ck0001592900-20260128
ALPHA
ARCHITECT 1-3 MONTH BOX ETF
Ticker
Symbol: BOXX
Listed
on Cboe BZX Exchange, Inc.
Prospectus
February
1, 2026
These
securities have not been approved or disapproved by the Securities and Exchange
Commission nor has the Securities and Exchange Commission passed upon the
accuracy or adequacy of this Prospectus. Any representation to the contrary is a
criminal offense.
Table
of Contents
ALPHA
ARCHITECT 1-3 MONTH BOX ETF
Fund
Summary
INVESTMENT
OBJECTIVE
The
Alpha
Architect 1-3 Month Box ETF (the “Fund”) seeks to provide
investment results that, before fees and expenses, equals or exceeds the price
and yield performance of an investment that tracks the 1-3 month sector of the
United States Treasury Bill market.
FEES AND
EXPENSES
This
table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy, hold, and
sell shares of the Fund (“Shares”). You
may also pay brokerage commissions on the purchase and sale of Shares, which are
not reflected in the table or example.
ANNUAL FUND
OPERATING EXPENSES (EXPENSES THAT YOU PAY EACH YEAR AS A PERCENTAGE OF THE VALUE
OF YOUR INVESTMENT)
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
Management
Fee1 |
0.24 |
% |
| Distribution
and/or Service (12b-1) Fees |
None |
|
Other
Expenses |
0.00 |
% |
|
Total
Annual Fund Operating Expenses1 |
0.24 |
% |
|
Fees
Waived and/or Reimbursed2 |
(0.05) |
% |
|
Total
Annual Fund Operating Expenses After Waiving and/or Reimbursing
Expenses3 |
0.19 |
% |
1The
Fund’s Management Fee and Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses are
0.2449%.
2The Adviser has
contractually agreed to waive receipt of its management fees and/or assume
expenses of the Fund so that the total annual operating expenses of the Fund
(excluding payments under the Fund’s Rule 12b-1 distribution and service plan
(if any), acquired fund fees and expenses, brokerage expenses, taxes (including
tax-related services), interest (including borrowing costs), litigation expense
(including class action-related services) and other non-routine or extraordinary
expenses) do not exceed 0.1949% of the Fund’s average daily net assets. This
agreement will remain in place until at least February 1,
2027. The agreement may be terminated only by the Board of
Trustees.
3The
Fund’s Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses After Fee Waiver are
0.1949%.
EXAMPLE
The following 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 for the time periods indicated and then redeem
all of your Shares at the end of those periods. The example reflects the Fund’s
contractual expense limitation agreement only for the term of the contractual
expense limitation agreement. The example also assumes that the Fund provides a
return of 5% a year and that operating expenses remain the same. You may also
pay brokerage commissions on the purchase and sale of Shares, which are not
reflected in the example. Although your actual
costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would
be:
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| One
Year: |
Three
Years: |
Five
Years: |
Ten
Years: |
| $20 |
$74 |
$133 |
$307 |
PORTFOLIO
TURNOVER
The
Fund may pay transaction costs, including 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 annual fund
operating expenses or in the example, affect the Fund’s performance. For the
fiscal year ended September 30, 2025 Fund’s portfolio turnover rate was
0% of the average
value of its portfolio. This rate excludes the value of portfolio securities
whose maturities or expiration dates at the time of acquisition were one year or
less.
PRINCIPAL INVESTMENT
STRATEGIES
Alpha
Architect 1-3 Month Box ETF (the “Fund”) is an actively managed exchange-traded
fund (“ETF”) whose investment objective is to provide investment results that,
before fees and expenses, equal or exceed the price and yield performance of an
investment that tracks the 1-3 month sector of the United States Treasury Bill
market. To do so, the principal investment strategy of the Fund will be to
utilize a series of long and short exchange-listed options combinations called a
box spread (“Box Spread”). In order to accomplish its investment goals, the Fund
may utilize either standard exchange-listed options or FLexible EXchange®
Options (“FLEX Options”) or a combination of both.
In
general, an option contract is an agreement between a buyer and seller that
gives the purchaser of the option the right to buy or sell a particular asset at
a specified future date at an agreed upon price, commonly known as the “strike
price.” In the case of a “call option”, the purchaser has the right to buy the
particular asset and the seller of a “call option” has the obligation to deliver
the particular asset at the strike price. In the case of a “put option”, the
purchaser has the right to sell the particular asset and the seller of a “put
option” has the obligation to purchase the particular asset at the strike
price.
By
way of background, a Box Spread is the combination of a synthetic long position
coupled with an offsetting synthetic short position through a combination of
options contracts on an equity security or an equity index at the same
expiration date. The synthetic long consists of buying a call option and selling
a put option on the same security or index where the call option and put option
share the same strike and expiration date (a “Synthetic Long”). When purchasing
a Box Spread, the Synthetic Long will have a strike price that is less than the
strike price for the Synthetic Short. The difference between the strike prices
of the Synthetic Long and the Synthetic Short will determine the expiration
value (or value at maturity) of the Box Spread. The synthetic short consists of
buying a put option and selling a call option on the same security or index with
the same expiration date as the synthetic long but using a different strike
price (a “Synthetic Short”). When purchasing a Box Spread, the Synthetic Long
will have a strike price that is less than the strike price for the Synthetic
Short. The difference between the strike prices of the Synthetic Long and the
Synthetic Short will determine the expiration value (or value at maturity) of
the Box Spread.
An
important feature of the Box Spread construction process is the elimination of
risk tied to changes in the value of the Box Spread’s reference asset (typically
an equity security or equity index) so long as the Box Spread is held to its
expiration date. As displayed in the diagram below, a Box Spread’s return at its
expiration date stays constant no matter how low or how high the value of the
Box Spread’s reference asset moves. Once the Box Spread is initiated, its return
from the initiation date of such Box Spread through its expiration date is
fixed, but the value of the Box Spread may increase or decrease during that
period due to changes in interest rates (or expectations of such changes) and
the supply and demand in short-term credit markets, among other factors. The
diagram below only depicts the value of the Box Spread at its expiration date
and not at points in time prior to the expiration date.
The
Fund anticipates buying, holding, and/or selling multiple Box Spreads, and
consequently, the Fund’s anticipated return from Box Spreads will reflect all of
its investment activity, as well as changes in market prices and expected
interest rates, among other factors, and will vary over time. Because the Fund
will generally hold multiple Box Spreads at any time, the Fund has no fixed
return amount for any particular period of time, unlike a bond. Additionally,
the value of the Fund is affected by factors including those affecting the value
of Box Spreads and may increase or decrease over any period of
time.
Buying
(or selling) a Box Spread is similar to buying (or selling) a zero-coupon bond.
A zero-coupon bond does not pay periodic coupons, but the bond trades
at a discount to its face value. The maturity value of a zero-coupon
bond is comparable to the difference in the strike prices of the Box Spread. The
maturity date of a zero-coupon bond is comparable to the expiration date of the
options comprising the Box Spread. When constructing a Box Spread, the strike
price of the Synthetic Long will be at a lower strike price than the strike
price of the Synthetic Short. When buying or selling a Box Spread, the buyer or
seller generally expects the price of the Box Spread to be less than the
difference in the strike prices of the Box Spread. A buyer or seller of a Box
Spread will earn a profit or loss equal to the difference between the beginning
price (price paid to buy or received if sold) and the ending price (expiration
value or closing trade price). If the Fund holds the Box Spread until
expiration, then its profit or loss will be determined by the difference between
the price it paid to buy the Box Spread (or received in the case of selling the
Box Spread) and the value of the Box Spread upon expiration.
As
an example, a typical Box Spread could include the simultaneous purchase of a
call option and sale of a put option (i.e., a Synthetic Long) with a strike of
$1,000 on the S&P 500 Index (“SPX”) together with the sale of a call option
and purchase of a put option (i.e., a Synthetic Short) with a strike of $2,000
on the SPX where all four of these options share the same expiration date. The
expiration or maturity value would be the difference in the strikes or $1,000 in
this case. The expected profit earned would equal the difference between the
price paid for this Box Spread and its expiration value of $1,000 minus any
transaction costs associated with the options trades. The effective yield on
each Box Spread is determined by annualizing the profit over the price paid. The
Fund will only purchase Box Spreads where the purchase price (after considering
all costs to the Fund for entering such trade) is less than the expiration
value.
Arin
Risk Advisors, LLC (“Arin”) may invest the Fund’s assets in a series of Box
Spreads with various expiration dates. The quantity and expiration dates of the
Box Spreads held by the Fund will be based on several factors, including the
Fund’s asset size, the effective yield for various Box Spread expiration dates
available in the marketplace, and Arin’s view of future interest rates. Based
upon historical examples of Box Spreads actually traded in the marketplace, Arin
expects that there will be market participants willing to sell Box Spreads to
the Fund in sufficient quantities to satisfy the objective of the
Fund.
The
Fund generally invests its assets in a series of Box Spreads such that the
weighted average maturity of the Box Spreads based upon expiration dates is less
than 90 days. The Fund may sell Box Spreads with a longer or shorter period to
expiration in an effort to gain exposure to the forward rate implied by the
execution of longer and shorter dated Box Spreads. The Fund expects to trade
some or all of the Box Spreads prior to their respective expiration dates, if
Arin believes it is advantageous for the Fund to do so. Upon expiration or sale
of any Box Spread, Arin may seek to purchase additional Box Spreads at an
effective yield and expiration date that offers favorable risk and reward
characteristics under current market conditions. The Fund may also invest in
cash, cash equivalents, money market funds or treasury bills. The Fund’s
strategy is expected to result in high portfolio turnover. The return that the
Fund expects to earn from Box Spreads will fluctuate but remain consistent with
the market rate for similar short-term interest rate sensitive securities as
indicated by the Federal Funds Futures market.
When
purchasing or selling a Box Spread, the Fund will use European-style options.
European style options may not be terminated or assigned in advance of the
option’s expiration date and may only be exercised on their expiration date.
This ensures that none of the synthetic positions created using the Box Spread
will be forcibly closed prior to the Box Spread’s maturity. The Fund expects to
use options on broad-based diversified assets such as the SPDR® S&P 500® ETF
Trust for substantially all of the Fund’s holdings. The Fund may purchase or
sell Box Spreads using exchange-listed option contracts on an ETF other than the
SPDR® S&P 500® ETF Trust or on an index or individual equity security when
Arin has determined that doing so would provide the Fund with better risk and
return or tax characteristics. The Fund may also utilize an exchange-listed
options strategy using long shares of an individual equity security or ETF (in
place of the Synthetic Long) together with a Synthetic Short created by
purchasing
a put option and selling a call option on that equity security or ETF with the
same strike and expiration date. This individual equity security or ETF strategy
will generally be purchased when such purchase is in the best interest of the
Fund because it offers more favorable price or tax characteristics. The Fund’s
collateral will typically be utilized to fully pay for the Box Spreads or other
similar strategies as described above.
The
Fund may engage in active and frequent trading of portfolio securities to
achieve its investment objective. In order to achieve its objective, the Fund
will typically purchase a new Box Spread at the time (or shortly thereafter) any
existing Box Spread expires or is sold or when Arin believes purchasing a new
Box Spread would offer a favorable investment opportunity. The Fund may also
sell or “roll” any Box Spread at any time. When rolling a Box Spread, the Fund
enters into a trade where it simultaneously closes on each component of an
existing Box Spread while opening a new Box Spread position. The Fund may also
sell Box Spreads that utilize the same or different reference assets, strike
prices, and expiration dates as Box Spreads owned by the Fund. When selling or
rolling a Box Spread, the Fund may incur additional transaction costs than if it
waited until such Box Spread expired.
PRINCIPAL
INVESTMENT RISKS
An
investment in the Fund involves risk, including those described below.
There
is no assurance that the Fund will achieve its investment objective.
An investor may lose money by investing in the
Fund. An investment in the Fund is not a bank
deposit and is not insured or guaranteed by the FDIC or any government
agency. More complete risk descriptions are set forth below
under the heading “Additional
Information About the Fund’s Principal Investment Risks.”
Options
Risk.
•Selling
or Writing Options. Writing option contracts can result in losses that exceed the
seller’s initial investment and may lead to additional turnover and higher tax
liability. The risk involved in writing a call option is that there could be an
increase in the market value of the underlying or reference asset. An underlying
or reference asset may be an index, equity security, or ETF. If this occurs, the
call option could be exercised and the underlying asset would then be sold at a
lower price than its current market value. In the case of cash settled call
options such as SPX options, the call seller would be required to purchase the
call option at a price that is higher than the original sales price for such
call option. Similarly, while writing call options can reduce the risk of owning
the underlying asset, such a strategy limits the opportunity to profit from an
increase in the market value of the underlying asset in exchange for up-front
cash at the time of selling the call option. The risk involved in writing a put
option is that there could be a decrease in the market value of the underlying
asset. If this occurs, the put option could be exercised and the underlying
asset would then be sold at a higher price than its current market value. In the
case of cash settled put options, the put seller would be required to purchase
the put option at a price that is higher than the original sales price for such
put option.
•Buying
or Purchasing Options Risk. If a call or put option is not sold when it has remaining value
and if the market price of the underlying asset, in the case of a call option,
remains less than or equal to the exercise price, or, in the case of a put
option, remains equal to or greater than the exercise price, the buyer will lose
its entire investment in the call or put option. Since many factors influence
the value of an option, including the price of the underlying asset, the
exercise price, the time to expiration, the interest rate, and the dividend rate
of the underlying asset, the buyer’s success in implementing an option buying
strategy may depend on an ability to predict movements in the prices of
individual assets, fluctuations in markets, and movements in interest rates.
There is no assurance that a liquid market will exist when the buyer seeks to
close out any option position. When an option is purchased to hedge against
price movements in an underlying asset, the price of the option may move more or
less than the price of the underlying asset.
•Box
Spread Risk.
A Box Spread is the combination of a Synthetic Long position coupled with an
offsetting Synthetic Short position through a combination of options contracts
on an underlying or reference asset such as index, equity security or ETF with
the same expiration date. A Box Spread typically consists of four option
positions two of which represent the Synthetic Long and two representing the
Synthetic Short. If one or more of these individual option positions are
modified or closed separately prior to the option contract’s expiration, then
the Box Spread may no longer effectively eliminate risk tied to underlying
asset’s movement. Furthermore, the Box Spread’s value is derived in the market
and is in part, based on the
time until the options comprising the Box Spread expire and the
prevailing market interest rates. If the Fund sells a Box Spread prior to its
expiration, then the Fund may incur a loss. The Fund’s ability to profit from
Box Spreads is dependent on the availability and willingness of other market
participants to sell Box Spreads to the Fund at competitive
prices.
•FLEX
Options Risk. FLEX Options are exchange-traded
options contracts with uniquely customizable terms like exercise price, style,
and expiration date. Due to their customization and potentially unique terms,
FLEX Options may be less liquid than other securities, such as standard exchange
listed options. In less liquid markets for the FLEX Options, the Fund may have
difficulty closing out certain FLEX Options positions at desired times and
prices. The value of FLEX Options will be affected by, among others, changes in
the underlying share or equity index price, changes in actual and implied
interest rates, changes in the actual and implied volatility of the underlying
shares or equity index and the remaining time to until the FLEX Options expire.
The value of the FLEX Options will be determined based upon market quotations or
using other recognized pricing methods. During periods of reduced market
liquidity or in the absence of readily available market quotations for the
holdings of the Fund, the ability of the Fund to value the FLEX Options becomes
more difficult and the judgment of the Fund’s Sub-Adviser (employing the fair
value procedures adopted by the Board of Trustees of the Trust) may play a
greater role in the valuation of the Fund’s holdings due to reduced availability
of reliable objective pricing data.
Counterparty
Risk. Counterparty risk is the risk that a counterparty to a financial
instrument held by the Fund or by a special purpose or structured vehicle
invested in by the Fund may become insolvent or otherwise fail to perform its
obligations, and the Fund may obtain no or limited recovery of its investment,
and any recovery may be significantly delayed. Exchange listed options,
including FLEX Options, are issued and guaranteed for settlement by the Options
Clearing Corporation (“OCC”). The Fund’s investments are at risk that the OCC
will be unable or unwilling to perform its obligations under the option contract
terms. In the unlikely event that the OCC becomes insolvent or is otherwise
unable to meet its settlement obligations, the Fund could suffer significant
losses.
Low
Short-Term Interest Rates Risk. During market conditions in which short-term interest rates are at
low levels, the Fund’s yield can be very low, and the Fund may have a negative
yield (i.e., it may lose money on an operating basis). During these conditions,
it is possible that the Fund will generate an insufficient amount of income to
pay its expenses. In addition, it is possible that during these conditions the
Fund may experience difficulties purchasing and/or selling securities, and may,
as a result, maintain a portion of its assets in cash, on which it may earn
little, if any, income.
Investment
Risk. When you sell your Shares, they could be worth less than what you
paid for them. Therefore, you may lose money by investing in the Fund. The Fund
could lose money due to short-term market movements and over longer periods
during market downturns. Securities may decline in value due to factors
affecting securities markets generally or particular asset classes or industries
represented in the markets. The value of a security may decline due to general
market conditions, economic trends or events that are not specifically related
to the issuer of the security, such as geopolitical events and environmental
disasters. The value of a security may also decline due to factors that affect a
particular industry or group of industries. During a general downturn in the
securities markets, multiple asset classes may be negatively affected.
Therefore, you may lose money by investing in the Fund.
Management
Risk.
The Fund is actively managed and may not meet its investment objective based on
Arin’s success or failure to implement investment strategies for the Fund. In
addition, there is the risk that the investment process, techniques and analyses
used by Arin will not produce the desired investment results and the Fund may
lose value as a result.
Market
Risk.
The Fund’s investments are subject to changes in general economic conditions,
general market fluctuations and the risks inherent in investment in interest
rate sensitive markets. Interest rate markets can be volatile and prices of
investments can change substantially due to various factors including, but not
limited to, economic growth or recession, the investment’s average time to
maturity, changes in interest rates, changes in the actual or perceived
creditworthiness of issuers, and general market liquidity. The Fund is subject
to the risk that geopolitical events will disrupt securities markets and
adversely affect global economies and markets. Local, regional or global events
such as war, acts of terrorism, the spread of infectious illness or other public
health issues, or other events could have a significant impact on the Fund and
its investments.
Tax
Risk.
The Fund may enter into various transactions, including transactions involving
options contracts, for which there is a lack of clear guidance under the
Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”), which may affect the
taxation of the Fund. The use of certain derivatives may cause the Fund to
realize higher amounts of ordinary income or short-term capital gain, to suspend
or eliminate holding periods of positions, to accelerate the recognition of
gains, and/or to defer realized losses, potentially increasing the need to make
taxable distributions, including those that will be taxed at the rates
applicable to ordinary income. For example, exchange-traded options on certain
indexes are currently taxed under Code Section 1256 pursuant to which profit and
loss with respect to such options are subject to tax as 60% long-term and 40%
short-term capital gain or loss regardless of the Fund’s holding period. In
addition, the U.S. federal income tax treatment of a derivative may not be as
favorable as a direct investment in the underlying asset and may adversely
affect the timing, character, and amount of income the Fund realizes from its
investments. Moreover, certain derivatives are subject to mark-to-market,
constructive sale, and straddle provisions of the Code. If such provisions are
applicable, there could be an increase (or decrease) in the amount of taxable
distributions that will need to be made by the Fund.
The
Fund intends to qualify as a regulated investment company (“RIC”) under the
Code, which requires the Fund to distribute a certain portion of its income and
gains each year, among other requirements. Similar to other ETFs, when the Fund
disposes of appreciated property by distributing such appreciated property
in-kind pursuant to redemption requests of its shareholders, the Fund does not
recognize any built-in gain in such appreciated property under Code Section
852(b)(6). If the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) or a court disagrees with the
Fund’s position as to the applicability of this nonrecognition rule to the
Fund’s dispositions, the Fund may not have distributed sufficient income or
gains to qualify as a RIC. If, in any year, the Fund fails to qualify as a RIC,
the Fund itself generally would be subject to regular corporate U.S. federal
income tax, and distributions received by its shareholders would be subject to
further U.S. federal income tax. Alternatively, the Fund may be required to pay
a deficiency dividend (without having received additional cash) and applicable
interest, and such dividend would be paid to the then current shareholders of
the Fund. Failure to comply with the requirements for qualification as a RIC
would have significant negative economic consequences to the Fund’s
shareholders.
Additionally,
Code Section 1258 requires that certain capital gain from an investment be
recharacterized as ordinary income if substantially all of the expected return
is attributable to the time value of holding the investment and such investment
falls into certain defined categories (a “conversion transaction”). If any of
the Fund’s transactions or a shareholder’s holding of Shares were deemed to be
conversion transactions, certain gains from such transactions or Shares would be
treated as ordinary income, which could result respectively in the Fund having
not distributed enough income to qualify as a RIC (with the same tax
consequences described above) or gain on the disposition of Shares being treated
as ordinary income. No assurance can be given that the IRS or a court will not
treat any such transactions by the Fund or the holding of Shares as conversion
transactions.
If
the IRS or a court were to determine that any transactions by the Fund should
have been treated differently for tax purposes, it may be the case that the Fund
has not previously distributed sufficient income or gains to qualify as a RIC in
one or more prior years as described above. In addition to paying regular
corporate income taxes or a deficiency dividend, the Fund may be responsible for
penalties associated with incorrect information reporting about its
distributions, which could be significant. Additionally, if the IRS or a court
were to determine that any transactions by the Fund should have been treated
differently for tax purposes, distributions made by the Fund may need to be
recharacterized from capital gain to ordinary income, or vice versa, which could
result in certain shareholders having underreported income or gains to the IRS
for the applicable years. Such underreported income or gains could result in a
shareholder owing increased taxes, penalties and interest to the IRS. Please
consult your own tax advisor regarding how the Fund’s tax risks may potentially
affect your particular tax situation.
Valuation
Risk.
Some portfolio holdings (e.g.,
FLEX options), potentially a large portion of the Fund’s investment portfolio,
may be valued on the basis of factors other than market quotations. This may
occur more often in times of market turmoil or reduced liquidity. There are
multiple methods that can be used to value a portfolio holding when market
quotations are not readily available. The value established for any portfolio
holding at a point in time might differ from what would be produced using a
different methodology or if it had been priced using market quotations. See
“FLEX Options Risk” above for more information regarding potential factors
impacting the valuation of FLEX options.
Portfolio
holdings that are valued using techniques other than market quotations,
including “fair valued” securities, may be subject to greater fluctuation in
their valuations from one day to the next than if market quotations were used.
In addition, there is no assurance that the Fund could sell or close out a
portfolio position for the value established for it at any time, and it is
possible that the Fund would incur a loss because a portfolio position is sold
or closed out at a discount to the valuation established by the Fund at that
time.
ETF
Risks.
•Authorized
Participants, Market Makers and Liquidity Providers Concentration Risk.
The
Fund has a limited number of financial institutions that may act as Authorized
Participants (“APs”). In particular, the Fund will have a limited pool of APs
that are able to transact in standard exchange-listed options as well as FLEX
Options, therefore the pool of competitive markets for the Fund will be small.
This can result in increased costs to the Fund. 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.
•Premium-Discount
Risk.
The
Shares may trade above or below their net asset value (“NAV”). The market prices
of Shares will generally fluctuate in accordance with changes in NAV as well as
the relative supply of, and demand for, Shares on Cboe BZX Exchange, Inc. (the
“Exchange”) or other securities exchanges. The trading price of Shares may
deviate significantly from NAV during periods of market volatility or limited
trading activity in Shares. In addition, you may incur the cost of the “spread,”
that is, any difference between the bid price and the ask price of the
Shares.
•Cost
of Trading Risk.
Investors
buying or selling Shares in the secondary market will pay brokerage commissions
or other charges imposed by brokers as determined by that broker. Brokerage
commissions are often a fixed amount and may be a significant proportional cost
for investors seeking to buy or sell relatively small amounts of
Shares.
•Trading
Risk.
Although
the Shares are listed on the Exchange, there can be no assurance that an active
or liquid trading market for them will develop or be maintained. In addition,
trading in Shares on the Exchange may be halted. In stressed market conditions,
the liquidity of Shares may begin to mirror the liquidity of its underlying
portfolio holdings, which can be less liquid than Shares, potentially causing
the market price of Shares to deviate from its NAV. The spread varies over time
for Shares of the Fund based on the Fund’s trading volume and market liquidity
and is generally lower if the Fund has high trading volume and market liquidity,
and higher if the Fund has little trading volume and market liquidity (which is
often the case for funds that are newly launched or small in
size).
Cash
Transactions Risk.
Unlike most other ETFs, the Fund expects to effect a substantial portion of its
creations, and may effect redemptions, for cash, rather than in-kind securities.
As a result, an investment in the Fund may be less tax-efficient than an
investment in an ETF that effects its creations and redemptions only in-kind. As
a practical matter, only institutions and large investors, such as market makers
or other large broker dealers, create or redeem shares directly through the
Fund. Most investors will buy and sell shares of the Fund on an exchange through
a broker-dealer. ETFs are able to make in-kind redemptions and avoid being taxed
on gains on the distributed portfolio securities at the fund level. If the Fund
effects redemptions for cash, it may be required to sell portfolio securities in
order to obtain the cash needed to distribute redemption proceeds. Any
recognized gain on these sales by the Fund will generally cause the Fund to
recognize a gain it might not otherwise have recognized, or to recognize such
gain sooner than would otherwise be required if it were to distribute portfolio
securities only in-kind. The Fund intends to distribute these gains to
shareholders to avoid being taxed on this gain at the fund level. The use of
cash creations may also cause the Fund’s shares to trade in the market at
greater bid-ask spreads or greater premiums or discounts to the Fund’s NAV.
Furthermore, cash creation transactions may result in certain brokerage, tax,
execution, price movement and other costs and expenses related to the execution
of trades resulting from such transactions. To the extent that the maximum
additional charge for creation transactions is insufficient to cover these costs
and expenses, the Fund’s performance could be negatively
impacted.
Large
Shareholder Risk.
Certain large shareholders, including other funds advised by the Adviser, Alpha
Architect, and/or Arin, may from time to time own a substantial amount of the
Fund’s Shares. Any such investment may be held for a limited period of time.
There can be no assurance that any large shareholder will not redeem its
investment. Dispositions of a large number of Shares by such shareholders, which
may occur rapidly or unexpectedly, may adversely affect the Fund’s liquidity and
net assets to the extent such transactions are executed directly with the Fund
in the form of redemptions through an authorized participant, rather than
executed in the secondary market. To the extent effected in cash, these
redemptions may also force the Fund to sell portfolio securities when it might
not otherwise do so, which may negatively impact the Fund’s NAV and increase the
Fund’s brokerage costs. Such cash redemptions may also accelerate the
realization of taxable income to shareholders. Similarly, large Fund share
purchases through an authorized participant may adversely affect the performance
of the Fund to the extent that the Fund is delayed in investing new cash or
otherwise maintains a larger cash position than it ordinarily would. If these
large shareholders transact in Shares on the secondary market, such transactions
may account for a large percentage of the Fund’s trading volume and may,
therefore, have a material upward or downward effect on the market price of the
Shares.
Cash
and Cash Equivalents Risk. Holding cash or cash equivalents rather than securities or other
instruments in which the Fund primarily invests, even strategically, may cause
the Fund to risk losing opportunities to participate in market appreciation, and
may cause the Fund to experience potentially lower returns than the Fund’s
benchmark or other funds that remain fully invested. In rising markets, holding
cash or cash equivalents will negatively affect the Fund’s performance relative
to its benchmark.
Frequent
Trading Risk.
The Fund may engage in active and frequent trading of portfolio securities to
achieve its investment objective. This frequent trading of portfolio securities
may increase the amount of commissions that the Fund pays when it buys and sells
such portfolio securities, which may detract from the Fund’s performance.
Derivative instruments and instruments with a maturity of one year or less at
the time of acquisition are excluded from the calculation of the Fund’s
portfolio turnover rate, which leads to the 0% portfolio turnover rate reported
herein.
PERFORMANCE
The following
information provides some indication of the risks of investing in the Fund. The
bar chart shows the Fund’s performance for calendar years ended December 31. The
table shows how the Fund’s average annual returns for one-year and since
inception periods compare with those of a broad measure of market
performance. The Fund’s past performance,
before and after taxes, is not necessarily an indication of how the Fund will
perform in the future. Performance information is also available
on the Fund’s website at https://funds.alphaarchitect.com/boxetf
or by calling the Fund at (215)
882-9983.
Calendar Year Total
Return as of December 31
During
the period of time shown in the bar chart, the Fund’s highest return for a
calendar quarter was 1.37% (quarter ended December 31, 2023) and
the Fund’s lowest return for a calendar
quarter was 1.05% (quarter ended June 30,
2025).
Average
Annual Total Returns
(for
periods ended December 31, 2025)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
1
Year |
Since
Inception (12/27/22) |
|
Return
Before Taxes |
4.33% |
4.87% |
|
Return
After Taxes on Distributions |
4.33% |
4.84% |
|
Return
After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of
Shares |
2.56% |
3.74% |
|
Solactive
US Aggregate Bond Index
(reflects no deductions
for fees, expenses or
taxes) |
6.75% |
4.24% |
|
Solactive
1-3 Month US T-Bill Index
(reflects
no deductions for fees, expenses or taxes) |
4.30% |
4.91% |
After-tax returns are
calculated using the highest historical individual U.S. federal marginal income
tax rates during the period covered by the table and do not reflect the impact
of state and local taxes. Actual
after-tax returns depend on your tax situation and may differ from those shown
and are not relevant if you hold your shares through a tax- deferred
arrangement, such as a 401(k) plan or an individual retirement account
(“IRA”).
The
Solactive US Aggregate Bond Index aims to track the performance of
USD-denominated bond market. The Solactive 1-3 month US T-Bill Index is a
rules-based, market value-weighted index engineered for the short-term USD
T-Bill market; it is comprised of USD-denominated T-Bills with a time to
maturity of 1 to 3 months.
INVESTMENT
ADVISER & INVESTMENT SUB-ADVISERS
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
Investment
Adviser: |
Empowered
Funds, LLC dba EA Advisers (the “Adviser”) |
| Investment
Sub-Advisers: |
Arin
Risk Advisors, LLC
Alpha
Architect, LLC (“Alpha Architect”) |
PORTFOLIO
MANAGERS
The
Fund’s portfolio is managed on a day-to-day basis by Lawrence Lempert, Joseph
DeSipio, and Ryan Bailey. Messrs. Lempert, DeSipio and Bailey have managed the
Fund since its inception in 2022.
PURCHASE
AND
SALE
OF SHARES
Individual
Shares are listed on a national securities exchange and may only be purchased
and sold in the secondary market through a broker-dealer at a market price.
Because Shares trade at market prices rather than NAV, Shares may trade at a
price greater than NAV (at a “premium”) or less than NAV (at a “discount”). An
investor may incur costs attributable to the difference between the highest
price a buyer is willing to pay to purchase Shares (bid) and the lowest price a
seller is willing to accept for Shares (ask) when buying and selling Shares in
the secondary market (the “bid/ask spread”).
TAX
INFORMATION
The
Fund’s distributions generally are taxable to you as ordinary income, capital
gain, or some combination of both, unless your investment is made through an
IRA. However, subsequent withdrawals from such a tax-advantaged account may be
subject to U.S. federal income tax. In the event that a shareholder purchases
Shares shortly before a distribution by the Fund, the entire distribution may be
taxable to the shareholder even though a portion of the distribution effectively
represents a return of the purchase price. You should consult your own tax
advisor about your specific tax situation.
PURCHASES
THROUGH BROKER-DEALERS AND OTHER FINANCIAL INTERMEDIARIES
If
you purchase Shares through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary, the
Fund and its related companies may pay the intermediary for the sale of Shares
and related services. These payments may create a conflict of interest by
influencing the broker-dealer or other intermediary and your salesperson to
recommend Shares over another investment. Ask your salesperson or visit your
financial intermediary’s website for more information.
ADDITIONAL
INFORMATION ABOUT THE FUND’S INVESTMENT OBJECTIVE AND PRINCIPAL INVESTMENT
STRATEGIES
The
Fund’s investment objective is a non-fundamental investment policy and may be
changed without a vote of shareholders upon prior written notice to
shareholders.
The
Fund is an actively managed ETF whose investment objective is to provide
investment results that, before fees and expenses, equal or exceed the price and
yield performance of an investment that tracks the 1-3 month sector of the
United States Treasury Bill. To do so, the principal investment strategy of the
Fund will be to utilize a series of long and short exchange-listed options
combinations called a box spread (“Box Spread”). In order to accomplish its
investment goals, the Fund may utilize either standard exchange-listed options
or FLEX Options or a combination of both.
In
general, an option contract is an agreement between a buyer and seller that
gives the purchaser of the option the right to buy or sell a particular asset at
a specified future date at an agreed upon price, commonly known as the “strike
price.” In the case of a “call option”, the purchaser has the right to buy the
particular asset and the seller of a “call option” has the obligation to deliver
the particular asset at the strike price. In the case of a “put option”, the
purchaser has the right to sell the particular asset and the seller of a “put
option” has the obligation to purchase the particular asset at the strike
price.
By
way of background, a Box Spread is the combination of a synthetic long position
coupled with an offsetting synthetic short position through a combination of
options contracts on an equity security or an equity index at the same
expiration date. The synthetic long consists of buying a call option and selling
a put option on the same security or index where the call option and put option
share the same strike and expiration date (a “Synthetic Long”). When purchasing
a Box Spread, the Synthetic Long will have a strike price that is less than the
strike price for the Synthetic Short. The difference between the strike prices
of the Synthetic Long and the Synthetic Short will determine the expiration
value (or value at maturity) of the Box Spread. The synthetic short consists of
buying a put option and selling a call option on the same security or index with
the same expiration date as the synthetic long but using a different strike
price (a “Synthetic Short”). When purchasing a Box Spread, the Synthetic Long
will have a strike price that is less than the strike price for the Synthetic
Short. The difference between the strike prices of the Synthetic Long and the
Synthetic Short will determine the expiration value (or value at maturity) of
the Box Spread. An important feature of the Box Spread construction process is
the elimination of risk tied to underlying market movements associated with the
underlying option’s security or equity index. The Box Spread return stays
constant no matter how low or how high the underlying option’s security or
equity index price moves. Once the Box Spread is initiated, its return from the
initiation date of such Box Spread through its expiration date will generally
not change. The Fund anticipates buying, holding, and/or selling multiple Box
Spreads, and consequently, the Fund’s anticipated return from Box Spreads will
reflect all of its investment activity, as well as changes in market prices and
expected interest rates, among other factors, and will vary over
time.
Buying
(or selling) a Box Spread is similar to buying (or selling) a zero-coupon bond.
A zero-coupon bond does not pay periodic coupons, but the bond trades
at a discount to its face value. The maturity value of a zero-coupon
bond is comparable to the difference in the strike prices of the Box Spread. The
maturity date of a zero-coupon bond is comparable to the expiration date of the
options comprising the Box Spread. When constructing a Box Spread, the strike
price of the Synthetic Long will be at a lower strike price than the strike
price of the Synthetic Short. When buying or selling a Box Spread, the buyer or
seller generally expects the price of the Box Spread to be less than the
difference in the strike prices of the Box Spread. A buyer or seller of a Box
Spread will earn a profit or loss equal to the difference between the beginning
price (price paid to buy or received if sold) and the ending price (expiration
value or closing trade price). If the Fund holds the Box Spread until
expiration, then its profit or loss will be
determined
by the difference between the price it paid to buy the Box Spread (or received
in the case of selling the Box Spread) and the value of the Box Spread upon
expiration.
As
an example, a typical Box Spread could include the simultaneous purchase of a
call option and sale of a put option (i.e. Synthetic Long) with a strike of
$1,000 on the S&P 500 Index (“SPX”) together with the sale of a call option
and purchase of a put option (i.e. Synthetic Short) with a strike of $2,000 on
the SPX where all four of these options share the same expiration date. The
expiration or maturity value would be the difference in the strikes or $1,000 in
this case. The expected profit earned would equal the difference between the
price paid for this Box Spread and its expiration value of $1,000 minus any
transaction costs associated with the options trades. The effective yield on
each Box Spread is determined by annualizing the profit over the price paid. The
Fund will only purchase Box Spreads where the purchase price (after considering
all costs to the Fund for entering such trade) is less than the expiration
value.
Arin
may invest the Fund’s assets in a series of Box Spreads with various expiration
dates. The quantity and expiration dates of the Box Spreads held by the Fund
will be based on several factors, including the Fund’s asset size, the effective
yield for various Box Spread expiration dates available in the marketplace, and
Arin’s view of future interest rates. Based upon historical examples of Box
Spreads actually traded in the marketplace, Arin expects that there will be
market participants willing to sell Box Spreads to the Fund in sufficient
quantities to satisfy the objective of the Fund.
The
Fund generally invests its assets in a series of Box Spreads such that the
weighted average maturity of the Box Spreads based upon expiration dates is less
than 90 days. The Fund may sell Box Spreads with a longer or shorter period to
expiration in an effort to gain exposure to the forward rate implied by the
execution of longer and shorter dated Box Spreads. The Fund expects to trade
some or all of the Box Spreads prior to their respective expiration dates, if
Arin believes it is advantageous for the Fund to do so. Upon expiration or sale
of any Box Spread, Arin will seek to purchase additional Box Spreads at an
effective yield and expiration date that offers favorable risk and reward
characteristics under current market conditions. The Fund may also invest in
cash, cash equivalents, money market funds or treasury bills. The Fund’s
strategy is expected to result in high portfolio turnover. The return that the
Fund expects to earn from Box Spreads will fluctuate but remain consistent with
the market rate for similar short-term interest rate sensitive securities as
indicated by the Federal Funds Futures market.
When
purchasing or selling a Box Spread, the Fund will use European-style options.
European style options may not be terminated or assigned in advance of the
option’s expiration date and may only be exercised on their expiration date.
This ensures that none of the synthetic positions created using the Box Spread
will be forcibly closed cancelled prior to the Box Spread’s maturity. The Fund
expects to use options on the SPDR® S&P 500® ETF Trust for substantially all
of the Fund’s holdings. The Fund may purchase or sell Box Spreads using
exchange-listed option contracts on an ETF other than the SPDR® S&P 500® ETF
Trust or on an index or individual equity security when Arin has determined that
doing so would provide the Fund with better risk and return or tax
characteristics. The Fund may also utilize an exchange-listed options strategy
using long shares of an individual equity security or ETF (in place of the
Synthetic Long) together with a Synthetic Short created by purchasing a put
option and selling a call option on that equity security or ETF with the same
strike and expiration date. This individual equity security or ETF strategy will
generally be purchased when such purchase is in the best interest of the Fund
because it offers more favorable price or tax characteristics. The Fund’s
collateral will typically be utilized to fully pay for the Box Spreads or other
similar strategies as described above.
The
Fund may engage in active and frequent trading of portfolio securities to
achieve its investment objective. In order to achieve its objective, the Fund
will typically purchase a new Box Spread at the time (or shortly thereafter) any
existing Box Spread expires or is sold or when Arin believes purchasing a new
Box Spread would offer a favorable investment opportunity. The Fund may also
sell or “roll” any Box Spread at any time. When rolling a Box Spread, the Fund
enters into a trade where it simultaneously closes on each component of an
existing Box Spread while opening a new Box Spread position. The Fund may also
sell Box Spreads that utilize the same or a different reference assets, strike
prices, and expiration dates as Box Spreads owned by the Fund. When selling or
rolling a Box Spread, the Fund may incur additional transaction costs than if it
waited until such Box Spread expired.
Exchange-traded
options on certain indexes, such as the SPX, are currently taxed under section
1256 of the Code. Pursuant to section 1256 of the Code, profit and loss on
transactions in non-equity options, including SPX options, are subject to
taxation at a rate equal to 60% long-term and 40% short-term capital gain or
loss regardless of the
Fund’s
holding period. The Fund expects that distributions related to the Fund’s SPX
positions, if any, will be characterized by the Fund as capital gains with these
preferential terms. See “Tax Risk” below for additional important
information.
Alpha
Architect works closely with Arin as it relates to providing strategic
investment advice to the Fund.
ADDITIONAL
INFORMATION ABOUT THE FUND’S PRINCIPAL INVESTMENT RISKS
The
following information is in addition to, and should be read along with, the
description of the Fund’s principal investment risks in the sections titled
“Fund Summary—Principal Investment Risks” above.
Cash
and Cash Equivalents Risk.
Holding cash or cash equivalents rather than securities or other instruments in
which the Fund primarily invests, even strategically, may cause the Fund to risk
losing opportunities to participate in market appreciation, and may cause the
Fund to experience potentially lower returns than the Fund’s benchmark or other
funds that remain fully invested.
Cash
Transactions Risk.
Unlike most other ETFs, the Fund expects to effect a substantial portion of its
creations, and may effect redemptions, for cash, rather than in-kind securities.
As a result, an investment in the Fund may be less tax-efficient than an
investment in an ETF that effects its creations and redemptions only in-kind. As
a practical matter, only institutions and large investors, such as market makers
or other large broker dealers, create or redeem shares directly through the
Fund. Most investors will buy and sell shares of the Fund on an exchange through
a broker-dealer. ETFs are able to make in-kind redemptions and avoid being taxed
on gains on the distributed portfolio securities at the fund level. If the Fund
effects redemptions for cash, it may be required to sell portfolio securities in
order to obtain the cash needed to distribute redemption proceeds. Any
recognized gain on these sales by the Fund will generally cause the Fund to
recognize a gain it might not otherwise have recognized, or to recognize such
gain sooner than would otherwise be required if it were to distribute portfolio
securities only in-kind. The Fund intends to distribute these gains to
shareholders to avoid being taxed on this gain at the fund level. The use of
cash creations may also cause the Fund’s shares to trade in the market at
greater bid-ask spreads or greater premiums or discounts to the Fund’s NAV.
Furthermore, cash creation transactions may result in certain brokerage, tax,
execution, price movement and other costs and expenses related to the execution
of trades resulting from such transactions. To the extent that the maximum
additional charge for creation transactions is insufficient to cover these costs
and expenses, the Fund’s performance could be negatively impacted.
Counterparty
Risk. Counterparty
risk is the risk that a counterparty to a financial instrument held by the Fund
may become insolvent or otherwise fail to perform its obligations, and the Fund
may obtain no or limited recovery of its investment, and any recovery may be
significantly delayed. Exchange listed options, including FLEX Options, are
issued and guaranteed for settlement by the Options Clearing Corporation
(“OCC”). The Fund bears the risk that the OCC will be unable or unwilling to
perform its obligations under the options contracts. In the unlikely event that
the OCC becomes insolvent or is otherwise unable to meet its settlement
obligations, the Fund could suffer significant losses. Additionally, FLEX
Options may be illiquid, and in such cases, the Fund may have difficulty closing
out certain FLEX Options positions at desired times and prices. Also, since the
Fund is not a member of the OCC (a “clearing member”), and only clearing members
can participate directly in the OCC, the Fund will hold options contracts
through commingled omnibus accounts at clearing members. As a result, Fund
assets deposited with a clearing member as margin for options contracts may, in
certain circumstances, be used to satisfy losses of other clients of the Fund’s
clearing member. Although clearing members guarantee performance of their
clients’ obligations to the OCC, there is a risk that Fund assets might not be
fully protected in the event of the clearing member’s bankruptcy.
ETF
Risks.
•Authorized
Participants, Market Makers and Liquidity Providers Concentration Risk.
The
Fund has a limited number of financial institutions that may act as Authorized
Participants (“APs”). In particular, the Fund will have a limited pool of APs
that are able to transact in standard exchange-listed options as well as FLEX
Options, therefore the pool of competitive markets for the Fund will be small.
This can result in increased costs to the Fund. 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.
•Premium-Discount
Risk.
The
Shares may trade above or below their net asset value (“NAV”). The market prices
of Shares will generally fluctuate in accordance with changes in NAV as well as
the relative supply of, and demand for, Shares on the Exchange or other
securities exchanges. The trading price of Shares may deviate significantly from
NAV during periods of market volatility or limited trading activity in Shares.
In addition, you may incur the cost of the “spread,” that is, any difference
between the bid price and the ask price of the Shares.
•Cost
of Trading Risk.
Investors
buying or selling Shares in the secondary market will pay brokerage commissions
or other charges imposed by brokers as determined by that broker. Brokerage
commissions are often a fixed amount and may be a significant proportional cost
for investors seeking to buy or sell relatively small amounts of Shares. In
addition, secondary market investors will also incur the cost of the difference
between the price that an investor is willing to pay for Shares (the “bid”
price) and the price at which an investor is willing to sell Shares (the “ask”
price). This difference in bid and ask prices is often referred to as the
“spread” or “bid/ask spread.” The bid/ask spread varies over time for Shares
based on trading volume and market liquidity, and is generally lower if Shares
have more trading volume and market liquidity and higher if Shares have little
trading volume and market liquidity. Further, increased market volatility may
cause increased bid/ask spreads.
•Trading
Risk.
Although
the Shares are listed on the Exchange, there can be no assurance that an active
or liquid trading market for them will develop or be maintained. In addition,
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.
When markets are stressed, Shares could suffer erratic or unpredictable trading
activity, extraordinary volatility or wide bid/ask spreads, which could cause
some market makers and APs to reduce their market activity or “step away” from
making a market in ETF shares. This could cause the Fund’s market price to
deviate, materially, from the NAV, and reduce the effectiveness of the ETF
arbitrage process. Further, trading in Shares on the Exchange is subject to
trading halts caused by extraordinary market volatility pursuant to the “circuit
breaker” rules, which temporarily halt trading on the Exchange when a decline in
the S&P 500 Index during a single day reaches certain thresholds
(e.g.,
7%, 13% and 20%). 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 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, and this could lead to
differences between the market price of the Shares and the underlying value of
those Shares.
Frequent
Trading Risk.
The Fund may engage in active and frequent trading of portfolio securities to
achieve its investment objective. In order to achieve its objective, the Fund
will purchase a new Box Spread at the time (or shortly thereafter) any existing
Box Spread expires. The Fund may also “roll” any Box Spread at any time. When
rolling a Box Spread, the Fund enters into a trade where it simultaneously
closes on each component of an existing Box Spread while opening a new Box
Spread position. In rolling a Box Spread, the Fund will incur additional
transaction costs than if it waited until such Box Spread expired. This frequent
trading of portfolio securities may increase the amount of commissions that the
Fund pays when it buys and sells such portfolio securities, which may detract
from the Fund’s performance. Derivative instruments and instruments with a
maturity of one year or less at the time of acquisition are excluded from the
calculation of the Fund’s portfolio turnover rate, which leads to the 0%
portfolio turnover rate reported herein.
Investment
Risk.
When you sell your Shares, they could be worth less than what you paid for them.
The Fund could lose money due to short-term market movements and over longer
periods during market downturns. Securities may decline in value due to factors
affecting securities markets generally or particular asset classes or industries
represented in the markets. The value of a security may decline due to general
market conditions, economic trends or events that are not specifically related
to the issuer of the security. Geopolitical and other risks, including war,
terrorism, trade disputes, political or economic dysfunction within some
nations, public health crises, and environmental disasters such as earthquakes,
fire, and floods, may add to instability in world economies and volatility in
markets generally. Changes in trade policies and international trade agreements
could affect the
economies
of many countries in unpredictable ways. The value of a security may also
decline due to factors that affect a particular industry or group of industries.
During a general downturn in the securities markets, multiple asset classes may
be negatively affected. Therefore, you may lose money by investing in the Fund.
Large
Shareholder Risk.
Certain large shareholders, including other funds advised by the Adviser, Alpha
Architect, and/or Arin, may from time to time own a substantial amount of the
Fund’s Shares. Any such investment may be held for a limited period of time.
There can be no assurance that any large shareholder will not redeem its
investment. Dispositions of a large number of Shares by such shareholders, which
may occur rapidly or unexpectedly, may adversely affect the Fund’s liquidity and
net assets to the extent such transactions are executed directly with the Fund
in the form of redemptions through an authorized participant, rather than
executed in the secondary market. To the extent effected in cash, these
redemptions may also force the Fund to sell portfolio securities when it might
not otherwise do so, which may negatively impact the Fund’s NAV and increase the
Fund’s brokerage costs. Such cash redemptions may also accelerate the
realization of taxable income to shareholders. Similarly, large Fund share
purchases through an authorized participant may adversely affect the performance
of the Fund to the extent that the Fund is delayed in investing new cash or
otherwise maintains a larger cash position than it ordinarily would. If these
large shareholders transact in Shares on the secondary market, such transactions
may account for a large percentage of the Fund’s trading volume and may,
therefore, have a material upward or downward effect on the market price of the
Shares.
Low
Short-Term Interest Rates Risk.
During market conditions in which short-term interest rates are at low levels,
the Fund’s yield can be very low, and the Fund may have a negative yield (i.e.,
it may lose money on an operating basis). During these conditions, it is
possible that the Fund will generate an insufficient amount of income to pay its
expenses. In addition, it is possible that during these conditions the Fund may
experience difficulties purchasing and/or selling securities, and may, as a
result, maintain a portion of its assets in cash, on which it may earn little,
if any, income.
Management
Risk. The
Fund is actively managed and may not meet its investment objective based on
Arin’s success or failure to implement investment strategies for the Fund.
Arin’s evaluations and assumptions regarding investments may not successfully
achieve the Fund’s investment objective given actual market trends. In addition,
there is the risk that Arin’s investment process, techniques and analyses will
not produce the desired investment results and the Fund may lose value as a
result.
Market
Risk.
The Fund’s investments are subject to changes in general economic conditions,
general market fluctuations and the risks inherent in investment in securities
markets. Investment markets can be volatile and prices of investments can change
substantially due to various factors including, but not limited to, economic
growth or recession, changes in interest rates, changes in the actual or
perceived creditworthiness of issuers, and general market liquidity. The Fund is
subject to the risk that geopolitical events will disrupt securities markets and
adversely affect global economies and markets. Local, regional or global events
such as war, acts of terrorism, the spread of infectious illness or other public
health issues, or other events could have a significant impact on the Fund and
its investments.
Options
Risk.
•Selling
or Writing Options Risks.
Writing
option contracts can result in losses that exceed the seller’s initial
investment and may lead to additional turnover and higher tax liability. The
risk involved in writing a call option is that there could be an increase in the
market value of the underlying or reference asset. An underlying or reference
asset may be an index, equity security, or ETF. If this occurs, the call option
could be exercised and the underlying asset would then be sold at a lower price
than its current market value. In the case of cash settled call options such as
SPX options, the call seller would be required to purchase the call option at a
price that is higher than the original sales price for such call option.
Similarly, while writing call options can reduce the risk of owning the
underlying asset, such a strategy limits the opportunity to profit from an
increase in the market value of the underlying asset in exchange for up-front
cash at the time of selling the call option. The risk involved in writing a put
option is that there could be a decrease in the market value of the underlying
asset. If this occurs, the put option could be exercised and the underlying
asset would then be sold at a higher price than its current market value. In the
case of cash settled put options, the put seller would be required to purchase
the put option at a price that is higher than the original sales price for such
put option.
•Buying
or Purchasing Options Risk.
If a call or put option is not sold when it has remaining value and if the
market price of the underlying asset, in the case of a call option, remains less
than or equal to the exercise price, or, in the case of a put, remains equal to
or greater than the exercise price, the buyer will lose its entire investment in
the call or put option. Since many factors influence the value of an option,
including the price of the underlying asset, the exercise price, the time to
expiration, the interest rate, and the dividend rate of the underlying asset,
the buyer’s success in implementing the an option buying strategy may depend on
an ability to predict movements in the prices of individual assets, fluctuations
in markets, and movements in interest rates. There is no assurance that a liquid
market will exist when the buyer seeks to close out an option position. When an
option is purchase to hedge against price movements in an underlying asset, the
price of the option may move more or less than the price of the underlying
asset.
•Box
Spread Risk.
A Box Spread is the combination of a Synthetic Long position coupled with an
offsetting Synthetic Short position through a combination of options contracts
on an underlying or referenced asset such as index, equity security or ETF with
the same expiration date. A Box Spread typically consists of four option
positions two of which represent the Synthetic Long and two representing the
Synthetic Short. If one or more of these individual option positions are
modified or closed separately prior to the option contract’s expiration, then
the Box Spread may no longer effectively eliminate risk tied to underlying
asset’s movement. Furthermore, the Box Spread’s value is derived in the market
and is in part, based on the time until the options comprising the Box Spread
expire and the prevailing market interest rates. If the Fund sells a Box Spread
prior to its expiration, then the Fund may incur a loss. The Fund’s ability to
profit from Box Spreads is dependent on the availability and willingness of
other market participants to sell Box Spreads to the Fund at competitive
prices.
•FLEX
Options Risk.
FLEX
Options are exchange-traded options contracts with uniquely customizable terms
like exercise price, style, and expiration date. Due to their customization and
potentially unique terms, FLEX Options may be less liquid than other securities,
such as standard exchange listed options. In less liquid markets for the FLEX
Options, the Fund may have difficulty closing out certain FLEX Options positions
at desired times and prices. The value of FLEX Options will be affected by,
among others, changes in the underlying share or equity index price, changes in
actual and implied interest rates, changes in the actual and implied volatility
of the underlying shares or equity index and the remaining time to until the
FLEX Options expire. The value of the FLEX Options will be determined based upon
market quotations or using other recognized pricing methods. During periods of
reduced market liquidity or in the absence of readily available market
quotations for the holdings of the Fund, the ability of the Fund to value the
FLEX Options becomes more difficult and the judgment of Arin (employing the fair
value procedures adopted by the Board of Trustees of the Trust) may play a
greater role in the valuation of the Fund’s holdings due to reduced availability
of reliable objective pricing data.
Tax
Risk.
The Fund may enter into various transactions, including transactions involving
options contracts, for which there is a lack of clear guidance under the
Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”), which may affect the
taxation of the Fund. The use of certain derivatives may cause the Fund to
realize higher amounts of ordinary income or short-term capital gain, to suspend
or eliminate holding periods of positions, to accelerate the recognition of
gain, and/or to defer realized losses, potentially increasing the need to make
taxable distributions, including those that will be taxed at the rates
applicable to ordinary income. For example, exchange-traded options on certain
indexes are currently taxed under Code Section 1256 pursuant to which profit and
loss with respect to such options are subject to tax as 60% long-term and 40%
short-term capital gain or loss regardless of the Fund’s holding period. In
addition, the U.S. federal income tax treatment of a derivative may not be as
favorable as a direct investment in the underlying asset and may adversely
affect the timing, character, and amount of income the Fund realizes from its
investments. Moreover, certain derivatives are subject to mark-to-market (Code
Section 1256), constructive sale (Section 1259), and straddle (Section 1092) or
other applicable provisions of the Code. If such provisions are applicable,
there could be an increase (or decrease) in the amount of taxable distributions
that will need to be made by the Fund.
The
Fund intends to qualify as a regulated investment company (“RIC”) under the
Code, which requires the Fund to distribute a certain portion of its income and
gains each year, among other requirements. Similar to other ETFs, when the Fund
disposes of appreciated property by distributing such appreciated property
in-kind pursuant to redemption requests of its shareholders, the Fund does not
recognize any built-in gain in such appreciated property
under
Code Section 852(b)(6). If the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) or a court
disagrees with the Fund’s position as to the applicability of this
nonrecognition rule to the Fund’s dispositions, the Fund may not have
distributed sufficient income or gains to qualify as a RIC. If, in any year, the
Fund fails to qualify as a RIC, the Fund itself generally would be subject to
regular corporate U.S. federal income tax, and distributions received by its
shareholders would be subject to further U.S. federal income tax. Alternatively,
the Fund may be required to pay a deficiency dividend (without having received
additional cash) and applicable interest, and such dividend would be paid to the
then current shareholders of the Fund. Failure to comply with the requirements
for qualification as a RIC would have significant negative economic consequences
to the Fund’s shareholders.
Additionally,
Code Section 1258 requires that certain capital gain from an investment be
recharacterized as ordinary income if substantially all of the expected return
is attributable to the time value of holding the investment and such investment
falls into certain defined categories (a “conversion transaction”). If any of
the Fund’s transactions or a shareholder’s holding of Shares were deemed to be
conversion transactions, certain gains from such transactions or Shares would be
treated as ordinary income, which could result respectively in the Fund having
not distributed enough income to qualify as a RIC (with the same tax
consequences described above) or gain on the disposition of Shares being treated
as ordinary income. No assurance can be given that the IRS or a court will not
treat any such transactions by the Fund or the holding of Shares as conversion
transactions.
If
the IRS or a court determines that transactions by the Fund should be treated
differently than expected, the Fund may not have distributed sufficient income
or gains to qualify as a RIC in one or more prior years as described above. In
addition to paying corporate taxes or a deficiency dividend, the Fund may be
responsible for penalties associated with incorrect information reporting about
its distributions, which may be significant. Additionally, if the IRS or a court
determines that transactions by the Fund should be treated differently than
expected, distributions made by the Fund may need to be recharacterized from
capital gain to ordinary income, or vice versa, which could result in certain
shareholders having underreported income or gains to the IRS for the applicable
years. Consult your tax advisor for information about how the Fund’s tax risks
may affect you.
Valuation
Risk.
Some portfolio holdings (e.g.,
FLEX options), potentially a large portion of the Fund’s investment portfolio,
may be valued on the basis of factors other than market quotations. This may
occur more often in times of market turmoil or reduced liquidity. There are
multiple methods that can be used to value a portfolio holding when market
quotations are not readily available. The value established for any portfolio
holding at a point in time might differ from what would be produced using a
different methodology or if it had been priced using market quotations. See
“FLEX Options Risk” above for more information regarding potential factors
impacting the valuation of FLEX options.
Portfolio
holdings that are valued using techniques other than market quotations,
including “fair valued” securities, may be subject to greater fluctuation in
their valuations from one day to the next than if market quotations were used.
In addition, there is no assurance that the Fund could sell or close out a
portfolio position for the value established for it at any time, and it is
possible that the Fund would incur a loss because a portfolio position is sold
or closed out at a discount to the valuation established by the Fund at that
time.
FUND
MANAGEMENT
Investment
Adviser
Empowered
Funds, LLC dba EA Advisers serves as the Fund’s investment adviser (the
“Adviser”). The Adviser selects the Fund’s sub-advisers and oversees each
sub-adviser’s management of the Fund. The Adviser is located at 3803 West
Chester Pike, Suite 150, Newtown Square, PA 19073 and is wholly-owned by Alpha
Architect, LLC. The Adviser is registered with the Securities and Exchange
Commission (“SEC”) under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 and provides
investment advisory services to the Fund, other exchange-traded funds, and Alpha
Architect, LLC, its parent company. The Adviser was founded in October
2013.
The
Adviser reviews and supervises the activities of Alpha Architect and Arin with
respect to the Fund. Notwithstanding the delegation of discretionary authority
to Arin or the delegation of certain duties to Alpha Architect, the Adviser
retains primary responsibility with respect to all matters relating to the Fund.
The Adviser performs its services to the Fund pursuant to the terms of an
investment advisory agreement (the “Advisory Agreement”) between the Trust and
the Adviser. The Adviser is entitled to receive the following Advisory Fee:
0.2449% (annual rate as a percentage of average daily net assets). Prior to
November 12, 2024, the Adviser was
entitled
to receive the following Advisory Fee: 0.3949%. During the fiscal year ended
September 30, 2025, the aggregate advisory fee paid to the adviser by the
fund was 0.1949% as a percentage of average daily net assets.
The
Adviser has contractually agreed to waive receipt of its management fees and/or
assume expenses of the Fund so that the total annual operating expenses of the
Fund (excluding payments under the Fund’s Rule 12b-1 distribution and service
plan (if any), brokerage expenses, taxes (including tax-related services),
interest (including borrowing costs), litigation expense (including class
action-related services) and other non-routine or extraordinary expenses) do not
exceed 0.1949% of the Fund’s average daily net assets. This agreement will
remain in place until at least February 1, 2027. The agreement may be
terminated only by the Board of Trustees.
The
Adviser (or an affiliate of the Adviser) bears all of the Adviser’s own costs
associated with providing these advisory services and all expenses of the Fund,
except for the fee payment under the Advisory Agreement, payments under the
Fund’s Rule 12b-1 Distribution and Service Plan (the “Plan”), brokerage
expenses, acquired fund fees and expenses (including affiliated funds’ fees and
expenses), taxes (including tax-related services), interest (including borrowing
costs), litigation expenses (including class action-related services) and other
non-routine or extraordinary expenses.
The
Advisory Agreement for the Fund provides that it may be terminated at any time,
without the payment of any penalty, by the Board or, with respect to the Fund,
by a majority of the outstanding shares of the Fund, on 60 days’ written notice
to the Adviser, and by the Adviser upon 60 days’ written notice, and that it
shall be automatically terminated if it is assigned.
Sub-Adviser
— Alpha Architect, LLC
The
Adviser has retained Alpha Architect, LLC (“Alpha Architect”), an investment
adviser registered with the SEC, to provide sub-advisory services for the Fund.
Alpha Architect is located at 3803 West Chester Pike, Suite 150, Newtown Square,
PA 19073 and is wholly-owned by Empirical Finance, LLC. Alpha Architect provides
investment advisory services to separately managed accounts, the Fund, and other
exchange-traded funds. Alpha Architect was founded in July 2010.
Alpha
Architect is responsible for providing non-discretionary investment guidance and
strategic investment advice to Arin with respect to Arin’s investment models,
subject to the overall supervision and oversight of the Adviser and the Board.
Alpha Architect may also provide research or advice with respect to valuation
matters and infrastructure, among other matters, as requested by the Adviser
and/or Arin.
Pursuant
to the Alpha Architect sub-advisory agreement (the “Alpha Architect Sub-Advisory
Agreement”), Alpha Architect does not receive a fee for its sub-advisory
services. Alpha Architect is compensated under a Fund sponsorship agreement
between Alpha Architect, Arin, and the Adviser. This arrangement is described in
the “Fund Sponsor” section, below.
Sub-Adviser
— Arin Risk Advisors, LLC
The
Adviser has retained Arin Risk Advisors, LLC (“Arin”), an investment adviser
registered with the SEC, to provide sub-advisory services for the Fund. Arin is
located at 1100 East Hector Street, Suite 215, Conshohocken, Pennsylvania 19428.
Arin was established in 2009 and is registered as an investment adviser with the
SEC under the Advisers Act. Pursuant to the Arin sub-advisory agreement (the
“Arin Sub-Advisory Agreement”), Arin has discretion to purchase and sell
securities in accordance with the Fund’s objectives, policies, and restrictions.
Arin continuously reviews, supervises, and administers the Fund’s investment
program subject to oversight by the Adviser.
For
its services, the Adviser pays Arin a fee, which is calculated daily and paid
monthly, at an annual rate based on the Fund’s average daily net assets as
follows: 0.10% (annual rate as a percentage of average daily net assets).
Fund
Sponsor
The
Adviser, Alpha Architect, and Arin have entered into a fund sponsorship
agreement, under which Arin, as the Fund’s sponsor, provides financial support
to the Fund and assumes the Adviser’s obligation to pay some of the Fund’s
expenses, including Arin’s own sub-advisory fee. Although Arin has agreed to be
responsible for paying some of the Fund’s expenses, the Adviser retains the
ultimate obligation to the Fund to pay them.
Every
month, the Advisory Fee, which is a unitary management fee, is calculated and
paid to the Adviser. If the amount of the unitary management fee exceeds the
Fund’s operating expenses and the Adviser-retained amount, the Adviser pays the
net total to Arin. The amount paid to Arin represents both the sub-advisory fee
and any remaining profits from the Advisory Fee. During months where there are
no profits or the funds are not sufficient to cover the entire sub-advisory fee,
the sub-advisory fee is automatically waived. If the amount of the unitary
management fee is less than the Fund’s operating expenses and the
Adviser-retained amount, Arin is obligated to reimburse the Adviser for the
shortfall.
Arin
will also pay the Adviser and Alpha Architect a portion of any such profits
generated by the operation and management of the Fund and its assets under
management. These amounts will be paid out of Arin’s legitimate profits.
APPROVAL
OF ADVISORY AGREEMENT & INVESTMENT SUB-ADVISORY AGREEMENTS
A
discussion regarding the basis for the Board’s approval of the Advisory
Agreement, Arin Sub-Advisory Agreement, and Alpha Architect Sub-Advisory
Agreement with respect to the Fund is available in the Fund’s Form
N-CSR
to shareholders for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2025.
PORTFOLIO
MANAGERS
Messrs.
Lawrence Lempert, Joseph DeSipio and Ryan Bailey are co-portfolio managers,
responsible for the day-to-day management of the Fund.
Lawrence
Lempert has been the trading director of Arin since 2011. Prior to joining Arin,
he founded and managed Bullock Capital, LLC, a proprietary stock/option trading
and market making broker dealer and previously served as a Specialist, market
maker and Index options trader with Susquehanna International Group. Mr. Lempert
earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Statistics and Economics from Rutgers
College, a Juris Doctor from Villanova University School of Law, and a Master of
Laws in Taxation from New York University School of Law.
Joseph
DeSipio is the strategy director of Arin since the firm’s founding in 2009. He
previously held strategist and lead portfolio manager positions with SEI
Investments, Evergreen Investments, Wachovia, and Vector Capital Management,
Inc. Mr. DeSipio founded Evergreen Investments’ Options Strategy Group in
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Mr. DeSipio earned a Bachelor of Science degree from
Indiana University of Pennsylvania and Master of Arts degree in Economics from
Temple University. Mr. DeSipio is a CFA® charterholder. He earned the right to
use the Chartered Financial Analyst® designation. He is a Financial Risk Manager
– Certified by the Global Association of Risk Professionals.
Ryan
Bailey joined Arin in 2012 and is the Lead Portfolio Manager, where he creates
and monitors customized options overlay and volatility management mandates. Mr.
Bailey designs and implements relative value, dividend recapture, and synthetic
exposures trade strategies. Previously, Mr. Bailey served as a Market Maker and
Proprietary Trader with Bullock Capital and Susquehanna International Group
across the equities, options and futures markets. Mr. Bailey earned a Bachelor
of Science degree (Magna Cum Laude) in Business Administration from Drexel
University.
The
Fund’s Statement of Additional Information (“SAI”) provides additional
information about the portfolio managers, including other accounts each manages,
their ownership in the Fund, and compensation.
OTHER
SERVICE PROVIDERS
PINE
Distributors LLC (“Distributor”) serves as the distributor of Creation Units
(defined above) for the Fund on an agency basis. The Distributor does not
maintain a secondary market in Shares.
U.S.
Bancorp Fund Services, LLC, doing business as U.S. Bank Global Fund Services, is
the administrator, fund accountant, and transfer agent for the Fund.
U.S.
Bank National Association is the custodian for the Fund.
Practus,
LLP, 11300 Tomahawk Creek Parkway, Suite 310, Leawood, Kansas 66211, serves as
legal counsel to the Trust.
Tait,
Weller & Baker LLP, 50 South 16th Street, Suite 2900, Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania 19102, serves as the Fund’s independent registered public
accounting firm. The independent registered public accounting firm is
responsible for auditing the annual financial statements of the Fund.
THE
EXCHANGE
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 of,
prices of, 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 direct,
indirect, special, punitive, consequential or any other damages (including lost
profits) even if notified of the possibility of such damages.
BUYING
AND SELLING FUND SHARES
The
Fund issues and redeems Shares at NAV only in large blocks known as “Creation
Units,” which only APs (typically, broker-dealers) may purchase or redeem.
Creation Units are generally issued and redeemed only in-kind for securities
although a portion may be in cash.
Shares
will trade on the secondary market, however, which is where most retail
investors will buy and sell Shares. It is expected that only a limited number of
institutional investors, called Authorized Participants or “APs,” will purchase
and redeem Shares directly from the Fund. APs may acquire Shares directly from
the Fund, and APs may tender their Shares for redemption directly to the Fund,
at NAV per Share only in large blocks, or Creation Units. Purchases and
redemptions directly with the Fund must follow the Fund’s procedures, which are
described in the SAI.
Except
when aggregated in Creation Units, Shares are not redeemable with the Fund.
BUYING
AND SELLING SHARES ON THE SECONDARY MARKET
Most
investors will buy and sell Shares in secondary market transactions through
brokers and, therefore, must have a brokerage account to buy and sell Shares.
Shares can be bought or sold through your broker throughout the trading day like
shares of any publicly traded issuer. The Trust does not impose any redemption
fees or restrictions on redemptions of Shares in the secondary market. 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 offered prices in the secondary market for Shares. The price at
which you buy or sell Shares (i.e.,
the market price) may be more or less than the NAV of the Shares. Unless imposed
by your broker, there is no minimum dollar amount you must invest in the Fund
and no minimum number of Shares you must buy.
Shares
of the Fund are listed on the Exchange under the following symbol:
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
Fund |
Trading
Symbol |
|
Alpha
Architect 1-3 Month Box ETF |
BOXX |
The
Exchange is generally open Monday through Friday and is closed for weekends and
the following holidays: New Year’s Day, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day,
Washington’s Birthday, Good Friday, Memorial Day, Juneteenth National
Independence Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day, and Christmas
Day.
For
information about buying and selling Shares on the Exchange or in the secondary
markets, please contact your broker or dealer.
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, will be the
registered owner of all outstanding Shares and is recognized as the owner of all
Shares. Participants in DTC 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 on the procedures of DTC and its participants. These
procedures are the same as
those
that apply to any stocks that you hold in book entry or “street name” through
your brokerage account. Your account information will be maintained by your
broker, which will provide you with account statements, confirmations of your
purchases and sales of Shares, and tax information. Your broker also will be
responsible for distributing income dividends and capital gain distributions and
for ensuring that you receive shareholder reports and other communications from
the Fund.
Share
Trading Prices.
The trading prices of Shares may differ from the Fund’s daily NAV and can be
affected by market forces of supply and demand for Shares, the prices of the
Fund’s portfolio securities, economic conditions and other factors.
The
Exchange, through the facilities of the Consolidated Tape Association or another
market information provider, intends to disseminate the approximate value of the
Fund’s portfolio every fifteen seconds during regular U.S. trading hours. This
approximate value should not be viewed as a “real-time” update of the NAV of the
Fund because the approximate value may not be calculated in the same manner as
the NAV, which is computed once a day. The quotations for certain investments
may not be updated during U.S. trading hours if such holdings do not trade in
the U.S., except such quotations may be updated to reflect currency
fluctuations. The Fund is not involved in, or responsible for, the calculation
or dissemination of the approximate values and makes no warranty as to the
accuracy of these values.
Continuous
Offering.
The method by which Creation Units of Shares are created and traded may raise
certain issues under applicable securities laws. Because new Creation Units of
Shares are issued and sold by the Fund on an ongoing basis, a “distribution,” as
such term is used in the Securities Act, may occur at any point. Broker-dealers
and other persons are cautioned that some activities on their part may,
depending on the circumstances, result in their being deemed participants in a
distribution in a manner which could render them statutory underwriters and
subject them to the prospectus delivery requirements and liability provisions of
the Securities Act. For example, a broker-dealer firm or its client may be
deemed a statutory underwriter if it takes Creation Units after placing an order
with the Distributor, breaks them down into constituent Shares and sells the
Shares directly to customers or if it chooses to couple the creation of a supply
of new Shares with an active selling effort involving solicitation of secondary
market demand for Shares. A determination of whether one is an underwriter for
purposes of the Securities Act must take into account all the facts and
circumstances pertaining to the activities of the broker-dealer or its client in
the particular case, and the examples mentioned above should not be considered a
complete description of all the activities that could lead to a characterization
as an underwriter.
Broker-dealer
firms should also note that dealers who are not “underwriters” but are effecting
transactions in Shares, whether or not participating in the distribution of
Shares, are generally required to deliver a prospectus. This is because the
prospectus delivery exemption in Section 4(a)(3) of the Securities Act is
not available in respect of such transactions as a result of Section 24(d)
of the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “Investment Company
Act”). As a result, broker-dealer firms should note that dealers who are not
“underwriters” but are participating in a distribution (as contrasted with
engaging in ordinary secondary market transactions) and thus dealing with the
Shares that are part of an overallotment within the meaning of Section
4(a)(3)(C) of the Securities Act, will be unable to take advantage of the
prospectus delivery exemption provided by Section 4(a)(3) of the Securities Act.
For delivery of prospectuses to exchange members, the prospectus delivery
mechanism of Rule 153 under the Securities Act is only available with respect to
transactions on a national exchange.
ACTIVE
INVESTORS AND MARKET TIMING
The
Board has evaluated the risks of market timing activities by the Fund’s
shareholders. The Board noted that Shares can be purchased and redeemed directly
from the Fund only in Creation Units by APs and that the vast majority of
trading in Shares occurs on the secondary market. Because the secondary market
trades do not directly involve the Fund, it is unlikely those trades would cause
the harmful effects of market timing, including dilution, disruption of
portfolio management, increases in the Fund’s trading costs and the realization
of capital gains. With regard to the purchase or redemption of Creation Units
directly with the Fund, to the extent effected in-kind (i.e.,
for securities), the Board noted that those trades do not cause the harmful
effects (as previously noted) that may result from frequent cash trades. To the
extent trades are effected in whole or in part in cash, the Board noted that
those trades could result in dilution to the Fund and increased transaction
costs, which could negatively impact the Fund’s ability to achieve its
investment objective, although in certain circumstances (e.g.,
in conjunction with a reallocation of the Fund’s investments), such trades may
benefit Fund shareholders by increasing the tax efficiency of the Fund.
The
Board also noted that direct trading by APs is critical to ensuring that Shares
trade at or close to NAV. In addition, the Fund will impose transaction fees on
purchases and redemptions of Shares to cover the custodial and other costs
incurred by the Fund in effecting trades. Given this structure, the Board
determined that it is not necessary to adopt policies and procedures to detect
and deter market timing of Shares.
DISTRIBUTION
AND SERVICE PLAN
The
Fund has adopted the Plan pursuant to Rule 12b-1 under the Investment Company
Act. Under the Plan, the Fund may be authorized to pay distribution fees of up
to 0.25% of its average daily net assets each year to the Distributor and other
firms that provide distribution and shareholder services (“Service Providers”).
As of the date of this Prospectus, the maximum amount payable under the Plan is
set at 0% until further action by the Board. In the event 12b-1 fees are
charged, over time they would increase the cost of an investment in the Fund
because they would be paid on an ongoing basis.
NET
ASSET VALUE
The
NAV of Shares is calculated each business day as of the close of regular trading
on the New York Stock Exchange (“NYSE”), generally 4:00 p.m., Eastern time.
The
Fund calculates its NAV per Share by:
•Taking
the current market value of its total assets,
•Subtracting
any liabilities, and
•Dividing
that amount by the total number of Shares owned by shareholders.
If
you buy or sell Shares on the secondary market, you will pay or receive the
market price, which may be higher or lower than NAV. Your transaction will be
priced at NAV only if you purchase or redeem your Shares in Creation Units.
Equity
securities (other than equity or equity Index Options) that are traded on a
national securities exchange, except those listed on the NASDAQ Global
Market®
(“NASDAQ”) are valued at the last reported sale price on the exchange on which
the security is principally traded. Securities traded on NASDAQ will be valued
at the NASDAQ Official Closing Price (“NOCP”). If, on a particular day, an
exchange-traded or NASDAQ security does not trade, then the most recent quoted
bid for exchange traded or the mean between the most recent quoted bid and ask
price for NASDAQ securities will be used. Equity securities that are not traded
on a listed exchange are generally valued at the last sale price in the
over-the-counter market. If a nonexchange traded security does not trade on a
particular day, then the mean between the last quoted closing bid and asked
price will be used.
Exchange-traded
options (other than FLEX Options) are valued at the mean of the last quoted bid
and ask prices at 4:00 p.m. Eastern time as provided by a third-party pricing
service from the primary exchange or the board of trade on which such options
are traded. Exchange-traded options will be valued on the basis of prices
provided by pricing services when such prices are reasonably believed to reflect
the market value of such options and may include the use of composite or
National Best Bid and Offer (“NBBO”) pricing information provided by the pricing
services.
FLEX
Options and “European Style” options (options that cannot be exercised prior to
the expiration date) that are listed on an exchange (e.g., Cboe) will typically
be valued at a model-based price provided by the exchange at the official close
of that exchange’s trading day. However, when a FLEX Option has a same-day
market trading price at the official close of that exchange’s trading day (i)
this same-day market trading price will be used for the FLEX Option value
instead of the exchange’s model-based price and (ii) the implied interest rate
for such same-day market traded FLEX options shall be utilized in all
model-based prices which share the same expiration date when available.
An
option may be fair valued when: (i) the option does not trade on the valuation
date and a reliable last quoted bid and ask price at the valuation time are not
readily available or (ii) the Fund’s Adviser and/or Sub-adviser or Fund
management does not believe the prices provided by the pricing services or
exchange reflect the current market value of such option.
Redeemable
securities issued by open-end investment companies are valued at the investment
company’s applicable net asset value, with the exception of exchange-traded
open-end investment companies which are priced as equity securities.
If
a market price is not readily available or is deemed not to reflect market
value, the Fund will determine the price of the security held by the Fund based
on a determination of the security’s fair value pursuant to policies and
procedures approved by the Board.
To
the extent the Fund holds securities that may trade infrequently, fair valuation
may be used more frequently. Fair valuation may have the effect of reducing
stale pricing arbitrage opportunities presented by the pricing of Shares.
However, when the Fund uses fair valuation to price securities, it may value
those securities higher or lower than another fund would have priced the
security. Also, the use of fair valuation may cause the Shares’ NAV performance
to diverge from the Shares’ market price and from the performance of various
benchmarks used to compare the Fund’s performance because benchmarks generally
do not use fair valuation techniques. Because of the judgment involved in fair
valuation decisions, there can be no assurance that the value ascribed to a
particular security is accurate.
FUND
WEBSITE AND DISCLOSURE OF PORTFOLIO HOLDINGS
The
Trust maintains a website for the Fund at
https://funds.alphaarchitect.com/boxetf. Among other things, the website
includes this Prospectus and the SAI, the Fund’s annual
and semi-annual
reports to shareholders, financial information, holdings, and proxy information.
The website shows the Fund’s daily NAV per share, market price, and premium or
discount, each as of the prior business day. The website also shows the extent
and frequency of the Fund’s premiums and discounts. Further, the website
includes the Fund’s median bid-ask spread over the most recent thirty calendar
days.
Each
day the Fund is open for business, the Trust publicly disseminates the Fund’s
full portfolio holdings as of the close of the previous day through its website
at https://funds.alphaarchitect.com/boxetf. A description of the Trust’s
policies and procedures with respect to the disclosure of the Fund’s portfolio
holdings is available in the Fund’s SAI.
INVESTMENTS
BY OTHER INVESTMENT COMPANIES
For
purposes of the Investment Company Act, Shares are issued by a registered
investment company and purchases of such Shares by registered investment
companies and companies relying on Section 3(c)(1) or 3(c)(7) of the Investment
Company Act are subject to the restrictions set forth in Section 12(d)(1) of the
Investment Company Act, except as permitted by Rule 6c-11, Rule 12d1-4, or an
exemptive order of the SEC.
DIVIDENDS,
DISTRIBUTIONS, AND TAXES
As
with any investment, you should consider how your investment in Shares will be
taxed. The tax information in this Prospectus is provided as general
information. You should consult your own tax professional about the tax
consequences of an investment in Shares.
Unless
your investment in Shares is made through a tax-exempt entity or tax-deferred
retirement account, such as an IRA, you need to be aware of the possible tax
consequences when:
•Your
Fund makes distributions,
•You
sell your Shares listed on the Exchange, and
•You
purchase or redeem Creation Units.
Dividends
and Distributions.
The Fund intends to qualify each year as a regulated investment company under
the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”). As a RIC, the Fund
generally pays no U.S. federal income tax on the income and gains it distributes
to you. The Fund expects to declare and to distribute its net investment income
and net realized gains, if any, to shareholders as dividends annually. The Fund
may distribute such income dividends and capital gains more frequently, if
necessary, in order to reduce or eliminate U.S. federal excise or income taxes
on the Fund. The amount of any distribution will vary, and there is no guarantee
the Fund will pay either an income dividend or a capital gains distribution.
Distributions may be reinvested automatically in additional whole Shares only if
the broker through whom you purchased Shares makes such option
available.
Avoid
“Buying a Dividend.”
At the time you purchase Shares of the Fund, the Fund’s NAV may reflect
undistributed income, undistributed capital gains, or net unrealized
appreciation in value of portfolio securities held by the Fund. For taxable
investors, a subsequent distribution to you of such amounts, although
constituting a return of your investment, would be taxable. Buying Shares in the
Fund just before it declares an income dividend or capital gains distribution is
sometimes known as “buying a dividend.”
Taxes
Tax
Considerations.
The Fund’s distributions, if any, will be taxable as ordinary income, capital
gain, or some combination of both. This is true whether you reinvest your
distributions in additional Shares or receive the distributions in cash. For
U.S. federal income tax purposes, the Fund’s distributions of short-term capital
gains are taxable to a shareholder as ordinary income. The Fund’s distributions
of long-term capital gains are taxable to shareholders as long-term capital gain
no matter how long the shareholder has owned Shares. Some or all of the income
dividends reported by the Fund may be qualified dividend income eligible for tax
at the long-term capital gain rates for certain shareholders provided certain
holding period and other requirements are met.
Tax
Treatment of Complex Securities
Options
Certain
of the Fund’s investments, including transactions involving options contracts,
may be subject to complex tax rules (including, but not limited to, provisions
addressing hedging transactions, straddles, integrated transactions, foreign
currency contracts, and notional principal contracts) that, among other things,
may affect the Fund’s ability to qualify as a RIC, may affect the character of
gains and losses realized by the Fund (e.g.,
may affect whether gains or losses are ordinary or capital), may accelerate
recognition of income by the Fund and may defer losses. These rules could
therefore affect the character, amount and timing of distributions to
shareholders. These rules also may require the Fund to mark to market certain
types of positions in its portfolio (e.g.,
treat them as if they were sold at year end), which may cause the Fund to
recognize income without the Fund receiving cash with which to make
distributions in amounts sufficient to enable the Fund to satisfy the RIC
distribution requirements, thereby potentially subjecting the Fund to regular
corporate U.S. federal income tax. The Fund intends to monitor its transactions,
intends to make appropriate tax elections, and intends to make appropriate
entries in its books and records to mitigate the effect of these rules and
preserve the Fund’s qualification for treatment as a RIC.
Derivative
Investments
Certain
derivative investments by the Fund, such as exchange-traded products and
over-the-counter derivatives, may not produce qualifying income for purposes of
the Income Requirement described in the SAI. In addition, the determination of
the value and the identity of the issuer of such derivative investments is often
unclear for purposes of the Asset Diversification Test described in the SAI. The
Fund intends to carefully monitor such investments to ensure that any
non-qualifying income does not exceed permissible limits and to ensure that it
is adequately diversified under the Asset Diversification Test. The Fund,
however, may not be able to accurately predict the non-qualifying income from
these investments and there can be no assurances that the IRS or a court will
agree with the Fund’s determination with respect to such derivatives. Failure of
the Asset Diversification Test might also result from a determination by the IRS
or a court that financial instruments in which the Fund invests are not
securities.
Code
Section 1256 Contracts
The
Fund is required for U.S. federal income tax purposes to mark to market and
recognize as income for each taxable year its net unrealized gains and losses on
certain futures and options contracts subject to Code Section 1256 (“Section
1256 Contracts”) as of the end of the year as well as those actually realized
during the year. Gain or loss from Section 1256 Contracts on broad-based indexes
required to be marked to market will be 60% long-term and 40% short-term capital
gain or loss. For example, this provision may apply to option contracts where a
broad-based index, such as the S&P 500 Index, is the reference asset for the
option contract. Application of this rule may alter the timing and character of
distributions that are needed to be made by the Fund to its shareholders. The
Fund may be required to defer the recognition of losses on Section 1256
Contracts to the extent of any unrecognized gains on offsetting positions held
by the Fund. These rules may also require the Fund to mark to market certain
types of positions in its portfolio (i.e.,
treat them as if they were sold at the end of the year), which may cause the
Fund to recognize income without receiving cash with which to make distributions
in amounts necessary to satisfy the RIC
rules.
Accordingly, to avoid certain U.S. federal income and excise taxes, the Fund may
be required to liquidate its other investments at a time when the investment
adviser might not otherwise have chosen to do so to pay such
distributions.
Straddles
Offsetting
positions held by the Fund involving certain derivative instruments, such as
options, forwards, and futures, as well as its long and short positions in
portfolio securities, may be considered to constitute “straddles” for U.S.
federal income tax purposes. In general, straddles are subject to certain rules
that may affect the amount, character and timing of the Fund’s gains and losses
with respect to the straddle positions by requiring, among other things, that:
(i) any loss realized on the disposition of one position of a straddle may not
be recognized to the extent that the Fund has unrealized gains with respect to
the other positions in the straddle; (ii) the Fund’s holding period in straddle
positions may be suspended while the straddle exists (possibly resulting in a
gain being treated as short-term rather than as long-term capital gain); (iii)
the losses recognized with respect to certain straddle positions that are part
of a mixed straddle and are non-Section 1256 Contracts be treated as 60%
long-term and 40% short-term capital loss; (iv) losses recognized with respect
to certain straddle positions that would otherwise constitute short-term capital
losses be treated as long-term capital losses; and (v) the deduction of interest
and carrying charges attributable to certain straddle positions may be deferred.
Various elections are available to the Fund, which may mitigate the effects of
the straddle rules, particularly with respect to mixed straddles.
In
general, the straddle rules described above do not apply to any straddles held
by the Fund if all of the offsetting positions consist of Section 1256
Contracts. The straddle rules described above also do not apply if all the
offsetting positions making up a straddle consist of one or more “qualified
covered call options” and the stock to be purchased under the options and the
straddle is not part of a larger straddle. A qualified covered call option is
generally any option granted by the Fund to purchase stock it holds (or stock it
acquires in connection with granting the option) if, among other things, (i) the
option is traded on a national securities exchange that is registered with the
SEC or other market the IRS determined has rules adequate to carry out the
purposes of the applicable Code provision, (ii) the option is granted more than
30 days before it expires, (iii) the option is not a “deep-in-the-money option,”
(iv) such option is not granted by an options dealer in connection with the
dealer’s activity of dealing in options, and (v) gain or loss with respect to
the option is not ordinary income or loss. In addition, the straddle rules could
cause distributions from the Fund that would otherwise constitute “qualified
dividend income” or qualify for the dividends-received deduction to fail to
satisfy the applicable holding period requirements. To the extent the Fund
writes options that are non-Section 1256 Contracts, the amount of premium
received by the Fund for writing such options is likely to be entirely
short-term capital gain to the Fund. In addition, if such an option is closed by
the Fund, any gain or loss realized by the Fund as a result of the closing
transaction will also generally be short-term capital gain or loss. If such an
option is exercised, any gain or loss realized by the Fund upon the sale of the
underlying security pursuant to such exercise will generally be short-term or
long-term capital gain or loss depending on the Fund’s holding period for the
underlying security.
Constructive
Sales
If
the Fund enters into a “constructive sale” of an appreciated financial position
held in its portfolio under Code Section 1260, the Fund will be treated as if it
had sold such position at a gain and immediately repurchased that position with
the holding period being restarted. A constructive sale of an appreciated
financial position occurs when the Fund enters into certain offsetting
transactions with respect to the same or substantially identical property,
including, but not limited to: (i) a short sale; (ii) an offsetting notional
principal contract; (iii) entering into a futures or forward contract; (iv)
acquiring property that offsets an appreciated contract mentioned in (ii) or
(iii), and (v) other transactions identified in future Treasury Regulations.
Whether the gain from a constructive sale is short-term or long-term capital
gain will generally depend upon the Fund’s holding period in the appreciated
financial position at the time of the deemed sale. Losses realized from a sale
of a position that was previously the subject of a constructive sale will be
recognized when the position is actually disposed of after the constructive
sale. Whether such losses are short-term or long-term capital losses generally
will depend upon the Fund’s holding period in that position beginning with the
date the constructive sale was deemed to have occurred. Constructive sale
treatment does not apply to certain closed transactions, including if such a
transaction is closed on or before the 30th day after the close of the Fund’s
taxable year and the Fund holds the appreciated financial position unhedged
throughout the 60-day period beginning with the day such transaction was closed.
The Fund does not intend to engage in
constructive
sale transactions, although no assurance can be given that the IRS or a court
may disagree with the Fund’s tax treatment of any transaction.
Taxes
on Sales of Shares.
A sale or exchange of Shares is a taxable event and, accordingly, a capital gain
or loss will generally be recognized. Currently, any capital gain or loss
realized upon a sale of Shares generally is treated as long-term capital gain or
loss if the Shares have been held for more than one year and as short-term
capital gain or loss if the Shares have been held for one year or less. The
ability to deduct capital losses may be limited.
Medicare
Tax.
An additional 3.8% Medicare tax is imposed on certain net investment income
(including ordinary dividends and capital gain distributions received from the
Fund and net gains from redemptions or other taxable dispositions of Shares) of
U.S. individuals, estates, and trusts to the extent that such person’s “modified
adjusted gross income” (in the case of an individual) or “adjusted gross income”
(in the case of an estate or trust) exceeds a threshold amount. This Medicare
tax, if applicable, is reported by you on, and paid with, your U.S. federal
income tax return.
Backup
Withholding.
By law, if you do not provide the Fund or your broker with your proper taxpayer
identification number and certain required certifications, you may be subject to
backup withholding on any distributions of income, capital gains or proceeds
from the sale of your Shares. The Fund or your broker also must backup withhold
if the IRS instructs it to do so. When backup withholding is required, the
amount will be 24% of any distributions or proceeds paid.
State
and Local Taxes.
Fund distributions and gains from the sale or exchange of your Shares generally
are subject to applicable state and local taxes.
Taxes
on Purchase and Redemption of Creation Units.
An AP who exchanges equity securities for Creation Units generally will
recognize a gain or a loss. The gain or loss will be equal to the difference
between the market value of the Creation Units at the time of purchase and the
exchanger’s aggregate basis in the securities surrendered and the cash amount
paid. A person who exchanges Creation Units for equity securities generally will
recognize a gain or loss equal to the difference between the exchanger’s basis
in the Creation Units and the aggregate market value of the securities received
and the cash amount received. The IRS, however, may assert that a loss realized
upon an exchange of securities for Creation Units cannot be deducted currently
under the rules governing “wash sales,” or on the basis that there has been no
significant change in economic position. Persons exchanging securities should
consult their own tax advisor with respect to whether the wash sale rules apply
and when a loss might not be deductible.
Under
current U.S. federal tax laws, any capital gain or loss realized upon redemption
of Creation Units is generally treated as long-term capital gain or loss if the
Shares have been held for more than one year and as a short-term capital gain or
loss if the Shares have been held for one year or less.
If
the Fund redeems Creation Units in cash, it may recognize more capital gains
than it will if it redeems Creation Units in-kind.
Non-U.S.
Investors.
Non-U.S. investors may be subject to U.S. federal withholding tax at a 30% or
lower treaty rate and are subject to special U.S. federal tax certification
requirements to avoid backup withholding and claim any treaty benefits. An
exemption from U.S. federal withholding tax is provided for capital gain
dividends paid by the Fund from long-term capital gains, if any. In addition,
interest-related dividends paid by the Fund from its qualified net interest
income from U.S. sources and short-term capital gain dividends may be exempt
from U.S. withholding provided the Fund makes certain designations and other
requirements are met. Furthermore, notwithstanding such exemptions from U.S.
federal withholding at the source, any such dividends and distributions of
income and capital gains will be subject to U.S. federal backup withholding at a
rate of 24% if you fail to properly certify that you are not a U.S. person. In
addition, U.S. estate tax may apply to Shares of the Fund.
Other
Reporting and Withholding Requirements.
Under the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (“FATCA”), the Fund will be
required to withhold a 30% tax on (i) income dividends paid by the Fund, and
(ii) possibly in the future, certain capital gain distributions and the proceeds
arising from the sale of Shares paid by the Fund, to certain foreign entities,
referred to as foreign financial institutions or non-financial foreign entities,
that fail to comply (or be deemed compliant) with extensive reporting and
withholding requirements designed to inform the U.S. Department of the Treasury
of U.S.-owned foreign investment accounts. The Fund or an intermediary may
disclose the
information
that it receives from its shareholders to the IRS, non-U.S. taxing authorities
or other parties as necessary to comply with FATCA. Withholding also may be
required if a foreign entity that is a shareholder of the Fund fails to provide
appropriate certifications or other documentation concerning its status under
FATCA.
Possible
Tax Law Changes.
At the time that this prospectus is being prepared, various administrative and
legislative changes to the U.S. federal tax laws are under consideration, but it
is not possible at this time to determine whether any of these changes will be
made or what the changes might entail.
This
discussion of “Dividends, Distributions and Taxes” is not intended or written to
be used as tax advice. Because everyone’s tax situation is unique, you should
consult your tax professional about U.S. federal, state, local or foreign tax
consequences before making an investment in the Fund.
FINANCIAL
HIGHLIGHTS
The
financial highlights table is intended to help you understand the Fund’s
financial performance for the period of the Fund’s operations. Certain
information reflects financial results for a single Share. The total returns in
the table represent the rate that an investor would have gained (or lost) on an
investment in the Fund (assuming reinvestment of all dividends and
distributions). The information in the table below has been audited by Tait,
Weller & Baker LLP, an independent registered public accounting firm, whose
report, along with the Fund’s financial statements, is included in the Fund’s
Form
N-CSR,
which is available upon request.
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| INVESTMENT
OPERATIONS: |
LESS
DISTRIBUTIONS FROM: |
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| SUPPLEMENTAL
DATA AND RATIOS: |
| For
the period ended |
| Net
asset value, beginning of period |
Net
investment income (loss)(a)(b) |
Net
realized and unrealized gain (loss) on investments(c) |
Total
from investment operations |
Net
investment income |
Net
realized gains |
Return
of capital |
Total
distributions |
ETF
transaction fees per share |
Net
asset value, end of period |
Total
return(d) |
Net
assets, end of period (in thousands) |
Ratio
of expenses to average net assets before expense reimbursement /
recoupment(e)(f) |
Ratio
of expenses to average net assets after expense reimbursement /
recoupment(e)(f) |
Ratio
of dividends, interest and borrowing expenses on securities sold short to
average net assets(e)(f) |
Ratio
of operational expenses to average net assets excluding dividends,
interest, and borrowing expense on securities sold short(e)(f) |
Ratio
of net investment income (loss) to average net assets(e)(f) |
Portfolio
turnover rate(d)(g) |
| Alpha
Architect 1-3 Month Box ETF |
| 9/30/2025 |
$108.92 |
(0.22) |
5.13 |
4.91 |
– |
– |
– |
– |
0.00(h) |
$113.83 |
4.51% |
$8,079,665 |
0.2573% |
0.1951% |
0.0002% |
0.1949% |
(0.1938)% |
0% |
|
9/30/2024(j) |
$104.11 |
(0.19) |
5.28 |
5.09 |
– |
(0.29) |
– |
(0.29) |
0.01 |
$108.92 |
4.89% |
$3,968,953 |
0.3949% |
0.1949% |
–% |
0.1949% |
(0.1918)% |
0% |
|
10/31/2023(i) |
$100.00 |
(0.16) |
4.25 |
4.09 |
– |
– |
– |
– |
0.02 |
$104.11 |
4.11% |
$544,469 |
0.3949% |
0.1949% |
–% |
0.1949% |
(0.1865)% |
0% |
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(a) |
Recognition
of net investment income by the Fund is affected by the timing of the
declaration of dividends by the underlying exchange traded funds in which
the Fund invests. The net income per share does not include net investment
income of the exchange traded funds in which the Fund
invests. |
|
(b) |
Net
investment income per share has been calculated based on average shares
outstanding during the periods. |
|
(c) |
Realized
and unrealized gains and losses per share in the caption are balancing
amounts necessary to reconcile the change in net asset value per share for
the periods, and may not reconcile with the aggregate gains and losses in
the Statement of Operations due to share transactions for the
periods. |
|
(d) |
Not
annualized for periods less than one year. |
|
(e) |
These
ratios exclude the impact of expenses of the underlying exchange traded
funds in which the fund invests. Recognition of net investment income by
the Fund is affected by the timing of the underlying exchange traded funds
in which the Fund invests. |
|
(f) |
Annualized
for periods less than one year. |
|
(g) |
Portfolio
turnover rate excludes in-kind transactions. |
|
(h) |
Amount
represents less than $0.005 per share. |
|
(i) |
Inception
date of the Fund was December 27, 2022. |
| (j) |
For
the period November 1, 2023 to September 30,
2024. |
If
you would like more information about the Fund and the Trust, the following
documents are available free, upon request:
ANNUAL/SEMI-ANNUAL
REPORTS TO SHAREHOLDERS
Additional
information about the Fund is in its annual
and semi-annual
reports to shareholders and in Form N-CSR. The annual report explains the market
conditions and investment strategies affecting the Fund’s performance during the
last fiscal year. In Form N-CSR, you will find the Fund’s annual and semi-annual
financial statements.
STATEMENT
OF ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
The
SAI dated February 1, 2026, which contains more details about the Fund, is
incorporated by reference in its entirety into this Prospectus, which means that
it is legally part of this Prospectus.
Recent
information regarding the Fund covered by this Prospectus, including its NAV,
market price, premiums and discounts, and bid/ask spreads, is available on the
Fund’s website listed below. To receive a free copy of the latest annual or
semi-annual report, or the SAI, or to request additional information about the
Fund, please contact us as follows:
|
|
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| |
| Call: |
(215)
882-9983 |
|
| |
| Write: |
3803
West Chester Pike, Suite 150 |
|
| Newtown
Square, PA 19073 |
|
| |
| Visit: |
https://funds.alphaarchitect.com/boxetf |
INFORMATION
PROVIDED BY THE SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Reports
and other information about the Fund are also available:
•Free
of charge from the SEC’s EDGAR database on the SEC’s website at
http://www.sec.gov; or
Investment
Company Act File No. 811-22961.