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SUMMARY PROSPECTUS

September 28, 2023

 

AOT Growth and Innovation ETF

Ticker Symbol: AOTG

Listed on The Nasdaq Stock Market®

 

Before you invest, you may want to review the statutory prospectus (the “Prospectus”), which contains more information about the AOT Growth and Innovation ETF (the “Fund”) and its risks. You can find the Fund’s Prospectus, reports to shareholders, and other information about the Fund, including the Fund’s Statement of Additional Information, online at www.aotetf.com. You can also get this information at no cost by calling 215-882-9983. The current Prospectus and Statement of Additional Information dated September 28, 2023 are incorporated by reference into this Summary Prospectus.

 

AOT Growth and Innovation ETF

 

Fund Summary

 

Investment Objective

 

The AOT Growth and Innovation ETF (the “Fund”) seeks long-term capital appreciation.

 

Fees And Expenses

 

This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy, hold, and sell shares of the Fund (“Shares”). You may also pay brokerage commissions on the purchase and sale of Shares, which are not reflected in the table and example below.

 

Annual Fund Operating Expenses (expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)

 

Management Fee1   0.75%
Distribution and/or Service (12b-1) Fees   0.00%
Other Expenses   0.00%
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses   0.75%

 

1The Fund’s investment advisory agreement provides that the Fund’s investment adviser will pay substantially all expenses of the Fund, except for the fee payment under the Fund’s Investment Advisory Agreement, payments under the Fund’s Rule 12b-1 Distribution and Service Plan, brokerage expenses, acquired fund fees and expenses, taxes, interest (including borrowing costs), litigation expense and other non-routine or extraordinary expenses. Additionally, the Fund shall be responsible for its non-operating expenses and fees and expenses associated with the Fund’s securities lending program, if applicable.

 

Example

 

The following example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other funds. The example assumes that you invest $10,000 for the time periods indicated and then redeem all of your Shares at the end of those periods. The example also assumes that the Fund provides a return of 5% a year and that operating expenses remain the same. You may also pay brokerage commissions on the purchase and sale of Shares, which are not reflected in the example. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:

 

One Year: Three Years: Five Years: Ten Years:
$77 $240 $417 $930

 

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Portfolio Turnover

 

The Fund may pay transaction costs, including commissions when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in annual fund operating expenses or in the example, affect the Fund’s performance. For the fiscal period ended May 31, 2023, the Fund’s portfolio turnover rate was 9%.

 

PRINCIPAL INVESTMENT STRATEGIES

 

The Fund is an actively managed exchange-traded fund (ETF) that invests in U.S. listed equity securities that have high growth potential based on a low marginal cost business model. AOT Invest LLC (the “Sub-Adviser”) is responsible for security investment recommendations. The Sub-Adviser acts as a non-discretionary sub-adviser and provides its investment recommendations to Empowered Funds, LLC dba EA Advisers (the “Adviser”). In turn, the Adviser makes the corresponding trades.

 

The Sub-Adviser invests substantially all of the Fund’s assets in equity securities of companies that the Sub-Adviser believes are capable of future growth due to low marginal cost business models. The Sub-Adviser considers a company to have a low marginal cost business model if the company can deliver a greater amount of its goods or services without materially increasing the company’s costs. Such cost structures, in the Sub-Adviser’s view, yield greater profits, which can then be used to accelerate growth in existing markets and exploit growth in new markets. For example, a software company that sells its software to customers through the internet would have low incremental cost for each unit sold, which yields higher profits, which can then be used to expand sales.

 

The Sub-Adviser will invest in a variety of companies and industries with low marginal cost structures (beyond traditional low marginal cost industries, such as technology and software). For example, an insurance company that can deploy technology to issue more insurance policies without materially increasing its costs will realize greater profits. Such profit can be reinvested to expand the company’s overall market share or exploit new markets.

 

The Sub-Adviser utilizes its own internal research and analysis that leverages insights from diverse sources, including external research, to identify companies that capitalize on low marginal cost business models.

 

The Fund’s investment universe consists of publicly traded equity securities listed in the United States with a minimum market capitalization of $800 million. The Sub-Adviser also excludes REITs and Business Development Companies (“BDCs”).

 

Thereafter, the Sub-Adviser refines the starting universe by identifying sectors that are most suitable for low marginal cost companies (e.g., technology, media, certain forms of financial services, etc.). Specifically, the Sub-Adviser deploys a “top down” process using thematic research, which analyzes an overall industry’s attractiveness for marginal cost production (examples of analysis include: cost structure, overall market size, technological trends that can alter a sector’s cost structure, etc.).

 

Next, the Sub-Adviser assesses equity securities within the sectors identified above. Specifically, the Sub-Adviser seeks to invest in companies that offer a low marginal cost product or service, or otherwise benefits from advances in technology that reduces its cost structure. Such marginal cost leaders are generally identified as: (i) having a historical, current or future projected revenue growth rate exceeding 20% year over year, (ii) is established as a market leader in its respective market sector, industry or sub-industry, and (iii) the industry or sub-industry is expected to grow year over year.

 

Last, the Sub-Adviser employs several quality screens, which consider metrics like current profitability, stability, and recent operational improvements, to select the top 40 to 90 stocks for inclusion in the portfolio. Fund holdings are typically sold when a company achieves an attractive valuation or realizes a change in growth rate (real or projected). The portfolio is generally rebalanced monthly; however, the Sub-Adviser will take advantage of market opportunities at any time. The portfolio is weighted based on a security’s attractiveness to the Sub-Adviser while also taking into consideration overall market capitalization.

 

Certain companies that do not meet a key screening criteria (e.g,, growth rate) but exhibit robust metrics in other categories (e.g., valuation, marginal cost structure, etc.) could be included in the portfolio. In addition, the Sub-Adviser may opt to invest in low cost, broad-based domestic equity ETFs for certain time periods if valuations are deemed to be excessively high.

 

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Principal Risks

 

An investment in the Fund involves risk, including those described below. There is no assurance that the Fund will achieve its investment objective. An investor may lose money by investing in the Fund. An investment in the Fund is not a bank deposit and is not insured or guaranteed by the FDIC or any government agency. More complete risk descriptions are set forth below under the heading “Additional Information About the Fund’s Risks”.

 

Equity Investing Risk. The Fund invests in equity securities, which involves risks such as market fluctuations, changes in interest rates and perceived trends in stock prices. The values of equity securities could decline generally or could underperform other investments. In addition, securities may decline in value due to factors affecting a specific issuer, market or securities markets generally.

 

Investment Risk. When you sell your Shares of the Fund, they could be worth less than what you paid for them. The Fund could lose money due to short-term market movements and over longer periods during market downturns. Securities may decline in value due to factors affecting securities markets generally or particular asset classes or industries represented in the markets. The value of a security may decline due to general market conditions, economic trends or events that are not specifically related to the issuer of the security or to factors that affect a particular industry or group of industries. During a general downturn in the securities markets, multiple asset classes may be negatively affected. Therefore, you may lose money by investing in the Fund.

 

Growth Stock Investment Risk. Growth-oriented common stocks may involve larger price swings and greater potential for loss than other types of investments. Growth stocks tend to trade at a premium when analyzed using tradition valuation metrics such as price-to-earnings ratio and price-to-book ratio. Due to this premium valuation, growth stocks tend to be more susceptible to big price swings. In bull markets, they tend to rise at a much faster pace than the overall market, and they tend to decline at a more rapid rate in bear markets.

 

Management Risk. The Fund is actively managed and may not meet its investment objective based on the Adviser’s or Sub-Adviser’s success or failure to implement investment strategies for the Fund. In addition, there is the risk that Sub-Adviser’s investment process, techniques and analyses will not produce the desired investment results and the Fund may lose value as a result.

 

Foreign Investment Risk. The Fund may invest in Global Depositary Receipts (“GDRs”), which are subject to foreign investment risk. Foreign securities can be more volatile than domestic (U.S.) securities. Securities markets of other countries are generally smaller than U.S. securities markets. Many foreign securities may also be less liquid than U.S. securities, which could prevent the Fund from selling a foreign security at an advantageous time or price.

 

Depositary Receipt Risk. American Depositary Receipts (“ADRs”) and GDRs are receipts, issued by depository banks in the United States or elsewhere, for shares of a foreign-based corporation that entitle the holder to dividends and capital gains on the underlying security. ADRs and GDRs may be sponsored or unsponsored. In addition to the risks of investing in foreign securities, there is no guarantee that an ADR or GDR issuer will continue to offer a particular ADR or GDR. As a result, the Fund may have difficulty selling the ADRs or GDRs, or selling them quickly and efficiently at the prices at which they have been valued. The issuers of unsponsored ADRs or GDRs are not obligated to disclose information that is considered material in the U.S. and voting rights with respect to the deposited securities are not passed through. ADRs or GDRs may not track the prices of the underlying foreign securities on which they are based, and their values may change materially at times when U.S. markets are not open for trading.

 

Technology Sector Risk. The Fund will have exposure to companies operating in the technology sector. Technology companies, including information technology companies, may have limited product lines, financial resources and/or personnel. Technology companies typically face intense competition and potentially rapid product obsolescence. They are also heavily dependent on intellectual property rights and may be adversely affected by the loss or impairment of those rights.

 

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Consumer Discretionary Sector Risk. The Fund’s investments are exposed to issuers conducting business in the Consumer Discretionary Sector. The manufacturing segment of the Consumer Discretionary Sector includes automotive, household durable goods, leisure equipment and textiles and apparel. The services segment includes hotels, restaurants and other leisure facilities, media production and services, and consumer retailing and services. The Fund is subject to the risk that the securities of such issuers will underperform the market as a whole due to legislative or regulatory changes, adverse market conditions and/or increased competition affecting the Consumer Discretionary Sector. The performance of companies operating in the Consumer Discretionary Sector has historically been closely tied to the performance of the overall economy, and also is affected by economic growth, consumer confidence, attitudes and spending. Changes in demographics and consumer tastes also can affect the demand for, and success of, consumer products and services in the marketplace. Moreover, the Consumer Discretionary Sector encompasses those businesses that tend to be the most sensitive to economic cycles.

 

Focused Investing Risk. The Fund may be susceptible to an increased risk of loss, including losses due to adverse occurrences affecting the Fund more than the market as a whole, to the extent that the Fund may, from time to time, concentrate its investments in the securities of a particular issuer or issuers, industry, group of industries, sector, or asset class.

 

ETF Risks.

 

Limited Number of Authorized Participants, Market Makers and Liquidity Providers. The Fund has a limited number of financial institutions that may act as Authorized Participants (“APs”). In addition, there may be a limited number of market makers and/or liquidity providers in the marketplace. To the extent either of the following events occur, Shares may trade at a material discount to NAV and possibly face delisting: (i) APs exit the business or otherwise become unable to process creation and/or redemption orders and no other APs step forward to perform these services, or (ii) market makers and/or liquidity providers exit the business or significantly reduce their business activities and no other entities step forward to perform their functions.

 

Premium-Discount Risk. The Shares may trade above or below their net asset value (“NAV”). The market prices of Shares will generally fluctuate in accordance with changes in NAV as well as the relative supply of, and demand for, Shares on The Nasdaq Stock Market (the “Exchange”) or other securities exchanges. The trading price of Shares may deviate significantly from NAV during periods of market volatility or limited trading activity in Shares. Deviation between the Fund’s NAV and trading price poses a risk to investors when there is market stress because costs can increase substantially during such periods, which can lead directly to a widening of premiums or discounts to NAV.

 

Cost of Trading Risk. Investors buying or selling Shares in the secondary market will pay brokerage commissions or other charges imposed by brokers as determined by that broker. Brokerage commissions are often a fixed amount and may be a significant proportional cost for investors seeking to buy or sell relatively small amounts of Shares.

 

Trading Risk. Although the Shares are listed on the Exchange, there can be no assurance that an active or liquid trading market for them will develop or be maintained. In addition, trading in Shares on the Exchange may be halted. In stressed market conditions, the liquidity of the Fund’s Shares may begin to mirror the liquidity of its underlying portfolio holdings, which can be significantly less liquid than the Fund’s Shares, potentially causing the market price of the Fund’s Shares to deviate from its NAV. Wider bid/ask spreads are a consequence of such limited liquidity and exaggerate premium/discount spread. When buying or selling Shares of the Fund in the secondary market, you will likely incur brokerage commission or other charges. In addition, you may incur the cost of the “spread” also known as the bid-ask spread, which is the difference between what investors are willing to pay for Fund Shares (the “bid” price) and the price at which they are willing to sell Fund Shares (the “ask” price). The bid-ask spread varies over time based on, among other things, trading volume, market liquidity and market volatility. Because of the costs inherent in buying or selling Fund Shares, frequent trading may detract significantly from investment results and an investment in Fund Shares may not be advisable for investors who anticipate regularly making small investments due to the associated trading costs.

 

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New Sub-Adviser Risk. The Sub-Adviser has limited experience with managing an exchange-traded fund, which may limit the Sub-Adviser’s effectiveness. Further, the Sub-Adviser has limited experience managing other types of investment accounts. In addition, although the Sub-Adviser has retained third-party vendors (e.g., compliance services, operations, etc.), the Sub-Adviser currently employs a single individual and has limited resources, which may prevent it from being able to continue to provide sub-advisory services if the principal becomes incapacitated. Over time, the Sub-Adviser will augment its resources as market conditions permit. In addition, the Sub-Adviser regularly evaluates its business continuity plan with the Adviser to ensure continuity of operations and portfolio management should a disruption to operations occur.

 

New Fund Risk. The Fund is a recently organized, diversified management investment company with limited operating history. As a result, prospective investors have a limited track record or history on which to base their investment decision. There can be no assurance that the Fund will grow to or maintain an economically viable size.

 

Geopolitical/Natural Disaster Risks. The Fund’s investments are subject to geopolitical and natural disaster risks, such as war, terrorism, trade disputes, political or economic dysfunction within some nations, public health crises and related geopolitical events, as well as environmental disasters, epidemics and/or pandemics, which may add to instability in world economies and volatility in markets. The impact may be short-term or may last for extended periods.

 

The respiratory illness COVID-19 caused by a novel coronavirus has resulted in a global pandemic and major disruption to economies and markets around the world, including the United States. Financial markets have experienced extreme volatility and severe losses, and trading in many instruments has been disrupted. Liquidity for many instruments has been greatly reduced for periods of time. Some interest rates are very low and in some cases yields are negative. Some sectors of the economy and individual issuers have experienced particularly large losses. These circumstances may continue for an extended period of time, and may affect adversely the value and liquidity of the Fund’s investments.

 

PERFORMANCE

 

Performance information will be available in the Prospectus after the Fund has been in operation for one full calendar year. When provided, the information will provide some indication of the risks of investing in the Fund by showing how the Fund’s average annual returns compare with a broad measure of market performance. Past performance does not necessarily indicate how the Fund will perform in the future. Updated performance information will be available at www.aotetf.com.

 

Investment Adviser & Investment Sub-Adviser

 

Investment Adviser: Empowered Funds, LLC dba EA Advisers (“Adviser”)
Investment Sub-Adviser: AOT Invest LLC (“Sub-Adviser”)

 

Portfolio Managers

 

John Tinsman of the Sub-Adviser, is primarily responsible for the day-to-day management of the Fund since 2022.

 

Mr. Tinsman provides his recommendations to Messrs. Wm. Joshua Russell and Richard Shaner, Portfolio Managers of the Adviser. Mr. Shaner has been primarily and jointly responsible for the day-to-day management of the Fund since 2022. Mr. Russell has been primarily and jointly responsible for the day-to-day management of the Fund since January 2023.

 

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Summary Information about Purchases, Sales, Taxes, and Financial Intermediary Compensation

 

Purchase And Sale Of Fund Shares

 

The Fund issues and redeems Shares on a continuous basis only in large blocks of Shares, typically 10,000 Shares, called “Creation Units,” and only APs (typically, broker-dealers) may purchase or redeem Creation Units. Creation Units generally are issued and redeemed ‘in-kind’ for securities and partially in cash. Individual Shares may only be purchased and sold in secondary market transactions through brokers. Once created, individual Shares generally trade in the secondary market at market prices that change throughout the day. Market prices of Shares may be greater or less than their NAV. Except when aggregated in Creation Units, the Fund’s shares are not redeemable securities.

 

Tax Information

 

The Fund’s distributions generally are taxable to you as ordinary income, capital gain, or some combination of both, unless your investment is in an Individual Retirement Account (“IRA”) or other tax-advantaged account. However, subsequent withdrawals from such a tax-advantaged account may be subject to federal income tax. You should consult your tax advisor about your specific tax situation.

 

Purchases Through Broker-Dealers And Other Financial Intermediaries

 

If you purchase Shares through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary, the Fund and its related companies may pay the intermediary for the sale of Shares and related services. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing the broker-dealer or other intermediary and your salesperson to recommend Shares over another investment. Ask your salesperson or visit your financial intermediary’s website for more information.

 

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