Investment objective & strategy
As of June 28, 2022 · prospectusObjective. The Cannabis ETF (the Fund) seeks to provide investment results that, before fees and expenses, correspond generally to the total return performance of the Innovation Labs Cannabis Index (the Index).
Strategy. The Fund invests at least 80% of its total assets in the component securities of the Index. The Fund uses a passive or indexing approach to try to achieve its investment objective. Unlike many investment companies, the Fund does not try to beat the Index and does not seek temporary defensive positions when markets decline or appear overvalued. The Fund will also invest, under normal circumstances, at least 80% of its net assets, plus borrowings for investment purposes, in exchange listed common stock (or corresponding American Depositary Receipts (ADRs) of Cannabis Companies. Cannabis Companies are companies, that have a business interest in the legal cannabis-based pharmaceutical and consumer wellness & product markets. Cannabis is (i) marijuana (or products derived from … The Fund invests at least 80% of its total assets in the component securities of the Index. The Fund uses a passive or indexing approach to try to achieve its investment objective. Unlike many investment companies, the Fund does not try to beat the Index and does not seek temporary defensive positions when markets decline or appear overvalued. The Fund will also invest, under normal circumstances, at least 80% of its net assets, plus borrowings for investment purposes, in exchange listed common stock (or corresponding American Depositary Receipts (ADRs) of Cannabis Companies. Cannabis Companies are companies, that have a business interest in the legal cannabis-based pharmaceutical and consumer wellness & product markets. Cannabis is (i) marijuana (or products derived from marijuana) and (ii) hemp (or products derived from hemp, which includes CBD-based products (i.e., products that contain cannabidiol). A company has a business interest in the legal cannabis-based pharmaceutical and consumer wellness & product markets if a significant percentage (at least 50%) of its revenues are derived from such activity. As of the date of this prospectus, Cannabis Companies do not include companies that grow or distribute marijuana inside the U.S. (unless and until such time as the cultivation, production, or distribution of such marijuana or products become legal under U.S. federal law). As of the date of this prospectus, Cannabis Companies may, however, include companies that have a business interest in the legal hemp-based pharmaceutical and consumer wellness & product markets within the United States. The Fund uses a replication strategy. A replication strategy is an indexing strategy that involves investing in the securities of the Index in approximately the same proportions as in the Index. However, the Fund may utilize a representative sampling strategy with respect to the Index when a replication strategy might be detrimental to shareholders, such as when there are practical difficulties or substantial costs involved in compiling a portfolio of equity securities to follow the Index, in instances in which a security in the Index becomes temporarily illiquid, unavailable, or less liquid, or as a result of legal restrictions or limitations (such as tax diversification requirements) that apply to the Fund but not the Index. The Innovation Labs Cannabis Index The Index is a proprietary, rules-based index designed to track the performance of a portfolio of Cannabis Companies. These Cannabis Companies are primarily located in the United States and Canada, but may be located in other countries as well. The initial universe of Index constituents (the Index Universe) consists of publicly listed Cannabis Companies that are involved in the legal cannabis industry. Legal refers to being permitted under the applicable (i) controlled substance or (ii) food, drug, and cosmetics, or equivalent laws and regulations under whose jurisdiction the Cannabis Company is subject that govern the cultivation, production or distribution, for medical or non-medical purposes, of cannabis in a particular country. Cannabis Companies that have a business interest in the legal hemp-based pharmaceutical and consumer wellness & product markets within the United States are companies that have business interests in hemp as defined in the Agricultural Improvement Act of 2018, also known as the Farm Bill. Hemp, as defined in the Farm Bill, was exempted from the definition of marijuana under the CSA, which effectively allows companies to legally grow, manufacture, and produce hemp in the United States, if done so in compliance with the provisions of the Farm Bill 1 . The index provider eliminates from the Index Universe any Cannabis Company that it knows, based on the Cannabis Companys publicly available information, to not be operating legally. Publicly available information is information available in a companys publicly available filings with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, publicly available filings with the thirteen Canadian provincial and territorial securities regulatory authorities (Canadian Securities Administrators), publicly available filings with equivalent securities authorities in other applicable countries, investor presentations on posted on a companys website, and press releases or other public statement by the company. The index provider also eliminates from the Index Universe any Cannabis Company that it knows, based on the Cannabis Companys publicly available information, to invest in other companies (Related Companies) that the index provider knows, based on the Related Companys publicly available information, to not be operating legally. These assessments are made at the time a Cannabis Company is added to the Index and upon any reconstitution of the Index. Upon the monthly rebalancing and reconstitution of the Index, the Advisor will also examine the Cannabis Companys publicly available information in order to eliminate from the Funds portfolio any Cannabis Company that it knows to not be operating legally. If, through their investment process, the Advisor or Sub-Advisor identifies or becomes aware that a particular company no longer meets the Funds definition of Cannabis Companies, the Fund will immediately sell that position. 1 The Cannabis sativa L. plant produces both hemp and marijuana whether a substance is one or the other impacts how the substance is regulated in the United States and whether it is legal or not from a federal perspective. Section 812 of the CSA identifies marihuana or marijuana as a Schedule 1 controlled substance. 21 U.S.C. 802(16)(A) of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) defines marihuana (referred to hereafter as marijuana) as all parts of the plant Cannabis sativa L ., whether growing or not; the seeds thereof; the resin extracted from any part of such plant; and every compound, manufacture, salt, derivative, mixture, or preparation of such plant, its seeds or resin. Pursuant to 21 U.S.C. 841, it is a prohibited act to knowingly or intentionally manufacture, distribute, or dispense, or possess with an intent to manufacture, distribute, or dispense, a controlled substance. The Farm Bill modified a portion of the CSA to identify hemp as an exclusion to the definition of marijuana. The Farm Bill also amended the Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946 to define hemp as the plant Cannabis sativa L . and any part of that plant, including the seeds thereof and all derivatives, extracts, cannabinoids, isomers, acids, salts, and salts of isomers, whether growing or not, with a delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol THC concentration of not more than 0.3 percent on a dry weight basis. The Farm Bill further excludes the mature stalks of the Cannabis sativa L. plant; the fiber produced from such stalks; the oil or cake made from the seeds of such plant; any other compound, manufacture, salt, derivative, mixture, or preparation of such mature stalks (except the resin extracted therefrom), fiber, oil, or cake; or the sterilized seed of such plant, which is incapable of germination. So, hemp and hemp derivatives that meet the definition of hemp established in the Farm Bill and modified in the Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946, are not deemed Schedule I controlled substances. Companies may grow and produce hemp legally in compliance with the Farm Bill and companies doing so would not be deemed in violation of federal law. The Index Universe is then screened to not include stocks that have a market capitalization below $100 million and stocks listed on the Canadian Securities Exchange (the CSE). The Index constituents must be listed on exchanges that require compliance with all laws, rules and regulations applicable to their business, including U.S. federal laws. As of the date of this prospectus, the exchanges identified by the Index Provider that meet this criterion are the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), Nasdaq Stock Market (Nasdaq), TSX Exchange (TSX), TSX Venture Exchange (TSX Venture) and the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX), but other exchanges could be identified and companies listed on such exchanges could be included in the Index at any time. Constituents must also have traded at least 200,000 shares during the month of reconstitution. At the time of monthly reconstitution, the Index constituents are weighted according to their market capitalization with the individual weight of an Index constituent capped at eight percent (8.00%), with the excess weighting proportionately distributed between the remaining constituents. The Index is rebalanced and reconstituted monthly, effective at the close of trading on the second Friday of the month. The Fund is rebalanced and reconstituted in accordance with the Index. The Index is developed by Innovation Labs Ltd. and licensed to Innovation Shares LLC, the Fund's Index Provider. The Index is calculated, maintained, and distributed by an independent, third-party index calculation agent that is not affiliated with the Fund, the Advisor, or Merlin Capital, LLC, d/b/a Merlin Asset Management (Merlin or the Sub-Advisor). As of February 28, 202 2 , the Index had 29 constituents, and the largest stocks and their weightings in the Index were Fire and Flower Corp. ( 5.81 %), Tilray Brands Inc. ( 5.67% %), Cronos Group Inc. ( 5.34 %), Village Farms International Inc. ( 5.26 %), and AFC Gamma Inc. ( 5.05 %). To generate income for the Fund, the Fund may lend its portfolio securities to broker-dealers (including the Funds custodian) and other financial institutions desiring to borrow securities to complete transactions and for other purposes. In connection with such loans, the Fund receives liquid collateral equal to at least 102% of the value of the domestic portfolio securities being lent and 105% of the value of the foreign portfolio securities being lent. This collateral is marked to market on a daily basis and will be maintained in an amount equal to at least the percentages noted above of the portfolio securities being lent. The Fund will also receive fee income in exchange for the securities it lends. Industry Concentration Policy : The Fund will concentrate its investments (i.e., hold more than 25% of its net assets) in a particular industry or group of related industries to approximately the same extent that the Index is concentrated. As of February 28, 202 2 , the Index was concentrated in the healthcare industry. The Fund is non-diversified. The Funds focus on Cannabis Companies may result in volatile performance.
Top holdings
As of Nov. 30, 2022 · N-PORT| Security | Ticker | Value | % of fund |
|---|---|---|---|
| GROWGENERATION CORP | — | $3.58M | 0.13% |
| AFC GAMMA INC | — | $2.16M | 0.08% |
| Organigram Holdings Inc | — | $2.12M | 0.07% |
| CANOPY GROWTH CO | — | $2.02M | 0.07% |
| CRONOS GROUP INC | — | $2.00M | 0.07% |
| TILRAY BRANDS INC CL 2 | TLRY | $1.96M | 0.07% |
| VILLAGE FARMS INTL. INC | VFF | $1.85M | 0.07% |
| SCOTTS MIRACLE GRO CO | — | $1.75M | 0.06% |
| WATERS CORP | — | $1.64M | 0.06% |
| High Tide Inc | HITI | $1.55M | 0.05% |
Portfolio moves
Aug 31, 2022 → Nov 30, 2022How many positions this fund opened, exited, grew, trimmed, or left unchanged between its two most recent N-PORT snapshots — net changes between point-in-time reports, not a trade log.
Similar funds
Funds whose portfolios most overlap this one, by weight| Fund | Overlap | Net exp. |
|---|---|---|
| AMERICAN GROWTH FUND American Growth Cannabis Fund · AMREX, AMRHX | 25% | — |
| Defiance Next Gen Altered Experience ETF | 18% | 0.75% |
| WP Smaller Companies Income Plus Fund | 6% | 3.34% |
Footnotes
- Net assets and holdings count as of November 30, 2022, from the fund's N-PORT filing.
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