As filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on August 28, 2018
Securities Act Registration No. 333-123290
Investment Company Act Reg. No. 811-21726
UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
WASHINGTON, DC 20549
FORM N-1A
REGISTRATION STATEMENT UNDER THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933 | ☒ | |
Pre-Effective Amendment No. | ☐ | |
Post-Effective Amendment No. 112 | ☒ | |
and/or | ||
REGISTRATION STATEMENT UNDER THE INVESTMENT COMPANY ACT OF 1940 | ☒ | |
Amendment No. 113 | ☒ |
(Check appropriate box or boxes.)
360 FUNDS
(Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in Charter)
4300 Shawnee Mission Parkway, Suite 100
Fairway, Kansas 66205
(Address of Principal Executive Offices) (Zip Code)
Registrant’s Telephone Number, including Area Code: (877) 244-6235
The Corporation Trust Company
Corporation Trust Center
1209 Orange Street
Wilmington, Delaware 19801
(Name and Address of Agent for Service)
With Copies To:
John H. Lively |
Practus, LLP |
11300 Tomahawk Creek Parkway, Suite 310 |
Leawood, KS 66211 |
Approximate Date of Proposed Public Offering: Immediately following effectiveness of this post-effective amendment.
It is proposed that this filing will become effective (check appropriate box)
☒ | immediately upon filing pursuant to paragraph (b) |
☐ | On_______________ pursuant to paragraph (b) |
☐ | 60 days after filing pursuant to paragraph (a)(1) |
☐ | on (date) pursuant to paragraph (a)(1) |
☐ | 75 days after filing pursuant to paragraph (a)(2) |
☐ | on (date) pursuant to paragraph (a)(2) of rule 485. |
If appropriate, check the following box:
☐ | This post-effective amendment designates a new effective date for a previously filed post-effective amendment. |
EAS Crow Point Alternatives Fund
Class A Shares (Ticker Symbol: EASAX)
Class C Shares (Ticker Symbol: EASYX)
Class I Shares (Ticker Symbol: EASIX)
a series of the
360 Funds
PROSPECTUS
August 28, 2018
Advised by:
Crow Point Partners, LLC
25 Recreation Dr., Suite 206
Hingham, MA 02043
1-877-327-0757
www.crowpointfunds.com
This Prospectus relates to three classes of shares (Class A shares, Class C shares and Class I Shares); for questions or for Shareholder Services, please call (877) 244-6235.
These securities have not been approved or disapproved by the Securities and Exchange Commission or any state securities commission nor has the Securities and Exchange Commission or any state securities commission passed upon the accuracy or adequacy of this prospectus. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.
Table of Contents
Investment Objective. The investment objective of the EAS Crow Point Alternatives Fund (the “Fund”) is preservation and growth of capital.
Fees and Expenses of the Fund. This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the Fund. You may qualify for sales charge discounts if you and your family invest, or agree to invest in the future, at least $50,000 in the Fund. More information about these and other discounts is available from your financial professional and in the section captioned “Purchasing Shares” on page 25 of the Fund’s prospectus and the section captioned “Purchases” beginning on page 46 of the Fund’s statement of additional information.
Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment)
Class A shares |
Class C shares |
Class I shares | |
Maximum Sales Charge (Load) Imposed on Purchases (as a percentage of offering price) |
5.50% |
None |
None |
Maximum Deferred Sales Charge (Load) (as a percentage of amount redeemed) |
1.00%1 |
1.00% | None |
Maximum Sales Charge (Load) Imposed on Reinvested Dividends/Distributions | None | None | None |
Redemption Fee on Shares Held Less Than 30 Days (as a % of amount redeemed) | None | None | None |
Annual Fund Operating Expenses (expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)
Class A shares |
Class C shares |
Class I shares | |
Management Fees | 1.00% | 1.00% | 1.00% |
Distribution and Service (12b-1) Fees | 0.25% | 1.00% | 0.00% |
Other Expenses2 | |||
Interest and Dividends on Securities Sold Short | 0.54% | 0.54% | 0.54% |
Remainder of Other Expenses | 1.75% | 1.67% | 1.65% |
Total Other Expenses | 2.29% | 2.21% | 2.19% |
Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses3 | 0.74% | 0.74% | 0.74% |
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses4 | 4.28% | 4.95% | 3.93% |
Fee Waivers and Expense Reimbursements4,5 | (1.05%) | (0.97%) | (0.95%) |
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses After Waivers and/or Expense Reimbursements4,5 | 3.23% | 3.98% | 2.98% |
1. | A Contingent Deferred Sales Charge (“CDSC”) is imposed upon certain redemptions of Class A shares purchased at net asset value in amounts totaling $1 million and the shares are redeemed within one year from the date of purchase. See “CDSC for Certain Purchases of Class A Shares” below. |
2. | Estimated for the Fund’s first fiscal year of operations following the reorganization, as described below. The expenses have been restated based on contractual arrangements with the Fund’s current service providers. |
3. | This number represents the combined total fees and operating expenses of the underlying funds owned by the Fund and is not a direct expense incurred by the Fund or deducted from the Fund’s assets. Since the number does not represent a direct operating expense of the Fund, the operating expenses set forth in the Fund’s financial highlights do not include this figure. |
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4. | Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses do not correlate to the ratio of expenses to average net assets provided in the Financial Highlights. The information in the Financial Highlights reflects the operating expenses of the Fund and does not include Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses or the Expense Limitation Agreement described below. Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses are the fees and expenses incurred indirectly by the Fund as a result of its investments in investment companies and other pooled investment vehicles. |
5. | Pursuant to an operating expense limitation agreement between Crow Point Partners, LLC (the “Adviser”) and the Fund, the Adviser has agreed to waive or reduce its fees and to assume other expenses of the Fund, if necessary, in an amount that limits “Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses” (exclusive of interest, expenses incurred under a plan of distribution adopted pursuant to Rule 12b-1 under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”), taxes, acquired fund fees and expenses, brokerage commissions, dividend expenses short sales and other expenditures which are capitalized in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles and other extraordinary expenses not incurred in the ordinary course of such Fund’s business) to not more than 1.70% of the average daily net assets of each share class of the Fund through January 31, 2020. This operating expense limitation agreement can be terminated only by, or with the consent of, the Board of Trustees. The Adviser is permitted to receive reimbursement of any excess expense payments paid by it pursuant to the operating expense limitation agreement in future years on a rolling three-year basis, as long as the reimbursement does not cause the Fund’s annual operating expenses to exceed the expense cap. |
Example. This Example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other mutual funds.
This Example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and then redeem all of your shares at the end of those periods. This Example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and the Fund’s operating expenses remain the same, and the contractual agreement to limit expenses remains in effect only through January 31, 2020. The Contingent Deferred Sales Charge (the “CDSC”) is not included in these calculations for Class A Shares. If the CDSC were included, your costs would be higher. See “CDSC for Certain Purchases of Class A Shares” below. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your cost would be:
Period Invested | 1 Year | 3 Years | 5 Years | 10 Years | |||||||||||||
Class A Shares | $ | 858 | $ | 1,687 | $ | 2,528 | $ | 4,685 | |||||||||
Class C Shares | $ | 400 | $ | 1,401 | $ | 2,402 | $ | 4,911 | |||||||||
Class I Shares | $ | 301 | $ | 1,111 | $ | 1,939 | $ | 4,088 |
Portfolio Turnover. The Fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Fund shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in annual fund operating expenses or in the example, affect the Fund’s performance. For the fiscal year ended April 30, 2018, the Fund’s portfolio turnover rate was 165% of the average value of its portfolio.
Principal Investment Strategy of the Fund. The Adviser’s investment philosophy centers on the preservation and growth of capital through both good and bad markets. The Adviser believes that for most shareholders, investment success is about growing capital over time while protecting it at all times, not about beating a market index which can frequently involve losses while still meeting the objective. Thus, the Adviser follows an absolute return approach in managing the Fund, as defined below. In executing its strategy, the Adviser attempts to generate consistent, positive returns regardless of market conditions by allocating the Fund’s investments among multiple alternative investment styles. Alternative investment styles generally exhibit low volatility and relatively low long-term market correlation.
“Low correlation” refers to the extent to which the performance of an investment moves in synch with the broader equity and bond markets. The goal of the Adviser in managing the Fund’s assets is to construct a portfolio of assets that exhibit low correlation with and downside capture of the stock market. A correlation measure of 1 demonstrates perfect positive correlation; a correlation measure of 0 demonstrates no correlation and a correlation measure of -1 demonstrates a perfect negative correlation.
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Many mutual funds are managed according to a “relative return” approach (i.e., they aim to perform better than their mutual fund category, their mutual fund peers or the general market as a whole). By contrast, “absolute return” refers to the strategy of seeking positive investment performance regardless of overall or broader market performance. Absolute return strategies, which the Adviser believes will be less volatile, differ from relative return because they are concerned with the return of a particular investment and do not compare it to any other measure or benchmark.
The Fund pursues its absolute return objective by tactically allocating its capital among multiple potential alternative investment classes, including investments in private funds. The Fund may, generally, pursue investments among the following alternative investment classes or strategies: Long-Short Equity, Long-Short Credit, Asset Backed Securities, Arbitrage, Commodities, Convertibles, Floating Rate Debt, Currencies, Emerging Market Bonds, Emerging Market Equities, High Yield, Managed Futures, and Real Estate (primarily through real estate investment trusts (“REITs”)).
A general overview of the Fund’s investment classes is illustrated below. Allocations among the various investment classes or strategies will vary:
The Fund may invest directly or through other mutual funds, exchange traded funds (“ETFs”), closed-end funds and private funds, including hedge funds (“Underlying Funds”) across these alternative investment classes. Investments in private funds, including hedge funds, will be limited to no more than 15% of the Fund’s net assets. An ETF is an investment company that typically seeks to track the performance of an index by holding in its portfolio either the contents of the index or a representative sample of the securities in the index. The Adviser may invest a portion of the Fund’s assets in other mutual funds that are also advised by the Adviser. The Adviser will adjust the asset allocation among each alternative investment class based on its assessment of market conditions and investment opportunities. Depending on market conditions, the core of the Fund’s investments will ordinarily be in long-short equity and long-short credit strategies managed by the Adviser. The Adviser also expects to utilize other alternative asset classes to round out portfolio allocations, some of which may also be managed by the Adviser, others may be managed by a Sub-adviser. Whether these asset classes are managed by the Adviser or not, they will generally show lower correlations to broader market indices to seek to reduce the Fund’s volatility compared to the markets in general.
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The Adviser or a Sub-adviser will execute a portion of the Fund’s strategy by investing in a wholly owned and controlled subsidiary (the “Subsidiary”). The Subsidiary invests the majority of its assets in commodities, commodity-linked derivative investments and other futures contracts. The Subsidiary is subject to the same investment restrictions as the Fund, when viewed on a consolidated basis.
To assist in assessing the attractiveness of each of the alternative asset classes, the Adviser utilizes a proprietary quantitative model that analyzes various technical characteristics of each class and provides a risk score on the investment prospects of each. Specifically, the quantitative model examines certain data to forecast which investment securities, asset classes, or strategies are likely to underperform or outperform cash. The Adviser may allocate to cash or cash equivalents during periods of market duress. The Adviser does not employ market timing, but rather a disciplined, repeatable process with a focus on low volatility, downside protection and portfolio consistency. The Adviser believes the application of a disciplined, quantitative approach to portfolio management and asset allocation helps the Adviser’s execution in its goal of generating positive absolute returns over time.
The Fund is designed to exhibit low volatility, low correlation and low downside capture to the broad markets and to provide an effective absolute return alternative to long-only equity strategies and traditional fixed-income strategies. “Broad markets” refer generally to the commonly recognized securities exchanges and the indices that track the performance of those exchanges. Indices commonly used to track these markets include the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index and the Barclays Capital Aggregate Bond Index, respectively. As the Fund pursues a multi-strategy approach and utilizes a blend of alternative investment styles, the HFRI Fund-of-Funds Conservative Index is the most relevant index to which the Fund should be benchmarked.
The Fund may invest in securities directly, or through other investment companies, including alternative (a.k.a. “hedged”) mutual funds, ETFs, closed end funds and private funds. “Hedged mutual funds” are those mutual funds that employ a non-traditional investment style sometimes found in the hedge fund investment world. For example, they may use a limited amount of leverage, sell securities short, use derivatives, such as swaps, and hold cash positions as they deem appropriate to adjust to market cycles. The Fund may utilize derivatives such as equity and index options in order to selectively hedge individual stock exposure. Given the broader investment flexibility, hedged mutual funds can adjust their net long or short equity exposure much more liberally than traditional “long-only” mutual funds. The Hedged mutual funds may pursue a variety of specific investment styles or “hedge fund-like strategies” that fall under the aforementioned alternative investment classes.
By combining multiple alternative asset classes in the Fund, the Adviser pursues a diversified investment program designed with the goal of delivering low market volatility, low market beta and relatively low market correlation. The Fund aims to isolate and extract the key benefits that may be found, but not necessarily exclusively, in hedge fund investing (absolute return, low volatility, low – modest beta, relatively low market correlation, investment flexibility, hedging capability, etc.) by selectively incorporating individual securities or investments, mutual funds, ETFs, closed-end funds and private funds into a mutual fund investment vehicle.
Investment Process: In its portfolio construction process, the Adviser utilizes a rules-based, disciplined investment approach that begins with a quantitative evaluation of individual securities and selected alternative investment classes. Using the same quantitative approach, the Adviser then utilizes its proprietary quantitative investment tools to construct an expected return forecast for securities and asset classes.
By employing a combined quantitative and qualitative process, the Adviser applies a tactical, integrated approach in the investment process for the Fund. This covers all stages of portfolio construction, including forming strategic allocation, identifying new potential investments within the allocation parameters and determining whether such investments meet the Adviser’s standards and requirements set forth in its selection process.
The Fund’s market capitalization target range for global equities is $250 million to $300 billion. The Fund’s investments in fixed income securities are not limited by maturity or credit quality.
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The desired result is a disciplined, repeatable investment process that aims for effective market navigation, portfolio consistency and return stability, as illustrated in the following chart.
Principal Risks of Investing in the Fund. An investment in the Fund is subject to investment risks, including the possible loss of some or all of the principal amount invested. There can be no assurance that the Fund will be successful in meeting its investment objective.
The following describes the risks the Fund bears directly or indirectly through investments in Underlying Funds.
● | Commodity Risk – Investing in the commodities markets may subject the Fund to greater volatility than investments in traditional securities. Commodity prices may be influenced by unfavorable weather, animal and plant disease, geologic and environmental factors as well as changes in government regulation such as tariffs, embargoes or burdensome production rules and restrictions. |
● | Credit Risk – Issuers of fixed-income securities may default on interest and principal payments due to Underlying Funds. Generally, securities with lower debt ratings have speculative characteristics and carry greater risk that the issuer may default on its obligation. Changes in economic conditions or other circumstances are more likely to lead to a weakened capacity of those issuers to make principal or interest payments, as compared to issuers of more highly rated securities. |
● | Currencies Risk – Currency trading risks include market risk, credit risk and country risk. Market risk results from adverse changes in exchange rates in the currencies the Fund is long or short. Credit risk results because a currency-trade counterparty may default. Country risk arises because a government may interfere with transactions in its currency. |
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● | Derivatives Risk – Derivatives strategies such as managed futures strategies involve leverage risk and tracking risk. The Fund may utilize equity and index options to hedge individual stock exposure. Options are a type of derivative instrument. The value of may rise or fall more rapidly than other investments. For some derivatives, it is possible to lose more than the amount invested in the derivative. If the Fund uses derivatives to “hedge” the risk of its portfolio, it is possible that the hedge may not succeed. Over the counter derivatives are also subject to counterparty risk, which is the risk that the other party to the contract will not fulfill its contractual obligation to complete the transaction with the Fund. Other risks of investments in derivatives include imperfect correlation between the value of these instruments and the underlying assets; risks of default by the other party to the derivative transactions; risks that the transactions may result in losses that offset gains in portfolio positions; and risks that the derivative transactions may not be liquid. Specific risks that the Fund will seek to manage include the following: interest rate, liquidity, credit and market risks. By investing in options, the Fund may be subject to the risk of counterparty default, as well as the potential for unlimited loss. Certain types of options (such as OTC or “over the counter” options”) may be considered to be illiquid investments. | |
● | Emerging Markets Risk – Countries with emerging markets have relatively unstable governments, social and legal systems that do not protect shareholders, economies based on only a few industries, and securities markets that trade a small number of issues. |
● | Foreign Investment Risk – Changes in foreign economies and political climates are more likely to affect the Fund than a mutual fund that invests exclusively in U.S. companies. The value of foreign securities is also affected by the value of the local currency relative to the U.S. dollar. There may also be less government supervision of foreign markets, resulting in non-uniform accounting practices and less publicly available information. The values of foreign investments may be affected by changes in exchange control regulations, application of foreign tax laws (including withholding tax) changes in governmental administration or economic or monetary policy (in this country or abroad) or changed circumstances in dealings between nations. |
● | Interest Rate Risk – In general, the price of a debt security falls when interest rates rise. Securities with longer maturities tend to be more sensitive to interest rate changes. |
● | Lower-Rated Securities Risk – The Fund invests in securities rated below investment-grade, sometimes called “high-yield” or “junk” bonds that generally have more credit risk than higher-rated securities. Companies issuing high yield fixed-income securities are not as strong financially as those issuing securities with higher credit ratings. These companies are more likely to encounter financial difficulties and are more vulnerable to changes in the economy, such as a recession or a sustained period of rising interest rates, which could affect their ability to make interest and principal payments. These securities may be considered speculative and the value of these securities can be move volatile due to increased sensitivity to adverse issuer, political, regulatory, market, or economic developments and can be difficult to resell. |
● | Management Risk – The ability of the Fund to meet its investment objective is directly related to the Adviser’s investment model. The Adviser’s assessment of the attractiveness and potential appreciation of particular investments in which the Fund invests may prove to be incorrect and there is no guarantee that the Adviser’s investment strategy will produce the desired results. |
● | Market Risk – The net asset value (“NAV”) of the Fund will fluctuate based on changes in the value of the securities in which that Fund invests. The price of equity and fixed income securities may rise or fall because of economic or political changes. Stock prices in general may decline over short or even extended periods of time, and tend to be more volatile than other investment choices. |
● | Merger Arbitrage Risk – Investments in companies that are expected to be, or already are, the subject of a publicly announced merger, takeover, tender offer, leveraged buyout, spin-off, liquidation or other corporate reorganization carry the risk that the proposed or expected corporate event may not be completed or may be completed on less favorable terms than originally expected. |
● | Portfolio Turnover Risk – Increased portfolio turnover may result in higher brokerage commissions, dealer mark-ups and other transaction costs, and may result in taxable capital gains. Higher costs associated with increased portfolio turnover may offset gains in the Fund’s performance. |
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● | Private Fund Risk – The Fund may invest in private investment funds, including “hedge funds,” which pursue alternative investment strategies. Certain investment instruments and techniques that a private fund may use are speculative and involve a high degree of risk. Because of the speculative nature of a private fund’s investments and trading strategies, the Fund may suffer a significant or complete loss of its invested capital in one or more private funds. A shareholder will also bear fees and expenses charged by the underlying funds in addition to the Fund’s direct fees and expenses. In addition, interests in a private fund may also be illiquid. |
● | Real Estate Risk – REIT share prices may decline because of adverse developments affecting the real estate industry and real property values. In general, real estate values can be affected by a variety of factors, including supply and demand for properties, the economic health of the country or of different regions, and the strength of specific industries that rent properties. |
● | Short Position Risk – The Fund will incur a loss as a result of a short position if the price of the short position instrument increases in value between the date of the short position sale and the date on which an offsetting position is purchased. Short positions may be considered speculative transactions and involve special risks, including greater reliance on the advisor’s ability to accurately anticipate the future value of a security or instrument. The Fund’s losses are potentially unlimited in a short position transaction. |
● | Small Company Risk – Investments in smaller capitalization companies may be more vulnerable than larger, more established organizations to adverse business or economic developments. In particular, smaller capitalization companies may have limited product lines, markets, and financial resources and may be dependent upon a relatively small management group. |
● | Swaps Risk – Investing in swaps involves investment techniques, risk analyses, and tax planning different from those associated with ordinary securities transactions. Swaps may be difficult to value and may be considered illiquid. Swaps create significant investment leverage such that a relatively small price movement in a swap may result in immediate and substantial loss. Swap investments expose the Fund to counterparty risk. This is the risk that the counterparty to a swap will default and be unable to meet its obligations under the terms of the swap agreement. Certain swaps have the potential for unlimited loss, regardless of the size of the initial investment. To the extent that the Fund invests in different types of swaps, the Fund will also be exposed to the risks of the underlying investment in the swap transaction (e.g., equity security risks for equity swaps). |
● | Taxation Risk – By investing in commodities indirectly through the Subsidiary, the Fund will obtain exposure to the commodities markets within the federal tax requirements that apply to the Fund. However, because the Subsidiary is a controlled foreign corporation, any income received from its investments will be passed through to the Fund as ordinary income, which may be taxed at less favorable rates than capital gains. |
● | Underlying Funds Risk – Mutual Funds, ETFs, closed-end funds and private funds (“Underlying Funds”) shares may trade at a discount or a premium in market price if there is a limited market in such shares. Investments in Underlying Funds are subject to brokerage and other trading costs, which could result in greater expenses to the Fund. Underlying Funds and mutual funds also are subject to investment advisory fees and other expenses, which will be indirectly paid by the Fund. As a result, your cost of investing in the Fund that invests in Underlying Funds will be higher than the cost of investing directly in Underlying Funds and may be higher than other mutual funds that invest directly in stocks and bonds. |
● | Wholly Owned Subsidiary Risk – The Subsidiary will not be registered under the 1940 Act and, unless otherwise noted in this Prospectus, will not be subject to all of the investor protections of the 1940 Act. Changes in the laws of the United States and/or the Cayman Islands, under which the Fund and the Subsidiary, respectively, are organized, could result in the inability of the Fund and/or the Subsidiary to operate as described in this Prospectus and could negatively affect the Fund and its shareholders. Your cost of investing in the Fund will be higher because you indirectly bear the expenses of the Subsidiary. |
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Performance. The Fund was reorganized on October 13, 2017 from a series of Northern Lights Fund Trust, a Delaware statutory trust (the “Predecessor Fund”), to a series of 360 Funds, a Delaware statutory trust (the “Reorganization”). While the Fund is substantially similar to the Predecessor Fund and theoretically would have invested in the same portfolio of securities, the Fund’s performance may be different than the performance of the Predecessor Fund due to, among other things, differences in fees and expenses.
The bar chart and performance table below show the variability of the Predecessor Fund’s returns, which is some indication of the risks of investing in the Fund. The bar chart shows performance of the Predecessor Fund’s Class I shares for each full calendar year since the Predecessor Fund’s inception. The performance table compares the performance of the Predecessor Fund’s Class A, Class C and Class I shares over time to the performance of a broad-based securities market index. You should be aware that the Predecessor Fund’s past performance (before and after taxes) may not be an indication of how the Fund will perform in the future. Updated performance information will be available at no cost by calling (877) 244-6235.
Performance Bar Chart For Class I Shares1
Calendar Years Ended December 31
1. | The returns shown in the bar chart are for Class I shares. The performance of Class A shares will differ due to differences in expenses. |
The calendar year-to-date return for the Fund’s Class I shares as of June 30, 2018 was 2.93%.
During the periods shown in the bar chart, the best performance for a quarter was 5.72% (for the quarter ended March 31, 2009). The worst performance was -9.12% (for the quarter ended June 30, 2011).
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AVERAGE ANNUAL TOTAL RETURNS
(For periods ended December 31, 2017)
One Year | Five Years |
Since Inception
(8-14-08)*
|
||||||||
Class I Return Before Taxes | 8.00% | 2.75% | 1.48% | |||||||
Class I Return After Taxes on Distributions | 7.69% | 2.41% | 0.91% | |||||||
Class I Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares | 4.83% | 2.04% | 1.04% | |||||||
Class A Return Before Taxes | 1.62% | 1.29% | 0.61% | |||||||
Class C Return Before Taxes | 6.78% | 1.71% | 0.51% | |||||||
Bloomberg Barclay’s U.S. Aggregate Bond Index | 3.54% | 2.10% | 4.15% | |||||||
HFRI Fund-of-Funds Conservative Index*** | 4.95% | 3.41% | 1.34%** |
* The Adviser has managed the Fund since March 1, 2013.
** 8/31/08 used in calculation. The index only prices monthly which is the reason for using the month-end for this calculation.
*** The HFRI Fund-of-Funds Conservative Index is included because it shows how the Fund’s performance compares with the returns of an index of funds with similar investment objectives.
After-tax returns are calculated using the highest historical individual federal marginal income tax rate and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Actual after-tax returns depend on a shareholder’s tax situation and may differ from those shown. The after-tax returns are not relevant if you hold your Fund shares in tax-deferred arrangements, such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts (“IRA”). Class A returns before taxes include maximum possible sale load. After-tax returns for Class A and Class C shares, which are not shown, will vary from those of Class I shares. The Fund’s broad based securities market index (benchmark) has been changed to the HFRI Fund-of-Funds Conservative Index from the S&P 500® Index to better reflect the securities and strategies used by the Adviser.
It is important to note that the Predecessor Fund’s name was changed and the strategy of the EAS Crow Point Alternatives Fund was modified, effective March 1, 2013 and the strategy was updated again, effective August 29, 2016. Under the investment approach prior to March 1, 2013, the EAS Crow Point Alternatives Fund, formerly known as the “EAS Alternatives Fund” and the “EAS Genesis Fund,” had a broader mandate and the Predecessor Fund was managed by a different investment adviser and portfolio manager. The Fund’s current investment adviser, Crow Point Partners, LLC, began managing the Predecessor Fund in March, 2013. The historical performance information illustrated above includes that of the Predecessor Fund’s former strategy, run by the former portfolio management team.
Current performance of the Fund may be lower or higher than the performance quoted above. Updated performance information may be obtained by calling (877) 244-6235.
Management. Crow Point Partners, LLC (the “Adviser”) is the Fund’s investment adviser.
Portfolio Managers. Peter J. DeCaprio and Andrew Tuttle have served the Fund as Portfolio Managers since 2013, and David Cleary has served the Fund as a Portfolio Manager since 2017.
Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares.
The minimum initial investment in the Class A and Class C Shares is $500 and $2,500, respectively, for regular accounts and the minimum subsequent investment is $500. The minimum initial investment for all Class I account types is $500,000. You may purchase and redeem shares of the Fund on any day that the New York Stock Exchange is open for trading. Redemption requests may be made in writing, by telephone, website, or through a financial intermediary and will be paid by ACH, check or wire transfer. The Fund may, at the Adviser’s sole discretion, accept accounts with less than the minimum investment. You can purchase or redeem shares directly from the Fund on any business day the New York Stock Exchange (“NYSE”) is open directly by calling the Fund at (877) 244-6235, where you may also obtain more information about purchasing or redeeming shares by mail, facsimile or bank wire. The Fund has also authorized certain broker-dealers to accept purchase and redemption orders on its behalf. Investors who wish to purchase or redeem Fund shares through a broker-dealer should contact their broker-dealer directly.
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Tax Information. The Fund’s distributions will generally be taxed to you as ordinary income or capital gains, unless you are investing through a tax deferred arrangement, such as a 401(k) plan or an IRA. Distributions on investments made through tax deferred arrangements such as 401(k) plans or IRAs may be taxed later upon a withdrawal of assets from those accounts.
Payments to Broker-Dealers and Other Financial Intermediaries. If you purchase shares of the Fund through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank), the Fund may pay the intermediary for the sale of Fund shares and related services. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing the broker-dealer or other intermediary and your salesperson to recommend the Fund over another investment. Ask your salesperson or visit your financial intermediary’s website for more information.
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INVESTMENT OBJECTIVE, STRATEGIES, RISKS AND PORTFOLIO HOLDINGS
The Fund’s Investment Objective and Principal Investment Strategy
The Fund’s investment objective is preservation and growth of capital. The Fund’s investment objective is a non-fundamental policy and may be changed by the Fund’s Board of Trustees upon 60 days written notice to shareholders and without shareholder vote.
The Adviser’s investment philosophy centers on the preservation and growth of capital through both good and bad markets. The Adviser believes that for most shareholders, investment success is about growing capital over time while protecting it at all times, not about beating a market index which can frequently involve losses while still meeting the objective. Thus, the Adviser follows an absolute return approach in managing the Fund, as defined below. In executing its strategy, the Adviser attempts to generate consistent, positive returns regardless of market conditions by allocating the Fund’s investments among multiple alternative investment asset classes and strategies. Alternative investment classes and strategies generally exhibit relatively low volatility, downside capture and long-term market correlation.
“Low correlation” refers to the extent to which the performance of an investment moves in synch with the broader equity and bond markets. The goal of the Adviser in managing the Fund’s assets is to construct a portfolio of assets that exhibit low correlation with the stock market. A correlation measure of 1 demonstrates perfect positive correlation; a correlation measure of 0 demonstrates no correlation and a correlation measure of -1 demonstrates a perfect negative correlation.
Many mutual funds are managed according to a “relative return” approach (i.e., – they aim to perform better a stated benchmark such as their mutual fund category, their mutual fund peers or the general market as a whole). By contrast, “absolute return” refers to the strategy of seeking positive investment performance regardless of overall or broader market performance. Absolute return strategies, which the Adviser believes will be less volatile, differ from relative return because they are concerned with the return of a particular investment and do not compare it to any other measure or benchmark.
The Fund’s investments will be allocated among multiple alternative investment classes using primarily liquid instruments. The Fund may, generally, pursue investments among the following alternative investment classes or strategies: Arbitrage; Commodities; Convertibles; Floating Rate Debt; Currencies; Emerging Markets Bonds; Emerging Market Equities; High Yield; Long-Short Equity; Long-Short Credit; Managed Futures; Capital Structure Arbitrage; and Real Estate (primarily through real estate investment trusts (“REITs”). The Fund may invest in securities directly, or through the Subsidiary, other mutual funds, ETFs, closed-end funds, and private funds (“Underlying Funds”) across these alternative investment styles. An ETF is an investment company that typically seeks to track the performance of an index by holding in its portfolio either the contents of the index or a representative sample of the securities in the index. The Adviser may invest a portion of the Fund’s assets in other mutual funds that are also advised by the Adviser. Investments in private funds such as hedge funds will be limited to no more than 15% of the Fund’s net assets. The Adviser will periodically adjust the asset allocation among each alternative investment class based on its assessment of market conditions and investment opportunities.
Additional Information About the Alternatives Asset Class
The Fund invest directly or through Underlying Funds to employ an array of hedge fund-like strategies. These include Arbitrage (e.g., Merger Arbitrage, Capital Structure Arbitrage and/or Convertible Arbitrage), Asset-backed bonds, Convertibles, Commodities, Currencies, Emerging Markets Bonds, Emerging Market Equities, Floating Rate Debt, Global Macro, High Yield, Long-Short Equity; Long-Short Credit, Managed Futures, and Real Estate. Definitions for these investment styles are as follows:
Arbitrage - Funds that pursue an arbitrage strategy simultaneously purchase and sell an asset in order to profit from a difference in the price. It is a trade that profits by exploiting price differences of identical or similar financial instruments, on different markets or in different forms. Arbitrage exists as a result of market inefficiencies; it provides a mechanism to ensure prices do not deviate substantially from fair value for long periods of time.
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The two most common types of Arbitrage strategies include Merger Arbitrage and Convertible Arbitrage. Merger Arbitrage is a specific strategy in which the stocks of two merging companies are simultaneously bought and sold to create a riskless profit. A merger arbitrageur looks at the risk that the merger deal will not close on time, or at all. Because of this slight uncertainty, the target company’s stock will typically sell at a discount to the price that the combined company will have when the merger is closed. This discrepancy is the arbitrageur’s profit. Convertible Arbitrage is an investing strategy that involves the long position on a convertible security and a short position in its converting common stock. This strategy attempts to exploit profits when there is a pricing error made in the conversion factor of the convertible security. Capital Structure Arbitrage employs a strategy of buying or selling different securities within an individual company’s capital structure and is dependent upon the Adviser’s decision to purchase those securities deemed to be undervalued and selling those deemed to be overvalued.
Asset-backed Bonds - The Adviser will manage the Fund’s Asset-Backed Bond strategy internally and will generally not utilize Underlying Funds to access such a strategy. Asset-Backed Bond strategies seek current income and total return with an emphasis on maintaining low volatility and overall short duration by investing in higher quality, more liquid, floating-rate securities across diverse bond and loan market sectors. This approach is designed to limit rate-induced volatility during changing interest rate environments.
Commodities - Funds that use derivatives or stocks to gain exposure to the performance of a basket of commodities such as energy, metals and grains.
Convertibles - Funds that invest in bonds and preferred stock issues that are convertible into the stock of the same issuer if the stock reaches certain price level. The convertible therefore has stock and bond features. It is expected to increase in price as the issuer’s stock rises, while the bond structure of the convertible may limit its losses when the stock’s price falls.
Currencies - Funds that invest in US and foreign currencies through the use of short term money market instruments; derivative instruments, including and not limited to, forward currency contracts, index swaps and options; and cash deposits.
Emerging Market Bonds - Funds that invest the majority of their assets in the debt markets of a single developing country or a group of developing countries. For the most part, these countries are in Eastern Europe, Africa, the Middle East, Latin America, the Far East and Asia.
Emerging Market Equities - Funds that invest the majority of their assets in the equity markets of a single developing country or a group of developing countries. For the most part, these countries are in Eastern Europe, Africa, the Middle East, Latin America, the Far East and Asia.
High Yield Bonds - Often called junk bonds, this strategy refers to investing in low-graded fixed-income securities of companies that show significant upside potential. Managers generally buy and hold high yield debt.
Long/Short Equity - The Adviser will manage the Fund’s Long/Short equity strategy internally and will generally not use other Funds for such a strategy. Long/Short equity is a directional strategy that pursues equity investing on both the long and short sides of the market. The objective is not to be market neutral, but sometimes will be when market conditions are deemed to be favorable to such an approach. Long/Short Equity strategies are generally not constrained as to market capitalizations or geography, and from a net long position to a net short position.
Long/Short Credit - Strategies that use a hedged portfolio of low-duration, liquid US corporate bonds and credit default swaps to seek to generate non-correlated returns through all credit market cycles. Long/short credit strategies typically focus on higher-yielding and/or relative value investment opportunities within capital structures and also seek to exploit mis-pricings in callable bonds. Investments are usually, but not always, concentrated in the “crossover” segment of the credit markets, which is the boundary between+- investment grade and non- investment grade credit ratings. These strategies typically combine fundamental research with market risk management techniques.
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Managed Futures - Managed futures funds include, but are not limited to, commodity pools and commodity funds. These accounts can take both long and short positions in futures contracts and options on futures contracts in the global commodity, interest rate, equity, and currency markets. Most mutual funds employing a managed futures strategy seek to profit through directional trading strategies involving futures contracts on particular commodities or financial instruments. Within the commodities asset class, these funds take long or short positions in metals such as gold and silver, agricultural products such as soybeans, corn, and wheat, and “soft” commodities such as cotton, cocoa, coffee, and sugar. Within financials, managed futures funds take long or short positions in equity, foreign currency, and U.S. government bond futures.
Real Estate (REITs) - Funds that invest in publicly-traded Real Estate Investment Trusts, which are real estate companies that trade on the stock exchanges.
Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs)
The Fund may invest in securities commonly referred to as “exchange traded funds” or “ETFs,” whose shares are listed and traded on U.S. stock exchanges. Some ETFs attempt to track the returns of the relevant index by investing in accordance with the market capitalization of each security in the index, while others invest equal amounts in each security without regard to market capitalization.
ETFs combine the advantages of stocks with those of index funds. ETFs are designed to closely follow the index they track. ETF fund managers may replicate the index in its entirety by owning every security or instrument in the index according to its set weighting, or in some cases they may “optimize” (replicate the index as closely as possible without having to own each security).
ETFs can be classified under one of the following structures: open-end index fund, unit investment trust (UIT) and grantor trusts. Unlike closed-end funds, ETFs have the capability to continuously offer shares through a unique creation and redemption process, which means that the number of outstanding shares may be increased or decreased on a daily basis as necessary to reflect demand. ETFs have the capability to avoid trading at large premiums and discounts to their Net Asset Values. Open-end index funds and UITs are registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940. ETFs incur fees and expenses such as operating expenses, licensing fees, registration fees, trustee fees, and marketing expenses. Therefore, ETF shareholders (such as the Fund) will pay their proportionate share of these expenses.
ETFs that attempt to track a particular index will not be able to replicate exactly the performance of the index they track because the total return generated by the securities will be reduced by transaction costs incurred in adjusting the actual balance of the securities. In addition, the ETFs in which the Fund invests will incur expenses not incurred by their applicable indices. Certain securities comprising the indices tracked by the ETFs may, from time to time, temporarily be unavailable, which may further impede the ETFs’ and underlying funds’ abilities to track their applicable indices. The strategy of investing in ETFs could affect the timing, amount and character of distributions to you and therefore may increase the amount of taxes you pay. In addition, certain prohibitions on the acquisition of mutual fund shares by other mutual funds may prevent the Fund from allocating its investments in the manner the Adviser considers optimal. ETFs that the Fund intends to purchase will be either no-load or sales load waived.
Subsidiary
The Fund will execute a portion of its strategy in a wholly owned and controlled Subsidiary. The Subsidiary invests the majority of its assets in commodities, commodity-linked derivative instruments and other futures contracts. The Subsidiary is subject to the same investment restrictions as the Fund, when viewed on a consolidated basis. The principal investment strategies and principal investment risks of the Subsidiary are also principal investment strategies and principal risks of the Fund and are reflected in this Prospectus. The financial statements of the Subsidiary will be consolidated with those of the Fund. By investing in commodities indirectly through the Subsidiary, the Fund will obtain exposure to the commodities markets within the federal tax requirements that apply to the Fund. Specifically, the Subsidiary is expected to provide the Fund with exposure to the commodities markets within the limitations of the federal tax requirements of Subchapter M of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”). Subchapter M requires, among other things, that at least 90% of the Fund’s income be derived from securities or derived with respect to its business of investing in securities (typically referred to as “qualifying income”). The Fund will make investments in certain commodity-linked derivatives through the Subsidiary because income from these derivatives is not treated as “qualifying income” for purposes of the 90% income requirement if the Fund invests in the derivative directly.
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The Internal Revenue Service has issued a number of private letter rulings to other mutual funds (unrelated to the Fund), which indicate that certain income from a fund’s investment in a wholly owned foreign subsidiary will constitute “qualifying income” for purposes of Subchapter M. The Fund does not have a private letter ruling. Therefore, to satisfy the 90% income requirement, the Subsidiary will, no less than annually, declare and distribute a dividend to the Fund, as the sole shareholder of the Subsidiary, in an amount approximately equal to the total amount of “Subpart F” income (as defined in Section 951 of the Code) generated by or expected to be generated by the Subsidiary’s investments during the fiscal year. Such dividend distributions are “qualifying income” pursuant to Subchapter M (Section 851(b)) of the Code.
The Subsidiary will be subject to the same investment restrictions and limitations, and follow the same compliance policies and procedures, as the Fund. The Fund complies with the provisions of the 1940 Act governing investment policies, capital structure and leverage on an aggregate basis with the Subsidiary. In addition, the Subsidiary complies with the provisions of the 1940 Act relating to affiliated transactions and custody. The Fund’s custodian also serves as the custodian to the Subsidiary.
PRINCIPAL RISKS OF INVESTING IN THE FUND
The following describes the risks the Fund, except where noted, may bear indirectly through investments in Underlying Funds as well as directly through investment in other securities. All investments carry risks, and investment in the Fund is no exception. No investment strategy works all the time, and past performance is not necessarily indicative of future performance. You may lose money on your investment in the Fund. To help you understand the risks of investing in the Fund, the principal risks of an investment in the Fund are generally set forth below:
● | Commodity Risk – The Fund’s exposure to the commodities markets may subject the Fund to greater volatility than investments in traditional securities. The value of commodity-linked derivative instruments, commodity-based exchange traded trusts and commodity-based exchange traded funds and notes may be affected by changes in overall market movements, commodity index volatility, changes in interest rates, or sectors affecting a particular industry or commodity, such as drought, floods, weather, livestock disease, embargoes, tariffs, and international economic, political and regulatory developments. |
● | Credit Risk – The Fund may invest in Underlying Funds which contain fixed income securities. Issuers of fixed-income securities may default on interest and principal payments due to Underlying Funds. Generally, securities with lower debt ratings have speculative characteristics and carry greater risk that the issuer may default on its obligation. Fixed-income securities rated in the fourth classification by Moody’s (Baa) and S&P (BBB) have speculative characteristics. Changes in economic conditions or other circumstances are more likely to lead to a weakened capacity of those issuers to make principal or interest payments, as compared to issuers of more highly rated securities. |
● | Currencies Risk – Foreign currency investing through non-U.S. dollar denominated investments involves significant risks, including market risk, interest rate risk, country risk, counterparty credit risk and short sale risk. Market risk results from the price movement of foreign currency values in response to shifting market supply and demand. Since exchange rate changes can readily move in one direction, a currency position carried overnight or over a number of days may involve greater risk than one carried a few minutes or hours. Interest rate risk arises whenever a country changes its stated interest rate target associated with its currency. Country risk arises because virtually every country has interfered with international transactions in its currency. Interference has taken the form of regulation of the local exchange market, restrictions on foreign investment by residents or limits on inflows of investment funds from abroad. Restrictions on the exchange market or on international transactions are intended to affect the level or movement of the exchange rate. This risk could include the country issuing a new currency, effectively making the “old” currency worthless. |
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● | Derivatives Risk – Investments in futures and options, are considered “derivative” investments. Because of their inherent leverage, a small investment in derivatives could have a potentially large impact on the Fund’s performance. The use of derivatives involves risks different from, or possibly greater than, the risks associated with investing directly in the underlying assets. Derivatives can be highly volatile, illiquid and difficult to value, and there is the risk that the hedging technique will fail if changes in the value of a derivative held by the Fund does not correlate with the Fund’s portfolio securities being hedged. Because option premiums paid or received by the Fund are small in relation to the market value of the investments underlying the options, buying and selling put and call options can be more speculative than investing directly in securities. |
● | Management Risk – The net asset value of the Fund changes daily based on the performance of the securities in which it invests. The ability of the Fund to meet its investment objective is directly related to the Adviser’s allocation of the Fund’s assets using its Global Equity discipline and investment analysis of its proprietary Region Industry Groups. The Adviser’s objective judgments, based on investment strategy, about the attractiveness and potential appreciation of particular investments in which the Fund invests may prove to be incorrect and there is no guarantee that the Adviser’s investment strategy will produce the desired results. |
● | Market Risk – The net asset value of the Fund will fluctuate based on changes in the value of the securities in which the Fund invests. The Fund invests in securities that may be more volatile and carry more risk than some other forms of investment. The price of securities may rise or fall because of economic or political changes. Security and derivative prices in general may decline over short or even extended periods of time. Market prices of securities and derivatives in broad market segments may be adversely affected by a prominent issuer having experienced losses or by the lack of earnings or such an issuer’s failure to meet the market’s expectations with respect to new products or services, or even by factors wholly unrelated to the value or condition of the issuer, such as changes in interest rates. |
● | Emerging Markets Risk – In addition to the risks generally associated with investing in Underlying Funds that invest in securities of foreign companies, countries with emerging markets also may have relatively unstable governments, social and legal systems that do not protect shareholders, economies based on only a few industries, and securities markets that trade a small number of issues. |
● | Foreign Investment Risk – Foreign investing involves risks not typically associated with U.S. investments, including adverse fluctuations in foreign currency values, adverse political, social and economic developments, less liquidity, greater volatility, less developed or less efficient trading markets, political instability and differing auditing and legal standards. Investing in emerging markets imposes risks different from, or greater than, risks of investing in foreign developed countries. Currency market risk results from the price movement of foreign currency values in response to shifting market supply and demand. Interest rate risk arises whenever a country changes its stated interest rate target associated with its currency. Country risk arises because virtually every country has interfered with international transactions in its currency. Interference has taken the form of regulation of the local exchange market, restrictions on foreign investment by residents or limits on inflows of investment funds from abroad. Restrictions on the exchange market or on international transactions are intended to affect the level or movement of the exchange rate. This risk could include the country issuing a new currency, effectively making the “old” currency worthless. |
● | Interest Rate Risk – Debt securities have varying levels of sensitivity to changes in interest rates. In general, the price of a debt security may fall when interest rates rise. Securities with longer maturities may be more sensitive to interest rate changes. Certain corporate bonds and mortgage-backed securities may be significantly affected by changes in interest rates. Some mortgage-backed securities may have a structure that makes their reaction to interest rates and other factors difficult to predict, making their value highly volatile. Because zero coupon securities do not make interest payments, they are considered more volatile than bonds making periodic payments. When interest rates rise, zero coupon securities fall more sharply than interest paying bonds. However, zero coupon securities rise more rapidly in value when interest rates drop. |
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● | Lower-Rated Securities Risk – The Fund may invest in Underlying Funds which contain securities rated below investment-grade, sometimes called “high-yield” or “junk” bonds that generally have more credit risk than higher-rated securities. Companies issuing high yield fixed-income securities are not as strong financially as those issuing securities with higher credit ratings. These companies are more likely to encounter financial difficulties and are more vulnerable to changes in the economy, such as a recession or a sustained period of rising interest rates, which could affect their ability to make interest and principal payments. If an issuer stops making interest and/or principal payments, payments on the securities may never resume. These securities may be worthless and the Underlying Fund could lose its entire investment. |
● | Merger Arbitrage Risk – This is the risk of investments in companies that are expected to be, or already are, the subject of a publicly announced merger, takeover, tender offer, leveraged buyout, spin-off, liquidation or other corporate reorganization that carry more risk than investments in companies that are perceived to be in stable organizational situations. The principal risk associated with expected, but not yet announced, reorganizations is that none will be forthcoming and the rate of return earned on an investment in such companies will be less than expected or negative. The principal risk associated with investments in publicly announced reorganizations is that the proposed reorganization will be renegotiated on less favorable terms, terminated or delayed which may cause the Underlying Fund to lose money or fail to achieve a desired rate of return. |
● | Portfolio Turnover Risk – The frequency of the Fund’s transactions will vary from year to year. Increased portfolio turnover may result in higher brokerage commissions, dealer mark-ups and other transaction costs, and may result in taxable capital gains. Higher costs associated with increased portfolio turnover may offset gains in the Fund’s performance. |
● | Private Fund Risk – The Fund may invest in private investment funds, or “hedge funds,” which pursue alternative investment strategies. Certain investment instruments and techniques that a hedge fund may use are speculative and involve a high degree of risk. Because of the speculative nature of a hedge fund’s investments and trading strategies, the Fund may suffer a significant or complete loss of its invested capital in one or more private funds. A shareholder will also bear fees and expenses charged by the underlying funds in addition to the Fund’s direct fees and expenses. In addition, interests in a hedge fund may be illiquid. |
● | Real Estate Risk – REIT share prices may decline because of adverse developments affecting the real estate industry and real property values. In general, real estate values can be affected by a variety of factors, including supply and demand for properties, the economic health of the country or of different regions, and the strength of specific industries that rent properties. Qualification as a REIT under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”) in any particular year is a complex analysis that depends on a number of factors. There can be no assurance that the entities in which the Fund invests with the expectation that they will be taxed as a REIT will qualify as a REIT. An entity that fails to qualify as a REIT would be subject to a corporate level tax, would not be entitled to a deduction for dividends paid to its shareholders and would not pass through to its shareholders the character of income earned by the entity. |
● | Short Position Risk – The Fund’s long positions could decline in value at the same time that the value of the short positions increase, thereby increasing the Fund’s overall potential for loss. The Fund’s short positions may result in a loss if the price of the short position instruments rise and it costs more to replace the short positions. In contrast to the Fund’s long positions, for which the risk of loss is typically limited to the amount invested, the potential loss on the Fund’s short positions is unlimited; however, the Fund will be in compliance with Section 18(f) of the 1940 Act, to ensure that a Fund shareholder will not lose more than the amount invested in the Fund. Market factors may prevent the Fund from closing out a short position at the most desirable time or at a favorable price. |
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● | Small Company Risk – Stocks of small capitalization companies may be subject to more abrupt or erratic price market movements than those of larger, more established companies or the market averages in general. These companies may have narrower markets, limited product lines, fewer financial resources, and they may be dependent on a limited management group. Investing in lesser-known, small capitalization companies involves greater risk of volatility of the Fund’s net asset value than is customarily associated with larger, more established companies. Often small capitalization companies and the industries in which they are focused are still evolving and, while this may offer better growth potential than larger, more established companies, it also may make them more sensitive to changing market conditions. Small cap companies may have returns that can vary, occasionally significantly, from the market in general. Securities of small companies may have less liquidity and higher transaction costs that larger, more well-known companies. |
● | Swaps Risk – The use of swaps is a highly specialized activity that involves investment techniques, risk analyses and tax planning different from those associated with ordinary securities transactions. Swaps may be difficult to value and may be considered illiquid. Swaps create significant investment leverage such that a relatively small price movement in a swap may result in immediate and substantial loss. The Fund may only close out a swap with its particular counterparty and may only transfer a position with the consent of that counterparty. If a counterparty fails to meet its contractual obligations, goes bankrupt or otherwise experiences a business interruption, the Fund could miss investment opportunities or otherwise hold investments it would prefer to sell, resulting in losses for the Fund. If the counterparty defaults, the Fund will have contractual remedies, but there can be no assurance that the counterparty will be able to meet its contractual obligations or that the Fund will be able to enforce its rights. Certain swaps have the potential for unlimited loss, regardless of the size of the initial investment. To the extent that the Fund invests in different types of swaps, the Fund will also be exposed to the risks of the underlying investment in the swap transaction (e.g., equity security risks for equity swaps). Certain types of swaps, such as credit default swap agreements, involve special risks because they may be difficult to value, are highly susceptible to liquidity and credit risk and generally pay a return to the party that has paid the premium only in the event of an actual default by the issuer of the underlying obligation (as opposed to a credit downgrade or other indication of financial difficulty). Some interest rate swaps may involve the risk that they do not fully offset adverse changes in interest rates. |
● | Taxation Risk – By investing in commodities indirectly through the Subsidiary, the Fund will obtain exposure to the commodities markets within the federal tax requirements that apply to the Fund. However, because the Subsidiary is a controlled foreign corporation, any income received from its investments will be passed through to the Fund as ordinary income, which may be taxed at less favorable rates than capital gains. |
● | Underlying Funds Risk – You will indirectly bear fees and expenses charged by the Underlying Funds in addition to the Fund’s direct fees and expenses. When the Fund invests in Underlying Funds that use margin, leverage, short sales and other forms of financial derivatives, such as options and futures, an investment in the Fund may be more volatile than investments in other mutual funds. Short sales are speculative investments and will cause the Fund to lose money if the value of a security sold short by the Fund, or an Underlying Fund in which the Fund invests, does not go down as the Adviser expects. Additional risks of investing in ETFs, mutual funds, closed-end investment companies, and private funds (such as hedge funds), where noted, are described below: |
● | ETF Tracking Risk: Investment in the Fund should be made with the understanding that the ETFs in which the Fund invests will not be able to replicate exactly the performance of the indices they track because the total return generated by the securities will be reduced by transaction costs incurred in adjusting the actual balance of the securities. In addition, the ETFs in which the Fund invests will incur expenses not incurred by their applicable indices. Certain securities comprising the indices tracked by the ETFs may, from time to time, temporarily be unavailable, which may further impede the ETFs’ ability to track their applicable indices. |
● | Expense Risk: The Fund invests in Underlying Funds. As a result, your cost of investing in the Fund will be higher than the cost of investing directly in ETF, mutual fund and closed-end investment company shares and may be higher than other mutual funds that invest directly in stocks and bonds. You will indirectly bear fees and expenses charged by the Underlying Funds in addition to the Fund’s direct fees and expenses. |
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● | Inverse Correlation Risk: Underlying Funds that are inverse funds should lose value as the index or security tracked by such fund’s benchmark increases in value; a result that is the opposite from traditional mutual funds. Successful use of inverse funds requires that the Adviser correctly predict short term market movements. If the Fund invests in an inverse fund and markets rise, the Fund could lose money. Inverse funds may also employ leverage such that their returns are more than one times that of their benchmark. |
● | Management Risk: When the Fund invests in Underlying Funds there is a risk that the investment advisers of those Underlying Funds may make investment decisions that are detrimental to the performance of the Fund. |
● | Net Asset Value and Market Price Risk: The market value of ETF shares may differ from their net asset value. This difference in price may be due to the fact that the supply and demand in the market for fund shares at any point in time is not always identical to the supply and demand in the market for the underlying basket of securities. Accordingly, there may be times when shares trades at a premium or discount to net asset value. |
● | Mutual Fund Risk: The strategy of investing in Underlying Funds that are mutual funds could affect the timing, amount and character of distributions to you and therefore may increase the amount of taxes you pay. In addition, certain prohibitions on the acquisition of mutual fund shares by the Fund may prevent the Fund from allocating its investments in the manner the Adviser considers optimal. The Fund intends to purchase mutual funds that are either no-load or waive the sales load for purchases made by the Fund. The Fund will not purchase mutual funds that charge a sales load upon redemption, but the Fund may purchase mutual funds that have an early redemption fee similar to the Fund’s. In the event that a mutual fund charges a redemption fee, then you will indirectly bear the expense by investing in the Fund. Mutual funds whose shares are purchased by the Fund will be obligated to redeem shares held by the Fund only in an amount up to 1% of the mutual fund’s outstanding shares during any period of less than 30 days. Shares held by the Fund in excess of 1% of a mutual fund’s outstanding shares, therefore, may be considered not readily marketable securities, which, together with other such securities, may not exceed 15% of the Fund’s total assets. When the Fund focuses its investments in certain mutual funds, the Fund’s portfolio will have a risk profile for such investments that will correspond to that of such mutual funds and Management Risk, described above, increases proportionately. |
● | Strategies Risk: Each Underlying Fund is subject to specific risks, depending on the nature of the fund. These risks could include liquidity risk, sector risk, and foreign currency risk, as well as risks associated with fixed income securities and commodities. |
● | Wholly Owned Subsidiary Risk – The Subsidiary will not be registered under the 1940 Act and, unless otherwise noted in this Prospectus, will not be subject to all of the investor protections of the 1940 Act. Changes in the laws of the United States and/or the Cayman Islands, under which the Fund and the Subsidiary, respectively, are organized, could result in the inability of the Fund and/or Subsidiary to operate as described in this Prospectus and could negatively affect the Fund and its shareholders. Your cost of investing in the Fund will be higher because you indirectly bear the expenses of the Subsidiary. |
Temporary Investments – In response to adverse market, economic, political or other conditions, the Fund may invest 100% of its total assets, without limitation, in high-quality short-term debt securities and money market instruments. These short-term debt securities and money market instruments include shares of other mutual funds, commercial paper, certificates of deposit, bankers’ acceptances, U.S. Government securities and repurchase agreements. While the Fund is in a defensive position, it may not achieve its investment objective. Furthermore, to the extent that the Fund invests in money market mutual funds for its cash position, there will be some duplication of expenses because the Fund would bear its pro rata portion of such money market funds’ advisory fees and operational fees. The Fund may also invest a substantial portion of its assets in such instruments at any time to maintain liquidity or pending selection of investments in accordance with its policies.
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Cybersecurity – The computer systems, networks and devices used by the Fund and its service providers to carry out routine business operations employ a variety of protections designed to prevent damage or interruption from computer viruses, network failures, computer and telecommunication failures, infiltration by unauthorized persons and security breaches. Despite the various protections utilized by the Fund and its service providers, systems, networks, or devices potentially can be breached. The Fund and its shareholders could be negatively impacted as a result of a cybersecurity breach.
Cybersecurity breaches can include unauthorized access to systems, networks, or devices; infection from computer viruses or other malicious software code; and attacks that shut down, disable, slow, or otherwise disrupt operations, business processes, or website access or functionality. Cybersecurity breaches may cause disruptions and impact the Fund’s business operations, potentially resulting in financial losses; interference with the Fund’s ability to calculate its NAV; impediments to trading; the inability of the Fund, the Adviser, and other service providers to transact business; violations of applicable privacy and other laws; regulatory fines, penalties, reputational damage, reimbursement or other compensation costs, or additional compliance costs; as well as the inadvertent release of confidential information.
Similar adverse consequences could result from cybersecurity breaches affecting issuers of securities in which the Fund invests; counterparties with which the Fund engages in transactions; governmental and other regulatory authorities; exchange and other financial market operators, banks, brokers, dealers, insurance companies, and other financial institutions (including financial intermediaries and service providers for the Fund’s shareholders); and other parties. In addition, substantial costs may be incurred by these entities in order to prevent any cybersecurity breaches in the future.
Investment Adviser. Crow Point Partners, LLC (the “Adviser” or “Crow Point”), located at 25 Recreation Park Dr., Suite 206 Hingham, MA 02043, serves as investment adviser to the Fund. Subject to the authority of the Board of Trustees, Crow Point is responsible for the overall management of the Fund’s business affairs. Crow Point is responsible for selecting the Fund’s investments according to its investment objective, polices and restrictions. Crow Point was established in 2006 and serves primarily individual investors, financial advisers and registered investment companies. The Adviser is registered with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission as an investment adviser under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, as amended. As of April 30, 2018, Crow Point manages approximately $900 million in assets under management.
Pursuant to the Investment Advisory Agreement, the Fund pays Crow Point, on a monthly basis, an annual advisory fee of 1.00% of the Fund’s average daily net assets. For the fiscal year ended April 30, 2017, the Predecessor Fund paid an investment advisory fee to the Adviser at an annual rate of 0.59% of the average daily net assets of the Fund after waivers and reimbursements. A discussion regarding the basis for the Board of Trustees’ approval of the Advisory Agreement is available in the Fund’s semi-annual report to shareholders for the period ended October 31, 2017.
The Fund is responsible for its own operating expenses. Pursuant to an operating expense limitation agreement between Crow Point Partners, LLC (the “Adviser”) and the Fund, the Adviser has agreed to waive or reduce its fees and to assume other expenses of the Fund, if necessary, in an amount that limits “Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses” (exclusive of interest, expenses incurred under a plan of distribution adopted pursuant to Rule 12b-1 under the 1940 Act, taxes, acquired fund fees and expenses, brokerage commissions, dividend expenses short sales and other expenditures which are capitalized in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles and other extraordinary expenses not incurred in the ordinary course of such Fund’s business) to not more than 1.70% of the average daily net assets of each share class of the Fund through January 31, 2020. This operating expense limitation agreement can be terminated only by, or with the consent of, the Board of Trustees. The Adviser is permitted to receive reimbursement of any excess expense payments paid by it pursuant to the operating expense limitation agreement in future years on a rolling three-year basis, as long as the reimbursement does not cause the Fund’s annual operating expenses to exceed the expense cap.
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Fee waivers and reimbursements by the Adviser with regard to the Predecessor Fund will continue to be recoverable. Such recoupment was approved by shareholders in connection with the reorganization of the Predecessor Fund into the Trust.
The Fund invested a portion of its assets in the Crow Point Alternative Income Fund (the “Alternative Income Fund”) and the Crow Point Defined Risk Global Equity Income Fund (the “Defined Risk Fund”), which are affiliated funds. As such, the Adviser has agreed to waive its advisory fees on the portion of the Fund’s assets that are invested in the Alternative Income Fund and the Defined Risk Fund. This waiver is in addition to amounts waived pursuant to the contractual expense limitations detailed in the above paragraph and are not recoupable.
Portfolio Managers. Peter J. DeCaprio and Andrew Tuttle have served the Fund as Portfolio Managers since 2013, and David Cleary has served the Fund as a Portfolio Manager since 2017.
Peter J. DeCaprio
Co-Founder, Portfolio Manager & Principal Member
Peter DeCaprio co-founded Crow Point Partners in 2006 and serves as the firm’s Chief Executive Officer. Previously, Mr. DeCaprio worked at Evergreen Investments as a senior analyst covering the utility, telecommunications, and media sectors, and was a senior equity analyst at Thomas Weisel Partners. He has also worked as an analyst at BancBoston Robertson Stephens, Dillon Read and Co. Inc., Houlihan Lokey Howard and Zukin, and TIAA-CREF. He is a graduate of Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business, where he received his MBA, and Tufts University where he received a Bachelor of Arts degree.
Andrew Tuttle
Portfolio Manager
Andrew Tuttle has more than thirteen years investment experience in investment banking, distressed debt, equity research and portfolio management. In addition to his current duties as a portfolio manager, Mr. Tuttle is also Crow Point’s research director and covers all industry sectors. Previously, he worked at Cantor Fitzgerald, Jefferies & Co., Thomas Weisel Partners, and First Union National Bank. He is a graduate of Columbia University, where he received his MBA, and the College of William and Mary, where he received a Bachelor of Arts degree. Mr. Tuttle is a Chartered Financial Analyst.
David Cleary
Principal and Portfolio Manager
David Cleary is a principal and portfolio manager at Crow Point Partners. Previously, Mr. Cleary spent 23 years at Lazard Asset Management where he held a series of senior portfolio management roles over multi-asset and global fixed income strategies. Mr. Cleary additionally served as the firm’s global head of fixed income, a $26 billion platform. Prior to Lazard, Mr. Cleary worked at UBS and IBJ Schroder, mostly in fixed income asset management roles. He began working in the asset management field in 1987 upon his graduation from Cornell University, with a BS in Business Management and Applied Economics. Mr. Cleary is a Chartered Financial Analyst.
Manager of Managers Order
The Adviser, on behalf of itself and on behalf of the Fund and other funds it advises or may advise in the future when the Fund was part of a previous investment company (the “Predecessor Trust”), was granted an exemptive order from the SEC that permits the Adviser to enter into or amend sub-advisory agreements with sub-advisers without obtaining shareholder approval. Under the conditions of that exemptive order, shareholders would be notified within 90 days of the engagement of any different or additional sub-adviser or sub-advisers to manage the Fund’s portfolio. Additionally, the engagement of any sub-adviser is subject to approval by the board of trustees of the Predecessor Trust. The Adviser has not obtained shareholder approval to rely on the exemptive order and must do so prior to any such reliance. Additionally, since the Fund has reorganized into the Trust, it is anticipated that the Trust and the Adviser will need to obtain additional approvals of, and revisions to, the exemptive order from the SEC prior relying on the exemptive order so that the order could be used in the current Trust.
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The SAI provides additional information about the portfolio managers’ compensation, other accounts managed and their ownership of securities in the Fund.
Board of Trustees. The Fund is a series of the 360 Funds (the “Trust”), an open-end management investment company organized as a Delaware statutory trust on February 25, 2005. The Board of the Trust supervises the operations of the Fund according to applicable state and federal law and is responsible for the overall management of the Fund’s business affairs.
Custodian. Fifth Third Bank (the “Custodian”) serves as the custodian of the Fund’s securities.
Fund Administration and Distribution. M3Sixty Administration, LLC (“M3Sixty” or the “Administrator”) serves as the Fund’s administrator providing the Fund with administrative, accounting and compliance services. In addition, M3Sixty serves as the transfer agent and dividend-disbursing agent of the Fund. As indicated below under the caption “Investing in the Fund,” M3Sixty will handle your orders to purchase and redeem shares of the Fund and will disburse dividends paid by the Fund.
Distribution of Shares. Matrix 360 Distributors, LLC (the “Distributor”) serves as the Fund’s principal underwriter. The Distributor may sell the Fund’s Shares to or through qualified securities dealers or other approved entities. The Fund with respect to the Class A and Class C shares has adopted a Distribution Plan in accordance with Rule 12b-1 (“Distribution Plan”) under the 1940 Act. The Distribution Plan provides that the Fund may compensate or reimburse the Distributor for services rendered and expenses borne in connection with activities primarily intended to result in the sale of the Fund’s Shares (this compensation is commonly referred to as “12b-1 fees”). Sales charges (including without limitation, sales loads, CDSCs and 12b-1 fees) may be paid to broker-dealers, banks and any other financial intermediary eligible to receive such fees for sales of Fund shares and for services provided to shareholders. The Distributor may also retain a portion of these fees as the Fund’s distributor. Pursuant to the Distribution Plan, the Fund may annually pay the Distributor up to 0.25% of the average daily net assets attributable to the Class A shares and up to 1.00% of the average daily net assets attributable to the Class C shares. The 1.00% fee for the Class C shares is comprised of a 0.25% service fee and a 0.75% distribution fee. Because 12b-1 fees are paid out of the Fund’s assets on an on-going basis, over time these fees will increase the cost of your investment and may cost you more than paying other types of sales charges.
The Fund offers three classes of shares (Class A shares, Class C shares and Class I shares). Class A shares and Class C shares are available for purchase by all investors. Each class represents interests in the same portfolio of investments and has the same rights, but the classes differ with respect to sales loads and expenses to which they are subject. The decision as to whether Class A shares, Class C shares or Class I shares are more beneficial to you generally depends on the amount and intended length of time of your investment.
Certain Expenses. In addition to the 12b-1 fees and the investment advisory fees, the Fund pays all expenses not assumed by the Adviser, including, without limitation, the fees and expenses of its independent accountants and of its legal counsel; the costs of printing and mailing to shareholders annual and semi-annual reports, proxy statements, prospectuses, statements of additional information and supplements thereto; the costs of printing registration statements; bank transaction charges and custodian’s fees; any proxy solicitors’ fees and expenses; filing fees; any federal, state or local income or other taxes; any interest; any membership fees of the Investment Company Institute and similar organizations; fidelity bond and Trustees’ liability insurance premiums; and any extraordinary expenses, such as indemnification payments or damages awarded in litigation or settlements made.
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Minimum Initial Investment. The Fund’s Shares are sold and redeemed at net asset value. Shares may be purchased by any account managed by the Adviser and any other institutional investor or any broker-dealer authorized to sell Shares in the Fund. The minimum initial investment for the Class A and Class C shares of the Fund is $500 and $2,500, respectively. The minimum investment for Class I shares is $500,000. The Fund may, at the Adviser’s sole discretion, accept accounts with less than the minimum investment.
Determining the Fund’s Net Asset Value. The price at which you purchase or redeem shares is based on the next calculation of net asset value after an order is accepted in good form. An order is considered to be in good form if it includes a complete application and payment in full of the purchase amount. The Fund’s net asset value per share is calculated by dividing the value of the Fund’s total assets, less liabilities (including Fund expenses, which are accrued daily), by the total number of outstanding shares of the Fund. The net asset value per share of the Fund is normally determined at the time regular trading closes on the NYSE, currently 4:00 p.m. Eastern time, Monday through Friday, except when the NYSE closes earlier. The Fund does not calculate net asset value on business holidays when the NYSE is closed.
The valuation of portfolio securities is determined in accordance with procedures established by, and under the direction of, the Board. In determining the value of the Fund’s total assets, portfolio securities are generally calculated at market value by quotations from the primary market in which they are traded. Instruments with maturities of 60 days or less are valued at amortized cost which approximates market value. The Fund normally uses pricing services to obtain market quotations. Securities and assets for which representative market quotations are not readily available or that cannot be accurately valued using the Fund’s normal pricing procedures are valued at fair value as determined in good faith under policies approved by the Trustees. Fair value pricing may be used, for example, in situations where (i) a portfolio security, such as a small-cap stock, is so thinly traded that there have been no transactions for that stock over an extended period of time or the validity of a market quotation received is questionable; (ii) the exchange on which the portfolio security is principally traded closes early; (iii) trading of the particular portfolio security is halted; (iv) the security is a restricted security not registered under federal securities laws purchased through a private placement not eligible for resale; or (v) the security is purchased on a foreign exchange.
Pursuant to policies adopted by the Board, the Adviser is responsible for notifying the Board (or the Trust’s Fair Value Committee (“Fair Value Committee”)) when it believes that fair value pricing is required for a particular security. The Fund’s policies regarding fair value pricing are intended to result in a calculation of the Fund’s net asset value that fairly reflects portfolio security values as of the time of pricing. A portfolio security’s fair value price may differ from the price next available for that portfolio security using the Fund’s normal pricing procedure, and may differ substantially from the price at which the portfolio security may ultimately be traded or sold. If such fair value price differs from the price that would have been determined using the Fund’s normal pricing procedures a shareholder may receive more or less proceeds or shares from redemptions or purchases of Fund shares, respectively, than a shareholder would have otherwise received if the portfolio security was priced using the Fund’s normal pricing procedures. The performance of the Fund may also be affected if a portfolio security’s fair value price were to differ from the security’s price using the Fund’s normal pricing procedures. The Board monitors and evaluates the Fund’s use of fair value pricing.
Other Matters. Purchases and redemptions of shares by the same shareholder on the same day will be netted for the Fund. All redemption requests will be processed and payment with respect thereto will normally be made within seven days after tender. The Fund may suspend redemption, if permitted by the 1940 Act, for any period during which the NYSE is closed or during which trading is restricted by the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) or if the SEC declares that an emergency exists. Redemptions may also be suspended during other periods permitted by the SEC for the protection of the Fund’s shareholders. Additionally, during drastic economic and market changes, telephone redemption privileges may be difficult to implement. Also, if the Trustees determine that it would be detrimental to the best interest of the Fund’s remaining shareholders to make payment in cash, the Fund may pay redemption proceeds in whole or in part by a distribution-in-kind of readily marketable securities.
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Opening a New Account. To open an account with the Fund, take the following steps:
1. Complete an Account Application. Be sure to indicate the type of account you wish to open, the amount of money you wish to invest, and which class of shares you wish to purchase. If you do not indicate which class you wish to purchase, your purchase will be invested in Class A shares. The application must contain your name, date of birth, address, and Social Security Number (“SSN”) or Taxpayer Identification Number (“TIN”). If you have applied for a SSN or TIN prior to completing your account application but you have not received your number, please indicate this on the application and include a copy of the form applying for the SSN or TIN. Taxes are not withheld from distributions to U.S. investors if certain IRS requirements regarding the SSN or TIN are met.
2. Write a check or prepare a money order from a U.S. financial institution and payable in U.S. dollars. For regular mail orders, mail your completed application along with your check or money order made payable to the “EAS Crow Point Alternatives Fund” to:
360 Funds
[Name of Fund and Share Class]
c/o M3Sixty Administration, LLC
4300 Shawnee Mission Parkway
Suite 100
Fairway, Kansas 66205
If checks are returned due to insufficient funds or other reasons, the purchase order will not be accepted. The Fund will charge the prospective investor a $20 fee for cancelled checks and may redeem shares of the Fund already owned by the prospective investor or another identically registered account for such fee. The prospective investor will also be responsible for any losses or expenses incurred by the Fund or the Administrator in connection with any cancelled check.
Bank Wire Purchases. Purchases may also be made through bank wire orders. To establish a new account or add to an existing account by wire, please call (877) 244-6235 for instructions.
Additional Investments. You may add to your account by mail or wire at any time by purchasing Shares at the then current public offering price. The minimum additional investment for any account of Class A or Class C shares in the Fund is $500, except under the automatic investment plan discussed below. Before adding funds by bank wire, please call the Fund at (877) 244-6235 and follow the above directions for bank wire purchases. Please note that in most circumstances, there will be a bank charge for wire purchases. Mail orders should include, if possible, the “Invest by Mail” stub that is attached to your confirmation statement. Otherwise, please identify your account in a letter accompanying your purchase payment. The Fund may, at the Adviser’s sole discretion, accept additional investments for less than the minimum additional investment.
Automatic Investment Plan. Shareholders who have met the Fund’s minimum investment criteria may participate in the Fund’s automatic investment plan. The automatic investment plan enables shareholders to make regular monthly or quarterly investments in Class A shares, Class C shares or Class I shares through automatic charges to shareholders’ checking account. With shareholder authorization and bank approval, the Fund will automatically charge the shareholder’s checking account for the amount specified ($100 minimum for each of Class A shares, Class C shares or Class I shares of the Fund), which will automatically be invested in the type of shares that the shareholder holds in his or her account (Class A shares, Class C shares or Class I shares), at the public offering price on or about the 21st day of the month. The shareholder may change the amount of the investment or discontinue the plan at any time by notifying the Fund in writing.
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Important Information about Procedures for Opening a New Account. Under the Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act of 2001 (USA Patriot Act of 2001), the Fund is required to obtain, verify and record information to enable the Fund to form a reasonable belief as to the identity of each customer who opens an account. Consequently, when an investor opens an account, the Fund will ask for, among other things, the investor’s name, street address, date of birth (for an individual), social security or other tax identification number (or proof that the investor has filed for such a number), and other information that will allow the Fund to identify the investor. The Fund may also ask to see the investor’s driver’s license or other identifying documents. An investor’s account application will not be considered “complete” and, therefore, an account will not be opened and the investor’s money will not be invested until the Fund receives this required information. In addition, if after opening the investor’s account, the Fund is unable to verify the investor’s identity after reasonable efforts, as determined by the Fund in its sole discretion, the Fund may (i) restrict redemptions and further investments until the investor’s identity is verified; and (ii) close the investor’s account without notice and return the investor’s redemption proceeds to the investor. If the Fund closes an investor’s account because the Fund was unable to verify the investor’s identity, the Fund will value the account in accordance with the Fund’s next net asset value calculated after the investor’s account is closed. In that case, the investor’s redemption proceeds may be worth more or less than the investor’s original investment. The Fund will not be responsible for any losses incurred due to the Fund’s inability to verify the identity of any investor opening an account.
Other Information. In connection with all purchases of Fund Shares, we observe the following policies and procedures:
● | We price direct purchases based on the next public offering price (net asset value) computed after your order is received. Direct purchase orders received by M3Sixty as the Fund’s transfer agent by the close of the regular session of the NYSE (generally 4:00 p.m., Eastern time) are confirmed at that day’s public offering price. Purchase orders received by dealers prior to the close of the regular session of the NYSE on any business day and transmitted to M3Sixty on that day are confirmed at the public offering price determined as of the close of the regular session of trading on the NYSE on that day. |
● | We do not accept third party checks for any investments. |
● | We may open accounts for less than the minimum investment or change minimum investment requirements at any time. |
● | We may refuse to accept any purchase request for any reason or no reason. |
● | We mail you confirmations of all your purchases or redemptions of Fund Shares. |
● | Certificates representing Shares are not issued. |
Choosing a Share Class. The Fund offers three classes of shares (Class A shares, Class C shares and Class I shares). Class A shares and Class C shares are available for purchase by all investors. Class I shares are available only to institutional investors and certain broker-dealers and financial institutions that have entered into appropriate arrangements with the Fund. Each class represents interests in the same portfolio of investments and has the same rights, but the classes differ with respect to sales loads and ongoing expenses. The decision as to which class of shares of the Fund is most beneficial to you generally depends on your purchase amount, the length of time you expect to hold your investment and the sales charges, total operating expenses associated with each class, the platform to which you are purchasing shares, and the type of account in which you will hold the shares (e.g. retirement, taxable, etc.).
Class A shares generally have an initial sales load, but are subject to lower ongoing expenses than Class C shares. Class C shares are sold without any initial sales load so the entire purchase price is immediately invested in the Fund, but Class C shares are subject to higher ongoing expenses than Class A shares. Since the entire amount of the purchase price of Class C shares is immediately invested in the Fund, any investment return on Class C shares may partially or wholly offset the higher annual expenses of Class C shares over the short term. However, there can be no assurance that this would be the case, since the Fund’s future returns cannot be predicted. In addition, you should consider the effect of the Contingent Deferred Sales Charge (the “CDSC”) applicable to Class C shares and certain redemptions of Class A shares, depending on the length of time you expect to hold your investment in the Fund.
Each investor’s considerations are different. You should speak with your financial representative or broker-dealer to help you decide which class of shares is best for you. Set forth below is a brief description of each class of shares offered by the Fund.
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Class A Shares. Class A shares are sold at net asset value plus an initial sales load. The sales load is deducted from the amount you invest. The sales load for Class A shares is reduced for purchases of $100,000 or more, as shown in the chart below.
Amount Invested | Sales Charge as a % of Offering Price(1) |
Sales Charge as a % of Amount Invested |
Dealer Reallowance |
Less than $50,000 | 5.50% | 5.82% | 5.00% |
$50,000 but less $100,000 | 4.75% | 4.99% | 4.25% |
$100,000 to $249,999 | 3.75% | 3.83% | 3.25% |
$250,000 to $499,999 | 2.50% | 2.56% | 2.00% |
$500,000 to $999,999 | 2.00% | 2.04% | 1.50% |
$1,000,000 and above | None | None | See Below |
(1) | Offering price includes the front-end sales load. The sales charge you pay may differ slightly from the amount set forth above because of rounding that occurs in the calculations used to determine your sales charge. |
Class A shares are also subject to an annual 12b-1 fee of up to 0.25% of the Fund’s average daily net assets allocable to Class A shares.
Broker-Dealer Reallowances and Commissions. The broker-dealer reallowance for purchases of Class A shares under $1 million is described in the chart above. For initial purchases of Class A shares of a Fund of $1 million or more, a broker-dealer’s commission (equal to 1.00% of such purchases over $1 million) may be paid by the Adviser to participating unaffiliated broker- dealers through whom such purchases are effected. No commission will be paid if the purchase represents the reinvestment of a redemption from a Fund made during the previous twelve months. Redemptions of Class A shares may result in the imposition of a CDSC if the broker-dealer’s commission described in this paragraph was paid in connection with the purchase of such shares. See “CDSC for Certain Purchases of Class A shares” below.”
Under certain circumstances, the Distributor may increase or decrease the reallowance to broker-dealers. The Distributor receives that portion of the initial sales load which is not reallowed to the brokers who sell shares of the Fund. The Distributor retains the entire sales load on all direct initial investments in the Fund and on all investments in accounts with no designated dealer of record.
Reduced Sales Loads. Front-end sales loads on purchases of Class A shares may be reduced under the “Right of Accumulation” or under a “Letter of Intent.” To receive a reduced sales load, you must inform your broker-dealer or the Fund at the time you purchase shares that you qualify for such a reduction. If you do not let your broker-dealer or the Fund know you are eligible for a reduced sales charge, you may not receive the discount to which you are otherwise entitled.
You may use the “Right of Accumulation” to reduce your sales load. Under the “Right of Accumulation,” you may combine the current net asset value of your existing Class A shares of the Fund or any fund in the Crow Point family with the amount of any current purchases in the Fund or funds in the Crow Point family of funds in order to take advantage of the reduced sales loads in the table above.
Purchases made pursuant to a “Letter of Intent” may also be eligible for the reduced sales loads. In a Letter of Intent, the investor expresses his or her intention, in writing, to invest a certain amount over a specified period of time. The Fund will then apply to each of the investor’s periodic investments the reduced sales load that would apply to the total amount stated in the Letter of Intent. The minimum initial investment under a Letter of Intent is $50,000. If not stated otherwise in the Letter of Intent, the amount of shares you purchase in the Fund during the thirteen (13) months following the signing of the Letter of Intent qualify for the reduced sales load. The reduced sales load will not apply to purchases in the Fund made more than 90 days prior to the signing of the Letter of Intent. During the term of your Letter of Intent, the Transfer Agent will hold in escrow shares representing the highest applicable sales load for the Fund each time you make a purchase. Any shares you redeem during that period will count against your total amount stated in your Letter of Intent. If, by the end of the term of the Letter of Intent, you have purchased all the shares you committed to purchase in the Letter of Intent, the escrowed shares will be released to you. If you have not purchased all the shares you committed to purchase in the Letter of Intent, your escrowed shares will be redeemed in an amount equal to the sales load that would apply if you had purchased the actual amount in your account all at once. Any escrowed shares not needed to satisfy that sales load would be released to you.
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Shareholders may include the value of certain related accounts, including accounts held by their spouse and children under the age of 21, family trust accounts of the investor and other accounts held by the investor to determine the applicable sales load and for purposes of the Right of Accumulation and Letter of Intent privileges. These privileges apply even if your related accounts are opened at different brokerage firms, so it is important to let your broker-dealer(s) or the Transfer Agent know about all your accounts that may be combined. To verify eligibility for a reduced sales load, your broker-dealer or the Fund may require that you submit copies of account statements to substantiate requests for Right of Accumulation and Letter of Intent privileges.
In addition to the Right of Accumulation and Letters of Intent, Class A shares are offered at net asset value without a sales load to the following types of investors: trustees and officers of the Fund, clients of the Adviser, employees of the Adviser (and members of their immediate families) and the Adviser and certain service providers of the Fund. As explained above, there also is no sales load at the time of purchase on investments of $1 million or more in the Fund, but such purchases may be subject to a CDSC of 1.00% in the event of redemption within 12 months of purchase. See “CDSC for Certain Purchases of Class A Shares” below.
CDSC for Certain Purchases of Class A Shares. A CDSC is imposed upon certain redemptions of Class A shares purchased at net asset value in amounts totaling $1 million if the dealer’s commission described above was paid by the underwriter and the shares are redeemed within one year from the date of purchase. The CDSC will be paid to the Distributor and will be equal to 1.00% of the lesser of (1) the net asset value at the time of purchase of the Class A shares being redeemed; or (2) the net asset value of such shares at the time of redemption. If your purchase of Class A shares is subject to the CDSC, you will be so notified on the confirmation you receive for such purchase. A CDSC will not be imposed upon redemptions of Class A shares held for more than one year.
Class C shares. Class C shares are sold at net asset value without an initial sales load so that the full amount of your purchase payment may be immediately invested in the Fund. A CDSC of 1.00% will be imposed on redemptions of Class C shares made within one year of their purchase. The CDSC will be a percentage of the dollar amount of shares redeemed and will be assessed on an amount equal to the net asset value at the time of purchase of the Class C shares being redeemed. A CDSC will not be imposed upon redemptions of Class C shares held for more than one year. Class C shares are subject to an annual 12b-1 fee of up to 1.00% of the Fund’s average daily net assets allocable to Class C shares.
Class I shares. Class I shares of the Fund are sold at NAV without an initial sales charge so that the full amount of your purchase payment may be immediately invested in the Fund. Class I shares are available for investment only to institutional investors and certain broker-dealers and financial institutions that have entered into appropriate arrangements with the Fund. These arrangement are generally limited to discretionary managed, asset allocation, eligible retirement plan or wrap products offered by broker-dealers and financial institutions. Shareholders participating in these programs may be charged fees by their broker-dealer or financial institution.
Class I Shares: Class I Shares are sold without any initial sales charge or contingent sales charge to the following:
1) | Accounts for which the Adviser or any of its affiliates act as fiduciary, agent, investment Adviser or custodian and clients of the Adviser’s affiliates. |
2) | Institutional investors (such as qualified retirement plans, wrap fee plans and other programs charging asset-based fees) with a minimum initial investment of $500,000 that have received authorization from the Distributor. |
3) | Advisory clients of a registered investment Adviser with a fee-based asset management account. |
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4) | Any accounts established on behalf of registered investment Advisers or their clients by broker-dealers that charge a transaction fee and that have entered into agreements with the Adviser. |
Additional Information about Sales Charges. Information regarding the Fund’s sales charges, as well as information regarding reduced sales charges and waived sales charges, and the terms and conditions for the purchase, pricing, and redemption of Fund shares is not available on the Fund’s website since the Fund’s website contains limited information. Further information is available by calling the Fund at (877) 244-6235.
Exchanging Shares
Shares of any class of the Fund generally may be exchanged for shares of the same class of any other Fund managed by the Adviser without paying a sales charge or a CDSC. Shares of any class of the Fund also may be acquired in exchange for shares of the same class of any other Fund managed by the Adviser without paying a sales charge or CDSC. You may make exchanges only between identically registered accounts (name(s), address, and TIN).
If an exchange results in opening a new account, you are subject to the applicable minimum investment requirement. All exchanges also are subject to the eligibility requirements of the Fund into which you are exchanging. The exchange privilege may be exercised only in those states where shares of the Fund may be legally sold. The Fund may also discontinue or modify the exchange privilege on a prospective basis at any time upon notice to shareholders in accordance with applicable law. For federal income tax purposes, an exchange of Fund shares for shares of another Fund is treated as a sale on which gain or loss may be recognized.
If a shareholder no longer meets the eligibility requirements for the shareholder’s current share class, the Fund may, upon notice to the shareholder, convert the shareholder into a share class of the same Fund for which the shareholder is eligible.
Through Your Broker or other Financial Professional |
Call your broker or other financial professional. Your broker or other financial professional can assist you in all the steps necessary to exchange shares. Your broker or financial professional may charge you for its services. |
By Mail |
Write a letter to request an exchange specifying the name of the fund from which you are exchanging, the registered account name(s) and address, the account number, the dollar amount or number of shares to be exchanged and the fund into which you are exchanging.
The request must be signed by all of the owners of the shares including the capacity in which they are signing, if appropriate.
Mail your request to:
M3Sixty Administration, LLC
4300 Shawnee Mission Parkway
Suite 100
Fairway, Kansas 66205
|
By Telephone |
If you have authorized this service, you may exchange by telephone by calling (877) 244-6235.
If you make a telephone exchange request, you must furnish the name of the fund from which you are exchanging, the name and address of record of the registered owner, the account number and TIN, the dollar amount or number of shares to be exchanged, the fund into which you are exchanging, and the name of the person making the request.
|
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Redeeming Shares
Regular Mail Redemptions. Regular mail redemption requests should be addressed to:
360 Funds
[Name of Fund and Share Class]
c/o M3Sixty Administration, LLC
4300 Shawnee Mission Parkway
Suite 100
Fairway, Kansas 66205
Regular mail redemption requests should include the following:
(1) | Your letter of instruction specifying the Fund, account number and number of Shares (or the dollar amount) to be redeemed. This request must be signed by all registered shareholders in the exact names in which they are registered; |
(2) | Any required signature guarantees (see “Signature Guarantees” below); and |
(3) | Other supporting legal documents, if required in the case of estates, trusts, guardianships, custodianships, corporations, pension or profit sharing plans, and other entities. |
Except as provided below, your redemption proceeds normally will be sent to you within seven days after receipt of your redemption request. However, the Fund may delay forwarding a redemption check for recently purchased Shares while it determines whether the purchase payment will be honored. Such delay (which may take up to 15 calendar days from the date of purchase) may be reduced or avoided if the purchase is made by certified check or wire transfer. In all cases, the net asset value next determined after receipt of the request for redemption will be used in processing the redemption request.
The Fund typically expects to meet redemption requests through cash holdings or cash equivalents and anticipates using these types of holdings on a regular basis. The Fund typically expects to pay redemption proceeds for shares redeemed within the following days after receipt by the transfer agent of a redemption request in proper form: (i) for payment by check, the Fund typically expects to mail the check within two business days; and (ii) for payment by wire or automated clearing house (“ACH”), the Fund typically expects to process the payment within two business days. Payment of redemption proceeds may take up to seven days as permitted under the 1940 Act. Under unusual circumstances as permitted by the SEC, the Fund may suspend the right of redemption or delay payment of redemption proceeds for more than seven days. When shares are purchased by check or through ACH, the proceeds from the redemption of those shares will not be paid until the purchase check or ACH transfer has been converted to federal funds, which could take up to 15 calendar days.
To the extent cash holdings or cash equivalents are not available to meet redemption requests, the Fund will meet redemption requests by either (i) rebalancing its overweight securities or (ii) selling portfolio assets. In addition, if a Fund determines that it would be detrimental to the best interest of the Fund’s remaining shareholders to make payment in cash, the Fund may pay redemption proceeds in whole or in part by a distribution-in-kind of readily marketable securities.
Telephone and Bank Wire Redemptions. Unless you specifically decline the telephone transaction privileges on your account application, you may redeem Shares of the Fund by calling (877) 244-6235. The Fund may rely upon confirmation of redemption requests transmitted via facsimile (Fax# (816) 817-3267). The confirmation instructions must include the following:
(1) | Name of Fund; |
(2) | Shareholder name(s) and account number; |
(3) | Number of shares or dollar amount to be redeemed; |
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(4) | Instructions for transmittal of redemption funds to the shareholder; and |
(5) | Shareholder(s) signature(s) as it/they appear(s) on the application then on file with the Fund. |
You can choose to have redemption proceeds mailed to you at your address of record, your financial institution or to any other authorized person, or you can have the proceeds sent by wire transfer to your financial institution ($5,000 minimum). The Fund in its discretion may choose to pass through to redeeming shareholders any charges imposed by the Fund’s custodian for wire redemptions. If this cost is passed through to redeeming shareholders by the Fund, the charge will be deducted automatically from your account by redemption of shares in your account. Your bank or brokerage firm may also impose a charge for processing the wire. If wire transfer of funds is impossible or impractical, the redemption proceeds will be sent by mail to the designated account.
Redemption proceeds will only be sent to the financial institution account or person named in your Fund shares Application currently on file with the Fund. Telephone redemption privileges authorize the Fund to act on telephone instructions from any person representing himself or herself to be the investor and reasonably believed by the Fund to be genuine. The Fund will not be liable for any losses due to fraudulent or unauthorized instructions nor for following telephone instructions provided that the Fund follows reasonable procedures to ensure instructions are genuine.
Minimum Account Size. Due to the relatively high cost of maintaining small accounts, the Fund reserves the right to liquidate a shareholder’s account if, as a result of redemptions or transfers (but not required IRA distributions), the account’s balance falls below the minimum initial investment required for your type of account (see “Minimum Initial Investment” above). The Fund will notify you if your account falls below the required minimum. If your account is not increased to the required level after a thirty (30) day cure period then the Fund may, at its discretion, liquidate the account.
Redemptions In Kind. The Fund typically expects to satisfy requests by using holdings of cash or cash equivalents or selling portfolio assets. On a less regular basis, and if the Adviser believes it is in the best interest of the Fund and its shareholders not to sell portfolio assets, the Fund may satisfy redemption requests by using short-term borrowing from the Fund’s custodian to the extent such arrangements are in place with the custodian. These methods normally will be used during both regular and stressed market conditions. In addition to paying redemption proceeds in cash, each Fund reserves the right to make payment for a redemption in securities rather than cash, which is known as a “redemption in kind.” While the Fund does not intend, under normal circumstances, to redeem its shares by payment in kind, it is possible that conditions may arise in the future which would, in the opinion of the Trustees, make it undesirable for the Fund to pay for all redemptions in cash. In such a case, the Trustees may authorize payment to be made in readily marketable portfolio securities of the Fund. Securities delivered in payment of redemptions would be valued at the same value assigned to them in computing the Fund’s net asset value per share. Shareholders receiving them may incur brokerage costs when these securities are sold and will be subject to market risk until such securities are sold. An irrevocable election has been filed under Rule 18f-1 of the 1940 Act, wherein the Fund must pay redemptions in cash, rather than in kind, to any shareholder of record of the Fund who redeems during any 90-day period, the lesser of (a) $250,000 or (b) 1% of the Fund’s net asset value at the beginning of such period. Redemption requests in excess of this limit may be satisfied in cash or in kind at the Fund’s election.
Signature Guarantees. To protect your account and the Fund from fraud, signature guarantees may be required to be sure that you are the person who has authorized a change in registration or standing instructions for your account. Signature guarantees are generally required for (i) change of registration requests; (ii) requests to establish or to change exchange privileges or telephone and bank wire redemption service other than through your initial account application; (iii) transactions where proceeds from redemptions, dividends, or distributions are sent to an address or financial institution differing from the address or financial institution of record; and (iv) redemption requests in excess of $50,000. Signature guarantees are acceptable from a member bank of the Federal Reserve System, a savings and loan institution, credit union (if authorized under state law), registered broker-dealer, securities exchange, or association clearing agency and must appear on the written request for change of registration, establishment or change in exchange privileges or redemption request.
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Other Information about Contingent Deferred Sales Charges. If, within the first year of purchase, you redeem (i) Class A share purchases of more than $1 million; or (ii) Class C shares, you may be subject to a CDSC as described above under “Fees and Expenses of the Fund” and “Purchasing Shares – Choosing a Share Class”. Shares acquired through the reinvestment of dividends or distributions of capital gains will not be subject to a CDSC. To determine if the CDSC applies to a redemption, the Fund redeems Shares in the following order: (i) Shares acquired by reinvestment of dividends and capital gains distributions; and then (ii) Shares held for the longest period.
The Fund will waive the CDSC if requested in the following circumstances:
● | Redemption upon the death or permanent disability of the shareholder if made within one year of the death or the initial determination of permanent disability. The waiver is available only for Shares held at the time of death or initial determination of permanent disability. |
● | Mandatory distributions from a tax-deferred retirement plan or IRA. |
If you wish to request that the CDSC be waived for one of the reasons stated above, contact your financial representative, broker- dealer or the Fund. Such waiver requests must be made at the time of redemption.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ABOUT PURCHASES AND REDEMPTIONS
Purchases and Redemptions through Securities Firms. The Fund has authorized one or more brokers to accept purchase and redemption orders on its behalf and such brokers are authorized to designate intermediaries to accept orders on behalf of the Fund. In addition, orders will be deemed to have been received by the Fund when an authorized broker, or broker-authorized designee, accepts the purchase order or receives the redemption order. Orders will be priced at the next calculation of the Fund’s net asset value after the authorized broker or broker-authorized designee receives the orders. Investors may also be charged a fee by a broker or agent if Shares are purchased through a broker or agent. The Fund is not responsible for ensuring that a broker carries out its obligations. You should look to the broker through whom you wish to invest for specific instructions on how to purchase or redeem shares of the Fund.
Telephone Purchases by Securities Firms. Brokerage firms that are Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc. (“FINRA”) members may telephone M3Sixty at (877) 244-6235 and buy Shares for investors who have investments in the Fund through the brokerage firm’s account with the Fund. By electing telephone purchase privileges, FINRA member firms, on behalf of themselves and their clients, agree that neither the Fund nor M3Sixty shall be liable for following telephone instructions reasonably believed to be genuine. To be sure telephone instructions are genuine, the Fund and its agents send written confirmations of transactions to the broker that initiated the telephone purchase. As a result of these and other policies, the FINRA member firms may bear the risk of any loss in the event of such a transaction. However, if M3Sixty fails to follow these established procedures, it may be liable. The Fund may modify or terminate these telephone privileges at any time.
Disruptive Trading and Market Timing. The Fund is not intended for or suitable for market timers, and market timers are discouraged from becoming investors. The ability of new shareholders to establish an account, or for existing shareholders to add to their accounts is subject to modification or limitation if the Fund determines, in its sole opinion, that the shareholder or potential shareholder has engaged in frequent purchases or redemptions that may be indicative of market timing or otherwise disruptive trading (“Disruptive Trading”) which can have harmful effects for other shareholders. These risks and harmful effects include:
● | an adverse effect on portfolio management, as determined by the Adviser in its sole discretion, such as causing the Fund to maintain a higher level of cash than would otherwise be the case, or causing the Fund to liquidate investments prematurely; and |
● | reducing returns to long-term shareholders through increased brokerage and administrative expenses. |
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In an effort to protect shareholders from Disruptive Trading, the Board of Trustees has approved certain market timing policies and procedures. Under these market timing policies and procedures, the Fund may monitor trading activity by shareholders and take specific steps to prevent Disruptive Trading. In general, the Fund considers frequent roundtrip transactions in a shareholder account to constitute Disruptive Trading. A “roundtrip transaction” is one where a shareholder buys and then sells, or sells and then buys, shares within 30 days. While there is no specific limit on roundtrip transactions, the Fund reserves the right to (i) refuse any purchase order; and/or (ii) restrict or terminate purchase privileges for shareholders or former shareholders, particularly in cases where the Fund determines that the shareholder or potential shareholder has engaged in more than one roundtrip transaction in the Fund within any rolling 30-day period.
In determining the frequency of roundtrip transactions, the Fund does not include purchases pursuant to dollar cost averaging or other similar programs, and the Fund will not count systematic withdrawals and/or automatic purchases, mandatory retirement distributions, and transactions initiated by a plan sponsor. The Fund will calculate roundtrip transactions at the shareholder level and may contact a shareholder to request an explanation of any activity that the Fund suspects as Disruptive Trading.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Fund may also take action if a shareholder’s trading activity (evaluated based on roundtrip trading or otherwise) is deemed Disruptive Trading by the Fund, even if applicable Shares are held longer than 30 days. In addition, the Fund may, without prior notice, take whatever action it deems appropriate to comply with or take advantage of any state or federal regulatory requirement.
The Fund cannot guarantee that its policies and procedures regarding market timing will be effective in detecting and deterring all Disruptive Trading.
Redemption Fee:
The Fund will redeem your shares at the net asset value next determined after your redemption request is received in proper form. There is no redemption fee charged by the Fund. However, if a shareholder uses the services of a broker-dealer for the redemption, there may be a charge by the broker-dealer to the shareholder for such services. The Fund reserves the right to impose or change redemption fees. If redemption fees are imposed in the future, the Fund reserves the right to waive such redemption fees.
Note: The Fund has the right to suspend or postpone redemptions of shares for any period: (i) during which the NYSE or exchange is closed, other than customary weekend and holiday closings; (ii) during which trading on the NYSE or exchange is restricted; or (iii) during which (as determined by the SEC or other regulatory authority by rule or regulation) an emergency exists as a result of which disposal or valuation of portfolio securities is not reasonably practicable, or as otherwise permitted by the SEC or other regulatory authority.
Disclosure of Portfolio Holdings. A description of the Fund’s policies and procedures with respect to the disclosure of the Fund’s portfolio securities is available in the Fund’s SAI.
Distributions, Dividends and Taxes
The following information is meant as a general summary for U.S. taxpayers. Additional tax information appears in the SAI. Shareholders should rely on their own tax advisors for advice about the particular federal, state, and local tax consequences to them of investing in the Fund.
The Fund will distribute all or substantially all of its income and gains to its shareholders every year. Dividends paid by the Fund derived from net investment income, if any, will generally be paid annually and capital gain distributions, if any, will be made at least annually. Absent instructions to pay distributions in cash, distributions will be reinvested automatically in additional Shares (or fractions thereof) of the Fund. Although the Fund will not be taxed on amounts it distributes, shareholders will generally be taxed on distributions, regardless of whether distributions are paid by the Fund in cash or are reinvested in additional Fund shares.
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A particular dividend distribution generally will be taxable as qualified dividend income, long-term capital gain, or ordinary income. Qualified dividend income generally includes dividends paid by U.S. corporations and certain qualifying foreign corporations, provided the foreign corporation is not a passive foreign investment company. Any distribution resulting from such qualified dividend income received by the Fund will be designated as qualified dividend income. If the Fund designates a dividend distribution as qualified dividend income, it generally will be taxable to individual shareholders at the long-term capital gains tax rate provided certain holding period requirements are met. If the Fund designates a dividend distribution as a capital gains distribution, it generally will be taxable to shareholders as long-term capital gain, regardless of how long the shareholders have held their Fund shares. Short-term capital gains may be realized and any distribution resulting from such gains will be considered ordinary income for federal tax purposes. All taxable dividends paid by the Fund other than those designated as qualified dividend income or capital gain distributions will be taxable as ordinary income to shareholders.
Taxable distributions paid by the Fund to corporate shareholders will be taxed at corporate tax rates. Corporate shareholders may be entitled to a dividends received deduction (“DRD”) for a portion of the dividends paid and designated by the Fund as qualifying for the DRD.
If the Fund declares a dividend in October, November or December but pays it in January, it will be taxable to shareholders as if the dividend had been received in the year it was declared. Every year, each shareholder will receive a statement detailing the tax status of any Fund distributions for that year. Distributions may be subject to state and local taxes, as well as federal taxes.
In general, a shareholder who sells or redeems shares will realize a capital gain or loss, which will be long-term or short-term depending upon the shareholder’s holding period for the Fund shares. An exchange of shares may be treated as a sale and may be subject to tax.
As with all mutual funds, the Fund may be required to withhold U.S. federal income tax at the fourth lowest rate for taxpayers filing as unmarried individuals (presently 24%) for all taxable distributions payable to shareholders who fail to provide the Fund with their correct taxpayer identification numbers or to make required certifications, or who have been notified by the IRS that they are subject to backup withholding. Backup withholding is not an additional tax; rather, it is a way in which the IRS ensures it will collect taxes otherwise due. Any amounts withheld may be credited against a shareholder’s U.S. federal income tax liability.
Shareholders should consult with their own tax advisors to ensure that distributions and sale of Fund shares are treated appropriately on their income tax returns.
Cost Basis Reporting. Federal law requires that mutual fund companies report their shareholders’ cost basis, gain/loss and holding period to the Internal Revenue Service on the Fund’s shareholders’ Consolidated Form 1099s when “covered” securities are sold. Covered securities are any regulated investment company and/or dividend reinvestment plan shares acquired on or after January 1, 2012. The Fund has chosen Average Cost as its default tax lot identification method for all shareholders. A tax lot identification method is the way the Fund will determine which specific shares are deemed to be sold when there are multiple purchases on different dates at differing net asset values, and the entire position is not sold at one time. The Fund’s standing tax lot identification method is the method covered shares will be reported on your Consolidated Form 1099 if you do not select a specific tax lot identification method. You may choose a method different than the Fund’s standing method and will be able to do so at the time of your purchase or upon the sale of covered shares. Please refer to the appropriate Internal Revenue Service regulations or consult your tax adviser with regard to your personal circumstances.
For those securities defined as “covered” under current Internal Revenue Service cost basis tax reporting regulations, the Fund is responsible for maintaining accurate cost basis and tax lot information for tax reporting purposes. The Fund is not responsible for the reliability or accuracy of the information for those securities that are not “covered.” The Fund and its service providers do not provide tax advice. You should consult independent sources, which may include a tax professional, with respect to any decisions you may make with respect to choosing a tax lot identification method.
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The Fund is a continuation of the Predecessor Fund and, therefore, the financial information presented below for the fiscal years ended April 30, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2017 is for the Predecessor Fund. The financial information presented below for the fiscal year ended April 30, 2018 is for the Fund. The Predecessor Fund’s shareholders approved the reorganization into the Fund on October 13, 2017. The reorganization subsequently took place on October 13, 2017. The financial information presented for the fiscal years ended April 30, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2017 has been audited by Tait, Weller & Baker LLP, independent registered public accounting firm, whose unqualified report thereon, along with the Predecessor Fund’s financial statements, are included in the Predecessor Fund’s Annual Report to Shareholders (the “Predecessor Fund Annual Report”) and are incorporated by reference into the SAI. The financial information presented for the fiscal year ended April 30, 2018 has been audited by BBD, LLP, independent registered public accounting firm, whose unqualified report thereon, along with the Fund’s financial statements, are included in the Fund’s Annual Report to Shareholders (the “Fund Annual Report”) and are incorporated by reference into the SAI. Additional performance information for the Predecessor Fund is included in the Predecessor Fund Annual Report and for the Fund is included in the Fund Annual Report. The Predecessor Fund Annual Report, the Fund Annual Report and the SAI are available at no cost from the Fund at the address and telephone number noted on the back page of this prospectus. The following information should be read in conjunction with the financial statements and notes thereto.
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EAS Crow Point Alternatives Fund
FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS
The following tables set forth the per share operating performance data for a share of beneficial interest outstanding, total return ratios to average net assets and other supplemental data for the year indicated.
Class A | ||||||||||||||||||||
For the | For the | For the | For the | For the | ||||||||||||||||
Year Ended | Year Ended | Year Ended | Year Ended | Year Ended | ||||||||||||||||
April 30, 2018 | April 30, 2017 | April 30, 2016 | April 30, 2015 | April 30, 2014 | ||||||||||||||||
Net Asset Value, Beginning of Year | $ | 8.64 | $ | 8.59 | $ | 9.18 | $ | 8.85 | $ | 8.80 | ||||||||||
Investment Operations: | ||||||||||||||||||||
Net investment income (loss)(1) | (0.11 | ) | (0.02 | ) | 0.08 | 0.09 | 0.04 | |||||||||||||
Net realized and unrealized gain (loss) on investments | 0.71 | 0.09 | (0.62 | ) | 0.33 | 0.06 | ||||||||||||||
Total from investment operations | 0.60 | 0.07 | (0.54 | ) | 0.42 | 0.10 | ||||||||||||||
Distributions: | ||||||||||||||||||||
From net investment income | (0.04 | ) | (0.02 | ) | (0.06 | ) | (0.09 | ) | (0.05 | ) | ||||||||||
From net realized capital gains | — | — | — | — | — | |||||||||||||||
Total distributions | (0.04 | ) | (0.02 | ) | (0.06 | ) | (0.09 | ) | (0.05 | ) | ||||||||||
Paid in capital from redemption fees | — | 0.00 | (2) | 0.01 | 0.00 | (2) | 0.00 | (2) | ||||||||||||
Net Asset Value, End of Year | $ | 9.20 | $ | 8.64 | $ | 8.59 | $ | 9.18 | $ | 8.85 | ||||||||||
Total Return(3) | 6.99 | %(8) | 0.80 | % | (5.75 | )% | 4.78 | % | 1.18 | % | ||||||||||
Ratios/Supplemental Data | ||||||||||||||||||||
Net assets, end of year (in 000’s) | $ | 2,742 | $ | 12,253 | $ | 22,830 | $ | 11,122 | $ | 11,508 | ||||||||||
Ratio of gross expenses to average net assets(4)(5): | 3.54 | % | 2.54 | % | 3.20 | % | 3.01 | % | 2.31 | % | ||||||||||
Ratio of net expenses to average net assets(4)(6): | 2.26 | % | 2.18 | % | 2.62 | % | 2.83 | % | 2.14 | % | ||||||||||
Ratio of net investment income (loss) to average net assets(7) | (1.27 | )% | (0.19 | )% | 0.86 | % | 1.02 | % | 0.42 | % | ||||||||||
Portfolio turnover rate | 165 | % | 138 | % | 149 | % | 136 | % | 219 | % |
(1) | Per share amounts calculated using the average shares method, which more appropriately presents the per share data for the year. |
(2) | Resulted in less than $0.01 per share. |
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(3) | Total Return represents the rate that the investor would have earned or lost on an investment in the Fund, assuming reinvestment of dividends. Total returns shown exclude the effect of applicable sales loads/redemption fees. |
(4) | The ratios of expenses to average net assets do not reflect the Fund’s proportionate share of expenses of underlying investment companies in which the Fund invests. |
(5) | Includes dividends from securities sold short and interest expense. Excluding dividends from securities sold short and interest expense, the ratio of gross expenses to average net assets would have been 2.11%, 2.12%, 2.53%, 2.31% and 3.00% for the years ended April 30, 2014, April 30, 2015, April 30, 2016, April 30, 2017 and April 30, 2018, respectively. |
(6) | Includes dividends from securities sold short and interest expense. Excluding dividends from securities sold short and interest expense, the ratio of net expenses to average net assets would have been 1.95% for the years ended April 30, 2014, April 30, 2015, April 30, 2016 and April 30, 2017 and 1.71% for the year ended April 30, 2018. |
(7) | Recognition of net investment income by the Fund is affected by the timing and declaration of dividends by the underlying investment companies in which the Fund invests. |
(8) | Includes adjustments in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America and, consequently, the net asset value for financial reporting purposes and the returns based upon those net asset values may differ from the net asset values and returns for shareholder transactions. |
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EAS Crow Point Alternatives Fund
FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS
The following tables set forth the per share operating performance data for a share of beneficial interest outstanding, total return ratios to average net assets and other supplemental data for the year indicated.
Class C | ||||||||||||||||||||
For the | For the | For the | For the | For the | ||||||||||||||||
Year Ended | Year Ended | Year Ended | Year Ended | Year Ended | ||||||||||||||||
April 30, 2018 | April 30, 2017 | April 30, 2016 | April 30, 2015 | April 30, 2014 | ||||||||||||||||
Net Asset Value, Beginning of Year | $ | 8.41 | $ | 8.41 | $ | 9.00 | $ | 8.69 | $ | 8.69 | ||||||||||
Investment Operations: | ||||||||||||||||||||
Net investment income (loss)(1) | (0.17 | ) | (0.07 | ) | 0.01 | 0.02 | (0.03 | ) | ||||||||||||
Net realized and unrealized gain (loss) on investments | 0.69 | 0.07 | (0.57 | ) | 0.33 | 0.06 | ||||||||||||||
Total from investment operations | 0.52 | — | (0.56 | ) | 0.35 | 0.03 | ||||||||||||||
Distributions: | ||||||||||||||||||||
From net investment income | 0.00 | (2) | — | (0.03 | ) | (0.04 | ) | (0.03 | ) | |||||||||||
Total distributions | 0.00 | — | (0.03 | ) | (0.04 | ) | (0.03 | ) | ||||||||||||
Paid in capital from redemption fees | — | 0.00 | (2) | 0.00 | (2) | 0.00 | (2) | 0.00 | (2) | |||||||||||
Net Asset Value, End of Year | $ | 8.93 | $ | 8.41 | $ | 8.41 | $ | 9.00 | $ | 8.69 | ||||||||||
Total Return(3) | 6.24 | %(8) | 0.00 | % | (6.40 | )% | 3.99 | % | 0.36 | % | ||||||||||
Ratios/Supplemental Data | ||||||||||||||||||||
Net assets, end of year (in 000’s) | $ | 817 | $ | 932 | $ | 1,576 | $ | 2,379 | $ | 2,282 | ||||||||||
Ratio of gross expenses to average net assets(4)(5): | 4.21 | % | 3.31 | % | 4.13 | % | 3.76 | % | 3.06 | % | ||||||||||
Ratio of net expenses to average net assets(4)(6): | 3.02 | % | 2.94 | % | 3.44 | % | 3.58 | % | 2.89 | % | ||||||||||
Ratio of net investment income (loss) to average net assets(7) | (1.95 | )% | (0.84 | )% | 0.08 | % | 0.24 | % | (0.33 | )% | ||||||||||
Portfolio turnover rate | 165 | % | 138 | % | 149 | % | 136 | % | 219 | % |
(1) | Per share amounts calculated using the average shares method, which more appropriately presents the per share data for the year. |
(2) | Resulted in less than $0.01 per share. |
(3) | Total Return represents the rate that the investor would have earned or lost on an investment in the Fund, assuming reinvestment of dividends. Total returns shown exclude the effect of applicable sales loads/redemption fees. |
(4) | The ratios of expenses to average net assets do not reflect the Fund’s proportionate share of expenses of underlying investment companies in which the Fund invests. |
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(5) | Includes dividends from securities sold short and interest expense. Excluding dividends from securities sold short and interest expense, the ratio of gross expenses to average net assets would have been 2.86%, 2.88%, 3.40%, 3.07% and 3.67% for the years ended April 30, 2014, April 30, 2015, April 30, 2016, April 30, 2017 and April 30, 2018, respectively. |
(6) | Includes dividends from securities sold short and interest expense. Excluding dividends from securities sold short and interest expense, the ratio of net expenses to average net assets would have been 2.70% for the years ended April 30, 2014, April 30, 2015, April 30, 2016 and April 30, 2017 and 2.46% for the year ended April 30, 2018. |
(7) | Recognition of net investment income by the Fund is affected by the timing and declaration of dividends by the underlying investment companies in which the Fund invests. |
(8) | Includes adjustments in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America and, consequently, the net asset value for financial reporting purposes and the returns based upon those net asset values may differ from the net asset values and returns for shareholder transactions. |
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EAS Crow Point Alternatives Fund
FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS
The following tables set forth the per share operating performance data for a share of beneficial interest outstanding, total return ratios to average net assets and other supplemental data for the year indicated.
Class I | ||||||||||||||||||||
For the | For the | For the | For the | For the | ||||||||||||||||
Year Ended | Year Ended | Year Ended | Year Ended | Year Ended | ||||||||||||||||
April 30, 2018 | April 30, 2017 | April 30, 2016 | April 30, 2015 | April 30, 2014 | ||||||||||||||||
Net Asset Value, Beginning of Year | $ | 8.72 | $ | 8.65 | $ | 9.24 | $ | 8.90 | $ | 8.84 | ||||||||||
Investment Operations: | ||||||||||||||||||||
Net investment income (loss)(1) | (0.08 | ) | 0.01 | 0.10 | 0.12 | 0.06 | ||||||||||||||
Net realized and unrealized gain (loss) on investments | 0.71 | 0.10 | (0.61 | ) | 0.33 | 0.07 | ||||||||||||||
Total from investment operations | 0.63 | 0.11 | (0.51 | ) | 0.45 | 0.13 | ||||||||||||||
Distributions: | ||||||||||||||||||||
From net investment income | (0.07 | ) | (0.04 | ) | (0.08 | ) | (0.11 | ) | (0.07 | ) | ||||||||||
From net realized capital gains | — | — | — | — | — | |||||||||||||||
Total distributions | (0.07 | ) | (0.04 | ) | (0.08 | ) | (0.11 | ) | (0.07 | ) | ||||||||||
Paid in capital from redemption fees | — | 0.00 | (2) | 0.00 | (2) | 0.00 | (2) | 0.00 | (2) | |||||||||||
Net Asset Value, End of Year | $ | 9.28 | $ | 8.72 | $ | 8.65 | $ | 9.24 | $ | 8.90 | ||||||||||
Total Return(3) | 7.20 | %(8) | 1.25 | % | (5.50 | )% | 5.13 | % | 1.43 | % | ||||||||||
Ratios/Supplemental Data | ||||||||||||||||||||
Net assets, end of year (in 000’s) | $ | 16,846 | $ | 15,024 | $ | 13,095 | $ | 18,089 | $ | 22,063 | ||||||||||
Ratio of gross expenses to average net assets(4)(5): | 3.19 | % | 2.32 | % | 3.13 | % | 2.75 | % | 2.06 | % | ||||||||||
Ratio of net expenses to average net assets(4)(6): | 2.02 | % | 1.97 | % | 2.44 | % | 2.58 | % | 1.89 | % | ||||||||||
Ratio of net investment income (loss) to average net assets(7) | (0.91 | )% | 0.07 | % | 1.07 | % | 1.28 | % | 0.67 | % | ||||||||||
Portfolio turnover rate | 165 | % | 138 | % | 149 | % | 136 | % | 219 | % |
(1) | Per share amounts calculated using the average shares method, which more appropriately presents the per share data for the year. |
(2) | Resulted in less than $0.01 per share. |
(3) | Total Return represents the rate that the investor would have earned or lost on an investment in the Fund, assuming reinvestment of dividends. Total returns shown exclude the effect of applicable sales loads/redemption fees. |
(4) | The ratios of expenses to average net assets do not reflect the Fund’s proportionate share of expenses of underlying investment companies in which the Fund invests. |
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(5) | Includes dividends from securities sold short and interest expense. Excluding dividends from securities sold short and interest expense, the ratio of gross expenses to average net assets would have been 1.86%, 1.87%, 2.39%, 2.04% and 2.65% for the years ended April 30, 2014, April 30, 2015, April 30, 2016, April 30, 2017 and April 30, 2018, respectively. |
(6) | Includes dividends from securities sold short and interest expense. Excluding dividends from securities sold short and interest expense, the ratio of net expenses to average net assets would have been 1.70% for the years ended April 30, 2014, April 30, 2015, April 30, 2016 and April 30, 2017 and 1.46% for the year ended April 30, 2018. |
(7) | Recognition of net investment income by the Fund is affected by the timing and declaration of dividends by the underlying investment companies in which the Fund invests. |
(8) | Includes adjustments in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America and, consequently, the net asset value for financial reporting purposes and the returns based upon those net asset values may differ from the net asset values and returns for shareholder transactions. |
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FACTS | WHAT DOES 360 FUNDS DO WITH YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION? | ||
Why? | Financial companies choose how they share your personal information. Federal law gives consumers the right to limit some but not all sharing. Federal law also requires us to tell you how we collect, share, and protect your personal information. Please read this notice carefully to understand what we do. | ||
What? |
The types of personal information we collect and share depend on the product or service you have with us. This information can include: ■ Social Security number
■ Assets
■ Retirement Assets
■ Transaction History
■ Checking Account Information
■ Purchase History
■ Account Balances
■ Account Transactions
■ Wire Transfer Instructions When you are no longer our customer, we continue to share your information as described in this notice.
| ||
How? | All financial companies need to share your personal information to run their everyday business. In the section below, we list the reasons financial companies can share their customers’ personal information; the reasons 360 Funds chooses to share; and whether you can limit this sharing. | ||
Reasons we can share your personal information | Does 360 Funds share? | Can you limit this sharing? | |
For our everyday business purposes –
Such as to process your transactions, maintain your account(s), respond to court orders and legal investigations, or report to credit bureaus
|
Yes | No | |
For our marketing purposes –
to offer our products and services to you
|
No | We don’t share | |
For joint marketing with other financial companies | No | We don’t share | |
For our affiliates’ everyday business purposes –
information about your transactions and experiences
|
No | We don’t share | |
For our affiliates’ everyday business purposes –
information about your creditworthiness
|
No | We don’t share | |
For nonaffiliates to market to you | No | We don’t share | |
Questions? | Call (877) 244-6235 |
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Who we are | ||
Who is providing this notice? |
360 Funds
M3Sixty Administration, LLC (Administrator)
Matrix 360 Distributors, LLC (Distributor)
| |
What we do | ||
How does 360 Funds
protect my personal information?
|
To protect your personal information from unauthorized access and use, we use security measures that comply with federal law. These measures include computer safeguards and secured files and buildings.
Our service providers are held accountable for adhering to strict policies and procedures to prevent any misuse of your nonpublic personal information.
| |
How does 360 Funds
collect my personal information?
|
We collect your personal information, for example, when you
■ Open an account
■ Provide account information
■ Give us your contact information
■ Make deposits or withdrawals from your account
■ Make a wire transfer
■ Tell us where to send the money
■ Tell us who receives the money
■ Show your government-issued ID
■ Show your driver’s license
We also collect your personal information from other companies.
| |
Why can’t I limit all sharing? |
Federal law gives you the right to limit only
■ Sharing for affiliates’ everyday business purposes – information about your creditworthiness
■ Affiliates from using your information to market to you
■ Sharing for nonaffiliates to market to you State laws and individual companies may give you additional rights to limit sharing.
| |
Definitions | ||
Affiliates |
Companies related by common ownership or control. They can be financial and nonfinancial companies.
■ M3Sixty Administration, LLC and Matrix 360 Distributors, LLC could each be deemed to be an affiliate.
| |
Nonaffiliates |
Companies not related by common ownership or control. They can be financial and nonfinancial companies
■ 360 Funds does not share with nonaffiliates so they can market to you.
| |
Joint marketing |
A formal agreement between nonaffiliated financial companies that together market financial products or services to you.
■ 360 Funds does not jointly market.
| |
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EAS Crow Point Alternatives Fund
Additional information about the Fund’s investments is available in the Fund’s annual and semi-annual reports to shareholders. In the Fund’s annual report, you will find a discussion of the market conditions and investment strategies that significantly affected the Fund’s performance during its last fiscal year. A statement of additional information (“SAI”) about the Fund has been filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”). The SAI (which is incorporated in its entirety by reference in this Prospectus) contains additional information about the Fund.
To request a free copy of the SAI, the Fund’s annual and semi-annual reports and other information about the Fund, or to make inquiries about the Fund, write the Fund at EAS Crow Point Alternatives Fund c/o M3Sixty Administration, LLC, 4300 Shawnee Mission Parkway, Suite 100, Fairway, Kansas 66205 or call the Fund at (877) 244-6235.
Information about the Fund (including the SAI) can be reviewed and copied at the SEC’s public reference room in Washington, D.C. Information about the operation of the public reference room may be obtained by calling the SEC at 1-202-551-8090. Reports and other information about Fund are available on the EDGAR Database on the SEC’s Internet site at http://www.sec.gov, and copies of this information may be obtained, after paying a duplicating fee, by electronic request at the following e-mail address: publicinfo@sec.gov, or by writing the writing the SEC’s Public Reference Section, Washington, D.C. 20549-1520.
Investment Company Act File Number: 811-21726
44 |
EAS Crow Point Alternatives Fund
Class A Shares (Ticker Symbol: EASAX)
Class C Shares (Ticker Symbol: EASYX)
Class I Shares (Ticker Symbol: EASIX)
4300 Shawnee Mission
Parkway
Suite 100
Fairway, Kansas 66205
series of the
360 Funds
STATEMENT OF ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
August 28, 2018
The EAS Crow Point Alternatives Fund is a series of 360 Funds, an open-end management investment company registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission as required by the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”). Pursuant to a reorganization that took place on October 13, 2017, the Fund is a successor by merger to a series of Northern Lights Fund Trust (the “Predecessor Fund”).
This Statement of Additional Information is not a prospectus, and it should be read in conjunction with the Fund’s prospectus dated August 28, 2018, as the same may be amended from time to time. This Statement of Additional Information incorporates by reference the Predecessor Fund’s Annual Report for the fiscal year ended April 30, 2018 (“Annual Report”). Copies of the Prospectus and Annual Report may be obtained, without charge, by calling the Fund at (877) 244-6235 or writing to the Fund at the following address: 4300 Shawnee Mission Parkway, Suite 100, Fairway, Kansas 66205.
EAS Crow Point Alternatives Fund
TABLE OF CONTENTS
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INVESTMENT OBJECTIVES, POLICIES AND RISKS
360 Funds (the “Trust”) was organized on February 25, 2005 as a Delaware statutory trust. The EAS Crow Point Alternatives Fund (the “Fund”) is an open-end management investment company and a separate diversified series of the Trust. Prior to July 11, 2011, the Trust was known as the Parr Family of Funds and prior to August 27, 2007, the Trust was known as the Pope Family of Funds. The Prospectus describes the Fund’s investment objective and principal investment strategy, as well as the principal investment risks of the Fund.
The Fund’s investment adviser is Crow Point Partners, LLC (the “Adviser”).
Pursuant to a reorganization that took place on October 13, 2017, the Fund is a successor by merger to a series of Northern Lights Fund Trust (the “Predecessor Fund”).
The following descriptions and policies supplement these descriptions and also include descriptions of certain types of investments that may be made by the Fund but are not principal investment strategies of the Fund.
General Investment Risks. All investments in securities and other financial instruments involve a risk of financial loss. No assurance can be given that the Fund’s investment program will be successful. Investors should carefully review the descriptions of the Fund’s investments and their risks described in the Prospectus and this SAI.
Equity Securities. Equity securities include common stocks, preferred stocks and securities convertible into common stocks, such as convertible bonds, warrants, rights and options. The value of equity securities varies in response to many factors, including the activities and financial condition of individual companies, the business market in which individual companies compete and general market and economic conditions. Equity securities fluctuate in value, often based on factors unrelated to the value of the issuer of the securities, and such fluctuations can be significant.
Common Stock. Common stock represents an equity (ownership) interest in a company, and usually possesses voting rights and earns dividends. Dividends on common stock are not fixed but are declared at the discretion of the issuer. Common stock generally represents the riskiest investment in a company. In addition, common stock generally has the greatest appreciation and depreciation potential because increases and decreases in earnings are usually reflected in a company’s stock price.
The Fund may invest in preferred stock. Preferred stock is a class of stock having a preference over common stock as to the payment of dividends and the recovery of investment should a company be liquidated, although preferred stock is usually junior to the debt securities of the issuer. Preferred stock typically does not possess voting rights and its market value may change based on changes in interest rates.
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The fundamental risk of investing in common and preferred stock is the risk that the value of the stock might decrease. Stock values fluctuate in response to the activities of an individual company or in response to general market and/or economic conditions. Historically, common stocks have provided greater long-term returns and have entailed greater short-term risks than preferred stocks, fixed-income securities and money market investments. The market value of all securities, including common and preferred stocks, is based upon the market’s perception of value and not necessarily the book value of an issuer or other objective measures of a company’s worth.
Convertible Securities. The Fund may invest in convertible securities including non-investment grade convertible securities. Convertible securities include fixed income securities that may be exchanged or converted into a predetermined number of shares of the issuer’s underlying common stock at the option of the holder during a specified period. Convertible securities may take the form of convertible preferred stock, convertible bonds or debentures, units consisting of “usable” bonds and warrants or a combination of the features of several of these securities. Convertible securities are senior to common stocks in an issuer’s capital structure, but are usually subordinated to similar non-convertible securities. While providing a fixed-income stream (generally higher in yield than the income derivable from common stock but lower than that afforded by a similar nonconvertible security), a convertible security also gives an investor the opportunity, through its conversion feature, to participate in the capital appreciation of the issuing company depending upon a market price advance in the convertible security’s underlying common stock.
Warrants. The Fund may invest in warrants. Warrants are options to purchase common stock at a specific price (usually at a premium above the market value of the optioned common stock at issuance) valid for a specific period of time. Warrants may have a life ranging from less than one year to twenty years, or they may be perpetual. However, most warrants have expiration dates after which they are worthless. In addition, a warrant may become worthless if the market price of the common stock does not exceed the warrant’s exercise price during the life of the warrant. Warrants have no voting rights, pay no dividends, and have no rights with respect to the assets of the corporation issuing them. The percentage increase or decrease in the market price of the warrant may tend to be greater than the percentage increase or decrease in the market price of the optioned common stock.
Fixed Income Securities. Yields on fixed income securities are dependent on a variety of factors, including the general conditions of the money market and other fixed income securities markets, the size of a particular offering, the maturity of the obligation and the rating of the issue. An investment in a Fund will be subjected to risk even if all fixed income securities in the Fund’s portfolio are paid in full at maturity. All fixed income securities, including U.S. Government securities, can change in value when there is a change in interest rates or the issuer’s actual or perceived creditworthiness or ability to meet its obligations.
There is normally an inverse relationship between the market value of securities sensitive to prevailing interest rates and actual changes in interest rates. In other words, an increase in interest rates produces a decrease in market value. The longer the remaining maturity (and duration) of a security, the greater will be the effect of interest rate changes on the market value of that security. Changes in the ability of an issuer to make payments of interest and principal and in the markets’ perception of an issuer’s creditworthiness will also affect the market value of the debt securities of that issuer. Obligations of issuers of fixed income securities (including municipal securities) are subject to the provisions of bankruptcy, insolvency, and other laws affecting the rights and remedies of creditors, such as the Federal Bankruptcy Reform Act of 1978. In addition, the obligations of municipal issuers may become subject to laws enacted in the future by Congress, state legislatures, or referenda extending the time for payment of principal and/or interest, or imposing other constraints upon enforcement of such obligations or upon the ability of municipalities to levy taxes. Changes in the ability of an issuer to make payments of interest and principal and in the market’s perception of an issuer’s creditworthiness will also affect the market value of the debt securities of that issuer. The possibility exists, therefore, that, the ability of any issuer to pay, when due, the principal of and interest on its debt securities may become impaired.
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The corporate debt securities in which a Fund may invest include corporate bonds and notes and short-term investments such as commercial paper and variable rate demand notes. Commercial paper (short-term promissory notes) is issued by companies to finance their or their affiliate’s current obligations and is frequently unsecured. Variable and floating rate demand notes are unsecured obligations redeemable upon not more than 30 days’ notice. These obligations include master demand notes that permit investment of fluctuating amounts at varying rates of interest pursuant to a direct arrangement with the issuer of the instrument. The issuer of these obligations often has the right, after a given period, to prepay the outstanding principal amount of the obligations upon a specified number of days’ notice. These obligations generally are not traded, nor generally is there an established secondary market for these obligations. To the extent a demand note does not have a 7-day or shorter demand feature and there is no readily available market for the obligation, it is treated as an illiquid security.
Foreign Securities General. The Fund may invest in exchange traded funds (“ETFs”) and other investment companies that hold a portfolio of foreign securities. Investing in securities of foreign companies and countries involves certain considerations and risks that are not typically associated with investing in U.S. government securities and securities of domestic companies. There may be less publicly available information about a foreign issuer than a domestic one, and foreign companies are not generally subject to uniform accounting, auditing and financial standards and requirements comparable to those applicable to U.S. companies. There may also be less government supervision and regulation of foreign securities exchanges, brokers and listed companies than exists in the United States. Interest and dividends paid by foreign issuers may be subject to withholding and other foreign taxes, which may decrease the net return on such investments as compared to dividends and interest paid to a Fund by domestic companies or the U.S. government. There may be the possibility of expropriations, seizure or nationalization of foreign deposits, confiscatory taxation, political, economic or social instability or diplomatic developments that could affect assets of a Fund held in foreign countries. Finally, the establishment of exchange controls or other foreign governmental laws or restrictions could adversely affect the payment of obligations.
To the extent the Fund’s currency exchange transactions do not fully protect the Fund against adverse changes in currency exchange rates, decreases in the value of currencies of the foreign countries in which the Fund will invest relative to the U.S. dollar will result in a corresponding decrease in the U.S. dollar value of the Fund’s assets denominated in those currencies (and possibly a corresponding increase in the amount of securities required to be liquidated to meet distribution requirements). Conversely, increases in the value of currencies of the foreign countries in which the Fund invests relative to the U.S. dollar will result in a corresponding increase in the U.S. dollar value of the Fund’s assets (and possibly a corresponding decrease in the amount of securities to be liquidated).
Emerging Markets Securities. The Fund may purchase ETFs and closed-end funds that invest in emerging market securities. Investing in emerging market securities imposes risks different from, or greater than, risks of investing in foreign developed countries. These risks include: smaller market capitalization of securities markets, which may suffer periods of relative illiquidity; significant price volatility; restrictions on foreign investment; possible repatriation of investment income and capital. In addition, foreign investors may be required to register the proceeds of sales; future economic or political crises could lead to price controls, forced mergers, expropriation or confiscatory taxation, seizure, nationalization, or creation of government monopolies. The currencies of emerging market countries may experience significant declines against the U.S. dollar, and devaluation may occur subsequent to investments in these currencies by a Fund. Inflation and rapid fluctuations in inflation rates have had, and may continue to have, negative effects on the economies and securities markets of certain emerging market countries.
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Additional risks of emerging markets securities may include: greater social, economic and political uncertainty and instability; more substantial governmental involvement in the economy; less governmental supervision and regulation; unavailability of currency hedging techniques; companies that are newly organized and small; differences in auditing and financial reporting standards, which may result in unavailability of material information about issuers; and less developed legal systems. In addition, emerging securities markets may have different clearance and settlement procedures, which may be unable to keep pace with the volume of securities transactions or otherwise make it difficult to engage in such transactions. Settlement problems may cause a Fund to miss attractive investment opportunities, hold a portion of its assets in cash pending investment, or be delayed in disposing of a portfolio security. Such a delay could result in possible liability to a purchaser of the security.
Depository Receipts. The Fund may invest in sponsored and unsponsored American Depository Receipts (“ADRs”), which are receipts issued by an American bank or trust company evidencing ownership of underlying securities issued by a foreign issuer. ADRs, in registered form, are designed for use in U.S. securities markets. Unsponsored ADRs may be created without the participation of the foreign issuer. Holders of these ADRs generally bear all the costs of the ADR facility, whereas foreign issuers typically bear certain costs in a sponsored ADR. The bank or trust company depository of an unsponsored ADR may be under no obligation to distribute shareholder communications received from the foreign issuer or to pass through voting rights. Many of the risks described above regarding foreign securities apply to investments in ADRs.
Debt Securities. The Fund may invest in debt securities, including non-investment grade debt securities. The following describes some of the risks associated with fixed income debt securities:
Interest Rate Risk. Debt securities have varying levels of sensitivity to changes in interest rates. In general, the price of a debt security can fall when interest rates rise and can rise when interest rates fall. Securities with longer maturities and mortgage securities can be more sensitive to interest rate changes although they usually offer higher yields to compensate investors for the greater risks. The longer the maturity of the security, the greater the impact a change in interest rates could have on the security’s price. In addition, short-term and long-term interest rates do not necessarily move in the same amount or the same direction. Short-term securities tend to react to changes in short-term interest rates and long-term securities tend to react to changes in long-term interest rates.
Credit Risk. Fixed income securities have speculative characteristics and changes in economic conditions or other circumstances are more likely to lead to a weakened capacity of issuers to make principal or interest payments, as compared to issuers of more highly rated securities.
Extension Risk. The Fund is subject to the risk that an issuer will exercise its right to pay principal on an obligation held by a Fund (such as mortgage-backed securities) later than expected. This may happen when there is a rise in interest rates. These events may lengthen the duration (i.e. interest rate sensitivity) and potentially reduce the value of these securities.
Prepayment Risk. Certain types of debt securities, such as mortgage-backed securities, have yield and maturity characteristics corresponding to underlying assets. Unlike traditional debt securities, which may pay a fixed rate of interest until maturity when the entire principal amount comes due, payments on certain mortgage-backed securities may include both interest and a partial payment of principal. Besides the scheduled repayment of principal, payments of principal may result from the voluntary prepayment, refinancing, or foreclosure of the underlying mortgage loans.
6
Securities subject to prepayment are less effective than other types of securities as a means of “locking in” attractive long-term interest rates. One reason is the need to reinvest prepayments of principal; another is the possibility of significant unscheduled prepayments resulting from declines in interest rates. These prepayments would have to be reinvested at lower rates. As a result, these securities may have less potential for capital appreciation during periods of declining interest rates than other securities of comparable maturities, although they may have a similar risk of decline in market value during periods of rising interest rates. Prepayments may also significantly shorten the effective maturities of these securities, especially during periods of declining interest rates. Conversely, during periods of rising interest rates, a reduction in prepayments may increase the effective maturities of these securities, subjecting them to a greater risk of decline in market value in response to rising interest rates than traditional debt securities, and, therefore, potentially increasing the volatility of a Fund.
At times, some of the mortgage-backed securities in which the Fund may invest will have higher than market interest rates and therefore will be purchased at a premium above their par value. Prepayments may cause losses in securities purchased at a premium, as unscheduled prepayments, which are made at par, will cause a Fund to experience a loss equal to any unamortized premium.
Certificates of Deposit and Bankers’ Acceptances. The Fund may invest in certificates of deposit and bankers’ acceptances, which are considered to be short-term money market instruments.
Certificates of deposit are receipts issued by a depository institution in exchange for the deposit of funds. The issuer agrees to pay the amount deposited plus interest to the bearer of the receipt on the date specified on the certificate. The certificate usually can be traded in the secondary market prior to maturity. Bankers’ acceptances typically arise from short-term credit arrangements designed to enable businesses to obtain funds to finance commercial transactions. Generally, an acceptance is a time draft drawn on a bank by an exporter or an importer to obtain a stated amount of funds to pay for specific merchandise. The draft is then “accepted” by a bank that, in effect, unconditionally guarantees to pay the face value of the instrument on its maturity date. The acceptance may then be held by the accepting bank as an earning asset or it may be sold in the secondary market at the going rate of discount for a specific maturity. Although maturities for acceptances can be as long as 270 days, most acceptances have maturities of six months or less.
Commercial Paper. The Fund may purchase commercial paper. Commercial paper consists of short-term (usually from 1 to 270 days) unsecured promissory notes issued by corporations in order to finance their current operations.
Time Deposits and Variable Rate Notes. The Fund may invest in fixed time deposits, whether or not subject to withdrawal penalties.
The commercial paper obligations, which a Fund may buy are unsecured and may include variable rate notes. The nature and terms of a variable rate note (i.e., a “Master Note”) permit a Fund to invest fluctuating amounts at varying rates of interest pursuant to a direct arrangement between a Fund as Lender, and the issuer, as borrower. It permits daily changes in the amounts borrowed. The Fund has the right at any time to increase, up to the full amount stated in the note agreement, or to decrease the amount outstanding under the note. The issuer may prepay at any time and without penalty any part of or the full amount of the note. The note may or may not be backed by one or more bank letters of credit. Because these notes are direct lending arrangements between a Fund and the issuer, it is not generally contemplated that they will be traded; moreover, there is currently no secondary market for them. Except as specifically provided in the Prospectus, there is no limitation on the type of issuer from whom these notes may be purchased; however, in connection with such purchase and on an ongoing basis, the Fund’s advisor will consider the earning power, cash flow and other liquidity ratios of the issuer, and its ability to pay principal and interest on demand, including a situation in which all holders of such notes made demand simultaneously. Variable rate notes are subject to the Fund’s investment restriction on illiquid securities unless such notes can be put back to the issuer on demand within seven days.
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Insured Bank Obligations. The Fund may invest in insured bank obligations. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (“FDIC”) insures the deposits of federally insured banks and savings and loan associations (collectively referred to as “banks”) up to $250,000. The Fund may purchase bank obligations that are fully insured as to principal by the FDIC. Currently, to remain fully insured as to principal, these investments must be limited to $250,000 per bank; if the principal amount and accrued interest together exceed $250,000, the excess principal and accrued interest will not be insured. Insured bank obligations may have limited marketability.
United States Government Obligations. These consist of various types of marketable securities issued by the United States Treasury, i.e., bills, notes and bonds. Such securities are direct obligations of the United States government and differ mainly in the length of their maturity. Treasury bills, the most frequently issued marketable government security, have a maturity of up to one year and are issued on a discount basis. The Fund may also invest in Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities (TIPS). TIPS are special types of treasury bonds that were created in order to offer bond investors protection from inflation. The values of the TIPS are automatically adjusted to the inflation rate as measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI). If the CPI goes up by half a percent, the value of the bond (the TIPS) would also go up by half a percent. If the CPI falls, the value of the bond does not fall because the government guarantees that the original investment will stay the same. TIPS decline in value when real interest rates rise. However, in certain interest rate environments, such as when real interest rates are rising faster than nominal interest rates, TIPS may experience greater losses than other fixed income securities with similar duration.
United States Government Agency. These consist of debt securities issued by agencies and instrumentalities of the United States government, including the various types of instruments currently outstanding or which may be offered in the future. Agencies include, among others, the Federal Housing Administration, Government National Mortgage Association (“Ginnie Mae”), Farmer’s Home Administration, Export-Import Bank of the United States, Maritime Administration, and General Services Administration. Instrumentalities include, for example, each of the Federal Home Loan Banks, the National Bank for Cooperatives, the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (“Freddie Mac”), the Farm Credit Banks, the Federal National Mortgage Association (“Fannie Mae”), and the United States Postal Service. These securities are either: (i) backed by the full faith and credit of the United States government (e.g., United States Treasury Bills); (ii) guaranteed by the United States Treasury (e.g., Ginnie Mae mortgage-backed securities); (iii) supported by the issuing agency’s or instrumentality’s right to borrow from the United States Treasury (e.g., Fannie Mae Discount Notes); or (iv) supported only by the issuing agency’s or instrumentality’s own credit (e.g., Tennessee Valley Authority).
Government-related guarantors (i.e. not backed by the full faith and credit of the United States Government) include Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Fannie Mae is a government-sponsored enterprise owned entirely by private stockholders. It is subject to general regulation by the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development. Fannie Mae purchases conventional (i.e., not insured or guaranteed by any government agency) residential mortgages from a list of approved seller/servicers which include state and federally chartered savings and loan associations, mutual savings banks, commercial banks and credit unions and mortgage bankers. Pass-through securities issued by Fannie Mae are guaranteed as to timely payment of principal and interest by Fannie Mae but are not backed by the full faith and credit of the United States Government.
8
Freddie Mac was created by Congress in 1970 for the purpose of increasing the availability of mortgage credit for residential housing. It is a government-sponsored corporation formerly owned by the twelve Federal Home Loan Banks and now owned entirely by private stockholders. Freddie Mac issues Participation Certificates (“PCs”), which represent interests in conventional mortgages from Freddie Mac’s national portfolio. Freddie Mac guarantees the timely payment of interest and ultimate collection of principal, but PCs are not backed by the full faith and credit of the United States Government. Commercial banks, savings and loan institutions, private mortgage insurance companies, mortgage bankers and other secondary market issuers also create pass-through pools of conventional residential mortgage loans. Such issuers may, in addition, be the originators and/or servicers of the underlying mortgage loans as well as the guarantors of the mortgage-related securities. Pools created by such nongovernmental issuers generally offer a higher rate of interest than government and government-related pools because there are no direct or indirect government or agency guarantees of payments in the former pools. However, timely payment of interest and principal of these pools may be supported by various forms of insurance or guarantees, including individual loan, title, pool and hazard insurance and letters of credit. The insurance and guarantees are issued by governmental entities, private insurers and the mortgage poolers.
On September 7, 2008, the U.S. Treasury Department and the Federal Housing Finance Authority (the “FHFA”) announced that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac had been placed into conservatorship, a statutory process designed to stabilize a troubled institution with the objective of returning the entity to normal business operations. The U.S. Treasury Department and the FHFA at the same time established a secured lending facility and a Secured Stock Purchase Agreement with both Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to ensure that each entity had the ability to fulfill its financial obligations. The FHFA announced that it does not anticipate any disruption in pattern of payments or ongoing business operations of Fannie Mar or Freddie Mac.
Mortgage Pass-Through Securities. Interests in pools of mortgage pass-through securities differ from other forms of debt securities (which normally provide periodic payments of interest in fixed amounts and the payment of principal in a lump sum at maturity or on specified call dates). Instead, mortgage pass-through securities provide monthly payments consisting of both interest and principal payments. In effect, these payments are a “pass-through” of the monthly payments made by the individual borrowers on the underlying residential mortgage loans, net of any fees paid to the issuer or guarantor of such securities. Unscheduled payments of principal may be made if the underlying mortgage loans are repaid or refinanced or the underlying properties are foreclosed, thereby shortening the securities’ weighted average life. Some mortgage pass-through securities (such as securities guaranteed by Ginnie Mae) are described as “modified pass-through securities.” These securities entitle the holder to receive all interest and principal payments owed on the mortgage pool, net of certain fees, on the scheduled payment dates regardless of whether the mortgagor actually makes the payment.
The principal governmental guarantor of mortgage pass-through securities is Ginnie Mae. Ginnie Mae is authorized to guarantee, with the full faith and credit of the U.S. Treasury, the timely payment of principal and interest on securities issued by lending institutions approved by Ginnie Mae (such as savings and loan institutions, commercial banks and mortgage bankers) and backed by pools of mortgage loans. These mortgage loans are either insured by the Federal Housing Administration or guaranteed by the Veterans Administration. A “pool” or group of such mortgage loans is assembled and after being approved by Ginnie Mae, is offered to investors through securities dealers.
9
Government-related guarantors of mortgage pass-through securities (i.e., not backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. Treasury) include Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Fannie Mae is a government-sponsored enterprise owned entirely by private stockholders. It is subject to general regulation by the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development. Fannie Mae purchases conventional (i.e., not insured or guaranteed by any government agency) residential mortgages from a list of approved sellers/servicers which include state and federally chartered savings and loan associations, mutual savings banks, commercial banks and credit unions and mortgage bankers. Mortgage pass-through securities issued by Fannie Mae are guaranteed as to timely payment of principal and interest by Fannie Mae but are not backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. Treasury.
Commercial banks, savings and loan institutions, private mortgage insurance companies, mortgage bankers and other secondary market issuers also create pass-through pools of conventional residential mortgage loans. Such issuers may, in addition, be the originators and/or servicers of the underlying mortgage loans as well as the guarantors of the mortgage pass-through securities. The Fund does not purchase interests in pools created by such non-governmental issuers.
Resets. The interest rates paid on the Adjustable Rate Mortgage Securities (“ARMs”) in which a Fund may invest generally are readjusted or reset at intervals of one year or less to an increment over some predetermined interest rate index. There are two main categories of indices: those based on U.S. Treasury securities and those derived from a calculated measure, such as a cost of funds index or a moving average of mortgage rates. Commonly utilized indices include the one-year and five-year constant maturity Treasury Note rates, the three-month Treasury Bill rate, the 180-day Treasury Bill rate, rates on longer-term Treasury securities, the National Median Cost of Funds, the one-month or three-month London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR), the prime rate of a specific bank, or commercial paper rates. Some indices, such as the one-year constant maturity Treasury Note rate, closely mirror changes in market interest rate levels. Others tend to lag changes in market rate levels and tend to be somewhat less volatile.
Caps and Floors. The underlying mortgages which collateralize the ARMs in which a Fund invests will frequently have caps and floors which limit the maximum amount by which the loan rate to the residential borrower may change up or down: (1) per reset or adjustment interval, and (2) over the life of the loan. Some residential mortgage loans restrict periodic adjustments by limiting changes in the borrower’s monthly principal and interest payments rather than limiting interest rate changes. These payment caps may result in negative amortization. The value of mortgage securities in which the Fund invests may be affected if market interest rates rise or fall faster and farther than the allowable caps or floors on the underlying residential mortgage loans. Additionally, even though the interest rates on the underlying residential mortgages are adjustable, amortization and prepayments may occur, thereby causing the effective maturities of the mortgage securities in which the Fund invests to be shorter than the maturities stated in the underlying mortgages.
High Yield Securities. The Fund may invest in high yield securities. High yield, high risk bonds are securities that are generally rated below investment grade by the primary rating agencies (BB+ or lower by S&P and Ba1 or lower by Moody’s). Other terms used to describe such securities include “lower rated bonds,” “non-investment grade bonds,” “below investment grade bonds,” and “junk bonds.” These securities are considered to be high-risk investments. The risks include the following:
Greater Risk of Loss. These securities are regarded as predominately speculative. There is a greater risk that issuers of lower rated securities will default than issuers of higher rated securities. Issuers of lower rated securities generally are less creditworthy and may be highly indebted, financially distressed, or bankrupt. These issuers are more vulnerable to real or perceived economic changes, political changes or adverse industry developments. In addition, high yield securities are frequently subordinated to the prior payment of senior indebtedness. If an issuer fails to pay principal or interest, the Fund would experience a decrease in income and a decline in the market value of its investments.
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Sensitivity to Interest Rate and Economic Changes. The income and market value of lower rated securities may fluctuate more than higher rated securities. Although non-investment grade securities tend to be less sensitive to interest rate changes than investment grade securities, non-investment grade securities are more sensitive to short-term corporate, economic and market developments. During periods of economic uncertainty and change, the market price of the investments in lower rated securities may be volatile. The default rate for high yield bonds tends to be cyclical, with defaults rising in periods of economic downturn. For example, in 2000, 2001 and 2002, the default rate for high yield securities was significantly higher than in the prior or subsequent years.
Valuation Difficulties. It is often more difficult to value lower rated securities than higher rated securities. If an issuer’s financial condition deteriorates, accurate financial and business information may be limited or unavailable. In addition, the lower rated investments may be thinly traded and there may be no established secondary market. Because of the lack of market pricing and current information for investments in lower rated securities, valuation of such investments is much more dependent on judgment than is the case with higher rated securities.
Liquidity. There may be no established secondary or public market for investments in lower rated securities. Such securities are frequently traded in markets that may be relatively less liquid than the market for higher rated securities. In addition, relatively few institutional purchasers may hold a major portion of an issue of lower rated securities at times. As a result, the Fund may be required to sell investments at substantial losses or retain them indefinitely when an issuer’s financial condition is deteriorating.
Credit Quality. Credit quality of non-investment grade securities can change suddenly and unexpectedly, and even recently-issued credit ratings may not fully reflect the actual risks posed by a particular high-yield security.
New Legislation. Future legislation may have a possible negative impact on the market for high yield, high risk bonds. As an example, in the late 1980’s, legislation required federally-insured savings and loan associations to divest their investments in high yield, high risk bonds. New legislation, if enacted, could have a material negative effect on the Fund’s investments in lower rated securities.
High yield, high risk investments may include the following:
Straight fixed-income debt securities. These include bonds and other debt obligations that bear a fixed or variable rate of interest payable at regular intervals and have a fixed or resettable maturity date. The particular terms of such securities vary and may include features such as call provisions and sinking funds.
Zero-coupon debt securities. These bear no interest obligation but are issued at a discount from their value at maturity. When held to maturity, their entire return equals the difference between their issue price and their maturity value.
Zero-fixed-coupon debt securities. These are zero-coupon debt securities that convert on a specified date to interest-bearing debt securities.
Pay-in-kind bonds. These are bonds which allow the issuer, at its option, to make current interest payments on the bonds either in cash or in additional bonds. These are bonds sold without registration under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (“1933 Act”), usually to a relatively small number of institutional investors.
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Convertible Securities. These are bonds or preferred stock that may be converted to common stock.
Preferred Stock. These are stocks that generally pay a dividend at a specified rate and have preference over common stock in the payment of dividends and in liquidation.
Loan Participations and Assignments. These are participations in, or assignments of all or a portion of loans to corporations or to governments, including governments of less developed countries (“LDCs”).
Securities issued in connection with Reorganizations and Corporate Restructurings. In connection with reorganizing or restructuring of an issuer, an issuer may issue common stock or other securities to holders of its debt securities. The Fund may hold such common stock and other securities even if it does not invest in such securities.
Investment Companies. The Fund may invest in investment companies such as open-end funds (mutual funds), including exchange traded funds (“ETFs”) and closed-end funds (also referred to as “Underlying Funds”). The 1940 Act provides that the mutual funds may not: (1) purchase more than 3% of an investment company’s outstanding shares; (2) invest more than 5% of its assets in any single such investment company (the “5% Limit”), and (3) invest more than 10% of its assets in investment companies overall (the “10% Limit”), unless: (i) the underlying investment company and/or the Fund has received an order for exemptive relief from such limitations from the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”); and (ii) the underlying investment company and the Fund take appropriate steps to comply with any conditions in such order.
In addition, Section 12(d)(1)(F) of the 1940 Act provides that the provisions of paragraph 12(d)(1) shall not apply to securities purchased or otherwise acquired by the Fund if (i) immediately after such purchase or acquisition not more than 3% of the total outstanding stock of such registered investment company is owned by the Fund and all affiliated persons of the Fund; and (ii) the Fund have not, and are not proposing to offer or sell any security issued by them through a principal underwriter or otherwise at a public or offering price which includes a sales load of more than 1½% percent. An investment company that issues shares to the Fund pursuant to paragraph 12(d)(1)(F) shall not be required to redeem their shares in an amount exceeding 1% of such investment company’s total outstanding shares in any period of less than thirty days. The Fund (or the Adviser acting on behalf of the Fund) must comply with the following voting restrictions: when the Fund exercise voting rights, by proxy or otherwise, with respect to investment companies owned by the Fund, the Fund will either seek instruction from the Fund’s shareholders with regard to the voting of all proxies and vote in accordance with such instructions, or vote the shares held by the Fund in the same proportion as the vote of all other holders of such security.
Further, the Fund may rely on Rule 12d1-3, which allows unaffiliated mutual funds to exceed the 5% Limitation and the 10% Limitation, provided the aggregate sales loads any investor pays (i.e., the combined distribution expenses of both the acquiring Funds and the acquired funds) does not exceed the limits on sales loads established by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc. (“FINRA”) for funds of funds.
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The Fund and any “affiliated persons,” as defined by the 1940 Act, may purchase in the aggregate only up to 3% of the total outstanding securities of any Underlying Fund. Accordingly, when affiliated persons hold shares of any of the Underlying Funds, the Fund’s ability to invest fully in shares of those funds is restricted, and the Advisor must then, in some instances, select alternative investments that would not have been its first preference. The 1940 Act also provides that an Underlying Fund whose shares are purchased by the Fund will be obligated to redeem shares held by the Fund only in an amount up to 1% of the Underlying Fund’s outstanding securities during any period of less than 30 days. Shares held by the Fund in excess of 1% of an Underlying Fund’s outstanding securities therefore, will be considered not readily marketable securities, which, together with other such securities, may not exceed 15% of the Fund’s total assets.
Under certain circumstances an Underlying Fund may determine to make payment of a redemption by the Fund wholly or partly by a distribution in kind of securities from its portfolio, in lieu of cash, in conformity with the rules of the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”). In such cases, the Fund may hold securities distributed by an Underlying Fund until the Advisor determines that it is appropriate to dispose of such securities.
Investment decisions by the investment advisors of the Underlying Funds are made independently of the Fund and its Advisor. Therefore, the investment advisor of one Underlying Fund may be purchasing shares of the same issuer whose shares are being sold by the investment advisor of another such fund. The result would be an indirect expense to the Fund without accomplishing any investment purpose. Because other investment companies employ an investment adviser, such investments by the Fund may cause shareholders to bear duplicate fees.
Closed-End Investment Companies. The Fund may invest their assets in “closed-end” investment companies (or “closed-end funds”), subject to the investment restrictions set forth above. Shares of closed-end funds are typically offered to the public in a one-time initial public offering by a group of underwriters who retain a spread or underwriting commission of between 4% and 6% of the initial public offering price. Such securities are then listed for trading on the New York Stock Exchange, the National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotation System (commonly known as “NASDAQ”) and, in some cases, may be traded in other over-the-counter markets. Because the shares of closed-end funds cannot be redeemed upon demand to the issuer like the shares of an open-end investment company (such as the Fund), investors seek to buy and sell shares of closed-end funds in the secondary market.
The Fund generally will purchase shares of closed-end funds only in the secondary market. The Fund will incur normal brokerage costs on such purchases similar to the expenses the Fund would incur for the purchase of securities of any other type of issuer in the secondary market. The Fund may, however, also purchase securities of a closed-end fund in an initial public offering when, in the opinion of the Advisor, based on a consideration of the nature of the closed-end fund’s proposed investments, the prevailing market conditions and the level of demand for such securities, they represent an attractive opportunity for growth of capital. The initial offering price typically will include a dealer spread, which may be higher than the applicable brokerage cost if the Fund purchased such securities in the secondary market.
The shares of many closed-end funds, after their initial public offering, frequently trade at a price per share that is less than the net asset value per share, the difference representing the “market discount” of such shares. This market discount may be due in part to the investment objective of long-term appreciation, which is sought by many closed-end funds, as well as to the fact that the shares of closed-end funds are not redeemable by the holder upon demand to the issuer at the next determined net asset value but rather are subject to the principle of supply and demand in the secondary market. A relative lack of secondary market purchasers of closed-end fund shares also may contribute to such shares trading at a discount to their net asset value.
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The Fund may invest in shares of closed-end funds that are trading at a discount to net asset value or at a premium to net asset value. There can be no assurance that the market discount on shares of any closed-end fund purchased by the Fund will ever decrease. In fact, it is possible that this market discount may increase and the Fund may suffer realized or unrealized capital losses due to further decline in the market price of the securities of such closed-end funds, thereby adversely affecting the net asset value of the Fund’s shares. Similarly, there can be no assurance that any shares of a closed-end fund purchased by the Fund at a premium will continue to trade at a premium or that the premium will not decrease subsequent to a purchase of such shares by the Fund.
Closed-end funds may issue senior securities (including preferred stock and debt obligations) for the purpose of leveraging the closed-end fund’s common shares in an attempt to enhance the current return to such closed-end fund’s common shareholders. The Fund’s investment in the common shares of closed-end funds that are financially leveraged may create an opportunity for greater total return on its investment, but at the same time may be expected to exhibit more volatility in market price and net asset value than an investment in shares of investment companies without a leveraged capital structure.
Exchange Traded Funds. ETFs are passive funds that track their related index and have the flexibility of trading like a security. They are managed by professionals and provide the investor with diversification, cost and tax efficiency, liquidity, marginability, are useful for hedging, have the ability to go long and short, and some provide quarterly dividends. Additionally, some ETFs are unit investment trusts (UITs), which are unmanaged portfolios overseen by trustees. ETFs generally have two markets. The primary market is where institutions swap “creation units” in block-multiples of 50,000 shares for in-kind securities and cash in the form of dividends. The secondary market is where individual investors can trade as little as a single share during trading hours on the exchange. This is different from open-ended mutual funds that are traded after hours once the net asset value (NAV) is calculated. ETFs share many similar risks with open-end and closed-end funds.
There is a risk that ETFs in which the Fund invest may terminate due to extraordinary events that may cause any of the service providers to the ETFs, such as the trustee or sponsor, to close or otherwise fail to perform their obligations to the ETF. Also, because the ETFs in which the Fund intends to principally invest may be granted licenses by agreement to use the indices as a basis for determining their compositions and/or otherwise to use certain trade names, the ETFs may terminate if such license agreements are terminated. In addition, an ETF may terminate if its entire net asset value falls below a certain amount. Although the Fund believe that, in the event of the termination of an underlying ETF, it will be able to invest instead in shares of an alternate ETF tracking the same market index or another market index with the same general market, there is no guarantee that shares of an alternate ETF would be available for investment at that time. To the extent the Fund invest in a sector product, the Fund are subject to the risks associated with that sector.
REITs. The Fund may invest in securities of real estate investment trusts (“REITs”). REITs are publicly traded corporations or trusts that specialize in acquiring, holding and managing residential, commercial or industrial real estate. A REIT is not taxed at the entity level on income distributed to its shareholders or unitholders if it distributes to shareholders or unitholders at least 95% of its taxable income for each taxable year and complies with regulatory requirements relating to its organization, ownership, assets and income.
REITs generally can be classified as “Equity REITs”, “Mortgage REITs” and “Hybrid REITs.” An Equity REIT invests the majority of its assets directly in real property and derives its income primarily from rents and from capital gains on real estate appreciation, which are realized through property sales. A Mortgage REIT invests the majority of its assets in real estate mortgage loans and services its income primarily from interest payments. A Hybrid REIT combines the characteristics of an Equity REIT and a Mortgage REIT. Although the Fund can invest in all three kinds of REITs, its emphasis is expected to be on investments in Equity REITs.
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Investments in the real estate industry involve particular risks. The real estate industry has been subject to substantial fluctuations and declines on a local, regional and national basis in the past and may continue to be in the future. Real property values and income from real property may decline due to general and local economic conditions, overbuilding and increased competition, increases in property taxes and operating expenses, changes in zoning laws, casualty or condemnation losses, regulatory limitations on rents, changes in neighborhoods and in demographics, increases in market interest rates, or other factors. Factors such as these may adversely affect companies that own and operate real estate directly, companies that lend to such companies, and companies that service the real estate industry.
Investments in REITs also involve risks. Equity REITs will be affected by changes in the values of and income from the properties they own, while Mortgage REITs may be affected by the credit quality of the mortgage loans they hold. In addition, REITs are dependent on specialized management skills and on their ability to generate cash flow for operating purposes and to make distributions to shareholders or unitholders REITs may have limited diversification and are subject to risks associated with obtaining financing for real property, as well as to the risk of self-liquidation. REITs also can be adversely affected by their failure to qualify for tax-free pass-through treatment of their income under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, or their failure to maintain an exemption from registration under the 1940 Act. By investing in REITs indirectly through the Fund, a shareholder bears not only a proportionate share of the expenses of the Fund, but also may indirectly bear similar expenses of some of the REITs in which it invests.
Securities Options. The Fund may purchase and write (i.e., sell) put and call options. Such options may relate to particular securities or stock indices, and may or may not be listed on a domestic or foreign securities exchange and may or may not be issued by the Options Clearing Corporation. Options trading is a highly specialized activity that entails greater than ordinary investment risk. Options may be more volatile than the underlying instruments, and therefore, on a percentage basis, an investment in options may be subject to greater fluctuation than an investment in the underlying instruments themselves.
A call option for a particular security gives the purchaser of the option the right to buy, and the writer (seller) the obligation to sell, the underlying security at the stated exercise price at any time prior to the expiration of the option, regardless of the market price of the security. The premium paid to the writer is in consideration for undertaking the obligation under the option contract. A put option for a particular security gives the purchaser the right to sell the security at the stated exercise price at any time prior to the expiration date of the option, regardless of the market price of the security.
Stock index options are put options and call options on various stock indices. In most respects, they are identical to listed options on common stocks. The primary difference between stock options and index options occurs when index options are exercised. In the case of stock options, the underlying security, common stock, is delivered. However, upon the exercise of an index option, settlement does not occur by delivery of the securities comprising the index. The option holder who exercises the index option receives an amount of cash if the closing level of the stock index upon which the option is based is greater than, in the case of a call, or less than, in the case of a put, the exercise price of the option. This amount of cash is equal to the difference between the closing price of the stock index and the exercise price of the option expressed in dollars times a specified multiple. A stock index fluctuates with changes in the market value of the stocks included in the index. For example, some stock index options are based on a broad market index, such as the Standard & Poor’s 500® Index or the Value Line Composite Index or a narrower market index, such as the Standard & Poor’s 100®. Indices may also be based on an industry or market segment, such as the NYSE Arca Oil and Gas Index or the Computer and Business Equipment Index. Options on stock indices are currently traded on the Chicago Board Options Exchange, the New York Stock Exchange and the NASDAQ PHLX.
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The Fund’s obligation to sell an instrument subject to a call option written by it, or to purchase an instrument subject to a put option written by it, may be terminated prior to the expiration date of the option by the Fund’s execution of a closing purchase transaction, which is affected by purchasing on an exchange an option of the same series (i.e., same underlying instrument, exercise price and expiration date) as the option previously written. A closing purchase transaction will ordinarily be affected to realize a profit on an outstanding option, to prevent an underlying instrument from being called, to permit the sale of the underlying instrument or to permit the writing of a new option containing different terms on such underlying instrument. The cost of such a liquidation purchase plus transactions costs may be greater than the premium received upon the original option, in which event the Fund will have incurred a loss in the transaction. There is no assurance that a liquid secondary market will exist for any particular option. An option writer unable to effect a closing purchase transaction will not be able to sell the underlying instrument or liquidate the assets held in a segregated account, as described below, until the option expires or the optioned instrument is delivered upon exercise. In such circumstances, the writer will be subject to the risk of market decline or appreciation in the instrument during such period.
If an option purchased by the Fund expires unexercised, that Fund realize a loss equal to the premium paid. If the Fund enter into a closing sale transaction on an option purchased by it, the Fund will realize a gain if the premium received by the Fund on the closing transaction is more than the premium paid to purchase the option or a loss if it is less. If an option written by the Fund expires on the stipulated expiration date or if the Fund enter into a closing purchase transaction, it will realize a gain (or loss if the cost of a closing purchase transaction exceeds the net premium received when the option is sold). If an option written by the Fund is exercised, the proceeds of the sale will be increased by the net premium originally received and the Fund will realize a gain or loss.
Certain Risks Regarding Options. There are several risks associated with transactions in options. For example, there are significant differences between the securities and options markets that could result in an imperfect correlation between these markets, causing a given transaction not to achieve its objectives. In addition, a liquid secondary market for particular options, whether traded over-the-counter or on an exchange, may be absent for reasons which include the following: there may be insufficient trading interest in certain options; restrictions may be imposed by an exchange on opening transactions or closing transactions or both; trading halts, suspensions or other restrictions may be imposed with respect to particular classes or series of options or underlying securities or currencies; unusual or unforeseen circumstances may interrupt normal operations on an exchange; the facilities of an exchange or the Options Clearing Corporation may not at all times be adequate to handle current trading volume; or one or more exchanges could, for economic or other reasons, decide or be compelled at some future date to discontinue the trading of options (or a particular class or series of options), in which event the secondary market on that exchange (or in that class or series of options) would cease to exist, although outstanding options that had been issued by the Options Clearing Corporation as a result of trades on that exchange would continue to be exercisable in accordance with their terms.
Successful use by the Fund of options on stock indices will be subject to the ability of the advisor to correctly predict movements in the directions of the stock market. This requires different skills and techniques than predicting changes in the prices of individual securities. In addition, the Fund’s ability to effectively hedge all or a portion of the securities in its portfolio, in anticipation of or during a market decline, through transactions in put options on stock indices, depends on the degree to which price movements in the underlying index correlate with the price movements of the securities held by the Fund. Inasmuch as the Fund’s securities will not duplicate the components of an index, the correlation will not be perfect. Consequently, the Fund bear the risk that the prices of its securities being hedged will not move in the same amount as the prices of its put options on the stock indices. It is also possible that there may be a negative correlation between the index and the Fund’s securities that would result in a loss on both such securities and the options on stock indices acquired by the Fund.
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The hours of trading for options may not conform to the hours during which the underlying securities are traded. To the extent that the options markets close before the markets for the underlying securities, significant price and rate movements can take place in the underlying markets that cannot be reflected in the options markets. The purchase of options is a highly specialized activity that involves investment techniques and risks different from those associated with ordinary portfolio securities transactions. The purchase of stock index options involves the risk that the premium and transaction costs paid by the Fund in purchasing an option will be lost as a result of unanticipated movements in prices of the securities comprising the stock index on which the option is based.
There is no assurance that a liquid secondary market on an options exchange will exist for any particular option, or at any particular time, and for some options no secondary market on an exchange or elsewhere may exist. If the Fund are unable to close out a call option on securities that it has written before the option is exercised, the Fund may be required to purchase the optioned securities in order to satisfy its obligation under the option to deliver such securities. If the Fund were unable to effect a closing sale transaction with respect to options on securities that it has purchased, it would have to exercise the option in order to realize any profit and would incur transaction costs upon the purchase and sale of the underlying securities.
Cover for Options Positions. Transactions using options (other than options that the Fund has purchased) expose the Fund to an obligation to another party. The Fund will not enter into any such transactions unless it owns either (i) an offsetting (“covered”) position in securities or other options or (ii) cash or liquid securities with a value sufficient at all times to cover its potential obligations not covered as provided in (i) above. The Fund will comply with SEC guidelines regarding cover for these instruments and, if the guidelines so require, set aside cash or liquid securities in a segregated account with the Custodian in the prescribed amount. Under current SEC guidelines, the Fund will segregate assets to cover transactions in which the Fund write or sells options.
Assets used as cover or held in a segregated account cannot be sold while the position in the corresponding option is open, unless they are replaced with similar assets. As a result, the commitment of a large portion of the Fund’s assets to cover segregated accounts could impede portfolio management or the Fund’s ability to meet redemption requests or other current obligations.
Options on Futures Contracts. The Fund may purchase and sell options on the same types of futures in which it may invest. Options on futures are similar to options on underlying instruments except that options on futures give the purchaser the right, in return for the premium paid, to assume a position in a futures contract (a long position if the option is a call and a short position if the option is a put), rather than to purchase or sell the futures contract, at a specified exercise price at any time during the period of the option. Upon exercise of the option, the delivery of the futures position by the writer of the option to the holder of the option will be accompanied by the delivery of the accumulated balance in the writer’s futures margin account which represents the amount by which the market price of the futures contract, at exercise, exceeds (in the case of a call) or is less than (in the case of a put) the exercise price of the option on the futures contract. Purchasers of options who fail to exercise their options prior to the exercise date suffer a loss of the premium paid.
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Dealer Options. The Fund may engage in transactions involving dealer options as well as exchange-traded options. Certain additional risks are specific to dealer options. While the Fund might look to a clearing corporation to exercise exchange-traded options, if the Fund were to purchase a dealer option it would need to rely on the dealer from which it purchased the option to perform if the option were exercised. Failure by the dealer to do so would result in the loss of the premium paid by the Fund as well as loss of the expected benefit of the transaction.
Exchange-traded options generally have a continuous liquid market while dealer options may not. Consequently, the Fund may generally be able to realize the value of a dealer option it has purchased only by exercising or reselling the option to the dealer who issued it. Similarly, when the Fund write a dealer option, the Fund may generally be able to close out the option prior to its expiration only by entering into a closing purchase transaction with the dealer to whom the Fund originally wrote the option. While the Fund will seek to enter into dealer options only with dealers who will agree to and which are expected to be capable of entering into closing transactions with the Fund, there can be no assurance that the Fund will at any time be able to liquidate a dealer option at a favorable price at any time prior to expiration. Unless the Fund, as a covered dealer call option writer are able to effect a closing purchase transaction, it will not be able to liquidate securities (or other assets) used as cover until the option expires or is exercised. In the event of insolvency of the other party, the Fund may be unable to liquidate a dealer option. With respect to options written by the Fund, the inability to enter into a closing transaction may result in material losses to the Fund. For example, because the Fund must maintain a secured position with respect to any call option on a security it writes, the Fund may not sell the assets that it has segregated to secure the position while it is obligated under the option. This requirement may impair the Fund’s ability to sell portfolio securities at a time when such sale might be advantageous.
The SEC has taken the position that purchased dealer options are illiquid securities. The Fund may treat the cover used for written dealer options as liquid if the dealer agrees that the Fund may repurchase the dealer option it has written for a maximum price to be calculated by a predetermined formula. In such cases, the dealer option would be considered illiquid only to the extent the maximum purchase price under the formula exceeds the intrinsic value of the option. Accordingly, the Fund will treat dealer options as subject to the Fund’s limitation on illiquid securities. If the SEC changes its position on the liquidity of dealer options, the Fund will change its treatment of such instruments accordingly.
Spread Transactions. The Fund may purchase covered spread options from securities dealers. These covered spread options are not presently exchange-listed or exchange-traded. The purchase of a spread option gives the Fund the right to put securities that it owns at a fixed dollar spread or fixed yield spread in relationship to another security that the Fund do not own, but which is used as a benchmark. The risk to the Fund, in addition to the risks of dealer options described above, is the cost of the premium paid as well as any transaction costs. The purchase of spread options will be used to protect the Fund against adverse changes in prevailing credit quality spreads, i.e., the yield spread between high quality and lower quality securities. This protection is provided only during the life of the spread options.
Repurchase Agreements. The Fund may enter into repurchase agreements. In a repurchase agreement, an investor (such as the Fund) purchases a security (known as the “underlying security”) from a securities dealer or bank. Any such dealer or bank must be deemed creditworthy by the Advisor. At that time, the bank or securities dealer agrees to repurchase the underlying security at a mutually agreed upon price on a designated future date. The repurchase price may be higher than the purchase price, the difference being income to the Fund, or the purchase and repurchase prices may be the same, with interest at an agreed upon rate due to the Fund on repurchase. In either case, the income to the Fund generally will be unrelated to the interest rate on the underlying securities. Repurchase agreements must be “fully collateralized,” in that the market value of the underlying securities (including accrued interest) must at all times be equal to or greater than the repurchase price. Therefore, a repurchase agreement can be considered a loan collateralized by the underlying securities.
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Repurchase agreements are generally for a short period of time, often less than a week, and will generally be used by the Fund to invest excess cash or as part of a temporary defensive strategy. Repurchase agreements that do not provide for payment within seven days will be treated as illiquid securities. In the event of a bankruptcy or other default by the seller of a repurchase agreement, the Fund could experience both delays in liquidating the underlying security and losses. These losses could result from: (a) possible decline in the value of the underlying security while the Fund are seeking to enforce its rights under the repurchase agreement; (b) possible reduced levels of income or lack of access to income during this period; and (c) expenses of enforcing its rights.
Futures Contracts. A futures contract provides for the future sale by one party and purchase by another party of a specified amount of a specific financial instrument (e.g., units of a stock index) for a specified price, date, time and place designated at the time the contract is made. Brokerage fees are incurred when a futures contract is bought or sold and margin deposits must be maintained. Entering into a contract to buy is commonly referred to as buying or purchasing a contract or holding a long position. Entering into a contract to sell is commonly referred to as selling a contract or holding a short position.
Unlike when the Fund purchases or sell a security, no price would be paid or received by the Fund upon the purchase or sale of a futures contract. Upon entering into a futures contract, and to maintain the Fund’s open positions in futures contracts, the Fund would be required to deposit with its Custodian or futures broker in a segregated account in the name of the futures broker an amount of cash, U.S. government securities, suitable money market instruments, or other liquid securities, known as “initial margin.” The margin required for a particular futures contract is set by the exchange on which the contract is traded, and may be significantly modified from time to time by the exchange during the term of the contract. Futures contracts are customarily purchased and sold on margins that may range upward from less than 5% of the value of the contract being traded.
If the price of an open futures contract changes (by increase in underlying instrument or index in the case of a sale or by decrease in the case of a purchase) so that the loss on the futures contract reaches a point at which the margin on deposit does not satisfy margin requirements, the broker will require an increase in the margin. However, if the value of a position increases because of favorable price changes in the futures contract so that the margin deposit exceeds the required margin, the broker will pay the excess to the Fund.
These subsequent payments, called “variation margin,” to and from the futures broker, are made on a daily basis as the price of the underlying assets fluctuate making the long and short positions in the futures contract more or less valuable, a process known as “marking to the market.” The Fund expect to earn interest income on its margin deposits.
Although certain futures contracts, by their terms, require actual future delivery of and payment for the underlying instruments, in practice most futures contracts are usually closed out before the delivery date. Closing out an open futures contract purchase or sale is effected by entering into an offsetting futures contract sale or purchase, respectively, for the same aggregate amount of the identical underlying instrument or index and the same delivery date. If the offsetting purchase price is less than the original sale price, the Fund realize a gain; if it is more, the Fund realize a loss. Conversely, if the offsetting sale price is more than the original purchase price, the Fund realize a gain; if it is less, the Fund realize a loss. The transaction costs must also be included in these calculations. There can be no assurance, however, that the Fund will be able to enter into an offsetting transaction with respect to a particular futures contract at a particular time. If the Fund are not able to enter into an offsetting transaction, the Fund will continue to be required to maintain the margin deposits on the futures contract.
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For example, one contract in the Financial Times Stock Exchange 100 Index future is a contract to buy 25 pounds sterling multiplied by the level of the UK Financial Times 100 Share Index on a given future date. Settlement of a stock index futures contract may or may not be in the underlying instrument or index. If not in the underlying instrument or index, then settlement will be made in cash, equivalent over time to the difference between the contract price and the actual price of the underlying asset at the time the stock index futures contract expires.
Regulation as a Commodity Pool Operator. The Trust, on behalf of the Fund, has filed with the National Futures Association, a notice claiming an exclusion from the definition of the term “commodity pool operator” under the Commodity Exchange Act, as amended, and the rules of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission promulgated thereunder, with respect to the Fund’s operations. Accordingly, the Fund is not subject to registration or regulation as a commodity pool operator.
When-Issued, Forward Commitments and Delayed Settlements. The Fund may purchase and sell securities on a when-issued, forward commitment or delayed settlement basis. In this event, the Custodian (as defined under the section entitled “Custodian”) will segregate liquid assets equal to the amount of the commitment in a separate account. Normally, the Custodian will set aside portfolio securities to satisfy a purchase commitment. In such a case, the Fund may be required subsequently to segregate additional assets in order to assure that the value of the account remains equal to the amount of the Fund’s commitment. It may be expected that the Fund’s net assets will fluctuate to a greater degree when it sets aside portfolio securities to cover such purchase commitments than when it sets aside cash.
The Fund does not intend to engage in these transactions for speculative purposes but only in furtherance of its investment objectives. Because the Fund will segregate liquid assets to satisfy its purchase commitments in the manner described, the Fund’s liquidity and the ability of the Fund’s adviser to manage them may be affected in the event the Fund’s forward commitments, commitments to purchase when-issued securities and delayed settlements ever exceeded 15% of the value of its net assets.
The Fund will purchase securities on a when-issued, forward commitment or delayed settlement basis only with the intention of completing the transaction. If deemed advisable as a matter of investment strategy, however, the Fund may dispose of or renegotiate a commitment after it is entered into, and may sell securities it has committed to purchase before those securities are delivered to the Fund on the settlement date. In these cases the Fund may realize a taxable capital gain or loss. When the Fund engage in when-issued, forward commitment and delayed settlement transactions, it relies on the other party to consummate the trade. Failure of such party to do so may result in the Fund incurring a loss or missing an opportunity to obtain a price credited to be advantageous.
The market value of the securities underlying a when-issued purchase, forward commitment to purchase securities, or a delayed settlement and any subsequent fluctuations in their market value is taken into account when determining the market value of the Fund starting on the day the Fund agrees to purchase the securities. The Fund does not earn interest on the securities it has committed to purchase until it has paid for and delivered on the settlement date.
Illiquid and Restricted Securities. The Fund may invest up to 15% of its net assets in illiquid securities. Illiquid securities include securities subject to contractual or legal restrictions on resale (e.g., because they have not been registered under the 1933 Act) and securities that are otherwise not readily marketable (e.g., because trading in the security is suspended or because market makers do not exist or will not entertain bids or offers). Securities that have not been registered under the Securities Act are referred to as private placements or restricted securities and are purchased directly from the issuer or in the secondary market. Foreign securities that are freely tradable in their principal markets are not considered to be illiquid.
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Restricted and other illiquid securities may be subject to the potential for delays on resale and uncertainty in valuation. The Fund might be unable to dispose of illiquid securities promptly or at reasonable prices and might thereby experience difficulty in satisfying redemption requests from shareholders. The Underlying Fund might have to register restricted securities in order to dispose of them, resulting in additional expense and delay. Adverse market conditions could impede such a public offering of securities.
A large institutional market exists for certain securities that are not registered under the Securities Act, including foreign securities. The fact that there are contractual or legal restrictions on resale to the general public or to certain institutions may not be indicative of the liquidity of such investments. Rule 144A under the Securities Act allows such a broader institutional trading market for securities otherwise subject to restrictions on resale to the general public. Rule 144A establishes a “safe harbor” from the registration requirements of the Securities Act for resale of certain securities to qualified institutional buyers. Rule 144A has produced enhanced liquidity for many restricted securities, and market liquidity for such securities may continue to expand as a result of this regulation and the consequent existence of the PORTAL system, which is an automated system for the trading, clearance and settlement of unregistered securities of domestic and foreign issuers.
Under guidelines adopted by the Trust’s Board, the Fund’s Adviser may determine that particular Rule 144A securities, and commercial paper issued in reliance on the private placement exemption from registration afforded by Section 4(a)(2) of the Securities Act, are liquid even though they are not registered. A determination of whether such a security is liquid or not is a question of fact. In making this determination, the Adviser will consider, as it deems appropriate under the circumstances and among other factors: (1) the frequency of trades and quotes for the security; (2) the number of dealers willing to purchase or sell the security; (3) the number of other potential purchasers of the security; (4) dealer undertakings to make a market in the security; (5) the nature of the security (e.g., debt or equity, date of maturity, terms of dividend or interest payments, and other material terms) and the nature of the marketplace trades (e.g., the time needed to dispose of the security, the method of soliciting offers, and the mechanics of transfer); and (6) the rating of the security and the financial condition and prospects of the issuer. In the case of commercial paper, the Adviser will also determine that the paper (1) is not traded flat or in default as to principal and interest, and (2) is rated in one of the two highest rating categories by at least two National Statistical Rating Organizations (“NRSROs”) or, if only one NRSRO rates the security, by that NRSRO, or, if the security is unrated, the Adviser determines that it is of equivalent quality.
Rule 144A securities and Section 4(a)(2) commercial paper that have been deemed liquid as described above will continue to be monitored by the Adviser to determine if the security is no longer liquid as the result of changed conditions. Investing in Rule 144A securities or Section 4(a)(2) commercial paper could have the effect of increasing the amount of the Fund’s assets invested in illiquid securities if institutional buyers are unwilling to purchase such securities.
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Loan Pools and Individual Loans
Asset-Backed and Receivable-Backed Securities
The Fund may invest in asset-backed securities. These securities are undivided fractional interests in pools of consumer loans (unrelated to mortgage loans) held in a trust. Payments of principal and interest are passed through to certificate holders and may be supported by some form of credit enhancement, such as a letter of credit, surety bond, limited guaranty or senior/subordination. The degree of credit enhancement varies, but generally amounts to only a fraction of the asset-backed or receivable-backed security’s par value until exhausted. If the credit enhancement is exhausted, certificate holders may experience losses or delays in payment if the required payments of principal and interest are not made to the trust with respect to the underlying loans. The value of these securities also may change because of changes in the market’s perception of the creditworthiness of the servicing agent for the loan pool, the originator of the loans or the financial institution providing the credit enhancement. Asset-backed and receivable-backed securities are ultimately dependent upon payment of consumer loans by individuals, and the certificate holder generally has no recourse against the entity that originated the loans. The underlying loans are subject to prepayments that shorten the securities’ weighted average life and may lower their return. As prepayments flow through at par, total returns would be affected by the prepayments: if a security were trading at a premium, its total return would be lowered by prepayments; and if a security were trading at a discount, its total return would be increased by prepayments. The Fund will not invest more than 5% of its net assets in asset-backed or receivable-backed securities. The Adviser may focus the Fund’s investments in asset-backed pools of consumer loans in the education space (i.e., student loans). The size and character of the student loan market has increased in recent years and is anticipated to continue to increase as the number of student borrowers rises year after year.
Individual Loans
There are two major areas of risk involved in investing in individual student loans: risk of default and lack of collateralization. Investing in individual student loans carry the risk that the individual student may default of his or her student loan. Investing in a pool of student loans may spread the default risk among the student loan pool but the risk of default is not completely mitigated. In addition, unlike mortgage loans, student loans are not collateralized, so that the Fund would end up with nothing in the event of default.
Lending Portfolio Securities. For the purpose of achieving income, the Fund may lend its portfolio securities, provided (1) the loan is secured continuously by collateral consisting of U.S. Government securities or cash or cash equivalents (cash, U.S. Government securities, negotiable certificates of deposit, bankers’ acceptances or letters of credit) maintained on a daily mark-to-market basis in an amount at least equal to the current market value of the securities loaned, (2) the Fund may at any time call the loan and obtain the return of securities loaned, (3) the Fund will receive any interest or dividends received on the loaned securities, and (4) the aggregate value of the securities loaned will not at any time exceed one-third of the total assets of the Fund.
Short Sales. The Fund may sell securities short. A short sale is a transaction in which the Fund sell a security it does not own or have the right to acquire (or that it owns but does not wish to deliver) in anticipation that the market price of that security will decline.
When the Fund make a short sale, the broker-dealer through which the short sale is made must borrow the security sold short and deliver it to the party purchasing the security. The Fund are required to make a margin deposit in connection with such short sales; the Fund may have to pay a fee to borrow particular securities and will often be obligated to pay over any dividends and accrued interest on borrowed securities.
If the price of the security sold short increases between the time of the short sale and the time the Fund cover its short position, the Fund will incur a loss; conversely, if the price declines, the Fund will realize a capital gain. Any gain will be decreased, and any loss increased, by the transaction costs described above. The successful use of short selling may be adversely affected by imperfect correlation between movements in the price of the security sold short and the securities being hedged.
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To the extent the Fund sells securities short, it will provide collateral to the broker-dealer and (except in the case of short sales “against the box”) will maintain additional asset coverage in the form of cash, U.S. government securities or other liquid securities with its Custodian in a segregated account in an amount at least equal to the difference between the current market value of the securities sold short and any amounts required to be deposited as collateral with the selling broker (not including the proceeds of the short sale).
Swap Agreements. The Fund may enter into interest rate, index and currency exchange rate swap agreements in an attempt to obtain a particular desired return at a lower cost to the Fund than if it had invested directly in an instrument that yielded that desired return. Swap agreements are two-party contracts entered into primarily by institutional investors for periods ranging from a few weeks to more than one year. In a standard “swap” transaction, two parties agree to exchange the returns (or differentials in rates of returns) earned or realized on particular predetermined investments or instruments. The gross returns to be exchanged or “swapped” between the parties are calculated with respect to a “notional amount,” i.e., the return on or increase in value of a particular dollar amount invested at a particular interest rate, in a particular foreign currency, or in a “basket” of securities representing a particular index. The “notional amount” of the swap agreement is only a fictive basis on which to calculate the obligations the parties to a swap agreement have agreed to exchange. The Fund’s obligations (or rights) under a swap agreement will generally be equal only to the amount to be paid or received under the agreement based on the relative values of the positions held by each party to the agreement (the “net amount”). The Fund’s obligations under a swap agreement will be accrued daily (offset against any amounts owing to the Fund) and any accrued but unpaid net amounts owed to a swap counterparty will be covered by the maintenance of a segregated account consisting of cash, U.S. government securities, or other liquid securities, to avoid leveraging of the Fund’s portfolio.
Whether the Fund’s use of swap agreements enhance the Fund’s total return will depend on the adviser’s ability to correctly predict whether certain types of investments are likely to produce greater returns than other investments. Because they are two-party contracts and may have terms of greater than seven days, swap agreements may be considered to be illiquid. Moreover, the Fund bear the risk of loss of the amount expected to be received under a swap agreement in the event of the default or bankruptcy of a swap agreement counterparty. The Fund’s adviser will cause the Fund to enter into swap agreements only with counterparties that would be eligible for consideration as repurchase agreement counterparties under the Fund’s repurchase agreement guidelines. The swap market is a relatively new market and is largely unregulated. It is possible that developments in the swaps market, including potential government regulation, could adversely affect the Fund’s ability to terminate existing swap agreements or to realize amounts to be received under such agreements.
Certain swap agreements are exempt from most provisions of the Commodity Exchange Act (“CEA”) and, therefore, are not regulated as futures or commodity option transactions under the CEA, pursuant to regulations of the CFTC. To qualify for this exemption, a swap agreement must be entered into by “eligible participants,” which include the following, provided the participants’ total assets exceed established levels: a bank or trust company, savings association or credit union, insurance company, investment company subject to regulation under the 1940 Act, commodity pool, corporation, partnership, proprietorship, organization, trust or other entity, employee benefit plan, governmental entity, broker-dealer, futures commission merchant, natural person, or regulated foreign person. To be eligible, natural persons and most other entities must have total assets exceeding $10 million; commodity pools and employees benefit plans must have assets exceeding $5 million. In addition, an eligible swap transaction must meet three conditions. First, the swap agreement may not be part of a fungible class of agreements that are standardized as to their material economic terms. Second, the creditworthiness of parties with actual or potential obligations under the swap agreement must be a material consideration in entering into or determining the terms of the swap agreement, including pricing, cost or credit enhancement terms. Third, swap agreements may not be entered into and traded on or through a multilateral transaction execution facility.
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Certain Investment Techniques and Derivatives Risk. When the adviser of the Fund uses investment techniques such as margin, leverage and short sales, and forms of financial derivatives, such as options and futures, an investment in the Fund may be more volatile than investments in other mutual funds. Although the intention is to use such investment techniques and derivatives to minimize risk to the Fund, as well as for speculative purposes, there is the possibility that improper implementation of such techniques and derivative strategies or unusual market conditions could result in significant losses to the Fund. Derivatives are used to limit risk in the Fund or to enhance investment return and have a return tied to a formula based upon an interest rate, index, price of a security, or other measurement. Derivatives involve special risks, including: (1) the risk that interest rates, securities prices and currency markets will not move in the direction that a portfolio manager anticipates; (2) imperfect correlation between the price of derivative instruments and movements in the prices of the securities, interest rates or currencies being hedged; (3) the fact that skills needed to use these strategies are different than those needed to select portfolio securities; (4) the possible absence of a liquid secondary market for any particular instrument and possible exchange imposed price fluctuation limits, either of which may make it difficult or impossible to close out a position when desired; (5) the risk that adverse price movements in an instrument can result in a loss substantially greater than the Fund’s initial investment in that instrument (in some cases, the potential loss in unlimited); (6) particularly in the case of privately-negotiated instruments, the risk that the counterparty will not perform its obligations, or that penalties could be incurred for positions held less than the required minimum holding period, which could leave the Fund worse off than if it had not entered into the position; and (7) the inability to close out certain hedged positions to avoid adverse tax consequences. In addition, the use of derivatives for non-hedging purposes (that is, to seek to increase total return) is considered a speculative practice and may present an even greater risk of loss than when used for hedging purposes.
Wholly Owned Subsidiary. The Fund may invest in a wholly owned and controlled Cayman Islands subsidiary (the “Subsidiary”), which is expected to invest in one or a combination of (i) options, (ii) futures, (iii) forwards, (iv) spot contracts, or (v) swap contracts, each of which may be tied to (i) commodities, (ii) financial indices and instruments, (iii) foreign currencies, or (iv) equity indices. As a result, the Fund may be considered to be investing indirectly in these investments through the Subsidiary. For that reason, and for the sake of convenience, references in this Statement of Additional Information to the Fund may also include the Subsidiary.
The Subsidiary will not be registered under the 1940 Act but, will be subject to certain of the investor protections of the 1940 Act, as noted in this Statement of Additional Information. The Fund, as the sole shareholder of the Subsidiary, will not have all of the protections offered to investors in registered investment companies. However, since the Fund wholly owns and controls the Subsidiary, and the Fund and Subsidiary are both managed by the Adviser, it is unlikely that the Subsidiary will take action contrary to the interests of the Fund or its shareholders. The Fund’s Board has oversight responsibility for the investment activities of the Fund, including its investment in the Subsidiary, and the Fund’s role as the sole shareholder of the Subsidiary. Also, in managing the Subsidiary’s portfolio, the Adviser will be subject to the same investment restrictions and operational guidelines that apply to the management of the Fund, including any collateral or segregation requirements in connection with various investment strategies.
Changes in the laws of the United States and/or the Cayman Islands, under which the Fund and the Subsidiary, respectively, are organized, could result in the inability of the Fund and/or the Subsidiary to operate as described in this Statement of Additional Information and could negatively affect the Fund and its shareholders. For example, the Cayman Islands does not currently impose any income, corporate or capital gains tax, estate duty, inheritance tax, gift tax or withholding tax on the Subsidiary. If Cayman Islands law changes such that the Subsidiary must pay Cayman Islands taxes, Fund shareholders would likely suffer decreased investment returns.
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Fundamental Restrictions. The Fund has adopted the following “fundamental restrictions,” which cannot be changed without approval by holders of a majority of the outstanding voting shares of the Fund. A “majority” for this purpose means the lesser of (i) 67% of the Fund’s outstanding shares represented in person or by proxy at a meeting at which more than 50% of its outstanding shares are represented, or (ii) more than 50% of its outstanding shares.
1. Borrowing Money. The Fund will not borrow money, except: (a) from a bank, provided that immediately after such borrowing there is an asset coverage of 300% for all borrowings of the Fund; or (b) from a bank or other persons for temporary purposes only, provided that such temporary borrowings are in an amount not exceeding 5% of the Fund’s total assets at the time when the borrowing is made.
2. Senior Securities. The Fund will not issue senior securities. This limitation is not applicable to activities that may be deemed to involve the issuance or sale of a senior security by a Fund, provided that the Fund’s engagement in such activities is consistent with or permitted by the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder or interpretations of the SEC or its staff.
3. Underwriting. The Fund will not act as underwriter of securities issued by other persons. This limitation is not applicable to the extent that, in connection with the disposition of portfolio securities (including restricted securities), the Fund may be deemed an underwriter under certain federal securities laws.
4. Real Estate. The Fund will not purchase or sell real estate. This limitation is not applicable to investments in marketable securities that are secured by or represent interests in real estate. This limitation does not preclude the Fund from investing in mortgage-related securities or investing in companies engaged in the real estate business or that have a significant portion of their assets in real estate (including real estate investment trusts).
5. Commodities. The Fund will not purchase or sell commodities unless acquired as a result of ownership of securities or other investments. This limitation does not preclude the Fund from purchasing or selling options or futures contracts, from investing in securities or other instruments backed by commodities or from investing in companies which are engaged in a commodities business or have a significant portion of their assets in commodities.
6. Loans. The Fund will not make loans to other persons, except: (a) by loaning portfolio securities; (b) by engaging in repurchase agreements; or (c) by purchasing nonpublicly offered debt securities. For purposes of this limitation, the term “loans” shall not include the purchase of a portion of an issue of publicly distributed bonds, debentures or other securities.
7. Concentration. The Fund will not invest 25% or more of its total assets in a particular industry or group of industries. This limitation is not applicable to investments in obligations issued or guaranteed by the U.S. government, its agencies and instrumentalities or repurchase agreements with respect thereto.
THE FOLLOWING ARE ADDITIONAL INVESTMENT LIMITATIONS OF THE FUND. THE FOLLOWING RESTRICTIONS ARE DESIGNATED AS NON-FUNDAMENTAL AND MAY BE CHANGED BY THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF THE TRUST WITHOUT THE APPROVAL OF SHAREHOLDERS.
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1. Pledging. The Fund will not mortgage, pledge, hypothecate or in any manner transfer, as security for indebtedness, any assets of the Fund except as may be necessary in connection with borrowings described in limitation (1) above. Margin deposits, security interests, liens and collateral arrangements with respect to transactions involving options, futures contracts, short sales and other permitted investments and techniques are not deemed to be a mortgage, pledge or hypothecation of assets for purposes of this limitation.
2. Borrowing. The Fund will not purchase any security while borrowings representing more than one third of its total assets are outstanding.
3. Margin Purchases. The Fund will not purchase securities or evidences of interest thereon on “margin.” This limitation is not applicable to short-term credit obtained by the Fund for the clearance of purchases and sales or redemption of securities, or to arrangements with respect to transactions involving options, futures contracts, short sales and other permitted investment techniques.
4. Illiquid Investments. The Fund will not hold 15% or more of its net assets in securities for which there are legal or contractual restrictions on resale and other illiquid securities.
If a restriction on the Fund’s investments is adhered to at the time an investment is made, a subsequent change in the percentage of Fund assets invested in certain securities or other instruments, or change in average duration of the Fund’s investment portfolio, resulting from changes in the value of the Fund’s total assets, will not be considered a violation of the restriction; provided, however, that the asset coverage requirement applicable to borrowings shall be maintained in the manner contemplated by applicable law.
PORTFOLIO TRANSACTIONS AND BROKERAGE ALLOCATION
Subject to the general supervision of the Trustees, the Adviser is responsible for, make decisions with respect to, and places orders for all purchases and sales of portfolio securities for the Fund. The Adviser shall manage the Fund’s portfolio in accordance with the terms of the Investment Advisory Agreement by and between the Adviser and the Fund (the “Advisory Agreement”). Under the Advisory Agreement, the Adviser selects the securities and manages the investments for the Fund, and also selects broker-dealers to execute portfolio transactions, all subject to the oversight of the Board of Trustees. The Advisory Agreement is described in detail under “Management and Administration”. The Adviser serves as investment adviser for a number of client accounts, including the Fund. Investment decisions for the Fund will be made independently from those for any other series of the Trust, if any, and for any other investment companies and accounts advised or managed by the Adviser.
Brokerage Selection. In selecting brokers to be used in portfolio transactions, the Adviser’s general guiding principal is to obtain the best overall execution for each trade, which is a combination of price and execution. With respect to execution, the Adviser considers a number of judgmental factors, including, without limitation, the actual handling of the order, the ability of the broker to settle the trade promptly and accurately, the financial standing of the broker, the ability of the broker to position stock to facilitate execution, the Adviser’s past experience with similar trades and other factors that may be unique to a particular order. Recognizing the value of these judgmental factors, the Adviser may select brokers who charge a brokerage commission that is higher than the lowest commission that might otherwise be available for any given trade. The Adviser may not give consideration to sales of shares of the Fund as a factor in selecting brokers to execute portfolio transactions. The Adviser may, however, place portfolio transactions with brokers that promote or sell the Fund’s shares so long as such transactions are done in accordance with the policies and procedures established by the Trustees that are designed to ensure that the selection is based on the quality of the broker’s execution and not on the broker’s sales efforts.
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The research and investment information services described above make available to the Adviser for its analysis and consideration the views and information of individuals and research staffs of other securities firms. These services may be useful to the Adviser in connection with advisory clients other than the Fund and not all such services may be useful to the Adviser in connection with the Fund. Although such information may be a useful supplement to the Adviser’s own investment information in rendering services to a Fund, the value of such research and services is not expected to reduce materially the expenses of the Adviser in the performance of its services under the Advisory Agreement and will not reduce the management fees payable to the Adviser by a Fund.
The Fund may invest in securities traded in the over-the-counter market. Transactions in the over-the-counter market are generally principal transactions with dealers and the costs of such transactions involve dealer spreads rather than brokerage commissions. The Fund, where possible, deals directly with the dealers who make a market in the securities involved except in those circumstances where better prices and/or execution are available elsewhere. When a transaction involves exchange listed securities, the Adviser considers the advisability of effecting the transaction with a broker which is not a member of the securities exchange on which the security to be purchased is listed or effecting the transaction in the institutional market.
Aggregated Trades. While investment decisions for the Fund are made independently of the Adviser’s other client accounts, the Adviser’s other client accounts may invest in the same securities as a Fund. To the extent permitted by law, the Adviser may aggregate the securities to be sold or purchased for the Fund with those to be sold or purchased for other investment companies or accounts in executing transactions. When a purchase or sale of the same security is made at substantially the same time on behalf of the Fund and another investment company or account, the transaction will be averaged as to price and available investments allocated as to amount in a manner which the Adviser believes to be equitable to the Fund and such other investment company or account. In some instances, this investment procedure may adversely affect the price paid or received by a Fund or the size of the position obtained or sold by the Fund.
Portfolio Turnover. The annualized portfolio turnover rate for the Fund is calculated by dividing the lesser of purchases or sales of portfolio securities for the reporting period by the monthly average value of the portfolio securities owned during the reporting period. The calculation excludes all securities whose maturities or expiration dates at the time of acquisition are one year or less. Portfolio turnover of the Fund may vary greatly from year to year as well as within a particular year, and may be affected by cash requirements for redemption of shares and by requirements that enable the Fund to receive favorable tax treatment. Portfolio turnover will not be a limiting factor in making Fund decisions, and the Fund may engage in short-term trading to achieve its investment objectives. For the fiscal year ended April 30, 2016, the Predecessor Fund’s portfolio turnover rate was 149%. For the fiscal year ended April 30, 2017, the Predecessor Fund’s portfolio turnover rate was 138%. For the fiscal year ended April 30, 2018, the Fund’s portfolio turnover rate was 165%.
The Board of Trustees of the Trust has adopted policies to govern the circumstances under which disclosure regarding securities held by the Fund and disclosure of purchases and sales of such securities, may be made to shareholders of the Trust or other persons. These policies include the following:
● | Public disclosure regarding the securities held by the Fund (“Portfolio Securities”) on a given day will not be made until the close of the next business day at least 24 hours after such day. |
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● | Public disclosure regarding the Fund’s Portfolio Securities is made quarterly through the Fund’s Form N-Q and Semi-Annual and Annual Reports (“Official Reports”). Other than the Official Reports, shareholders and other persons generally may not be provided with information regarding Portfolio Securities held, purchased or sold by the Fund. |
● | Information regarding Portfolio Securities, and other information regarding the investment activities of the Portfolios, may be disclosed to rating and ranking organizations for use in connection with their rating or ranking of the Trust or the Fund, but only if such disclosure has been publicly disclosed or approved in writing by the Chief Compliance Officer of the Trust (the “CCO”). The CCO will not approve arrangements prior to public disclosure unless persons receiving the information provide assurances that the information will not be used for inappropriate trading in Fund shares. |
● | The Trust’s policy relating to disclosure of the Trust’s holdings of Portfolio Securities does not prohibit: (i) disclosure of information to the Trust’s investment adviser or to other Trust service providers, including but not limited to the Trust’s administrator, distributor, custodian, legal counsel and auditors as identified in the Prospectus and this SAI, financial printers such as FilePoint EDGAR Services or to brokers and dealers through which the Trust purchases and sells Portfolio Securities; and (ii) disclosure of holdings of or transactions in Portfolio Securities by the Fund that is made on the same basis to all Fund shareholders. This information is disclosed to third parties under conditions of confidentiality. “Conditions of confidentiality” include (i) confidentiality clauses in written agreements, (ii) confidentiality implied by the nature of the relationship (e.g., attorney-client relationship), (iii) confidentiality required by fiduciary or regulatory principles (e.g., custody relationships), and (iv) understandings or expectations between the parties that the information will be kept confidential. |
● | The CCO is required to approve any arrangements other than disclosure to service providers under which information relating to Portfolio Securities held by the Portfolios, or purchased or sold by the Fund is disclosed to a shareholder or other person before disclosure in the Official Reports. In making such a determination, the CCO may consider, among other things, the information to be disclosed, the timing of the disclosure, the intended use of the information, whether the arrangement is reasonably necessary to aid in conducting the ongoing business of the Fund, and whether the arrangement will adversely affect the Trust, the Fund or its shareholders. The CCO will not approve such arrangements unless persons receiving the information provide assurances that the information will not be used for inappropriate trading in Fund shares. |
● | The CCO shall inform the Board of Trustees of any special portfolio holdings disclosure arrangements that are approved by the CCO, and the rationale supporting approval. |
● | Neither the Trust’s investment adviser nor the Trust (or any affiliated person, employee, officer, trustee or director of the investment adviser or the Trust) may receive any direct or indirect compensation in consideration of the disclosure of information relating to Portfolio Securities held, purchased or sold by the Fund. |
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The Trust, which is a statutory trust organized under Delaware law on February 25, 2005, is an open-end management investment company. The Trust’s Agreement and Declaration of Trust (“Trust Instrument”) authorizes the Trustees to divide shares into series, each series relating to a separate portfolio of investments, and to classify and reclassify any unissued shares into one or more classes of shares of each such series. The Trust currently offers 12 series of shares.
The Fund currently offers three classes of shares (Class A shares, Class C shares and Class I shares), of which Classes A and C are available for purchase by all investors. Each class represents interests in the same portfolio of investments and has the same rights, but the classes differ with respect to sales loads and ongoing expenses. The number of shares in the Trust shall be unlimited. The Trustees may classify and reclassify the shares of the Fund into additional classes of shares at a future date. When issued for payment as described in the Prospectus and this SAI, shares of the Fund will be fully paid and non-assessable and shall have no preemptive or conversion rights.
In the event of a liquidation or dissolution of the Trust or an individual series, such as the Fund, shareholders of a particular series would be entitled to receive the assets available for distribution belonging to such series. Shareholders of a series are entitled to participate equally in the net distributable assets of the particular series involved on liquidation, based on the number of shares of the series that are held by each shareholder. If there are any assets, income, earnings, proceeds, funds or payments that are not readily identifiable as belonging to any particular series, the Trustees shall allocate them among any one or more of the series as they, in their sole discretion, deem fair and equitable.
Shareholders are entitled to one vote for each full share and a fractional vote for each fractional share held. Shares have non-cumulative voting rights, which means that the holders of more than 50% of the shares voting for the election of Trustees can elect 100% of the Trustees, and in this event, the holders of the remaining shares voting will not be able to elect any Trustees. Rights of shareholders cannot be modified by less than a majority vote.
The Trustees will hold office indefinitely, except that: (1) any Trustee may resign or retire and (2) any Trustee may be removed: (a) any time by written instrument signed by at least two-thirds of the number of Trustees prior to such removal; (b) at any meeting of shareholders of the Trust by a vote of two-thirds of the outstanding shares of the Trust; or (c) by a written declaration signed by shareholders holding not less than two-thirds of the outstanding shares of the Trust. In case a vacancy or an anticipated vacancy on the Board of Trustees shall for any reason exist, the vacancy shall be filled by the affirmative vote of a majority of the remaining Trustees, subject to certain restrictions under the 1940 Act.
The Trust Instrument provides that the Trustees will not be liable in any event in connection with the affairs of the Trust, except as such liability may arise from a Trustee’s bad faith, willful misfeasance, gross negligence, or reckless disregard of duties. It also provides that all third parties shall look solely to the Trust property for satisfaction of claims arising in connection with the affairs of the Trust. With the exceptions stated, the Trust Instrument provides that a Trustee or officer is entitled to be indemnified against all liability in connection with the affairs of the Trust.
The Trust will not hold an annual shareholders’ meeting unless required by law. There will normally be no annual meeting of shareholders in any year in which the election of Trustees by shareholders is not required by the 1940 Act. As set forth in the Trust’s Amended and Restated By-Laws, shareholders of the Trust have the right, under certain conditions, to call a special meeting of shareholders, including a meeting to consider removing a Trustee.
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BOARD OF TRUSTEES, OFFICERS AND PRINCIPAL SHAREHOLDERS
The Trustees are responsible for the management and supervision of the Fund. The Trustees approve all significant agreements between the Trust, on behalf of the Fund, and those companies that furnish services to the Fund; review performance of the Fund; and oversee activities of the Fund. This section of the SAI provides information about the persons who serve as Trustees and Officers to the Trust and Funds, respectively, as well as the entities that provide services to the Fund.
Trustees and Officers. Following are the Trustees and Officers of the Trust, their year of birth, their present position with the Trust or the Fund, and their principal occupation during the past five years. As described above under “Description of the Trust”, each of the Trustees of the Trust will generally hold office indefinitely. The Officers of the Trust will hold office indefinitely, except that: (1) any Officer may resign or retire and (2) any Officer may be removed any time by written instrument signed by at least two-thirds of the number of Trustees prior to such removal. In case a vacancy or an anticipated vacancy on the Board of Trustees shall for any reason exist, the vacancy shall be filled by the affirmative vote of a majority of the remaining Trustees, subject to certain restrictions under the 1940 Act. Those Trustees who are “interested persons” (as defined in the 1940 Act) by virtue of their affiliation with either the Trust or the Adviser, are indicated in the table. The address of each trustee and officer is 4300 Shawnee Mission Parkway, Suite 100, Fairway, Kansas 66205.
Name
and Year of Birth |
Position(s)
Held with Trust |
Length of Service | Principal
Occupation(s) During Past 5 Years |
Number
of Series Overseen |
Other
Directorships During Past 5 Years |
Independent Trustees | |||||
Arthur Falk: 1937 | Trustee and Independent Chairman | Since 2011 | Retired. President, Murray Hill Financial Marketing (financial marketing consultant)(1990-2012). | 12 | None |
Tom M. Wirtshafter: 1954 | Trustee | Since 2011 | Senior Vice President, American Portfolios Financial Services, (broker-dealer), American Portfolios Advisors (investment adviser)(2009-present). | 12 | None |
Gary DiCenzo: 1962 | Trustee | Since 2014 | Chief Executive Officer, Cognios Capital (investment management firm) (2015-present); President and CEO, IMC Group, LLC (asset management firm consultant) (2010-2015). | 12 | None |
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Name
and Year of Birth |
Position(s)
Held with Trust |
Length of Service | Principal
Occupation(s) During Past 5 Years |
Number
of Series Overseen |
Other
Directorships During Past 5 Years |
Interested Trustee* | |||||
Randall K. Linscott: 1971 | President | Since 2013 | Chief Executive Officer, M3Sixty Administration, LLC (2013-present); Chief Operating Officer, M3Sixty Administration LLC (2011–2013); Division Vice President, Boston Financial Data Services, (2005–2011). | 12 | N/A |
Officers | |||||
András P. Teleki: 1971 | Chief Compliance Officer and Secretary | Since 2015 | Chief Legal Officer, M3Sixty Administration, LLC, M3Sixty Holdings, LLC, Matrix 360 Distributors, LLC and M3Sixty Advisors, LLC (2015–present); Chief Compliance Officer and Secretary, M3Sixty Funds Trust (2016–present); Chief Compliance Officer and Secretary, WP Trust (2016- present); Secretary and Assistant Treasurer, Capital Management Investment Trust (2015–present); Partner, K&L Gates, (2009–2015). | N/A | N/A |
Brandon J. Byrd: 1981 |
Assistant Secretary and AML Officer
Vice President
|
Since 2013
Since 2018
|
Chief Operating Officer, M3Sixty Administration, LLC (2013-present); Anti-Money Laundering Compliance Officer, Monteagle Funds (2015-2016); Division Manager - Client Service Officer, Boston Financial Data Services (mutual find service provider) (2010-2012). | N/A | N/A |
Justin J. Thompson: 1983 | Treasurer | Since 2017 | Director of Fund Accounting & Administration, M3Sixty Administration, LLC (2017-present); Treasurer, WP Trust (2017-present); Treasurer, Capital Management Investment Trust (2017-present); Treasurer, 360 Funds (2017-present); Officer of Fund Accounting – State Street Bank & Trust (2009-2016). | N/A | N/A |
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Name
and Year of Birth |
Position(s)
Held with Trust |
Length of Service | Principal
Occupation(s) During Past 5 Years |
Number
of Series Overseen |
Other
Directorships During Past 5 Years |
Larry E. Beaver, Jr.: 1969 | Assistant Treasurer | Since 2017 | Fund Accounting, Administration and Tax Officer, M3Sixty Administration, LLC (2017- present); Director of Fund Accounting & Administration, M3Sixty Administration, LLC (2005-2017). Chief Accounting Officer, Amidex Funds, Inc. (2003-present); Treasurer and Assistant Secretary, Capital Management Investment Trust (2008-2017). Treasurer, 360 Funds (2007-2017); Treasurer, M3Sixty Funds Trust (2015-2017); Treasurer, WP Trust (2015-2017); Treasurer and Chief Financial Officer, Monteagle Funds (2008-2016). | N/A | N/A |
John H. Lively: 1969 | Assistant Secretary |
Since 2017 | Attorney, Practus, LLP (law firm) (May 2018-present); Attorney, The Law Offices of John H. Lively & Associates, Inc. (law firm) (2010-May 2018). | N/A | N/A |
Ted L. Akins: 1974
|
Assistant Secretary |
Since 2018 | Vice President of Operations, M3Sixty Administration, LLC (2012-present). | N/A | N/A |
* Mr. Linscott is an Interested Trustee because he is Chief Executive Officer and principal owner of M3Sixty Administration, LLC, the Fund’s administrator and transfer agent.
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The Trust’s Board of Trustees includes four independent Trustees and one interested Trustee, Mr. Linscott. Mr. Falk, one of the Trust’s independent trustees, serves as the Chairman of the Board. The Trustees have determined that the Trust’s current leadership structure is appropriate, as it allows Trust management to communicate with each independent Trustee as and when needed, and permits each independent Trustee to be involved in each committee of the Board (each a “Committee”) as well as each Board function. With respect to risk oversight, the Board holds four regular meetings each year to consider and address matters involving the Trust and the Fund. During these meetings, the Board receives reports from the Fund’s administrator, transfer agent and distributor, and Trust management, including the Trust’s President, Mr. Linscott, and the Trust’s Chief Compliance Officer, Mr. Teleki, on regular quarterly items and, where appropriate and as needed, on specific issues. As part of its oversight function, the Board also may hold special meetings or communicate directly with the Trust’s officers to address matters arising between regular meetings. The Board has established a committee structure that includes an Audit Committee, a Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee and a Proxy Voting Committee (discussed in more detail below). Each of these Committees is comprised entirely of independent Trustees.
The Board has considered each Trustee’s experience, qualifications, attributes and skills in light of the Board’s function and the Trust’s business and structure, and has determined that each Trustee possesses experience, qualifications, attributes and skills that enable the Trustee to be an effective member of the Board. In this regard, the Board has considered the following specific experience, qualifications, attributes and/or skills for each Trustee:
Independent Trustees
Art Falk | For over 20 years, Mr. Falk was the President of Murray Hill Financial Marketing, a financial marketing consulting firm[, and now serves as its Senior Vice President]. Murray Hill provides consulting services on the development of mutual funds and similar investment products. |
Tom M. Wirtshafter | Mr. Wirtshafter has more than 30 years’ experience managing and operating a wide range of financial services companies, and is currently a Senior Vice President at American Portfolios Financial Services, a broker-dealer, and American Portfolios Advisors, an investment adviser. |
Gary DiCenzo | Mr. DiCenzo is responsible for the overall operation and strategic direction of Cognios Capital. Prior to joining Cognios in 2015, Mr. DiCenzo was President & CEO of Chicago based strategic consulting firm IMC Group. Mr. DiCenzo also led Scout Investment Advisors as President of the Scout Mutual Fund complex, the President & CEO of Scout Distributors and as a board director to the advisor from 2003-2010. Over the past 25 years, he has focused on the strategic planning and growth for both institutional and mutual fund investment managers. Mr. DiCenzo received an MBA and a Bachelor’s Degree in Management from Rhode Island College. |
Interested Trustee
Randall K. Linscott | Mr. Linscott has over 20 years’ experience with a wide range of financial services companies, including service at PricewaterhouseCoopers, an international public accounting firm, as well as Boston Financial Data Services, a transfer agency, prior to his role at M3Sixty Administration, LLC and with the Trust. |
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The Board has determined that each of the Trustees’ careers and background, combined with their interpersonal skills and general understanding of financial and other matters, enable the Trustees to effectively participate in and contribute to the Board’s functions and oversight of the Trust. References to the qualifications, attributes and skills of Trustees are pursuant to requirements of the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”), do not constitute holding out the Board or any Trustee as having any special expertise or experience, and shall not impose any greater responsibility on any such person or on the Board by reason thereof.
Trustee Standing Committees. The Trustees have established the following standing committees:
Audit Committee: All of the Independent Trustees are members of the Audit Committee, with Mr. Wirtshafter serving as the Audit Committee Chair and financial expert. The Audit Committee oversees the Fund’s accounting and financial reporting policies and practices, reviews the results of the annual audits of the Fund’s financial statements, and interacts with the Fund’s independent auditors on behalf of all the Trustees. The Audit Committee also serves as the Trust’s qualified legal compliance committee. The Audit Committee operates pursuant to an Audit Committee Charter and meets periodically as necessary. The Audit Committee met three times with respect to the Fund in the year ended April 30, 2018.
Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee: All of the Independent Trustees are members of the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee. The Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee nominates, selects and appoints independent trustees to fill vacancies on the Board of Trustees and to stand for election at meeting of the shareholders of the Trust. The Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee’s purposes, duties and powers are set forth in its written charter included as Appendix B hereto. This charter also describes the process by which shareholders may make nominations. The Nominating Committee meets only as necessary and did not meet during the year ended April 30, 2018.
Proxy Voting Committee: All of the Independent Trustees are members of the Proxy Voting Committee. The Proxy Voting Committee will determine how the Fund should cast its vote, if called upon by the Board or the Adviser, when a matter with respect to which the Fund is entitled to vote presents a conflict between the interests of the Fund’s shareholders, on the one hand, and those of the Fund’s Adviser, principal underwriter or an affiliated person of the Fund, its investment adviser, or principal underwriter, on the other hand. The Proxy Voting Committee will also review the Trust’s Proxy Voting Policy and recommend any changes to the Board as it deems necessary or advisable. The Proxy Voting Committee meets only as necessary and did not meet during the year ended April 30, 2018.
Fair Value Committee. In addition to the foregoing Committees established by the Board, the Trust has also established a Fair Value Committee. Messrs. Falk, Teleki, Thompson and Beaver are members of the Fair Value Committee. Messrs. Teleki, Thompson and Beaver serve in an advisory role and are non-voting members of the Fair Value Committee. The Fair Value Committee oversees the valuation of restricted securities and any other security that may be purchased for the Trust’s portfolio for which a readily available market quotation is not available and implements guidelines and instructions adopted by the Board regarding the valuation of restricted securities held by the Fund focusing on such important factors, among others, as valuation, liquidity and availability of relevant information. The Fair Value Committee reviews relevant market conditions for any restricted security held by the Fund on a daily basis to determine the appropriate value for such restricted security. The Fair Value Committee met six times with respect to the Fund for the year ended April 30, 2018.
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Beneficial Equity Ownership Information. The table below shows for each Trustee the amount of Fund equity securities beneficially owned by each Trustee and the aggregate value of all investments in equity securities of the Fund complex, as of a valuation date of December 31, 2017 and stated as one of the following ranges: A = None; B = $1-$10,000; C = 10,001-$50,000; D - $50,001-100,000; and E = over $100,000.
Name of Director |
Dollar Range of Equity Securities in the Fund |
Aggregate Dollar Range of Equity Securities in All Registered Investment Companies Overseen by Director in Family of Investment Companies | |
Independent Trustees | |||
Art Falk | EAS Crow Point Alternatives Fund | A | A |
Tom M. Wirtshafter | EAS Crow Point Alternatives Fund | A | A |
Gary DiCenzo | EAS Crow Point Alternatives Fund | A | A |
Interested Trustee | |||
Randall K. Linscott | EAS Crow Point Alternatives Fund | A | A |
As of August 6, 2018, the Trustees and officers of the Trust as a group owned beneficially (i.e., directly or indirectly had voting and/or investment power) less than 1% of the then outstanding shares of the Fund. Except as provided below, no person is known by the Trust to be the beneficial owner of more than 5% of the outstanding shares of the Predecessor Fund as of August 6, 2018.
EAS Crow Point Alternatives Fund
Class C shares
Name and Address of Principal Holder | Shares / Percentage Owned of Record |
Marjorie A. Rohrig TTEE/Marjorie A. Rohrig Trustee DTD 08/22/2001 4920 Ingalls Wheatridge, CO 80033 |
4,657 / 5.12%
|
National Financial Services LLC 499 Washington Blvd Jersey City, NJ 07310 |
8,082 / 8.89% |
American Enterprise INV Jacob Thomas 707 2nd Avenue South Minneapolis, MN 55402 |
6,284 / 6.91% |
American Enterprise INV Costello Catherine 707 2nd Avenue South Minneapolis, MN 55402 |
5,804 / 6.38% |
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EAS Crow Point Alternatives Fund
Class I Shares
Name and Address of Principal Holder | Shares / Percentage Owned of Record |
Charles Schwab & Co. 101 Montgomery St. San Francisco, CA 94104-4122 |
149,130 / 6.19% |
The Bryan Mawr Trust Company FBO/Draper & Co 801 Lancaster Avenue Bryn Mawr, PA 19010 |
377,636 / 15.67% |
Raymond James & Assoc Inc FBO Julie Darrough 820 NW 12th Ave., Apt 524 Portland, OR 97209 |
238,704 / 9.90% |
Raymond James & Assoc Inc. FBO Junki Yoshida TTEE U/A DTD Feb 5, 1991 8440 NE Alterwood Rd. Portland, OR 97220 |
425,437 / 17.65% |
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EAS Crow Point Alternatives Fund
Class A Shares
Name and Address of Principal Holder | Shares / Percentage Owned of Record |
Charles Schwab & Co. Inc. Special Custody A/C FBO Customers Attn: Mutual Funds 101 Montgomery St. San Francisco, CA 94104-4122 |
16,821 / 8.04%
|
Pershing LLC P.O. Box 2052 Jersey City, NJ 07303-9998 |
11,315 / 5.41% |
TD Ameritrade FBO/The Dennis & Adele Johns Living Trust 500 Viewridge Dr Angwin, CA 94508 |
15,259 / 7.29% |
Compensation. Officers of the Trust and Trustees who are “interested persons” of the Trust or the Adviser will receive no salary or fees from the Trust. Officers of the Trust and interested Trustees do receive compensation directly from certain service providers to the Trust, including Matrix 360 Distributors, LLC and M3Sixty Administration, LLC. Each Trustee who is not an “interested person” receives a fee of $1,500 each year plus $200 per Board or committee meeting attended. The Trust reimburses each Trustee and officer for his or her travel and other expenses relating to attendance at such meetings.
Name of Trustee* |
Aggregate
Compensation from the EAS Crow Point Alternatives Fund* |
Pension
or Retirement Benefits Accrued As Part of Fund Expenses |
Estimated
Annual Benefits Upon Retirement |
Total
Compensation From Fund and Fund Complex Paid to Trustees** |
Independent Trustees | ||||
Art Falk | $1,725 | None | None | $23,075 |
Tom M. Wirtshafter |
$1,725
|
None
|
None
|
$21,275
|
Gary DiCenzo | $1,725 | None | None | $21,275 |
Interested Trustee | ||||
Randall K. Linscott | None | None | None | None |
* | Figures are for the fiscal year ended April 30, 2018. |
** | Each of the Trustees serves as a Trustee to the 12 funds of the Trust. |
37
Investment Adviser. Crow Point Partners LLC, located at 25 Recreation Park Dr., Suite 206, Hingham, MA 02043, serves as the Fund’s investment adviser. The Adviser is registered with the SEC as an investment adviser under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, as amended. Crow Point was established in 2006 and serves primarily individual investors, financial advisers and registered investment companies. As of April 30, 2018, it had approximately $900 million in asset under management. The Adviser is principally owned and controlled by its two Managing Members/Managing Directors, Timothy P. O’Brien and Peter J. DeCaprio.
Pursuant to a reorganization that took place on October 13, 2017, the Fund is a successor by merger to a series of Northern Lights Fund Trust (the “Predecessor Fund”).
Under the Advisory Agreement, the Adviser, under the supervision of the Board, agrees to invest the assets of the Fund in accordance with applicable law and the investment objective, policies and restrictions set forth in the Fund’s current Prospectus and Statement of Additional Information, and subject to such further limitations as the Trust may from time to time impose by written notice to the Adviser. The Adviser shall act as the investment advisor to the Fund and, as such shall (i) obtain and evaluate such information relating to the economy, industries, business, securities markets and securities as it may deem necessary or useful in discharging its responsibilities here under, (ii) formulate a continuing program for the investment of the assets of the Fund in a manner consistent with its investment objective, policies and restrictions, and (iii) determine from time to time securities to be purchased, sold, retained or lent by the Fund, and implement those decisions, including the selection of entities with or through which such purchases, sales or loans are to be effected; provided, that the Adviser will place orders pursuant to its investment determinations either directly with the issuer or with a broker or dealer, and if with a broker or dealer, (a) will attempt to obtain the best price and execution of its orders, and (b) may nevertheless in its discretion purchase and sell portfolio securities from and to brokers who provide the Adviser with research, analysis, advice and similar services and pay such brokers in return a higher commission or spread than may be charged by other brokers. The Adviser also provides the Fund with all necessary office facilities and personnel for servicing the Fund’s investments, compensates all officers, Trustees and employees of the Trust who are officers, directors or employees of the Adviser, and all personnel of the Fund or the Adviser performing services relating to research, statistical and investment activities.
The following table sets forth the annual management fee rate payable by the Fund to the Adviser pursuant to the Advisory Agreement, expressed as a percentage of the Fund’s average daily net assets:
FUND |
TOTAL MANAGEMENT FEE |
EAS Crow Point Alternatives Fund | 1.00% |
Although the Adviser will be the sole recipient of the management fee disclosed above, the Adviser has agreed to share a portion of its revenue from the Fund’s operations with its affiliate, Emerald Allocation Strategies, LLC (“EAS”). EAS is responsible for promoting the Adviser’s investment strategies to the advisor/broker-dealer community. During the fiscal year ended April 30 2016, the Predecessor Fund accrued $270,702 in investment advisory fees, of which the Adviser waived $177,286. During the fiscal year ended April 30, 2017, the Predecessor Fund accrued $246,727 in investment advisory fees, of which the Adviser waived $100,591. During the fiscal year ended April 30, 2018, the Predecessor Fund accrued $112,347 and the Fund accrued $119,312 in investment advisory fees, of which the Adviser waived $179,534.
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Pursuant to an operating expense limitation agreement between Crow Point Partners, LLC (the “Adviser”) and the Fund, the Adviser has agreed to waive or reduce its fees and to assume other expenses of the Fund, if necessary, in an amount that limits “Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses” (exclusive of interest, expenses incurred under a plan of distribution adopted pursuant to Rule 12b-1 under the 1940 Act, taxes, acquired fund fees and expenses, brokerage commissions, dividend expenses short sales and other expenditures which are capitalized in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles and other extraordinary expenses not incurred in the ordinary course of such Fund’s business) to not more than 1.70% of the average daily net assets of each share class of the Fund through January 31, 2020.
The Adviser is permitted to receive reimbursement of any excess expense payments paid by it pursuant to the operating expense limitation agreement in future years on a rolling three-year basis as long as the reimbursement does not cause the Fund’s annual operating expenses to exceed the expense cap. The Fund must pay its current ordinary operating expenses before the Adviser is entitled to any reimbursement of management fees and/or expenses. The operating expense limitation agreement can be terminated only by, or with the consent, of the Board of Trustees.
The Fund invested a portion of its assets in the Crow Point Alternative Income Fund (the “Alternative Income Fund”) and the Crow Point Defined Risk Global Equity Income Fund (the “Defined Risk Fund”), which are affiliated funds. As such, the Adviser has agreed to waive its advisory fees on the portion of the Fund’s assets that are invested in the Alternative Income Fund and the Defined Risk Fund. For the fiscal year ended April 30, 2018, the Adviser waived $54,616 in advisory fees related to assets invested in the affiliated funds. This waiver is in addition to amounts waived pursuant to the contractual expense limitations detailed in the above paragraph and are not recoupable.
Expenses not expressly assumed by the Adviser under the Advisory Agreement are paid by the Fund. Under the terms of the Advisory Agreement, the Fund are responsible for the payment of the following expenses among others: (a) the fees payable to the Adviser, (b) the fees and expenses of Trustees who are not affiliated persons of the Adviser or Distributor (as defined under the section entitled (“The Distributor”), (c) the fees and certain expenses of the Custodian (as defined under the section entitled “Custodian”) and Transfer and Dividend Disbursing Agent (as defined under the section entitled “Transfer Agent”), including the cost of maintaining certain required records of the Fund and of pricing the Fund’s shares, (d) the charges and expenses of legal counsel and independent accountants for the Fund, (e) brokerage commissions and any issue or transfer taxes chargeable to the Fund in connection with its securities transactions, (f) all taxes and corporate fees payable by the Fund to governmental agencies, (g) the fees of any trade association of which the Trust may be a member, (h) the cost of share certificates representing shares of the Fund, (i) the cost of fidelity and liability insurance, (j) the fees and expenses involved in registering and maintaining registration of the Fund and of its shares with the SEC, qualifying its shares under state securities laws, including the preparation and printing of the Fund’s registration statements and prospectuses for such purposes, (k) all expenses of shareholders and Trustees’ meetings (including travel expenses of trustees and officers of the Trust who are directors, officers or employees of the Adviser) and of preparing, printing and mailing reports, proxy statements and prospectuses to shareholders in the amount necessary for distribution to the shareholders, (l) litigation and indemnification expenses and other extraordinary expenses not incurred in the ordinary course of the Trust’s business, and (m) dividend expense on securities sold short.
The Advisory Agreement will continue in effect for two (2) years initially and thereafter shall continue from year to year provided such continuance is approved at least annually by (a) a vote of the majority of the Independent Trustees, cast in person at a meeting specifically called for the purpose of voting on such approval and by (b) the majority vote of either all of the Trustees or the vote of a majority of the outstanding shares of the Fund. The Advisory Agreement may be terminated without penalty on 60 days’ written notice by a vote of a majority of the Trustees or by the Adviser, or by holders of a majority of that Fund’s outstanding shares. The Advisory Agreement shall terminate automatically in the event of its assignment.
39
Portfolio Managers. Messrs. Peter DeCaprio, Andrew Tuttle and David Cleary serve as Portfolio Managers of the Fund. As of July 31, 2018, they were responsible for the management of the following types of accounts in addition to Fund:
Performance-Based Fees | Non-Performance-Based Fees | ||||||||||
Portfolio Manager |
Account Type |
Number of Accounts |
Total Assets |
Number of Accounts |
Total Assets |
||||||
Peter DeCaprio | Registered Investment Company | 0 | 0 | 3 | $70 mil | ||||||
Other Pooled Investment Vehicles | 0 | 0 | 1 | $38 mil | |||||||
Other Accounts | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||||||
Andrew Tuttle | Registered Investment Company | 0 | 0 | 1 | $30 mil | ||||||
Other Pooled Investment Vehicles | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||||||
Other Accounts | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||||||
David Cleary | Registered Investment Company | 0 | 0 | 4 | $52 mil | ||||||
Other Pooled Investment Vehicles | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||||||
Other Accounts | 0 | 0 | 1 | $35 mil |
Conflicts of Interest. As indicated in the table above, a portfolio manager may manage numerous accounts for multiple clients. These accounts may include registered investment companies, other types of pooled accounts (e.g., collective investment funds), and separate accounts (i.e., accounts managed on behalf of individuals or public or private institutions). The portfolio manager makes investment decisions for each account based on the investment objectives and policies and other relevant investment considerations applicable to that account.
When the portfolio manager has responsibility for managing more than one account, potential conflicts of interest may arise. Those conflicts could include preferential treatment of one account over others in terms of allocation of resources or of investment opportunities. For instance, the Adviser may receive fees from certain accounts that are higher than the fee it receives from the Fund, or it may receive a performance-based fee on certain accounts. In those instances, the portfolio manager may have an incentive to favor the higher and/or performance-based fee accounts over the Fund.
When allocating investments among client accounts, the portfolio managers have the fiduciary obligation to treat each client equally, regardless of account size or fees paid. All clients at the same custodian (or trading desk) receives the same average price for each transaction. In the event that a trade is partially completed, a portfolio manager will allocate the executed portion of the transaction on a pro rata basis among participating accounts. The participating accounts will receive the average price and transaction costs will be assessed at the commission rate applicable to each account.
Accounts with directed brokerage arrangements will be traded subsequent to non-directed brokerage accounts. The portfolio managers supply model portfolios to third party platforms where other advisors may choose to use them in managing their clients’ assets. Models and model changes will be communicated to other platforms on a rotational basis only after the portfolio manager has communicated these changes to its own internal trading department.
40
Compensation. Each of the Portfolio Managers receives a fixed salary and is eligible to receive a bonus which is dependent upon both the Adviser’s profitability, as applicable, and management’s discretion for serving as the Fund’s portfolio manager.
Ownership. The following table shows the dollar range of equity securities beneficially owned by the Portfolio Managers in the Fund as of the fiscal year ended April 30, 2018 using the following ranges: none; $1-$10,000; $10,001-$50,000; $50,001-$100,000; $100,001-$500,000; $500,001-$1,000,000; or over $1,000,000:
Name of Portfolio Manger |
Dollar Range of Equity Securities in the EAS Crow Point Alternatives Fund | |
Peter DeCaprio | $500,001 – $1,000,000 | |
Andrew Tuttle | 0 | |
David Cleary | $500,001 – $1,000,000 |
Administrator. M3Sixty Administration, LLC (“M3Sixty” or the “Administrator”), with principal offices at 4300 Shawnee Mission Parkway, Suite 100, Fairway, Kansas 66205, provides accounting, administrative, transfer agency, dividend disbursing agency, and shareholder servicing agency services for the Trust pursuant to an Investment Company Services Agreement (the “Services Agreement”). Under the Services Agreement, M3Sixty is responsible for a wide variety of functions, including but not limited to: (a) Fund accounting services; (b) financial statement preparation; (c) valuation of the Fund’s portfolio securities; (d) pricing the Fund’s shares; (e) assistance in preparing tax returns; (f) preparation and filing of required regulatory reports; (g) communications with shareholders; (h) coordination of Board and shareholder meetings; (i) monitoring the Fund’s legal compliance; and (j) maintaining shareholder account records.
Prior to the reorganization, Gemini Fund Services, Inc. (“GFS”), 80 Arkay Drive, Suite 110, Hauppauge, New York 11788 served as administrator, fund accountant, and transfer agent for the Predecessor Fund.
For the administrative services rendered to the Predecessor Fund by GFS, the Fund paid GFS the greater of an annual minimum fee of $36,000 or an asset based fee, which scales downward based upon net assets. For the fiscal year ended April 30, 2015, the Predecessor Fund paid $45,448 for administrative fees. For the fiscal year ended April 30, 2016, the Predecessor Fund paid $87,669 for administrative fees. For the fiscal year ended April 30, 2017, the Predecessor Fund paid $62,225 for administrative fees.
For the fund accounting services rendered to the Predecessor Fund by GFS, the Predecessor Fund paid GFS the greater of an annual minimum fee of $21,600 per fund portfolio or an asset based fee, which scales downward based upon net assets. The Predecessor Fund also paid GFS for any out-of-pocket expenses. For the fiscal year ended April 30, 2015, the Predecessor Fund paid $30,883 for fund accounting fees. For the fiscal year ended April 30, 2016, the Predecessor Fund paid $35,546 for fund accounting fees. For the fiscal year ended April 30, 2017, the Predecessor Fund paid $37,662 for fund accounting fees.
For transfer agency services rendered to the Predecessor Fund by GFS, the Predecessor Fund paid GFS the greater of an annual per Class fee or a per account fee. The Predecessor Fund also paid GFS for any out-of-pocket expenses. For the fiscal year ended April 30, 2015, the Predecessor Fund paid $41,053 for transfer agency fees. For the fiscal year ended April 30, 2016, the Predecessor Fund paid $41,014 for transfer agency fees. For the fiscal year ended April 30, 2017, the Predecessor Fund paid $41,832 for transfer agency fees.
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Subsequent to the reorganization, M3Sixty serves as administrator, fund accountant and transfer agent for the Fund. For the fiscal year ended April 30, 2018, the Fund paid M3Sixty $94,974 under the Services Agreement for fund administration, fund accounting and transfer agent services, of which M3Sixty waived $44,660.
Distributor. Matrix 360 Distributors, LLC acts as the principal underwriter and distributor (the “Distributor”) of the Fund’s shares for the purpose of facilitating the registration of shares of the Fund under state securities laws and to assist in sales of Fund shares pursuant to a Distribution Agreement (the “Distribution Agreement”) approved by the Trustees. The Distributor is a broker-dealer registered with the SEC and a member in good standing of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc. and maintains, at its own expense, its qualification as a broker-dealer under all applicable federal or state laws in those states which the Fund shall from time to time identify to the Distributor as states in which it wishes to offer its shares for sale, in order that state registrations may be maintained for the Fund. Shares of the Fund are sold on a continuous basis. The distribution agreement between the Fund and the Distributor requires the Distributor to use all reasonable efforts in connection with the distribution of the Fund’s shares. However, the Distributor has no obligation to sell any specific number of shares and will only sell shares for orders it receives. Under the Distribution Agreement, the Distributor shall be paid an annual fee of $9,000 and shall receive an annualized amount equal to 2.5bp (0.025%) of the average assets of the Fund.
Prior to the reorganization, Northern Lights Distributors, LLC (“NLD”), located at 17605 Wright Street, Omaha, Nebraska 68130, served as the principal underwriter and national distributor for shares of the Predecessor Fund. NLD was obligated to sell the shares of the Predecessor Fund on a best efforts basis only against purchase orders for the shares. Shares of the Predecessor Fund were offered to the public on a continuous basis.
The following table sets forth the total compensation received by NLD from the Predecessor Fund during the fiscal year ended April 30, 2016.
Fund |
Net Underwriting Discounts and Commissions |
Compensation on Redemptions and Repurchases |
Brokerage Commissions |
Other Compensation |
EAS Crow Point Alternatives Fund Class A | $3 | $0 | $30 | * |
EAS Crow Point Alternatives Fund Class C | $0 | $0 | $0 | * |
* NLD received $10,072 from the Adviser as compensation for its distribution services to the Predecessor Fund.
NLD also received 12b-1 fees from the Predecessor Fund.
The following table sets forth the total compensation received by the Distributor from the Predecessor Fund during the fiscal year ended April 30, 2017.
Fund |
Net Underwriting Discounts and Commissions |
Compensation on Redemptions and Repurchases |
Brokerage Commissions |
Other Compensation |
EAS Crow Point Alternatives Fund Class A | $1,591 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
EAS Crow Point Alternatives Fund Class C | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
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NLD also received 12b-1 fees from the Predecessor Fund.
The following table sets forth the total compensation received by NLD from the Predecessor Fund prior to the reorganization and by the Distributor subsequent to the reorganization during the fiscal year ended April 30, 2018.
Fund |
Net Underwriting Discounts and Commissions |
Compensation on Redemptions and Repurchases |
Brokerage Commissions |
Other Compensation |
EAS Crow Point Alternatives Fund Class A | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
EAS Crow Point Alternatives Fund Class C | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
* NLD received $0 from the Adviser as compensation for its distribution services to the Predecessor Fund, and the Distributor received $0 from the Adviser as compensation for its distribution services to the Fund.
The Distributor also received 12b-1 fees from the Fund.
The Fund has adopted a Distribution Plan (“Plan”) pursuant to Rule 12b-1 of the 1940 Act (see “Administration – Distribution of Shares” in the Prospectus and “Purchases, Redemptions and Special Shareholder Services – Additional Information” below). As required by Rule 12b-1, the Plan (together with the Distribution Agreement) was approved by the Trustees and separately by a majority of the Trustees who are not interested persons of the Trust and who have no direct or indirect financial interest in the operation of the Plan and the Distribution Agreement. The Plan provides that the Trust’s Treasurer shall provide to the Trustees, at least quarterly, a written report of the amounts expended pursuant to the Plan and the purposes of such expenditures. The continuation of the Plan must be considered by the Trustees annually.
Potential benefits of the Plan to the Fund include improved shareholder services and savings to the Fund in certain operating expenses. It is anticipated that the Plan will benefit shareholders because an effective sales program typically is necessary in order for the Fund to reach and maintain a sufficient size to achieve efficiently investment objectives and to realize economies of scale.
Under the Plan, the Fund may use 12b-1 fees to compensate broker-dealers (including, without limitation, the Distributor) for sales of Fund shares, or for other expenses associated with distributing Fund shares. The Fund may expend up to 1.00% for Class C shares and up to 0.25% for Class A shares of the Fund’s average daily net assets annually to pay for any activity primarily intended to result in the sale of shares of the Fund and the servicing of shareholder accounts, provided that the Trustees have approved the category of expenses for which payment is being made. Under ordinary circumstances, the Fund expects sales of Fund shares to involve a payment to broker-dealers; however, certain sales of Fund shares (e.g. sales to: (1) to current and retired officers and Trustees of the Trust; to clients (including custodial, agency, advisory and trust accounts) and current and retired officers and employees of the Adviser; to officers and employees of M3Sixty and the Distributor; to persons associated with law firms, consulting firms and others providing services to the Trust; and to such persons’ spouses, parents, siblings and lineal descendants and their beneficial accounts; or (2) to investors purchasing amounts of Class A shares greater than $3 million) may be made with or without remitting compensation to any broker-dealer.
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During the fiscal year ended April 30, 2016, the Class A shares and Class C shares of the Predecessor Fund paid $23,306 and $20,550, respectively, in distribution related fees pursuant to the Plan. The distribution fees were allocated as follows:
Actual 12b-1 Expenditures Paid by | |||
Predecessor Fund Shares | |||
During the Fiscal Year Ended April 30, 2016 | |||
EAS
Crow Point Alternatives Fund Class A |
EAS
Crow Point Alternatives Fund Class C | ||
Advertising/Marketing | None | None | |
Printing/Postage | None | None | |
Payment to distributor | $1,401 | ($22) | |
Payment to dealers | $21,905 | $20,572 | |
Compensation to sales personnel | None | None | |
Other | $0 | $0 | |
Total | $23,306 | $20,550 |
During the fiscal year ended April 30, 2017, the Class A shares and Class C shares of the Predecessor Fund paid $41,286 and $12,408, respectively, in distribution related fees pursuant to the Plan. The distribution fees were allocated as follows:
Actual 12b-1 Expenditures Paid by | |||
Predecessor Fund Shares | |||
During the Fiscal Year Ended April 30, 2017 | |||
EAS Crow Point Alternatives Fund Class A |
EAS Crow Point Alternatives Fund Class C | ||
Advertising/Marketing | None | None | |
Printing/Postage | None | None | |
Payment to distributor | $1,490 | $45 | |
Payment to dealers | $39,796 | $12,363 | |
Compensation to sales personnel | None | None | |
Other | $0 | $0 | |
Total | $41,286 | $12,408 |
During the fiscal year ended April 30, 2018, the Predecessor Fund’s and the Fund’s Class A shares and Class C shares paid $11,885 and $8,461, respectively, in distribution related fees pursuant to the Plan. The distribution fees were allocated as follows:
Actual 12b-1 Expenditures Paid by | |||
Predecessor Fund Shares | |||
During the Fiscal Year Ended April 30, 2018 | |||
EAS Crow Point Alternatives Fund Class A |
EAS Crow Point Alternatives Fund Class C | ||
Advertising/Marketing | None | None | |
Printing/Postage | None | None | |
Payment to distributor | $3,312 | $1,505 | |
Payment to dealers | $8,573 | $6,956 | |
Compensation to sales personnel | None | None | |
Other | $0 | $0 | |
Total | $11,885 | $8,461 |
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Custodian. Fifth Third Bank (“Custodian”), 38 Fountain Square Plaza, Cincinnati, OH 45263, serves as custodian for the Fund’s assets. The Custodian acts as the depository for the Fund, safekeeps its portfolio securities, collects all income and other payments with respect to portfolio securities, disburses monies at the Fund’s request and maintains records in connection with its duties as Custodian.
Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm. The Trustees have selected the firm BBD, LLP, 1835 Market Street, 3rd Floor, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19103, to serve as independent registered public accounting firm for the Fund for the current fiscal year and to audit the annual financial statements of the Fund, prepare the Fund’s federal, state and excise tax returns and consult with the Fund on matters of accounting and federal and state income taxation.
Independent registered public accounting firm will audit the financial statements of the Fund at least once each year. Shareholders will receive annual audited and semi-annual (unaudited) reports when published and written confirmation of all transactions in their account. A copy of the most recent Annual Report will accompany the SAI whenever a shareholder or a prospective investor requests it.
Legal Counsel. Practus, LLP, located at 11300 Tomahawk Creek Parkway, Suite 310, Leawood, KS 66211, serves as legal counsel to the Trust and the independent Trustees.
The Trust, the Adviser and the Distributor each have adopted a code of ethics, as required by applicable law, which is designed to prevent affiliated persons of the Trust, the Adviser and the Distributor from engaging in deceptive, manipulative, or fraudulent activities in connection with securities held or to be acquired by the Fund (which may also be held by persons subject to a code). Each code permits the applicable entity’s employees and officers to invest in securities, subject to certain restrictions and pre-approval requirements. In addition, the Trust’s and Adviser’s codes require that portfolio managers and other investment personnel of the Adviser report their personal securities transactions and holdings, which are reviewed for compliance with the code of ethics.
The Trust has adopted a proxy voting and disclosure policy that delegates to the Adviser the authority to vote proxies for the Fund, subject to oversight of the Trustees. Copies of the Trust’s Proxy Voting and Disclosure Policy and the Adviser’s Proxy Voting Policy and Procedures are included as Appendix A to this SAI.
Each year the Fund is required to file Form N-PX stating how the Fund voted proxies relating to portfolio securities during the most recent 12-month period ended June 30, within 60 days after the end of such period. Information regarding how the Fund voted proxies as set forth in its most recent filing of Form N-PX will be available (1) without charge, upon request, by calling the Fund at 877-244-6235; and (2) on the SEC’s website at http://www.sec.gov.
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PURCHASES, REDEMPTIONS AND SPECIAL SHAREHOLDER SERVICES
Purchases. Reference is made to “Purchasing Shares” in the Prospectus for more information concerning how to purchase shares. Specifically, potential investors should refer to the Prospectus for information regarding purchasing shares by mail or bank wire, and for information regarding telephone orders. Potential investors should also refer to the Prospectus for information regarding the Fund’s three classes of shares, Class A, Class C and Class I, and their respective fees and expenses. The Prospectus also describes the Fund’s automatic investment plan and certain rights reserved by the Fund with respect to orders for Fund shares. The following information supplements the information regarding share purchases in the Prospectus:
Pricing of Orders. Shares of the Fund will be offered and sold on a continuous basis. The purchase price of shares of the Fund is based on the net asset value next determined after the order is received, subject to the order being accepted by the Fund in good form. Net asset value is normally determined at 4:00 p.m. Eastern time, as described under “Net Asset Value” below. Notwithstanding the foregoing, Class A shares are generally subject to an initial sales load as described in the Prospectus.
Regular Accounts. The regular account allows for voluntary investments to be made at any time. Available to individuals, custodians, corporations, trusts, estates, corporate retirement plans, and others, investors are free to make additions and withdrawals to or from their account as often as they wish. When an investor makes an initial investment in the Fund, a shareholder account is opened in accordance with the investor’s registration instructions. Each time there is a transaction in a shareholder account, such as an additional investment or the reinvestment of a dividend or distribution, the shareholder will receive a confirmation statement showing the current transaction and all prior transactions in the shareholder account during the calendar year to date, along with a summary of the status of the account as of the transaction date.
Purchases in Kind. The Fund may accept securities in lieu of cash in payment for the purchase of shares in the Fund. The acceptance of such securities is at the sole discretion of the Adviser based upon the suitability of the securities accepted for inclusion as a long-term investment of the Fund, the marketability of such securities, and other factors that the Adviser may deem appropriate. If accepted, the securities will be valued using the same criteria and methods as described in “Investing in the Fund - Determining the Fund’s Net Asset Value” in the Prospectus.
Share Certificates. The Fund normally does not issue stock certificates. Evidence of ownership of shares is provided through entry in the Fund’s share registry. Investors will receive periodic account statements (and, where applicable, purchase confirmations) that will show the number of shares owned.
Redemptions. Reference is made to “Redeeming Shares” in the Prospectus for more information concerning how to redeem shares. Specifically, investors wishing to redeem shares in the Fund should refer to the Prospectus for information regarding redeeming shares by mail, telephone/fax or bank wire. The Prospectus also describes contingent deferred sales charges (“CDSCs”) that apply to purchases of Class C shares of the Fund and to certain purchases of Class A shares of the Fund. The Prospectus also describes the Fund’s policy regarding accounts that fall below the Fund’s required minimums, redemptions in kind, signature guarantees and other information about the Fund’s redemption policies. The following information supplements the information regarding share redemptions in the Prospectus:
Suspension of Redemption Privileges and Postponement of Payment. The Fund may suspend redemption privileges or postpone the date of payment (i) during any period that the New York Stock Exchange (the “NYSE”) is closed for other than customary weekend and holiday closings, or that trading on the NYSE is restricted as determined by the SEC; (ii) during any period when an emergency exists as defined by the rules of the SEC as a result of which it is not reasonably practicable for the Fund to dispose of securities owned by it, or to determine fairly the value of its assets; and (iii) for such other periods as the SEC may permit. The Fund may also suspend or postpone the recordation of the transfer of shares upon the occurrence of any of the foregoing conditions. Any redemption may be more or less than the shareholder’s cost depending on the market value of the securities held by the Fund. No charge is made by the Fund for redemptions other than the possible charge for wiring redemption proceeds, and the assessment of a CDSC on certain redemptions of Fund shares occurring within one year following the issuance of such shares. For information on the CDSCs that apply to purchases of Class C shares and to certain purchases of Class A shares, see “Redeeming Shares – Contingent Deferred Sales Charges” in the Prospectus.
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Involuntary Redemptions. In addition to the situations described in the Prospectus under “Redeeming Shares,” the Fund may redeem shares involuntarily to reimburse the Fund for any loss sustained by reason of the failure of a shareholder to make full payment for shares purchased by the shareholder or to collect any charge relating to a transaction effected for the benefit of a shareholder which is applicable to Fund shares as provided in the Prospectus from time to time.
Additional Information. Following is additional information regarding certain services and features related to purchases, redemptions and distribution of Fund shares. Investors who have questions about any of this information should call the Fund at (877) 244-6235.
Reduced Sales Loads. Front-end sales loads on purchases of Class A shares may be reduced under the “Right of Accumulation” or under a “Letter of Intent.” To receive a reduced sales load, you must inform your broker-dealer or the Fund at the time you purchase shares that you qualify for such a reduction. If you do not let your broker-dealer or the Fund know you are eligible for a reduced sales charge, you may not receive the discount to which you are otherwise entitled.
You may use the “Right of Accumulation” to reduce your sales load. Under the “Right of Accumulation,” you may combine the current net asset value of your existing Class A shares of the Fund or any fund in the Crow Point family with the amount of any current purchases in the Fund or funds in the Crow Point family of funds in order to take advantage of the reduced sales loads with higher amounts of investment in the Fund.
Purchases made pursuant to a “Letter of Intent” may also be eligible for the reduced sales loads. In a Letter of Intent, the investor expresses his or her intention, in writing, to invest a certain amount over a specified period of time. The Fund will then apply to each of the investor’s periodic investments the reduced sales load that would apply to the total amount stated in the Letter of Intent. The minimum initial investment under a Letter of Intent is $100,000. If not stated otherwise in the Letter of Intent, the amount of shares you purchase in the Fund during the thirteen (13) months following the signing of the Letter of Intent qualify for the reduced sales load. The reduced sales load will not apply to purchases in the Fund made more than 90 days prior to the signing of the Letter of Intent. During the term of your Letter of Intent, the Transfer Agent will hold in escrow shares representing the highest applicable sales load for the Fund each time you make a purchase. Any shares you redeem during that period will count against your total amount stated in your Letter of Intent. If, by the end of the term of the Letter of Intent, you have purchased all the shares you committed to purchase in the Letter of Intent, the escrowed shares will be released to you. If you have not purchased all the shares you committed to purchase in the Letter of Intent, your escrowed shares will be redeemed in an amount equal to the sales load that would apply if you had purchased the actual amount in your account all at once. Any escrowed shares not needed to satisfy that sales load would be released to you.
Shareholders may include the value of certain related accounts, including accounts held by their spouse and children under the age of 21, family trust accounts of the investor and other accounts held by the investor to determine the applicable sales load and for purposes of the Right of Accumulation and Letter of Intent privileges. These privileges apply even if your related accounts are opened at different brokerage firms, so it is important to let your broker-dealer(s) or the Transfer Agent know about all your accounts that may be combined. To verify eligibility for a reduced sales load, your broker-dealer or the Fund may require that you submit copies of account statements to substantiate requests for Right of Accumulation and Letter of Intent privileges.
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Class A shares may be sold at net asset value, without a sales charge, to current and retired officers and Trustees of the Trust; to clients (including custodial, agency, advisory and trust accounts) and current and retired officers and employees of the Adviser; to officers and employees of M3Sixty and the Distributor; to persons associated with law firms, consulting firms and others providing services to the Trust; and to such persons’ spouses, parents, siblings and lineal descendants and their beneficial accounts. Such shares may also be issued at net asset value (1) in connection with the merger (or similar transaction) of an investment company (or series or class thereof) or personal holding company with the Fund (or class thereof), and (2) to investment advisers, financial planners or other intermediaries who place trades for their own accounts or the accounts of their clients and who charge a management, consulting or other fee for their services; and to clients of such investment advisers, financial planners or other intermediaries who place trades for their own accounts if the accounts are linked to the master account of such investment adviser, financial planner or other intermediary on the books and records of the broker or agent. Sales charges generally are waived in the foregoing cases because either (i) there is no sales effort involved in the sale of shares; or (ii) the investor is paying a fee (other than the sales charge) to the broker-dealer or other financial intermediary or adviser involved in the sale.
Transfer of Registration. To transfer shares to another owner, send a written request to the Fund at 360 Funds, 4300 Shawnee Mission Parkway, Suite 100, Fairway, Kansas 66205. Your request should include the following: (1) the Fund name and existing account registration; (2) signature(s) of the registered owner(s) exactly as the signature(s) appear(s) on the account registration; (3) the new account registration, address, social security or taxpayer identification number, and how dividends and capital gains are to be distributed; (4) signature guarantees (See the Prospectus under the heading “Redeeming Shares - Signature Guarantees”); and (5) any additional documents which are required for transfer by corporations, administrators, executors, trustees, guardians, etc. If you have any questions about transferring shares, call or write the Fund.
Mailing Shareholder Communications. Accounts having the same mailing address may consent in writing to sharing a single mailing of shareholder reports, proxy statements (but each such shareholder would receive his/her own proxy) and other Fund literature.
Plan under Rule 12b-1. As discussed in the “Management and Administration – Distributor” section above, the Fund has adopted a Distribution Plan (“Plan”) pursuant to Rule 12b-1 of the 1940 Act for the Fund. Under the Plan, the Fund may pay for services related to the distribution of shares of the Fund with up to 1.00% of the Fund’s assets on an annual basis for Class C shares and up to 0.25% of the Fund’s assets on an annual basis for Class A shares. The Trustees will take into account the expenditures for purposes of reviewing operations under the Plan and in connection with their annual consideration of renewal of the Plan. The Distributor has indicated that it expects its expenditures to include, without limitation: (a) the printing and mailing of Fund prospectuses, statements of additional information, any supplements thereto and shareholder reports for prospective shareholders with respect to shares of the Fund; (b) those relating to the development, preparation, printing and mailing of advertisements, sales literature and other promotional materials describing and/or relating to shares of the Fund; (c) obtaining information and providing explanations to wholesale and retail distributors of contracts regarding Fund investment objectives and policies and other information about the Fund, including the performance of the Fund; (d) training sales personnel regarding the shares of the Fund; and (e) financing any activity that the Distributor determines is primarily intended to result in the sale of Fund shares. Under the Plan, the Distributor is compensated regardless of its out-of-pocket expenditures. The Fund does not participate in any joint distribution activities with other investment companies nor is the Fund aware of any interested person of the Fund or any director who is not an interested person of the Fund having any direct or indirect financial interest in the Plan or related agreements.
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Dealers. The Distributor, at its expense, may provide additional compensation in addition to dealer discounts and brokerage commissions to dealers in connection with sales of shares of the Fund. Compensation may include financial assistance to dealers in connection with conferences, sales or training programs for their employees, seminars for the public, advertising campaigns regarding the Fund, and/or other dealer-sponsored special events, to the extent permitted under applicable law and the rules and regulations of the FINRA. None of the aforementioned compensation is paid directly by the Fund or its shareholders although the Distributor may use a portion of the payment it receives under the Distribution Plan to pay these expenses.
Additional Information About Redemptions. The right to redeem shares of the Fund can be suspended and the payment of the redemption price deferred when the NYSE is closed (other than for customary weekend and holiday closings), during periods when trading on the NYSE is restricted as determined by the SEC, or during any emergency as determined by the SEC which makes it impracticable for the Fund to dispose of its securities or value its assets, or during any other period permitted by order of the SEC for the protection of investors.
Due to the high cost of maintaining small accounts, the Trust reserves the right to redeem accounts with balances of less than $1,000.00. Prior to such redemption, shareholders will be given 60 days’ written notice to make an additional purchase. However, no such redemption would be required by the Trust if the cause of the low account balance was a reduction in the net asset value of shares. No CDSC will be imposed with respect to such involuntary redemptions.
The Fund does not intend, under normal circumstances, to redeem shares by payment in kind. It is possible, however, that conditions may arise in the future that would, in the opinion of the Trustees, make it undesirable for the Fund to pay for all redemptions in cash. In such a case, the Trustees may authorize payment to be made in readily marketable portfolio securities of the Fund. Securities delivered in payment of redemptions would be valued at the same value assigned to them in computing the net asset value per share. Shareholders receiving them would incur brokerage costs when these securities are sold.
The net asset value and net asset value per share of the Fund normally is determined at the time regular trading closes on the NYSE (currently 4:00 p.m., New York time, Monday through Friday), except on business holidays when the NYSE is closed. The NYSE recognizes the following holidays: New Year’s Day, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, President’s Day, Good Friday, Memorial Day, Fourth of July, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day, and Christmas Day. Any other holiday recognized by the NYSE will be considered a business holiday on which the net asset value of shares of the Fund will not be calculated.
In computing the Fund’s net asset value, all liabilities incurred or accrued are deducted from its net assets. The resulting net assets are divided by the number of shares of the Fund outstanding at the time of the valuation and the result is the net asset value per share of the Fund.
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The pricing and valuation of portfolio securities is determined in good faith in accordance with procedures established by, and under the direction of, the Trustees. Values are determined according to accepted accounting practices and all laws and regulations that apply. Using methods approved by the Trustees, the assets of the Fund are valued as follows:
● | Securities that are listed on a securities exchange are valued at the last quoted sales price at the time the valuation is made. Price information on listed securities is taken from the exchange where the security is primarily traded by the Fund. |
● | Securities that are listed on an exchange and which are not traded on the valuation date are valued at the bid price. |
● | Unlisted securities for which market quotations are readily available are valued at the latest quoted sales price, if available, at the time of valuation, otherwise, at the latest quoted bid price. |
● | Temporary cash investments with maturities of 60 days or less will be valued at amortized cost, which approximates market value. |
● | Securities for which no current quotations are readily available are valued at fair value as determined in good faith using methods approved by the Trustees. Securities may be valued on the basis of prices provided by a pricing service when such prices are believed to reflect the fair market value of such securities. |
● | Securities may be valued on the basis of prices provided by a pricing service when such prices are believed to reflect the fair value of such securities. |
Subject to the provisions of the Trust Instrument, determinations by the Trustees as to the direct and allocable liabilities of the Fund and the allocable portion of any general assets are conclusive. As described in the Prospectus, the Adviser is responsible for notifying the Trustees or the Trust’s Fair Value Committee when it believes that fair value pricing is required for a particular security. The Trust has adopted Fair Value Pricing procedures and instructions that apply to investments by the Fund in restricted securities and warrants (“Restricted Securities”). A description of these procedures and instructions is included in the Prospectus and is incorporated herein by reference. As explained in the Prospectus, because the Fund’s fair valuing of Restricted Securities is a determination of the amount that the owner might reasonably expect to receive for them upon their current sale, the Fund is subject to the risk that the Fund’s fair valued prices are not accurate, and that the fair value price is not reflective of the value the Fund will receive upon a sale of the security.
The following discussion is a summary of certain U.S. federal income tax considerations affecting the Fund and their shareholders. The discussion reflects applicable federal income tax laws of the U.S. as of the date of this SAI, which tax laws may be changed or subject to new interpretations by the courts or the Internal Revenue Service (the “IRS”), possibly with retroactive effect. No attempt is made to present a detailed explanation of all U.S. income, estate or gift tax, or foreign, state or local tax concerns affecting the Fund and its shareholders (including shareholders owning large positions in the Fund). The discussion set forth herein does not constitute tax advice. Investors are urged to consult their own tax advisors to determine the tax consequences to them of investing in the Fund.
In addition, no attempt is made to address tax concerns applicable to an investor with a special tax status such as a financial institution, real estate investment trust, insurance company, regulated investment company (“RIC”), individual retirement account, other tax-exempt entity, dealer in securities or non-U.S. investor. Furthermore, this discussion does not reflect possible application of the alternative minimum tax (“AMT”). Unless otherwise noted, this discussion assumes shares of the Fund are held by U.S. shareholders and that such shares are held as capital assets.
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A U.S. shareholder is a beneficial owner of shares of the Fund that is for U.S. federal income tax purposes:
● | a citizen or individual resident of the United States (including certain former citizens and former long-term residents); |
● | a corporation or other entity treated as a corporation for U.S. federal income tax purposes, created or organized in or under the laws of the United States or any state thereof or the District of Columbia; |
● | an estate, the income of which is subject to U.S. federal income taxation regardless of its source; or |
● | a trust with respect to which a court within the United States is able to exercise primary supervision over its administration and one or more U.S. shareholders have the authority to control all of its substantial decisions or the trust has made a valid election in effect under applicable Treasury regulations to be treated as a U.S. person. |
A “Non-U.S. shareholder” is a beneficial owner of shares of the Fund that is an individual, corporation, trust or estate and is not a U.S. shareholder. If a partnership (including any entity treated as a partnership for U.S. federal income tax purposes) holds shares of the Fund, the tax treatment of a partner in the partnership generally depends upon the status of the partner and the activities of the partnership. A prospective shareholder who is a partner of a partnership holding the Fund’s shares should consult its tax advisors with respect to the purchase, ownership and disposition of its Fund shares.
Taxation as a RIC. The Fund intends to qualify and remain qualified as a RIC under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Internal Revenue Code”). The Fund will qualify as a RIC if, among other things, they meet the source-of-income and the asset-diversification requirements. With respect to the source-of-income requirement, the Fund must derive in each taxable year at least 90% of its gross income (including tax-exempt interest) from (i) dividends, interest, payments with respect to certain securities loans, gains from the sale or other disposition of stock, securities or foreign currencies, or other income (including but not limited to gains from options, futures and forward contracts) derived with respect to its business of investing in such shares, securities or currencies and (ii) net income derived from an interest in a “qualified publicly traded partnership.” A “qualified publicly traded partnership” is generally defined as a publicly traded partnership under Internal Revenue Code section 7704. However, for these purposes, a qualified publicly traded partnership does not include a publicly traded partnership if 90% or more of its income is described in (i) above. Income derived from a partnership (other than a qualified publicly traded partnership) or trust is qualifying income to the extent such income is attributable to items of income of the partnership or trust which would be qualifying income if realized by the Fund in the same manner as realized by the partnership or trust.
If a RIC fails this 90% source-of-income test it is no longer subject to a 21% penalty as long as such failure was due to reasonable cause and not willful neglect. Instead, the amount of the penalty for non-compliance is the amount by which the non-qualifying income exceeds one-ninth of the qualifying gross income.
With respect to the asset-diversification requirement, the Fund must diversify its holdings so that, at the end of each quarter of each taxable year (i) at least 50% of the value of the Fund’s total assets is represented by cash and cash items, U.S. government securities, the securities of other RICs and other securities, if such other securities of any one issuer do not represent more than 5% of the value of the Fund’s total assets or more than 10% of the outstanding voting securities of such issuer, and (ii) not more than 25% of the value of the Fund’s total assets is invested in the securities other than U.S. government securities or the securities of other RICs of (a) one issuer, (b) two or more issuers that are controlled by the Fund and that are engaged in the same, similar or related trades or businesses, or (c) one or more qualified publicly traded partnerships.
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If a RIC fails this asset-diversification test, such RIC, in addition to other cure provisions previously permitted, has a 6-month period to correct any failure without incurring a penalty if such failure is “de minimis,” meaning that the failure does not exceed the lesser of 1% of the RIC’s assets, or $10 million.
Similarly, if a RIC fails this asset-diversification test and the failure is not de minimis, a RIC can cure failure if: (a) the RIC files with the Treasury Department a description of each asset that causes the RIC to fail the diversification tests; (b) the failure is due to reasonable cause and not willful neglect; and (c) the failure is cured within six months (or such other period specified by the Treasury). In such cases, a tax is imposed on the RIC equal to the greater of: (a) $50,000 or (b) an amount determined by multiplying the highest rate of tax (currently 21%) by the amount of net income generated during the period of diversification test failure by the assets that caused the RIC to fail the diversification test.
If the Fund qualifies as a RIC and distributes to its shareholders, for each taxable year, at least 90% of the sum of (i) its “investment company taxable income” as that term is defined in the Internal Revenue Code (which includes, among other things, dividends, taxable interest, the excess of any net short-term capital gains over net long-term capital losses and certain net foreign exchange gains as reduced by certain deductible expenses) without regard to the deduction for dividends paid, and (ii) the excess of its gross tax-exempt interest, if any, over certain deductions attributable to such interest that are otherwise disallowed, the Fund will be relieved of U.S. federal income tax on any income of the Fund, including long-term capital gains, distributed to shareholders. However, any ordinary income or capital gain retained by the Fund will be subject to U.S. federal income tax at regular corporate federal income tax rates (currently at a maximum rate of 21%). The Fund intends to distribute at least annually all or substantially all of its investment company taxable income, net tax-exempt interest, and net capital gain.
The Fund will generally be subject to a nondeductible 4% federal excise tax on the portion of their undistributed ordinary income with respect to each calendar year and undistributed capital gains if they fail to meet certain distribution requirements with respect to the one-year period ending on October 31 in that calendar year. To avoid the 4% federal excise tax, the required minimum distribution is generally equal to the sum of (i) 98% of the Fund’s ordinary income (computed on a calendar year basis), (ii) 98.2% of the Fund’s capital gain net income (generally computed for the one-year period ending on October 31) and (iii) any income realized, but not distributed, and on which we paid no federal income tax in preceding years. The Fund generally intend to make distributions in a timely manner in an amount at least equal to the required minimum distribution and therefore, under normal market conditions, do not expect to be subject to this excise tax.
The Fund may be required to recognize taxable income in circumstances in which they do not receive cash. For example, if the Fund holds debt obligations that are treated under applicable tax rules as having original issue discount (such as debt instruments with payment in kind interest or, in certain cases, with increasing interest rates or that are issued with warrants), the Fund must include in income each year a portion of the original issue discount that accrues over the life of the obligation regardless of whether cash representing such income is received by the Fund in the same taxable year. Because any original issue discount accrued will be included in the Fund’s “investment company taxable income” (discussed above) for the year of accrual, the Fund may be required to make a distribution to its shareholders to satisfy the distribution requirement, even though it will not have received an amount of cash that corresponds with the income earned.
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To the extent that the Fund has capital loss carryforwards from prior tax years, those carryforwards will reduce the net capital gains that can support the Fund’s distribution of Capital Gain Dividends. If the Fund uses net capital losses incurred in taxable years beginning on or before December 22, 2010 (pre-2011 losses), those carryforwards will not reduce the Fund’s current earnings and profits, as losses incurred in later years will. As a result, if the Fund then makes distributions of capital gains recognized during the current year in excess of net capital gains (as reduced by carryforwards), the portion of the excess equal to pre-2011 losses factoring into net capital gain will be taxable as an ordinary dividend distribution, even though that distributed excess amount would not have been subject to tax if retained by the Fund. Capital loss carryforwards are reduced to the extent they offset current-year net realized capital gains, whether the Fund retains or distributes such gains.
A RIC is generally permitted to carry forward net capital losses indefinitely and may allow losses to retain their original character (as short or as long-term). For net capital losses recognized prior to such date, such losses are permitted to be carried forward up to 8 years and are characterized as short-term. These capital loss carryforwards may be utilized in future years to offset net realized capital gains of the Fund, if any, prior to distributing such gains to shareholders.
Gain or loss realized by the Fund from the sale or exchange of warrants acquired by the Fund as well as any loss attributable to the lapse of such warrants generally will be treated as capital gain or loss. Such gain or loss generally will be long-term or short-term, depending on how long the Fund held a particular warrant. Upon the exercise of a warrant acquired by the Fund, the Fund’s tax basis in the stock purchased under the warrant will equal the sum of the amount paid for the warrant plus the strike price paid on the exercise of the warrant. Except as set forth in “Failure to Qualify as a RIC,” the remainder of this discussion assumes that the Fund will qualify as RICs for each taxable year.
Failure to Qualify as a RIC. If the Fund is unable to satisfy the 90% distribution requirement or otherwise fails to qualify as a RIC in any year, it will be subject to corporate level income tax on all of its income and gain, regardless of whether or not such income was distributed. Distributions to the Fund’s shareholders of such income and gain will not be deductible by the Fund in computing its taxable income. In such event, the Fund’s distributions, to the extent derived from the Fund’s current or accumulated earnings and profits, would constitute ordinary dividends, which would generally be eligible for the dividends received deduction available to corporate shareholders, and non-corporate shareholders would generally be able to treat such distributions as “qualified dividend income” eligible for reduced rates of U.S. federal income taxation provided in each case that certain holding period and other requirements are satisfied.
Distributions in excess of the Fund’s current and accumulated earnings and profits would be treated first as a return of capital to the extent of the shareholders’ tax basis in their Fund shares, and any remaining distributions would be treated as a capital gain. To qualify as a RIC in a subsequent taxable year, the Fund would be required to satisfy the source-of-income, the asset diversification, and the annual distribution requirements for that year and dispose of any earnings and profits from any year in which the Fund failed to qualify for tax treatment as a RIC. Subject to a limited exception applicable to RICs that qualified as such under the Internal Revenue Code for at least one year prior to disqualification and that requalify as a RIC no later than the second year following the nonqualifying year, the Fund would be subject to tax on any unrealized built-in gains in the assets held by it during the period in which the Fund failed to qualify for tax treatment as a RIC that are recognized within the subsequent 10 years, unless the Fund made a special election to pay corporate-level tax on such built-in gain at the time of its requalification as a RIC.
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Taxation for U.S. Shareholders. Distributions paid to U.S. shareholders by the Fund from their investment company taxable income (which is, generally, the Fund’s ordinary income plus net realized short-term capital gains in excess of net realized long-term capital losses) are generally taxable to U.S. shareholders as ordinary income to the extent of the Fund’s earnings and profits, whether paid in cash or reinvested in additional shares. Such distributions (if designated by the Fund) may qualify (i) for the dividends received deduction in the case of corporate shareholders under Section 243 of the Internal Revenue Code to the extent that the Fund’s income consists of dividend income from U.S. corporations, excluding distributions from tax-exempt organizations, exempt farmers’ cooperatives or real estate investment trusts or (ii) in the case of individual shareholders as qualified dividend income eligible to be taxed at reduced rates under Section 1(h)(11) of the Internal Revenue Code (which provides for a maximum 20% rate) to the extent that the Fund receives qualified dividend income, and provided in each case certain holding period and other requirements are met. Qualified dividend income is, in general, dividend income from taxable domestic corporations and qualified foreign corporations (e.g., generally, foreign corporations incorporated in a possession of the United States or in certain countries with a qualified comprehensive income tax treaty with the United States, or the stock with respect to which such dividend is paid is readily tradable on an established securities market in the United States). A qualified foreign corporation generally excludes any foreign corporation, which for the taxable year of the corporation in which the dividend was paid, or the preceding taxable year, is a passive foreign investment company. Distributions made to a U.S. shareholder from an excess of net long-term capital gains over net short-term capital losses (“capital gain dividends”), including capital gain dividends credited to such shareholder but retained by the Fund, are taxable to such shareholder as long-term capital gain if they have been properly designated by the Fund, regardless of the length of time such shareholder owned the shares of the Fund. The maximum tax rate on capital gain dividends received by individuals is generally 20%. Distributions in excess of the Fund’s earnings and profits will be treated by the U.S. shareholder, first, as a tax-free return of capital, which is applied against and will reduce the adjusted tax basis of the U.S. shareholder’s shares and, after such adjusted tax basis is reduced to zero, will constitute capital gain to the U.S. shareholder (assuming the shares are held as a capital asset). The Fund is not required to provide written notice designating the amount of any qualified dividend income or capital gain dividends and other distributions. The Forms 1099 will instead serve this notice purpose.
As a RIC, the Fund will be subject to the AMT, but any items that are treated differently for AMT purposes must be apportioned between the Fund and the shareholders and this may affect the shareholders’ AMT liabilities. The Fund intends in general to apportion these items in the same proportion that dividends paid to each shareholder bear to the Fund’s taxable income (determined without regard to the dividends paid deduction.
For purpose of determining (i) whether the annual distribution requirement is satisfied for any year and (ii) the amount of capital gain dividends paid for that year, the Fund may, under certain circumstances, elect to treat a dividend that is paid during the following taxable year as if it had been paid during the taxable year in question. If the Fund makes such an election, the U.S. shareholder will still be treated as receiving the dividend in the taxable year in which the distribution is made. However, any dividend declared by the Fund in October, November or December of any calendar year, payable to shareholders of record on a specified date in such a month and actually paid during January of the following year, will be treated as if it had been received by the U.S. shareholders on December 31 of the year in which the dividend was declared.
The Fund intends to distribute all realized capital gains, if any, at least annually. If, however, the Fund were to retain any net capital gain, the Fund may designate the retained amount as undistributed capital gains in a notice to shareholders who, if subject to U.S. federal income tax on long-term capital gains, (i) will be required to include in income as long-term capital gain, their proportionate shares of such undistributed amount, and (ii) will be entitled to credit their proportionate shares of the federal income tax paid by the Fund on the undistributed amount against their U.S. federal income tax liabilities, if any, and to claim refunds to the extent the credit exceeds such liabilities. If such an event occurs, the tax basis of shares owned by a shareholder of the Fund will, for U.S. federal income tax purposes, generally be increased by the difference between the amount of undistributed net capital gain included in the shareholder’s gross income and the tax deemed paid by the shareholders.
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Sales and other dispositions of the shares of the Fund generally are taxable events. U.S. shareholders should consult their own tax advisor with reference to their individual circumstances to determine whether any particular transaction in the shares of the Fund is properly treated as a sale or exchange for federal income tax purposes, as the following discussion assumes, and the tax treatment of any gains or losses recognized in such transactions. The sale or other disposition of shares of the Fund will generally result in capital gain or loss to the shareholder equal to the difference between the amount realized and his adjusted tax basis in the shares sold or exchanged, and will be long-term capital gain or loss if the shares have been held for more than one year at the time of sale. Any loss upon the sale or exchange of shares held for six months or less will be treated as long-term capital loss to the extent of any capital gain dividends received (including amounts credited as an undistributed capital gain dividend) by such shareholder with respect to such shares. A loss realized on a sale or exchange of shares of the Fund generally will be disallowed if other substantially identical shares are acquired within a 61-day period beginning 30 days before and ending 30 days after the date that the shares are disposed. In such case, the basis of the shares acquired will be adjusted to reflect the disallowed loss. Present law taxes both long-term and short-term capital gain of corporations at the rates applicable to ordinary income of corporations. For non-corporate taxpayers, short-term capital gain will currently be taxed at the rate applicable to ordinary income, currently a maximum of 21%, while long-term capital gain generally will be taxed at a maximum rate of 20%. Capital losses are subject to certain limitations.
Federal law requires that mutual fund companies report their shareholders’ cost basis, gain/loss, and holding period to the Internal Revenue Service on the Fund’s shareholders’ Consolidated Form 1099s when “covered” securities are sold. Covered securities are any regulated investment company and/or dividend reinvestment plan shares acquired on or after January 1, 2012.
The Fund selected the Average Cost method as its standing (default) tax lot identification method for all shareholders. A tax lot identification method is the way the Fund will determine which specific shares are deemed to be sold when there are multiple purchases on different dates at differing net asset values, and the entire position is not sold at one time. The Fund’s standing tax lot identification method is the method covered shares will be reported on your Consolidated Form 1099 if you do not select a specific tax lot identification method. You may choose a method different than the Fund’s standing method and will be able to do so at the time of your purchase or upon the sale of covered shares. Please refer to the appropriate Internal Revenue Service regulations or consult your tax advisor with regard to your personal circumstances.
For those securities defined as “covered” under current Internal Revenue Service cost basis tax reporting regulations, the Fund is responsible for maintaining accurate cost basis and tax lot information for tax reporting purposes. The Fund is not responsible for the reliability or accuracy of the information for those securities that are not “covered.” The Fund and its service providers do not provide tax advice. You should consult independent sources, which may include a tax professional, with respect to any decisions you may make with respect to choosing a tax lot identification method.
For taxable years beginning after December 31, 2012, certain U.S. shareholders, including individuals and estates and trusts, will be subject to an additional 3.8% Medicare tax on all or a portion of their “net investment income,” which should include dividends from the Fund and net gains from the disposition of shares of the Fund. U.S. shareholders are urged to consult their own tax advisors regarding the implications of the additional Medicare tax resulting from an investment in the Fund.
Pay-In-Kind Securities. Payment-in-kind securities will, and commodity-linked notes may, give rise to income that is required to be distributed and is taxable even though the Fund holding the security receives no interest payment in cash on the security during the year.
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If the Fund holds the foregoing kinds of securities, it may be required to pay out as an income distribution each year an amount that is greater than the total amount of cash interest the Fund actually received. Such distributions may be made from the cash assets of the Fund or by liquidation of portfolio securities, if necessary (including when it is not advantageous to do so). The Fund may realize gains or losses from such liquidations. In the event the Fund realizes net capital gains from such transactions, its shareholders may receive a larger capital gain distribution than they would in the absence of such transactions.
Tax-Exempt Shareholders. A tax-exempt shareholder could recognize UBTI by virtue of its investment in the Fund if shares in the Fund constitute debt-financed property in the hands of the tax-exempt shareholder within the meaning of Internal Revenue Code Section 514(b). Furthermore, a tax-exempt shareholder may recognize UBTI if the Fund recognizes “excess inclusion income” derived from direct or indirect investments in residual interests in REMICs or equity interests in TMPs if the amount of such income recognized by the Fund exceeds the Fund’s investment company taxable income (after taking into account deductions for dividends paid by the Fund).
In addition, special tax consequences apply to charitable remainder trusts (“CRTs”) that invest in regulated investment companies that invest directly or indirectly in residual interests in REMICs or equity interests in TMPs. Under legislation enacted in December 2006, a CRT (as defined in section 664 of the Internal Revenue Code) that realizes any UBTI for a taxable year, must pay an excise tax annually of an amount equal to such UBTI. Under IRS guidance issued in October 2006, a CRT will not recognize UBTI solely as a result of investing in the Fund that recognizes “excess inclusion income.” Rather, if at any time during any taxable year a CRT (or one of certain other tax-exempt shareholders, such as the United States, a state or political subdivision, or an agency or instrumentality thereof, and certain energy cooperatives) is a record holder of a share in the Fund that recognizes “excess inclusion income,” then the regulated investment company will be subject to a tax on that portion of its “excess inclusion income” for the taxable year that is allocable to such shareholders, at the highest federal corporate income tax rate. The extent to which this IRS guidance remains applicable in light of the December 2006 legislation is unclear. To the extent permitted under the 1940 Act, the Fund may elect to specially allocate any such tax to the applicable CRT, or other shareholder, and thus reduce such shareholder’s distributions for the year by the amount of the tax that relates to such shareholder’s interest in the Fund. The Fund has not yet determined whether such an election will be made. CRTs and other tax-exempt investors are urged to consult their tax advisers concerning the consequences of investing in the Fund.
Passive Foreign Investment Companies. A passive foreign investment company (“PFIC”) is any foreign corporation: (i) 75% or more of the gross income of which for the taxable year is passive income, or (ii) the average percentage of the assets of which (generally by value, but by adjusted tax basis in certain cases) that produce or are held for the production of passive income is at least 50%. Generally, passive income for this purpose means dividends, interest (including income equivalent to interest), royalties, rents, annuities, the excess of gains over losses from certain property transactions and commodities transactions, and foreign currency gains. Passive income for this purpose does not include rents and royalties received by the foreign corporation from active business and certain income received from related persons.
Equity investments by the Fund in certain PFICs could potentially subject the Fund to a U.S. federal income tax or other charge (including interest charges) on the distributions received from the PFIC or on proceeds received from the disposition of shares in the PFIC. This tax cannot be eliminated by making distributions to Fund shareholders. However, the Fund may elect to avoid the imposition of that tax. For example, if the Fund is in a position to and elects to treat a PFIC as a “qualified electing fund” (i.e., make a “QEF election”), the Fund will be required to include its share of the PFIC s income and net capital gains annually, regardless of whether it receives any distribution from the PFIC. Alternatively, the Fund may make an election to mark the gains (and to a limited extent losses) in its PFIC holdings “to the market” as though it had sold and repurchased its holdings in those PFICs on the last day of the Fund’s taxable year. Such gains and losses are treated as ordinary income and loss. The QEF and mark-to-market elections may accelerate the recognition of income (without the receipt of cash) and increase the amount required to be distributed by the Fund to avoid taxation. Making either of these elections therefore may require the Fund to liquidate other investments (including when it is not advantageous to do so) to meet its distribution requirement, which also may accelerate the recognition of gain and affect the Fund’s total return. Dividends paid by PFICs will not be eligible to be treated as “qualified dividend income.”
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Because it is not always possible to identify a foreign corporation as a PFIC, the Fund may incur the tax and interest charges described above in some instances.
Foreign Currency Transactions. The Fund’s transactions in foreign currencies, foreign currency-denominated debt obligations and certain foreign currency options, futures contracts and forward contracts (and similar instruments) may give rise to ordinary income or loss to the extent such income or loss results from fluctuations in the value of the foreign currency concerned. Any such net gains could require a larger dividend toward the end of the calendar year. Any such net losses will generally reduce and potentially require the recharacterization of prior ordinary income distributions. Such ordinary income treatment may accelerate Fund distributions to shareholders and increase the distributions taxed to shareholders as ordinary income. Any net ordinary losses so created cannot be carried forward by the Fund to offset income or gains earned in subsequent taxable years.
Foreign Taxation. Income received by the Fund from sources within foreign countries may be subject to withholding and other taxes imposed by such countries. Tax conventions between certain countries and the U.S. may reduce or eliminate such taxes. The Fund does not expect to be eligible to pass through to shareholders a credit or deduction for such taxes.
Foreign Shareholders. Capital Gain Dividends are generally not subject to withholding of U.S. federal income tax. Absent a specific statutory exemption, dividends other than Capital Gain Dividends paid by the Fund to a shareholder that is not a “U.S. person” within the meaning of the Internal Revenue Code (such shareholder, a “foreign shareholder”) are subject to withholding of U.S. federal income tax at a rate of 30% (or lower applicable treaty rate) even if they are funded by income or gains (such as portfolio interest, short-term capital gains, or foreign-source dividend and interest income) that, if paid to a foreign person directly, would not be subject to withholding.
A regulated investment company generally is not required to withhold any amounts (i) with respect to distributions (other than distributions to a foreign person (a) that does not provide a satisfactory statement that the beneficial owner is not a U.S. person, (b) to the extent that the dividend is attributable to certain interest on an obligation if the foreign person is the issuer or is a 10% shareholder of the issuer, (c) that is within a foreign country that has inadequate information exchange with the United States, or (d) to the extent the dividend is attributable to interest paid by a person that is a related person of the foreign person and the foreign person is a controlled foreign corporation) from U.S.-source interest income of types similar to those not subject to U.S. federal income tax if earned directly by an individual foreign person, to the extent such distributions are properly reported as such by the Fund in a written notice to shareholders (“interest-related dividends”), and (ii) with respect to distributions (other than (a) distributions to an individual foreign person who is present in the United States for a period or periods aggregating 183 days or more during the year of the distribution and (b) distributions subject to special rules regarding the disposition of U.S. real property interests as described below) of net short-term capital gains in excess of net long-term capital losses to the extent such distributions are properly reported by the regulated investment company (“short-term capital gain dividends”). If the Fund invests in an underlying fund that pays such distributions to the Fund, such distributions retain their character as not subject to withholding if properly reported when paid by the Fund to foreign persons.
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The Fund is permitted to report such part of its dividends as interest-related or short-term capital gain dividends as are eligible, but is not required to do so. These exemptions from withholding will not be available to foreign shareholders of Funds that do not currently report their dividends as interest-related or short-term capital gain dividends.
In the case of shares held through an intermediary, the intermediary may withhold even if the Fund reports all or a portion of a payment as an interest-related or short-term capital gain dividend to shareholders. Foreign persons should contact their intermediaries regarding the application of these rules to their accounts.
Under U.S. federal tax law, a beneficial holder of shares who is a foreign shareholder generally is not subject to U.S. federal income tax on gains (and is not allowed a deduction for losses) realized on the sale of shares of the Fund or on Capital Gain Dividends unless (i) such gain or dividend is effectively connected with the conduct of a trade or business carried on by such holder within the United States, (ii) in the case of an individual holder, the holder is present in the United States for a period or periods aggregating 183 days or more during the year of the sale or the receipt of the Capital Gain Dividend and certain other conditions are met, or (iii) the special rules relating to gain attributable to the sale or exchange of “U.S. real property interests” (“USRPIs”) apply to the foreign shareholder’s sale of shares of the Fund or to the Capital Gain Dividend the foreign shareholder received (as described below).
Special rules would apply if the Fund were either a “U.S. real property holding corporation” (“USRPHC”) or would be a USRPHC but for the operation of certain exceptions to the definition thereof. Very generally, a USRPHC is a domestic corporation that holds USRPIs the fair market value of which equals or exceeds 50% of the sum of the fair market values of the corporation’s USPRIs, interests in real property located outside the United States, and other assets. USRPIs are generally defined as any interest in U.S. real property and any interest (other than solely as a creditor) in a USRPHC or former USRPHC.
If the Fund were a USRPHC or would be a USRPHC but for the exceptions referred to above, any distributions by the Fund to a foreign shareholder (including, in certain cases, distributions made by the Fund in redemption of its shares) attributable to gains realized by the Fund on the disposition of USRPIs or to distributions received by the Fund from a lower-tier regulated investment company or REIT that the Fund is required to treat as USRPI gain in its hands generally would be subject to U.S. tax withholding. In addition, such distributions could result in the foreign shareholder being required to file a U.S. tax return and pay tax on the distributions at regular U.S. federal income tax rates. The consequences to a foreign shareholder, including the rate of such withholding and character of such distributions (e.g., as ordinary income or USRPI gain), would vary depending upon the extent of the foreign shareholder’s current and past ownership of the Fund. On and after January 1, 2012, this “look-through” USRPI treatment for distributions by the Fund, if it were either a USRPHC or would be a USRPHC but for the operation of the exceptions referred to above, to foreign shareholders applies only to those distributions that, in turn, are attributable to distributions received by the Fund from a lower-tier REIT, unless Congress enacts legislation providing otherwise.
In addition, if the Fund were a USRPHC or former USRPHC, it could be required to withhold U.S. tax on the proceeds of a share redemption by a greater-than-5% foreign shareholder, in which case such foreign shareholder generally would also be required to file U.S. tax returns and pay any additional taxes due in connection with the redemption.
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Whether or not the Fund is characterized as a USRPHC will depend upon the nature and mix of the Fund’s assets. The Fund does not expect to be a USRPHC. Foreign shareholders should consult their tax advisors concerning the application of these rules to their investment in the Fund.
If a beneficial holder of Fund shares who is a foreign shareholder has a trade or business in the United States, and the dividends are effectively connected with the beneficial holder’s conduct of that trade or business, the dividend will be subject to U.S. federal net income taxation at regular income tax rates.
If a beneficial holder of Fund shares who is a foreign shareholder is eligible for the benefits of a tax treaty, any effectively connected income or gain will generally be subject to U.S. federal income tax on a net basis only if it is also attributable to a permanent establishment maintained by that beneficial holder in the United States.
To qualify for any exemptions from withholding described above or for lower withholding tax rates under income tax treaties, or to establish an exemption from backup withholding, a foreign shareholder must comply with special certification and filing requirements relating to its non-US status (including, in general, furnishing an IRS Form W-8BEN or substitute form). Foreign shareholders in the Fund should consult their tax advisers in this regard.
A beneficial holder of Fund shares who is a foreign shareholder may be subject to state and local tax and to the U.S. federal estate tax in addition to the federal tax on income referred to above.
Backup Withholding. The Fund generally is required to withhold and remit to the U.S. Treasury a percentage of the taxable distributions and redemption proceeds paid to any individual shareholder who fails to properly furnish the Fund with a correct taxpayer identification number, who has under-reported dividend or interest income, or who fails to certify to the Fund that he or she is not subject to such withholding.
Backup withholding is not an additional tax. Any amounts withheld may be credited against the shareholder’s U.S. federal income tax liability, provided the appropriate information is furnished to the IRS.
Tax Shelter Reporting Regulations. Under U.S. Treasury regulations, if a shareholder recognizes a loss with respect to the Fund’s shares of $2 million or more for an individual shareholder or $10 million or more for a corporate shareholder, the shareholder must file with the IRS a disclosure statement on Form 8886. Direct shareholders of portfolio securities are in many cases excepted from this reporting requirement, but under current guidance, shareholders of a regulated investment company are not excepted. Future guidance may extend the current exception from this reporting requirement to shareholders of most or all regulated investment companies. The fact that a loss is reportable under these regulations does not affect the legal determination of whether the taxpayer’s treatment of the loss is proper. Shareholders should consult their tax advisers to determine the applicability of these regulations in light of their individual circumstances.
Shareholder Reporting Obligations With Respect to Foreign Financial Assets. Certain individuals (and, if provided in future guidance, certain domestic entities) must disclose annually their interests in “specified foreign financial assets” on IRS Form 8938, which must be attached to their U.S. federal income tax returns for taxable years beginning after March 18, 2010. The IRS has not yet released a copy of the Form 8938 and has suspended the requirement to attach Form 8938 for any taxable year for which an income tax return is filed before the release of Form 8938. Following Form 8938’s release, individuals will be required to attach to their next income tax return required to be filed with the IRS a Form 8938 for each taxable year for which the filing of Form 8938 was suspended. Until the IRS provides more details regarding this reporting requirement, including in Form 8938 itself and related Treasury regulations, it remains unclear under what circumstances, if any, a shareholder’s (indirect) interest in the Fund’s “specified foreign financial assets,” if any, will be required to be reported on this Form 8938.
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Other Reporting and Withholding Requirements. Rules enacted in March 2010 require the reporting to the IRS of direct and indirect ownership of foreign financial accounts and foreign entities by U.S. persons. Failure to provide this required information can result in a 30% withholding tax on certain payments (“withholdable payments”) made after December 31, 2012. Specifically, withholdable payments subject to this 30% withholding tax include payments of U.S.-source dividends and interest made on or after January 1, 2014, and payments of gross proceeds from the sale or other disposal of property that can produce U.S.-source dividends or interest made on or after January 1, 2015.
The IRS has issued only very preliminary guidance with respect to these new rules; their scope remains unclear and potentially subject to material change. Very generally, it is possible that distributions made by the Fund after the dates noted above (or such later dates as may be provided in future guidance) to a shareholder, including a distribution in redemption of shares and a distribution of income or gains otherwise exempt from withholding under the rules applicable to non-U.S. shareholders described above (e.g., Capital Gain Dividends, Short-Term Capital Gain Dividends and interest-related dividends, as described above) will be subject to the new 30% withholding requirement. Payments to a foreign shareholder that is a “foreign financial institution” will generally be subject to withholding, unless such shareholder enters into a timely agreement with the IRS. Payments to shareholders that are U.S. persons or foreign individuals will generally not be subject to withholding, so long as such shareholders provide the Fund with such certifications or other documentation, including, to the extent required, with regard to such shareholders’ direct and indirect owners, as the Fund requires to comply with the new rules. Persons investing in the Fund through an intermediary should contact their intermediary regarding the application of the new reporting and withholding regime to their investments in the Fund.
Shareholders are urged to consult a tax advisor regarding this new reporting and withholding regime, in light of their particular circumstances.
Shares Purchased through Tax-Qualified Plans. Special tax rules apply to investments through defined contribution plans and other tax-qualified plans. Shareholders should consult their tax advisers to determine the suitability of shares of the Fund as an investment through such plans, and the precise effect of an investment on their particular tax situation.
Securities Lending. While securities are loaned out by the Fund, the Fund generally will receive from the borrower amounts equal to any dividends or interest paid on the borrowed securities. For federal income tax purposes, payments made “in lieu of” dividends are not considered dividend income. These distributions will neither qualify for the reduced rate of taxation for individuals on qualified dividends nor the 70% dividends received deduction for corporations. Also, any foreign tax withheld on payments made “in lieu of” dividends or interest will not qualify for the pass-through of foreign tax credits to shareholders.
The foregoing is a general and abbreviated summary of the provisions of the Internal Revenue Code and the Treasury regulations in effect as they directly govern the taxation of the Fund and its shareholders. These provisions are subject to change by legislative and administrative action, and any such change may be retroactive. Shareholders are urged to consult their tax advisers regarding specific questions as to U.S. federal income, estate or gift taxes, or foreign, state, local taxes or other taxes.
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Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act. Payments to a shareholder that is either a foreign financial institution (“FFI”) or a non-financial foreign entity (“NFFE”) within the meaning of the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (“FATCA”) may be subject to a generally nonrefundable 30% withholding tax on: (a) income dividends paid by the Fund after June 30, 2014 and (b) certain capital gain distributions and the proceeds arising from the sale of Fund shares paid by the Fund after December 31, 2016. FATCA withholding tax generally can be avoided: (a) by an FFI, subject to any applicable intergovernmental agreement or other exemption, if it enters into a valid agreement with the IRS to, among other requirements, report required information about certain direct and indirect ownership of foreign financial accounts held by U.S. persons with the FFI and (b) by an NFFE, if it: (i) certifies that it has no substantial U.S. persons as owners or (ii) if it does have such owners, reports information relating to them. The Fund may disclose the information that it receives from its shareholders to the IRS, non-U.S. taxing authorities or other parties as necessary to comply with FATCA. Withholding also may be required if a foreign entity that is a shareholder of the Fund fails to provide the Fund with appropriate certifications or other documentation concerning its status under FATCA.
Wholly Owned Subsidiary. The Fund intends to invest a portion of its assets in the Subsidiary that will be classified as a corporation for U.S. federal income tax purposes. A foreign corporation, such as the Subsidiary, will generally not be subject to U.S. federal income taxation unless it is deemed to be engaged in a U.S. trade or business. It is expected that the Subsidiary will conduct its activities in a manner so as to meet the requirements of a safe harbor under Section 864(b)(2) of the Internal Revenue Code (the “Safe Harbor”), pursuant to which the Subsidiary, provided it is not a dealer in stocks, securities or commodities, may engage in the following activities without being deemed to be engaged in a U.S. trade or business: (1) trading in stocks or securities (including contracts or options to buy or sell securities) for its own account; and (2) trading, for its own account, in commodities that are “of a kind customarily dealt in on an organized commodity exchange” if the transaction is of a kind customarily consummated at such place. Thus, the Subsidiary’s securities and commodities trading activities should not constitute a U.S. trade or business. However, if certain of the Subsidiary’s activities were determined not to be of the type described in the Safe Harbor or if the Subsidiary’s gains are attributable to investments in securities that constitute U.S. real property interests (which is not expected), then the activities of the Subsidiary may constitute a U.S. trade or business, or be taxed as such.
In general, a foreign corporation that does not conduct a U.S. trade or business is nonetheless subject to tax at a flat rate of 30 percent (or lower tax treaty rate), generally payable through withholding, on the gross amount of certain U.S.-source income that is not effectively connected with a U.S. trade or business. There is presently no tax treaty in force between the United States and the Cayman Islands that would reduce this rate of withholding tax. Income subject to such a flat tax includes dividends and certain interest income. The 30 percent tax does not apply to U.S.-source capital gains (whether long-term or short-term) or to interest paid to a foreign corporation on its deposits with U.S. banks. The 30 percent tax also does not apply to interest which qualifies as “portfolio interest.” The term “portfolio interest” generally includes interest (including original issue discount) on an obligation in registered form that has been issued after July 18, 1984 and with respect to which the person, who would otherwise be required to deduct and withhold the 30 percent tax, received the required statement that the beneficial owner of the obligation is not a U.S. person within the meaning of the Internal Revenue Code. Under certain circumstances, interest on bearer obligations may also be considered portfolio interest.
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The Subsidiary will be wholly owned by the Fund. A U.S. person who owns (directly, indirectly or constructively) 10 percent or more of the total combined voting power of all classes of stock of a foreign corporation is a “U.S. Shareholder” for purposes of the controlled foreign corporation (“CFC”) provisions of the Internal Revenue Code. A foreign corporation is a CFC if, on any day of its taxable year, more than 50 percent of the voting power or value of its stock is owned (directly, indirectly or constructively) by “U.S. Shareholders.” Because the Fund is a U.S. person that will own all of the stock of the Subsidiary, the Fund will be a “U.S. Shareholder” and the Subsidiary will be a CFC. As a “U.S. Shareholder,” the Fund will be required to include in gross income for U.S. federal income tax purposes all of the Subsidiary’s “subpart F income” (defined, in part, below), whether or not such income is distributed by the Subsidiary. It is expected that all of the Subsidiary’s income will be “subpart F income.” “Subpart F income” generally includes interest, original issue discount, dividends, net gains from the disposition of stocks or securities, receipts with respect to securities loans and net payments received with respect to equity swaps and similar derivatives. “Subpart F income” also includes the excess of gains over losses from transactions (including futures, forward and similar transactions) in any commodities. The Fund’s recognition of the Subsidiary’s “subpart F income” will increase the Fund’s tax basis in the Subsidiary. Distributions by the Subsidiary to the Fund will be tax-free, to the extent of its previously undistributed “subpart F income,” and will correspondingly reduce the Fund’s tax basis in the Subsidiary. “Subpart F income” is generally treated as ordinary income, regardless of the character of the Subsidiary’s underlying income.
In general, each “U.S. Shareholder” is required to file IRS Form 5471 with its U.S. federal income tax (or information) returns providing information about its ownership of the CFC and the CFC. In addition, a “U.S. Shareholder” may in certain circumstances be required to report a disposition of shares in the Subsidiary by attaching IRS Form 5471 to its U.S. federal income tax (or information) return that it would normally file for the taxable year in which the disposition occurs. In general, these filing requirements will apply to investors of the Fund if the investor is a U.S. person who owns directly, indirectly or constructively (within the meaning of Sections 958(a) and (b) of the Internal Revenue Code) 10 percent or more of the total combined voting power of all classes of voting stock of a foreign corporation that is a CFC for an uninterrupted period of 30 days or more during any tax year of the foreign corporation, and who owned that stock on the last day of that year.
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APPENDIX A – PROXY VOTING POLICIES
The following proxy voting policies are provided:
(1) the Trust’s Proxy Voting and Disclosure Policy and
(2) the Adviser’s Proxy Voting and Disclosure Policy.
(1) PROXY VOTING AND DISCLOSURE POLICY FOR 360 FUNDS
I. | Introduction |
Effective April 14, 2003, the SEC adopted rule and form amendments under the Securities Act of 1933, the Securities Act of 1934, and the Investment Company Act of 1940 (“Investment Company Act”) to require registered management investment companies to provide disclosure about how they vote proxies for their portfolio securities (collectively, the rule and form amendments are referred to herein as the “IC Amendments”).
The IC Amendments require that the Trust and each Fund disclose the policies and procedures used to determine how to vote proxies for portfolio securities. The IC Amendments also require each Fund to file with the SEC and to make available to their shareholders the specific proxy votes cast for portfolio securities.
This Proxy Voting and Disclosure Policy (“Policy”) is designed to ensure that each Fund complies with the requirements of the IC Amendments, and otherwise fulfills its obligations with respect to proxy voting, disclosure, and recordkeeping. The overall goal is to ensure that each Fund’s proxy voting is managed in an effort to act in the best interests of its shareholders. While decisions about how to vote must be determined on a case-by-case basis, proxy voting decisions will be made considering these guidelines and following the procedures recited herein.
II. | Specific Proxy Voting Policies and Procedures |
A. | General |
The Trust’s Board of Trustees (“Board”) believes that the voting of proxies is an important part of portfolio management as it represents an opportunity for shareholders to make their voices heard and to influence the direction of a company. The Trust and each Fund are committed to voting corporate proxies in the manner that best serves the interests of each Fund’s shareholders.
B. | Delegation to Fund’s Adviser |
The Board believes that the Adviser, as each Fund’s investment adviser, is in the best position to make individual voting decisions for each Fund consistent with this Policy. Therefore, subject to the oversight of the Board, the Adviser is hereby delegated the following duties:
(1) | to make the proxy voting decisions for each Fund; and |
(2) | to assist each Fund in disclosing each Fund’s proxy voting record as required by Rule 30b1-4 under the Investment Company Act, including providing the following information for each matter with respect to which each Fund was entitled to vote: (a) information identifying the matter voted on; (b) whether the matter was proposed by the issuer or by a security holder; (c) whether and how each Fund cast its vote; and (d) whether each Fund cast its vote for or against management. |
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The Board, including a majority of the independent trustees of the Board, shall approve the Adviser’s Proxy Voting and Disclosure Policy (“Adviser’s Voting Policy”) as it relates to each Fund. The Board shall also approve any material changes to the Adviser’s Voting Policy no later than four (4) months after adoption by Adviser.
C. | Conflicts |
In cases where a matter with respect to which each Fund is entitled to vote presents a conflict between the interest of each Fund’s shareholders, on the one hand, and those of each Fund’s investment adviser, principal underwriter, or an affiliated person of each Fund, its investment adviser or principal underwriter, on the other hand, each Fund shall always vote in the best interest of each Fund’s shareholders. For purposes of this Policy a vote shall be considered in the best interest of each Fund’s shareholders (i) when a vote is cast consistent with a specific voting policy as set forth in the Adviser’s Voting Policy, provided such specific voting policy was approved by the Board or (ii) when a vote is cast consistent with the decision of the Trust’s Proxy Voting Committee (as defined below).
III. | Fund Disclosure |
A. | Disclosure of Fund Policies and Procedures With Respect to Voting Proxies Relating to Portfolio Securities |
Each Fund shall disclose this Policy, or a description of the policies and procedures of this Policy, to its shareholders in its Statement of Additional Information (“SAI”) on Form N-1A. Each Fund will notify shareholders in the SAI and each Fund’s shareholder reports that a description of this Policy is available upon request, without charge, by calling a specified toll-free telephone number, by reviewing each Fund’s website, if applicable, and by reviewing filings available on the SEC’s website at http://www.sec.gov. Each Fund will send this description of each Fund’s Policy within three business days of receipt of any shareholder request, by first-class mail or other means designed to ensure equally prompt delivery.
B. | Disclosure of each Fund’s Complete Proxy Voting Record |
In accordance with Rule 30b1-4 of the Investment Company Act, each Fund shall disclose to its shareholders on Form N-PX each Fund’s complete proxy voting record for the twelve-month period ended June 30 by no later than August 31 of each year.
Each Fund shall disclose the following information on Form N-PX for each matter relating to a portfolio security considered at any shareholder meeting held during the period covered by the report and with respect to which to each Fund was entitled to vote:
(i) | The name of the issuer of the portfolio security; |
(ii) | The exchange ticker symbol of the portfolio security (if available through reasonably practicable means); |
(iii) | The Council on Uniform Security Identification Procedures (“CUSIP”) number for the portfolio security (if available through reasonably practicable means); |
(iv) | The shareholder meeting date; |
(v) | A brief identification of the matter voted on; |
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(vi) | Whether the matter was proposed by the issuer or by a security holder |
(vii) | Whether each Fund cast its vote on the matter; |
(viii) | How each Fund cast its vote (e.g., for or against proposal, or abstain; for or withhold regarding election of directors); and |
(ix) | Whether each Fund cast its vote for or against management. |
Each Fund shall make its proxy voting record available to shareholders either upon request or by making available an electronic version on or through each Fund’s website, if applicable. If each Fund discloses its proxy voting record on or through its website, each Fund shall post the information disclosed in each Fund’s most recently filed report on Form N-PX on the website beginning the same day it files such information with the SEC.
Each Fund shall also include in its annual reports, semi-annual reports and SAI a statement that information regarding how each Fund voted proxies relating to portfolio securities during the most recent twelve-month period ended June 30 is available (1) without charge upon request, by calling a specified toll-free (or collect) telephone number, or (if applicable) on or through each Fund’s website at a specified Internet address; and (2) on the SEC’s website. If each Fund discloses that its proxy voting record is available by calling a toll-free (or collect) telephone number, it shall send the information disclosed in each Fund’s most recently filed report on Form N-PX within three business days of receipt of a request for this information, by first-class mail or other means designed to ensure equally prompt delivery.
IV. | Recordkeeping |
The Trust shall keep the following records for a period of at least five years, the first two in an easily accessible place:
(i) | A copy of this Policy; |
(ii) | Proxy Statements received regarding each Fund’s securities; |
(iii) | Records of votes cast on behalf of each Fund; and |
(iv) | A record of each shareholder request for proxy voting information and each Fund’s response, including the date of the request, the name of the shareholder, and the date of the response. |
The foregoing records may be kept as part of the Adviser’s records.
Each Fund may rely on proxy statements filed on the SEC EDGAR system instead of keeping its own copies, and may rely on proxy statements and records of proxy votes cast by the Adviser that are maintained with a third party such as a proxy voting service, provided that an undertaking is obtained from the third party to provide a copy of the documents promptly upon request.
V. | Proxy Voting Committee |
A. | General |
The Proxy Voting Committee of the Trust shall be composed entirely of independent trustees of the Board and may be comprised of one or more such independent trustees as the Board may, from time to time, decide. The purpose of the Proxy Voting Committee shall be to determine how each Fund should cast its vote, if called upon by the Board or the Adviser, when a matter with respect to which each Fund is entitled to vote presents a conflict between the interest of each Fund’s shareholders, on the one hand, and those of each Fund’s investment adviser, principal underwriter, or an affiliated person of each Fund, its investment adviser or principal underwriter, on the other hand.
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B. | Powers and Methods of Operation |
The Proxy Voting Committee shall have all the powers necessary to fulfill its purpose as set forth above and such other powers and perform such other duties as the Board may, from time to time, grant and/or assign the Proxy Voting Committee. The Proxy Voting Committee shall meet at such times and places as the Proxy Voting Committee or the Board may, from time to time, determine. The act of a majority of the members of the Proxy Voting Committee in person, by telephone conference or by consent in writing without a meeting shall be the act of the Proxy Voting Committee. The Proxy Voting Committee shall have the authority to utilize Trust counsel at the expense of the Trust if necessary. The Proxy Voting Committee shall prepare minutes of each meeting and keep such minutes with the Trust’s records. The Proxy Voting Committee shall review this Policy and recommend any changes to the Board as it deems necessary or advisable.
VI. | Other |
This Policy may be amended, from time to time; provided, however, that material changes are approved by the Board as provided under Section II(B) above.
(2) PROXY VOTING AND DISCLOSURE POLICY OF THE ADVISER
Crow Point Partners, LLC
Proxy Voting Policy
It is the policy of Crow Point Partners, LLC to vote proxies in the interest of maximizing value for our clients. Proxies are an asset of a client, which should be treated by us with the same care, diligence, and loyalty as any asset belonging to a client. To that end, we will vote in a way that it believes, consistent with our fiduciary duty, will cause the value of the security to increase the most or decline the least. Consideration will be given to both the short and long term implications of the proposal to be voted on when considering the optimal vote.
GENERAL POLICIES WITH RESPECT TO SPECIFIC PROPOSALS
As a general matter, and consistent with our fiduciary responsibilities to act solely in the interest of plan participants and beneficiaries, we will generally vote FOR the following proposals if we believe they are in the best interests of our Clients. Additional considerations effecting the decision to vote for are listed below:
a. | Election of management slate of directors – consider board independence as well as long term performance of the directors and the company. |
In voting on entire Board:
(i) | 2/3 of the Directors should be independent (have only one connection to the corporation which is the directorship or if the person is a rank and file employee). A director is defined as independent if he or she has only one nontrivial connection to the corporation, that of his or her directorship or is a rank and file employee. A director generally will not be considered independent if currently or previously employed by the Company or an affiliate in an executive capacity; if employed by a present or former auditor of the Company in the past five years; if employed by a firm that is one of the Company’s paid advisors or consultants; if employed by a customer or supplier with a nontrivial business relationship; if employed by a foundation or university that receives grants or endowments from the Company; if the person has any personal services contract with the Company; if related to an executive or director of the Company; or if an officer of a firm on which the Company’s chairman or chief executive officer also is a board member. |
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(ii) | Consider company’s long-term value growth as judged by performance indicators. |
(iii) | Consider actions taken by the Board that may not be in the Company’s long term best interest i.e. awarding themselves excessive compensation. |
(iv) | Consider the Board’s responsiveness to shareholder concerns – proposals. |
In voting on individual Directors:
(i) | Committees – Audit, Nominating and Compensation may be required to be 100% composed of independent directors. This should be considered and vote against non-independent director nominee serving on these committees. Also consider performance of committees i.e. approving excessive compensation, failing to address auditor conflicts). |
(ii) | Attendance at 75% of meetings or withhold vote. |
(iii) | (iii) If the Director is employed full time – service on no more than 3 public company Boards. If retired, no more than five public company Boards. |
Contested Elections: consider Board independence, background of proxy contest, evaluate the competing strategic corporate plans, impact on constituents and equity ownership of individual directors.
b. | Appointment of auditors – vote for unless any of the following factors, then vote against ratification: |
(i) | We determine that there is a change in auditors from prior years and the cause is a disagreement between the terminated auditor and the company on a matter of accounting principles and practices. |
(ii) | Auditor provides advice on tax avoidance strategies (see tax services in proxy) where we believe this may put auditor in role of advocate for the Company. |
(iii) | Fees for non-audit services are more than 20% of all fees, we should be concerned. |
(iv) | The Company has had the same auditor for more than seven years. |
c. | Cumulative voting. |
d. | Profit sharing/remuneration plans. |
e. | Pension/retirement plans. |
f. | Authorization of new securities if there is no intent to unduly dilute shareholder’s proportionate interest, reverse stock splits. |
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(i) | Common stock - support if reasonable and management provides persuasive justification. Vote against increase of existing authorization by more than 50%. |
(ii) | Preferred stock – approve unless Board has unlimited rights to set the terms and conditions of the shares. |
(iii) | Support reverse stock split if management provides reasonable justification. |
(iv) | Vote against issuance of new classes of stock with unequal voting rights (dual class voting). |
g. | Acquisition of property. |
h. | Asset restructuring. |
i. | Option/incentive plans and revisions thereof. |
(i) | Support if performance-based (includes premium price –strike price of 100 % + of fair market value on date of grant or linked to market or industry stock price index). |
(ii) | (Support expensing of stock options. |
(iii) | Plan should not exceed an annual stock option grant rate of 1% of shares outstanding to senior executives. |
(iv) | Vote against a plan that does not prohibit repricing of underwater stock options with new unless Company has a policy against repricing. |
(v) | Vote against proposal if total dilution of outstanding voting power or shareholders’ equity is greater than 10%. |
(vi) | Vote against reloading (to replace options which have been exercised). |
(vii) | Oppose plans where more than 10% of option shares were issued to the top five executives in the last year. |
(viii) | Vote for plans where the executive is required to hold a substantial portion of the award while at the Company i.e. 75% of their equity compensation awards, including shares from option exercises. |
(ix) | Support performance-vesting restricted stock (as opposed to time-lapsing) provided amount of stock granted is reasonable in proportion to the executive’s total compensation. Executive should be required to hold while at the Company. |
j. | Compensation plans and revisions thereof |
(i) | Base compensation should be reasonable - minimum necessary for retention and recruitment. |
(ii) | Variable compensation - support plans that use explicit operating performance benchmarks i.e. improving EPS. |
(iii) | Executive perks and benefits. – support greater disclosure and oversight; vote against benefits to executives that exceed that which is offered to other employees. |
(iv) | Golden parachutes – support shareholder approval of them. Vote to eliminate severance package for any senior executive which provides for benefits not generally offered to other Company employees. Severance plan or stock option “change in control” vesting feature should be contingent upon completion of merger rather than lesser standard of shareholder approval. |
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(v) | Outside Director Compensation – significant proportion should be stock and subject to reasonable holding requirements. |
(vi) | Oppose management proposal to issue tracking stock to reflect performance of a particular business segment. |
k. | Increasing indebtedness within prudent limits |
l. | Anti-greenmail amendments |
m. | Preemptive rights |
n. | Employee related proposals – employee stock purchase plan and high-performance workplace practices (if we conclude in shareholders’ best interests and do not unduly interfere with the Company’s operation). Employees should have pension choice defined benefit vs. cash-balance plans. |
o. | Fair-Price Provisions |
p. | Shareholder proposals. |
(i) | Adoption of codes or policies based on the United Nations’ International Labor Organization’s Fundamental Conventions (ILO) (freedom of association, equality, abolition of forced (convict) and child labor and standard supplier resolutions not to do business with suppliers that use forced, child labor etc). |
(ii) | Reports on human rights. |
(iii) | (Environmental issues – adoption of CERES principles (that encourage Company to protect the environment and health and safety of its employees). |
(iv) | EEO – proposals for reports on diversity in the workplace if there are no arbitrary or unreasonable goals or require the Company to hire people who are unqualified for their position. |
(v) | Support sexual orientation anti-bias position. Diversity – women and minority group Board members. |
(vi) | Proposals for reports on financial institutions fair-lending compliance practices. |
(vii) | Proposals seeking review of business strategies that may present a significant risk to long term corporate value (if the review does not impose undue costs on the Company). |
(viii) | Analyst independence from investment banking business (IPO allocation) and sell-side research. |
(ix) | Proposals that provide access to proxy statement to advance non-management candidates unless the access right could be used to promote hostile takeovers. |
(x) | Proposal to separate Chairman and CEO – to require an independent Director (who has not been an executive) to be Chairman of the Board if there is no separation, support proposal to establish a lead independent Director. |
(xi) | Proposals for greater Board and Auditor independence (i.e. audit firm rotation, limit or prohibit non-audit services). |
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(xii) | Proposals asking for additional disclosure of the role of the Board in developing business. |
(xiii) | Proposals that seek greater confidential voting (this does not apply to proxy vote disclosure after the meeting). |
As a general matter, and consistent with our fiduciary responsibilities to act solely in the interest of plan participants and beneficiaries, we will generally vote AGAINST the following proposals if we believe they are not in the best interests of our Clients:
a. Easing
standards of indemnification for directors or corporate officers.
b. Staggered terms for directors; term limits.
c. Authorizations of new securities if intent appears to be to unduly dilute stockholder’s proportionate interest.
d. Poison pill/anti-takeover measures that do not require submission to the Board every three years.
e. Re-incorporation in the State of Delaware if intent is to protect management and directors.
f. Elimination of waivers of preemptive rights.
g. Alteration of voting provisions; proportionate ratio of number of shares per vote if not in the best interest of shareholders.
h. Fair price provisions/amendments.
i. Granting of stock options to non-employee directors.
j. Proposals to change the state of incorporation where the effect could be to reduce shareholder’s rights to participate in the decision-making process or present other risks that outweigh benefits. This is also applicable to reincorporation in other countries, particularly offshore tax havens. Vote against unless:
(i) Criteria for supporting – Company makes compelling case and the proposal will not harm or weaken shareholder rights or lessen management accountability; will contribute quantifiable benefits to Company’s long term value and not adversely impact Company’s employees and communities where they live.
(ii) Vote against reincorporation in offshore tax haven or to limit Director liability or as takeover defense.
k. Supermajority voting requirements.
l. Board size – to be less than five or more than 15.
m Limit or eliminating the Shareholders’ right to call Special Meetings and act by Written Consent without a meeting if provided for in the By-Laws.
n. Approving other business.
As a general matter, and consistent with our fiduciary responsibilities to act solely in the interest of our Clients, we will vote on issues such as mergers and reorganizations on a case by case basis taking into account the following factors:
a. Impact of the merger on long-term corporate value, including the prospects of the combined companies.
b. Anticipated financial and operating benefits.
c. Offer price (cost vs. premium).
d. How the deal was negotiated.
e. Changes in corporate governance and their impact on shareholder rights.
f. Impact on key constituents at both companies, including employees and communities.
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Conflicts of Interest
Crow Point Partners, LLC realizes that due
to the difficulty of predicting and identifying all material conflicts, it must rely on its Employees to notify the Chief Compliance
Officer or General Counsel of any material conflict that may impair our ability to vote proxies in an objective manner. In addition,
the General Counsel, Chief Compliance Officer, or their designee(s) will reasonably try to assess any material conflicts between
our interests and those of our clients with respect to proxy voting. The following is a non-exhaustive list of potential conflicts
of interest that could influence the proxy voting process:
Conflict: Crow Point Partners retains an institutional client, or is in the process of retaining an institutional
client that is affiliated with an issuer that is held in the Firm’s client portfolios. For example, the Firm may be retained
to manage Company A’s pension fund. Company A is a public company and the Firm client accounts hold shares of Company A.
This type of relationship may influence the Firm to vote with management on proxies to gain favor with management. Such favor may
influence Company A’s decision to continue its advisory relationship with the Firm.
Conflict: Crow Point Partners retains a client, or is in the process of retaining a client that is an officer or director of an issuer that is held in the Firm’s client portfolios. The similar conflicts of interest exist in this relationship as discussed above.
Conflict: Crow Point Partners’ Employees maintain a personal and/or business relationship (not an advisory relationship) with issuers or individuals that serve as officers or directors of issuers. For example, the spouse of an Employee may be a high-level executive of an issuer that is held in Crow Point Partners’ client portfolios. The spouse could attempt to influence Crow Point Partners to vote in favor of management.
Conflict: Crow Point Partners or an Employee(s) personally owns a significant number of an issuer’s securities that are also held in Crow Point Partners’ client portfolios. For any number of reasons, an Employee(s) may seek to vote proxies in a different direction for his/her personal holdings than would otherwise be warranted by the proxy voting policy. The Employee(s) could oppose voting the proxies according to the policy and successfully influence Crow Point Partners to vote proxies in contradiction to the policy.
Resolution: Upon the detection of a material conflict of interest, General Counsel has final decision making authority regarding Crow Point Partners’ course of action for the proxy. General Counsel’s determination will be based on maximizing value for Crow Point Partners’ clients. In these instances, General Counsel will decide to either: 1) abstain from voting the proxy, or; 2) engage the services of an outside proxy voting service or consultant who will provide an independent recommendation on the direction in which Crow Point Partners should vote on the proposal. If retained, the proxy voting service’s or consultant’s determination will be binding on Crow Point Partners.
Any attempts by others within Crow Point Partners to influence the voting of client proxies in a manner that is inconsistent with the proxy voting policy shall be reported to the Chief Compliance Officer. Further, any attempts by persons or entitles outside Crow Point Partners to influence the voting of client proxies shall be reported to the Chief Compliance Officer. The Chief Compliance Officer may then elect to report the attempt to legal counsel.
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Procedures for Crow Point Partners’ Receipt of Class Actions
Crow Point Partners recognizes that as a fiduciary it has a duty to act with the highest obligation of good faith, loyalty, fair dealing and due care. When a recovery is achieved in a class action, investors who owned shares in the company subject to the action have the option to either: (1) opt out of the class action and pursue their own remedy; or (2) participate in the recovery achieved via the class action. Collecting the recovery involves the completion of a Proof of Claim form which is submitted to the Claims Administrator. After the Claims Administrator receives all Proof of Claims, it dispenses the money from the settlement fund to those persons and entities with valid claims.
If “Class Action” documents are received by Crow Point Partners on behalf of its Funds, Crow Point Partners will ensure
that the Funds either participate in, or opt out of, any class action settlements received. Crow Point Partners will determine
if it is in the best interest of the Funds to recover monies from a class action. The Portfolio Manager/Analyst covering the company
will determine the action to be taken when receiving class action notices. In the event Crow Point Partners opts out of a class
action settlement, Crow Point Partners will maintain documentation of any cost/benefit analysis to support its decision.
If “Class Action” documents are received by Crow Point Partners for a private client, i.e. separate managed account, Crow Point Partners will gather any requisite information it has and forward to the client, to enable the client to file the “Class Action” at the client’s discretion. The decision of whether to participate in the recovery or opt-out may be a legal one that Crow Point Partners is not qualified to make for the client. Therefore, Crow Point Partners will not file “Class Actions” on behalf of any client.
Proposals Specific to Mutual Funds (Mirror Voting)
Crow Point Partners serves as investment adviser or sub-adviser to certain investment companies that invest in other non-affiliated investment companies (“Underlying Funds”). As such, Crow Point Partners is required by the Investment Company Act to handle proxies received from Underlying Funds in a specified manner. Accordingly, and notwithstanding the guidelines provided in these procedures, it is the policy of Crow Point Partners to vote all proxies received from the Underlying Funds in the same proportion that all shares of the Underlying Funds are voted, or in accordance with instructions received from fund shareholders, pursuant to Section 12(d)(1)(F) of that Act. After being properly voted, the proxy materials are placed in a file maintained by the Chief Compliance Officer for future reference.
72
APPENDIX B – NOMINATING AND CORPORATE GOVERNANCE COMMITTEE CHARTER
Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee Charter
360 Funds
Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee Membership
1. The Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee of 360 Funds (the “Trust”) shall be composed entirely of Independent Trustees.
Board Nominations and Functions
1. | The Committee shall make nominations for Trustee membership on the Board of Trustees, including the Independent Trustees. The Committee shall evaluate candidates’ qualifications for Board membership and their independence from the investment advisers to the Trust’s series portfolios and the Trust’s other principal service providers. Persons selected as Independent Trustees must not be “interested person” as that term is defined in the Investment Company Act of 1940, nor shall Independent Trustee have any affiliations or associations that shall preclude them from voting as an Independent Trustee on matters involving approvals and continuations of Rule 12b-1 Plans, Investment Advisory Agreements and such other standards as the Committee shall deem appropriate. The Committee shall also consider the effect of any relationships beyond those delineated in the 1940 Act that might impair independence, e.g., business, financial or family relationships with managers or service providers. See Appendix A for Procedures with Respect to Nominees to the Board. |
2. | The Committee shall periodically review Board governance procedures and shall recommend any appropriate changes to the full Board of Trustees. |
3. | The Committee shall periodically review the composition of the Board of Trustees to determine whether it may be appropriate to add individuals with different backgrounds or skill sets from those already on the Board. |
4. | The Committee shall periodically review trustee compensation and shall recommend any appropriate changes to the Independent Trustees as a group. |
Committee Nominations and Functions
1. | The Committee shall make nominations for membership on all committees and shall review committee assignments at least annually. |
2. | The Committee shall review, as necessary, the responsibilities of any committees of the Board, whether there is a continuing need for each committee, whether there is a need for additional committees of the Board, and whether committees should be combined or reorganized. The Committee shall make recommendations for any such action to the full Board. |
73
Other Powers and Responsibilities
1. | The Committee shall have the resources and authority appropriate to discharge its responsibilities, including authority to retain special counsel and other experts or consultants at the expense of the Trust. |
2. | The Committee shall review this Charter at least annually and recommend any changes to the full Board of Trustees. |
Adopted: October 25, 2017
74
APPENDIX A TO THE NOMINATING AND
CORPORATE GOVERNANCE
COMMITTEE CHARTER
360 FUNDS
PROCEDURES WITH RESPECT TO NOMINEES TO THE BOARD
I. | Identification of Candidates. When a vacancy on the Board of Trustees exists or is anticipated, and such vacancy is to be filled by an Independent Trustee, the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee shall identify candidates by obtaining referrals from such sources as it may deem appropriate, which may include current Trustees, management of the Trust, counsel and other advisors to the Trustees, and shareholders of the Trust who submit recommendations in accordance with these procedures. In no event shall the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee consider as a candidate to fill any such vacancy an individual recommended by any investment adviser of any series portfolio of the Trust, unless the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee has invited management to make such a recommendation. |
II. | Shareholder Candidates. The Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee shall, when identifying candidates for the position of Independent Trustee, consider any such candidate recommended by a shareholder if such recommendation contains: (i) sufficient background information concerning the candidate, including evidence the candidate is willing to serve as an Independent Trustee if selected for the position; and (ii) is received in a sufficiently timely manner as determined by the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee in its discretion. Shareholders shall be directed to address any such recommendations in writing to the attention of the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee, c/o the Secretary of the Trust. The Secretary shall retain copies of any shareholder recommendations which meet the foregoing requirements for a period of not more than 12 months following receipt. The Secretary shall have no obligation to acknowledge receipt of any shareholder recommendations. |
III. | Evaluation of Candidates. In evaluating a candidate for a position on the Board of Trustees, including any candidate recommended by shareholders of the Trust, the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee shall consider the following: (i) the candidate’s knowledge in matters relating to the mutual fund industry; (ii) any experience possessed by the candidate as a director or senior officer of public companies; (iii) the candidate’s educational background; (iv) the candidate’s reputation for high ethical standards and professional integrity; (v) any specific financial, technical or other expertise possessed by the candidate, and the extent to which such expertise would complement the Board’s existing mix of skills, core competencies and qualifications; (vi) the candidate’s perceived ability to contribute to the ongoing functions of the Board, including the candidate’s ability and commitment to attend meetings regularly and work collaboratively with other members of the Board; (vii) the candidate’s ability to qualify as an Independent Trustee and any other actual or potential conflicts of interest involving the candidate and the Trust; and (viii) such other factors as the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee determines to be relevant in light of the existing composition of the Board and any anticipated vacancies. Prior to making a final recommendation to the Board, the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee shall conduct personal interviews with those candidates it concludes are the most qualified candidates. |
PART C
FORM N-1A
OTHER INFORMATION
ITEM 28. | Exhibits |
(a)(1) | Agreement and Declaration of Trust (“Trust Instrument”).1
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(a)(2) | Certificate of Amendment to the Trust Instrument.4
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(b) | By-Laws.1
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(c) | Articles III, V and VI of the Trust Instrument, Exhibit 28(a)(1) hereto, defines the rights of holders of the securities being registered. (Certificates for shares are not issued.)
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(d)(1) | Investment Advisory Agreement between the Registrant, on behalf of the Stringer Growth Fund and Stringer Moderate Growth Fund (the “Stringer Funds”), as Adviser.10
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(d)(2) | Investment Advisory Agreement between the Registrant, on behalf of the WP Large Cap Income Plus Fund, and Winning Points Advisors, LLC, as Adviser.6
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(d)(3) | Investment Advisory Agreement between the Registrant, on behalf of the IMS Capital Value Fund, IMS Strategic Income Fund and IMS Dividend Growth Fund (the “IMS Funds”), and IMS Capital Management, Inc., as Adviser.8
| |
(d)(4) | Investment Advisory Agreement between the Registrant, on behalf of the HedgeRow Income and Opportunity Fund, and Willard Mills Advisory LLC, as Adviser.11
| |
(d)(5) | Investment Advisory Agreement between the Registrant and Crow Point Partners, LLC, as Adviser, on behalf of the Crow Point Alternative Income Fund.23
| |
(d)(6) | Investment Advisory Agreement between the Registrant and Crow Point Partners, LLC, as Adviser, on behalf of the EAS Crow Point Alternatives Fund.23
| |
(d)(7) | Investment Advisory Agreement between the Registrant and Crow Point Partners, LLC, as Adviser, on behalf of the Crow Point Defined Risk Global Equity Fund (together with the Crow Point Alternative Income Fund and the EAS Crow Point Alternatives Fund, the “Crow Point Funds”).23
| |
(d)(8) | Investment Advisory Agreement between the Registrant, on behalf of the RVX Emerging Markets Equity Fund, and Crow Point Partners, LLC, as Adviser.28
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(d)(9) | Investment Sub-Advisory Agreement between Crow Point Partners, LLC, and RVX Asset Management LLC, on behalf of the RVX Emerging Markets Equity Fund.27
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(d)(10) | Investment Advisory Agreement between the Registrant, on behalf of the Eagle Rock Floating Rate Fund, and Crow Point Partners, LLC, as Adviser.26
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(d)(11) | Investment Sub-Advisory Agreement between Crow Point Partners, LLC, and Eagle Rock Institutional, LLC, on behalf of the Eagle Rock Floating Rate Fund.28
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(d)(12) | Investment Advisory Agreement between the Registrant, on behalf of the Powell Alternative Income Strategies Fund, and Powell Capital LLC, as Adviser.27
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(e)(1) | Distribution Agreement between the Registrant, on behalf of the Stringer Funds, and Matrix 360 Distributors, LLC, as Distributor.14
| |
(e)(2) | Distribution Agreement between the Registrant, on behalf of to the WP Large Cap Income Plus Fund, and Matrix 360 Distributors, LLC, as Distributor.14
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(e)(3) | Distribution Agreement between the Registrant, on behalf of the IMS Funds, and Matrix 360 Distributors, LLC, as Distributor.27
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(e)(4) | Distribution Agreement between the Registrant, on behalf of the HedgeRow Income and Opportunity Fund, and Matrix 360 Distributors, LLC, as Distributor.14
| |
(e)(5) | Distribution Agreement between the Registrant, on behalf of the Crow Point Funds, and Matrix 360 Distributors, LLC, as Distributor.23
| |
(e)(6) | Distribution Agreement between the Registrant, on behalf of the RVX Emerging Markets Equity Fund, and Matrix 360 Distributors, LLC, as Distributor.27
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(e)(7) | Distribution Agreement between the Registrant, on behalf of the Eagle Rock Floating Rate Fund, and Matrix 360 Distributors, LLC, as Distributor.28
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(e)(8) | Distribution Agreement between the Registrant, on behalf of the Powell Alternative Income Strategies Fund, and Matrix 360 Distributors, LLC, as Distributor.27
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(f) | Not Applicable.
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(g)(1) | Custodian Agreement between the Registrant, on behalf of the Stringer Growth Fund, and Fifth Third Bank, as Custodian.5
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(g)(2) | First Amendment to Custodian Agreement between the Registrant, on behalf of the Stringer Moderate Growth Fund, and Fifth Third Bank, as Custodian.10
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(g)(3) | Custodian Agreement between the Registrant, on behalf of the WP Large Cap Income Plus Fund, and Fifth Third Bank, as Custodian.6
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(g)(4) | Custodian Agreement between the Registrant, on behalf of the IMS Funds, and Huntington National Bank, as Custodian.8 | |
(g)(5) | Exhibit A to the Custodian Agreement between the Registrant, on behalf of the HedgeRow Income and Opportunity Fund, and Fifth Third Bank, as Custodian.15
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(g)(6) | Custodian Agreement between the Registrant, on behalf of the Crow Point Alternative Income Fund, and Fifth Third Bank, N.A., as Custodian.28
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(g)(7) | Custodian Agreement between the Registrant, on behalf of the EAS Crow Point Alternatives Fund, and Fifth Third Bank, N.A., as Custodian.28
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(g)(8) | Custodian Agreement between the Registrant, on behalf of the Crow Point Defined Risk Global Equity Income Fund, and Fifth Third Bank, N.A., as Custodian.28
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(g)(9) | Global Custody between the Registrant, on behalf of the RVX Emerging Markets Equity Fund, and MUFG Union Bank, N.A., as Custodian.27
| |
(g)(10) | Fee Schedule between the Registrant, on behalf of the Eagle Rock Floating Rate Fund, and Fifth Third Bank, N.A., as Custodian.28
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(g)(11) | Exhibit A to the Custodian Agreement between the Registrant, on behalf of the Powell Alternative Income Strategies Fund, and Fifth Third Bank, N.A., as Custodian.28
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(h)(1) | Investment Company Services Agreement between the Registrant, on behalf of the Stringer Funds, and M3Sixty Administration, LLC, as Administrator.10
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(h)(2) | Investment Company Services Agreement between the Registrant, on behalf of the WP Large Cap Income Plus Fund, and M3Sixty Administration, LLC, as Administrator.6
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(h)(3) | Investment Company Services Agreement between the Registrant, on behalf of the IMS Funds, and M3Sixty Administration, LLC, as Administrator.28
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(h)(4) | Investment Company Services Agreement between the Registrant, on behalf of the HedgeRow Income and Opportunity Fund, and M3Sixty Administration, LLC, as Administrator.14
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(h)(5) | Amended Investment Company Services Agreement between the Registrant, on behalf of the Crow Point Funds, and M3Sixty Administration, LLC, as Administrator.27
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(h)(6) | Investment Company Services Agreement between the Registrant, on behalf of the RVX Emerging Markets Equity Fund, and M3Sixty Administration, LLC, as Administrator.27
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(h)(7) | Investment Company Services Agreement between the Registrant, on behalf of the Eagle Rock Floating Rate Fund, and M3Sixty Administration, LLC, as Administrator.28
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(h)(8) | Investment Company Services Agreement between the Registrant, on behalf of the Powell Alternative Income Strategies Fund, and M3Sixty Administration, LLC, as Administrator.27
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(h)(9) | Amended Expense Limitation Agreement between the Registrant, on behalf of the Stringer Funds, and Stringer Asset Management, LLC, as Adviser.15
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(h)(10) | Expense Limitation Agreement between the Registrant, on behalf of the IMS Funds, and IMS Capital Management, Inc., as Adviser.9
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(h)(11) | Expense Limitation Agreement between the Registrant, on behalf of the HedgeRow Income and Opportunity Fund, and Willard Mills Advisory LLC, as Adviser.15
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(h)(12) | Expense Limitation Agreement between the Registrant, on behalf of the Crow Point Funds, and Crow Point Partners, LLC, as Adviser.27
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(h)(13) | Expense Limitation Agreement between the Registrant, on behalf of the RVX Emerging Markets Equity Fund, and Crow Point Partners, LLC, as Adviser.28
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(h)(14) | Expense Limitation Agreement between the Registrant, on behalf of the Eagle Rock Floating Rate Fund, and Crow Point Partners, LLC, as Adviser.28
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(h)(15) | Expense Limitation Agreement between the Registrant, on behalf of the Powell Alternative Income Strategies Fund, and Powell Capital LLC, as Adviser.27
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(h)(16)
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Amendment to Expense Limitation Agreement between the Registrant, on behalf of the Crow Point Funds, and Crow Point Partners, LLC, as Adviser.27
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(i)(1) | Opinion and Consent of Kilpatrick Stockton LLP regarding the legality of securities registered with respect to the Stringer Growth Fund.5
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(i)(2) | Opinion and Consent of Graydon Head & Ritchey LLP regarding the legality of securities registered with respect to the Stringer Moderate Growth Fund.10
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(i)(3) | Consent of Practus, LLP with respect to the Stringer Funds.25
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(i)(4) | Opinion and Consent of Graydon Head & Ritchey LLP regarding the legality of securities registered with respect to the WP Large Cap Income Plus Fund.6 | |
(i)(5) | Consent of The Law Offices of John H. Lively & Associates, Inc. with respect to the WP Large Cap Income Plus Fund.22
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(i)(6) | Consent of The Law Offices of John H. Lively & Associates, Inc. with respect to the IMS Funds.19
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(i)(7) | Opinion and Consent of Graydon Head & Ritchey LLP regarding the legality of securities registered with respect to the IMS Funds.8
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(i)(8) | Opinion and Consent of Graydon Head & Ritchey LLP regarding the legality of securities registered with respect to the HedgeRow Income and Opportunity Fund.11
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(i)(9) | Consent of The Law Offices of John H. Lively & Associates, Inc. with respect to the HedgeRow Income and Opportunity Fund.24
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(i)(10) | Opinion and Consent of The Law Offices of John H. Lively & Associates, Inc. with respect to the Crow Point Alternative Income Fund.16
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(i)(11) | Opinion and Consent of The Law Offices of John H. Lively & Associates, Inc. regarding tax matters for the reorganization of the Crow Point Alternative Income Fund from the Northern Lights Funds Trust into the Registrant.20
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(i)(12) | Opinion and Consent of The Law Offices of John H. Lively & Associates, Inc. with respect to the EAS Crow Point Alternatives Fund.18
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(i)(13) | Opinion and Consent of The Law Offices of John H. Lively & Associates, Inc regarding tax matters for the reorganization of the EAS Crow Point Alternatives Fund from the Northern Lights Funds Trust into the Registrant.20
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(i)(14) | Opinion and Consent of The Law Offices of John H. Lively & Associates, Inc. with respect to the Crow Point Defined Risk Global Equity Income Fund.17
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(i)(15) | Opinion and Consent of The Law Offices of John H. Lively & Associates, Inc. regarding tax matters for the reorganization of the Crow Point Defined Risk Global Equity Income Fund from the Northern Lights Funds Trust II into the Registrant.20
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(i)(16) | Opinion and Consent of Practus, LLP. with respect to the RVX Emerging Markets Equity Fund.27
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(i)(17) | Opinion and Consent of Practus, LLP with respect to the Eagle Rock Floating Rate Fund.26
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(i)(18) | Opinion and Consent of The Law Offices of John H. Lively & Associates, Inc. with respect to the Powell Alternative Income Strategies Fund.21
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(i)(19) | Consent of The Law Offices of John H. Lively & Associates, Inc. with respect to Crow Point Alternative Income Fund.23
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(i)(20) | Consent of Practus, LLP with respect to the EAS Crow Point Alternatives Fund.27
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(i)(21)
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Consent of Practus, LLP with respect to the Crow Point Global Tactical Allocation Fund (f/k/a Crow Point Defined Risk Global Equity Income Fund).28
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(j)(1) | Consent of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm with respect to the Stringer Funds.25
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(j)(2) | Consent of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm with respect to the WP Large Cap Income Plus Fund.22 | |
(j)(3) | Consent of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm with respect to the HedgeRow Income and Opportunity Fund.24
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(j)(4) | Consent of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm with respect to the IMS Funds.19
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(j)(5) | Consent of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm with respect to the Crow Point Alternative Income Fund.23
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(j)(6) | Consent of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm with respect to the EAS Crow Point Alternatives Fund.27
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(j)(7) | Consent of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm with respect to the Crow Point Defined Risk Global Equity Income Fund.17
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(j)(8) | Consent of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm with respect to the Powell Alternative Income Strategies Fund.21
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(j)(9)
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Consent of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm with respect to the Crow Point Global Tactical Allocation Fund (f/k/a Crow Point Defined Risk Global Equity Income Fund).28
| |
(k) | Not applicable.
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(l) | Initial Subscription Agreement.2
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(m)(1) | Distribution Plan under Rule 12b-1 for the Stringer Funds.10
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(m)(2) | Distribution Plan under Rule 12b-1 for the WP Large Cap Income Plus Fund.6
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(m)(3) | Distribution Plan under Rule 12b-1 for the HedgeRow Income and Opportunity Fund.11 | |
(m)(4) | Distribution Plan under Rule 12b-1 for the Crow Point Funds.23
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(m)(5) | Distribution Plan under Rule 12b-1 for the RVX Emerging Markets Equity Fund.28
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(m)(6) | Distribution Plan under Rule 12b-1 for the Eagle Rock Floating Rate Fund.28
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(m)(7) | Distribution Plan under Rule 12b-1 for the Powell Alternative Income Strategies Fund.21
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(m)(8) | Distribution Plan under Rule 12b-1 for the Crow Point Global Tactical Allocation Fund (f/k/a Crow Point Defined Risk Global Equity Income Fund).28 | |
(n)(1) | Rule 18f-3 Plan for the Stringer Funds.10
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(n)(2) | Rule 18f-3 Plan for the WP Large Cap Income Plus Fund.6
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(n)(3) | Rule 18f-3 Plan for the HedgeRow Income and Opportunity Fund.11
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(n)(4) | Rule 18f-3 Plan for the Crow Point Funds.23
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(n)(5) | Rule 18f-3 Plan for the RVX Emerging Markets Equity Fund.27
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(n)(6) | Rule 18f-3 Plan for the Eagle Rock Floating Rate Fund.28
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(o) | Reserved. | |
(p)(1) | Code of Ethics for the Registrant.4
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(p)(2) | Code of Ethics for Stringer Asset Management, LLC.12
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(p)(3) | Code of Ethics for Winning Points Advisors, LLC.6
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(p)(4) | Code of Ethics for IMS Capital Management, Inc.19
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(p)(5) | Code of Ethics for Willard Mills Advisory LLC.11
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(p)(6) | Code of Ethics for Crow Point Partners, LLC.23 | |
(p)(7) | Code of Ethics for RVX Asset Management LLC.28 | |
(p)(8) | Code of Ethics for Eagle Rock Institutional, LLC.28 | |
(p)(9) | Code of Ethics for Powell Capital LLC.21 | |
(p)(10) | Code of Ethics for the Distributor.14 | |
(q) | Copy of Powers of Attorney.16 |
1. | Incorporated herein by reference to the Registrant's Registration Statement on Form N-1A filed March 14, 2005. |
2. | Incorporated herein by reference to Pre-Effective Amendment No. 2 to the Registrant’s Registration Statement on Form N-1A filed June 13, 2005. |
3. | Incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 6 to the Registrant’s Registration Statement on Form N-1A filed August 21, 2008. |
4. | Incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 11 to the Registrant’s Registration Statement on Form N-1A filed August 26, 2011. |
5. | Incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 17 to the Registrant’s Registration Statement on Form N-1A filed March 27, 2013. |
6. | Incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 20 to the Registrant’s Registration Statement on Form N-1A filed October 10, 2013 |
7 | Incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 26 to the Registrant’s Registration Statement on Form N-1A filed March 14, 2014. |
8. | Incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 28 to the Registrant’s Registration Statement on Form N-1A filed June 20, 2014. |
9. | Incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 33 to the Registrant’s Registration Statement on Form N-1A filed October 31, 2014. |
10. | Incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 38 to the Registrant’s Registration Statement on Form N-1A filed March 26, 2015. |
11. | Incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 49 to the Registrant’s Registration Statement on Form N-1A filed December 21, 2015. |
12. | Incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 65 to the Registrant’s Registration Statement on Form N-1A filed June 28, 2016. |
13. | Incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 69 to the Registrant’s Registration Statement on Form N-1A filed December 30, 2016. |
14. | Incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 71 to the Registrant’s Registration Statement on Form N-1A filed March 30, 2017. |
15. | Incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 74 to the Registrant’s Registration Statement on Form N-1A filed June 16, 2017. |
16. | Incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 87 to the Registrant’s Registration Statement on Form N-1A filed October 6, 2017. |
17. | Incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 88 to the Registrant’s Registration Statement on Form N-1A filed October 6, 2017. |
18. | Incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 90 to the Registrant’s Registration Statement on Form N-1A filed October 13, 2017. |
19. | Incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 94 to the Registrant’s Registration Statement on Form N-1A filed October 30, 2017. |
20. | Incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 96 to the Registrant’s Registration Statement on Form N-1A filed December 4, 2017. |
21. | Incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 97 to the Registrant’s Registration Statement on Form N-1A filed December 13, 2017. |
22 | Incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 98 to the Registrant’s Registration Statement on Form N-1A filed December 29, 2017. |
23. | Incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 102 to the Registrant’s Registration Statement on Form N-1A filed January 29, 2018. |
24. | Incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 104 to the Registrant’s Registration Statement on Form N-1A filed March 30, 2018. |
25. | Incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 107 to the Registrant’s Registration Statement on Form N-1A filed June 28, 2018. |
26. | Incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 108 to the Registrant’s Registration Statement on Form N-1A filed July 3, 2018. |
27. | Filed herewith. |
28. | To be filed by Amendment. |
ITEM 29. | Persons Controlled by or Under Common Control with the Registrant |
No person is controlled by or under common control with the Registrant.
ITEM 30. | Indemnification |
As permitted by Section 17(h) and (i) of the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, officers, trustees, employees and agents of the Registrant will not be liable to the Registrant, any shareholder, officer, trustee, employee, agent or other person for any action or failure to act, except for bad faith, willful misfeasance, gross negligence or reckless disregard of duties, and those individuals may be indemnified against liabilities in connection with the Registrant, subject to the same exceptions.
The Registrant’s Trust Instrument (Exhibit 28(a) to the Registrant Statement), investment advisory agreements (Exhibit 28(d) to the Registration Statement), distribution agreements (Exhibit 28(e) to the Registration Statement) and administration agreements (Exhibit 28(h) to the Registrant Statement) provide for indemnification of certain persons acting on behalf of the Registrant. The Registrant may, from time to time, enter other contractual arrangements that provide for indemnification.
Insofar as indemnification for liability arising under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “1933 Act”), may be permitted to directors, officers and controlling persons of the Registrant pursuant to the foregoing provisions, or otherwise, the Registrant has been advised that in the opinion of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission such indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the 1933 Act and is, therefore, unenforceable. In the event a claim for indemnification against such liabilities (other than the payment by the Registrant of expenses incurred or paid by a director, officer or controlling person of the Registrant in the successful defenses of any action, suite or proceeding) is asserted by such director, officer or controlling person in connection with the securities being registered, the Registrant will, unless in the opinion of counsel the matter has been settled by controlling precedent, submit to court of appropriate jurisdiction the question whether such indemnification by it is against public policy as expressed in the 1933 Act and will be governed by the final adjudication of such issue.
ITEM 31. | Business and other Connections of the Investment Advisers |
The list required by this Item 31 as to any other business, profession, vocation or employment of a substantial nature in which each of the investment advisers, and each director, officer or partner of such investment advisers, is or has been engaged within the last two fiscal years for his or her own account or in the capacity of director, officer, employee, partner or trustee, is incorporated herein by reference to Schedules A and D of each investment adviser's Form ADV listed opposite such investment adviser's name below, which is currently on file with the SEC as required by the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, as amended.
Name of Investment Adviser | Form ADV File No. |
Stringer Asset Management, LLC | 801-77536 |
Winning Points Advisors, LLC | 801-78654 |
IMS Capital Management, Inc. | 801-33939 |
Willard Mills Advisory LLC | 801-106518 |
Crow Point Partners, LLC | 801-67184 |
RVX Asset Management LLC | 801-107281 |
Powell Capital LLC | 801-111100 |
Eagle Rock Institutional, LLC | 801-113138 |
ITEM 32.
|
Principal Underwriter
|
(a) | The principal underwriter and distributor for the Registrant is Matrix 360 Distributors, LLC. To the best of the Registrant’s knowledge, Matrix 360 Distributors, LLC also acts as principal underwriter to Amidex Israel35 and WP Trust. |
(b) | To the best of the Registrant’s knowledge, the table below provides information for each director, officer or partner of Matrix 360 Distributors, LLC, the principal underwriter of the Registrant: |
NAME AND PRINCIPAL BUSINESS ADDRESS* |
POSITIONS WITH UNDERWRITER |
POSITIONS WITH REGISTRANT |
Brandon J. Byrd | Chief Executive Officer | Vice President, Anti-Money Laundering Officer and Assistant Secretary |
Stephen R. Roberts | Chief Compliance Officer | None |
Ted L. Akins | Chief Operating Officer | Assistant Secretary |
* | The address of Matrix 360 Distributors, LLC and each of the above-named persons is 4300 Shawnee Mission Parkway, Suite 100, Fairway, Kansas 66205. |
(c) | Not Applicable. |
ITEM 33. | Location of Accounts and Records |
The accounts, books or other documents of the Registrant required to be maintained by Section 31(a) of the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, and the rules promulgated thereunder are kept in several locations:
a) | M3Sixty Administration, LLC, 4300 Shawnee Mission Parkway, Suite 100, Fairway, Kansas 66205 (records relating to its function as Administrator and Transfer Agent). |
b) | Matrix 360 Distributors, LLC, 4300 Shawnee Mission Parkway, Suite 100, Fairway, Kansas 66205 (records relating to its function as Principal Underwriter). |
c) | Fifth Third Bank, 38 Fountain Square Plaza, Cincinnati, Ohio 45263 (records relating to its function as Custodian for the Stringer Funds, HedgeRow Income and Opportunity Fund, WP Large Cap Income Plus Fund, Crow Point Funds and Powell Alternative Income Strategies Fund). |
d) | MUFG Union Bank, N.A., 350 California Street, Suite 2018, San Francisco, California 94104 (records relating to its function as Custodian for the RVX Emerging Markets Equity Fund). |
e) | Huntington National Bank, 41 South High Street, Columbus, Ohio 43215 (records relating to its function as Custodian for the IMS Funds). |
f) | Stringer Asset Management, LLC, 5050 Poplar Ave, Suite 1103, Memphis, Tennessee 38157 (records relating to its function as investment adviser to the Stringer Funds). |
g) | Winning Points Advisors, LLC, 129 NW 13th Street, Suite D-26, Boca Raton, Florida 33431 (records relating to its function as investment adviser to the WP Large Cap Income Plus Fund). |
h) | IMS Capital Management, Inc., 8995 SE Otty Road, Portland, Oregon 97086 (records related to its function as investment adviser to the IMS Funds.) |
i) | Willard Mills Advisory LLC, P.O. Box 2549, Brentwood, Tennessee 37024 (records relating to its function as investment adviser to the HedgeRow Income and Opportunity Fund). |
j) | Crow Point Partners, LLC, 25 Recreation Park Drive, Suite 110, Hingham, Massachusetts 02043 (records relating to its function as investment adviser to the Crow Point Funds). |
k) | RVX Asset Management LLC, 20900 NE 30th Street, Suite 402, Aventura, Florida (records relating to its function as investment sub-adviser to RVX Emerging Markets Equity Fund). |
l) | Powell Capital LLC, 938 Broadway, Court C, 2nd Floor, Tacoma, Washington 98407 (records relating to its function as investment adviser to the Powell Alternative Income Strategies Fund). |
m) | Eagle Rock Institutional, LLC, 128 Bridge Street, Suite 101, Box 382, Rancocas, New Jersey 08073(records relating to its function as investment adviser to the Eagle Rock Floating Rate Fund). |
ITEM 34. | Management Services |
There are no management-related service contracts not discussed in Parts A or B of this Form N-1A.
ITEM 35. | Undertakings |
Not applicable.
SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), and the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, the Registrant certifies that it meets all of the requirements for effectiveness of this amendment to the registration statement under Rule 485(b) under the Securities Act and the Registrant has duly caused this Post-Effective Amendment No. 112 to its Registration Statement to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereto duly authorized, in the City of Fairway, and State of Kansas, on this 28th day of August, 2018.
360 Funds | ||
By: | /s/ Randall K. Linscott | |
Randall K. Linscott, President, Trustee and Principal Executive Officer |
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act, this Post-Effective Amendment to the Registration Statement has been signed below by the following persons in the capacities and on the date indicated.
* | August 28, 2018 | |
Art Falk, Trustee | Date | |
* | August 28, 2018 | |
Gary DiCenzo, Trustee | Date | |
* | August 28, 2018 | |
Tom M. Wirtshafter, Trustee | Date | |
/s/ Randall K. Linscott | August 28, 2018 | |
Randall K. Linscott, Trustee, President and Principal Executive Officer | Date | |
/s/ Justin J. Thompson | August 28, 2018 | |
Justin J. Thompson, Treasurer and Principal Financial Officer | Date |
* By: | /s/ Randall K. Linscott | August 28, 2018 | |
Randall K. Linscott, Attorney-in-Fact | Date |
*Attorney-in-fact pursuant to Powers of Attorney
EXHIBITS