CNBS
- Amplify Seymour Cannabis ETFKey Information
Earliest date | 2019-07-23 |
About CNBS
Under normal market conditions, the Fund seeks to achieve its investment objective by primarily investing in the securities of U.S. companies engaged in cannabis and hemp-related activities selected by the Fund’s investment adviser, Amplify Investments LLC (“Amplify Investments” or the “Adviser”). Pursuant to this strategy, the Fund will invest at least 80% of its net assets (plus borrowings for investment purposes) in the securities of U.S. companies that derive 50% or more of their revenue from the cannabis and hemp ecosystem and in derivatives that have economic characteristics similar to such securities. Tidal Financial Investments LLC (“Tidal”) and Seymour Asset Management LLC (“Seymour”, and collectively with Tidal, the “Sub-Advisers”) serve as the investment sub-advisers to the Fund. Tidal is responsible for executing and implementing the Adviser’s decisions and constructing the Fund’s portfolio. The Fund is an actively managed ETF that seeks to provide investment exposure to U.S. companies principally engaged in the emerging cannabis and hemp ecosystem across one of three classifications, which includes: • Cannabis/Hemp Plant (Pharmaceuticals/Biotechnology, Cultivation & Retail, Hemp Products and Cannabis-Infused Products) • Support (Agricultural Technology, Real Estate and Commercial Services) • Ancillary (Consumption Devices/Mechanisms, Investing & Finance, Technology & Media and Other Ancillary) The Fund’s portfolio manager, Tim Seymour, will actively seek investment opportunities in companies fitting within one of these classifications through the use of information available in public regulatory filings, third-party research, meetings with company management, and other publicly available information. Through portfolio management, the Fund’s portfolio manager will seek opportunities to make allocations among the classifications and the sub-classifications and to take advantage of market pricing dislocations. In addition, the Fund’s portfolio manager will conduct an on-going fundamental analysis of individual companies, which includes top-down and bottom-up factors. Top-down factors considered include regulatory changes, macro-economic data and political events. Bottom-up factors considered include company growth rates relative to its peer group, income statement, free cash flow, balance sheet strength, management quality, environmental, social, and governance scoring and strategic partnerships. The Fund’s portfolio manager believes that this fundamental approach will allow for adjustments in the Fund’s portfolio to address the dynamic pace of evolution for cannabis and hemp-related companies. The Fund will primarily invest in equity securities and derivative instruments intended to provide exposure to companies principally engaging in the cannabis and hemp ecosystem. As part of this strategy, the derivative instruments may include, but are not limited to, total return swaps. For purposes of the Fund’s 80% investment policy, for any derivative instruments the assets will be valued on a mark-to-market basis. In order to be eligible for investment in the Fund’s portfolio, securities must have adequate constituent liquidity and accessibility for an exchange-listed product, as determined by the Adviser. In addition, under normal market circumstances, the Fund’s direct investment in equity securities must comply with the following: • a security must be listed on a regulated, major stock exchange in the form of shares tradeable for non-U.S. investors without restrictions; • for U.S. based equity securities, 90% of the U.S. based equity weight must be in companies with a market capitalization of at least $75,000,000; and a non-U.S. equity security must have a market capitalization of at least $100,000,000; and • for U.S. based equity securities, at least 70% of the equity weight must have either: (i) a monthly trading volume of at least 250,000, or (ii) an average notional value of monthly trades of at least $25,000,000 over the prior six months; and all non-U.S. equity securities must have either: (i) a monthly trading volume of at least 250,000, or (ii) an average notional value of monthly trades of at least $25,000,000 over the prior six months. The Fund will only directly invest in companies that engage in activities that are legal in the country where it is incorporated, as well as in the country or countries where its operations are conducted. The Fund will not hold direct ownership in any companies that engage in cannabis-related business unless permitted by national and local laws of the relevant jurisdiction, including United States (“U.S.”) federal and state laws. Because the Fund only directly holds securities from companies that are currently engaged exclusively in legal activities under national and local laws, the Fund will not include equity securities of any company that engages in the cultivation, production or distribution of marijuana or products derived from marijuana for medical or non-medical purposes in a particular country, including the U.S., unless and until such time as the cultivation, production or distribution of such medical or non-medical marijuana, as applicable, becomes legal under local and national laws governing the company in such country. As of the date of this prospectus, the Fund does not directly invest in companies that grow or distribute marijuana inside of the U.S. or any “medical marijuana” companies in the United States. Any pharmaceutical companies held by the Fund would have the necessary permits and licenses to engage in lawful medical research using cannabinoids to produce government approved drugs, or to otherwise produce, market or distribute such drugs. This activity is distinct from the “medical marijuana” business, which refers to the use of the cannabis leaf, as opposed to specific extracts in pharmaceutical form, to alleviate the symptoms of injury or illness. If U.S. federal law changes in the future and these cannabis-related business activities become legal at the federal level, the Fund may begin directly investing in U.S. listed companies in the cannabis and hemp ecosystem in accordance with the Fund’s investment objective and principal investment strategy. The Fund may indirectly obtain exposure to such companies through its use of derivative instruments, as described above. The Fund’s portfolio manager expects, under normal market circumstances, that the Fund’s portfolio will consist of 20 to 45 companies. These securities may be issued by small, medium and large capitalization companies operating in both emerging and developed market countries. The Fund may also invest in securities of real estate investment trusts. The Fund may purchase equity securities that trade on U.S. or non-U.S. securities exchanges and in the securities of non-U.S. companies that utilize American Depositary Receipts (“ADRs”) or Global Depositary Receipts (“GDRs”) to list on certain exchanges. To the extent that the security of a non-U.S. issuer is available as an ADR, the Fund will purchase the ADR, provided that the ADR’s liquidity is comparable to that of the issuer’s equity security. As of the date of this Prospectus, the Fund invests in securities that are primarily listed on the following exchanges: New York Stock Exchange (“NYSE”), NYSE American, Nasdaq Stock Market, TSX Exchange, TSX Venture Exchange, Australian Securities Exchange and the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange. The Fund may, in the future, invest in companies primarily listed on additional exchanges to the extent that such companies are in compliance with the above-referenced investment and legal requirements. Further, the Fund may utilize derivatives instruments that are available over-the-counter (“OTC”) rather than exchange-traded. The Fund will seek to lend portfolio securities in an amount up to one-third of its total assets to brokers, dealers and other financial institutions. In a portfolio securities lending transaction, the Fund receives from the borrower an amount equal to the interest paid or the dividends declared on the loaned securities during the term of the loan as well as the interest on the collateral securities, less any fees (such as finders or administrative fees) the Fund pays in arranging the loan. Diversification Status. The Fund is classified as “non-diversified” under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”).