lead to volatility and instability in domestic and foreign markets.
Equity Market Risk. The prices of equity securities rise and fall daily. These price movements may result from factors affecting individual issuers, industries or the stock market as a whole. In addition, equity markets tend to move in cycles which may cause stock prices to fall over a short and extended periods of time. In a declining stock market, stock prices for all companies (including those in the Fund’s portfolio) may decline, regardless of their long-term prospects.
ETF Risks.
Authorized Participants, Market Makers, and Liquidity Providers Concentration Risk. The Fund has a limited number of financial institutions that are authorized to purchase and redeem Shares directly from the Fund (known as “Authorized Participants” or “APs”). In addition, there may be a limited number of market makers and/or liquidity providers in the marketplace. To the extent either of the following events occur, Shares may trade at a material discount to NAV and possibly face delisting: (i) APs exit the business or otherwise become unable to process creation and/or redemption orders and no other APs step forward to perform these services; or (ii) market makers and/or liquidity providers exit the business or significantly reduce their business activities and no other entities step forward to perform their functions.
Cash Redemption Risk. The Fund’s investment strategy may require it to redeem Shares for cash or to otherwise include cash as part of its redemption proceeds. For example, the Fund may not be able to redeem in-kind certain securities held by the Fund (e.g., derivative instruments). In such a case, the Fund may be required to sell or unwind portfolio investments to obtain the cash needed to distribute redemption proceeds. This may cause the Fund to recognize a capital gain that it might not have recognized if it had made a redemption in-kind. As a result, the Fund may pay out higher annual capital gain distributions than if the in-kind redemption process was used. By paying out higher annual capital gain distributions, investors may be subjected to increased capital gains taxes. Additionally, there may be brokerage costs or taxable gains or losses that may be imposed on the Fund in connection with a cash redemption that may not have occurred if the Fund had made a redemption in-kind. These costs could decrease the value of the Fund to the extent they are not offset by a transaction fee payable by an AP.
Costs of Buying or Selling Shares. Due to the costs of buying or selling Shares, including brokerage commissions imposed by brokers and bid-ask spreads, frequent trading of Shares may significantly reduce investment results and an investment in Shares may not be advisable for investors who anticipate regularly making small investments.
Management Risk. The Fund is subject to management risk because it is an actively managed portfolio. In managing the Fund’s investment portfolio, the portfolio managers will apply investment techniques and risk analyses that may not produce the desired result. There can be no guarantee that the Fund will meet its investment objective.
Shares May Trade at Prices Other Than NAV. As with all ETFs, Shares may be bought and sold in the secondary market at market prices. Although it is expected that the market price of Shares will approximate the Fund’s NAV, there may be times when the market price of Shares is more than the NAV intra-day (premium) or less than the NAV intra-day (discount) due to supply and demand of Shares or during periods of market volatility. This risk is heightened in times of market volatility, periods of steep market declines, and periods when there is limited trading activity for Shares in the secondary market, in which case such premiums or discounts may be significant.
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Trading. Although Shares are listed on a national securities exchange, such as [ ] (the “Exchange”), and may be traded on U.S. exchanges other than the Exchange, there can be no assurance that an active trading market for the Shares will develop or be maintained or that the Shares will trade with any volume, or at all, on any stock exchange. In stressed market conditions, the liquidity of Shares may begin to mirror the liquidity of the Fund’s underlying portfolio holdings, which can be significantly less liquid than Shares. Shares trade on the Exchange at market price that may be below, at or above the Fund’s NAV. Trading in Shares on the Exchange may be halted due to market conditions or for reasons that, in the view of the Exchange, make trading in Shares inadvisable. In addition, trading in Shares on the Exchange is subject to trading halts caused by extraordinary market volatility pursuant to the Exchange “circuit breaker” rules. There can be no assurance that the requirements of the Exchange necessary to maintain the listing of the Fund will continue to be met or will remain unchanged. In the event of an unscheduled market close for options contracts that are based on the value of an ETF, such as the Underlying Security being halted or a market wide closure, settlement prices will be determined by the procedures of the listing exchange of the options contracts. As a result, the Fund could be adversely affected and be unable to implement its investment strategies in the event of an unscheduled closing.
High Portfolio Turnover Risk. The Fund may actively and frequently trade all or a significant portion of the Fund’s holdings. A high portfolio turnover rate increases transaction costs, which may increase the Fund’s expenses. Frequent trading may also cause adverse tax consequences for investors in the Fund due to an increase in short-term capital gains.
Inflation Risk. Inflation risk is the risk that the value of assets or income from investments will be less in the future as inflation decreases the value of money. As inflation increases, the present value of the Fund’s assets and distributions, if any, may decline.
Liquidity Risk. Some securities held by the Fund, including options contracts, may be difficult to sell or be illiquid, particularly during times of market turmoil. This risk is greater for the Fund as it will hold options contracts on a single security, and not a broader range of options contracts. Markets for securities or financial instruments could be disrupted by a number of events, including, but not limited to, an economic crisis, natural disasters, epidemics/pandemics, new legislation or regulatory changes inside or outside the United States. Illiquid securities may be difficult to value, especially in changing or volatile markets. If the Fund is forced to sell an illiquid security at an unfavorable time or price, the Fund may be adversely impacted. Certain market conditions or restrictions, such as market rules related to short sales, may prevent the Fund from limiting losses, realizing gains or achieving a high correlation with the Underlying Security. There is no assurance that a security that is deemed liquid when purchased will continue to be liquid. Market illiquidity may cause losses for the Fund.
Money Market Instrument Risk. The Fund may use a variety of money market instruments for cash management purposes, including money market funds, depositary accounts and repurchase agreements. Repurchase agreements are contracts in which a seller of securities agrees to buy the securities back at a specified time and price. Repurchase agreements may be subject to market and credit risk related to the collateral securing the repurchase agreement. Money market instruments, including money market funds, may lose money through fees or other means.
New Fund Risk. The Fund is a recently organized management investment company with no operating history. As a result, prospective investors do not have a track record or history on which to base their investment decisions.
Non-Diversification Risk. Because the Fund is “non-diversified,” it may invest a greater percentage of its assets in the securities of a single issuer or a smaller number of issuers than if it was a diversified fund. As a result, a decline in the value of an investment in a single issuer or a smaller number of issuers could cause the Fund’s overall value to decline to a greater degree than if the Fund held a more diversified portfolio. This may increase the Fund’s volatility and cause the performance of a relatively smaller number of issuers to have a greater impact on the Fund’s performance.
Operational Risk. The Fund is subject to risks arising from various operational factors, including, but not limited to, human error, processing and communication errors, errors of the Fund’s service providers, counterparties or other third-parties, failed or inadequate processes and technology or systems failures. The Fund relies on third-parties for a range of services, including custody. Any delay or failure relating to engaging or maintaining such service providers may affect the Fund’s ability to meet its investment objective. Although the Fund and Adviser seek to reduce these operational risks through controls and procedures, there is no way to completely protect against such risks. This may increase the Fund’s volatility and cause the performance of a relatively smaller number of issuers to have a greater impact on the Fund’s performance.
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Single Issuer Risk. Issuer-specific attributes may cause an investment in the Fund to be more volatile than a traditional pooled investment which diversifies risk or the market generally. The value of the Fund, which focuses on an individual security (the Underlying Security), may be more volatile than a traditional pooled investment or the market as a whole and may perform differently from the value of a traditional pooled investment or the market as a whole.
Tax Risk. The Fund intends to elect and to qualify each year to be treated as a RIC under Subchapter M of the Code. As a RIC, the Fund will not be subject to U.S. federal income tax on the portion of its net investment income and net capital gain that it distributes to Shareholders, provided that it satisfies certain requirements of the Code. If the Fund does not qualify as a RIC for any taxable year and certain relief provisions are not available, the Fund’s taxable income will be subject to tax at the Fund level and to a further tax at the shareholder level when such income is distributed. To comply with the asset diversification test applicable to a RIC, the Fund will attempt to ensure that the value of financial instruments providing exposure to the Underlying Security are never 25% of the total value of Fund assets at the close of any quarter. If the Fund’s investments in such financial instruments were to exceed 25% of the Fund’s total assets at the end of a tax quarter, the Fund, generally, has a grace period to cure such lack of compliance. If the Fund fails to timely cure, it may no longer be eligible to be treated as a RIC.
U.S. Government and U.S. Agency Obligations Risk. The Fund may invest in securities issued by the U.S. government or its agencies or instrumentalities. U.S. Government obligations include securities issued or guaranteed as to principal and interest by the U.S. Government, its agencies or instrumentalities, such as the U.S. Treasury. Payment of principal and interest on U.S. Government obligations may be backed by the full faith and credit of the United States or may be backed solely by the issuing or guaranteeing agency or instrumentality itself. In the latter case, the investor must look principally to the agency or instrumentality issuing or guaranteeing the obligation for ultimate repayment, which agency or instrumentality may be privately owned. There can be no assurance that the U.S. Government would provide financial support to its agencies or instrumentalities (including government-sponsored enterprises) where it is not obligated to do so.
Performance
Performance information for the Fund is not included because the Fund has not completed a full calendar year of operations as of the date of this Prospectus. When such information is included, this section will provide some indication of the risks of investing in the Fund by showing changes in the Fund’s performance history from year to year and showing how the Fund’s average annual total returns compare with those of a broad measure of market performance. Although past performance of the Fund is no guarantee of how it will perform in the future, historical performance may give you some indication of the risks of investing in the Fund. Updated performance information will be available on the Fund’s website at www.yieldmaxetfs.com.
Management
Investment Adviser: Tidal Investments LLC (the “Adviser”) serves as investment adviser to the Fund.
Portfolio Managers:
The following individuals are jointly and primarily responsible for the day-to-day management of the Fund.
Matt Brandt, Portfolio Manager for the Adviser, has been a portfolio manager of the Fund since its inception in 2025.
Christopher P. Mullen, Portfolio Manager for the Adviser, has been a portfolio manager of the Fund since its inception in 2025.
Scott Snyder, Portfolio Manager for the Adviser, has been a portfolio manager of the Fund since its inception in 2025.
Purchase and Sale of Shares
The Fund issues and redeems Shares at NAV only in large blocks known as “Creation Units,” which only Authorized Participants (APs) (typically, broker-dealers) may purchase or redeem. The Fund generally issues and redeems Creation Units in exchange for a portfolio of securities (the “Deposit Securities”) and/or a designated amount of U.S. cash.
Shares are listed on a national securities exchange, such as the Exchange, and individual Shares may only be bought and sold in the secondary market through brokers at market prices, rather than NAV. Because Shares trade at market prices rather than NAV, Shares may trade at a price greater than NAV (premium) or less than NAV (discount).
An investor may incur costs attributable to the difference between the highest price a buyer is willing to pay to purchase Shares (the “bid” price) and the lowest price a seller is willing to accept for Shares (the “ask” price) when buying or selling Shares in the secondary market. This difference in bid and ask prices is often referred to as the “bid-ask spread.”
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When available, information regarding the Fund’s NAV, market price, how often Shares traded on the Exchange at a premium or discount, and bid-ask spreads can be found on the Fund’s website at www.yieldmaxetfs.com.
Tax Information
Fund distributions are generally taxable as ordinary income, qualified dividend income, or capital gains (or a combination), unless an investment is in an individual retirement account (“IRA”) or other tax-advantaged account. Distributions on investments made through tax-deferred arrangements may be taxed later upon withdrawal of assets from those accounts.
Financial Intermediary Compensation
If
you purchase Shares through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary
(such as a bank) (an “Intermediary”), the Adviser or its affiliates may pay
Intermediaries for certain activities related to the Fund, including
participation in activities that are designed to make Intermediaries more
knowledgeable about exchange-traded products, including the Fund, or for other
activities, such as marketing, educational training, or other initiatives
related to the sale or promotion of Shares. These payments may create a conflict
of interest by influencing the Intermediary and your salesperson to recommend
the Fund over another investment. Any such arrangements do not result in
increased Fund expenses. Ask your salesperson or visit the Intermediary’s
website for more information.
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YieldMax® SPOT Option Income Strategy ETF - FUND SUMMARY
Investment Objective
The Fund’s primary investment objective is to seek current income.
The Fund’s secondary investment objective is to seek exposure to the share price of Spotify Technology S.A. (“SPOT” or “Underlying Security”), which is generally subject to a limit on potential investment gains.
Fees and Expenses of the Fund
This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy, hold, and sell shares of the Fund (“Shares”). You may pay other fees, such as brokerage commissions and other fees to financial intermediaries, which are not reflected in the table and Example below.
| Annual Fund Operating Expenses(1) (expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment) | |||
| Management Fee | [] | % | |
| Distribution and Service (12b-1) Fees | None | ||
| Other Expenses(2) | [] | % | |
| Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses | [] | % | |
| (1) | The Fund’s investment adviser, Tidal Investments LLC (the “Adviser”), a Tidal Financial Group company, will pay, or require a sub-adviser to pay, all of the Fund’s expenses, except for the following: advisory and sub-advisory fees, interest charges on any borrowings made for investment purposes, dividends and other expenses on securities sold short, taxes, brokerage commissions and other expenses incurred in placing orders for the purchase and sale of securities and other investment instruments, acquired fund fees and expenses, accrued deferred tax liability, distribution fees and expenses paid by the Fund under any distribution plan adopted pursuant to Rule 12b-1 under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”), litigation expenses, and other non-routine or extraordinary expenses. | |
| (2) | Based on estimated amounts for the current fiscal year. |
Expense Example
This Example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other funds. The Example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and then hold or redeem all of your Shares at the end of those periods. The Example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Fund’s operating expenses remain the same. The Example does not take into account brokerage commissions that you may pay on your purchases and sales of Shares. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:
| 1 Year | 3 Years |
| $[] | $[] |
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 Shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in total annual fund operating expenses or in the expense example above, affect the Fund’s performance. Because the Fund is newly organized, portfolio turnover information is not yet available.
Principal Investment Strategies
The Fund is an actively managed exchange-traded fund (“ETF”) that seeks current income while providing indirect exposure to the share price (i.e., the price returns) of Spotify Technology S.A. (NYSE: SPOT) (“SPOT” or the “Underlying Security”), which is generally subject to a limit on potential investment gains. The Fund will employ its investment strategy as it relates to SPOT regardless of whether there are periods of adverse market, economic, or other conditions and will not take temporary defensive positions during such periods. As further described below, the Fund primarily uses either a synthetic covered call strategy or synthetic covered call spread strategy to provide income and indirect exposure to the share price returns of SPOT, which is generally subject to a limit on potential investment gains as a result of the nature of the options strategy it employs. The Fund not only seeks to generate income from its options investments but also aims to derive gains when the value of SPOT increases. The Fund’s options contracts provide:
| ● | indirect exposure to the share price returns of SPOT, |
| ● | current income from the option premiums, and |
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| ● | at most times, a limit on the Fund’s participation in gains, if any, of the share price returns of SPOT. |
For more information, see sections “The Fund’s Use of Underlying Security Option Contracts,” “Synthetic Covered Call Strategy” and “SyntheticCovered Call Spread Strategy” below.
Why invest in the Fund?
| ● | The Fund seeks to generate monthly income, which is not dependent on the price appreciation of the Underlying Security. |
| ● | The Fund seeks to participate in a portion of the gains experienced by the Underlying Security. |
That is, although the Fund may not fully participate in gains in the Underlying Security’s stock price, the Fund’s portfolio is designed to generate income.
An Investment in the Fund is not an investment in the Underlying Security.
| ● | The Fund’s strategy will capture only a portion of its potential gains if the Underlying Security’s stock price increases in value. |
| ● | The Fund’s strategy is subject to all potential losses if the Underlying Security’s stock price decrease in value, which may not be offset by income received by the Fund. |
| ● | The Fund may invest directly in the Underlying Security, but expects to gain its Underlying Security exposure primarily through its synthetic covered call strategy or synthetic covered call spread strategy. |
| ● | Fund shareholders are not entitled to any Underlying Security dividends. |
Additional information regarding the Underlying Security is also set forth below.
The Fund’s Use of Underlying Security Option Contracts
As part of the Fund’s synthetic covered call strategy and synthetic covered call spread strategy, the Fund will purchase and sell a combination of standardized exchange-traded and FLexible EXchange® (“FLEX”) call and put option contracts that are based on the value of the price returns of the Underlying Security.
| ● | In general, an option contract gives the purchaser of the option contract the right to purchase (for a call option) or sell (for a put option) the underlying asset (like shares of the Underlying Security) at a specified price (the “strike price”). |
| ● | If exercised, an option contract obligates the seller to deliver shares (for a sold or “short” call) or buy shares (for a sold or “short” put) of the underlying asset at a specified price (the “strike price”). |
| ● | Options contracts must be exercised or traded to close within a specified time frame, or they expire. See the chart in section “Fund Portfolio” below for a description of the option contracts utilized by the Fund. |
Standardized exchange-traded options include standardized terms. FLEX options are also exchange-traded, but they allow for customizable terms (e.g., the strike price can be negotiated). For more information on FLEX options, see “Additional Information about the Funds – Exchange Traded Options Portfolio.”
The Fund’s options contracts are based on the value of the Underlying Security, which gives the Fund the right or obligation to receive or deliver shares of the Underlying Security on the expiration date of the applicable option contract in exchange for the stated strike price, depending on whether the option contract is a call option or a put option, and whether the Fund purchases or sells the option contract.
Synthetic Covered Call Strategy
In seeking to achieve its investment objective, the Fund may implement a “synthetic covered call” strategy using the standardized exchange-traded and FLEX options described above.
| ● | A traditional covered call strategy is an investment strategy where an investor (the Fund) sells a call option on an underlying security it owns. |
| ● | A synthetic covered call strategy is similar to a traditional covered call strategy in that the investor sells a call option that is based on the value of the underlying security. However, in a synthetic covered call strategy, the investor (the Fund) does not own the underlying security, but rather seeks to synthetically replicate 100% of the price movements of the underlying security through the use of various investment instruments. |
The Fund’s synthetic covered call strategies consists of the following three elements, each of which is described in greater detail farther below:
| ● | Synthetic long exposure to the Underlying Security, which allows the Fund to seek to participate in the changes, up or down, in the price of shares of the Underlying Security. |
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| ● | Covered call writing (where the Underlying Security’s call options are sold against the synthetic long portion of the strategy), which allows the Fund to generate income. |
| ● | U.S. Treasuries, which are used for collateral for the options, and which also generate income. |
| 1. | Synthetic Long Exposure |
To achieve a synthetic long exposure to the Underlying Security, the Fund will buy the Underlying Security’s call options and, simultaneously, sell the Underlying Security’s put options to try to replicate the price movements of the Underlying Security. The call options purchased by the Fund and the put options sold by the Fund will generally have one-month to six-month terms and strike prices that are approximately equal to the then-current share price of the Underlying Security at the time the contracts are purchased and sold, respectively. The combination of the long call options and sold put options provides the Fund with indirect investment exposure equal to approximately 100% of the Underlying Security for the duration of the applicable options exposure.
| 2. | Covered Call Strategies |
Covered Call Strategy
As part of its strategy, the Fund will write (sell) call option contracts on the Underlying Security to generate income. Since the Fund does not directly own the Underlying Security, these written call options will be sold short (i.e., selling a position it does not currently own). The Fund will seek to participate in the share price appreciation of the Underlying Security, if any. However, due to the nature of covered call strategies, the Fund’s participation may be subject to a cap (as described below). In this strategy, the call options written (sold) by the Fund will generally have 1- month or less expiration dates (the “Call Period”) and generally have a strike price that is approximately 0%-15% above the then-current share price of the Underlying Security.
It is important to note that the sale of the Underlying Security call option contracts will limit the Fund’s participation in the appreciation in the Underlying Security’s stock price. If the stock price of the Underlying Security increases, the above-referenced synthetic long exposure alone would allow the Fund to experience similar percentage gains. However, if the Underlying Security’s stock price appreciates beyond the strike price of one or more of the sold (short) call option contracts, the Fund will lose money on those short call positions, and the losses will, in turn, limit the upside return of the Fund’s synthetic long exposure. As a result, the Fund’s overall strategy (i.e., the combination of the synthetic long exposure to the Underlying Security and the sold (short) the Underlying Security call positions) will limit the Fund’s participation in gains in the Underlying Security’s stock price beyond a certain point.
Covered Call Spread Strategy
The Adviser will employ the Covered Call Spread Strategy when it believes it is a better strategy for the Fund as compared to the Covered Call Strategy. The Fund may write (sell) credit call spreads (described below) rather than stand-alone call option contracts to seek greater participation in the potential appreciation of its Underlying Security’s share price, while still generating net premium income. The Adviser will primarily employ this covered call spread strategy when it believes that the share price of its Underlying Security is likely to rise significantly in the short term (e.g., following a substantial selloff or overall positive market news). Additionally, the Adviser may use this strategy in other scenarios (e.g., if the market is undervaluing further out-of-the-money options relative to near-the-money options), where it believes the use of credit call spreads may prove more advantageous to the Fund’s total return than the covered call strategy.
A credit call spread involves selling a call option while simultaneously buying a call option with a higher strike price, both with the same expiration date. By writing credit call spreads, the Fund can potentially offset losses incurred from its short call positions if the Underlying Security’s share price rises above the strike price.
| 3. | U.S. Treasuries |
The Fund will hold short-term U.S. Treasury securities as collateral in connection with the Fund’s options contracts, as well as swaps as discussed in the “Additional Investment Strategies” section below.
The Fund intends to continuously maintain indirect exposure to the Underlying Security, primarily through the use of options contracts. As the options contracts it holds are exercised or expire it may enter into new options contracts, a practice referred to as “rolling.” The Fund’s practice of rolling options may result in high portfolio turnover.
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Additional Investment Strategies
In addition to the synthetic covered call strategy or synthetic covered call spread strategy described herein, the Fund may use the following additional strategies to gain exposure to the Underlying Security:
| ● | Swaps: The Fund may utilize swap contracts that provide exposure to the Underlying Security. |
| ● | Additional Options Strategies: The Fund may utilize additional options strategies, including purchasing call options that are “deep in the money” (i.e., the Underlying Security’s price is well above the strike price on the call option). |
| ● | Equity Securities: The Fund may purchase equity securities of the Underlying Security. |
While the Fund intends to primarily utilize its synthetic covered call strategy or synthetic covered call spread strategy to gain exposure to the Underlying Security, it may utilize each of the foregoing to the extent it is unable to achieve its targeted exposure through the use of these primary options strategies.
Fund’s Monthly Distributions
The Fund will seek to provide monthly income in the form of cash distributions. The Fund will seek to generate such income in the following ways:
| ● | Writing (selling) call option contracts on its Underlying Security as described above. The income comes mainly from the option premiums received from these option sales. A premium, in this context, refers to the price the option buyer pays to the option seller (the Fund) for the rights granted by the option. The amount of these premiums is largely affected by the fluctuations in the Underlying Security’s stock prices. However, other elements like interest rates can also influence the income level. |
| ● | Investing in short-term U.S. Treasury securities. The income generated by these securities will be influenced by interest rates at the time of investment. |
| ● | In addition to the income-seeking methodologies stated in the Prospectus, the Fund’s use of the Synthetic Covered Call Spread Strategy may occasionally allow it to capture a substantial portion of any significant increase in the price of its Underlying Security. When this happens, the Fund could receive profits exceeding the initial cost of the call options, and the Fund’s distributions may include some of those profits. | |
| ● | The Fund may receive some dividend income to the extent it invests directly in the Underlying Security. |
Fund’s Return Profile vs its Underlying Security
For the reasons stated above, the Fund’s performance will differ from that of the Underlying Security’s stock price. The performance differences will depend on, among other things, the price of the Underlying Security, changes in the value of the Underlying Security options contracts and swaps the Fund holds, and changes in the value of the U.S. Treasuries.
Fund Portfolio
| Principal Holdings | ||
| Portfolio
Holdings (All options are based on the value of the Underlying Security) |
Investment Terms | Expected Target Maturity |
| Purchased call option contracts (primary options strategies) |
“at-the-money” (i.e., the strike price is equal to the then-current share price of the Underlying Security at the time of purchase) to provide indirect exposure to positive price returns of the Underlying Security.
If the Underlying Security share price increases, these options will generate corresponding increases to the Fund. |
1-month to 6-month expiration dates |
| Purchased call option contracts (additional options strategies) |
“deep-in-the-money” (i.e., the Underlying Security’s price is well above the strike price on the call option) to provide indirect exposure to positive price returns of the Underlying Security.
If the Underlying Security share price increases, these options will generate corresponding increases to the Fund. |
1-month to 6-month expiration dates
|
| Sold put option contracts |
“at-the-money” (i.e., the strike price is equal to the then-current share price of the Underlying Security at the time of sale).
They are sold to help pay for the purchased call options described above.
However, the sold put option contracts provide exposure to the full extent of any share price losses experienced by the Underlying Security. |
1-month to 6-month expiration dates |
| Sold
(short) call option contracts (Covered Call Strategy) |
The strike price is approximately 0%-15% more than the then-current share price of the Underlying Security at the time of sale.
They generate current income. However, they also limit some potential positive returns that the Fund may have otherwise experienced from gains in the Underlying Security’s share price. |
1-month or less expiration dates |
|
Sold
(short) call option contracts
|
The strike price is approximately 0%-15% more than the then-current share price of the Fund’s Underlying Security at the time of sale.
Sold call option contracts provide inverse exposure to the full extent of any increases in the value experienced by the Fund’s Underlying Security, minus the premium received. |
1-month or less expiration dates |
| Purchased
call option contracts (Covered Call Spread Strategy) |
“out-of-the-money” (i.e., the strike price is above the strike price of the corresponding Covered Call Spread Strategy sold call).
Bought call option contracts provide exposure to the full extent of any increases in the value experienced by the Fund’s Underlying Security above the option’s strike price. |
1-month or less expiration dates |
| Equity Securities | Direct equity holdings of the Underlying Security. | N/A |
| Swaps | Provides mark-to-market daily exposure to the total return of the Underlying Security over a particular period of time. | N/A |
| U.S Treasury Securities and Cash |
Multiple series of U.S. Treasury Bills supported by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government.
These instruments are used as collateral for the Fund’s derivative investments.
They will also generate income. |
6-month to 2-year maturities |
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The market value of the cash and treasuries held by the Fund is expected to be between 50% and 100% of the Fund’s net assets and the market value of the options, swaps and direct equity investments is expected to be between 0% and 50% of the Fund’s net assets. In terms of notional value, the combination of these investment instruments provides indirect investment exposure to SPOT equal to at least 100% of the Fund’s total assets.
Under normal circumstances, the Fund will invest at least 80% of its net assets, plus borrowings for investment purposes, in securities and financial instruments that provide indirect exposure to SPOT.
The Fund is classified as “non-diversified” under the 1940 Act.
There is no guarantee that the Fund’s investment strategy will be properly implemented, and an investor may lose some or all of its investment.
Spotify Technology S.A. (“SPOT”)
Spotify Technology S.A. is an audio streaming and media service provider. SPOT is a non-U.S. company that is listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). Per SPOT’s most recent Form 20-F filing, the number of ordinary shares outstanding of SPOT as of December 31, 2024 was 203,844,409.
SPOT is registered under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”). Information provided to or filed with the SEC by SPOT pursuant to the Exchange Act can be located by reference to the SEC file number 001-38438 through the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov. In addition, information regarding SPOT may be obtained from other sources including, but not limited to, press releases, newspaper articles and other publicly disseminated documents.
This document relates only to the securities offered hereby and does not relate to the shares of SPOT or other securities of Spotify Technology S.A. The Fund has derived all disclosures contained in this document regarding SPOT from the publicly available documents. None of the Fund, the Trust, or the Adviser, or their respective affiliates has participated in the preparation of such publicly available offering documents or made any due diligence inquiry regarding such documents with respect to SPOT. None of the Fund, the Trust, or the Adviser, or their respective affiliates makes any representation that such publicly available documents or any other publicly available information regarding SPOT is accurate or complete. Furthermore, the Fund cannot give any assurance that all events occurring prior to the date hereof (including events that would affect the accuracy or completeness of the publicly available documents described above) that would affect the trading price of SPOT (and therefore the share price of the Fund at the time we price the securities) have been publicly disclosed. Subsequent disclosure of any such events or the disclosure of or failure to disclose material future events concerning SPOT could affect the value received with respect to the securities and therefore the value of the securities.
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None of the Fund, the Trust, the Adviser, or their respective affiliates makes any representation to you as to the performance of SPOT.
NONE OF THE FUND, TIDAL TRUST II, OR TIDAL INVESTMENTS LLC ARE AFFILIATED WITH THE UNDERLYING SECURITY.
Due to the Fund’s investment strategy, the Fund’s investment exposure is concentrated in the same industry as that assigned to the Underlying Security. As of the date of the Prospectus, SPOT is assigned to the Entertainment industry.
Principal Investment Risks
The principal risks of investing in the Fund are summarized below. As with any investment, there is a risk that you could lose all or a portion of your investment in the Fund. Some or all of these risks may adversely affect the Fund’s net asset value (“NAV”) per share, trading price, yield, total return, and/or ability to meet its objective. For more information about the risks of investing in the Fund, see the section in the Fund’s Prospectus titled “Additional Information About the Funds—Principal Risks of Investing in the Funds.”
An investment in the Fund entails risk. The Fund may not achieve its investment objective and there is a risk that you could lose all of your money invested in the Fund. The Fund is not a complete investment program. It is important that investors closely review all of the risks listed below and understand them before making an investment in the Fund.
Each risk summarized below is considered a “principal risk” of investing in the Fund, regardless of the order in which they appear.
SPOT Risk. The Fund invests in instruments that are based on the value of SPOT. This subjects the Fund to certain of the same risks as if it owned shares of SPOT, even if it does not. By virtue of the Fund’s exposure to SPOT, the Fund may also be subject to the following risks:
Indirect Investment in SPOT Risk. SPOT is not affiliated with the Trust, the Fund, or the Adviser, or their respective affiliates and is not involved with this offering in any way and has no obligation to consider your Shares in taking any corporate actions that might affect the value of Shares. Investors in the Fund will not have voting rights and will not be able to influence management of SPOT but will be exposed to the performance of SPOT (the Underlying Security). Investors in the Fund will not have the right to receive dividends or other distributions or any other rights with respect to the Underlying Security but will be subject to declines in the performance of the Underlying Security.
SPOT Trading Risk. The trading price of SPOT may be subject to volatility and could experience wide fluctuations due to various factors. Short sellers may also play a significant role in trading SPOT, potentially affecting the supply and demand dynamics and contributing to market price volatility. Public perception and external factors beyond the company’s control may influence SPOT’s stock price disproportionately. Additionally, following periods of market volatility, companies have faced securities class action litigation. Any adverse judgment or future stockholder litigation could result in substantial costs and divert management’s attention and resources. In the event of a halt in trading of SPOT, trading in shares of related funds may be impacted, either temporarily or indefinitely.
SPOT Performance Risk. SPOT may fail to meet its publicly announced guidelines or other expectations about its business, which could cause the price of SPOT to decline. SPOT provides guidance regarding its expected financial and business performance, such as projections regarding sales and production, as well as anticipated future revenues, gross margins, profitability and cash flows. Correctly identifying key factors affecting business conditions and predicting future events is inherently an uncertain process, and the guidance SPOT provides may not ultimately be accurate. If SPOT’s guidance is not accurate or varies from actual results due to its inability to meet the assumptions or the impact on its financial performance that could occur as a result of various risks and uncertainties, the market value of common stock issued by SPOT could decline significantly.
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Entertainment Industry Risk. The entertainment industry is highly competitive and relies on consumer spending and the availability of disposable income for success. The prices of the securities of companies in the entertainment industries may fluctuate widely due to competitive pressures, heavy expenses incurred for research and development of products, problems related to bringing products to market, consumer preferences and rapid obsolescence of products. Changes in technology and consumer consumption patterns may also impact the demand for entertainment products, revenue generation, and production costs. Legislative or regulatory changes and increased government supervision also may affect companies in the entertainment industry.
Streaming Service Risk. SPOT faces significant competition from other streaming services, satellite radio services and social media platforms for user attention and advertising dollars. In mature markets like North America and Europe, SPOT faces slower subscriber growth and increased churn rates. Future growth depends on expansion into emerging markets, which may have lower revenue per user and higher regulatory risks. SPOT does not own the majority of its music content. Rising content acquisition costs and exclusivity deals could impact long-term profitability. One of SPOT’s largest expenses is royalty payments to music rights holders, including record labels, artists and publishers. Any increase in royalty rates or unfavorable renegotiations could pressure margins. While SPOT has expanded its ad-supported revenue model, advertising revenue remains highly cyclical and sensitive to economic downturns. A slowdown in digital ad spending could negatively impact SPOT’s profitability. SPOT operates a cloud-based digital streaming platform that relies on third-party infrastructure providers. Server outages, cybersecurity threats or data breaches could disrupt services and impact user trust. SPOT subscriptions are discretionary spending items. Economic downturns or inflationary pressures could lead to higher subscription cancellations. Spotify operates globally, generating revenue in multiple currencies. Exchange rate fluctuations can impact reported earnings and financial performance.
Derivatives Risk. Derivatives are financial instruments that derive value from the underlying reference asset or assets, such as stocks, bonds, or funds (including ETFs), interest rates or indexes. The Fund’s investments in derivatives may pose risks in addition to, and greater than, those associated with directly investing in securities or other ordinary investments, including risk related to the market, imperfect correlation with underlying investments or the Fund’s other portfolio holdings, higher price volatility, lack of availability, counterparty risk, liquidity, valuation and legal restrictions. The use of derivatives is a highly specialized activity that involves investment techniques and risks different from those associated with ordinary portfolio securities transactions. The use of derivatives may result in larger losses or smaller gains than directly investing in securities. When the Fund uses derivatives, there may be an imperfect correlation between the value of the Underlying Security and the derivative, which may prevent the Fund from achieving its investment objective. Because derivatives often require only a limited initial investment, the use of derivatives may expose the Fund to losses in excess of those amounts initially invested. In addition, the Fund’s investments in derivatives are subject to the following risks:
Options Contracts. The use of options contracts involves investment strategies and risks different from those associated with ordinary portfolio securities transactions. The prices of options are volatile and are influenced by, among other things, actual and anticipated changes in the value of the underlying instrument, including the anticipated volatility, which are affected by fiscal and monetary policies and by national and international political, changes in the actual or implied volatility or the reference asset, the time remaining until the expiration of the option contract and economic events. For the Fund in particular, the value of the options contracts in which it invests are substantially influenced by the value of the Underlying Security. The Fund may experience substantial downside from specific option positions and certain option positions held by the Fund may expire worthless. The options held by the Fund are exercisable at the strike price on their expiration date. As an option approaches its expiration date, its value typically increasingly move with the value of the underlying instrument. However, prior to such date, the value of an option generally does not increase or decrease at the same rate at the underlying instrument. There may at times be an imperfect correlation between the movement in the values of options contracts and the underlying instrument, and there may at times not be a liquid secondary market for certain options contracts. The value of the options held by the Fund will be determined based on market quotations or other recognized pricing methods. Additionally, as the Fund intends to continuously maintain indirect exposure to the Underlying Security through the use of options contracts, as the options contracts it holds are exercised or expire it will enter into new options contracts, a practice referred to as “rolling.” If the expiring options contracts do not generate proceeds enough to cover the cost of entering into new options contracts, the Fund may experience losses.
Swaps. The use of swap transactions is a highly specialized activity, which involves investment techniques and risks different from those associated with ordinary portfolio securities transactions. Whether the Fund will be successful in using swap agreements to achieve its investment goal depends on the ability of the Adviser to structure such swap agreements in accordance with the Fund’s investment objective and to identify counterparties for those swap agreements. If the Adviser is unable to enter into swap agreements that provide leveraged exposure to the Underlying Security, the Fund may not meet its stated investment objective. Additionally, any financing, borrowing or other costs associated with using swap transactions may also have the effect of lowering the Fund’s return.
The swap agreements in which the Fund invests are generally traded in the over-the-counter market, which generally has less transparency than exchange-traded derivatives instruments. In a standard swap transaction, two parties agree to exchange the return (or differentials in rates of return) earned or realized on particular predetermined reference assets or underlying securities or instruments. The gross return to be exchanged or swapped between the parties is calculated based on a notional amount or the return on or change in value of a particular dollar amount invested in a basket of securities.
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If the Underlying Security has a dramatic move that causes a material decline in the Fund’s net assets, the terms of a swap agreement between the Fund and its counterparty may permit the counterparty to immediately close out the swap transaction with the Fund. In that event, the Fund may be unable to enter into another swap agreement or invest in other derivatives to achieve exposure consistent with the Fund’s investment objective. This may prevent the Fund from achieving its leveraged investment objective, even if the Underlying Security later reverses all or a portion of its movement.
Counterparty Risk. The Fund is subject to counterparty risk by virtue of its investments in derivative instruments. Transactions in some types of derivatives, including options, are required to be centrally cleared (“cleared derivatives”). In a transaction involving cleared derivatives, the Fund’s counterparty is a clearing house rather than a bank or broker. Since the Fund is not a member of clearing houses and only members of a clearing house (“clearing members”) can participate directly in the clearing house, the Fund will hold cleared derivatives through accounts at clearing members. In cleared derivatives positions, the Fund will make payments (including margin payments) to and receive payments from a clearing house through their accounts at clearing members. Customer funds held at a clearing organization in connection with any options contracts are held in a commingled omnibus account and are not identified to the name of the clearing member’s individual customers. As a result, assets deposited by the Fund with any clearing member as margin for options may, in certain circumstances, be used to satisfy losses of other clients of the Fund’s clearing member. In addition, although clearing members guarantee performance of their clients’ obligations to the clearing house, there is a risk that the assets of the Fund might not be fully protected in the event of the clearing member’s bankruptcy, as the Fund would be limited to recovering only a pro rata share of all available funds segregated on behalf of the clearing member’s customers for the relevant account class. The Fund is also subject to the risk that a limited number of clearing members are willing to transact on the Fund’s behalf, which heightens the risks associated with a clearing member’s default. This risk is greater for the Fund as it seeks to hold options contracts on a single security, and not a broader range of options contracts, which may limit the number of clearing members that are willing to transact on the Fund’s behalf. If a clearing member defaults the Fund could lose some or all of the benefits of a transaction entered into by the Fund with the clearing member. If the Fund cannot find a clearing member to transact with on the Fund’s behalf, the Fund may be unable to effectively implement its investment strategy.
The Fund is also subject to the risk that the counterparty will not fulfill its obligation to the Fund. Counterparty risk may arise because of the counterparty’s financial condition (i.e., financial difficulties, bankruptcy, or insolvency), market activities and developments, or other reasons, whether foreseen or not. A counterparty’s inability to fulfill its obligation may result in significant financial loss to the Fund and the Fund may be unable to recover its investment from such counterparty or may obtain a limited and/or delayed recovery.
Price Participation Risk. The Fund employs an investment strategy that includes the sale of call option contracts, which limits the degree to which the Fund will participate in increases in value experienced by the Underlying Security over the Call Period. This means that if the Underlying Security experiences an increase in value above the strike price of the sold call options during a Call Period, the Fund will likely not experience that increase to the same extent and may significantly underperform the Underlying Security over the Call Period. Additionally, because the Fund is limited in the degree to which it will participate in increases in value experienced by the Underlying Security over each Call Period, but has full exposure to any decreases in value experienced by the Underlying Security over the Call Period, the NAV of the Fund may decrease over any given time period. The Fund’s NAV is dependent on the value of each options portfolio, which is based principally upon the performance of the Underlying Security. The degree of participation in the Underlying Security gains the Fund will experience will depend on prevailing market conditions, especially market volatility, at the time the Fund enters into the sold call option contracts and will vary from Call Period to Call Period. The value of the options contracts is affected by changes in the value and dividend rates of the Underlying Security, changes in interest rates, changes in the actual or perceived volatility of the Underlying Security and the remaining time to the options’ expiration, as well as trading conditions in the options market. As the price of the Underlying Security changes and time moves towards the expiration of each Call Period, the value of the options contracts, and therefore the Fund’s NAV, will change. However, it is not expected for the Fund’s NAV to directly correlate on a day-to-day basis with the returns of the Underlying Security. The amount of time remaining until the options contract’s expiration date affects the impact of the potential options contract income on the Fund’s NAV, which may not be in full effect until the expiration date of the Fund’s options contracts. Therefore, while changes in the price of the Underlying Security will result in changes to the Fund’s NAV, the Fund generally anticipates that the rate of change in the Fund’s NAV will be different than that experienced by the Underlying Security.
Distribution Risk. As part of the Fund’s investment objective, the Fund seeks to provide current monthly income. There is no assurance that the Fund will make a distribution in any given month. If the Fund does make distributions, the amounts of such distributions will likely vary greatly from one distribution to the next. Additionally, monthly distributions, if any, may consist of returns of capital, which would decrease the Fund’s NAV and trading price over time. As a result, an investor may suffer significant losses to their investment.
NAV Erosion Risk Due to Distributions. When the Fund makes a distribution, the Fund’s NAV will typically drop by the amount of the distribution on the related ex-dividend date. The repeated payment of distributions by the Fund, if any, may significantly erode the Fund’s NAV and trading price over time. As a result, an investor may suffer significant losses to their investment.
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Foreign Investment Risk. Because the Fund has indirect exposure to a foreign company, the Fund may be subject to risks associated with foreign investments.
| ● | Currency Risk: Indirect exposure to foreign currencies subjects the Fund to the risk that currencies will decline in value relative to the U.S. dollar. Currency rates in foreign countries may fluctuate significantly over short periods of time for a number of reasons, including changes in interest rates and the imposition of currency controls or other political developments in the U.S. or abroad. |
| ● | Foreign Market and Trading Risk: The trading markets for many foreign securities are not as active as U.S. markets and may have less governmental regulation and oversight. |
| ● | Foreign Securities Risk: Investments in securities of non-U.S. issuers involve certain risks that may not be present with investments in securities of U.S. issuers, such as risk of loss due to foreign currency fluctuations or to political or economic instability, as well as varying regulatory requirements applicable to investments in non-U.S. issuers. There may be less information publicly available about a non-U.S. issuer than a U.S. issuer. Non-U.S. issuers may also be subject to different regulatory, accounting, auditing, financial reporting and investor protection standards than U.S. issuers. |
Call Strategy Risks. The path dependency (i.e., the continued use) of the Fund’s call writing strategy will impact the extent that the Fund participates in the positive price returns of the Underlying Security and, in turn, the Fund’s returns, both during the term of the sold call options and over longer time periods. If, for example, each month the Fund were to sell 7% out-of-the-money call options having a one-month term, the Fund’s participation in the positive price returns of the Underlying Security will be capped at 7% in any given month. However, over a longer period (e.g., 5 months), the Fund should not be expected to participate fully in the first 35% (i.e., 5 months x 7%) of the positive price returns of the Underlying Security, or the Fund may even lose money, even if the Underlying Security share price has appreciated by at least that much over such period, if during any month over that period the Underlying Security had a return less than 7%. This example illustrates that both the Fund’s participation in the positive price returns of the Underlying Security and its returns will depend not only on the price of the Underlying Security but also on the path that the Underlying Security takes over time.
Additionally, when implementing the Covered Call Spread Strategy, the use of credit call spreads introduces further complexities and risks. While purchasing a higher-strike call option limits potential losses from the short call position, it also reduces the net premium received, which may result in lower overall returns compared to a stand-alone covered call strategy. If the price of the Underlying Security rises rapidly, the call spread may still cap upside participation, leading to missed profit opportunities. Furthermore, market conditions, such as mispricing between near-the-money and further out-of-the-money options, may impact the effectiveness of the strategy, potentially resulting in lower-than-expected returns or increased losses. The relative pricing of options at different strike levels can vary due to volatility shifts, liquidity constraints, or other market dynamics, adding an additional layer of uncertainty to the Fund’s performance under this strategy.
Economic and Market Risk. Economies and financial markets throughout the world are becoming increasingly interconnected, which increases the likelihood that events or conditions in one country or region will adversely impact markets or issuers in other countries or regions. Securities in the Fund’s portfolio may underperform in comparison to securities in the general financial markets, a particular financial market, or other asset classes, due to a number of factors, including inflation (or expectations for inflation), deflation (or expectations for deflation), interest rates, global demand for particular products or resources, market instability, financial system instability, debt crises and downgrades, embargoes, tariffs, sanctions and other trade barriers, regulatory events, other governmental trade or market control programs and related geopolitical events. In addition, the value of the Fund’s investments may be negatively affected by the occurrence of global events such as war, terrorism, environmental disasters, natural disasters or events, country instability, and infectious disease epidemics or pandemics. The imposition by the U.S. of tariffs on goods imported from foreign countries and reciprocal tariffs levied on U.S. goods by those countries also may lead to volatility and instability in domestic and foreign markets.
Equity Market Risk. The prices of equity securities rise and fall daily. These price movements may result from factors affecting individual issuers, industries or the stock market as a whole. In addition, equity markets tend to move in cycles which may cause stock prices to fall over a short and extended periods of time. In a declining stock market, stock prices for all companies (including those in the Fund’s portfolio) may decline, regardless of their long-term prospects.
ETF Risks.
Authorized Participants, Market Makers, and Liquidity Providers Concentration Risk. The Fund has a limited number of financial institutions that are authorized to purchase and redeem Shares directly from the Fund (known as “Authorized Participants” or “APs”). In addition, there may be a limited number of market makers and/or liquidity providers in the marketplace. To the extent either of the following events occur, Shares may trade at a material discount to NAV and possibly face delisting: (i) APs exit the business or otherwise become unable to process creation and/or redemption orders and no other APs step forward to perform these services; or (ii) market makers and/or liquidity providers exit the business or significantly reduce their business activities and no other entities step forward to perform their functions.
Cash Redemption Risk. The Fund’s investment strategy may require it to redeem Shares for cash or to otherwise include cash as part of its redemption proceeds. For example, the Fund may not be able to redeem in-kind certain securities held by the Fund (e.g., derivative instruments). In such a case, the Fund may be required to sell or unwind portfolio investments to obtain the cash needed to distribute redemption proceeds. This may cause the Fund to recognize a capital gain that it might not have recognized if it had made a redemption in-kind. As a result, the Fund may pay out higher annual capital gain distributions than if the in-kind redemption process was used. By paying out higher annual capital gain distributions, investors may be subjected to increased capital gains taxes. Additionally, there may be brokerage costs or taxable gains or losses that may be imposed on the Fund in connection with a cash redemption that may not have occurred if the Fund had made a redemption in-kind. These costs could decrease the value of the Fund to the extent they are not offset by a transaction fee payable by an AP.
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Costs of Buying or Selling Shares. Due to the costs of buying or selling Shares, including brokerage commissions imposed by brokers and bid-ask spreads, frequent trading of Shares may significantly reduce investment results and an investment in Shares may not be advisable for investors who anticipate regularly making small investments.
Management Risk. The Fund is subject to management risk because it is an actively managed portfolio. In managing the Fund’s investment portfolio, the portfolio managers will apply investment techniques and risk analyses that may not produce the desired result. There can be no guarantee that the Fund will meet its investment objective.
Shares May Trade at Prices Other Than NAV. As with all ETFs, Shares may be bought and sold in the secondary market at market prices. Although it is expected that the market price of Shares will approximate the Fund’s NAV, there may be times when the market price of Shares is more than the NAV intra-day (premium) or less than the NAV intra-day (discount) due to supply and demand of Shares or during periods of market volatility. This risk is heightened in times of market volatility, periods of steep market declines, and periods when there is limited trading activity for Shares in the secondary market, in which case such premiums or discounts may be significant.
Trading. Although Shares are listed on a national securities exchange, such as [ ] (the “Exchange”), and may be traded on U.S. exchanges other than the Exchange, there can be no assurance that an active trading market for the Shares will develop or be maintained or that the Shares will trade with any volume, or at all, on any stock exchange. In stressed market conditions, the liquidity of Shares may begin to mirror the liquidity of the Fund’s underlying portfolio holdings, which can be significantly less liquid than Shares. Shares trade on the Exchange at market price that may be below, at or above the Fund’s NAV. Trading in Shares on the Exchange may be halted due to market conditions or for reasons that, in the view of the Exchange, make trading in Shares inadvisable. In addition, trading in Shares on the Exchange is subject to trading halts caused by extraordinary market volatility pursuant to the Exchange “circuit breaker” rules. There can be no assurance that the requirements of the Exchange necessary to maintain the listing of the Fund will continue to be met or will remain unchanged. In the event of an unscheduled market close for options contracts that are based on the value of an ETF, such as the Underlying Security being halted or a market wide closure, settlement prices will be determined by the procedures of the listing exchange of the options contracts. As a result, the Fund could be adversely affected and be unable to implement its investment strategies in the event of an unscheduled closing.
High Portfolio Turnover Risk. The Fund may actively and frequently trade all or a significant portion of the Fund’s holdings. A high portfolio turnover rate increases transaction costs, which may increase the Fund’s expenses. Frequent trading may also cause adverse tax consequences for investors in the Fund due to an increase in short-term capital gains.
Inflation Risk. Inflation risk is the risk that the value of assets or income from investments will be less in the future as inflation decreases the value of money. As inflation increases, the present value of the Fund’s assets and distributions, if any, may decline.
Liquidity Risk. Some securities held by the Fund, including options contracts, may be difficult to sell or be illiquid, particularly during times of market turmoil. This risk is greater for the Fund as it will hold options contracts on a single security, and not a broader range of options contracts. Markets for securities or financial instruments could be disrupted by a number of events, including, but not limited to, an economic crisis, natural disasters, epidemics/pandemics, new legislation or regulatory changes inside or outside the United States. Illiquid securities may be difficult to value, especially in changing or volatile markets. If the Fund is forced to sell an illiquid security at an unfavorable time or price, the Fund may be adversely impacted. Certain market conditions or restrictions, such as market rules related to short sales, may prevent the Fund from limiting losses, realizing gains or achieving a high correlation with the Underlying Security. There is no assurance that a security that is deemed liquid when purchased will continue to be liquid. Market illiquidity may cause losses for the Fund.
Money Market Instrument Risk. The Fund may use a variety of money market instruments for cash management purposes, including money market funds, depositary accounts and repurchase agreements. Repurchase agreements are contracts in which a seller of securities agrees to buy the securities back at a specified time and price. Repurchase agreements may be subject to market and credit risk related to the collateral securing the repurchase agreement. Money market instruments, including money market funds, may lose money through fees or other means.
New Fund Risk. The Fund is a recently organized management investment company with no operating history. As a result, prospective investors do not have a track record or history on which to base their investment decisions.
Non-Diversification Risk. Because the Fund is “non-diversified,” it may invest a greater percentage of its assets in the securities of a single issuer or a smaller number of issuers than if it was a diversified fund. As a result, a decline in the value of an investment in a single issuer or a smaller number of issuers could cause the Fund’s overall value to decline to a greater degree than if the Fund held a more diversified portfolio. This may increase the Fund’s volatility and cause the performance of a relatively smaller number of issuers to have a greater impact on the Fund’s performance.
Operational Risk. The Fund is subject to risks arising from various operational factors, including, but not limited to, human error, processing and communication errors, errors of the Fund’s service providers, counterparties or other third-parties, failed or inadequate processes and technology or systems failures. The Fund relies on third-parties for a range of services, including custody. Any delay or failure relating to engaging or maintaining such service providers may affect the Fund’s ability to meet its investment objective. Although the Fund and Adviser seek to reduce these operational risks through controls and procedures, there is no way to completely protect against such risks. This may increase the Fund’s volatility and cause the performance of a relatively smaller number of issuers to have a greater impact on the Fund’s performance.
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Single Issuer Risk. Issuer-specific attributes may cause an investment in the Fund to be more volatile than a traditional pooled investment which diversifies risk or the market generally. The value of the Fund, which focuses on an individual security (the Underlying Security), may be more volatile than a traditional pooled investment or the market as a whole and may perform differently from the value of a traditional pooled investment or the market as a whole.
Tax Risk. The Fund intends to elect and to qualify each year to be treated as a RIC under Subchapter M of the Code. As a RIC, the Fund will not be subject to U.S. federal income tax on the portion of its net investment income and net capital gain that it distributes to Shareholders, provided that it satisfies certain requirements of the Code. If the Fund does not qualify as a RIC for any taxable year and certain relief provisions are not available, the Fund’s taxable income will be subject to tax at the Fund level and to a further tax at the shareholder level when such income is distributed. To comply with the asset diversification test applicable to a RIC, the Fund will attempt to ensure that the value of financial instruments providing exposure to the Underlying Security are never 25% of the total value of Fund assets at the close of any quarter. If the Fund’s investments in such financial instruments were to exceed 25% of the Fund’s total assets at the end of a tax quarter, the Fund, generally, has a grace period to cure such lack of compliance. If the Fund fails to timely cure, it may no longer be eligible to be treated as a RIC.
U.S. Government and U.S. Agency Obligations Risk. The Fund may invest in securities issued by the U.S. government or its agencies or instrumentalities. U.S. Government obligations include securities issued or guaranteed as to principal and interest by the U.S. Government, its agencies or instrumentalities, such as the U.S. Treasury. Payment of principal and interest on U.S. Government obligations may be backed by the full faith and credit of the United States or may be backed solely by the issuing or guaranteeing agency or instrumentality itself. In the latter case, the investor must look principally to the agency or instrumentality issuing or guaranteeing the obligation for ultimate repayment, which agency or instrumentality may be privately owned. There can be no assurance that the U.S. Government would provide financial support to its agencies or instrumentalities (including government-sponsored enterprises) where it is not obligated to do so.
Performance
Performance information for the Fund is not included because the Fund has not completed a full calendar year of operations as of the date of this Prospectus. When such information is included, this section will provide some indication of the risks of investing in the Fund by showing changes in the Fund’s performance history from year to year and showing how the Fund’s average annual total returns compare with those of a broad measure of market performance. Although past performance of the Fund is no guarantee of how it will perform in the future, historical performance may give you some indication of the risks of investing in the Fund. Updated performance information will be available on the Fund’s website at www.yieldmaxetfs.com.
Management
Investment Adviser: Tidal Investments LLC (the “Adviser”) serves as investment adviser to the Fund.
Portfolio Managers:
The following individuals are jointly and primarily responsible for the day-to-day management of the Fund.
Matt Brandt, Portfolio Manager for the Adviser, has been a portfolio manager of the Fund since its inception in 2025.
Christopher P. Mullen, Portfolio Manager for the Adviser, has been a portfolio manager of the Fund since its inception in 2025.
Scott Snyder, Portfolio Manager for the Adviser, has been a portfolio manager of the Fund since its inception in 2025.
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Purchase and Sale of Shares
The Fund issues and redeems Shares at NAV only in large blocks known as “Creation Units,” which only Authorized Participants (APs) (typically, broker-dealers) may purchase or redeem. The Fund generally issues and redeems Creation Units in exchange for a portfolio of securities (the “Deposit Securities”) and/or a designated amount of U.S. cash.
Shares are listed on a national securities exchange, such as the Exchange, and individual Shares may only be bought and sold in the secondary market through brokers at market prices, rather than NAV. Because Shares trade at market prices rather than NAV, Shares may trade at a price greater than NAV (premium) or less than NAV (discount).
An investor may incur costs attributable to the difference between the highest price a buyer is willing to pay to purchase Shares (the “bid” price) and the lowest price a seller is willing to accept for Shares (the “ask” price) when buying or selling Shares in the secondary market. This difference in bid and ask prices is often referred to as the “bid-ask spread.”
When available, information regarding the Fund’s NAV, market price, how often Shares traded on the Exchange at a premium or discount, and bid-ask spreads can be found on the Fund’s website at www.yieldmaxetfs.com.
Tax Information
Fund distributions are generally taxable as ordinary income, qualified dividend income, or capital gains (or a combination), unless an investment is in an individual retirement account (“IRA”) or other tax-advantaged account. Distributions on investments made through tax-deferred arrangements may be taxed later upon withdrawal of assets from those accounts.
Financial Intermediary Compensation
If
you purchase Shares through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary
(such as a bank) (an “Intermediary”), the Adviser or its affiliates may pay
Intermediaries for certain activities related to the Fund, including
participation in activities that are designed to make Intermediaries more
knowledgeable about exchange-traded products, including the Fund, or for other
activities, such as marketing, educational training, or other initiatives
related to the sale or promotion of Shares. These payments may create a conflict
of interest by influencing the Intermediary and your salesperson to recommend
the Fund over another investment. Any such arrangements do not result in
increased Fund expenses. Ask your salesperson or visit the Intermediary’s
website for more information.
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YieldMax® UBER Option Income Strategy ETF - FUND SUMMARY
Investment Objective
The Fund’s primary investment objective is to seek current income.
The Fund’s secondary investment objective is to seek exposure to the share price of Uber Technologies, Inc. (“UBER” or “Underlying Security”), which is generally subject to a limit on potential investment gains.
Fees and Expenses of the Fund
This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy, hold, and sell shares of the Fund (“Shares”). You may pay other fees, such as brokerage commissions and other fees to financial intermediaries, which are not reflected in the table and Example below.
| Annual Fund Operating Expenses(1) (expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment) | |||
| Management Fee | [] | % | |
| Distribution and Service (12b-1) Fees | None | ||
| Other Expenses(2) | [] | % | |
| Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses | [] | % | |
| (1) | The Fund’s investment adviser, Tidal Investments LLC (the “Adviser”), a Tidal Financial Group company, will pay, or require a sub-adviser to pay, all of the Fund’s expenses, except for the following: advisory and sub-advisory fees, interest charges on any borrowings made for investment purposes, dividends and other expenses on securities sold short, taxes, brokerage commissions and other expenses incurred in placing orders for the purchase and sale of securities and other investment instruments, acquired fund fees and expenses, accrued deferred tax liability, distribution fees and expenses paid by the Fund under any distribution plan adopted pursuant to Rule 12b-1 under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”), litigation expenses, and other non-routine or extraordinary expenses. | |
| (2) | Based on estimated amounts for the current fiscal year. |
Expense Example
This Example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other funds. The Example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and then hold or redeem all of your Shares at the end of those periods. The Example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Fund’s operating expenses remain the same. The Example does not take into account brokerage commissions that you may pay on your purchases and sales of Shares. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:
| 1 Year | 3 Years |
| $[] | $[] |
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 Shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in total annual fund operating expenses or in the expense example above, affect the Fund’s performance. Because the Fund is newly organized, portfolio turnover information is not yet available.
Principal Investment Strategies
The Fund is an actively managed exchange-traded fund (“ETF”) that seeks current income while providing indirect exposure to the share price (i.e., the price returns) of Uber Technologies, Inc. (NYSE: UBER) (“UBER” or the “Underlying Security”), which is generally subject to a limit on potential investment gains. The Fund will employ its investment strategy as it relates to UBER regardless of whether there are periods of adverse market, economic, or other conditions and will not take temporary defensive positions during such periods. As further described below, the Fund primarily uses either a synthetic covered call strategy or synthetic covered call spread strategy to provide income and indirect exposure to the share price returns of UBER, which is generally subject to a limit on potential investment gains as a result of the nature of the options strategy it employs. The Fund not only seeks to generate income from its options investments but also aims to derive gains when the value of UBER increases. The Fund’s options contracts provide:
| ● | indirect exposure to the share price returns of UBER, |
| ● | current income from the option premiums, and |
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| ● | at most times, a limit on the Fund’s participation in gains, if any, of the share price returns of UBER. |
For more information, see sections “The Fund’s Use of Underlying Security Option Contracts,” “Synthetic Covered Call Strategy” and “SyntheticCovered Call Spread Strategy” below.
Why invest in the Fund?
| ● | The Fund seeks to generate monthly income, which is not dependent on the price appreciation of the Underlying Security. |
| ● | The Fund seeks to participate in a portion of the gains experienced by the Underlying Security. |
That is, although the Fund may not fully participate in gains in the Underlying Security’s stock price, the Fund’s portfolio is designed to generate income.
An Investment in the Fund is not an investment in the Underlying Security.
| ● | The Fund’s strategy will capture only a portion of its potential gains if the Underlying Security’s stock price increases in value. |
| ● | The Fund’s strategy is subject to all potential losses if the Underlying Security’s stock price decrease in value, which may not be offset by income received by the Fund. |
| ● | The Fund may invest directly in the Underlying Security, but expects to gain its Underlying Security exposure primarily through its synthetic covered call strategy or synthetic covered call spread strategy. |
| ● | Fund shareholders are not entitled to any Underlying Security dividends. |
Additional information regarding the Underlying Security is also set forth below.
The Fund’s Use of Underlying Security Option Contracts
As part of the Fund’s synthetic covered call strategy and synthetic covered call spread strategy, the Fund will purchase and sell a combination of standardized exchange-traded and FLexible EXchange® (“FLEX”) call and put option contracts that are based on the value of the price returns of the Underlying Security.
| ● | In general, an option contract gives the purchaser of the option contract the right to purchase (for a call option) or sell (for a put option) the underlying asset (like shares of the Underlying Security) at a specified price (the “strike price”). |
| ● | If exercised, an option contract obligates the seller to deliver shares (for a sold or “short” call) or buy shares (for a sold or “short” put) of the underlying asset at a specified price (the “strike price”). |
| ● | Options contracts must be exercised or traded to close within a specified time frame, or they expire. See the chart in section “Fund Portfolio” below for a description of the option contracts utilized by the Fund. |
Standardized exchange-traded options include standardized terms. FLEX options are also exchange-traded, but they allow for customizable terms (e.g., the strike price can be negotiated). For more information on FLEX options, see “Additional Information about the Funds – Exchange Traded Options Portfolio.”
The Fund’s options contracts are based on the value of the Underlying Security, which gives the Fund the right or obligation to receive or deliver shares of the Underlying Security on the expiration date of the applicable option contract in exchange for the stated strike price, depending on whether the option contract is a call option or a put option, and whether the Fund purchases or sells the option contract.
Synthetic Covered Call Strategy
In seeking to achieve its investment objective, the Fund may implement a “synthetic covered call” strategy using the standardized exchange-traded and FLEX options described above.
| ● | A traditional covered call strategy is an investment strategy where an investor (the Fund) sells a call option on an underlying security it owns. |
| ● | A synthetic covered call strategy is similar to a traditional covered call strategy in that the investor sells a call option that is based on the value of the underlying security. However, in a synthetic covered call strategy, the investor (the Fund) does not own the underlying security, but rather seeks to synthetically replicate 100% of the price movements of the underlying security through the use of various investment instruments. |
The Fund’s synthetic covered call strategies consists of the following three elements, each of which is described in greater detail farther below:
| ● | Synthetic long exposure to the Underlying Security, which allows the Fund to seek to participate in the changes, up or down, in the price of shares of the Underlying Security. |
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| ● | Covered call writing (where the Underlying Security’s call options are sold against the synthetic long portion of the strategy), which allows the Fund to generate income. |
| ● | U.S. Treasuries, which are used for collateral for the options, and which also generate income. |
| 1. | Synthetic Long Exposure |
To achieve a synthetic long exposure to the Underlying Security, the Fund will buy the Underlying Security’s call options and, simultaneously, sell the Underlying Security’s put options to try to replicate the price movements of the Underlying Security. The call options purchased by the Fund and the put options sold by the Fund will generally have one-month to six-month terms and strike prices that are approximately equal to the then-current share price of the Underlying Security at the time the contracts are purchased and sold, respectively. The combination of the long call options and sold put options provides the Fund with indirect investment exposure equal to approximately 100% of the Underlying Security for the duration of the applicable options exposure.
| 2. | Covered Call Strategies |
Covered Call Strategy
As part of its strategy, the Fund will write (sell) call option contracts on the Underlying Security to generate income. Since the Fund does not directly own the Underlying Security, these written call options will be sold short (i.e., selling a position it does not currently own). The Fund will seek to participate in the share price appreciation of the Underlying Security, if any. However, due to the nature of covered call strategies, the Fund’s participation may be subject to a cap (as described below). In this strategy, the call options written (sold) by the Fund will generally have 1- month or less expiration dates (the “Call Period”) and generally have a strike price that is approximately 0%-15% above the then-current share price of the Underlying Security.
It is important to note that the sale of the Underlying Security call option contracts will limit the Fund’s participation in the appreciation in the Underlying Security’s stock price. If the stock price of the Underlying Security increases, the above-referenced synthetic long exposure alone would allow the Fund to experience similar percentage gains. However, if the Underlying Security’s stock price appreciates beyond the strike price of one or more of the sold (short) call option contracts, the Fund will lose money on those short call positions, and the losses will, in turn, limit the upside return of the Fund’s synthetic long exposure. As a result, the Fund’s overall strategy (i.e., the combination of the synthetic long exposure to the Underlying Security and the sold (short) the Underlying Security call positions) will limit the Fund’s participation in gains in the Underlying Security’s stock price beyond a certain point.
Covered Call Spread Strategy
The Adviser will employ the Covered Call Spread Strategy when it believes it is a better strategy for the Fund as compared to the Covered Call Strategy. The Fund may write (sell) credit call spreads (described below) rather than stand-alone call option contracts to seek greater participation in the potential appreciation of its Underlying Security’s share price, while still generating net premium income. The Adviser will primarily employ this covered call spread strategy when it believes that the share price of its Underlying Security is likely to rise significantly in the short term (e.g., following a substantial selloff or overall positive market news). Additionally, the Adviser may use this strategy in other scenarios (e.g., if the market is undervaluing further out-of-the-money options relative to near-the-money options), where it believes the use of credit call spreads may prove more advantageous to the Fund’s total return than the covered call strategy.
A credit call spread involves selling a call option while simultaneously buying a call option with a higher strike price, both with the same expiration date. By writing credit call spreads, the Fund can potentially offset losses incurred from its short call positions if the Underlying Security’s share price rises above the strike price.
| 3. | U.S. Treasuries |
The Fund will hold short-term U.S. Treasury securities as collateral in connection with the Fund’s options contracts, as well as swaps as discussed in the “Additional Investment Strategies” section below.
The Fund intends to continuously maintain indirect exposure to the Underlying Security, primarily through the use of options contracts. As the options contracts it holds are exercised or expire it may enter into new options contracts, a practice referred to as “rolling.” The Fund’s practice of rolling options may result in high portfolio turnover.
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Additional Investment Strategies
In addition to the synthetic covered call strategy or synthetic covered call spread strategy described herein, the Fund may use the following additional strategies to gain exposure to the Underlying Security:
| ● | Swaps: The Fund may utilize swap contracts that provide exposure to the Underlying Security. |
| ● | Additional Options Strategies: The Fund may utilize additional options strategies, including purchasing call options that are “deep in the money” (i.e., the Underlying Security’s price is well above the strike price on the call option). |
| ● | Equity Securities: The Fund may purchase equity securities of the Underlying Security. |
While the Fund intends to primarily utilize its synthetic covered call strategy or synthetic covered call spread strategy to gain exposure to the Underlying Security, it may utilize each of the foregoing to the extent it is unable to achieve its targeted exposure through the use of these primary options strategies.
Fund’s Monthly Distributions
The Fund will seek to provide monthly income in the form of cash distributions. The Fund will seek to generate such income in the following ways:
| ● | Writing (selling) call option contracts on its Underlying Security as described above. The income comes mainly from the option premiums received from these option sales. A premium, in this context, refers to the price the option buyer pays to the option seller (the Fund) for the rights granted by the option. The amount of these premiums is largely affected by the fluctuations in the Underlying Security’s stock prices. However, other elements like interest rates can also influence the income level. |
| ● | Investing in short-term U.S. Treasury securities. The income generated by these securities will be influenced by interest rates at the time of investment. |
| ● | In addition to the income-seeking methodologies stated in the Prospectus, the Fund’s use of the Synthetic Covered Call Spread Strategy may occasionally allow it to capture a substantial portion of any significant increase in the price of its Underlying Security. When this happens, the Fund could receive profits exceeding the initial cost of the call options, and the Fund’s distributions may include some of those profits. | |
| ● | The Fund may receive some dividend income to the extent it invests directly in the Underlying Security. |
Fund’s Return Profile vs its Underlying Security
For the reasons stated above, the Fund’s performance will differ from that of the Underlying Security’s stock price. The performance differences will depend on, among other things, the price of the Underlying Security, changes in the value of the Underlying Security options contracts and swaps the Fund holds, and changes in the value of the U.S. Treasuries.
Fund Portfolio
| Principal Holdings | ||
| Portfolio
Holdings (All options are based on the value of the Underlying Security) |
Investment Terms | Expected Target Maturity |
| Purchased call option contracts (primary options strategies) |
“at-the-money” (i.e., the strike price is equal to the then-current share price of the Underlying Security at the time of purchase) to provide indirect exposure to positive price returns of the Underlying Security.
If the Underlying Security share price increases, these options will generate corresponding increases to the Fund. |
1-month to 6-month expiration dates |
| Purchased call option contracts (additional options strategies) |
“deep-in-the-money” (i.e., the Underlying Security’s price is well above the strike price on the call option) to provide indirect exposure to positive price returns of the Underlying Security.
If the Underlying Security share price increases, these options will generate corresponding increases to the Fund. |
1-month to 6-month expiration dates
|
| Sold put option contracts |
“at-the-money” (i.e., the strike price is equal to the then-current share price of the Underlying Security at the time of sale).
They are sold to help pay for the purchased call options described above.
However, the sold put option contracts provide exposure to the full extent of any share price losses experienced by the Underlying Security. |
1-month to 6-month expiration dates |
| Sold
(short) call option contracts (Covered Call Strategy) |
The strike price is approximately 0%-15% more than the then-current share price of the Underlying Security at the time of sale.
They generate current income. However, they also limit some potential positive returns that the Fund may have otherwise experienced from gains in the Underlying Security’s share price. |
1-month or less expiration dates |
|
Sold
(short) call option contracts
|
The strike price is approximately 0%-15% more than the then-current share price of the Fund’s Underlying Security at the time of sale.
Sold call option contracts provide inverse exposure to the full extent of any increases in the value experienced by the Fund’s Underlying Security, minus the premium received. |
1-month or less expiration dates |
| Purchased
call option contracts (Covered Call Spread Strategy) |
“out-of-the-money” (i.e., the strike price is above the strike price of the corresponding Covered Call Spread Strategy sold call).
Bought call option contracts provide exposure to the full extent of any increases in the value experienced by the Fund’s Underlying Security above the option’s strike price. |
1-month or less expiration dates |
| Equity Securities | Direct equity holdings of the Underlying Security. | N/A |
| Swaps | Provides mark-to-market daily exposure to the total return of the Underlying Security over a particular period of time. | N/A |
| U.S Treasury Securities and Cash |
Multiple series of U.S. Treasury Bills supported by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government.
These instruments are used as collateral for the Fund’s derivative investments.
They will also generate income. |
6-month to 2-year maturities |
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The market value of the cash and treasuries held by the Fund is expected to be between 50% and 100% of the Fund’s net assets and the market value of the options, swaps and direct equity investments is expected to be between 0% and 50% of the Fund’s net assets. In terms of notional value, the combination of these investment instruments provides indirect investment exposure to UBER equal to at least 100% of the Fund’s total assets.
Under normal circumstances, the Fund will invest at least 80% of its net assets, plus borrowings for investment purposes, in securities and financial instruments that provide indirect exposure to UBER.
The Fund is classified as “non-diversified” under the 1940 Act.
There is no guarantee that the Fund’s investment strategy will be properly implemented, and an investor may lose some or all of its investment.
Uber Technologies, Inc. (“UBER”)
Uber Technologies, Inc. operates as a technology platform for people and things mobility. The firm offers multi-modal people transportation, restaurant food delivery, and connecting freight carriers and shippers. It operates through the following segments: Rides, Eats, Freight, Other Bets and ATG and Other Technology Programs. UBER is listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). Per UBER’s most recent Form 10-K filing, the aggregate market value of the voting and non-voting common equity held by non-affiliates of UBER as of June 28, 2024 was approximately $147.0 billion based upon the closing price reported for such date on the NYSE.
UBER is registered under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”). Information provided to or filed with the SEC by UBER pursuant to the Exchange Act can be located by reference to the SEC file number 001-38902 through the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov. In addition, information regarding UBER may be obtained from other sources including, but not limited to, press releases, newspaper articles and other publicly disseminated documents.
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This document relates only to the securities offered hereby and does not relate to the shares of UBER or other securities of Uber Technologies, Inc. The Fund has derived all disclosures contained in this document regarding UBER from the publicly available documents. None of the Fund, the Trust, or the Adviser, or their respective affiliates has participated in the preparation of such publicly available offering documents or made any due diligence inquiry regarding such documents with respect to UBER. None of the Fund, the Trust, or the Adviser, or their respective affiliates makes any representation that such publicly available documents or any other publicly available information regarding UBER is accurate or complete. Furthermore, the Fund cannot give any assurance that all events occurring prior to the date hereof (including events that would affect the accuracy or completeness of the publicly available documents described above) that would affect the trading price of UBER (and therefore the share price of the Fund at the time we price the securities) have been publicly disclosed. Subsequent disclosure of any such events or the disclosure of or failure to disclose material future events concerning UBER could affect the value received with respect to the securities and therefore the value of the securities.
None of the Fund, the Trust, the Adviser, or their respective affiliates makes any representation to you as to the performance of UBER.
NONE OF THE FUND, TIDAL TRUST II, OR TIDAL INVESTMENTS LLC ARE AFFILIATED WITH THE UNDERLYING SECURITY.
Due to the Fund’s investment strategy, the Fund’s investment exposure is concentrated in the same industry as that assigned to the Underlying Security. As of the date of the Prospectus, UBER is assigned to the Ground Transportation industry.
Principal Investment Risks
The principal risks of investing in the Fund are summarized below. As with any investment, there is a risk that you could lose all or a portion of your investment in the Fund. Some or all of these risks may adversely affect the Fund’s net asset value (“NAV”) per share, trading price, yield, total return, and/or ability to meet its objective. For more information about the risks of investing in the Fund, see the section in the Fund’s Prospectus titled “Additional Information About the Funds—Principal Risks of Investing in the Funds.”
An investment in the Fund entails risk. The Fund may not achieve its investment objective and there is a risk that you could lose all of your money invested in the Fund. The Fund is not a complete investment program. It is important that investors closely review all of the risks listed below and understand them before making an investment in the Fund.
Each risk summarized below is considered a “principal risk” of investing in the Fund, regardless of the order in which they appear.
UBER Risk. The Fund invests in instruments that are based on the value of UBER. This subjects the Fund to certain of the same risks as if it owned shares of UBER, even if it does not. By virtue of the Fund’s exposure to UBER, the Fund may also be subject to the following risks:
Indirect Investment in UBER Risk. UBER is not affiliated with the Trust, the Fund, or the Adviser, or their respective affiliates and is not involved with this offering in any way and has no obligation to consider your Shares in taking any corporate actions that might affect the value of Shares. Investors in the Fund will not have voting rights and will not be able to influence management of UBER but will be exposed to the performance of UBER (the Underlying Security). Investors in the Fund will not have the right to receive dividends or other distributions or any other rights with respect to the Underlying Security but will be subject to declines in the performance of the Underlying Security.
UBER Trading Risk. The trading price of UBER may be subject to volatility and could experience wide fluctuations due to various factors. Short sellers may also play a significant role in trading UBER, potentially affecting the supply and demand dynamics and contributing to market price volatility. Public perception and external factors beyond the company’s control may influence UBER’s stock price disproportionately. Additionally, following periods of market volatility, companies have faced securities class action litigation. Any adverse judgment or future stockholder litigation could result in substantial costs and divert management’s attention and resources. In the event of a halt in trading of UBER, trading in shares of related funds may be impacted, either temporarily or indefinitely.
UBER Performance Risk. UBER may fail to meet its publicly announced guidelines or other expectations about its business, which could cause the price of UBER to decline. UBER provides guidance regarding its expected financial and business performance, such as projections regarding sales and production, as well as anticipated future revenues, gross margins, profitability and cash flows. Correctly identifying key factors affecting business conditions and predicting future events is inherently an uncertain process, and the guidance UBER provides may not ultimately be accurate. If UBER’s guidance is not accurate or varies from actual results due to its inability to meet the assumptions or the impact on its financial performance that could occur as a result of various risks and uncertainties, the market value of common stock issued by UBER could decline significantly.
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Driver Classification Risk. The classification of Uber’s drivers (“Drivers”) is currently being challenged in courts, by legislators and by government agencies in the United States and abroad. Uber is involved in numerous legal proceedings globally, including putative class and collective class action lawsuits, demands for arbitration, charges and claims before administrative agencies, and investigations or audits by labor, social security, and tax authorities that claim that Drivers should be treated as Uber’s employees (or as workers or quasi-employees where those statuses exist), rather than as independent contractors. Uber believes that Drivers are independent contractors because, among other things, they can choose whether, when, and where to provide services on Uber’s platform, are free to provide services on competitors’ platforms, and provide a vehicle to perform services on Uber’s platform. Nevertheless, Uber may not be successful in defending the classification of Drivers in some or all jurisdictions. Furthermore, the costs associated with defending, settling, or resolving pending and future lawsuits (including demands for arbitration) relating to the classification of Drivers have been and may continue to be material to Uber’s business.
Regulatory Risk. UBER operates in a particularly complex legal and regulatory environment. UBER’s business is subject to a variety of U.S. federal, state, local and foreign laws, rules, and regulations, including those related to internet activities, privacy, cybersecurity, data protection, intellectual property, competition, consumer protection, payments, labor and employment, transportation services, transportation network companies, licensing regulations and taxation. These laws and regulations are constantly evolving and may be interpreted, applied, created, or amended, in a manner that could harm UBER’s business.
Rideshare Company Risk. Uber competes on a global basis, and the markets in which it competes are highly fragmented. Uber faces significant competition from existing, well-established, and low-cost alternatives, and in the future Uber expects to face competition from new market entrants given the low barriers to entry that characterize Uber’s industry. In addition, within each of these markets, the cost to switch between products is low. Consumers have a propensity to shift to the lowest-cost or highest-quality provider; Drivers have a propensity to shift to the platform with the highest earnings potential; restaurants and other merchants have a propensity to shift to the delivery platform that offers the lowest service fee for their meals and other goods and provides the highest volume of orders; and shippers and carriers have a propensity to shift to the platform with the best price and most convenient service for hauling shipments.
Derivatives Risk. Derivatives are financial instruments that derive value from the underlying reference asset or assets, such as stocks, bonds, or funds (including ETFs), interest rates or indexes. The Fund’s investments in derivatives may pose risks in addition to, and greater than, those associated with directly investing in securities or other ordinary investments, including risk related to the market, imperfect correlation with underlying investments or the Fund’s other portfolio holdings, higher price volatility, lack of availability, counterparty risk, liquidity, valuation and legal restrictions. The use of derivatives is a highly specialized activity that involves investment techniques and risks different from those associated with ordinary portfolio securities transactions. The use of derivatives may result in larger losses or smaller gains than directly investing in securities. When the Fund uses derivatives, there may be an imperfect correlation between the value of the Underlying Security and the derivative, which may prevent the Fund from achieving its investment objective. Because derivatives often require only a limited initial investment, the use of derivatives may expose the Fund to losses in excess of those amounts initially invested. In addition, the Fund’s investments in derivatives are subject to the following risks:
Options Contracts. The use of options contracts involves investment strategies and risks different from those associated with ordinary portfolio securities transactions. The prices of options are volatile and are influenced by, among other things, actual and anticipated changes in the value of the underlying instrument, including the anticipated volatility, which are affected by fiscal and monetary policies and by national and international political, changes in the actual or implied volatility or the reference asset, the time remaining until the expiration of the option contract and economic events. For the Fund in particular, the value of the options contracts in which it invests are substantially influenced by the value of the Underlying Security. The Fund may experience substantial downside from specific option positions and certain option positions held by the Fund may expire worthless. The options held by the Fund are exercisable at the strike price on their expiration date. As an option approaches its expiration date, its value typically increasingly move with the value of the underlying instrument. However, prior to such date, the value of an option generally does not increase or decrease at the same rate at the underlying instrument. There may at times be an imperfect correlation between the movement in the values of options contracts and the underlying instrument, and there may at times not be a liquid secondary market for certain options contracts. The value of the options held by the Fund will be determined based on market quotations or other recognized pricing methods. Additionally, as the Fund intends to continuously maintain indirect exposure to the Underlying Security through the use of options contracts, as the options contracts it holds are exercised or expire it will enter into new options contracts, a practice referred to as “rolling.” If the expiring options contracts do not generate proceeds enough to cover the cost of entering into new options contracts, the Fund may experience losses.
Swaps. The use of swap transactions is a highly specialized activity, which involves investment techniques and risks different from those associated with ordinary portfolio securities transactions. Whether the Fund will be successful in using swap agreements to achieve its investment goal depends on the ability of the Adviser to structure such swap agreements in accordance with the Fund’s investment objective and to identify counterparties for those swap agreements. If the Adviser is unable to enter into swap agreements that provide leveraged exposure to the Underlying Security, the Fund may not meet its stated investment objective. Additionally, any financing, borrowing or other costs associated with using swap transactions may also have the effect of lowering the Fund’s return.
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The swap agreements in which the Fund invests are generally traded in the over-the-counter market, which generally has less transparency than exchange-traded derivatives instruments. In a standard swap transaction, two parties agree to exchange the return (or differentials in rates of return) earned or realized on particular predetermined reference assets or underlying securities or instruments. The gross return to be exchanged or swapped between the parties is calculated based on a notional amount or the return on or change in value of a particular dollar amount invested in a basket of securities.
If the Underlying Security has a dramatic move that causes a material decline in the Fund’s net assets, the terms of a swap agreement between the Fund and its counterparty may permit the counterparty to immediately close out the swap transaction with the Fund. In that event, the Fund may be unable to enter into another swap agreement or invest in other derivatives to achieve exposure consistent with the Fund’s investment objective. This may prevent the Fund from achieving its leveraged investment objective, even if the Underlying Security later reverses all or a portion of its movement.
Counterparty Risk. The Fund is subject to counterparty risk by virtue of its investments in derivative instruments. Transactions in some types of derivatives, including options, are required to be centrally cleared (“cleared derivatives”). In a transaction involving cleared derivatives, the Fund’s counterparty is a clearing house rather than a bank or broker. Since the Fund is not a member of clearing houses and only members of a clearing house (“clearing members”) can participate directly in the clearing house, the Fund will hold cleared derivatives through accounts at clearing members. In cleared derivatives positions, the Fund will make payments (including margin payments) to and receive payments from a clearing house through their accounts at clearing members. Customer funds held at a clearing organization in connection with any options contracts are held in a commingled omnibus account and are not identified to the name of the clearing member’s individual customers. As a result, assets deposited by the Fund with any clearing member as margin for options may, in certain circumstances, be used to satisfy losses of other clients of the Fund’s clearing member. In addition, although clearing members guarantee performance of their clients’ obligations to the clearing house, there is a risk that the assets of the Fund might not be fully protected in the event of the clearing member’s bankruptcy, as the Fund would be limited to recovering only a pro rata share of all available funds segregated on behalf of the clearing member’s customers for the relevant account class. The Fund is also subject to the risk that a limited number of clearing members are willing to transact on the Fund’s behalf, which heightens the risks associated with a clearing member’s default. This risk is greater for the Fund as it seeks to hold options contracts on a single security, and not a broader range of options contracts, which may limit the number of clearing members that are willing to transact on the Fund’s behalf. If a clearing member defaults the Fund could lose some or all of the benefits of a transaction entered into by the Fund with the clearing member. If the Fund cannot find a clearing member to transact with on the Fund’s behalf, the Fund may be unable to effectively implement its investment strategy.
The Fund is also subject to the risk that the counterparty will not fulfill its obligation to the Fund. Counterparty risk may arise because of the counterparty’s financial condition (i.e., financial difficulties, bankruptcy, or insolvency), market activities and developments, or other reasons, whether foreseen or not. A counterparty’s inability to fulfill its obligation may result in significant financial loss to the Fund and the Fund may be unable to recover its investment from such counterparty or may obtain a limited and/or delayed recovery.
Price Participation Risk. The Fund employs an investment strategy that includes the sale of call option contracts, which limits the degree to which the Fund will participate in increases in value experienced by the Underlying Security over the Call Period. This means that if the Underlying Security experiences an increase in value above the strike price of the sold call options during a Call Period, the Fund will likely not experience that increase to the same extent and may significantly underperform the Underlying Security over the Call Period. Additionally, because the Fund is limited in the degree to which it will participate in increases in value experienced by the Underlying Security over each Call Period, but has full exposure to any decreases in value experienced by the Underlying Security over the Call Period, the NAV of the Fund may decrease over any given time period. The Fund’s NAV is dependent on the value of each options portfolio, which is based principally upon the performance of the Underlying Security. The degree of participation in the Underlying Security gains the Fund will experience will depend on prevailing market conditions, especially market volatility, at the time the Fund enters into the sold call option contracts and will vary from Call Period to Call Period. The value of the options contracts is affected by changes in the value and dividend rates of the Underlying Security, changes in interest rates, changes in the actual or perceived volatility of the Underlying Security and the remaining time to the options’ expiration, as well as trading conditions in the options market. As the price of the Underlying Security changes and time moves towards the expiration of each Call Period, the value of the options contracts, and therefore the Fund’s NAV, will change. However, it is not expected for the Fund’s NAV to directly correlate on a day-to-day basis with the returns of the Underlying Security. The amount of time remaining until the options contract’s expiration date affects the impact of the potential options contract income on the Fund’s NAV, which may not be in full effect until the expiration date of the Fund’s options contracts. Therefore, while changes in the price of the Underlying Security will result in changes to the Fund’s NAV, the Fund generally anticipates that the rate of change in the Fund’s NAV will be different than that experienced by the Underlying Security.
Distribution Risk. As part of the Fund’s investment objective, the Fund seeks to provide current monthly income. There is no assurance that the Fund will make a distribution in any given month. If the Fund does make distributions, the amounts of such distributions will likely vary greatly from one distribution to the next. Additionally, monthly distributions, if any, may consist of returns of capital, which would decrease the Fund’s NAV and trading price over time. As a result, an investor may suffer significant losses to their investment.
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NAV Erosion Risk Due to Distributions. When the Fund makes a distribution, the Fund’s NAV will typically drop by the amount of the distribution on the related ex-dividend date. The repeated payment of distributions by the Fund, if any, may significantly erode the Fund’s NAV and trading price over time. As a result, an investor may suffer significant losses to their investment.
Call Strategy Risks. The path dependency (i.e., the continued use) of the Fund’s call writing strategy will impact the extent that the Fund participates in the positive price returns of the Underlying Security and, in turn, the Fund’s returns, both during the term of the sold call options and over longer time periods. If, for example, each month the Fund were to sell 7% out-of-the-money call options having a one-month term, the Fund’s participation in the positive price returns of the Underlying Security will be capped at 7% in any given month. However, over a longer period (e.g., 5 months), the Fund should not be expected to participate fully in the first 35% (i.e., 5 months x 7%) of the positive price returns of the Underlying Security, or the Fund may even lose money, even if the Underlying Security share price has appreciated by at least that much over such period, if during any month over that period the Underlying Security had a return less than 7%. This example illustrates that both the Fund’s participation in the positive price returns of the Underlying Security and its returns will depend not only on the price of the Underlying Security but also on the path that the Underlying Security takes over time.
Additionally, when implementing the Covered Call Spread Strategy, the use of credit call spreads introduces further complexities and risks. While purchasing a higher-strike call option limits potential losses from the short call position, it also reduces the net premium received, which may result in lower overall returns compared to a stand-alone covered call strategy. If the price of the Underlying Security rises rapidly, the call spread may still cap upside participation, leading to missed profit opportunities. Furthermore, market conditions, such as mispricing between near-the-money and further out-of-the-money options, may impact the effectiveness of the strategy, potentially resulting in lower-than-expected returns or increased losses. The relative pricing of options at different strike levels can vary due to volatility shifts, liquidity constraints, or other market dynamics, adding an additional layer of uncertainty to the Fund’s performance under this strategy.
Economic and Market Risk. Economies and financial markets throughout the world are becoming increasingly interconnected, which increases the likelihood that events or conditions in one country or region will adversely impact markets or issuers in other countries or regions. Securities in the Fund’s portfolio may underperform in comparison to securities in the general financial markets, a particular financial market, or other asset classes, due to a number of factors, including inflation (or expectations for inflation), deflation (or expectations for deflation), interest rates, global demand for particular products or resources, market instability, financial system instability, debt crises and downgrades, embargoes, tariffs, sanctions and other trade barriers, regulatory events, other governmental trade or market control programs and related geopolitical events. In addition, the value of the Fund’s investments may be negatively affected by the occurrence of global events such as war, terrorism, environmental disasters, natural disasters or events, country instability, and infectious disease epidemics or pandemics. The imposition by the U.S. of tariffs on goods imported from foreign countries and reciprocal tariffs levied on U.S. goods by those countries also may lead to volatility and instability in domestic and foreign markets.
Equity Market Risk. The prices of equity securities rise and fall daily. These price movements may result from factors affecting individual issuers, industries or the stock market as a whole. In addition, equity markets tend to move in cycles which may cause stock prices to fall over a short and extended periods of time. In a declining stock market, stock prices for all companies (including those in the Fund’s portfolio) may decline, regardless of their long-term prospects.
ETF Risks.
Authorized Participants, Market Makers, and Liquidity Providers Concentration Risk. The Fund has a limited number of financial institutions that are authorized to purchase and redeem Shares directly from the Fund (known as “Authorized Participants” or “APs”). In addition, there may be a limited number of market makers and/or liquidity providers in the marketplace. To the extent either of the following events occur, Shares may trade at a material discount to NAV and possibly face delisting: (i) APs exit the business or otherwise become unable to process creation and/or redemption orders and no other APs step forward to perform these services; or (ii) market makers and/or liquidity providers exit the business or significantly reduce their business activities and no other entities step forward to perform their functions.
Cash Redemption Risk. The Fund’s investment strategy may require it to redeem Shares for cash or to otherwise include cash as part of its redemption proceeds. For example, the Fund may not be able to redeem in-kind certain securities held by the Fund (e.g., derivative instruments). In such a case, the Fund may be required to sell or unwind portfolio investments to obtain the cash needed to distribute redemption proceeds. This may cause the Fund to recognize a capital gain that it might not have recognized if it had made a redemption in-kind. As a result, the Fund may pay out higher annual capital gain distributions than if the in-kind redemption process was used. By paying out higher annual capital gain distributions, investors may be subjected to increased capital gains taxes. Additionally, there may be brokerage costs or taxable gains or losses that may be imposed on the Fund in connection with a cash redemption that may not have occurred if the Fund had made a redemption in-kind. These costs could decrease the value of the Fund to the extent they are not offset by a transaction fee payable by an AP.
Costs of Buying or Selling Shares. Due to the costs of buying or selling Shares, including brokerage commissions imposed by brokers and bid-ask spreads, frequent trading of Shares may significantly reduce investment results and an investment in Shares may not be advisable for investors who anticipate regularly making small investments.
Management Risk. The Fund is subject to management risk because it is an actively managed portfolio. In managing the Fund’s investment portfolio, the portfolio managers will apply investment techniques and risk analyses that may not produce the desired result. There can be no guarantee that the Fund will meet its investment objective.
Shares May Trade at Prices Other Than NAV. As with all ETFs, Shares may be bought and sold in the secondary market at market prices. Although it is expected that the market price of Shares will approximate the Fund’s NAV, there may be times when the market price of Shares is more than the NAV intra-day (premium) or less than the NAV intra-day (discount) due to supply and demand of Shares or during periods of market volatility. This risk is heightened in times of market volatility, periods of steep market declines, and periods when there is limited trading activity for Shares in the secondary market, in which case such premiums or discounts may be significant.
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Trading. Although Shares are listed on a national securities exchange, such as [ ] (the “Exchange”), and may be traded on U.S. exchanges other than the Exchange, there can be no assurance that an active trading market for the Shares will develop or be maintained or that the Shares will trade with any volume, or at all, on any stock exchange. In stressed market conditions, the liquidity of Shares may begin to mirror the liquidity of the Fund’s underlying portfolio holdings, which can be significantly less liquid than Shares. Shares trade on the Exchange at market price that may be below, at or above the Fund’s NAV. Trading in Shares on the Exchange may be halted due to market conditions or for reasons that, in the view of the Exchange, make trading in Shares inadvisable. In addition, trading in Shares on the Exchange is subject to trading halts caused by extraordinary market volatility pursuant to the Exchange “circuit breaker” rules. There can be no assurance that the requirements of the Exchange necessary to maintain the listing of the Fund will continue to be met or will remain unchanged. In the event of an unscheduled market close for options contracts that are based on the value of an ETF, such as the Underlying Security being halted or a market wide closure, settlement prices will be determined by the procedures of the listing exchange of the options contracts. As a result, the Fund could be adversely affected and be unable to implement its investment strategies in the event of an unscheduled closing.
High Portfolio Turnover Risk. The Fund may actively and frequently trade all or a significant portion of the Fund’s holdings. A high portfolio turnover rate increases transaction costs, which may increase the Fund’s expenses. Frequent trading may also cause adverse tax consequences for investors in the Fund due to an increase in short-term capital gains.
Inflation Risk. Inflation risk is the risk that the value of assets or income from investments will be less in the future as inflation decreases the value of money. As inflation increases, the present value of the Fund’s assets and distributions, if any, may decline.
Liquidity Risk. Some securities held by the Fund, including options contracts, may be difficult to sell or be illiquid, particularly during times of market turmoil. This risk is greater for the Fund as it will hold options contracts on a single security, and not a broader range of options contracts. Markets for securities or financial instruments could be disrupted by a number of events, including, but not limited to, an economic crisis, natural disasters, epidemics/pandemics, new legislation or regulatory changes inside or outside the United States. Illiquid securities may be difficult to value, especially in changing or volatile markets. If the Fund is forced to sell an illiquid security at an unfavorable time or price, the Fund may be adversely impacted. Certain market conditions or restrictions, such as market rules related to short sales, may prevent the Fund from limiting losses, realizing gains or achieving a high correlation with the Underlying Security. There is no assurance that a security that is deemed liquid when purchased will continue to be liquid. Market illiquidity may cause losses for the Fund.
Money Market Instrument Risk. The Fund may use a variety of money market instruments for cash management purposes, including money market funds, depositary accounts and repurchase agreements. Repurchase agreements are contracts in which a seller of securities agrees to buy the securities back at a specified time and price. Repurchase agreements may be subject to market and credit risk related to the collateral securing the repurchase agreement. Money market instruments, including money market funds, may lose money through fees or other means.
New Fund Risk. The Fund is a recently organized management investment company with no operating history. As a result, prospective investors do not have a track record or history on which to base their investment decisions.
Non-Diversification Risk. Because the Fund is “non-diversified,” it may invest a greater percentage of its assets in the securities of a single issuer or a smaller number of issuers than if it was a diversified fund. As a result, a decline in the value of an investment in a single issuer or a smaller number of issuers could cause the Fund’s overall value to decline to a greater degree than if the Fund held a more diversified portfolio. This may increase the Fund’s volatility and cause the performance of a relatively smaller number of issuers to have a greater impact on the Fund’s performance.
Operational Risk. The Fund is subject to risks arising from various operational factors, including, but not limited to, human error, processing and communication errors, errors of the Fund’s service providers, counterparties or other third-parties, failed or inadequate processes and technology or systems failures. The Fund relies on third-parties for a range of services, including custody. Any delay or failure relating to engaging or maintaining such service providers may affect the Fund’s ability to meet its investment objective. Although the Fund and Adviser seek to reduce these operational risks through controls and procedures, there is no way to completely protect against such risks. This may increase the Fund’s volatility and cause the performance of a relatively smaller number of issuers to have a greater impact on the Fund’s performance.
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Single Issuer Risk. Issuer-specific attributes may cause an investment in the Fund to be more volatile than a traditional pooled investment which diversifies risk or the market generally. The value of the Fund, which focuses on an individual security (the Underlying Security), may be more volatile than a traditional pooled investment or the market as a whole and may perform differently from the value of a traditional pooled investment or the market as a whole.
Tax Risk. The Fund intends to elect and to qualify each year to be treated as a RIC under Subchapter M of the Code. As a RIC, the Fund will not be subject to U.S. federal income tax on the portion of its net investment income and net capital gain that it distributes to Shareholders, provided that it satisfies certain requirements of the Code. If the Fund does not qualify as a RIC for any taxable year and certain relief provisions are not available, the Fund’s taxable income will be subject to tax at the Fund level and to a further tax at the shareholder level when such income is distributed. To comply with the asset diversification test applicable to a RIC, the Fund will attempt to ensure that the value of financial instruments providing exposure to the Underlying Security are never 25% of the total value of Fund assets at the close of any quarter. If the Fund’s investments in such financial instruments were to exceed 25% of the Fund’s total assets at the end of a tax quarter, the Fund, generally, has a grace period to cure such lack of compliance. If the Fund fails to timely cure, it may no longer be eligible to be treated as a RIC.
U.S. Government and U.S. Agency Obligations Risk. The Fund may invest in securities issued by the U.S. government or its agencies or instrumentalities. U.S. Government obligations include securities issued or guaranteed as to principal and interest by the U.S. Government, its agencies or instrumentalities, such as the U.S. Treasury. Payment of principal and interest on U.S. Government obligations may be backed by the full faith and credit of the United States or may be backed solely by the issuing or guaranteeing agency or instrumentality itself. In the latter case, the investor must look principally to the agency or instrumentality issuing or guaranteeing the obligation for ultimate repayment, which agency or instrumentality may be privately owned. There can be no assurance that the U.S. Government would provide financial support to its agencies or instrumentalities (including government-sponsored enterprises) where it is not obligated to do so.
Performance
Performance information for the Fund is not included because the Fund has not completed a full calendar year of operations as of the date of this Prospectus. When such information is included, this section will provide some indication of the risks of investing in the Fund by showing changes in the Fund’s performance history from year to year and showing how the Fund’s average annual total returns compare with those of a broad measure of market performance. Although past performance of the Fund is no guarantee of how it will perform in the future, historical performance may give you some indication of the risks of investing in the Fund. Updated performance information will be available on the Fund’s website at www.yieldmaxetfs.com.
Management
Investment Adviser: Tidal Investments LLC (the “Adviser”) serves as investment adviser to the Fund.
Portfolio Managers:
The following individuals are jointly and primarily responsible for the day-to-day management of the Fund.
Matt Brandt, Portfolio Manager for the Adviser, has been a portfolio manager of the Fund since its inception in 2025.
Christopher P. Mullen, Portfolio Manager for the Adviser, has been a portfolio manager of the Fund since its inception in 2025.
Scott Snyder, Portfolio Manager for the Adviser, has been a portfolio manager of the Fund since its inception in 2025.
Purchase and Sale of Shares
The Fund issues and redeems Shares at NAV only in large blocks known as “Creation Units,” which only Authorized Participants (APs) (typically, broker-dealers) may purchase or redeem. The Fund generally issues and redeems Creation Units in exchange for a portfolio of securities (the “Deposit Securities”) and/or a designated amount of U.S. cash.
Shares are listed on a national securities exchange, such as the Exchange, and individual Shares may only be bought and sold in the secondary market through brokers at market prices, rather than NAV. Because Shares trade at market prices rather than NAV, Shares may trade at a price greater than NAV (premium) or less than NAV (discount).
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An investor may incur costs attributable to the difference between the highest price a buyer is willing to pay to purchase Shares (the “bid” price) and the lowest price a seller is willing to accept for Shares (the “ask” price) when buying or selling Shares in the secondary market. This difference in bid and ask prices is often referred to as the “bid-ask spread.”
When available, information regarding the Fund’s NAV, market price, how often Shares traded on the Exchange at a premium or discount, and bid-ask spreads can be found on the Fund’s website at www.yieldmaxetfs.com.
Tax Information
Fund distributions are generally taxable as ordinary income, qualified dividend income, or capital gains (or a combination), unless an investment is in an individual retirement account (“IRA”) or other tax-advantaged account. Distributions on investments made through tax-deferred arrangements may be taxed later upon withdrawal of assets from those accounts.
Financial Intermediary Compensation
If
you purchase Shares through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary
(such as a bank) (an “Intermediary”), the Adviser or its affiliates may pay
Intermediaries for certain activities related to the Fund, including
participation in activities that are designed to make Intermediaries more
knowledgeable about exchange-traded products, including the Fund, or for other
activities, such as marketing, educational training, or other initiatives
related to the sale or promotion of Shares. These payments may create a conflict
of interest by influencing the Intermediary and your salesperson to recommend
the Fund over another investment. Any such arrangements do not result in
increased Fund expenses. Ask your salesperson or visit the Intermediary’s
website for more information.
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ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ABOUT THE FUNDS
Investment Objective
Each Fund’s primary investment objective is to seek current income, with a secondary investment objective to seek exposure to the share price of its Underlying Security, which is generally subject to a limit on potential investment gains.
An investment objective is fundamental if it cannot be changed without the consent of the holders of a majority of the outstanding Shares. No Fund’s investment objective has been adopted as a fundamental investment policy and therefore each Fund’s investment objective may be changed without the consent of that Fund’s shareholders upon approval by the Board of Trustees (the “Board”) of Tidal Trust II (the “Trust”) and at least 60 days’ written notice to shareholders.
Principal Investment Strategies
Each Fund has an 80% policy that, under normal circumstances, the Fund will invest at least 80% of its net assets, plus borrowings for investment purposes, in securities and financial instruments that provide indirect exposure to the underlying security referenced in the Fund’s investment objective.
For each Fund’s 80% test, the notional value of derivative instruments will be used. “Notional value” refers to the “face” value of a Fund investment, rather than the amount of capital the Fund has actually committed. It represents the total value of the Fund’s position, rather than its equity in that position. Essentially, it reflects the full value of a leveraged position in the market, even if the Fund uses a fraction of that amount as collateral.
Each Fund’s 80% policy is non-fundamental and can be changed without shareholder approval. However, Fund shareholders would be given at least 60 days’ notice prior to any such change.
Synthetic Exposure Through Options to Underlying Security Price Returns
| ● | The Funds primarily use either a synthetic covered call strategy or synthetic covered call spread strategy to provide income and indirect exposure to the share price returns of the Underlying Securities. | |
| ● | The Funds purchase call option contracts on the Underlying Securities generally having one-month to six-month terms and strike prices equal to the then-current price of the Underlying Securities at the time of the purchases to provide the Funds indirect exposure to the upside price returns of the Underlying Securities. As a buyer of call option contracts, each Fund pays a premium to the seller of the options contracts to obtain the right to participate in the price returns of the Underlying Security beyond the strike price of the purchased call option contract at expiration (or earlier, if the Fund closes the option contract prior to expiration); and | |
| ● | Each Fund simultaneously sells put option contracts on its Underlying Security to help pay the premium of the purchased call option contracts on the Underlying Security. Each Fund sells put option contracts that also generally have one-month to six-month terms and strike prices equal to the then-current price of the Underlying Security at the time of the sales to provide the Fund exposure to the downside price returns of the Underlying Security. As a seller of a put option contract, each Fund receives a premium from the buyer of the option contract in exchange for the Fund’s obligation, if exercised, to purchase the Underlying Security at the strike price if the buyer exercises the option contract. | |
| ● | The combination of the purchased call options and the sold put options provides each Fund with indirect investment exposure equal to approximately 100% of the applicable Underlying Security for the duration of the applicable options exposure. |
Generating Monthly Income Through Options
| ● | Each Fund sells call option contracts that are based on the value of its Underlying Security to generate income via option premiums. On a monthly basis or more frequently, a Fund will sell call option contracts on the Underlying Security with expiration dates of approximately one month or less in the future at strike prices that are approximately equal to 0%-15% above the then-current share price of the Underlying Security. By doing so, a Fund gives up the potential to fully participate in the Underlying Security gains, if any, beyond the strike price of the sold call options in exchange for income received in the form of call option premium. If the price of the Underlying Security is less than the call option’s strike price at the expiration of the contract, the option contract will expire worthless and the Fund’s return on the sold call position will be the premium originally received for selling the option contract. If the price of the Underlying Security is greater than the strike price at the expiration of the option contract, the Fund will forgo all of the returns that exceed the strike price of the option contract, and there will be a cost to “close out” the now in-the-money call options. The short call options are “closed out” (repurchased) prior to their expiration so that the Fund will not get assigned the, now, in-the-money call options. At times the call options may be “rolled” instead of simply closed. This is to say, new call options are simultaneously sold to open a new short call position, while the previously sold calls are repurchased to close out the original short call position. |
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| ● | The Funds purchase multiple series of U.S. Treasury securities to collateralize the options contracts they sell. The U.S. Treasury securities also provide monthly income. |
Covered Call Strategy:
When employing the covered call strategy, each Fund’s sale of call option contracts to generate income will limit the degree to which the Fund will participate in increases in the share price of the Underlying Security. This means that if the Underlying Security experiences an increase in the share price, the Fund will likely not experience that increase to the same extent (i.e., there is no participation beyond the level of the strike price of the sold call option contracts) and may result in the Fund significantly underperforming the Underlying Security. The degree of participation in the Underlying Security gains will depend on the strike price of the short call option contracts and prevailing market conditions, especially market volatility, at the time the Fund sells the call option contracts. The potential for upside returns on the Underlying Security will also depend on whether a Fund fully “covers” its potential upside price return exposure to the Underlying Security by virtue of its sold call option contracts. If a Fund fully covers the upside price return exposure to the Underlying Security, the Fund’s potential upside to the Underlying Security’s price returns will be completely capped at the sold call options’ strike price, meaning the Fund may forgo all price returns experienced by the Underlying Security beyond the strike price. If a Fund partially covers its potential upside return exposure with the sold call option, the Fund will have muted returns beyond the strike price of the sold call option to the extent that the Underlying Security’s share price appreciates beyond the strike price.
The sale of call option contracts will offset losses experienced by an Underlying Security only to the extent of premiums received from such sold call option contracts. The Funds expect to participate in all the Underlying Security price return losses over the duration of the options contracts (e.g., if the Underlying Security decreases in value by 5%, the Fund should be expected to decrease in value by approximately 5%, before Fund fees and expenses) beyond the income received from the sold call option contract premiums.
Covered Call Spread Strategy:
When employing the covered call spread strategy, a Fund’s sale of call option contracts, paired with the purchase of higher strike call option contracts, aims to generate income while still allowing for potential indirect participation in increases in the share price of its Underlying Security above the strike of the higher price call option which was bought. However, this strategy may nonetheless still limit the degree to which the Fund fully participates in such increases as the Fund will not participate (directly or indirectly) in any appreciation between the strikes of the sold call option and bought call option.
The sale of credit call spreads will offset losses experienced by an Underlying Security’s share price only to the extent of premiums received from such sold call option contracts. Each Fund expects to participate in all of its Underlying Security’s losses beyond the income received from the sold call spreads contract premiums. For instance, if a Fund’s Underlying Security decreases in value by 5%, the Fund should be expected to decrease in value by approximately 5%, before Fund fees and expenses, beyond the income received from the sold call spreads contract premiums.
Examples:
The following table provides an overview of a Fund’s anticipated performance versus various changes in the share price of its Underlying Security when the Covered Call Strategy is employed.
| Price Movement of Underlying Security | Anticipated Fund Performance & Performance Relative to Underlying Security* |
| Slow rise in share price | Increase in Fund NAV – Outperformance vs Underlying Security |
| Decline in share price or flat performance | Decline or flat Fund NAV – Outperformance vs Underlying Security |
| Significant price appreciation | Increase in Fund NAV – Significant underperformance vs Underlying Security |
The following table provides an overview of a Fund’s anticipated performance versus various changes in the share price of its Underlying Security when the Covered Call Spread Strategy is employed.
| Price Movement of Underlying Security | Anticipated Fund Performance & Performance Relative to Underlying Security* |
| Slow rise in share price | Decline or flat Fund NAV – Outperformance vs Underlying Security |
| Decline in share price or flat performance | Decline or flat Fund NAV – Outperformance vs Underlying Security |
| Significant price appreciation | Increase in Fund NAV – Underperformance to Underlying Security |
* A Fund’s actual NAV performance and performance against the price of its Underlying Security may differ, primarily due to path dependency and strike selection as discussed above. Also, please see Price Participation Risk and Call Writing Strategy Risk.
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Potential Upside Participation – Covered Call Strategy vs Covered Call Spread Strategy
To further illustrate how the Fund’s covered call spread strategy results in greater upside participation, the following examples compare the outcomes of a hypothetical covered call and a covered call spread. These scenarios demonstrate how a Fund’s use of its covered call spread strategy can lead to increased potential appreciation of its Underlying Security’s share price while still generating net premium income. Additionally, the examples highlight the estimated amount or limits on the greater participation in potential appreciation as compared to a call option contract strategy.
Examples:
Scenario 1 (Covered Call Strategy): Selling a Covered Call on an Underlying Security
| ● | Underlying Security Share Price: $100 |
| ● | Strike Price of Sold Covered Call: $105 |
| ● | Premium Received: $2 |
Outcome if the share price of the Underlying Security increases to $110:
| 1. | Share Price Increase: The Fund does not participate in the Underlying Security’s gain above $105 because the Fund sold a call struck at $105. |
| ○ | Gain on Underlying Security: $5 (i.e., $105 - $100 = $5) |
| 2. | Call Premium: Fund retains the initial $2 premium. |
| 3. | Total Gain: $7 (i.e., $5 gain on Underlying Security, plus $2 premium) |
Scenario 2 (Covered Call Spread Strategy): Selling a Covered Call Spread on an Underlying Security
| ● | Underlying Security Share Price: $100 |
| ● | Strike Prices of Covered Call Spread: Sold Call at $100, Purchased Call at $102.50 |
| ● | Net Premium Received: $2 |
Outcome if the share price of the Underlying Security increases to $110:
| 1. | Share Price Increase: The Fund does not participate in the Underlying Security’s gain between $100 and $102.50 because the Fund sold a call struck at $100 and purchased a call struck at $102.50. |
| 2. | Net Premium: The Fund retains the net premium of $2. |
| 3. | Long Call Gain: The Fund participates in the Underlying Security’s gain above $102.50 because the Fund purchased a call struck at $102.50, which results in a $7.50 gain (i.e., $110 - $102.50 = $7.50) |
| 4. | Total Gain: $9.50 (i.e., share price increase $0, plus $2 net premium, plus $7.50 gain on the purchased call) |
Comparison:
| ● | Covered Call: Gain is capped at $7, as participation in the Underlying Security’s gain is capped at the sold call’s $105 strike price. |
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| ● | Covered Call Spread: Gain is $9.50, as the call spread provides additional upside participation beyond the purchased call’s $102.50 strike price. Furthermore, the Fund’s gain potential is not capped (i.e., if the value of the Underlying Security’s share price increases further, the Fund’s gain would also increase further). |
Conclusion:
In this scenario where the Underlying Security increases to $110, the covered call spread strategy yields a higher total gain of $9.50 compared to the $7 gain from selling a simple covered call. The covered call spread allows the Funds to participate in potential upside beyond the strike price of the purchased call, resulting in the potential for additional gains to the Funds.
Further, if the Underlying Security’s share price increases further beyond the strike price of the purchased call, the covered call spread strategy allows for continued participation in the upside through the increasing value of the purchased call. This results in the potential for additional gains for the Funds. In contrast, the covered call strategy’s gain potential is capped at the strike price of the sold call.
There is no guarantee that each Fund’s investment strategy will be properly implemented, and an investor may lose some or all of its investment.
Each Fund’s NAV is dependent on the value of the Fund’s holdings, including its options contracts, which are based principally upon the share price of the Underlying Security, the volatility of the Underlying Security, which influences short call prices, and the time remaining until the expiration date of the short call option contracts. Each Fund’s synthetic long exposure strategy will effectively allow that portion of the Fund’s assets to move in synch with the daily changes in the Underlying Security’s share price.
However, each Fund’s participation in the potential upside in Underlying Security returns is limited by virtue of its sold option contract positions. The degree to which a shareholder may benefit from the upside exposure to the Underlying Security obtained by a Fund will depend on the time at which the investor purchases Shares of the Fund and the price movements of the Underlying Security. At any given time, there may be limited upside potential. If the price of the Underlying Security is near or has exceeded the strike price of a Fund’s sold call option contracts when an investor purchases Shares, such investor may have little to no upside potential remaining until the current short calls are replaced by a new set of short call, as well as remain vulnerable to significant downside risk, including the loss of their entire investment.
Each Fund will invest significantly in short-term (6-month to 2-year) U.S. Treasury securities as collateral in connection with the Fund’s synthetic covered call strategy. U.S. Treasury securities are government debt instruments issued by the United States Department of the Treasury and are backed by the full faith and credit of the United States government. The Funds’ investments in U.S. Treasury securities contribute to the monthly income sought by the Funds.
Exchange Traded Options Portfolio
The Funds will purchase and sell a combination of call and put exchange traded options contracts. In general, put options give the holder (i.e., the buyer) the right to sell an asset (or deliver the cash value of the asset, in case of certain put options) and the seller (i.e., the writer) of the put has the obligation to buy the asset (or receive cash value of the asset, in case of certain put options) at a certain defined price. Call options give the holder (i.e., the buyer) the right to buy an asset (or receive cash value of the asset, in case of certain call options) and the seller (i.e., the writer) the obligation to sell the asset (or deliver cash value of the asset, in case of certain call options) at a certain defined price.
FLEX options are customized options contracts that trade on an exchange but provide investors with the ability to customize key contract terms like strike price, style and expiration date while achieving price discovery in competitive, transparent auctions markets and avoiding the counterparty exposure of “over-the-counter” (“OTC”) options positions. Like traditional exchange-traded options, FLEX Options are guaranteed for settlement by the OCC, a market clearinghouse that guarantees performance by counterparties to certain derivatives contracts.
The FLEX options in which the Funds may invest are all European style options (options that are exercisable only on the expiration date). The FLEX options are listed on the Chicago Board Options Exchange.
The Funds will use the market value of its derivatives holdings for the purpose of determining compliance with the 1940 Act and the rules promulgated thereunder. Since the options held by the Funds are exchange-traded, these will be valued on a mark-to-market basis. In the event market prices are not available, the Funds will use fair value pricing pursuant to the fair value procedures adopted by the Board.
Manager of Managers Structure
Although the Funds are not currently sub-advised, the Funds and the Adviser have received exemptive relief from the SEC permitting the Adviser (subject to certain conditions and the approval of the Board) to change or select new unaffiliated sub-advisers without obtaining shareholder approval. The relief also permits the Adviser to materially amend the terms of agreements with an unaffiliated sub-adviser (including an increase in the fee paid by the Adviser to the unaffiliated sub-adviser (and not paid by the Fund)) or to continue the employment of an unaffiliated sub-adviser after an event that would otherwise cause the automatic termination of services with Board approval, but without shareholder approval. Shareholders will be notified of any unaffiliated sub-adviser changes. The Adviser has the ultimate responsibility, subject to oversight by the Board, to oversee a sub-adviser and recommend their hiring, termination and replacement. The exemptive relief applies to sub-advisers that are either wholly-owned by the Adviser or its parent company, as well as to unaffiliated sub-advisers, including those whose affiliation arises solely from their sub-advisory relationship.
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Investments by Registered Investment Companies
Section 12(d)(1) of the 1940 Act restricts investments by investment companies in the securities of other investment companies. However, registered investment companies are permitted to invest in other investment companies beyond the limits set forth in Section 12(d)(1) in rules under the 1940 Act, subject to certain conditions. The Fund may rely on Rule 12d1-4 of the 1940 Act, which provides an exemption from Section 12(d)(1) that allows the Fund to invest beyond the limits set forth in Section 12(d)(1) if the Fund satisfies certain conditions specified in Rule 12d1-4, including, among other conditions, that the Fund and its advisory group will not control (individually or in the aggregate) an acquired fund (e.g., hold more than 25% of the outstanding voting securities of an acquired fund that is a registered open-end management investment company).
Principal Risks of Investing in the Funds
There can be no assurance that the Funds will achieve their respective investment objectives. The following information is in addition to, and should be read along with, the description of each Fund’s principal investment risks in the section titled “Fund Summary— Principal Investment Risks” above. Following the Fund-specific Underlying Security risks, the remaining principal risks are presented in alphabetical order to facilitate finding particular risks and comparing them with those of other funds. Each risk summarized below is considered a “principal risk” of investing in the Funds, regardless of the order in which it appears.
AFRM Risk. The Fund invests in instruments that are based on the value of AFRM. This subjects the Fund to certain of the same risks as if it owned shares of AFRM, even if it does not. By virtue of the Fund’s exposure to AFRM, the Fund may also be subject to the following risks:
Indirect Investment in AFRM Risk. AFRM is not affiliated with the Trust, the Fund, or the Adviser, or their respective affiliates and is not involved with this offering in any way and has no obligation to consider your Shares in taking any corporate actions that might affect the value of Shares. Investors in the Fund will not have voting rights and will not be able to influence management of AFRM but will be exposed to the performance of AFRM (the Underlying Security). Investors in the Fund will not have the right to receive dividends or other distributions or any other rights with respect to the Underlying Security but will be subject to declines in the performance of the Underlying Security.
AFRM Trading Risk. The trading price of AFRM may be subject to volatility and could experience wide fluctuations due to various factors. Short sellers may also play a significant role in trading AFRM, potentially affecting the supply and demand dynamics and contributing to market price volatility. Public perception and external factors beyond the company’s control may influence AFRM’s stock price disproportionately. Additionally, following periods of market volatility, companies have faced securities class action litigation. Any adverse judgment or future stockholder litigation could result in substantial costs and divert management’s attention and resources. In the event of a halt in trading of AFRM, trading in shares of related funds may be impacted, either temporarily or indefinitely.
AFRM Performance Risk. AFRM may fail to meet its publicly announced guidelines or other expectations about its business, which could cause the price of AFRM to decline. AFRM provides guidance regarding its expected financial and business performance, such as projections regarding sales and production, as well as anticipated future revenues, gross margins, profitability and cash flows. Correctly identifying key factors affecting business conditions and predicting future events is inherently an uncertain process, and the guidance AFRM provides may not ultimately be accurate. If AFRM’s guidance is not accurate or varies from actual results due to its inability to meet the assumptions or the impact on its financial performance that could occur as a result of various risks and uncertainties, the market value of common stock issued by AFRM could decline significantly.
Financial Services Industry Risk. Financial services companies are subject to extensive governmental regulation which may limit both the amounts and types of loans and other financial commitments they can make, the interest rates and fees they can charge, the scope of their activities, the prices they can charge and the amount of capital they must maintain. Profitability is largely dependent on the availability and cost of capital funds and can fluctuate significantly when interest rates change or due to increased competition. In addition, deterioration of the credit markets generally may cause an adverse impact in a broad range of markets, including U.S. and international credit and interbank money markets generally, thereby affecting a wide range of financial institutions and markets. Certain events in the financial industry may cause an unusually high degree of volatility in the financial markets, both domestic and foreign, and cause certain financial services companies to incur large losses. Securities of financial services companies may experience a dramatic decline in value when such companies experience substantial declines in the valuations of their assets, take action to raise capital (such as the issuance of debt or equity securities), or cease operations. Credit losses resulting from financial difficulties of borrowers and financial losses associated with investment activities can negatively impact the industry. Insurance companies may be subject to severe price competition. Adverse economic, business or political developments could adversely affect financial institutions engaged in mortgage finance or other lending or investing activities directly or indirectly connected to the value of real estate.
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Competitive Industry Risk. AFRM operates in a highly competitive and dynamic industry. AFRM’s technology platform faces competition from a variety of players, including those who enable transactions and commerce via digital payments. AFRM’s primary competition consists of: legacy payment methods, such as credit and debit cards, including those provided by established card issuing banks; technology solutions provided by payment companies; mobile wallets; and pay-over-time offerings by legacy financial and payments companies. Additionally, some merchants are increasingly offering proprietary pay-over-time options to consumers. AFRM expects competition to intensify in the future, especially as the pay-over-time industry has low barriers to entry, both as emerging technologies continue to enter the marketplace and as large financial incumbents increasingly seek to innovate the services that they offer to compete with AFRM’s platform. Technological advances and the continued growth of e-commerce activities have increased consumers’ accessibility to products and services and led to the expansion of competition in digital payment options such as pay-over-time solutions. AFRM’s pay-over-time offerings are increasingly presented alongside competitor options, including merchants’ proprietary pay-over-time options, at checkout, and AFRM expects this trend to continue.
APP Risk. The Fund invests in instruments that are based on the value of APP. This subjects the Fund to certain of the same risks as if it owned shares of APP, even if it does not. By virtue of the Fund’s exposure to APP, the Fund may also be subject to the following risks:
Indirect Investment in APP Risk. APP is not affiliated with the Trust, the Fund, or the Adviser, or their respective affiliates and is not involved with this offering in any way and has no obligation to consider your Shares in taking any corporate actions that might affect the value of Shares. Investors in the Fund will not have voting rights and will not be able to influence management of APP but will be exposed to the performance of APP (the Underlying Security). Investors in the Fund will not have the right to receive dividends or other distributions or any other rights with respect to the Underlying Security but will be subject to declines in the performance of the Underlying Security.
APP Trading Risk. The trading price of APP may be subject to volatility and could experience wide fluctuations due to various factors. Short sellers may also play a significant role in trading APP, potentially affecting the supply and demand dynamics and contributing to market price volatility. Public perception and external factors beyond the company’s control may influence APP’s stock price disproportionately. Additionally, following periods of market volatility, companies have faced securities class action litigation. Any adverse judgment or future stockholder litigation could result in substantial costs and divert management’s attention and resources. In the event of a halt in trading of APP, trading in shares of related funds may be impacted, either temporarily or indefinitely.
APP Performance Risk. APP may fail to meet its publicly announced guidelines or other expectations about its business, which could cause the price of APP to decline. APP provides guidance regarding its expected financial and business performance, such as projections regarding sales and production, as well as anticipated future revenues, gross margins, profitability and cash flows. Correctly identifying key factors affecting business conditions and predicting future events is inherently an uncertain process, and the guidance APP provides may not ultimately be accurate. If APP’s guidance is not accurate or varies from actual results due to its inability to meet the assumptions or the impact on its financial performance that could occur as a result of various risks and uncertainties, the market value of common stock issued by APP could decline significantly.
Software Industry Risk. The software industry can be significantly affected by intense competition, aggressive pricing, technological innovations, and product obsolescence. Companies in the software industry are subject to significant competitive pressures, such as aggressive pricing, new market entrants, competition for market share, short product cycles due to an accelerated rate of technological developments and the potential for limited earnings and/or falling profit margins. These companies also face the risks that new services, equipment or technologies will not be accepted by consumers and businesses or will become rapidly obsolete. These factors can affect the profitability of these companies and, as a result, the value of their securities. Also, patent protection is integral to the success of many companies in this industry, and profitability can be affected materially by, among other things, the cost of obtaining (or failing to obtain) patent approvals, the cost of litigating patent infringement and the loss of patent protection for products (which significantly increases pricing pressures and can materially reduce profitability with respect to such products). In addition, many software companies have limited operating histories. Prices of these companies’ securities historically have been more volatile than other securities, especially over the short term.
Computer Programming Company Risks. The Fund’s performance is subject to the risks of the computer programming companies. Such companies provide social networking, file sharing, and other web-based media applications. The risks related to investing in such companies include disruption in service caused by hardware or software failure, interruptions or delays in service by third-party data center hosting facilities and maintenance providers, security breaches involving certain private, sensitive, proprietary and confidential information managed and transmitted by social media companies, and privacy concerns and laws, evolving internet regulation and other foreign or domestic regulations that may limit or otherwise affect the operations of such companies. Additionally, the collection of data from consumers and other sources could face increased scrutiny as regulators consider how the data is collected, stored, safeguarded and used. Furthermore, the business models employed by these companies may not prove to be successful.
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ARM Risk. The Fund invests in instruments that are based on the value of ARM. This subjects the Fund to certain of the same risks as if it owned shares of ARM, even if it does not. By virtue of the Fund’s exposure to ARM, the Fund may also be subject to the following risks:
Indirect Investment in ARM Risk. ARM is not affiliated with the Trust, the Fund, or the Adviser, or their respective affiliates and is not involved with this offering in any way and has no obligation to consider your Shares in taking any corporate actions that might affect the value of Shares. Investors in the Fund will not have voting rights and will not be able to influence management of ARM but will be exposed to the performance of ARM (the Underlying Security). Investors in the Fund will not have the right to receive dividends or other distributions or any other rights with respect to the Underlying Security but will be subject to declines in the performance of the Underlying Security.
ARM Trading Risk. The trading price of ARM may be subject to volatility and could experience wide fluctuations due to various factors. Short sellers may also play a significant role in trading ARM, potentially affecting the supply and demand dynamics and contributing to market price volatility. Public perception and external factors beyond the company’s control may influence ARM’s stock price disproportionately. Additionally, following periods of market volatility, companies have faced securities class action litigation. Any adverse judgment or future stockholder litigation could result in substantial costs and divert management’s attention and resources. In the event of a halt in trading of ARM, trading in shares of related funds may be impacted, either temporarily or indefinitely.
ARM Performance Risk. ARM may fail to meet its publicly announced guidelines or other expectations about its business, which could cause the price of ARM to decline. ARM provides guidance regarding its expected financial and business performance, such as projections regarding sales and production, as well as anticipated future revenues, gross margins, profitability and cash flows. Correctly identifying key factors affecting business conditions and predicting future events is inherently an uncertain process, and the guidance ARM provides may not ultimately be accurate. If ARM’s guidance is not accurate or varies from actual results due to its inability to meet the assumptions or the impact on its financial performance that could occur as a result of various risks and uncertainties, the market value of common stock issued by ARM could decline significantly.
Semiconductor Industry Risks: Competitive pressures may have a significant effect on the financial condition of semiconductor companies and, as product cycles shorten and manufacturing capacity increases, these companies may become increasingly subject to aggressive pricing, which hampers profitability. Reduced demand for end-user products, under-utilization of manufacturing capacity, and other factors could adversely impact the operating results of companies in the semiconductor sector. Semiconductor companies typically face high capital costs and may be heavily dependent on intellectual property rights. The semiconductor sector is highly cyclical, which may cause the operating results of many semiconductor companies to vary significantly. The stock prices of companies in the semiconductor sector have been and likely will continue to be extremely volatile.
Softbank Risk: SoftBank Group beneficially owns a majority of the total voting power of ARM’s ordinary shares. As a result of SoftBank Group’s ownership, ARM is a “controlled company” under the Nasdaq corporate governance standards. As long as SoftBank Group controls ARM, other holders of ARM’s shares will have limited ability to influence matters requiring shareholder approval or the composition of ARM’s Board of Directors. In addition, the interests of SoftBank Group may not coincide with ARM’s own interests or the interests of holders of ARM’s shares. SoftBank Group may cause ARM to take corporate actions, including engaging in transactions with SoftBank Group or affiliates of SoftBank Group, that members of ARM’s management or other shareholders do not view as beneficial, or that provide SoftBank Group with benefits at ARM’s expense. Such actions could have a material and adverse effect on ARM’s business and results of operations.
AVGO Risk. The Fund invests in instruments that are based on the value of AVGO. This subjects the Fund to certain of the same risks as if it owned shares of AVGO, even if it does not. By virtue of the Fund’s exposure to AVGO, the Fund may also be subject to the following risks:
Indirect Investment in AVGO Risk. AVGO is not affiliated with the Trust, the Fund, or the Adviser, or their respective affiliates and is not involved with this offering in any way and has no obligation to consider your Shares in taking any corporate actions that might affect the value of Shares. Investors in the Fund will not have voting rights and will not be able to influence management of AVGO but will be exposed to the performance of AVGO (the Underlying Security). Investors in the Fund will not have the right to receive dividends or other distributions or any other rights with respect to the Underlying Security but will be subject to declines in the performance of the Underlying Security.
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AVGO Trading Risk. The trading price of AVGO may be subject to volatility and could experience wide fluctuations due to various factors. Short sellers may also play a significant role in trading AVGO, potentially affecting the supply and demand dynamics and contributing to market price volatility. Public perception and external factors beyond the company’s control may influence AVGO’s stock price disproportionately. Additionally, following periods of market volatility, companies have faced securities class action litigation. Any adverse judgment or future stockholder litigation could result in substantial costs and divert management’s attention and resources. In the event of a halt in trading of AVGO, trading in shares of related funds may be impacted, either temporarily or indefinitely.
AVGO Performance Risk. AVGO may fail to meet its publicly announced guidelines or other expectations about its business, which could cause the price of AVGO to decline. AVGO provides guidance regarding its expected financial and business performance, such as projections regarding sales and production, as well as anticipated future revenues, gross margins, profitability and cash flows. Correctly identifying key factors affecting business conditions and predicting future events is inherently an uncertain process, and the guidance AVGO provides may not ultimately be accurate. If AVGO’s guidance is not accurate or varies from actual results due to its inability to meet the assumptions or the impact on its financial performance that could occur as a result of various risks and uncertainties, the market value of common stock issued by AVGO could decline significantly.
Business and Operational Risks. AVGO faces numerous business and operational risks, including adverse global economic conditions that could negatively impact operations. Compliance with governmental regulations and trade restrictions may result in significant expenses, and failure to comply could lead to the cessation of product manufacture and distribution, administrative proceedings, and civil or criminal penalties. Global political and economic instability, along with the failure to realize expected benefits from the VMware Merger, further pose challenges. The company also encounters risks related to acquisitions, investments, joint ventures, and dispositions, which could adversely affect financial results. Additionally, dependency on senior management and the ability to attract and retain qualified personnel are critical to executing AVGO’s business strategy effectively.
Technological and Cybersecurity Risks. AVGO is subject to technological and cybersecurity risks, including potential impairments to the confidentiality, integrity, or availability of IT systems and those of corporate infrastructure vendors, which could have a material adverse effect on the business. Operating in the highly cyclical semiconductor industry, AVGO’s sales are largely dependent on a small number of customers, and any reduction in demand or loss of significant customers could adversely affect the business. Reliance on contract manufacturing and suppliers of critical components within the supply chain, along with the need to purchase materials from a limited number of suppliers, may impact AVGO’s ability to bring products to market. Furthermore, failure to adjust manufacturing and supply chains to meet customer demand accurately could adversely affect operational results.
Legal, Environmental, and Market Risks. AVGO is involved in various legal proceedings, including intellectual property, securities litigation, and employee-related claims, which could adversely affect the business. The company’s growth in the software segment depends on customer acceptance of newer products and services, and incompatibility with operating environments or third-party products could decrease demand. Failure to enter into satisfactory software license agreements and the availability of licensed third-party software are additional concerns. Environmental, social, and governance (ESG) matters, compliance with privacy and data security laws, and adherence to environmental, health, and safety regulations could increase costs and restrict operations. Rapidly decreasing average selling prices of semiconductor products and fluctuations in foreign exchange rates also pose significant risks.
Financial and Stock-Related Risks. AVGO’s financial health is affected by substantial indebtedness, which could hinder the ability to execute business strategies. Instruments governing indebtedness impose restrictions, and servicing debt requires significant cash flows, potentially impacting business operations. The volatility of AVGO’s stock price may result in substantial losses for investors and trigger class action litigation against the company and its management. Stock repurchase fluctuations, the concentration of stock held by a small number of large investors, and uncertainties regarding the continuation of cash dividends further contribute to financial risks. Changes in tax legislation, the maintenance of tax concessions, and potential tax liabilities from VMware’s former association with Dell also significantly impact AVGO’s financial position and operating results.
CRWD Risk. The Fund invests in instruments that are based on the value of CRWD. This subjects the Fund to certain of the same risks as if it owned shares of CRWD, even if it does not. By virtue of the Fund’s exposure to CRWD, the Fund may also be subject to the following risks:
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Indirect Investment in CRWD Risk. CRWD is not affiliated with the Trust, the Fund, or the Adviser, or their respective affiliates and is not involved with this offering in any way and has no obligation to consider your Shares in taking any corporate actions that might affect the value of Shares. Investors in the Fund will not have voting rights and will not be able to influence management of CRWD but will be exposed to the performance of CRWD (the Underlying Security). Investors in the Fund will not have the right to receive dividends or other distributions or any other rights with respect to the Underlying Security but will be subject to declines in the performance of the Underlying Security.
CRWD Trading Risk. The trading price of CRWD may be subject to volatility and could experience wide fluctuations due to various factors. Short sellers may also play a significant role in trading CRWD, potentially affecting the supply and demand dynamics and contributing to market price volatility. Public perception and external factors beyond the company’s control may influence CRWD’s stock price disproportionately. Additionally, following periods of market volatility, companies have faced securities class action litigation. Any adverse judgment or future stockholder litigation could result in substantial costs and divert management’s attention and resources. In the event of a halt in trading of CRWD, trading in shares of related funds may be impacted, either temporarily or indefinitely.
CRWD Performance Risk. CRWD may fail to meet its publicly announced guidelines or other expectations about its business, which could cause the price of CRWD to decline. CRWD provides guidance regarding its expected financial and business performance, such as projections regarding sales and production, as well as anticipated future revenues, gross margins, profitability and cash flows. Correctly identifying key factors affecting business conditions and predicting future events is inherently an uncertain process, and the guidance CRWD provides may not ultimately be accurate. If CRWD’s guidance is not accurate or varies from actual results due to its inability to meet the assumptions or the impact on its financial performance that could occur as a result of various risks and uncertainties, the market value of common stock issued by CRWD could decline significantly.
Software Industry Risk. The software industry can be significantly affected by intense competition, aggressive pricing, technological innovations, and product obsolescence. Companies in the software industry are subject to significant competitive pressures, such as aggressive pricing, new market entrants, competition for market share, short product cycles due to an accelerated rate of technological developments and the potential for limited earnings and/or falling profit margins. These companies also face the risks that new services, equipment or technologies will not be accepted by consumers and businesses or will become rapidly obsolete. These factors can affect the profitability of these companies and, as a result, the value of their securities. Also, patent protection is integral to the success of many companies in this industry, and profitability can be affected materially by, among other things, the cost of obtaining (or failing to obtain) patent approvals, the cost of litigating patent infringement and the loss of patent protection for products (which significantly increases pricing pressures and can materially reduce profitability with respect to such products). In addition, many software companies have limited operating histories. Prices of these companies’ securities historically have been more volatile than other securities, especially over the short term.
Adverse Event Risk. On July 19, 2024, CRWD released a content configuration update for its software that resulted in system crashes for certain Windows systems (the “July 19 Incident”). CRWD has incurred, and expects to continue to incur, significant costs and expenses related to the incident, including in connection with remediation efforts, customer and partner relations, measures taken to address the damage to its reputation, and other measures taken in response to the incident. CRWD’s management and other personnel have devoted, and may continue to devote, significant time and resources to address the impacts of the July 19 Incident. CRWD also has hired, and in the future may hire, additional personnel to assist with its ongoing efforts. Any real or perceived failure, by CRWD or the third-party service providers CRWD engages, to remediate and respond to the July 19 Incident could adversely impact CRWD’s business. While CRWD is investing in enhancements to software resiliency, testing and customer controls following the July 19 Incident, CRWD cannot guarantee that such enhancements will be effective, or that its products do not have or will not have defects, errors, or vulnerabilities.
Cyber Risk. As a provider of security solutions, CRWD has in the past been, and may in the future be, specifically targeted by bad actors for attacks intended to circumvent CRWD’s security capabilities or to exploit CRWD’s platform as an entry point into customers’ endpoints, networks, or systems. In particular, because CRWD has been involved in the identification of organized cybercriminals and nation-state actors, CRWD has been the subject of intense efforts by sophisticated cyber adversaries who seek to compromise its systems. Such efforts may also intensify as geopolitical tensions increase.
GME Risk. The Fund invests in instruments that are based on the value of GME. This subjects the Fund to certain of the same risks as if it owned shares of GME, even if it does not. By virtue of the Fund’s exposure to GME, the Fund may also be subject to the following risks:
Indirect Investment in GME Risk. GME is not affiliated with the Trust, the Fund, or the Adviser, or their respective affiliates and is not involved with this offering in any way and has no obligation to consider your Shares in taking any corporate actions that might affect the value of Shares. Investors in the Fund will not have voting rights and will not be able to influence management of GME but will be exposed to the performance of GME (the Underlying Security). Investors in the Fund will not have the right to receive dividends or other distributions or any other rights with respect to the Underlying Security but will be subject to declines in the performance of the Underlying Security.
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GME Trading Risk. The trading price of GME may be subject to volatility and could experience wide fluctuations due to various factors. Short sellers may also play a significant role in trading GME, potentially affecting the supply and demand dynamics and contributing to market price volatility. Public perception and external factors beyond the company’s control may influence GME’s stock price disproportionately. Additionally, following periods of market volatility, companies have faced securities class action litigation. Any adverse judgment or future stockholder litigation could result in substantial costs and divert management’s attention and resources. In the event of a halt in trading of GME, trading in shares of related funds may be impacted, either temporarily or indefinitely.
GME Performance Risk. GME may fail to meet its publicly announced guidelines or other expectations about its business, which could cause the price of GME to decline. GME provides guidance regarding its expected financial and business performance, such as projections regarding sales and production, as well as anticipated future revenues, gross margins, profitability and cash flows. Correctly identifying key factors affecting business conditions and predicting future events is inherently an uncertain process, and the guidance GME provides may not ultimately be accurate. If GME’s guidance is not accurate or varies from actual results due to its inability to meet the assumptions or the impact on its financial performance that could occur as a result of various risks and uncertainties, the market value of common stock issued by GME could decline significantly.
Video Gaming and eSports Companies Risk. The Fund will be sensitive to, and its performance may depend to a greater extent on, the overall condition of video gaming and eSports companies. Video gaming and eSports companies face intense competition, both domestically and internationally, may have limited product lines, markets, financial resources, or personnel, may have products that face rapid obsolescence, and are heavily dependent on the protection of patent and intellectual property rights. Video gaming companies may be dependent on one or a small number of product or product franchises for a significant portion of their revenue and profits. They may also be subject to shifting consumer preferences, including preferences with respect to gaming console platforms, and changes in consumer discretionary spending. Such factors may adversely affect the profitability and value of video gaming and eSports companies. Video gaming companies are also subject to increasing regulatory constraints, particularly with respect to cybersecurity and privacy, and may be subject to sophisticated intellectual property infringement schemes and piracy efforts.
Bitcoin Risk. GME’s Board of Directors has approved the addition of bitcoin as a treasury reserve asset, whereby a portion of GME’s cash or future debt and equity issuances may be invested in bitcoin. While the Fund will not directly invest in digital assets, it may be subject to the risks associated with bitcoin by virtue of its investments in options contracts that reference GME. Investing in bitcoin exposes shareholders (such as GME) to significant risks that are not typically present in other investments. These risks include the uncertainty surrounding new technology, limited evaluation due to bitcoin’s short trading history, and the potential decline in adoption and value over the long term. The extreme volatility of bitcoin’s price is also a risk factor. Regulatory uncertainties, such as potential government interventions and conflicting regulations across jurisdictions, can impact the demand for bitcoin and restrict its usage. Additionally, risks associated with the sale of newly mined bitcoin, bitcoin trading platforms, competition from alternative digital assets, mining operations, network modifications, and intellectual property claims pose further challenges to bitcoin-linked investments.
Retail Industry Risks. Sales of GME’s products involve discretionary spending by consumers, making GME’s results highly dependent on the health of the economies and consumer confidence in the markets in which GME operates. Consumers are typically more likely to make discretionary purchases, including purchasing gaming and technology products, when there are favorable economic conditions. GME’s business may be affected by many economic, social, and political factors outside GME’s control. Some of these factors include consumer disposable income levels, consumer confidence in current and future economic conditions, levels of employment, consumer credit availability, consumer debt levels, interest rates, tax rates, housing market conditions, inflation, tariffs, socio-political factors, such as civil unrest or political uncertainty, and the effect of weather, natural disasters, and public health crises. Adverse economic, social and political changes in any of the regions in which GME sells its products could adversely affect GME’s business in many ways, including reduced sales and margins.
Short Selling Risk. A large proportion of GME’s common stock has been and may continue to be traded by short sellers which may increase the likelihood that GME’s common stock will be the target of a “short squeeze” (i.e., where a stock’s price rapidly increases, forcing short sellers to buy back shares to cover their positions). A short squeeze has previously led and could continue to lead to volatile price movements in shares of GME’s common stock that are unrelated or disproportionate to GME’s operating performance or prospects and, once investors purchase the shares of GME’s common stock necessary to cover their short positions, the price of GME’s common stock may rapidly decline. Stockholders that purchase shares of GME’s common stock during a short squeeze may lose a significant portion of their investment.
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HIMS Risk. The Fund invests in instruments that are based on the value of HIMS. This subjects the Fund to certain of the same risks as if it owned shares of HIMS, even if it does not. By virtue of the Fund’s exposure to HIMS, the Fund may also be subject to the following risks:
Indirect Investment in HIMS Risk. HIMS is not affiliated with the Trust, the Fund, or the Adviser, or their respective affiliates and is not involved with this offering in any way and has no obligation to consider your Shares in taking any corporate actions that might affect the value of Shares. Investors in the Fund will not have voting rights and will not be able to influence management of HIMS but will be exposed to the performance of HIMS (the Underlying Security). Investors in the Fund will not have the right to receive dividends or other distributions or any other rights with respect to the Underlying Security but will be subject to declines in the performance of the Underlying Security.
HIMS Trading Risk. The trading price of HIMS may be subject to volatility and could experience wide fluctuations due to various factors. Short sellers may also play a significant role in trading HIMS, potentially affecting the supply and demand dynamics and contributing to market price volatility. Public perception and external factors beyond the company’s control may influence HIMS’s stock price disproportionately. Additionally, following periods of market volatility, companies have faced securities class action litigation. Any adverse judgment or future stockholder litigation could result in substantial costs and divert management’s attention and resources. In the event of a halt in trading of HIMS, trading in shares of related funds may be impacted, either temporarily or indefinitely.
HIMS Performance Risk. HIMS may fail to meet its publicly announced guidelines or other expectations about its business, which could cause the price of HIMS to decline. HIMS provides guidance regarding its expected financial and business performance, such as projections regarding sales and production, as well as anticipated future revenues, gross margins, profitability and cash flows. Correctly identifying key factors affecting business conditions and predicting future events is inherently an uncertain process, and the guidance HIMS provides may not ultimately be accurate. If HIMS’s guidance is not accurate or varies from actual results due to its inability to meet the assumptions or the impact on its financial performance that could occur as a result of various risks and uncertainties, the market value of common stock issued by HIMS could decline significantly.
Healthcare Providers & Services Industry Risks. The healthcare providers and services industry can be significantly affected by changing economic conditions, evolving patient demographics, and fluctuations in demand for healthcare services. Profitability in this industry is often dependent on reimbursement rates from government programs and private payors, as well as the ability to manage operational costs effectively. Changes in healthcare regulations and policies, including those related to insurance coverage and reimbursement, can materially impact the industry. Companies in the healthcare providers and services industry are subject to extensive and frequently changing government regulation, which may affect the scope of their activities, the rates they can charge for services, and their compliance costs. Additionally, the industry faces risks related to litigation, operational disruptions, and evolving technologies that may alter traditional service delivery models.
Business Risks. HIMS’s limited operating history and evolving business model make it difficult to evaluate its prospects, and fluctuations in its operational results and key performance metrics could lead to unmet investor expectations. The ability to expand offerings, attract and retain customers, and navigate evolving privacy, healthcare, and regulatory frameworks is critical; failure in these areas could materially and adversely impact HIMS’s business and financial condition. HIMS operates in highly competitive markets, facing challenges from established healthcare providers, retailers, pharmaceutical companies, and technology firms, which may affect its competitive position. Additionally, the success of HIMS is heavily reliant on its brand reputation, relationships with healthcare providers and medical groups, and compliance with complex healthcare and pharmacy regulations. Security breaches, data loss, legal proceedings, or regulatory changes could harm its operations and reputation. HIMS may require additional capital to support growth, which may not be available on favorable terms. Furthermore, its dual-class stock structure concentrates voting power with the company’s CEO, limiting investors’ influence on critical decisions.
IONQ Risk. The Fund invests in instruments that are based on the value of IONQ. This subjects the Fund to certain of the same risks as if it owned shares of IONQ, even if it does not. By virtue of the Fund’s exposure to IONQ, the Fund may also be subject to the following risks:
Indirect Investment in IONQ Risk. IONQ is not affiliated with the Trust, the Fund, or the Adviser, or their respective affiliates and is not involved with this offering in any way and has no obligation to consider your Shares in taking any corporate actions that might affect the value of Shares. Investors in the Fund will not have voting rights and will not be able to influence management of IONQ but will be exposed to the performance of IONQ (the Underlying Security). Investors in the Fund will not have the right to receive dividends or other distributions or any other rights with respect to the Underlying Security but will be subject to declines in the performance of the Underlying Security.
IONQ Trading Risk. The trading price of IONQ may be subject to volatility and could experience wide fluctuations due to various factors. Short sellers may also play a significant role in trading IONQ, potentially affecting the supply and demand dynamics and contributing to market price volatility. Public perception and external factors beyond the company’s control may influence IONQ’s stock price disproportionately. Additionally, following periods of market volatility, companies have faced securities class action litigation. Any adverse judgment or future stockholder litigation could result in substantial costs and divert management’s attention and resources. In the event of a halt in trading of IONQ, trading in shares of related funds may be impacted, either temporarily or indefinitely.
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IONQ Performance Risk. IONQ may fail to meet its publicly announced guidelines or other expectations about its business, which could cause the price of IONQ to decline. IONQ provides guidance regarding its expected financial and business performance, such as projections regarding sales and production, as well as anticipated future revenues, gross margins, profitability and cash flows. Correctly identifying key factors affecting business conditions and predicting future events is inherently an uncertain process, and the guidance IONQ provides may not ultimately be accurate. If IONQ’s guidance is not accurate or varies from actual results due to its inability to meet the assumptions or the impact on its financial performance that could occur as a result of various risks and uncertainties, the market value of common stock issued by IONQ could decline significantly.
Technology Hardware, Storage & Peripherals Risks. Companies in the technology hardware, storage, and peripherals industry may face intense competition, both domestically and internationally, which can pressure profit margins and market share. These companies often rely on complex supply chains and third-party providers for components, manufacturing, and services. Supply chain disruptions, including the unavailability of critical materials or components, price increases, or delays in production, can adversely affect operations. Many companies in this industry depend on a limited number of suppliers or suppliers concentrated in specific geographic regions, which may increase vulnerability to geopolitical risks, natural disasters, or regulatory changes. Identifying and qualifying alternative suppliers can be time-consuming and costly, with no guarantee of availability. Additionally, operations may be impacted by resource constraints, including shortages of electricity, rare earth elements, or other essential materials. Companies in this industry are also exposed to cybersecurity threats, intellectual property risks, and evolving technological standards, which may increase operational costs and hinder competitiveness.
Business Risks: IONQ is an early-stage business with a limited operating history, a history of operating losses, and an expectation of significant expenses and losses for the foreseeable future. IONQ faces challenges scaling its business, managing growth, and effectively executing its strategies in a nascent and volatile quantum computing industry. The company’s success is highly dependent on its ability to develop scalable quantum computing systems, achieve cost reductions, and maintain competitive positioning in a rapidly evolving market. There is no assurance that IONQ’s technology will achieve broad market adoption, particularly given the technical and economic challenges of the quantum computing sector.
IONQ’s reliance on key employees and its ability to retain talent with specialized knowledge is critical to its operations. Additionally, much of its revenue is concentrated among a few customers, making the business vulnerable to contract terminations or customer loss. Dependence on proprietary ion trap technology and specific isotopic materials introduces supply chain risks, while compatibility with industry-standard software and hardware remains a concern. Intellectual property risks, including the loss or compromise of trade secrets, inability to maintain patent protections, or litigation claims, could harm the company’s competitive edge.
IONQ is also exposed to risks related to international expansion, government contracts, and regulatory changes, including tariffs and trade restrictions. Operational disruptions, cybersecurity threats, and adverse global economic conditions could further impact IONQ’s growth and profitability. If IONQ fails to meet market expectations or achieve forecasted growth, its stock price and long-term prospects could be materially affected.
LLY Risk. The Fund invests in instruments that are based on the value of LLY. This subjects the Fund to certain of the same risks as if it owned shares of LLY, even if it does not. By virtue of the Fund’s exposure to LLY, the Fund may also be subject to the following risks:
Indirect Investment in LLY Risk. LLY is not affiliated with the Trust, the Fund, or the Adviser, or their respective affiliates and is not involved with this offering in any way and has no obligation to consider your Shares in taking any corporate actions that might affect the value of Shares. Investors in the Fund will not have voting rights and will not be able to influence management of LLY but will be exposed to the performance of LLY (the Underlying Security). Investors in the Fund will not have the right to receive dividends or other distributions or any other rights with respect to the Underlying Security but will be subject to declines in the performance of the Underlying Security.
LLY Trading Risk. The trading price of LLY may be subject to volatility and could experience wide fluctuations due to various factors. Short sellers may also play a significant role in trading LLY, potentially affecting the supply and demand dynamics and contributing to market price volatility. Public perception and external factors beyond the company’s control may influence LLY’s stock price disproportionately. Additionally, following periods of market volatility, companies have faced securities class action litigation. Any adverse judgment or future stockholder litigation could result in substantial costs and divert management’s attention and resources. In the event of a halt in trading of LLY, trading in shares of related funds may be impacted, either temporarily or indefinitely.
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LLY Performance Risk. LLY may fail to meet its publicly announced guidelines or other expectations about its business, which could cause the price of LLY to decline. LLY provides guidance regarding its expected financial and business performance, such as projections regarding sales and production, as well as anticipated future revenues, gross margins, profitability and cash flows. Correctly identifying key factors affecting business conditions and predicting future events is inherently an uncertain process, and the guidance LLY provides may not ultimately be accurate. If LLY’s guidance is not accurate or varies from actual results due to its inability to meet the assumptions or the impact on its financial performance that could occur as a result of various risks and uncertainties, the market value of common stock issued by LLY could decline significantly.
Pharmaceutical Industry Risks: Pharmaceutical research and development are very costly and highly uncertain; LLY may not succeed in developing, licensing, or acquiring commercially successful products sufficient in number or value to replace revenues of products that have lost or will lose intellectual property protection or are displaced by competing products or therapies. LLY and LLY’s products face intense competition from multinational pharmaceutical companies, biotechnology companies, and lower-cost generic and biosimilar manufacturers, and such competition could have a material adverse effect on LLY’s business. LLY’s business is subject to increasing government price controls and other public and private restrictions on pricing, reimbursement, and access for LLY’s drugs, which could have a material adverse effect on LLY’s results of operations, reputation or business. Pharmaceutical products can develop safety or efficacy concerns, which could have a material adverse effect on LLY’s revenues, income, and reputation.
Intellectual Property Risks: LLY derives a significant percentage of its total revenue from relatively few products and sells products through increasingly consolidated supply chain entities, which may subject LLY to, or exacerbate, various risks. LLY depends on products with intellectual property protection for most of LLY’s revenues, cash flows, and earnings; the loss of effective intellectual property protection for certain of LLY’s products has resulted, and in the future is likely to continue to result, in rapid and severe declines in revenues for those products. LLY’s long-term success depends on intellectual property protection; if LLY’s intellectual property rights are invalidated, circumvented, or weakened, LLY’s business will be adversely affected.
Operations Risks: Failure, inadequacy, breach of, or unauthorized access to, LLY’s IT systems or those of LLY’s third-party service providers, unauthorized access to LLY’s confidential information, or violations of data protection laws, could each result in material harm to LLY’s business and reputation. Manufacturing, quality, or supply chain difficulties, disruptions, or shortages could lead to product supply problems. Reliance on third-party relationships and outsourcing arrangements could adversely affect LLY’s business. LLY’s use of artificial intelligence or other emerging technologies could adversely impact LLY’s business and financial results.
International Business Risks: Uneven economic growth or downturns or international trade and other global disruptions, geopolitical tensions, or disputes could adversely affect LLY’s business and operating results. Changes in foreign currency rates, interest rate risks, and inflation affect LLY’s results of operations.
Government Regulation and Litigation Risks: LLY faces litigation and investigations related to its products, how LLY price or commercialize its products, and other aspects of LLY’s business, which could adversely affect LLY’s business, and LLY is self-insured for such matters. LLY is subject to evolving and complex tax laws, which may result in additional liabilities and affect LLY’s results of operations. Regulatory compliance problems could be damaging to LLY.
RDDT Risk. The Fund invests in instruments that are based on the value of RDDT. This subjects the Fund to certain of the same risks as if it owned shares of RDDT, even if it does not. By virtue of the Fund’s exposure to RDDT, the Fund may also be subject to the following risks:
Indirect Investment in RDDT Risk. RDDT is not affiliated with the Trust, the Fund, or the Adviser, or their respective affiliates and is not involved with this offering in any way and has no obligation to consider your Shares in taking any corporate actions that might affect the value of Shares. Investors in the Fund will not have voting rights and will not be able to influence management of RDDT but will be exposed to the performance of RDDT (the Underlying Security). Investors in the Fund will not have the right to receive dividends or other distributions or any other rights with respect to the Underlying Security but will be subject to declines in the performance of the Underlying Security.
RDDT Trading Risk. The trading price of RDDT may be subject to volatility and could experience wide fluctuations due to various factors. Short sellers may also play a significant role in trading RDDT, potentially affecting the supply and demand dynamics and contributing to market price volatility. Public perception and external factors beyond the company’s control may influence RDDT’s stock price disproportionately. Additionally, following periods of market volatility, companies have faced securities class action litigation. Any adverse judgment or future stockholder litigation could result in substantial costs and divert management’s attention and resources. In the event of a halt in trading of RDDT, trading in shares of related funds may be impacted, either temporarily or indefinitely.
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RDDT Performance Risk. RDDT may fail to meet its publicly announced guidelines or other expectations about its business, which could cause the price of RDDT to decline. RDDT provides guidance regarding its expected financial and business performance, such as projections regarding sales and production, as well as anticipated future revenues, gross margins, profitability and cash flows. Correctly identifying key factors affecting business conditions and predicting future events is inherently an uncertain process, and the guidance RDDT provides may not ultimately be accurate. If RDDT’s guidance is not accurate or varies from actual results due to its inability to meet the assumptions or the impact on its financial performance that could occur as a result of various risks and uncertainties, the market value of common stock issued by RDDT could decline significantly.
Advertising Industry Risks. RDDT’s business is heavily dependent on advertising revenue, which may be influenced by macroeconomic factors, including inflation, recessionary pressures, and changes in advertiser spending patterns. Shifts in digital advertising trends, including increased competition from other platforms or changes in targeting regulations, may negatively impact revenue growth. RDDT’s ability to monetize its user base effectively depends on its capacity to balance user engagement with advertiser needs, which is a complex and evolving challenge.
Technology Infrastructure Risks. RDDT’s operations depend on maintaining a reliable and scalable technology infrastructure. Outages, system failures, or cybersecurity breaches could disrupt services, undermine user trust, and lead to financial losses. Given its reliance on third-party cloud services, RDDT is also exposed to risks related to the reliability and security of external service providers.
Content Moderation and Compliance Risks. RDDT operates user-generated content platforms that face scrutiny related to harmful or illegal content, misinformation, and privacy concerns. Regulatory actions or public backlash regarding its handling of these issues could result in fines, litigation, or damage to its reputation. Efforts to improve content moderation practices may increase operational costs and strain resources, potentially impacting profitability.
International and Regulatory Risks. RDDT operates globally and is subject to varying laws and regulations concerning data privacy, advertising practices, and content moderation. Compliance with international regulations, such as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), a data privacy law enforced by the European Union (EU), increases operational complexity and costs. Changes in international trade policies, geopolitical tensions, or unfavorable economic conditions in key markets may also negatively affect RDDT’s growth and profitability.
SPOT Risk. The Fund invests in instruments that are based on the value of SPOT. This subjects the Fund to certain of the same risks as if it owned shares of SPOT, even if it does not. By virtue of the Fund’s exposure to SPOT, the Fund may also be subject to the following risks:
Indirect Investment in SPOT Risk. SPOT is not affiliated with the Trust, the Fund, or the Adviser, or their respective affiliates and is not involved with this offering in any way and has no obligation to consider your Shares in taking any corporate actions that might affect the value of Shares. Investors in the Fund will not have voting rights and will not be able to influence management of SPOT but will be exposed to the performance of SPOT (the Underlying Security). Investors in the Fund will not have the right to receive dividends or other distributions or any other rights with respect to the Underlying Security but will be subject to declines in the performance of the Underlying Security.
SPOT Trading Risk. The trading price of SPOT may be subject to volatility and could experience wide fluctuations due to various factors. Short sellers may also play a significant role in trading SPOT, potentially affecting the supply and demand dynamics and contributing to market price volatility. Public perception and external factors beyond the company’s control may influence SPOT’s stock price disproportionately. Additionally, following periods of market volatility, companies have faced securities class action litigation. Any adverse judgment or future stockholder litigation could result in substantial costs and divert management’s attention and resources. In the event of a halt in trading of SPOT, trading in shares of related funds may be impacted, either temporarily or indefinitely.
SPOT Performance Risk. SPOT may fail to meet its publicly announced guidelines or other expectations about its business, which could cause the price of SPOT to decline. SPOT provides guidance regarding its expected financial and business performance, such as projections regarding sales and production, as well as anticipated future revenues, gross margins, profitability and cash flows. Correctly identifying key factors affecting business conditions and predicting future events is inherently an uncertain process, and the guidance SPOT provides may not ultimately be accurate. If SPOT’s guidance is not accurate or varies from actual results due to its inability to meet the assumptions or the impact on its financial performance that could occur as a result of various risks and uncertainties, the market value of common stock issued by SPOT could decline significantly.
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Entertainment Industry Risk. The entertainment industry is highly competitive and relies on consumer spending and the availability of disposable income for success. The prices of the securities of companies in the entertainment industries may fluctuate widely due to competitive pressures, heavy expenses incurred for research and development of products, problems related to bringing products to market, consumer preferences and rapid obsolescence of products. Changes in technology and consumer consumption patterns may also impact the demand for entertainment products, revenue generation, and production costs. Legislative or regulatory changes and increased government supervision also may affect companies in the entertainment industry.
Streaming Service Risk. SPOT faces significant competition from other streaming services, satellite radio services and social media platforms for user attention and advertising dollars. In mature markets like North America and Europe, SPOT faces slower subscriber growth and increased churn rates. Future growth depends on expansion into emerging markets, which may have lower revenue per user and higher regulatory risks. SPOT does not own the majority of its music content. Rising content acquisition costs and exclusivity deals could impact long-term profitability. One of SPOT’s largest expenses is royalty payments to music rights holders, including record labels, artists and publishers. Any increase in royalty rates or unfavorable renegotiations could pressure margins. While SPOT has expanded its ad-supported revenue model, advertising revenue remains highly cyclical and sensitive to economic downturns. A slowdown in digital ad spending could negatively impact SPOT’s profitability. SPOT operates a cloud-based digital streaming platform that relies on third-party infrastructure providers. Server outages, cybersecurity threats or data breaches could disrupt services and impact user trust. SPOT subscriptions are discretionary spending items. Economic downturns or inflationary pressures could lead to higher subscription cancellations. Spotify operates globally, generating revenue in multiple currencies. Exchange rate fluctuations can impact reported earnings and financial performance.
UBER Risk. The Fund invests in instruments that are based on the value of UBER. This subjects the Fund to certain of the same risks as if it owned shares of UBER, even if it does not. By virtue of the Fund’s exposure to UBER, the Fund may also be subject to the following risks:
Indirect Investment in UBER Risk. UBER is not affiliated with the Trust, the Fund, or the Adviser, or their respective affiliates and is not involved with this offering in any way and has no obligation to consider your Shares in taking any corporate actions that might affect the value of Shares. Investors in the Fund will not have voting rights and will not be able to influence management of UBER but will be exposed to the performance of UBER (the Underlying Security). Investors in the Fund will not have the right to receive dividends or other distributions or any other rights with respect to the Underlying Security but will be subject to declines in the performance of the Underlying Security.
UBER Trading Risk. The trading price of UBER may be subject to volatility and could experience wide fluctuations due to various factors. Short sellers may also play a significant role in trading UBER, potentially affecting the supply and demand dynamics and contributing to market price volatility. Public perception and external factors beyond the company’s control may influence UBER’s stock price disproportionately. Additionally, following periods of market volatility, companies have faced securities class action litigation. Any adverse judgment or future stockholder litigation could result in substantial costs and divert management’s attention and resources. In the event of a halt in trading of UBER, trading in shares of related funds may be impacted, either temporarily or indefinitely.
UBER Performance Risk. UBER may fail to meet its publicly announced guidelines or other expectations about its business, which could cause the price of UBER to decline. UBER provides guidance regarding its expected financial and business performance, such as projections regarding sales and production, as well as anticipated future revenues, gross margins, profitability and cash flows. Correctly identifying key factors affecting business conditions and predicting future events is inherently an uncertain process, and the guidance UBER provides may not ultimately be accurate. If UBER’s guidance is not accurate or varies from actual results due to its inability to meet the assumptions or the impact on its financial performance that could occur as a result of various risks and uncertainties, the market value of common stock issued by UBER could decline significantly.
Driver Classification Risk. The classification of Uber’s drivers (“Drivers”) is currently being challenged in courts, by legislators and by government agencies in the United States and abroad. Uber is involved in numerous legal proceedings globally, including putative class and collective class action lawsuits, demands for arbitration, charges and claims before administrative agencies, and investigations or audits by labor, social security, and tax authorities that claim that Drivers should be treated as Uber’s employees (or as workers or quasi-employees where those statuses exist), rather than as independent contractors. Uber believes that Drivers are independent contractors because, among other things, they can choose whether, when, and where to provide services on Uber’s platform, are free to provide services on competitors’ platforms, and provide a vehicle to perform services on Uber’s platform. Nevertheless, Uber may not be successful in defending the classification of Drivers in some or all jurisdictions. Furthermore, the costs associated with defending, settling, or resolving pending and future lawsuits (including demands for arbitration) relating to the classification of Drivers have been and may continue to be material to Uber’s business.
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Regulatory Risk. UBER operates in a particularly complex legal and regulatory environment. UBER’s business is subject to a variety of U.S. federal, state, local and foreign laws, rules, and regulations, including those related to internet activities, privacy, cybersecurity, data protection, intellectual property, competition, consumer protection, payments, labor and employment, transportation services, transportation network companies, licensing regulations and taxation. These laws and regulations are constantly evolving and may be interpreted, applied, created, or amended, in a manner that could harm UBER’s business.
Rideshare Company Risk. Uber competes on a global basis, and the markets in which it competes are highly fragmented. Uber faces significant competition from existing, well-established, and low-cost alternatives, and in the future Uber expects to face competition from new market entrants given the low barriers to entry that characterize Uber’s industry. In addition, within each of these markets, the cost to switch between products is low. Consumers have a propensity to shift to the lowest-cost or highest-quality provider; Drivers have a propensity to shift to the platform with the highest earnings potential; restaurants and other merchants have a propensity to shift to the delivery platform that offers the lowest service fee for their meals and other goods and provides the highest volume of orders; and shippers and carriers have a propensity to shift to the platform with the best price and most convenient service for hauling shipments.
Call Strategy Risks. The path dependency (i.e., the continued use) of each Fund’s call writing strategy will impact the extent that the Fund participates in the positive price returns of the Underlying Security and, in turn, the Fund’s returns, both during the term of the sold call options and over longer time periods. If, for example, each month a Fund were to sell 7% out-of-the-money call options having a one-month term, the Fund’s participation in the positive price returns of the Underlying Security will be capped at 7% in any given month. However, over a longer period (e.g., 5 months), the Fund should not be expected to participate fully in the first 35% (i.e., 5 months x 7%) of the positive price returns of the Underlying Security, or the Fund may even lose money, even if the Underlying Security share price has appreciated by at least that much over such period, if during any month over that period the Underlying Security had a return less than 7%. This example illustrates that both a Fund’s participation in the positive price returns of an Underlying Security and its returns will depend not only on the price the Underlying Security but also on the path that such security takes over time.
Additionally, when implementing the Covered Call Spread Strategy, the use of credit call spreads introduces further complexities and risks. While purchasing a higher-strike call option limits potential losses from the short call position, it also reduces the net premium received, which may result in lower overall returns compared to a stand-alone covered call strategy. If the price of the Underlying Security rises rapidly, the call spread may still cap upside participation, leading to missed profit opportunities. Furthermore, market conditions, such as mispricing between near-the-money and further out-of-the-money options, may impact the effectiveness of the strategy, potentially resulting in lower-than-expected returns or increased losses. The relative pricing of options at different strike levels can vary due to volatility shifts, liquidity constraints, or other market dynamics, adding an additional layer of uncertainty to the Fund’s performance under this strategy.
Counterparty Risk. Each Fund is subject to counterparty risk by virtue of its investments in derivative instruments. Transactions in some types of derivatives, including options, are required to be centrally cleared (“cleared derivatives”). In a transaction involving cleared derivatives, a Fund’s counterparty is a clearing house rather than a bank or broker. Since the Funds are not members of clearing houses and only members of a clearing house (“clearing members”) can participate directly in the clearing house, the Funds will hold cleared derivatives through accounts at clearing members. In cleared derivatives positions, a Fund will make payments (including margin payments) to and receive payments from a clearing house through their accounts at clearing members. Customer funds held at a clearing organization in connection with any options contracts are held in a commingled omnibus account and are not identified to the name of the clearing member’s individual customers. As a result, assets deposited by a Fund with any clearing member as margin for options may, in certain circumstances, be used to satisfy losses of other clients of a Fund’s clearing member. In addition, although clearing members guarantee performance of their clients’ obligations to the clearing house, there is a risk that the assets of a Fund might not be fully protected in the event of the clearing member’s bankruptcy, as a Fund would be limited to recovering only a pro rata share of all available funds segregated on behalf of the clearing member’s customers for the relevant account class. Each Fund is also subject to the risk that a limited number of clearing members are willing to transact on the Fund’s behalf, which heightens the risks associated with a clearing member’s default. This risk is greater for the Funds as they seek to hold options contracts on a single security, and not a broader range of options contracts, which may limit the number of clearing members that are willing to transact on the Funds’ behalf. If a clearing member defaults a Fund could lose some or all of the benefits of a transaction entered into by the Fund with the clearing member. If a Fund cannot find a clearing member to transact with on the Fund’s behalf, the Fund may be unable to effectively implement its investment strategy.
Each Fund is also subject to the risk that the counterparty will not fulfill its obligation to the Fund. Counterparty risk may arise because of the counterparty’s financial condition (i.e., financial difficulties, bankruptcy, or insolvency), market activities and developments, or other reasons, whether foreseen or not. A counterparty’s inability to fulfill its obligation may result in significant financial loss to the Fund and the Fund may be unable to recover its investment from such counterparty or may obtain a limited and/or delayed recovery.
Derivatives Risk. The Funds’ derivative investments have risks, including the imperfect correlation between the value of such instruments and the underlying assets; the loss of principal, including the potential loss of amounts greater than the initial amount invested in the derivative instrument; the possible default of the other party to the transaction; and illiquidity of the derivative investments. Use of derivatives could also result in a loss if the counterparty to the transaction does not perform as promised, including because of such counterparty’s bankruptcy or insolvency. This risk may be greater during volatile market conditions. Other risks include the inability to close out a position because the trading market becomes illiquid (particularly in the OTC markets) or the availability of counterparties becomes limited for a period of time. In addition, the presence of speculators in a particular market could lead to price distortions.
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Certain of the Funds’ transactions in derivatives could also affect the amount, timing, and character of distributions to shareholders, which may result in a 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, which may adversely impact such Fund’s after-tax returns.
In addition, each Fund’s investments in derivatives are subject to the following risks:
Options Contracts. The use of options contracts involves investment strategies and risks different from those associated with ordinary portfolio securities transactions. The prices of options are volatile and are influenced by, among other things, actual and anticipated changes in the value of the underlying instrument, including the anticipated volatility, which are affected by fiscal and monetary policies and by national and international political, changes in the actual or implied volatility or the reference asset, the time remaining until the expiration of the option contract and economic events. For each of the Funds, the value of the options contracts in which the Fund invests are substantially influenced by the value of the applicable Underlying Security. The Funds may experience substantial downside from specific option positions and certain option positions held by a Fund may expire worthless. The options held by the Funds are exercisable at the strike price on their expiration date. As an option approaches its expiration date, its value typically increasingly moves with the value of the underlying instrument. However, prior to such date, the value of an option generally does not increase or decrease at the same rate at the underlying instrument. There may at times be an imperfect correlation between the movement in the values of options contracts and the reference asset, and there may at times not be a liquid secondary market for certain options contracts. The value of the options held by the Funds will be determined based on market quotations or other recognized pricing methods. Additionally, as each Fund intends to continuously maintain indirect exposure to the applicable Underlying Security through the use of options contracts, as the options contracts it holds are exercised or expire it will enter into new options contracts, a practice referred to as “rolling.” If the expiring options contracts do not generate proceeds enough to cover the cost of entering into new options contracts, a Fund may experience losses.
Swaps. The use of swap transactions is a highly specialized activity, which involves investment techniques and risks different from those associated with ordinary portfolio securities transactions. Whether a Fund will be successful in using swap agreements to achieve its investment goal depends on the ability of the Adviser to structure such swap agreements in accordance with the Fund’s investment objective and to identify counterparties for those swap agreements. If the Adviser is unable to enter into swap agreements that provide leveraged exposure to the Underlying Security, the Fund may not meet its stated investment objective. Additionally, any financing, borrowing or other costs associated with using swap transactions may also have the effect of lowering the Fund’s return.
The swap agreements in which a Fund invests are generally traded in the over-the-counter market, which generally has less transparency than exchange-traded derivatives instruments. In a standard swap transaction, two parties agree to exchange the return (or differentials in rates of return) earned or realized on particular predetermined reference assets or underlying securities or instruments. The gross return to be exchanged or swapped between the parties is calculated based on a notional amount or the return on or change in value of a particular dollar amount invested in a basket of securities.
If the Underlying Security has a dramatic move that causes a material decline in a Fund’s net assets, the terms of a swap agreement between the Fund and its counterparty may permit the counterparty to immediately close out the swap transaction with the Fund. In that event, the Fund may be unable to enter into another swap agreement or invest in other derivatives to achieve exposure consistent with the Fund’s investment objective. This may prevent the Fund from achieving its leveraged investment objective, even if the Underlying Security later reverses all or a portion of its movement.
Distribution Risk. As part of the Funds’ investment objectives, the Funds seek to provide current monthly income. There is no assurance that the Funds will make a distribution in any given month. If a Fund makes distributions, the amounts of such distributions will likely vary greatly from one distribution to the next. Additionally, monthly distributions, if any, may consist of returns of capital, which would decrease the Fund’s NAV and trading price over time. As a result, an investor may suffer significant losses to their investment.
Economic and Market Risk. A Fund is subject to the risk that the securities markets will move down, sometimes rapidly and unpredictably, based on overall economic conditions and other factors, which may negatively affect the Fund’s performance. Factors that affect markets in general, including geopolitical, regulatory, market and economic developments and other developments that impact specific economic sectors, industries, companies and segments of the market, could adversely impact the Fund’s investments and lead to a decline in the value of your investment in the Fund. Geopolitical and other events, including tensions, war, and open conflict between nations, such as between Russia and Ukraine, in the Middle East and in eastern Asia, could affect the economies of many countries including the United States. Trade disputes, pandemics, public health crises, natural disasters, cybersecurity incidents, and related events have led, and in the future may continue to lead, to instability in world economies and markets generally and reduced liquidity in equity, credit and fixed income markets, which may disrupt economies and markets and adversely affect the value of your investment. The imposition by the U.S. of tariffs on goods imported from foreign countries and reciprocal tariffs levied on U.S. goods by those countries also may lead to volatility and instability in domestic and foreign markets. In addition, policy changes by the U.S. government, the U.S. Federal Reserve and/or foreign governments, and political and economic changes within the U.S. and abroad, such as inflation, changes in interest rates, recessions, changes in the U.S. presidential administration and Congress, the U.S. government’s inability at times to agree on a long-term budget and deficit reduction plan, the threat of a federal government shutdown, threats not to increase the federal government’s debt limit which could result in a default on the government’s obligations, and the shutdown of certain financial institutions, may cause increased volatility in financial markets, affect investor and consumer confidence and adversely impact the broader financial markets and economy, perhaps suddenly and to a significant degree. Slowing global economic growth, the rise in protectionist trade policies, inflationary pressures, changes to some major international trade agreements, the imposition of tariffs, risks associated with trade agreements between countries and regions, including the U.S. and other foreign nations, political or economic dysfunction within some countries or regions, including the U.S., and dramatic changes in consumer sentiment and commodity and currency prices could affect the economies and markets of many nations, including the U.S., in ways that cannot necessarily be foreseen at the present time and may create significant market volatility. In 2022 the Federal Reserve and certain foreign central banks began to increase interest rates to address rising inflation. The Federal Reserve and certain foreign central banks subsequently started to lower interest rates in September 2024, though economic or other factors, such as inflation, could lead to the Federal Reserve stopping or reversing these changes. It is difficult to accurately predict the pace at which interest rates might change, the timing, frequency or magnitude of any such changes in interest rates, or when such changes might stop or again reverse course. Unexpected changes in interest rates could lead to significant market volatility or reduce liquidity in certain sectors of the market. Market disruptions have caused, and may continue to cause, broad changes in market value, negative public perceptions concerning these developments, and adverse investor sentiment or publicity. Changes in value may be temporary or may last for extended periods. Regulators in the U.S. have adopted a number of changes to regulations affecting markets and issuers, some of which apply to the Fund. Due to the broad scope of the regulations being adopted, certain of these changes, which may be revised or rescinded, could limit the Fund’s ability to pursue its investment strategies or make certain investments, may make it more costly for it to operate, or adversely impact performance.
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Equity Market Risk. The prices of equity securities rise and fall daily. These price movements may result from factors affecting individual issuers, industries or the stock market as a whole. In addition, equity markets tend to move in cycles which may cause stock prices to fall over a short and extended periods of time. In a declining stock market, stock prices for all companies (including those in the Fund’s portfolio) may decline, regardless of their long-term prospects.
ETF Risk.
Authorized Participants, Market Makers, and Liquidity Providers Concentration Risk. The Funds have a limited number of financial institutions that are authorized to purchase and redeem Shares directly from the Fund (known as “Authorized Participants” or “APs”). In addition, there may be a limited number of market makers and/or liquidity providers in the marketplace. To the extent either of the following events occur, Shares may trade at a material discount to NAV and possibly face delisting: (i) APs exit the business or otherwise become unable to process creation and/or redemption orders and no other APs step forward to perform these services; or (ii) market makers and/or liquidity providers exit the business or significantly reduce their business activities and no other entities step forward to perform their functions.
Cash Redemption Risk. Each Fund’s investment strategy may require it to redeem Shares for cash or to otherwise include cash as part of its redemption proceeds. For example, a Fund may not be able to redeem in-kind certain securities held by the Fund (e.g., derivative instruments). In such a case, a Fund may be required to sell or unwind portfolio investments to obtain the cash needed to distribute redemption proceeds. This may cause a Fund to recognize a capital gain that it might not have recognized if it had made a redemption in-kind. As a result, a Fund may pay out higher annual capital gain distributions than if the in-kind redemption process was used. By paying out higher annual capital gain distributions, investors may be subjected to increased capital gains taxes. Additionally, there may be brokerage costs or taxable gains or losses that may be imposed on a Fund in connection with a cash redemption that may not have occurred if the Fund had made a redemption in-kind. These costs could decrease the value of a Fund to the extent they are not offset by a transaction fee payable by an AP.
Costs of Buying or Selling Shares. Due to the costs of buying or selling Shares, including brokerage commissions imposed by brokers and bid-ask spreads, frequent trading of Shares may significantly reduce investment results and an investment in Shares may not be advisable for investors who anticipate regularly making small investments.
Management Risk. The Fund is subject to management risk because it is an actively managed portfolio. In managing the Fund’s investment portfolio, the portfolio managers will apply investment techniques and risk analyses that may not produce the desired result. There can be no guarantee that the Fund will meet its investment objective.
Shares May Trade at Prices Other Than NAV. As with all ETFs, Shares may be bought and sold in the secondary market at market prices. Although it is expected that the market price of Shares will approximate the Fund’s NAV, there may be times when the market price of Shares is more than the NAV intra-day (premium) or less than the NAV intra-day (discount) due to supply and demand of Shares or during periods of market volatility. This risk is heightened in times of market volatility, periods of steep market declines, and periods when there is limited trading activity for Shares in the secondary market, in which case such premiums or discounts may be significant.
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Trading. Although Shares are listed on a national securities exchange, such as the Exchange, and may be traded on U.S. exchanges other than the Exchange, there can be no assurance that an active trading market for the Shares will develop or be maintained or that the Shares will trade with any volume, or at all, on any stock exchange. In stressed market conditions, the liquidity of Shares may begin to mirror the liquidity of a Fund’s underlying portfolio holdings, which can be significantly less liquid than Shares. Shares trade on the Exchange at market price that may be below, at or above a Fund’s NAV. Trading in Shares on the Exchange may be halted due to market conditions or for reasons that, in the view of the Exchange, make trading in Shares inadvisable. In addition, trading in Shares on the Exchange is subject to trading halts caused by extraordinary market volatility pursuant to the Exchange “circuit breaker” rules. There can be no assurance that the requirements of the Exchange necessary to maintain the listing of a Fund will continue to be met or will remain unchanged. In the event of an unscheduled market close for options contracts that are based on the value of an ETF, such as the Underlying Security’s securities being halted or a market wide closure, settlement prices will be determined by the procedures of the listing exchange of the options contracts. As a result, a Fund could be adversely affected and be unable to implement its investment strategies in the event of an unscheduled closing.
Foreign Investment Risk. Because each of YieldMax® ARM Option Income Strategy ETF and YieldMax® SPOT Option Income Strategy ETF has indirect exposure to the stock or ADR of a foreign company, each such Fund may be subject to risks associated with foreign investments.
| ● | Currency Risk: Indirect exposure to foreign currencies subjects the Fund to the risk that currencies will decline in value relative to the U.S. dollar. Currency rates in foreign countries may fluctuate significantly over short periods of time for a number of reasons, including changes in interest rates and the imposition of currency controls or other political developments in the U.S. or abroad. | |
| ● | Depositary Receipts Risk (YieldMax® ARM Option Income Strategy ETF only): Investment in ADRs may be less liquid than the underlying shares in their primary trading market. |
| ● | Foreign Market and Trading Risk: The trading markets for many foreign securities are not as active as U.S. markets and may have less governmental regulation and oversight. | |
| ● | Foreign Securities Risk: Investments in securities of non-U.S. issuers involve certain risks that may not be present with investments in securities of U.S. issuers, such as risk of loss due to foreign currency fluctuations or to political or economic instability, as well as varying regulatory requirements applicable to investments in non-U.S. issuers. There may be less information publicly available about a non-U.S. issuer than a U.S. issuer. Non-U.S. issuers may also be subject to different regulatory, accounting, auditing, financial reporting and investor protection standards than U.S. issuers. |
High Portfolio Turnover Risk. The Funds may actively and frequently trade all or a significant portion of the securities in its portfolio. A high portfolio turnover rate increases transaction costs, which may increase a Fund’s expenses. Frequent trading may also cause adverse tax consequences for investors in the Funds due to an increase in short-term capital gains.
Inflation Risk. Inflation risk is the risk that the value of assets or income from investments will be less in the future as inflation decreases the value of money. As inflation increases, the present value of the Fund’s assets and distributions, if any, may decline.
Liquidity Risk. Some securities held by the Funds, including options contracts, may be difficult to sell or be illiquid, particularly during times of market turmoil. This risk is greater to the Funds as they will hold options contracts on a single security, and not a broader range of options contracts. Markets for securities or financial instruments could be disrupted by a number of events, including, but not limited to, an economic crisis, natural disasters, epidemics/pandemics, new legislation or regulatory changes inside or outside the United States. Illiquid securities may be difficult to value, especially in changing or volatile markets. If a Fund is forced to sell an illiquid security at an unfavorable time or price, such Fund may be adversely impacted. Certain market conditions or restrictions, such as market rules related to short sales, may prevent a Fund from limiting losses, realizing gains or achieving a high correlation with the applicable Underlying Security. There is no assurance that a security that is deemed liquid when purchased will continue to be liquid. Market illiquidity may cause losses for the Funds.
Money Market Instrument Risk. The Funds may use a variety of money market instruments for cash management purposes, including money market funds, depositary accounts and repurchase agreements. Repurchase agreements are contracts in which a seller of securities agrees to buy the securities back at a specified time and price. Repurchase agreements may be subject to market and credit risk related to the collateral securing the repurchase agreement. Money market instruments, including money market funds, may lose money through fees or other means.
NAV Erosion Risk Due to Distributions. If a Fund makes a distribution, the Fund’s NAV will typically drop by the amount of the distribution on the related ex-dividend date. The repeated payment of distributions, if any, by a Fund may significantly erode the Fund’s NAV and trading price over time. As a result, an investor may suffer significant losses to their investment.
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New Fund Risk. Each Fund is recently organized with no operating history. As a result, prospective investors do not have or have a limited track record or history on which to base their investment decisions. There can be no assurance that the Funds will grow to or maintain an economically viable size.
Non-Diversification Risk. Because each Fund is “non-diversified,” a Fund may invest a greater percentage of its assets in the securities of a single issuer or a smaller number of issuers than if it was a diversified fund. As a result, a decline in the value of an investment in a single issuer or a smaller number of issuers could cause a Fund’s overall value to decline to a greater degree than if such Fund held a more diversified portfolio. This may increase the Fund’s volatility and have a greater impact on such Fund’s performance. This may increase the Fund’s volatility and cause the performance of a relatively smaller number of issuers to have a greater impact on the Fund’s performance.
Operational Risk. Each Fund is subject to risks arising from various operational factors, including, but not limited to, human error, processing and communication errors, errors of the Funds’ service providers, counterparties or other third-parties, failed or inadequate processes and technology or systems failures. Each Fund relies on third-parties for a range of services, including custody. Any delay or failure relating to engaging or maintaining such service providers may affect a Fund’s ability to meet its investment objective. Although the Funds and the Funds’ investment advisor seek to reduce these operational risks through controls and procedures, there is no way to completely protect against such risks.
Price Participation Risk. Each Fund employs an investment strategy that includes the sale of call option contracts, which limits the degree to which such Fund will participate in increases in value experienced by the applicable Underlying Security over the Call Period. This means that if the Underlying Security experiences an increase in value above the strike price of the sold call options during a Call Period, the applicable Fund will likely not experience that increase to the same extent and may significantly underperform such Underlying Security over the Call Period. Additionally, because each Fund is limited in the degree to which it will participate in increases in value experienced by the Underlying Security over each Call Period but has full exposure to any decreases in value experienced by the Underlying Security over the Call Period, the NAV of the Fund may decrease over any given time period. Each Fund’s NAV is dependent on the value of each options portfolio, which is based principally upon the performance of the Underlying Security. The degree of participation in Underlying Security gains a Fund will experience will depend on prevailing market conditions, especially market volatility, at the time such Fund enters into the sold call option contracts and will vary from Call Period to Call Period. The value of the options contracts is affected by changes in the value and dividend rates of the Underlying Security, changes in interest rates, changes in the actual or perceived volatility of the Underlying Security and the remaining time to the options’ expiration, as well as trading conditions in the options market. As the price of the Underlying Security changes and time moves towards the expiration of each Call Period, the value of the options contracts, and therefore a Fund’s NAV, will change. However, it is not expected for a Fund’s NAV to directly correlate on a day-to-day basis with the returns of the Underlying Security. The amount of time remaining until the option contract’s expiration date affects the impact of the potential options contract income on a Fund’s NAV, which may not be in full effect until the expiration date of the Fund’s options contracts. Therefore, while changes in the price of the Underlying Security will result in changes to a Fund’s NAV, the Funds generally anticipate that the rate of change in a Fund’s NAV will be different than that experienced by the Underlying Security.
Single Issuer Risk. Issuer-specific attributes may cause an in a Fund to be more volatile than a traditional pooled investment which diversifies risk or the market generally. The value of a Fund, which focuses on an Underlying Security, may be more volatile than a traditional pooled investment or the market as a whole and may perform differently from the value of a traditional pooled investment or the market as a whole.
Tax Risk. The Fund intends to elect and to qualify each year to be treated as a RIC under Subchapter M of the Code. As a RIC, the Fund will not be subject to U.S. federal income tax on the portion of its net investment income and net capital gain that it distributes to Shareholders, provided that it satisfies certain requirements of the Code. If the Fund does not qualify as a RIC for any taxable year and certain relief provisions are not available, the Fund’s taxable income will be subject to tax at the Fund level and to a further tax at the shareholder level when such income is distributed. To comply with the asset diversification test applicable to a RIC, the Fund will attempt to ensure that the value of financial instruments providing exposure to the Underlying Security are never 25% of the total value of Fund assets at the close of any quarter. If the Fund’s investments in such financial instruments were to exceed 25% of the Fund’s total assets at the end of a tax quarter, the Fund, generally, has a grace period to cure such lack of compliance. If the Fund fails to timely cure, it may no longer be eligible to be treated as a RIC.
U.S. Government and U.S. Agency Obligations Risk. The Funds may invest in securities issued by the U.S. government or its agencies or instrumentalities. U.S. Government obligations include securities issued or guaranteed as to principal and interest by the U.S. Government, its agencies or instrumentalities, such as the U.S. Treasury. Payment of principal and interest on U.S. Government obligations may be backed by the full faith and credit of the United States or may be backed solely by the issuing or guaranteeing agency or instrumentality itself. In the latter case, the investor must look principally to the agency or instrumentality issuing or guaranteeing the obligation for ultimate repayment, which agency or instrumentality may be privately owned. There can be no assurance that the U.S. Government would provide financial support to its agencies or instrumentalities (including government-sponsored enterprises) where it is not obligated to do so.
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Information about each Fund’s daily portfolio holdings is, or will be, available on the Funds’ website at www.yieldmaxetfs.com.
A complete description of each Fund’s policies and procedures with respect to the disclosure of a Fund’s portfolio holdings is available in the Funds’ SAI.
Investment Adviser
Tidal Investments LLC (the “Adviser”), located at 234 West Florida Street, Suite 203, Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53204, is an SEC registered investment adviser and a Delaware limited liability company. Tidal was founded in March 2012 and is dedicated to understanding, researching and managing assets within the expanding ETF universe. As of [ ], 2025, Tidal had assets under management of approximately $[ ] billion and served as the investment adviser or sub-adviser for [ ] registered funds.
Tidal serves as investment adviser to the Funds and has overall responsibility for the general management and administration of the Funds pursuant to an investment advisory agreement with the Trust, on behalf of each Fund (the “Advisory Agreement”). The Adviser is responsible for trading portfolio securities for each Fund, including selecting broker-dealers to execute purchase and sale transactions. The Adviser also arranges for sub-advisory, transfer agency, custody, fund administration, and all other related services necessary for the Fund to operate. For the services provided to the Funds, each Fund pays the Adviser a unitary management fee of []%, which is calculated daily and paid monthly, at an annual rate based on such Fund’s average daily net assets.
Under the Advisory Agreement, in exchange for a single unitary management fee from the Fund, the Adviser has agreed to pay all expenses incurred by such Fund except for its advisory fee, interest charges on any borrowings made for investment purposes, dividends and other expenses on securities sold short, taxes, brokerage commissions and other expenses incurred in placing orders for the purchase and sale of securities and other investment instruments, acquired fund fees and expenses, accrued deferred tax liability, extraordinary expenses, distribution fees and expenses paid by a Fund under any distribution plan adopted pursuant to Rule 12b-1 under the 1940 Act, and the unitary management fee payable to the Adviser (collectively, the “Excluded Expenses”).
Advisory Agreement
A discussion regarding the basis for the Board’s approval of each Fund’s Advisory Agreement will be available in the [ ], 2025 Certified Shareholder Report on Form N-CSR.
Portfolio Managers
The following individuals (each, a “Portfolio Manager”) have served as portfolio managers of each Fund since inception in 2025.
Matt Brandt, Portfolio Manager for the Adviser
Matt Brandt serves as Portfolio Manager for the Adviser, having joined the firm in 2025. Mr. Brandt has 20 years of experience in the financial markets working in Trading, Derivative Risk Management, and Enterprise Risk for TD Ameritrade and Charles Schwab where he helped create a robust trading risk management program. He joined ZEGA Financial, LLC (“Zega”) in 2024 prior to joining the Adviser. His education includes a Bachelor’s degree in Economics and Mathematics from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and continuing education in the Mechanics of Risk Management from Middlesex University.
Christopher P. Mullen, Portfolio Manager for the Adviser
Christopher P. Mullen serves as Portfolio Manager at the Adviser, having joined the firm in January 2024. From September 2019 to December 2023, he was a Portfolio Manager at Vest Financial LLC, where he managed exchange-traded funds, mutual funds and retirement fund portfolios. Mr. Mullen previously served as a Senior Portfolio Analyst at ProShares Advisors LLC from September 2016 until September 2019. Prior to that, Mr. Mullen served as associate portfolio manager at USCF Investments LLC from February 2013 to September 2016. Mr. Mullen received a Master of Business Administration from the University of Maryland. He also holds a dual bachelor’s degree in global politics and history from Marquette University.
Scott Snyder, Portfolio Manager for the Adviser
Scott Snyder joined the firm in 2025 as SVP of Trading. Mr. Snyder has over 40 years of experience in the financial markets and more specifically in the options market. Mr. Snyder led the trading team at Zega financial before joining Tidal. He started his career in 1983 and for 20 years was an independent market maker on the floor of the CBOE. In 2003, Mr. Snyder joined think or swim as Chief Options Strategist for a subsidiary of think or swim advisors. Mr. Snyder then helped lead the RIA trading, execution platform support and option education business for TD Ameritrade and then Schwab from 2009-2024.
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The Funds’ SAI provides additional information about each portfolio manager’s compensation structure, other accounts that each portfolio manager manages, and each portfolio manager’s ownership of Shares.
Fund Supporters
The Adviser, Tidal ETF Services LLC, ZEGA, Lucania Investments LLC (“Lucania”), and Level ETF Ventures LLC (“Level,” and together with the Adviser, ZEGA and Lucania, the “Supporters” and each a “Supporter”) have entered into a fund support agreement pursuant to which each Supporter has agreed to provide financial support (as described below) to the Funds. Every month, the unitary management fees for each Fund are calculated and paid to the Adviser, and the Adviser retains a portion of the unitary management fees from each Fund. In return for its financial support for the Funds, the Adviser has agreed to pay each Supporter a portion of any remaining profits generated by the unitary management fees for the Funds. If the aggregate amount of the unitary management fees for the Funds exceeds the aggregate of the Funds’ operating expenses and the Adviser-retained amounts, that excess amount is considered “remaining profit.” In that case, the Adviser will pay a portion of the remaining profits to the Supporters. Further, if the aggregate amount of the unitary management fees for the Funds is less than the aggregate of Funds’ operating expenses and the Adviser-retained amounts, each Supporter is obligated to reimburse the Adviser for a portion of the shortfall.
Each Fund issues and redeems Shares only in Creation Units at the NAV per share next determined after receipt of an order from an AP. Only APs may acquire Shares directly from a Fund, and only APs may tender their Shares for redemption directly to the Funds, at NAV. APs must be a member or participant of a clearing agency registered with the SEC and must execute a Participant Agreement that has been agreed to by the Distributor (defined below), and that has been accepted by a Fund’s transfer agent, with respect to purchases and redemptions of Creation Units. Once created, Shares trade in the secondary market in quantities less than a Creation Unit.
In order to purchase Creation Units of a Fund, an AP must generally deposit a designated portfolio of equity securities (the “Deposit Securities”) and/or a designated amount of U.S. cash. Purchases and redemptions of Creation Units primarily with cash, rather than through in-kind delivery of portfolio securities, may cause the Funds to incur certain costs. These costs could include brokerage costs or taxable gains or losses that it might not have incurred if it had made redemption in-kind. These costs could be imposed on a Fund, and thus decrease the Fund’s NAV, to the extent that the costs are not offset by a transaction fee payable by an AP.
Most investors buy and sell Shares in secondary market transactions through brokers. Individual Shares are listed for trading on the secondary market on the Exchange and can be bought and sold throughout the trading day like other publicly traded securities.
When buying or selling Shares through a broker, you will incur customary brokerage commissions and charges, and you may pay some or all of the spread between the bid and the offer price in the secondary market on each leg of a round trip (purchase and sale) transaction. In addition, because secondary market transactions occur at market prices, you may pay more than NAV when you buy Shares, and receive less than NAV when you sell those Shares.
Book Entry
Shares are held in book-entry form, which means that no stock certificates are issued. The Depository Trust Company (“DTC”) or its nominee is the record owner of all outstanding Shares.
Investors owning Shares are beneficial owners as shown on the records of DTC or its participants. DTC serves as the securities depository for all Shares. DTC’s participants include securities brokers and dealers, banks, trust companies, clearing corporations and other institutions that directly or indirectly maintain a custodial relationship with DTC. As a beneficial owner of Shares, you are not entitled to receive physical delivery of stock certificates or to have Shares registered in your name, and you are not considered a registered owner of Shares. Therefore, to exercise any right as an owner of Shares, you must rely upon the procedures of DTC and its participants. These procedures are the same as those that apply to any other securities that you hold in book-entry or “street name” through your brokerage account.
Frequent Purchases and Redemptions of Shares
None of the Funds imposes any restrictions on the frequency of purchases and redemptions of Shares. In determining not to approve a written, established policy, the Board evaluated the risks of market timing activities by a Fund’s shareholders. Purchases and redemptions by APs, who are the only parties that may purchase or redeem Shares directly with a Fund, are an essential part of the ETF process and help keep Share trading prices in line with the NAV. As such, the Funds accommodate frequent purchases and redemptions by APs. However, the Board has also determined that frequent purchases and redemptions for cash may increase tracking error and portfolio transaction costs and may lead to the realization of capital gains. To minimize these potential consequences of frequent purchases and redemptions, each Fund employs fair value pricing and may impose transaction fees on purchases and redemptions of Creation Units to cover the custodial and other costs incurred by such Fund in effecting trades. In addition, the Funds and the Adviser reserve the right to reject any purchase order at any time.
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Determination of Net Asset Value
Each Fund’s NAV is calculated as of the scheduled close of regular trading on the New York Stock Exchange (“NYSE”), generally 4:00 p.m. Eastern Time, each day the NYSE is open for regular business. The NAV for the Funds is calculated by dividing such Fund’s net assets by its Shares outstanding.
In calculating its NAV, each Fund generally value its assets on the basis of market quotations, last sale prices, or estimates of value furnished by a pricing service or brokers who make markets in such instruments. If such information is not available for a security held by a Fund or is determined to be unreliable, the security will be valued at fair value estimates under guidelines established by the Adviser (as described below).
The Fund values swap agreements based on the nature of the underlying reference asset or index. The Fund may use the closing price of the underlying reference asset, as provided by independent pricing services, or evaluated prices generated by pricing vendors' models. The Fund values exchange-traded options at the composite mean price, calculated as the average of the highest bid and lowest ask prices across the exchanges on which the option is principally traded.
Fair Value Pricing
The Board has designated the Adviser as the “valuation designee” for the Fund under Rule 2a-5 of the 1940 Act, subject to its oversight. The Adviser has adopted procedures and methodologies, which have been approved by the Board, to fair value Fund investments whose market prices are not “readily available” or are deemed to be unreliable. For example, such circumstances may arise when: (i) an investment has been delisted or has had its trading halted or suspended; (ii) an investment’s primary pricing source is unable or unwilling to provide a price; (iii) an investment’s primary trading market is closed during regular market hours; or (iv) an investment’s value is materially affected by events occurring after the close of the investment’s primary trading market. Generally, when fair valuing an investment, the Adviser will take into account all reasonably available information that may be relevant to a particular valuation including, but not limited to, fundamental analytical data regarding the issuer, information relating to the issuer’s business, recent trades or offers of the investment, general and/or specific market conditions, and the specific facts giving rise to the need to fair value the investment. Fair value determinations are made in good faith and in accordance with the fair value methodologies included in the Adviser-adopted valuation procedures. The Adviser will fair value Fund investments whose market prices are not “readily available” or are deemed to be unreliable. Due to the subjective and variable nature of fair value pricing, there can be no assurance that the Adviser will be able to obtain the fair value assigned to the investment upon the sale of such investment.
Delivery of Shareholder Documents – Householding
Householding is an option available to certain investors of the Funds. Householding is a method of delivery, based on the preference of the individual investor, in which a single copy of certain shareholder documents can be delivered to investors who share the same address, even if their accounts are registered under different names. Householding for the Funds is available through certain broker-dealers. If you are interested in enrolling in householding and receiving a single copy of prospectuses and other shareholder documents, please contact your broker-dealer. If you are currently enrolled in householding and wish to change your householding status, please contact your broker-dealer.
DIVIDENDS, DISTRIBUTIONS, AND TAXES
Dividends and Distributions
The Funds intend to pay out dividends and interest income, if any, monthly, and distribute any net realized capital gains to its shareholders at least annually.
The Funds will declare and pay income and capital gain distributions, if any, in cash. Distributions in cash may be reinvested automatically in additional whole Shares only if the broker through whom you purchased Shares makes such option available. Your broker is responsible for distributing the income and capital gain distributions to you.
Taxes
The following discussion is a summary of some important U.S. federal income tax considerations generally applicable to investments in the Funds. Your investment in a Fund may have other tax implications. Please consult your tax advisor about the tax consequences of an investment in Shares, including the possible application of foreign, state, and local tax laws.
Each Fund intends to qualify each year for treatment as a regulated investment company (a “RIC”) under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended. If it meets certain minimum distribution requirements, a RIC is not subject to tax at the fund level on income and gains from investments that are timely distributed to shareholders. However, a Fund’s failure to qualify as a RIC or to meet minimum distribution requirements would result (if certain relief provisions were not available) in fund-level taxation and, consequently, a reduction in income available for distribution to shareholders.
Unless your investment in Shares is made through a tax-exempt entity or tax-advantaged account, such as an IRA plan, you need to be aware of the possible tax consequences when a Fund makes distributions, when you sell your Shares listed on the Exchange, and when you purchase or redeem Creation Units (institutional investors only).
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The following general discussion of certain U.S. federal income tax consequences is based on provisions of the Code and the regulations issued thereunder as in effect on the date of this SAI. New legislation, as well as administrative changes or court decisions, may significantly change the conclusions expressed herein, and may have a retroactive effect with respect to the transactions contemplated herein.
Taxes on Distributions. Each Fund intends to pay out dividends and interest income, if any, monthly, and distribute any net realized capital gains to its shareholders at least annually. For federal income tax purposes, distributions of net investment income are generally taxable as ordinary income. Taxes on distributions of net capital gains (if any) are determined by how long the Fund owned the investments that generated them, rather than how long a shareholder has owned their Shares. Sales of assets held by a Fund for more than one year generally result in long-term capital gains and losses, and sales of assets held by such Fund for one year or less generally result in short-term capital gains and losses. Distributions of a Fund’s net capital gain (the excess of net long-term capital gains over net short-term capital losses) that are reported by such Fund as capital gain dividends (“Capital Gain Dividends”) will be taxable as long-term capital gains. Distributions of short-term capital gain will generally be taxable as ordinary income. Dividends and distributions are generally taxable to you whether you receive them in cash or reinvest them in additional Shares.
Distributions reported by a Fund as “qualified dividend income” are generally taxed to non-corporate shareholders at rates applicable to long-term capital gains, provided certain holding period and other requirements are met. “Qualified dividend income” generally is income derived from dividends paid by U.S. corporations or certain foreign corporations that are either incorporated in a U.S. possession or eligible for tax benefits under certain U.S. income tax treaties. In addition, dividends that a Fund receives in respect of stock of certain foreign corporations may be qualified dividend income if that stock is readily tradable on an established U.S. securities market. Corporate shareholders may be entitled to a dividends-received deduction for the portion of dividends they receive from a Fund that are attributable to dividends received by such Fund from U.S. corporations, subject to certain limitations. Given the investment strategies of the Funds, it is unlikely that any dividends paid by a Fund will be qualified dividends or be eligible for the corporate dividends paid deduction.
Shortly after the close of each calendar year, you will be informed of the character of any distributions received from a Fund.
In addition to the federal income tax, certain individuals, trusts, and estates may be subject to a Net Investment Income (“NII”) tax of 3.8%. The NII tax is imposed on the lesser of: (i) a taxpayer’s investment income, net of deductions properly allocable to such income; or (ii) the amount by which such taxpayer’s modified adjusted gross income exceeds certain thresholds ($250,000 for married individuals filing jointly, $200,000 for unmarried individuals and $125,000 for married individuals filing separately). Each Fund’s distributions are includable in a shareholder’s investment income for purposes of this NII tax. In addition, any capital gain realized by a shareholder upon a sale or redemption of shares of a Fund is includable in such shareholder’s investment income for purposes of this NII tax.
In general, your distributions are subject to federal income tax for the year in which they are paid. Certain distributions paid in January, however, may be treated as paid on December 31 of the prior year. Distributions are generally taxable even if they are paid from income or gains earned by a Fund before your investment (and thus were included in the Shares’ NAV when you purchased your Shares).
You may wish to avoid investing in a Fund shortly before a dividend or other distribution, because such a distribution will generally be taxable even though it may economically represent a return of a portion of your investment.
If you are neither a resident nor a citizen of the United States or if you are a foreign entity, distributions (other than Capital Gain Dividends) paid to you by a Fund will generally be subject to a U.S. withholding tax at the rate of 30%, unless a lower treaty rate applies. The Funds may, under certain circumstances, report all or a portion of a dividend as an “interest-related dividend” or a “short-term capital gain dividend,” which would generally be exempt from this 30% U.S. withholding tax, provided certain other requirements are met.
Under the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (“FATCA”), the Funds may be required to withhold a generally nonrefundable 30% tax on distributions of net taxable income paid to (A) certain “foreign financial institutions” unless such foreign financial institution agrees to verify, monitor, and report to the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) the identity of certain of its account-holders, among other items (or unless such entity is otherwise deemed compliant under the terms of an intergovernmental agreement between the United States and the foreign financial institution’s country of residence), and (B) certain “non-financial foreign entities” unless such entity certifies to the Fund that it does not have any substantial U.S. owners or provides the name, address, and taxpayer identification number of each substantial U.S. owner, among other items. This FATCA withholding tax could also affect a Fund’s return on its investments in foreign securities or affect a shareholder’s return if the shareholder holds its Fund shares through a foreign intermediary. You are urged to consult your tax adviser regarding the application of this FATCA withholding tax to your investment in a Fund and the potential certification, compliance, due diligence, reporting, and withholding obligations to which you may become subject in order to avoid this withholding tax.
Each Fund (or a financial intermediary, such as a broker, through which a shareholder owns Shares) generally is required to withhold and remit to the U.S. Treasury a percentage of the taxable distributions and sale or redemption proceeds paid to any shareholder who fails to properly furnish a correct taxpayer identification number, who has underreported dividend or interest income, or who fails to certify that they are not subject to such withholding.
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Taxes When Shares are Sold on the Exchange
Any capital gain or loss realized upon a sale of Shares generally is treated as a long-term capital gain or loss if Shares have been held for more than one year and as a short-term capital gain or loss if Shares have been held for one year or less. However, any capital loss on a sale of Shares held for six months or less is treated as long-term capital loss to the extent of Capital Gain Dividends paid with respect to such Shares. Any loss realized on a sale will be disallowed to the extent Shares of a Fund are acquired, including through reinvestment of dividends, within a 61-day period beginning 30 days before and ending 30 days after the sale of substantially identical Shares.
Taxes on Purchases and Redemptions of Creation Units
An AP having the U.S. dollar as its functional currency for U.S. federal income tax purposes who exchanges securities for Creation Units generally recognizes a gain or a loss. The gain or loss will be equal to the difference between the value of the Creation Units at the time of the exchange and the exchanging AP’s aggregate basis in the securities delivered plus the amount of any cash paid for the Creation Units. An AP who exchanges Creation Units for securities will generally recognize a gain or loss equal to the difference between the exchanging AP’s basis in the Creation Units and the aggregate U.S. dollar market value of the securities received, plus any cash received for such Creation Units. The IRS may assert, however, that a loss that is realized upon an exchange of securities for Creation Units may not be currently deducted under the rules governing “wash sales” (for an AP who does not mark-to-market their holdings) or on the basis that there has been no significant change in economic position. Persons exchanging securities should consult their own tax advisor with respect to whether wash sale rules apply and when a loss might be deductible.
Any capital gain or loss realized upon redemption of Creation Units is generally treated as long-term capital gain or loss if Shares comprising the Creation Units have been held for more than one year and as a short-term capital gain or loss if such Shares have been held for one year or less.
The Funds may include a payment of cash in addition to, or in place of, the delivery of a basket of securities upon the redemption of Creation Units. The Funds may sell portfolio securities to obtain the cash needed to distribute redemption proceeds. This may cause the Funds to recognize investment income and/or capital gains or losses that they might not have recognized if they had completely satisfied the redemption in-kind. As a result, the Funds may be less tax efficient if they include such a cash payment in the proceeds paid upon the redemption of Creation Units.
Important Tax Considerations When Purchasing Fund Shares
If you are investing through a taxable account, you should carefully consider the timing of your investment relative to a Fund’s distribution schedule. Purchasing Fund shares shortly before a distribution may increase your tax liability, a situation commonly referred to as “buying a dividend.”
When a Fund makes a distribution, its share price typically drops by an amount roughly equal to the distribution. As a hypothetical example, if you invest $5,000 to purchase 250 shares at $20 per share on December 15, and the Fund pays a $1 per share distribution on December 16, the share price would adjust to $19 (ignoring market fluctuations). Although your total investment value remains $5,000 (250 shares × $19 in share value plus 250 shares × $1 distribution), you would owe taxes on the $250 distribution, even if you reinvest the distribution rather than receiving it in cash.
Distributions are taxable to shareholders even if they are paid from income or gains realized by a Fund before you invested, and even if they were reflected in the purchase price of the shares. Consequently, you may incur taxes on income or gains that accrued before your investment, without corresponding benefit.
Unless you are investing through a tax-advantaged account, such as an IRA or an employer-sponsored retirement plan, you may wish to avoid purchasing Fund shares shortly before a distribution. You can minimize the potential tax impact by reviewing the relevant Fund’s distribution schedule prior to investing. When available, information about a Fund’s distribution schedule can be found on the Funds’ website at www.yieldmaxetfs.com.
The foregoing discussion summarizes some of the possible consequences under current federal tax law of an investment in the Funds. It is not a substitute for personal tax advice. You also may be subject to foreign, state and local tax on Fund distributions and sales of Shares. Consult your personal tax advisor about the potential tax consequences of an investment in Shares under all applicable tax laws. For more information, please see the section entitled “Federal Income Taxes” in the SAI.
Foreside Fund Services, LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Foreside Financial Group (dba ACA Group) (the “Distributor”), the Funds’ distributor, is a broker-dealer registered with the SEC. The Distributor distributes Creation Units for the Fund on an agency basis and does not maintain a secondary market in Shares. The Distributor has no role in determining the policies of the Funds or the securities that are purchased or sold by the Funds. The Distributor’s principal address is Three Canal Plaza, Suite 100, Portland, Maine 04101.
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The Board has adopted a Distribution (Rule 12b-1) Plan (the “Plan”) pursuant to Rule 12b-1 under the 1940 Act. In accordance with the Plan, the Funds are authorized to pay an amount up to 0.25% of its average daily net assets each year to pay distribution fees for the sale and distribution of its Shares.
No Rule 12b-1 fees are currently paid by the Funds, and there are no plans to impose these fees. However, in the event Rule 12b-1 fees are charged in the future, because the fees are paid out of assets of the respective Fund on an ongoing basis, over time these fees will increase the cost of your investment and may cost you more than certain other types of sales charges.
Information regarding how often Shares of the Funds traded on the Exchange at a price above (i.e., at a premium) or below (i.e., at a discount) the NAV of such Fund can be found on the Funds’ website at www.yieldmaxetfs.com.
Shares are not sponsored, endorsed, or promoted by the Exchange. The Exchange is not responsible for, nor has it participated in the determination of, the timing, prices, or quantities of Shares to be issued, nor in the determination or calculation of the equation by which Shares are redeemable. The Exchange has no obligation or liability to owners of Shares in connection with the administration, marketing, or trading of Shares.
Without limiting any of the foregoing, in no event shall the Exchange have any liability for any lost profits or indirect, punitive, special, or consequential damages even if notified of the possibility thereof.
The Adviser, ZEGA, Lucania, Level, and the Funds make no representation or warranty, express or implied, to the owners of Shares or any member of the public regarding the advisability of investing in securities generally or in any Fund particularly.
The Third Amended and Restated Declaration of Trust (“Declaration of Trust”) provides a detailed process for the bringing of derivative or direct actions by shareholders in order to permit legitimate inquiries and claims while avoiding the time, expense, distraction, and other harm that can be caused to a Fund or its shareholders as a result of spurious shareholder demands and derivative actions. Prior to bringing a derivative action, a demand by three unrelated shareholders must first be made on a Fund’s Trustees. The Declaration of Trust details various information, certifications, undertakings and acknowledgments that must be included in the demand. Following receipt of the demand, the trustees have a period of 90 days, which may be extended by an additional 60 days, to consider the demand. If a majority of the Trustees who are considered independent for the purposes of considering the demand determine that maintaining the suit would not be in the best interests of the Fund, the Trustees are required to reject the demand and the complaining shareholders may not proceed with the derivative action unless the shareholders are able to sustain the burden of proof to a court that the decision of the Trustees not to pursue the requested action was not a good faith exercise of their business judgment on behalf of the Fund. The Declaration of Trust further provides that shareholders owning Shares representing no less than a majority of a Fund’s outstanding shares must join in bringing the derivative action. If a demand is rejected, the complaining shareholders will be responsible for the costs and expenses (including attorneys’ fees) incurred by the Fund in connection with the consideration of the demand, if a court determines that the demand was made without reasonable cause or for an improper purpose. If a derivative action is brought in violation of the Declaration of Trust, the shareholders bringing the action may be responsible for the Fund’s costs, including attorneys’ fees, if a court determines that the action was brought without reasonable cause or for an improper purpose. The Declaration of Trust provides that no shareholder may bring a direct action claiming injury as a shareholder of the Trust, or any Fund, where the matters alleged (if true) would give rise to a claim by the Trust or by the Trust on behalf of a Fund, unless the shareholder has suffered an injury distinct from that suffered by the shareholders of the Trust, or the Fund, generally. Under the Declaration of Trust, a shareholder bringing a direct claim must be a shareholder of the Fund with respect to which the direct action is brought at the time of the injury complained of or have acquired the shares afterwards by operation of law from a person who was a shareholder at that time. The Declaration of Trust further provides that a Fund shall be responsible for payment of attorneys’ fees and legal expenses incurred by a complaining shareholder only if required by law, and any attorneys’ fees that the Fund is obligated to pay shall be calculated using reasonable hourly rates. These provisions do not apply to claims brought under the federal securities laws.
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The Declaration of Trust also requires that actions by shareholders against a Fund be brought exclusively in a federal or state court located within the State of Delaware. This provision will not apply to claims brought under the federal securities laws. Limiting shareholders’ ability to bring actions only in courts located in Delaware may cause shareholders economic hardship to litigate the action in those courts, including paying for traveling expenses of witnesses and counsel, requiring retaining local counsel, and may limit shareholders’ ability to bring a claim in a judicial forum that shareholders find favorable for disputes, which may discourage such actions.
UNDERLYING ISSUER INFORMATION
Information provided to or filed with the SEC by each of Underlying Security pursuant to the Exchange Act, including the financial statements of each such Underlying Security in its Form 10-K or Form 20-F, as applicable, can be located by reference to SEC file number noted below through the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov:
| Underlying Issuer | SEC File Number |
| Affirm Holdings, Inc. (“AFRM”) | 001-39888 |
| AppLovin Corporation (“APP”) | 001-40325 |
| ADR of ARM Holdings plc (“ARM”) | 001-41800 |
| Broadcom Inc. (“AVGO”) | 001-38449 |
| CrowdStrike Holdings, Inc. (“CRWD”) | 001-38933 |
| GameStop Corp. (“GME”) | 1-32637 |
| Hims & Hers Health Inc. (“HIMS”) | 001-38986 |
| IonQ, Inc. (“IONQ”) | 001-39694 |
| Eli Lilly and Company (“LLY”) | 001-06351 |
| Reddit, Inc. (“RDDT”) | 001-41983 |
| Spotify Technology S.A. (“SPOT”) | 001-38438 |
| Uber Technologies, Inc. (“UBER”) | 001-38902 |
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This section would ordinarily include Financial Highlights for the Funds. The Financial Highlights tables are intended to help you understand the performance of each Fund for that Fund’s periods of operations. Because the Funds have not yet commenced operations as of the date of this Prospectus, no Financial Highlights are shown.
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YieldMax® ETFs
| Adviser |
Tidal
Investments LLC Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53204 |
||
| Distributor | Foreside
Fund Services, LLC Three Canal Plaza, Suite 100 Portland, Maine 04101 |
Administrator | Tidal
ETF Services LLC 234 West Florida Street, Suite 203 Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53204 |
| Legal Counsel |
Sullivan
& Worcester LLP 19th floor New York, NY 10020 |
Sub-Administrator, Fund Accountant, and Transfer Agent |
U.S.
Bancorp Fund Services, LLC, doing business as U.S. Bank Global Fund Services 615 East Michigan Street Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53202 |
| Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm |
[ ] | Custodian | U.S.
Bank National Association 1555 North Rivercenter Drive Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53212 |
Investors may find more information about the Funds in the following documents:
Statement of Additional Information: The Funds’ SAI provides additional details about the investments of each Fund and certain other additional information. A current SAI dated [ ], 2025, as supplemented from time to time, is on file with the SEC and is herein incorporated by reference into this Prospectus. It is legally considered a part of this Prospectus.
Annual/Semi-Annual Reports: Additional information about the Funds’ investments will be available in the Funds’ annual and semi-annual reports to shareholders and in Form N-CSR. In the annual report you will find a discussion of the market conditions and investment strategies that significantly affected each Fund’s performance after the first fiscal year each Fund is in operation. In Form N-CSR, you will find the Fund’s annual and semi-annual financial statements.
You can obtain free copies of these documents, when available, request other information or make general inquiries about the Funds by contacting the Funds at the YieldMax® Funds, c/o U.S. Bank Global Fund Services, P.O. Box 701, Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53201-0701 or calling (866) 864-3968.
Shareholder reports and other information about the Funds are also available:
| ● | Free of charge from the SEC’s EDGAR database on the SEC’s website at http://www.sec.gov; or | |
| ● | Free of charge from the Fund’s Internet website at www.yieldmaxetfs.com; or | |
| ● | For a fee, by e-mail request to [email protected]. |
(SEC Investment Company Act File No. 811-23793)