The Fund is an actively managed exchange-traded fund (“ETF”) that, under normal market conditions, invests substantially all of its assets in FLexible EXchange® Options (“FLEX Options”) that reference the market price of the SPDR® S&P 500® ETF Trust (the “Underlying ETF”). Due to the unique mechanics of the Fund’s strategy, the return an investor can expect to receive from an investment in the Fund has characteristics that are distinct from many other investment vehicles. It is important that an investor understand these characteristics before making an investment in the Fund.
The Fund uses FLEX Options to employ a “structured outcome strategy.” Structured outcome strategies seek to produce pre-determined target investment outcomes based upon the performance of an underlying security or index. The pre-determined outcomes sought by the Fund are intended to reflect the performance of the Underlying ETF over an approximate one-year period (the “Investment Period”), subject to a buffer (the “Buffer”) against certain Underlying ETF losses and a cap (the “Cap”) as set forth in the following table:
Investment Period Start | Investment Period End | FullBuffer | Fading Buffer | Cap (before Fund fees and expenses) | Cap (after Fund fees and expenses) |
October 2, 2023 | September 30, 2024 | 20% | 20% to 40% | 17.65% | 16.90% |
In general, the structured outcomes the Fund seeks for investors that hold Fund shares for an entire Investment Period are as follows, though there can be no guarantee these results will be achieved:
•If the Underlying ETF appreciates over the Investment Period, the strategy is intended to provide upside participation that matches the returns of the Underlying ETF, up to the Cap that is determined at the start of the Investment Period.
•If the Underlying ETF declines in value over the Investment Period by up to 20%, the strategy is designed to provide a flat return for the Fund (i.e., neither a gain nor a loss), before fees and expenses of the Fund. For example, if the Underlying ETF loses 15% over the Investment Period, the strategy is designed for the Fund to have a flat return of 0%, before fees and expenses of the Fund.
•If the Underlying ETF declines in value over the Investment Period by more than 20% (the maximum Buffer amount) but less than or equal to 40%, the strategy is intended for the losses of the Fund, before fees and expenses, to approach (and ultimately match) the returns of the Underlying ETF as the Underlying ETF’s losses approach (or reach) 40%. In other words, the Fund is intended to incur losses for an Investment Period that grow more quickly than the Underlying ETF’s losses as the Underlying ETF’s losses grow from 20% to 40%.
•If the Underlying ETF declines in value by more than 40% over the Investment Period, the strategy is intended for the Fund to experience losses on a one-to-one basis with the Underlying ETF, before fees and expenses of the Fund.
The following charts illustrate the hypothetical returns that the FLEX Options seek to provide with respect to the performance of the Underlying ETF in certain illustrative scenarios over the course of the Investment Period. These charts do not take into account payment by the Fund of fees and expenses. There is no guarantee that the Fund will be successful in providing these investment outcomes for any Investment Period.
Investors purchasing Shares during an Investment Period will experience different results. The Fund’s website, www.paceretfs.com/products/structured-outcome-strategies, provides information relating to the possible outcomes for an investor of an investment in the Fund on a daily basis, including the Fund’s position relative to the Cap and Buffer. Before purchasing Shares, an investor should visit the Fund’s website to review this information and understand the possible outcomes of an investment in Shares on a particular day.
Subsequent Investment Periods will begin on the day the prior Investment Period ends and will end on the approximate one-year anniversary of that new Investment Period. On the first day of each new Investment Period, the Fund resets by investing in a new set of FLEX Options that will provide a new Cap for the new Investment Period. This means that the Cap will change for each Investment Period based upon prevailing market conditions at the beginning of each Investment
Period. The Cap and Buffer, and the Fund’s position relative to each, should be considered before investing in the Fund. The Fund will be perpetually offered and not terminate after the current or any subsequent Investment Period.
Purchases During an Investment Period
An investor that purchases Shares other than on the first day of an Investment Period and/or sells Shares prior to the end of an Investment Period may experience results that are very different from the outcomes sought by the Fund for that Investment Period.
Both the Cap and Buffer are fixed levels that are calculated in relation to the Underlying ETF’s market price and the Fund’s net asset value (“NAV”) at the start of an Investment Period. While the Cap and Buffer reference the performance of the Underlying ETF over the Investment Period, the Fund expects its NAV to experience the same general price movement, Cap, and Buffer as a percentage gain or loss by the Underlying ETF over the Investment Period, before fees and expenses of the Fund.
Because the Underlying ETF’s market price and the Fund’s NAV change over the Investment Period, an investor acquiring Shares after the start of the Investment Period will likely have a different return potential than an investor who purchased Shares at the start of the Investment Period. This is because, while the Cap and Buffer for the Investment Period are fixed levels that remain constant throughout the Investment Period, an investor purchasing Shares at market value during the Investment Period likely purchased Shares at a price that is different from the Fund’s NAV at the start of the Investment Period (i.e., the NAV that the Cap and Buffer reference). In addition, the price of the Underlying ETF during the Investment Period is likely to be different from the price of the Underlying ETF at the start of the Investment Period. To achieve the structured outcomes sought by the Fund for an Investment Period, an investor must hold Shares for the entire Investment Period.
Buffer
The Fund seeks to provide a two-zone Buffer strategy. In the first zone, the Fund seeks to provide a full Buffer on the first 20% loss of the Underlying ETF over each Investment Period. In the second zone, the benefit of the Fund’s Buffer declines from 20% to 0% for Underlying ETF losses between 20% and 40%, at which point both the Fund and the Underlying ETF will have lost 40%. As a result, the benefits of the Buffer decrease from a maximum benefit of 20% (when Underlying ETF losses are 20%) to 0% (when Underlying ETF losses reach 40%) in this second zone. For Underlying ETF losses greater than 40%, the Fund will experience the losses of the Underlying ETF on a one-to-one basis (e.g., if the Underlying ETF loses 45%, the Fund loses 45%). The Buffer is before taking into account the fees and expenses charged to shareholders. An investor could lose their entire investment.
If an investor is considering purchasing Shares during the Investment Period and the Fund has already decreased in value by an amount equal to or greater than 20% from the value of the Fund on the first day of the Investment Period (the “Initial Fund Value”), an investor purchasing Shares at that price will have increased gains available prior to reaching the Capbut may not benefit from the Buffer that the Fund seeks to offer for the remainder of the Investment Period. The Cap and Buffer relative to the Initial Fund Value, however, will not change over the Investment Period.
Conversely, if an investor is considering purchasing Shares during the Investment Period and the Fund has already increased in value, then a shareholder may experience losses prior to gaining the protection offered by the Buffer, which is not guaranteed.
Cap
The returns of the Fund are subject to the Cap set forth in the above table for the Investment Period. Unlike other investment products, the potential returns an investor can receive from the Fund are subject to a pre-determined upside return Cap that represents the maximum percentage return an investor can achieve from an investment in the Fund for an entire Investment Period. In the event the Underlying ETF experiences gains over an Investment Period, the Fund seeks to provide investment returns that match the percentage increase of the Underlying ETF, but any percentage gains over the amount of the Cap will not be experienced by the Fund. This means that, if the Underlying ETF experiences gains for an Investment Period in excess of the Cap for that Investment Period, the Fund will not benefit from those excess
gains.Therefore, regardless of the performance of the Underlying ETF, the Cap is the maximum return an investor can achieve from an investment in the Fund for that Investment Period.
The Cap is set on the first day of each Investment Period. The defined Cap applicable to an Investment Period will vary based on prevailing market conditions at the time, including then-current interest rate levels, Underlying ETF volatility, and the relationship of puts and calls on the underlying FLEX Options. Following the close of business on the last day of the Investment Period, the Fund will supplement its prospectus by filing and mailing to shareholders a notice disclosing the Fund’s Cap for the next Investment Period if such Cap is lower than the Cap for the prior Investment Period. The information will also be available on the Fund’s website at www.paceretfs.com/products/structured-outcome-strategies.
The Cap is determined prior to taking into account annual operating expenses of the Fund, which are disclosed above under “Fees and Expenses of the Fund,” as well as brokerage commissions, trading fees, taxes, and any extraordinary expenses incurred by the Fund. Such extraordinary expenses (incurred outside of the ordinary operation of the Fund) may include, for example, unexpected litigation, regulatory, or tax expenses.
The Cap level is a result of the design of the Fund’s principal investment strategy. To provide the Buffer, the Fund purchases a series of put and call FLEX Options on the first day of an Investment Period. As the purchaser of these FLEX Options, the Fund is obligated to pay a premium to the seller of those FLEX Options. The portfolio manager will calculate the amount of premiums that the Fund will owe on the put options acquired and sold to provide the Buffer and will then go into the market and sell call options with terms that entitle the Fund to receive premiums such that the net amount of premiums paid per unit of the Underlying ETF is approximately equal to the price per unit of shares of the Underlying ETF. The Cap is the strike price of those sold FLEX Options.
The Cap, and the Fund’s position relative to it on any given day, should be considered before investing in the Fund. If an investor purchases Shares during an Investment Period, and the Fund has already increased in value above its Initial Fund Value for that Investment Period to a level near to the Cap, an investor purchasing Shares will have limited to no gain potential for the remainder of the Investment Period. However, the investor will remain vulnerable to significant downside risk because the investor will bear the losses between the price at which it purchased its Shares and the Initial Fund Value for the Investment Period before subsequent losses will be protected by the Buffer.
General Information about FLEX Options
FLEX Options are exchange-traded options contracts with uniquely customizable terms like exercise price, style, and expiration date. The Underlying ETF is an exchange-traded unit investment trust that seeks to provide investment results that, before expenses, correspond generally to the price and yield performance of the S&P 500® Index. The Underlying ETF uses a full replication strategy, meaning it invests in all of the component securities of the S&P 500® Index in the same approximate proportions as in the S&P 500® Index. See “Additional Information About the Funds—The Underlying ETF” below for more information.
The FLEX Options that the Fund will hold that reference the Underlying ETF will give the Fund the right to receive or deliver shares of the Underlying ETF on the option expiration date at a strike price, depending on whether the option is a put or call option and whether the Fund purchases or sells the option. The FLEX Options held by the Fund are European-style options, which are exercisable at the strike price only on the FLEX Option expiration date.
The Fund will generally, under normal conditions, hold four kinds of FLEX Options for each Investment Period. The Fund will purchase a call option (giving the Fund the right to receive shares of the Underlying ETF) and a put option (giving the Fund the right to deliver shares of the Underlying ETF), while simultaneously selling (i.e., writing) a call option (giving the Fund the obligation to deliver shares of the Underlying ETF) and a put option (giving the Fund the obligation to receive shares of the Underlying ETF). The Fund intends to structure the FLEX Options so that any amount owed by the Fund on the written FLEX Options will be covered by payouts at expiration from the purchased FLEX Options. As a result, the FLEX Options will be fully covered and no additional collateral will be necessary during the life of the Fund. The Fund receives premiums in exchange for the written FLEX Options and pays premiums in exchange for the purchased FLEX Options. Each of the FLEX Options purchased and sold throughout the Investment Period will have the same terms, such as strike price and expiration date, as the FLEX Options purchased and sold on the first day of the Investment Period.
On the FLEX Options’ expiration date, the Fund intends to sell the FLEX Options prior to their expiration and use the resulting proceeds to purchase new FLEX Options for the next Investment Period.
The Fund is classified as “non-diversified” under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”).