Blueprint
Filed
Pursuant to Rule 424(b)(3)
Registration No.
333-223943
Teucrium
Agricultural Fund
4,625,000 Shares
The Teucrium Agricultural Fund
(the “Fund” or “Us” or “We”) is
a commodity pool that is a series of the Teucrium Commodity Trust
(“Trust”), a Delaware statutory trust. The Fund
issues common units representing fractional undivided beneficial
interests in such Fund, called “Shares.” The Fund
continuously offers creation baskets consisting of 25,000 Shares
(“Creation Baskets”) at their net asset value
(“NAV”) to “Authorized Purchasers” (as
defined below). Authorized Purchasers, in turn, may offer to
the public Shares of any baskets they create. Authorized
Purchasers sell such Shares, which are listed on the NYSE Arca
exchange (“NYSE Arca”), to the public at per-Share
offering prices that are expected to reflect, among other factors,
the trading price of the Shares on the NYSE Arca, the NAV of the
Fund at the time the Authorized Purchaser purchased the Creation
Baskets and the NAV at the time of the offer of the Shares to the
public, the supply of and demand for Shares at the time of sale,
and the liquidity of the markets for agricultural commodity
interests in which the Fund invests. A list of the
Fund’s Authorized Purchasers as of the date of this
Prospectus can be found under “Plan of Distribution –
Distributor and Authorized Purchasers” on page 60. The
prices of the Shares offered by Authorized Purchasers are expected
to fall between the Fund’s NAV and the trading price of the
Shares on the NYSE Arca at the time of sale. The Fund’s
Shares may trade in the secondary market at prices that are lower
or higher than their NAV per Share. Fund Shares are listed on
the NYSE Arca under the symbol “TAGS.”
The Fund’s sponsor is
Teucrium Trading, LLC (the “Sponsor”). The
investment objective of the Fund is to have the daily changes in
percentage terms of the Fund’s NAV per Share reflect the
daily changes in percentage terms of a weighted average of the NAVs
per share of four commodity pools sponsored by the Sponsor that
track benchmarks of futures contracts relating to corn, wheat,
soybeans and sugar, respectively.
This is a best efforts offering;
the distributor, Foreside Fund Services, LLC (the
“Distributor”), is not required to sell any
specific number or dollar amount of Shares, but will use its best
efforts to sell Shares. An Authorized Purchaser is under no
obligation to purchase Shares. This is intended to be a
continuous offering that will terminate April 30, 2021, unless
suspended or terminated at any earlier time for certain reasons
specified in this prospectus or unless extended as permitted under
the rules under the Securities Act of 1933. See
“Prospectus Summary – The Shares” and
“Creation and Redemption of Shares – Rejection of
Purchase Orders” below.
Investing in
the Fund involves significant risks. See “What Are the
Risk Factors Involved with an Investment in the Fund?”
beginning on page 13. The Fund is not a mutual fund
registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940 and is not
subject to regulation under such Act.
NEITHER THE
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION (“SEC”) NOR ANY
STATE SECURITIES COMMISSION HAS APPROVED OR DISAPPROVED OF THE
SECURITIES OFFERED IN THIS PROSPECTUS, OR DETERMINED IF THIS
PROSPECTUS IS TRUTHFUL OR COMPLETE. ANY REPRESENTATION TO THE
CONTRARY IS A CRIMINAL OFFENSE.
THE COMMODITY
FUTURES TRADING COMMISSION HAS NOT PASSED UPON THE MERITS OF
PARTICIPATING IN THIS POOL NOR HAS THE COMMISSION PASSED ON THE
ADEQUACY OR ACCURACY OF THIS DISCLOSURE
DOCUMENT.
This prospectus
is in two parts: a disclosure document and a statement of
additional information. These parts are bound together, and both
contain important information.
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Price of the Shares1
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$22.88
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$572,000
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1. Based on closing net asset
value on January 31, 2018. The price will vary based on net asset
value in effect on a particular day. No commissions or discounts
are paid to Authorized Purchasers in connection with the sale of
Creation Baskets. The Sponsor pays certain fees to the Distributor.
See “The Offering – Plan of Distribution” on page
60.
The date of
this prospectus is April 30, 2018
COMMODITY
FUTURES TRADING COMMISSION
RISK DISCLOSURE
STATEMENT
YOU SHOULD
CAREFULLY CONSIDER WHETHER YOUR FINANCIAL CONDITION PERMITS YOU TO
PARTICIPATE IN A COMMODITY POOL. IN SO DOING, YOU SHOULD BE
AWARE THAT COMMODITY INTEREST TRADING CAN QUICKLY LEAD TO LARGE
LOSSES AS WELL AS GAINS. SUCH TRADING LOSSES CAN SHARPLY
REDUCE THE NET ASSET VALUE OF THE POOL AND CONSEQUENTLY THE VALUE
OF YOUR INTEREST IN THE POOL. IN ADDITION, RESTRICTIONS ON
REDEMPTIONS MAY AFFECT YOUR ABILITY TO WITHDRAW YOUR PARTICIPATION
IN THE POOL.
FURTHER,
COMMODITY POOLS MAY BE SUBJECT TO SUBSTANTIAL CHARGES FOR
MANAGEMENT, AND ADVISORY AND BROKERAGE FEES. IT MAY BE
NECESSARY FOR THOSE POOLS THAT ARE SUBJECT TO THESE CHARGES TO MAKE
SUBSTANTIAL TRADING PROFITS TO AVOID DEPLETION OR EXHAUSTION OF
THEIR ASSETS. THIS DISCLOSURE DOCUMENT CONTAINS A COMPLETE
DESCRIPTION OF EACH EXPENSE TO BE CHARGED THIS POOL AT PAGE 59 AND
A STATEMENT OF THE PERCENTAGE RETURN NECESSARY TO BREAK EVEN, THAT
IS, TO RECOVER THE AMOUNT OF YOUR INITIAL INVESTMENT, AT PAGE
9.
THIS BRIEF
STATEMENT CANNOT DISCLOSE ALL THE RISKS AND OTHER FACTORS NECESSARY
TO EVALUATE YOUR PARTICIPATION IN THIS COMMODITY POOL.
THEREFORE, BEFORE YOU DECIDE TO PARTICIPATE IN THIS COMMODITY POOL,
YOU SHOULD CAREFULLY STUDY THIS DISCLOSURE DOCUMENT, INCLUDING A
DESCRIPTION OF THE PRINCIPAL RISK FACTORS OF THIS INVESTMENT, AT
PAGE 7.
YOU SHOULD ALSO
BE AWARE THAT THIS COMMODITY POOL MAY TRADE FOREIGN FUTURES OR
OPTIONS CONTRACTS. TRANSACTIONS ON MARKETS LOCATED OUTSIDE
THE UNITED STATES, INCLUDING MARKETS FORMALLY LINKED TO A UNITED
STATES MARKET, MAY BE SUBJECT TO REGULATIONS WHICH OFFER DIFFERENT
OR DIMINISHED PROTECTION TO THE POOL AND ITS PARTICIPANTS.
FURTHER, UNITED STATES REGULATORY AUTHORITIES MAY BE UNABLE TO
COMPEL THE ENFORCEMENT OF THE RULES OF REGULATORY AUTHORITIES OR
MARKETS IN NON-UNITED STATES JURISDICTIONS WHERE TRANSACTIONS FOR
THE POOL MAY BE EFFECTED.
SWAPS
TRANSACTIONS, LIKE OTHER FINANCIAL TRANSACTIONS, INVOLVE A VARIETY
OF SIGNIFICANT RISKS. THE SPECIFIC RISKS PRESENTED BY A PARTICULAR
SWAP TRANSACTION NECESSARILY DEPEND UPON THE TERMS OF THE
TRANSACTION AND YOUR CIRCUMSTANCES. IN GENERAL, HOWEVER, ALL SWAPS
TRANSACTIONS INVOLVE SOME COMBINATION OF MARKET RISK, CREDIT RISK,
COUNTERPARTY CREDIT RISK, FUNDING RISK, LIQUIDITY RISK, AND
OPERATIONAL RISK.
HIGHLY
CUSTOMIZED SWAPS TRANSACTIONS IN PARTICULAR MAY INCREASE LIQUIDITY
RISK, WHICH MAY RESULT IN A SUSPENSION OF REDEMPTIONS. HIGHLY
LEVERAGED TRANSACTIONS MAY EXPERIENCE SUBSTANTIAL GAINS OR LOSSES
IN VALUE AS A RESULT OF RELATIVELY SMALL CHANGES IN THE VALUE OR
LEVEL OF AN UNDERLYING OR RELATED MARKET
FACTOR.
IN EVALUATING
THE RISKS AND CONTRACTUAL OBLIGATIONS ASSOCIATED WITH A PARTICULAR
SWAP TRANSACTION, IT IS IMPORTANT TO CONSIDER THAT A SWAP
TRANSACTION MAY BE MODIFIED OR TERMINATED ONLY BY MUTUAL CONSENT OF
THE ORIGINAL PARTIES AND SUBJECT TO AGREEMENT ON INDIVIDUALLY
NEGOTIATED TERMS. THEREFORE, IT MAY NOT BE POSSIBLE FOR THE
COMMODITY POOL OPERATOR TO MODIFY, TERMINATE, OR OFFSET THE POOL'S
OBLIGATIONS OR THE POOL'S EXPOSURE TO THE RISKS ASSOCIATED WITH A
TRANSACTION PRIOR TO ITS SCHEDULED TERMINATION
DATE.
TEUCRIUM
AGRICULTURAL FUND
TABLE OF
CONTENTS
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102
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102
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103
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104
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STATEMENT REGARDING
FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
This prospectus includes
“forward-looking statements” which generally relate to
future events or future performance. In some cases, you can
identify forward-looking statements by terminology such as
“may,” “will,” “should,”
“expect,” “plan,” “anticipate,”
“believe,” “estimate,”
“predict,” “potential” or the negative of
these terms or other comparable terminology. All statements
(other than statements of historical fact) included in this
prospectus that address activities, events or developments that
will or may occur in the future, including such matters as
movements in the commodities markets and indexes that track such
movements, the Fund’s operations, the Sponsor’s plans
and references to the Fund’s future success and other similar
matters, are forward-looking statements. These statements are
only predictions. Actual events or results may differ
materially. These statements are based upon certain
assumptions and analyses the Sponsor has made based on its
perception of historical trends, current conditions and expected
future developments, as well as other factors appropriate in the
circumstances. Whether or not actual results and developments
will conform to the Sponsor’s expectations and predictions,
however, is subject to a number of risks and uncertainties,
including the special considerations discussed in this prospectus,
general economic, market and business conditions, changes in laws
or regulations, including those concerning taxes, made by
governmental authorities or regulatory bodies, and other world
economic and political developments. See “What Are the
Risk Factors Involved with an Investment in the Fund?”
Consequently, all the forward-looking statements made in this
prospectus are qualified by these cautionary statements, and there
can be no assurance that actual results or developments the Sponsor
anticipates will be realized or, even if substantially realized,
that they will result in the expected consequences to, or have the
expected effects on, the Fund’s operations or the value of
its Shares.
This is only a
summary of the prospectus and, while it contains material
information about the Fund and its Shares, it does not contain or
summarize all of the information about the Fund and the Shares
contained in this prospectus that is material and/or which may be
important to you. You should read this entire prospectus, including
“What Are the Risk Factors Involved with an Investment in the
Fund?” beginning on page 13, before making an investment
decision about the Shares. In addition, this prospectus
includes a statement of additional information that follows and is
bound together with the primary disclosure document. Both the
primary disclosure document and the statement of additional
information contain important information.
Principal Offices of
the Fund and the Sponsor
The principal office of the Trust
and the Fund is located at 115 Christina Landing Drive Unit 2004,
Wilmington, DE 19801. The telephone number is (302)
543-5977. The Sponsor’s principal office is also
located at 115 Christina Landing Drive Unit 2004, Wilmington, DE
19801, and its telephone number is also (302)
543-5977.
The amount of trading income
required for the redemption value of a Share at the end of one year
to equal the selling price of the Share, assuming a selling price
of $22.88 (the NAV per Share as of January 31, 2018), is $0.11 or
0.48% of the selling price. For more information, see
“Breakeven Analysis” below.
The Teucrium Agricultural Fund
(the “Fund” or “Us” or “We”) is
a commodity pool that issues Shares that may be purchased and sold
on the NYSE Arca. The Fund is a series of the Trust, a
Delaware statutory trust organized on September 11, 2009. The
Fund is one of five series of the Trust (collectively, the
“Teucrium Funds”); each series operates as a separate
commodity pool. Additional series of the Trust may be created
in the future. The Trust and the Fund operate pursuant to the
Trust’s Third Amended and Restated Declaration of Trust and
Trust Agreement (the “Trust Agreement”). The Fund
was formed and is managed and controlled by the Sponsor, Teucrium
Trading, LLC. The Sponsor is a limited liability company
formed in Delaware on July 28, 2009 that is registered as a
commodity pool operator (“CPO”) with the Commodity
Futures Trading Commission (“CFTC”) and is a member of
the National Futures Association (“NFA”). The
Sponsor also registered as a Commodity Trading Advisor
(“CTA”) with the CFTC effective September 8,
2017.
The investment
objective of the Fund is to have the daily changes in percentage
terms of the NAV of its Shares reflect the daily changes in
percentage terms of a weighted average (the “Underlying Fund
Average”) of the NAVs per share of four other commodity pools
that are series of the Trust and are sponsored by the Sponsor: the
Teucrium Corn Fund, the Teucrium Wheat Fund, the Teucrium Soybean
Fund and the Teucrium Sugar Fund (collectively, the
“Underlying Funds”). The Underlying Fund Average will
have a weighting of 25% to each Underlying Fund, and the
Fund’s assets will be rebalanced, generally on a daily basis,
to maintain the approximate 25% allocation to each Underlying
Fund:
TAGS Benchmark
Underlying Fund
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CORN
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25%
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SOYB
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25%
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CANE
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25%
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WEAT
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25%
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The Fund does not intend to invest
directly in futures contracts (“Futures Contracts”),
although it reserves the right to do so in the future, including if
an Underlying Fund ceases operations or if shares of an Underlying
Fund cease trading on NYSE Arca.
The investment objective of each Underlying Fund
is to have the daily changes in percentage terms of its
shares’ NAV reflect the daily changes in percentage terms of
a weighted average of the closing settlement prices for certain
Futures Contracts for the commodity specified in the Underlying
Fund’s name. (This weighted average is referred to
herein as the Underlying Fund’s “Benchmark,” the
Futures Contracts that at any given time make up an Underlying
Fund’s Benchmark are referred to herein as the Underlying
Fund’s “Benchmark Component Futures Contracts,”
and the commodity specified in the Underlying Fund’s name is
referred to herein as its “Specified
Commodity.”)
Specifically, the Teucrium Corn
Fund’s Benchmark is: (1) the second-to-expire Futures
Contract for corn traded on the Chicago Board of Trade
(“CBOT”), weighted 35%, (2) the third-to-expire CBOT
corn Futures Contract, weighted 30%, and (3) the CBOT Corn Futures
Contract expiring in the December following the expiration
month of the third-to-expire contract, weighted
35%.
The Teucrium Wheat Fund’s
Benchmark is: (1) the second-to-expire CBOT Wheat Futures Contract,
weighted 35%, (2) the third-to-expire CBOT Wheat Futures Contract,
weighted 30%, and (3) the CBOT Wheat Futures Contract expiring in
the December following the expiration month of the
third-to-expire contract, weighted 35%.
The Teucrium Soybean Fund’s
Benchmark is: (1) the second-to-expire CBOT Soybean Futures
Contract, weighted 35%, (2) the third-to-expire CBOT Soybean
Futures Contract, weighted 30%, and (3) the CBOT Soybean Futures
Contract expiring in the November following the expiration
month of the third-to-expire contract, weighted 35%, except that
CBOT Soybean Futures Contracts expiring in August and September
will not be part of the Teucrium Soybean Fund’s Benchmark
because of the less liquid market for these Futures
Contracts.
The Teucrium Sugar Fund’s
Benchmark is: (1) the second-to-expire Sugar No. 11 Futures
Contract traded on ICE Futures US (“ICE Futures”),
weighted 35%, (2) the third-to-expire ICE Futures Sugar No. 11
Futures Contract, weighted 30%, and (3) the ICE Futures Sugar No.
11 Futures Contract expiring in the March following the
expiration month of the third-to-expire contract, weighted
35%. (Although Sugar Futures Contracts are primarily
traded on the ICE Futures, they may also be traded on the New York
Mercantile Exchange (“NYMEX”). Any reference to
the ICE Futures in relation to the Teucrium Sugar Fund should also
be read as a reference to NYMEX. Although Corn, Soybean and Wheat
Futures Contracts are primarily traded on the CBOT, they may also
be traded on the ICE. Any reference to CBOT Futures in
relation to the Teucrium Corn, Soybean and/or Wheat Fund(s) should
also be read as a reference to ICE Futures.)
Each Underlying Fund seeks to
achieve its investment objective by investing under normal market
conditions in Benchmark Component Futures Contracts or, in certain
circumstances, in other Futures Contracts for its Specified
Commodity. In addition, and to a limited extent, an
Underlying Fund also may invest in exchange-traded options on
Futures Contracts for its Specified Commodity in furtherance of the
Underlying Fund's investment objective. Once position limits
or accountability levels on Futures Contracts on an Underlying
Fund’s Specified Commodity are applicable, each Underlying
Fund's intention is to invest in contracts and instruments such as
cash-settled options on Futures Contracts and forward contracts,
and other over-the-counter transactions that are based on the price
of its Specified Commodity or Futures Contracts on its Specified
Commodity (collectively, “Other Commodity Interests,”
and together with Futures Contracts, “Commodity
Interests”). See “The Offering – Futures
Contracts” below. By utilizing certain or all of these
investments, the Sponsor endeavors to cause each Underlying Fund's
performance to closely track that of its Benchmark. The
Sponsor expects to manage the Fund’s and the Underlying
Funds’ investments directly, although it has been authorized
by the Trust to retain, establish the terms of retention for, and
terminate third-party commodity trading advisors to provide such
management. The Sponsor is also authorized to select
broker-dealers to execute the Fund’s transactions in the
Underlying Funds and futures commission merchants
(“FCMs”) to execute the Underlying Funds’
transactions in Futures Contracts.
The Underlying Funds seek to
achieve their investment objectives primarily by investing in
Commodity Interests such that daily changes in each Underlying
Fund’s NAV are expected to closely track the changes in its
respective Benchmark. Each Underlying Fund’s positions
in Commodity Interests are changed or “rolled” on a
regular basis in order to track the changing nature of its
Benchmark. For example, several times a year (on the dates on
which Futures Contracts on the Underlying Fund’s Specified
Commodity expire), a particular Futures Contract will no longer be
a Benchmark Component Futures Contract, and the Underlying
Fund’s investments will have to be changed accordingly.
In order that the Underlying Funds’ trading does not signal
potential market movements and to make it more difficult for third
parties to profit by trading ahead based on such expected market
movements, the Underlying Funds’ investments may not be
rolled entirely on that day, but rather may be rolled over a period
of several days.
The Underlying Funds incur certain
expenses in connection with their operations, and hold most of
their assets in income-producing, cash and cash equivalents for
margin and other liquidity purposes and to meet redemptions that
may be necessary on an ongoing basis. These expenses and income
cause imperfect correlation between changes in the Underlying
Fund’s NAV and changes in each respective Benchmark, because
the Benchmarks do not reflect expenses or income. Investors should
be aware that because the Underlying Funds incur certain expenses
on an ongoing basis, they may incur a partial or complete loss of
their investment even when the performance of the Benchmarks are
positive.
In seeking to achieve each
Underlying Fund’s investment objective of tracking its
Benchmark, the Sponsor may for certain reasons cause the Underlying
Fund to enter into or hold Futures Contracts other than the
Benchmark Component Futures Contracts and/or Other Commodity
Interests. Other Commodity Interests that do not have
standardized terms and are not exchange-traded, referred to as
“over-the-counter” Commodity Interests, can generally
be structured as the parties to the Commodity Interest contract
desire. Therefore, an Underlying Fund might enter into
multiple over-the-counter Other Commodity Interests related to its
Specified Commodity that are intended to replicate the performance
of Benchmark Component Futures Contracts of the Underlying Fund, or
a single over-the-counter Other Commodity Interest designed to
replicate the performance of the individual of its Benchmark as a
whole. Assuming that there is no default by a counterparty to
an over-the-counter Other Commodity Interest, the performance of
the Other Commodity Interest will necessarily correlate with the
performance of the Underlying Fund’s Benchmark or the
applicable Benchmark Component Futures Contract. The
Underlying Funds might also enter into or hold Commodity Interests
other than Benchmark Component Futures Contracts to facilitate
effective trading, consistent with the discussion of an Underlying
Fund’s “roll” strategy in the preceding
paragraph. In addition, an Underlying Fund might enter into
or hold Commodity Interests related to its Specified Commodity that
would be expected to alleviate overall deviation between the
Underlying Fund’s performance and that of its Benchmark that
may result from certain market and trading inefficiencies or other
reasons. By utilizing certain or all of the investments
described above, the Sponsor endeavors to cause each Underlying
Fund’s performance to closely track that of its
Benchmark.
While the Fund expects to maintain substantially all of its assets
in shares of the Underlying Funds at all times, the Fund may hold
some residual amount of assets in cash equivalents, and/or merely
hold such assets in cash (generally in interest-bearing
accounts). The Underlying Funds invest in Commodity Interests
to the fullest extent possible without being leveraged or unable to
satisfy their expected current or potential margin or collateral
obligations with respect to their investments in Commodity
Interests. After fulfilling such margin and collateral
requirements, the Underlying Funds invest the remainder of the
proceeds from the sale of baskets in cash or cash equivalents.
Therefore, the focus of the Sponsor in managing the Underlying
Funds is investing in Commodity Interests and cash and/or cash
equivalents. The Underlying Funds earn interest income
from the cash equivalents that it purchases and on the cash they
hold at financial institutions.
The Sponsor endeavors to place the
Fund’s trades in the Underlying Funds and otherwise manage
the Fund’s investments so that the Fund’s average daily
tracking error against the Underlying Fund Average will be less
than 10 percent over any period of 30 trading days. More
specifically, the Sponsor endeavors to manage the Fund so that A
will be within plus/minus 10 percent of B,
where:
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A is the average daily change in
the Fund’s NAV for any period of 30 successive valuation
days, i.e., any trading day
as of which the Fund calculates its NAV, and
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B is the average daily change in
the Underlying Fund Average over the same
period.
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The Sponsor believes that the net
effect of this expected relationship and the expected relationship
described above between the Fund’s NAV and the Underlying
Fund Average will be that the changes in the price of the
Fund’s Shares on the NYSE Arca will track, in percentage
terms, changes in the Underlying Fund Average. This relationship
may be affected by various market factors, including but not
limited to, the number of shares of the Fund outstanding and the
liquidity of the underlying holdings. However, there is no
guarantee that the Shares will not trade at appreciable discounts
from, and/or premiums to, the Fund’s NAV.
The Sponsor employs a
“neutral” investment strategy intended so that the Fund
tracks the changes in the Underlying Fund Average and each
Underlying Fund tracks the changes in its Benchmark regardless of
whether the Underlying Fund Average or Benchmark goes up or goes
down. The Fund’s and Underlying Funds’
“neutral” investment strategies are designed to permit
investors generally to purchase and sell the Fund’s Shares
for the purpose of investing indirectly in the agricultural
commodities market in a cost-effective manner. Such investors
may include participants in agricultural industries and other
industries seeking to hedge the risk of losses in their
commodity-related transactions, as well as investors seeking
exposure to the agricultural commodities market. Accordingly,
depending on the investment objective of an individual investor,
the risks generally associated with investing in the agricultural
commodities market and/or the risks involved in hedging may
exist. In addition, an investment in the Fund involves the
risks that the changes in the price of the Fund’s Shares will
not accurately track the changes in the Underlying Fund Average,
that changes in the price of the shares of the Underlying Funds
will not accurately track the changes in their Benchmarks, and that
changes in the Benchmarks will not closely correlate with changes
in the prices of the Specified Commodities on the spot
market. Furthermore, as noted above, the Fund and Underlying
Funds may also elect to invest in cash and/or cash
equivalents. The Sponsor does not expect there to be any
meaningful correlation between the performance of the Fund’s
and Underlying Funds’ investments in cash and/or cash
equivalents and the changes in the prices of the Specified
Commodities or Commodity Interests. While the level of
interest earned on or the market price of these investments may in
some respects correlate to changes in the price of the Specified
Commodities, this correlation is not anticipated as part of the
Fund’s efforts to meet its objective. This and certain
risk factors discussed in this prospectus may cause a lack of
correlation between changes in the Fund’s NAV and changes in
the prices of the Specified Commodities. The Sponsor does not
intend to operate the Fund or an Underlying Fund in a fashion such
that its per Share NAV will equal, in dollar terms, the spot price
of a unit of a Specified Commodity or the price of any particular
Futures Contract.
The Fund creates and redeems Shares only in
blocks called “Creation Baskets” and “Redemption
Baskets,” respectively. Only Authorized Purchasers may
purchase or redeem Creation Baskets or Redemption Baskets. An
Authorized Purchaser is under no obligation to create or redeem
baskets, and an Authorized Purchaser is under no obligation to
offer to the public Shares of any baskets it does create.
Baskets are generally created when there is a demand for Shares,
including, but not limited to, when the market price per share is
at (or perceived to be at) a premium to the NAV per share.
Similarly, baskets are generally redeemed when the market price per
share is at (or perceived to be at) a discount to the NAV per
share. Retail investors seeking to purchase or sell Shares on
any day are expected to effect such transactions in the secondary
market, on the NYSE Arca, at the market price per share, rather
than in connection with the creation or redemption of baskets.
There are a minimum number of baskets and associated shares
specified for the Fund. Once the minimum number of baskets is
reached, there can be no more basket redemptions until there has
been a creation basket. In such case, market makers may be less
willing to purchase Shares from investors in the secondary market,
which may in turn limit the ability of shareholders of the Fund to
sell their Shares in the secondary market. As of January 31, 2018
these minimum levels for the Fund are 50,002 shares representing 2
baskets, and the Fund had the minimum number of shares outstanding
on that date. As of April 11, 2018, there were 75,002 shares
outstanding.
All proceeds from the sale of
Creation Baskets will be invested as quickly as practicable in the
publicly-traded shares of the Underlying Funds. The
Fund’s cash and investments are held through the Fund’s
Custodian. There is no stated maximum time period for the
Fund’s operations and the Fund will continue to operate until
all Shares are redeemed or the Fund is liquidated pursuant to the
terms of the Trust Agreement.
Shares may also be purchased and
sold by individuals and entities that are not Authorized Purchasers
in smaller increments than Creation Baskets on the NYSE Arca.
However, these transactions are effected at bid and ask prices
established by specialist firm(s). Like any listed security,
Shares of the Fund can be purchased and sold at any time a
secondary market is open.
In
managing the Fund’s assets, the Sponsor does not use a
technical trading system that automatically issues buy and sell
orders. Instead, each time one or more baskets of Fund Shares
are purchased or redeemed, the Sponsor will purchase or sell the
publicly-traded Underlying Fund shares with an aggregate market
value that approximates the amount of cash received or paid upon
the purchase or redemption of the
basket(s).
Note to Secondary Market Investors:
Shares can be directly purchased from the Fund only in Creation
Baskets, and only by Authorized Purchasers. Each Creation
Basket consists of 25,000 Shares and therefore requires a
significant financial commitment to purchase. Accordingly,
investors who do not have such resources or who are not Authorized
Purchasers should be aware that some of the information contained
in this prospectus, including information about purchases and
redemptions of Shares directly with the Fund, is only relevant to
Authorized Purchasers. Shares are listed and traded on the
NYSE Arca under the ticker symbol “TAGS” and may be
purchased and sold as individual Shares. Individuals
interested in purchasing Shares in the secondary market should
contact their broker. Shares purchased or sold through a
broker may be subject to commissions.
Except when aggregated in Redemption Baskets,
Shares are not redeemable securities. There is no guarantee that
Shares will trade at prices that are at or near the per-Share NAV.
There are a minimum number of baskets and associated shares
specified for the Fund. Once the minimum number of baskets is
reached, there can be no more redemptions until there has been a
creation basket. As of January 31, 2018 these minimum levels for
the Fund are 50,002 shares representing 2 baskets,
and the Fund had the minimum
number of shares outstanding on that date.
As of April 11,
2018, there were 75,002 shares
outstanding.
Investors purchasing Shares in the
secondary market through a brokerage account or with the assistance
of a broker may be subject to brokerage commissions and charges. If
you purchase Fund Shares through a broker-dealer or other financial
intermediary (such as a bank), the Fund, the Sponsor or an
affiliate of the Sponsor may pay the intermediary for the sale of
Fund Shares and related services. These payments may create a
conflict of interest by influencing broker-dealers or other
intermediaries and your salesperson to recommend the Fund over
another investment. Ask your salesperson or visit your financial
intermediary’s website for more
information.
The Shares are registered as
securities under the Securities Act of 1933 (“1933
Act”) and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the
“Exchange Act”) and do not provide dividend rights or
conversion rights and there are no sinking funds. The Shares
may only be redeemed when aggregated in Redemption Baskets as
discussed under “Creation and Redemption of Shares” and
holders of Fund Shares (“Shareholders”) generally do
not have voting rights as discussed under “The Trust
Agreement – Voting Rights.” Cumulative voting is
neither permitted nor required and there are no preemptive
rights. The Trust Agreement provides that, upon liquidation
of the Fund, its assets will be distributed pro rata to the
Shareholders based upon the number of Shares held. Each
Shareholder will receive its share of the assets in cash or in
kind, and the proportion of such share that is received in cash may
vary from Shareholder to Shareholder, as the Sponsor in its sole
discretion may decide.
The offering of Shares under this
prospectus is a continuous offering under Rule 415 of the 1933 Act
and is not expected to terminate on April 30, 2021. The
offering may be extended beyond such date as permitted by
applicable rules promulgated under the 1933 Act. The offering
will terminate before such date or before the end of any extension
period if all of the registered Shares have been sold.
However, the Sponsor expects to cause the Trust to file one or more
additional registration statements as necessary to permit
additional Shares to be registered and offered on an uninterrupted
basis. This offering may also be suspended or terminated at
any time for certain specified reasons, including if and when
suitable investments for the Fund are not available or
practicable. See “Creation and Redemption of Shares
– Rejection of Purchase Orders” below. As discussed
above, the minimum purchase requirement for Authorized Purchasers
is a Creation Basket, which consists of 25,000 Shares. The Fund
does not require a minimum purchase amount for investors who
purchase Shares from Authorized Purchasers. There are no
arrangements to place funds received as proceeds from the sale of
Creation Baskets of the Fund in an escrow, trust, or similar
account.
U.S. Federal
Income Tax Considerations
As is described more fully in
“U.S. Federal Income Tax Considerations,” it is
intended that the Fund be classified as a partnership not taxable
as a corporation for U.S. federal income tax
purposes. Based in part upon representations of the
Sponsor and the Trust, the Fund has obtained a legal opinion that,
although the matter is not free from doubt, it is more likely than
not that the Fund will be so classified. Assuming that
the Fund is classified as a partnership not taxable as a
corporation for U.S. federal income tax purposes, the Fund will not
incur a U.S. federal income tax liability; rather, each Shareholder
will be required to take into account its allocable share of the
Fund's income, gains, losses, deductions, and other tax
items. See
“U.S. Federal Income Tax Considerations” for
information about the U.S. federal income tax consequences of the
purchase, ownership and disposition of Shares.
The Fund seeks to achieve its
investment objective by investing under normal market conditions in
the publicly-traded shares of each Underlying Fund so that the
Underlying Fund Average will have a weighting of 25% to each
Underlying Fund. The Fund does not intend to invest
directly in Futures Contracts or Other Commodity Interests,
although it reserves the right to do so in the future under certain
circumstances, including but not limited to, if an Underlying Fund
ceases operations or if shares of an Underlying Fund cease trading
on NYSE Arca.
The Underlying Funds’
Investments
A brief description of the
principal types of Commodity Interests in which the Underlying
Funds may invest is set forth below.
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A futures contract is an
exchange-traded contract traded with standard terms that calls for
the delivery of a specified quantity of a commodity at a specified
price, on a specified date and at a specified
location.
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A swap agreement is a bilateral
contract to exchange a periodic stream of payments determined by
reference to a notional amount, with payment typically made between
the parties on a net basis. For instance, in the case of
wheat swap, the Underlying Fund may be obligated to pay a fixed
price per bushel of wheat multiplied by a notional number of
bushels and be entitled to receive an amount per bushel equal to
the current value of an index of wheat prices, the price of a
specified Wheat Futures Contract, or the average price of a group
of Wheat Futures Contracts such as the Benchmark (times the same
notional number of bushels). As is the case with futures, swaps are
financial contracts and are typically settled financially between
counterparties. Unlike futures, however, swaps may or may not trade
on an exchange and, therefore, they may be less liquid, may be more
expensive, and may take longer to settle or trade out
of.
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A forward contract
(“Forward”) is a non-standardized, non-exchange traded,
over-the-counter, bilateral contract for the purchase or sale of a
specified quantity of a commodity at a specified price, on a
specified date and at a specified location. Forwards are almost
always settled by delivery of the underlying commodity. Although
not impossible, it is unusual to settle a Forward financially;
therefore, Forwards are generally illiquid.
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An option on a Futures Contract, a
swap agreement, forward contract or a commodity on the spot market
gives the buyer of the option the right, but not the obligation, to
buy or sell a Futures Contract, swap agreement, forward contract or
commodity, as applicable, at a specified price on or before a
specified date. The seller, or writer, of the option is
obligated to take a position in the underlying interest at a
specified price opposite to the option buyer if the option is
exercised. Options on Futures Contracts, like the Future
Contracts to which they relate, are standardized contracts traded
on an exchange, and are regulated like futures contracts, while all
other options (except for spot options) are considered swaps and
are regulated as swaps.
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Unlike exchange-traded contracts,
over-the-counter contracts expose the Underlying Funds to the
credit risk of the other party to the contract. (As discussed
below, exchange-traded contracts may expose the Underlying Funds to
the risk of the clearing broker’s and/or the exchange
clearing house(s)’ bankruptcy.) The Sponsor does not
currently intend to purchase and sell commodities in the
“spot market” for the Fund or the Underlying
Funds. Spot market transactions are cash transactions in
which the buyer and seller agree to the immediate purchase and sale
of a commodity, usually with a two-day settlement period. In
addition, the Sponsor does not currently intend that the Funds or
Underlying Funds will enter into or hold spot month Futures
Contracts, except that the Underlying Funds may hold spot month
Futures Contracts that were formerly second-to-expire contracts for
a brief period until they can be disposed of in accordance with an
Underlying Fund’s roll strategy.
A more detailed description of
Commodity Interests and other aspects of the commodity and
Commodity Interest markets can be found later in this
prospectus.
As noted, the Teucrium Corn Fund,
Teucrium Wheat Fund and Teucrium Soybean Fund primarily invest in
Futures Contracts on corn, wheat and soybeans, respectively,
including those traded on the CBOT and the ICE Futures. The
Teucrium Sugar Fund primarily invests in Futures Contracts on
sugar, including those traded on the ICE Futures and the
NYMEX. The Fund expressly disclaims any association with the
CBOT or ICE Futures or endorsement of the Fund by such exchanges
and acknowledges that “CBOT,” “Chicago Board of
Trade,” “ICE Futures,” “ICE Futures
US,” “NYMEX,” and “New York Mercantile
Exchange” are registered trademarks of the respective
exchanges.
Principal Investment Risks of an
Investment in the Fund
An investment in the Fund involves
a degree of risk. Some of the risks you may face are summarized
below. A more extensive discussion of these risks appears beginning
on page 13.
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Unlike mutual funds, commodity
pools and other investment pools that manage their investments so
as to realize income and gains for distribution to their investors,
the Fund generally does not distribute dividends to
Shareholders. You should not invest in the Fund if you will
need cash distributions from the Fund to pay taxes on your share of
income and gains of the Fund, if any, or for other
purposes.
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Investors may choose to use the
Fund as a means of investing indirectly in agricultural
commodities, and there are risks involved in such
investments. The risks and hazards that are inherent in
agriculture may cause the price of agricultural commodities to
fluctuate widely. Global price movements for agricultural
commodities may be influenced by, among other things: weather
conditions, crop failure, production decisions, governmental
policies, changing demand, harvest cycles, and various economic and
monetary events. Commodity production is also subject to
domestic and foreign regulations that materially affect
operations.
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To the extent that investors use
the Fund as a means of investing indirectly in agricultural
commodities, there is the risk that the changes in the price of the
Fund’s Shares on the NYSE Arca will not closely track the
changes in spot price of the commodities invested in by the
Underlying Funds. This could happen if (1) the price of
Shares traded on the NYSE Arca does not correlate closely with the
Fund’s NAV; (2) the changes in the Fund’s NAV do not
correlate closely with changes in the Underlying Fund Average; (3)
the changes in the Underlying Funds’ NAVs do not correlate
closely with changes in their Benchmarks; or (4) the changes
in the Benchmarks do not correlate closely with changes in the cash
or spot prices of the Specified Commodities. This is a risk
because if these correlations are not sufficiently close, then
investors may not be able to use the Fund as a cost-effective way
to invest indirectly in agricultural commodities or as a hedge
against the risk of loss in commodity-related
transactions.
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Only an Authorized Purchaser may
engage in creation or redemption activities with the Fund. The Fund
has a limited number of institutions that act as Authorized
Purchasers. To the extent that these institutions exit the business
or are unable or unwilling to proceed with creation and/or
redemption orders with respect to the Fund, and no Authorized
Purchaser is able or willing to step forward to create or redeem
shares of the Fund, Fund Shares may, particularly in times of
market stress, trade at a discount to the NAV per Share and
possibly face trading halts and/or delisting. In addition, a
decision by a market maker or lead market maker to step away from
activities for the Fund, particularly in times of market stress,
could adversely affect liquidity, the spread between the bid and
ask quotes for the Fund’s Shares, and potentially the price
of the Shares. The Sponsor can make no guarantees that
participation by Authorized Purchasers or market makers will
continue.
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Investors, including those who
directly participate in the agricultural commodities market, may
choose to use the Fund as a vehicle to hedge against the risk of
loss and there are risks involved in hedging activities.
While hedging can provide protection against an adverse movement in
market prices, it can also preclude a hedger’s opportunity to
benefit from a favorable market movement.
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The Fund seeks to have the changes
in its Shares’ NAV in percentage terms track changes in the
Underlying Fund Average in percentage terms, rather than profit
from speculative trading of Commodity Interests. The Sponsor
therefore endeavors to manage the Fund and the Underlying Funds so
that the Fund’s and Underlying Funds’ assets are,
unlike those of many other commodity pools, not leveraged
(i.e. so that the aggregate
notional amount of an Underlying Fund’s exposure to losses
from its investments in Commodity Interests at any time will not
exceed the value of the Underlying Fund’s assets).
There is no assurance that the Sponsor will successfully implement
this investment strategy. If the Sponsor permits one or more
of the Underlying Funds to become leveraged, you could lose all or
a substantial portion of your investment if the Underlying
Fund’s trading positions suddenly turn unprofitable.
These movements in price may be the result of factors outside of
the Sponsor’s control and may not be anticipated by the
Sponsor.
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The Underlying Funds may invest in
Other Commodity Interests. To the extent that these Other
Commodity Interests are contracts individually negotiated between
their parties, they may not be as liquid as Futures Contracts and
will expose the Underlying Funds (and, by extension, the Fund) to
credit risk that their counterparties may not be able to satisfy
their obligations to the Underlying Funds.
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The Underlying Funds invest
primarily in Commodity Interests that are traded or sold in the
United States. However, a portion of the Underlying
Funds’ trades may take place in markets and on exchanges
outside the United States that are not regulated by any United
States governmental agency and may involve certain risks not
applicable to United States exchanges, including different or
diminished investor protections, as compared to their U.S.
counterparts. For example, in some non-U.S. markets, the
performance on a Futures Contract is the responsibility of the
counterparty and is not backed by an exchange or clearing
corporation, therefore exposing the Underlying Funds to credit
risk. Also, investing in Commodity Interests denominated in
currencies other than U.S. dollars subjects the shares of the
Underlying Funds to the risk of adverse exchange-rate movements
between the dollar and the functional currencies of such Commodity
Interests.
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The structure and operation of the
Fund may involve conflicts of interest. For example, a
conflict may arise because the Sponsor and its principals and
affiliates may trade for themselves. In addition, the Sponsor
has sole current authority to manage the investments and operations
of the Fund, including the authority of the Sponsor to allocate
expenses to and between the Funds and the interests of the Sponsor
may conflict with the Shareholders’ best
interests.
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You will have no rights to
participate in the management of the Fund and will have to rely on
the duties and judgment of the Sponsor to manage the
Fund.
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The Fund and the Underlying Funds
pay fees and expenses that are incurred regardless of whether they
are profitable.
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The regulation of futures markets,
futures contracts, and futures exchanges has historically been
comprehensive. The CFTC and the exchanges are authorized to take
extraordinary actions in the event of a market emergency including,
for example, the retroactive implementation of speculative position
limits, increased margin requirements, the establishment of daily
price limits and the suspension of trading on an exchange or a
trading facility.
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The regulation of commodity
interest transactions in the United States is a rapidly changing
area of law and is subject to ongoing modification by governmental
and judicial action. Considerable regulatory attention has been
focused on non-traditional investment pools that are publicly
distributed in the United States and that use trading in futures
and options as an investment strategy and not for hedging or price
discovery purposes, therefore altering traditional participation in
futures and swaps markets. There is a possibility of future
regulatory changes within the United States altering, perhaps to a
material extent, the nature of an investment in the Fund, or the
ability of the Fund to continue to implement its investment
strategy. In addition, various national governments outside of the
United States have expressed concern regarding the disruptive
effects of speculative trading in the commodities markets and the
need to regulate the derivatives markets in general. The effect of
any future regulatory change on the Funds is impossible to predict
but could be substantial and adverse.
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Failures or breaches of the
electronic systems of the Fund, the Sponsor, the Custodian, or the
Fund’s other service providers, market makers, Authorized
Purchasers, NYSE Arca, exchanges on which Futures Contracts or
Other Commodity Interests for the Underlying Funds are traded or
cleared, or counterparties to financial transactions with the Fund,
have the ability to cause disruptions and negatively impact the
Fund’s business operations, potentially resulting in
financial losses to the Fund and its shareholders. While the Fund
has established business continuity plans and risk management
systems seeking to address system breaches or failures, there are
inherent limitations in such plans and systems. Furthermore, the
Fund cannot control the cyber security plans and systems of the
Custodian, Administrator or the Fund’s other service
providers, market makers, Authorized Purchasers, NYSE Arca,
exchanges on which Futures Contracts or Other Commodity Interests
invested in by the Underlying Funds are traded or cleared, or
counterparties.
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For additional risks, see
“What Are the Risk Factors Involved with an Investment in the
Fund?”
Financial
Condition of the Fund
The Fund’s NAV is determined
as of the earlier of the close of the New York Stock Exchange or
4:00 p.m. New York time on each day that the NYSE Arca is open for
trading.
For a glossary of defined terms,
see Appendix A.
The breakeven analysis below
indicates the approximate dollar returns and percentage returns
required for the redemption value of a hypothetical initial
investment in a single Share, assuming a selling price of $22.88
(the NAV per Share as of January 31, 2018), to equal the amount
invested twelve months after the investment was made. This
breakeven analysis refers to the redemption of baskets by
Authorized Purchasers and is not related to any gains an individual
investor would have to achieve in order to break even. The
breakeven analysis is an approximation only.
Assumed selling price per
Share
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$22.88
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Sponsor’s Fee
(1)
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N/A
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Creation Basket Fee
(2)
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$0.01
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Estimated Brokerage Fees
(3)
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$0.01
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Other Fund Fees and Expenses
(4)
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$0.09
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Interest Income
(5)
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N/A
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Amount of trading income (loss)
required for the redemption value at the end of one year to equal
the initial selling price of the Share
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$0.11
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Percentage of initial selling
price per Share (6)
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0.48%
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(1)
The Sponsor does not receive a management fee from the
Fund. The Sponsor receives a management fee from each
Underlying Fund at the annual rate of 1.00% of such Underlying
Fund’s average daily net assets, payable monthly. The Sponsor
can elect to waive the payment of this fee for any Underlying Fund.
in any amount at its sole discretion, at any time and from time to
time, in order to reduce the Fund’s expenses or for any other
purpose.
(2)
Authorized Purchasers are required to pay a Creation
Basket fee of $250 for each order they place to create one or more
baskets. An order must be at least one basket, which is
25,000 Shares. This breakeven analysis assumes a hypothetical
investment in a single Share so the Creation Basket fee is $0.01
($250/25,000).
(3)
Reflects brokerage fees for Fund transactions, which
are estimated to be less than $0.005 per share, but are rounded to
$0.01 for purposes of this breakeven analysis.
(4)
Other Fund Fees and Expenses are an estimate based on
an allocation to the Fund of the total estimated expenses
anticipated to be incurred by the Trust on behalf of the Fund, net
of any expenses or sponsor fee waived by the Sponsor, and include:
Professional fees (primarily legal, auditing and tax-preparation
related costs); Custodian and Administrator fees and expenses,
Distribution and Marketing fees (primarily fees paid to the
Distributor, costs related to regulatory compliance activities and
other costs related to the trading activities of the Fund);
Business Permits and Licenses; General and Administrative expenses
(primarily insurance and printing) and Other Expenses. The expenses
presented are based on estimated expenses for the current fiscal
year, and do not represent the maximum amounts payable under the
contracts with third-party service providers, as discussed below in
the section of this disclosure document entitled “Contractual
Fees and Compensation Arrangements with the Sponsor and Third-Party
Service Providers.” The per-share cost of these fixed or
estimated fees has been calculated assuming that the Fund has
minimum assets of $1.1 million, which was the approximate
amount of assets as of January 31, 2018, and assuming certain fee
reimbursements from the Sponsor. The Sponsor can elect to pay (or
waive reimbursement for) certain fees or expenses that would
generally be paid by the Fund, although it has no contractual
obligation to do so. Any election to pay or waive reimbursement for
fees and expenses that would generally be paid by the Fund can be
changed at the discretion of the Sponsor.
(5)
Because the Fund will not make significant investments
in interest-bearing securities or accounts, the Fund does not
expect to earn significant amounts of interest (less than $0.005
per share for purposes of this breakeven
analysis).
(6)
This
represents the estimated approximate percentage of selling price
per share net of any expenses or Sponsor fees waived by the
Sponsor. The estimated approximate percentage of selling price per
share before waived expenses or Sponsor fees is 4.15% based on the
Fund assets, net asset value per share and shares outstanding as of
January 31, 2018. Such waiver may be terminated at any time at the
sole discretion of the Sponsor.
Offering
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The Fund will offer Creation
Baskets consisting of 25,000 Shares through the Distributor to
Authorized Purchasers. Authorized Purchasers may purchase
Creation Baskets consisting of 25,000 Shares at the Fund’s
NAV. The Shares trade on the NYSE Arca.
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Use of
Proceeds
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The Sponsor applies substantially
all of the Fund’s assets toward investing in the
publicly-traded shares of the Underlying Funds, and each Underlying
Fund in turn invests substantially all of its assets in Commodity
Interests relating to its Specified Commodity, cash and/or cash
equivalents. The Sponsor deposits a portion of each
Underlying Fund’s net assets with the FCM or other custodians
to be used to meet its current or potential margin or collateral
requirements in connection with its investment in Commodity
Interests. The Underlying Funds use only cash and/or cash
equivalents to satisfy these requirements. The Sponsor
expects that all entities that will hold or trade the Underlying
Fund’s assets will be based in the United States and will be
subject to United States regulations. The Sponsor believes
that approximately 5% of each Underlying Fund’s assets will
normally be committed as margin for Futures Contracts and
collateral for Other Commodity Interests. However, from time
to time, the percentage of assets committed as margin/collateral
may be substantially more, or less, than such range. The
remaining portion of the Underlying Funds’ assets, and any
residual portion of the Fund’s assets not invested in the
publicly-traded shares of the Underlying Funds, are held as cash or
cash equivalents. All interest income earned on these
investments is retained for the Fund’s or Underlying
Funds’ benefit.
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NYSE Arca
Symbol
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“TAGS”
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Creation and
Redemption
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Authorized Purchasers pay a $250
fee per order to create Creation Baskets, and a $250 fee per order
for Redemption Baskets. Authorized Purchasers are not
required to sell any specific number or dollar amount of
Shares. The per share price of Shares offered in
Creation Baskets is the total NAV of the Fund calculated as of the
close of the NYSE Arca on that day divided by the number of issued
and outstanding Shares.
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Inter-Series Limitation on
Liability
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While the Fund is currently one of
five separate series of the Trust, additional series may be created
in the future. The Trust has been formed and will be
operated with the goal that the Fund and any other series of the
Trust will be liable only for obligations of such series, and a
series will not be responsible for or affected by any liabilities
or losses of or claims against any other series. If any
creditor or shareholder in any particular series (such as the Fund)
were to successfully assert against a series a claim with respect
to its indebtedness or Shares, the creditor or shareholder could
recover only from that particular series and its
assets. Accordingly, the debts and other obligations
incurred, contracted for or otherwise existing solely with respect
to a particular series will be enforceable only against the assets
of that series, and not against any other series or the Trust
generally or any of their respective assets. The assets
of the Fund and any other series will include only those funds and
other assets that are paid to, held by or distributed to the series
on account of and for the benefit of that series, including,
without limitation, amounts delivered to the Trust for the purchase
of Shares in a series.
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Registration Clearance and
Settlement
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Individual certificates will not
be issued for the Shares. Instead, Shares will be represented
by one or more global certificates, which will be deposited by the
transfer agent with the Depository Trust Company
(“DTC”) and registered in the name of Cede & Co.,
as nominee for DTC. The global certificates evidence all of
the Shares outstanding at any time. Beneficial interests in
Shares will be held through DTC’s book-entry system, which
means that Shareholders are limited to: (1) participants in
DTC such as banks, brokers, dealers and trust companies (“DTC
Participants”), (2) those who maintain, either directly or
indirectly, a custodial relationship with a DTC Participant
(“Indirect Participants”), and (3) those who hold
interests in the Shares through DTC Participants or Indirect
Participants, in each case who satisfy the requirements for
transfers of Shares. DTC Participants acting on behalf of
investors holding Shares through such DTC Participants’
accounts in DTC will follow the delivery practice applicable to
securities eligible for DTC’s Same-Day Funds Settlement
System. Shares will be credited to DTC Participants’
securities accounts following confirmation of receipt of
payment.
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Net Asset
Value
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The NAV is calculated by taking
the current market value of the Fund’s total assets and
subtracting any liabilities and dividing the balance by the number
of Shares. Under the Fund’s current operational
procedures, the Fund’s administrator, U.S. Bancorp Fund
Services, LLC (the “Administrator”) calculates the NAV
of the Fund as of the earlier of 4:00 p.m. New York time or the
close of the New York Stock Exchange each day. NYSE Arca
calculates an approximate NAV every 15 seconds throughout each day
that the Fund’s Shares are traded on the NYSE Arca, for as
long as the main pricing mechanism of either the CBOT or ICE
Futures is open.
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Fund and Underlying Fund
Expenses
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While the Fund does not pay the
Sponsor a management fee, it indirectly pays its proportionate
share of each Underlying Fund’s management fee, which is paid
at an annual rate of 1.00% of each Underlying Fund’s average
daily net assets.
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The Fund is also responsible for
other ongoing fees, costs and expenses of its operations, including
(i) brokerage and other fees and commissions incurred in connection
with its trading activities; (ii) expenses incurred in connection
with registering additional Shares of the Fund or offering Shares
of the Fund; (iii) the routine expenses associated with the
preparation and, if required, the printing and mailing of monthly,
quarterly, annual and other reports required by applicable U.S.
federal and state regulatory authorities, Trust meetings and
preparing, printing and mailing proxy statements to Shareholders;
(iv) the payment of any distributions related to redemption of
Shares; (v) payment for routine services of the Trustee, legal
counsel and independent accountants; (vi) payment for routine
accounting, bookkeeping, custody and transfer agency services,
whether performed by an outside service provider or by Affiliates
of the Sponsor; (vii) postage and insurance; (viii) costs and
expenses associated with client relations and services; (ix) costs
of preparation of all federal, state, local and foreign tax returns
and any taxes payable on the income, assets or operations of the
Fund; and (x) extraordinary expenses (including, but not limited
to, legal claims and liabilities and litigation costs and any
indemnification related thereto).
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Each Underlying Fund is also
responsible for the ongoing fees, costs and expenses of its
operations as described in the foregoing
paragraph.
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The Sponsor bears the costs and
expenses related to the initial offer and sale of Shares, including
registration fees paid or to be paid to the SEC, Financial Industry
Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”) or any other regulatory
body or self-regulatory organization (“SRO”).
None of the costs and expenses related to the initial offer and
sale of Shares, which total approximately $293,650 were or are chargeable to the Fund, and
the Sponsor did not and may not recover any of these costs and
expenses from the Fund. Total fees to be paid by the Fund are
currently estimated to be approximately 0.48% of the daily net
assets of the Fund for the twelve-month period ending April 30,
2019 though this amount may change in future years. The
Sponsor may, in its discretion, pay or reimburse the Fund or an
Underlying Fund for, or waive a portion of its management fee for
an Underlying Fund to offset, expenses that would otherwise be
borne by the Fund or Underlying Fund.
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General expenses of the Trust will
be allocated among the existing Teucrium Funds and any future
series of the Trust as determined by the Sponsor in its
discretion. The Trust may be required to indemnify the
Sponsor, and the Trust and/or the Sponsor may be required to
indemnify the Trustee, Distributor or Administrator, under certain
circumstances.
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Termination
Events
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The Trust, the Fund and each
Underlying Fund shall continue in existence from the date of their
formation in perpetuity, unless the Trust, the Fund or an
Underlying Fund, as the case may be, is sooner terminated upon the
occurrence of certain events specified in the Trust Agreement,
including the following: (1) the filing of a certificate of
dissolution or cancellation of the Sponsor or revocation of the
Sponsor’s charter or the withdrawal of the Sponsor, unless
shareholders holding a majority of the outstanding shares of the
Trust, voting together as a single class, elect within ninety (90)
days after such event to continue the business of the Trust and
appoint a successor Sponsor; (2) the occurrence of any event which
would make the existence of the Trust, the Fund or an Underlying
Fund unlawful; (3) the suspension, revocation, or termination of
the Sponsor’s registration as a CPO with the CFTC or
membership with the NFA; (4) the insolvency or bankruptcy of the
Trust, the Fund or an Underlying Fund; (5) a vote by the
Shareholders holding at least seventy-five percent (75%) of the
Trust, voting together as a single class, to dissolve the Trust,
subject to certain conditions; (6) the determination by the Sponsor
to dissolve the Trust, the Fund or an Underlying Fund, subject to
certain conditions; (7) the Trust is required to be registered as
an investment company under the Investment Company Act of 1940; and
(8) DTC is unable or unwilling to continue to perform its functions
and a comparable replacement is unavailable. Upon termination
of the Fund or an Underlying Fund, the affairs of the Fund or
Underlying Fund shall be wound up and all of its debts and
liabilities discharged or otherwise provided for in the order of
priority as provided by law. The fair market value of the
remaining assets of the Fund or Underlying Fund shall then be
determined by the Sponsor. Thereupon, the assets of the Fund
or Underlying Fund shall be distributed pro rata to the
Shareholders in accordance with their Shares.
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Authorized
Purchasers
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A list of Authorized Purchasers is
available from the Distributor. Authorized Purchasers must be
(1) registered broker-dealers or other securities market
participants, such as banks and other financial institutions, that
are not required to register as broker-dealers to engage in
securities transactions, and (2) DTC Participants. To become
an Authorized Purchaser, a person must enter into an Authorized
Purchaser Agreement with the Sponsor.
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WHAT ARE THE RISK
FACTORS INVOLVED WITH AN INVESTMENT IN THE
FUND?
You should
consider carefully the risks described below before making an
investment decision. You should also refer to the other information
included in this prospectus, and the Fund’s and the
Trust’s financial statements and the related notes
incorporated by reference herein. See “Incorporation by
Reference of Certain Information.”
Risks Associated
With Investing Directly or Indirectly in Agricultural
Commodities
Investing in Commodity Interests subjects the Fund to the risks of
the agricultural commodities markets, and this could result in
substantial fluctuations in the price of the Fund’s
Shares.
The Fund is subject to the risks
and hazards of the agricultural commodities markets because it
invests indirectly in Commodity Interests. The risks and
hazards that are inherent in the agricultural commodities markets
may cause the price of those commodities to fluctuate widely.
If the changes in percentage terms of the Fund’s Shares
accurately track the percentage changes in the Underlying
Funds’ Benchmark or the spot price of corn, wheat, soybeans
and sugar, the price of the Shares will
fluctuate.
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The price and availability of
agricultural commodities is influenced by economic and industry
conditions, including but not limited to supply and demand factors
such as: crop disease; weed control; water availability; various
planting, growing, or harvesting problems; severe weather
conditions such as drought, floods, heavy rains, frost, or natural
disasters that are difficult to anticipate and that cannot be
controlled. The U.S. prices of certain agricultural
commodities such as soybeans and sugar are subject to risks
relating to the growth of such commodities in foreign countries,
such as: uncontrolled fires (including arson); challenges in doing
business with foreign companies; legal and regulatory restrictions;
transportation costs; interruptions in energy supply; currency
exchange rate fluctuations; and political and economic
instability. Additionally, demand for agricultural
commodities is affected by changes in consumer tastes, national,
regional and local economic conditions, and demographic
trends.
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Agricultural commodity production
is subject to United States and foreign policies and regulations
that materially affect operations. Governmental policies
affecting the agricultural industry, such as taxes, tariffs,
duties, subsidies, incentives, acreage control, and import and
export restrictions on agricultural commodities and commodity
products, can influence the planting of certain crops, the location
and size of crop production, the volume and types of imports and
exports, and industry profitability. Additionally, commodity
production is affected by laws and regulations relating to, but not
limited to, the sourcing, transporting, storing and processing of
agricultural raw materials as well as the transporting, storing and
distributing of related agricultural products. Agricultural
commodity producers also may need to comply with various
environmental laws and regulations, such as those regulating the
use of certain pesticides, and local laws that regulate the
production of genetically modified crops. In addition,
international trade disputes can adversely affect agricultural
commodity trade flows by limiting or disrupting trade between
countries or regions.
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Seasonal fluctuations in the price
of agricultural commodities may cause risk to an investor because
of the possibility that Share prices will be depressed because of
the relevant harvest cycles. In the futures market,
fluctuations are typically reflected in contracts expiring in the
harvest season (i.e., in
the case or corn and soybeans, contracts expiring during the fall
are typically priced lower than contracts expiring in the winter
and spring, while in the case of wheat and sugar, contracts
expiring during the spring and early summer are typically priced
lowest). Thus, seasonal fluctuations could result in an
investor incurring losses upon the sale of Fund Shares,
particularly if the investor needs to sell Shares when an
Underlying Fund’s Benchmark Component Futures Contracts are,
in whole or part, Futures Contracts expiring in the harvest season
for the Specified Commodity.
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Risks Specific to
Corn. Demand for corn in the United States to produce
ethanol has been a significant factor affecting the price of
corn. In turn, demand for ethanol generally has tended to
increase when the price of gasoline has increased, and has been
significantly affected by United States governmental policies
designed to encourage the production of ethanol. In addition,
because corn is often used as an ingredient in livestock feed,
demand for corn is subject to risks associated with the outbreak of
livestock disease.
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Risks Specific to
Wheat. Demand for food products made from wheat flour in the
United States is relatively unaffected by changes in wheat prices
or disposable income, but is closely tied to tastes and
preferences. For example, in recent years the increase in the
popularity of low-carbohydrate diets caused the consumption of
wheat flour to decrease rapidly before rebounding somewhat after
2005. Export demand for wheat fluctuates yearly, based
largely on crop yields in the importing
countries.
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Risks Specific to
Soybeans. The increased production of soybean crops in South
America and the rising demand for soybeans in emerging nations such
as China and India have increased competition in the soybean
market. Like the conversion of corn into ethanol, soybeans
can be converted into biofuels such as biodiesel.
Accordingly, the soybean market has become increasingly affected by
demand for biofuels and related legislation. The supply of
soybeans could be reduced by the spread of soybean rust, a
wind-borne fungal disease. Although soybean rust can be
killed with chemicals, chemical treatment increases production
costs for farmers. Finally, because processing soybean oil
can create trans-fats, the demand for soybean oil may decrease due
to heightened governmental regulation of trans-fats or trans-fatty
acids. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration currently
requires food manufacturers to disclose levels of trans-fats
contained in their products, and various local governments have
enacted or are considering restrictions on the use of trans-fats in
restaurants.
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Risks Specific to
Sugar. The spread of consumerism and the rising
affluence of emerging nations such as China and India have created
demand for sugar. An influx of people in developing countries
moving from rural to urban areas may create more disposable income
to be spent on sugar products, and might also reduce sugar
production in rural areas on account of worker shortages, all of
which could result in upward pressure on sugar prices. On the
other hand, public health concerns regarding obesity, heart disease
and diabetes, particularly in developed countries, may reduce
demand for sugar. In light of the time it takes to grow
sugarcane and sugar beets and the cost of new facilities for
processing these crops, it may not be possible to increase supply
quickly or in a cost-effective manner in response to an increase in
demand.
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An investment in the Fund is subject to correlation risk. Your
return on an investment in the Fund may differ from the return of
the Benchmark and depending on certain factors discussed below, you
could incur a partial or total loss of your
investment.
There is a risk that changes in
the price of Shares on the NYSE Arca will not correlate with
changes in the Fund’s NAV; that changes in the NAV will not
correlate with changes in the price of the Benchmark; and/or
changes in the price of the Benchmark will not correlate with
changes in the spot price of the Specified Commodity. Depending on
certain factors associated with each of these correlations which
are discussed in more detail below, you could incur a partial or
total loss of your investment in the Fund.
The Underlying Funds’ Benchmarks are not designed to
correlate exactly with the spot price of the corresponding
Specified Commodity and this could cause the changes in the price
of an Underlying Fund’s shares to substantially vary from the
changes in the spot price of the Specified Commodity.
Therefore, you may not be able to effectively use the Fund to hedge
against commodity-related losses or to indirectly invest in
agricultural commodities.
The Benchmark Component Futures
Contracts that the Underlying Funds invest in reflect the price of
a Specified Commodity for future delivery, not the current spot
price of the Specified Commodity, so at best the correlation
between changes in such Futures Contracts and the spot price of the
Specified Commodity will be only approximate. Weak
correlation between an Underlying Fund’s Benchmark and the
spot price of the corresponding Specified Commodity may result from
the typical seasonal fluctuations in commodity prices discussed
above. Imperfect correlation may also result from speculation
in Commodity Interests, technical factors in the trading of Futures
Contracts, and expected inflation in the economy as a whole.
If there is a weak correlation between an Underlying Fund’s
Benchmark and the spot price of its corresponding Specified
Commodity, then the price of the Shares may not accurately track
the spot price of the Specified Commodities and you may not be able
to effectively use the Fund as a way to hedge the risk of losses in
your commodity-related transactions or as a way to indirectly
invest in agricultural commodities.
Changes in the Fund’s NAV may not correlate well with changes
in the Underlying Fund Average, and changes in the Underlying
Funds’ NAVs may not correlate well with changes in their
Benchmarks. If this were to occur, you may not be able to
effectively use the Fund as a way to hedge against
commodity-related losses or as a way to indirectly invest in
agricultural commodities.
The Sponsor endeavors to invest
the Fund’s assets as fully as possible in the Underlying
Funds so that the changes in percentage terms in the Fund’s
NAV closely correlate with the changes in percentage terms in the
Underlying Fund Average. The Sponsor also endeavors to invest
the Underlying Funds’ assets as fully as possible in
Commodity Interests so that the changes in percentage terms in the
Underlying Funds’ NAVs closely correlate with the changes in
percentage terms in their respective Benchmarks. However,
changes in the Fund’s NAV may not correlate with the changes
in the Underlying Fund Average and changes in the Underlying
Funds’ NAV may not correlate with the changes in their
Benchmarks for various reasons, including those set forth
below:
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The Fund may not be able to
maintain its targeted 25% allocation to each Underlying Fund at all
times. Furthermore, the Fund acquires shares of the
Underlying Funds in the secondary market at their market prices,
not at their NAV, so any changes in the value of the Fund’s
holdings in the Underlying Funds may not match changes in the
Underlying Funds’ NAVs.
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The Underlying Funds do not intend
to invest only in the Benchmark Component Futures Contracts.
While an Underlying Fund’s investments in Futures Contracts
other than its Benchmark Component Futures Contracts and Other
Commodity Interests would be for the purpose of causing the
Underlying Fund’s performance to track that of its Benchmark
most effectively and efficiently. The performance of these
Commodity Interests may not correlate well with the performance of
the Underlying Funds’ Benchmark Component Futures Contracts,
resulting in a greater potential for error in tracking price
changes in those Futures Contracts. Additionally, if the
trading market for certain Futures Contracts is suspended or
closed, an Underlying Fund may not be able to purchase its
investments at the last reported price for such
investments.
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The Fund and Underlying Funds
incur certain expenses in connection with their operations, and the
Underlying Funds hold most of their assets (other than Commodity
Interests) in income-producing, short-term securities for margin
and other liquidity purposes and to meet redemptions that may be
necessary on an ongoing basis. These expenses and income
cause imperfect correlation between changes in the Fund’s NAV
and changes in the Underlying Fund Average and between changes in
the NAVs of the Underlying Funds and their respective Benchmarks.
Your cost of investing in the Fund will be higher than the cost of
investing directly in the Underlying Funds’
shares.
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The Sponsor may not be able to
invest an Underlying Fund’s assets in Commodity Interests
having an aggregate notional amount exactly equal to the Underlying
Fund’s NAV. As a standardized contract, a single
Futures Contract is for a specified amount of a Specified
Commodity, and the Underlying Fund’s NAV and the proceeds
from the sale of a creation basket of an Underlying Fund is
unlikely to be an exact multiple of that amount. In such
case, the Underlying Fund could not invest the entire proceeds from
the purchase of the creation basket in such Futures
Contracts. (For example, assuming the Underlying Fund
receives $1,000,000 for the sale of Creation Baskets and that the
value (i.e., the notional
amount) of a Futures Contract relating to the Underlying
Fund’s Specified Commodity is $35,000, the Underlying Fund
could only enter into 28 Futures Contracts with an aggregate value
of $980,000). While an Underlying Fund may be better able to
achieve the exact amount of exposure to the market for its
Specified Commodity through the use of over-the-counter Other
Commodity Interests, there is no assurance that the Sponsor will be
able to continually adjust the Underlying Fund’s exposure to
such Other Commodity Interests to maintain such exact
exposure. Furthermore, as noted above, the use of Other
Commodity Interests may itself result in imperfect correlation with
an Underlying Fund’s Benchmark.
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There may be more or less
correlation between an Underlying Fund’s NAV and its
Benchmark as the Underlying Fund’s assets increase. On the
one hand, as an Underlying Fund grows it should be able to invest
in Futures Contracts with notional amounts that are closer on a
percentage basis to the Underlying Fund’s NAV. For
example, if the Underlying Fund’s NAV is equal to 4.9 times
the value of a single Futures Contract, it can purchase only four
futures contracts, which would cause only 81.6% of the Underlying
Fund’s assets to be exposed to the market for the Specified
Commodity. On the other hand, if the Underlying Fund’s
NAV is equal to 100.9 times the value of a single Futures Contract,
it can purchase 100 such contracts, resulting in 99.1%
exposure. However, at certain asset levels, an Underlying
Fund may be limited in its ability to purchase Futures Contracts
due to position limits imposed by the CFTC or position limits or
accountability levels imposed by the relevant exchanges. In
such instances, the Underlying Fund would likely invest to a
greater extent in Commodity Interests that are not subject to these
position limits or accountability levels. To the extent that
an Underlying Fund invests Other Commodity Interests, the
correlation between the Underlying Fund’s NAV and its
Benchmark may be lower. In certain circumstances, position
limits or accountability levels could limit the number of Creation
Baskets that will be sold.
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If changes in the Fund’s NAV
do not correlate with changes in the Underlying Fund Average or
changes in the Underlying Funds’ NAVs do not correlate with
changes in their respective Benchmarks, then investing in the Fund
may not be an effective way to hedge against commodity-related
losses or indirectly invest in agricultural
commodities.
Changes in the price of the Fund’s Shares on the NYSE Arca
may not correlate perfectly with changes in the NAV of the
Fund’s or the Underlying Funds’ Shares. If this
occurs, you may not be able to effectively use the Fund to hedge
the risk of losses in your agricultural-related transactions or to
indirectly invest in agricultural commodities.
While it is expected that the
trading prices of the Shares will fluctuate in accordance with the
changes in the Fund’s NAV, the prices of Shares may also be
influenced by other factors, including the supply of and demand for
the Shares, whether for the short term or the longer term.
There is no guarantee that the Shares will not trade at appreciable
discounts from, and/or premiums to, the Fund’s NAV.
Even if the market price of an Underlying Fund closely tracks
changes in its NAV, there is no guarantee that the market price of
the Fund will similarly closely track changes in the NAVs of the
Underlying Funds. This could cause the changes in the price
of the Shares to substantially vary from the changes in the spot
prices of the Specified Commodities, even if an Underlying
Fund’s NAV were closely tracking movements in the spot price
of the Specified Commodity. If this occurs, you may not be
able to effectively use the Fund to hedge the risk of losses in
your commodity-related transactions or to indirectly invest in
agricultural commodities.
The Fund or an Underlying Fund may experience a loss if it is
required to sell cash equivalents at a price lower than the price
at which they were acquired.
If the Fund or an Underlying Fund
is required to sell cash equivalents at a price lower than the
price at which they were acquired, the Fund will experience a
loss. This loss may adversely impact the price of the Shares
and may decrease the correlation between the price of the Shares,
the Underlying Fund Average, the Underlying Funds’ Benchmarks
and the spot prices of the Specified Commodities. The value
of cash equivalents held by the Fund or the Underlying Funds
generally move inversely with movements in interest rates.
The prices of longer maturity securities are subject to greater
market fluctuations as a result of changes in interest rates.
While the short-term nature of the Fund’s and Underlying
Funds’ cash equivalents should minimize the interest rate
risk to which the Fund is subject, it is possible that the cash
equivalents held by the Fund and the Underlying Funds will decline
in value.
Certain of the Fund’s and Underlying Funds’ investments
could be illiquid, which could cause large losses to investors at
any time or from time to time.
The Fund and Underlying Funds may
not always be able to liquidate their positions in the investments
at the desired price for reasons including, among others,
insufficient trading volume, limits imposed by exchanges or other
regulatory organizations, or lack of liquidity. As to the
Fund’s investments in the Underlying Funds, the Underlying
Funds are relatively new and may have trading volumes that are
insufficient for the needs of the Fund. As to Futures
Contracts, it may be difficult to execute a trade at a specific
price when there is a relatively small volume of buy and sell
orders in a market. Limits imposed by futures exchanges or
other regulatory organizations, such as position limits,
accountability levels and price fluctuation limits, may contribute
to a lack of liquidity with respect to some exchange-traded
Commodity Interests. In addition, over-the-counter Commodity
Interests may be illiquid because they are contracts between two
parties and generally may not be transferred by one party to a
third party without the counterparty’s consent.
Conversely, a counterparty may give its consent, but an Underlying
Fund still may not be able to transfer an over-the-counter
Commodity Interest to a third party due to concerns regarding the
counterparty’s credit risk.
A market disruption, such as a
foreign government taking political actions that disrupt the market
in its currency, its commodity production or exports, or in another
major export, can also make it difficult to liquidate a
position. Unexpected market illiquidity may cause major
losses to investors at any time or from time to time. In
addition, the Fund and the Underlying Funds do not intend at this
time to establish a credit facility, which would provide an
additional source of liquidity, but instead will rely only on the
Treasury Securities, cash and/or cash equivalents that they hold to
meet their liquidity needs. The anticipated large value of
the positions in Commodity Interests that the Sponsor will acquire
or enter into for the Underlying Funds increases the risk of
illiquidity. Because Commodity Interests may be illiquid, the
Underlying Funds’ holdings may be more difficult to liquidate
at favorable prices in periods of illiquid markets and losses may
be incurred during the period in which positions are being
liquidated.
If the nature of the participants in the futures market shifts such
that commodity purchasers are the predominant hedgers in the
market, the Underlying Funds might have to reinvest at higher
futures prices or choose Other Commodity
Interests.
The changing nature of the
participants in the market for an agricultural commodity will
influence whether futures prices are above or below the expected
future spot price. Commodity producers will typically seek to
hedge against falling prices by selling Futures Contracts.
Therefore, if producers become the predominant hedgers in the
futures market for a particular commodity, prices of Futures
Contracts for that commodity will typically be below expected
future spot prices. Conversely, if the predominant hedgers in
the futures market are the purchasers of the commodity who purchase
Futures Contracts to hedge against a rise in prices, prices of
Futures Contracts for that commodity will likely be higher than
expected future spot prices. This can have significant
implications for the Underlying Funds when it is time to sell a
Futures Contract that is no longer a Benchmark Component Futures
Contract and purchase a new Futures Contract or to sell a Futures
Contract to meet redemption requests. As a result, an Underlying
Fund may not be able to track its Benchmark and this could have a
corresponding effect on the tracking of the
Fund.
While the Underlying Funds do not intend to take physical delivery
of commodities under their Commodity Interests, the possibility of
physical delivery impacts the value of the
contracts.
While it is not the current
intention of any Underlying Fund to take physical delivery of
commodities under its Commodity Interests, Futures Contracts are
traditionally physically-deliverable contracts, and, unless a
portion was not traded out of or rolled, it is possible to take or
make delivery under these and some Other Commodity Interests.
Storage costs associated with purchasing agricultural commodities
could result in costs and other liabilities that could impact the
value of Futures Contracts or certain Other Commodity
Interests. Storage costs include the time value of money
invested in a physical commodity plus the actual costs of storing
the commodity less any benefits from ownership of the commodity
that are not obtained by the holder of a futures contract. In
general, Futures Contracts have a one-month delay for contract
delivery and the pricing of back month contracts (the back month is
any future delivery month other than the spot month) include
storage costs. To the extent that these storage costs change
while an Underlying Fund holds Commodity Interests, the value of
the Commodity Interests, and therefore the Underlying Fund’s
NAV, may change as well.
The price relationship between the Underlying Funds’
Benchmark Component Futures Contracts at any point in time and the
Futures Contracts that will become the Underlying Funds’
Benchmark Component Futures Contracts on the next roll date will
vary and may impact the Fund’s total return and the degree to
which the Fund’s total return tracks that of commodity price
indices.
The design of each Underlying
Fund’s Benchmark is such that the Benchmark Component Futures
Contracts will change several times a year, and the Underlying
Fund’s investments must be rolled periodically to reflect the
changing composition of its Benchmark. For example, when a
second-to-expire Futures Contract becomes a first-to-expire
contract, such contract will no longer be a Benchmark Component
Futures Contract and the Underlying Fund’s position in it
will no longer be consistent with tracking its Benchmark. In
the event of a futures market where near-to-expire contracts trade
at a higher price than longer-to-expire contracts, a situation
referred to as “backwardation,” then absent the impact
of the overall movement in prices the value of the Benchmark
Component Futures Contracts would tend to rise as they approach
expiration. As a result an Underlying Fund (and, therefore,
the Fund) may benefit because it would be selling more expensive
contracts and buying less expensive ones on an ongoing basis.
Conversely, in the event of a futures market where near-to-expire
contracts trade at a lower price than longer-to-expire contracts, a
situation referred to as “contango,” then absent the
impact of the overall movement in prices the value of the
Underlying Funds’ Benchmark Component Futures Contracts would
tend to decline as they approach expiration. As a result the
Underlying Fund’s (and the Fund’s) total return may be
lower than might otherwise be the case because it would be selling
less expensive contracts and buying more expensive ones. The
impact of backwardation and contango may lead the total return of
an Underlying Fund to vary significantly from the total return of
other price references, such as the spot price of its Specified
Commodity. In the event of a prolonged period of contango,
and absent the impact of rising or falling prices, this could have
a significant negative impact on the Underlying Fund’s (and
the Fund’s) NAV and total return and you could incur a
partial or total loss of your investment in the
Fund.
Regulation of Commodity Interests and commodity markets is
extensive and constantly changing; future regulatory developments
are impossible to predict but may significantly and adversely
affect the Fund and the Underlying Funds.
The regulation of futures markets,
futures contracts and futures exchanges has historically been
comprehensive. The CFTC and the exchanges are authorized to take
extraordinary actions in the event of a market emergency including,
for example, the retroactive implementation of speculative position
limits, increased margin requirements, the establishment of daily
price limits and the suspension of trading on an exchange or
trading facility.
The regulation of commodity
interest transactions in the United States is a rapidly changing
area of law and is subject to ongoing modification by governmental
and judicial action. Subsequent to the enactment of the Dodd-Frank
Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (the
“Dodd-Frank Act”) in 2010, swap agreements became fully
regulated by the CFTC under the amended Commodity Exchange Act and
the CFTC’s regulations thereunder. Considerable regulatory
attention has been focused on non-traditional investment pools that
are publicly distributed in the United States. As the Dodd-Frank
Act continues to be implemented by the CFTC and the SEC, there is a
possibility of future regulatory changes within the United States
altering, perhaps to a material extent, the nature of an investment
in the Teucrium Funds, or the ability of a Fund to continue to
implement its investment strategy. In addition, various national
governments outside of the United States have expressed concern
regarding the disruptive effects of speculative trading in the
commodities markets and the need to regulate the derivatives
markets in general. The effect of any future regulatory change on
the Underlying Funds and the Fund is impossible to predict but
could be substantial and adverse.
Further, President Donald J. Trump
has promised and issued several executive orders intended to
relieve the financial burden created by the Dodd-Frank Act,
although these executive orders only set forth several general
principles to be followed by the federal agencies and do not
mandate the wholesale repeal of the Dodd-Frank Act. The scope of
the effect that passage of new financial reform legislation could
have on U.S. securities, derivatives and commodities markets is not
clear at this time because each federal regulatory agency would
have to promulgate new regulations to implement such legislation.
These regulatory changes may affect the continued operation of the
Teucrium Funds. For additional information regarding recent
regulatory developments that may impact the Fund or the Trust,
refer to the section entitled “Regulation” of the
Statement of Additional Information.
If you are investing in the Fund for purposes of hedging, you might
be subject to several risks, including the possibility of losing
the benefit of favorable market movements.
Producers and commercial users of
agricultural commodities may use the Fund as a vehicle to hedge the
risk of losses in their commodity-related transactions. There
are several risks in connection with using the Fund as a hedging
device. While hedging can provide protection against an
adverse movement in market prices, it can also preclude a
hedger’s opportunity to benefit from a favorable market
movement. For instance, in a hedging transaction the hedger
may be a user of a commodity concerned that the hedged commodity
will increase in price, but must recognize the risk that the price
may instead decline. If this happens, the hedger will have
lost the benefit of being able to purchase the commodity at the
lower price because the hedging transaction will result in a loss
that would offset (at least in part) this benefit. Thus, the
hedger foregoes the opportunity to profit from favorable price
movements. In addition, if the hedge is not a perfect one, the
hedger can lose on the hedging transaction and not realize an
offsetting gain in the value of the underlying item being
hedged.
When using Commodity Interests for
hedging purposes, at best the correlation between changes in prices
of Futures Contracts and of the items being hedged can only be
approximate. The degree of imperfection of correlation depends upon
circumstances such as: variations in speculative markets, demand
for futures and for commodity products, technical influences in
futures trading, and differences between anticipated costs being
hedged and the instruments underlying the standard Futures
Contracts available for trading. Even a well-conceived hedge
may be unsuccessful to some degree because of unexpected market
behavior as well as the expenses associated with creating the
hedge.
In addition, using an investment
in the Fund as a hedge for changes in food costs generally may not
be successful because changes in the price of the commodities in
the Underlying Funds may vary substantially from changes in the
prices of other food products. In addition, the price of
these agricultural commodities and the Fund’s NAV would not
reflect the refining, transportation, and other costs that are
specific to the hedger.
An investment in the Fund may provide you little or no
diversification benefits. Thus, in a declining market, the
Fund may have no gains to offset your losses from other
investments, and you may suffer losses on your investment in the
Fund at the same time you incur losses with respect to other asset
classes.
We cannot predict to what extent
the performance of the Commodity Interests of the Underlying Funds
Interests will or will not correlate to the performance of other
broader asset classes such as stocks and bonds. If the
performance of the Fund or the Underlying Funds were to move more
directly with the financial markets, you will obtain little or no
diversification benefits from an investment in the Shares. In
such a case, the Fund may have no gains to offset your losses from
other investments, and you may suffer losses on your investment in
the Fund at the same time you incur losses with respect to other
investments.
Variables such as drought, floods,
weather, embargoes, tariffs and other political events may have a
larger impact on commodity and Commodity Interest prices than on
traditional securities and broader financial markets. These
additional variables may create additional investment risks that
subject the Underlying Funds’ and, therefore, the
Fund’s investments to greater volatility than investments in
traditional securities.
Lower correlation should not be
confused with negative correlation, where the performance of two
asset classes would be opposite of each other. There is no
historic evidence that the spot price of agricultural commodities
and prices of other financial assets, such as stocks and bonds, are
negatively correlated. In the absence of negative
correlation, the Underlying Funds, and therefore the Fund, cannot
be expected to be automatically profitable during unfavorable
periods for the stock market, or vice versa.
The
Fund’s Operating Risks
The Fund and the Underlying Funds are not registered investment
companies, so you do not have the protections of the Investment
Company Act of 1940.
Neither the Fund nor the
Underlying Funds are investment companies subject to the Investment
Company Act of 1940. Accordingly, you do not have the
protections afforded by that statute which, for example, requires
investment companies to have a board of directors with a majority
of disinterested directors and regulates the relationship between
the investment company and its investment
manager.
The Sponsor has limited experience operating commodity
pools.
While certain of the
Sponsor’s principals and employees have experience with
investing in Commodity Interests, the Sponsor was formed for the
purpose of sponsoring the Trust and serving as the Teucrium
Funds’ commodity pool operator and has limited experience
operating commodity pools. If the experience of the Sponsor
and its management is not adequate or suitable, the operation and
performance of the Fund may be adversely affected. The Sponsor
currently sponsors five Teucrium Funds all of which have commenced
operations as of the date hereof, but none of the Teucrium Funds
had commenced operations prior to June 9, 2010.
In light of this limited
experience, each of the Teucrium Funds has limited past performance
available for your review. Furthermore, the past
performance of the other Teucrium Funds will not necessarily
reflect their future performance or the future performance of this
Fund. If the experience of the Sponsor and its
management is not adequate or suitable, the operation and
performance of the Fund may be adversely
affected.
The Sponsor is leanly staffed and relies heavily on key personnel
to manage trading activities.
In managing and directing the
day-to-day activities and affairs of the Fund, the Sponsor relies
almost entirely on a small number of individuals, including Mr. Sal
Gilbertie, Mr. Dale Riker, Mr. Steve Kahler and Ms. Barbara
Riker. If Mr. Gilbertie, Mr. Riker, Mr. Kahler or Ms.
Riker were to leave or be unable to carry out their present
responsibilities, it may have an adverse effect on the management
of the Fund. To the extent that the Sponsor establishes
additional commodity pools, even greater demands will be placed on
these individuals.
The Sponsor has limited capital and may be unable to continue to
manage the Fund if it sustains continued
losses.
The Sponsor was formed for
the purpose of managing the Trust, including the Fund, the other
Teucrium Funds, and any series of the Trust that may be formed in
the future, and has been provided with capital primarily by its
principals and a small number of outside investors. If the
Sponsor operates at a loss for an extended period, its capital will
be depleted and it may be unable to obtain additional financing
necessary to continue its operations. If the Sponsor were
unable to continue to provide services to the Fund, the Fund would
be terminated if a replacement sponsor could not be found. Any
expenses related to the operation of the Fund would need to be paid
by the Fund at the time of termination.
Position limits, accountability levels and daily price fluctuation
limits set by the CFTC and the exchanges have the potential to
cause tracking error, which could cause the price of Underlying
Fund shares to substantially vary from their respective Benchmarks
and prevent you from being able to effectively use the Fund as a
way to hedge against commodity-related losses or as a way to
indirectly invest in agricultural commodities.
The CFTC and U.S. designated
contract markets may establish position limits on the maximum net
long or net short futures contracts in commodity interests that any
person or group of persons under common trading control (other than
as a hedge meeting certain requirements, which an investment by the
Fund is not) may hold, own or control. Specifically, the CFTC
has established position limits for Futures Contracts related to
corn, wheat and soybeans. For example, the current position
limit for investments at any one time in Corn Futures Contracts are
600 spot month contracts, 33,000 contracts expiring in any other
single month, and 33,000 total for all months. These position
limits are fixed ceilings that the Fund would not be able to exceed
without specific CFTC authorization.
In addition, U.S. designated
contract markets have established accountability levels on futures
contracts and cleared swaps. Accountability levels are not
fixed ceilings, but they are thresholds above which the exchange
may exercise greater scrutiny and control over an investor,
including limiting an investor from holding no more futures
contracts or cleared swaps than the amount established by the
accountability level. No Underlying Fund intends
to invest in any Commodity Interests in excess of any applicable
accountability levels.
In addition to position limits and
accountability levels, the exchanges set daily price fluctuation
limits on futures contracts. The daily price fluctuation
limit establishes the maximum amount that the price of futures
contracts may vary either up or down from the previous day’s
settlement price. Once the daily price fluctuation limit has
been reached in a particular futures contract, no trades may be
made at a price beyond that limit.
On December 16, 2016, as mandated
by the Dodd-Frank Act, the CFTC adopted a final rule that aggregate
all positions, for purposes of position limits; such positions
include futures contracts, futures-equivalent positions,
over-the-counter swaps and options (i.e., contracts that are not
traded on exchanges). These aggregation requirements became
effective on February 14, 2017 and could limit the Underlying
Funds’ and the Fund’s ability to establish positions in
commodity over-the-counter instruments if the assets of the Fund
were to grow substantially.
There are no independent advisers representing Fund
investors.
The Sponsor has consulted with
legal counsel, accountants and other advisers regarding the
formation and operation of the Trust and Fund. No counsel has
been appointed to represent you in connection with the offering of
Shares. Accordingly, you should consult your own legal, tax
and financial advisers regarding the desirability of an investment
in the Shares.
There are technical and fundamental risks inherent in the trading
system the Sponsor intends to employ.
The Sponsor’s
trading system is quantitative in nature and it is possible that
the Sponsor may make errors. Any errors or imperfections in the
Sponsor’s trading system’s quantitative models, or in
the data on which they are based, could adversely affect the
Sponsor’s effective use of such trading systems. It is not
possible or practicable for the Sponsor’s trading system to
factor all relevant, available data into quantitative systems
and/or trading decision. There is no guarantee that the Sponsor
will use any specific data or type of data in making trading
decisions on behalf of the Fund, nor is there any guarantee that
the data actually utilized in making trading decisions on behalf of
the Fund will be the most accurate data or free from errors. In
addition, it is possible that a computer or software program may
malfunction and cause an error in computation.
The Fund and the Sponsor may have conflicts of interest, which may
cause them to favor their own interests to your
detriment.
The Fund and the Sponsor may have
inherent conflicts to the extent the Sponsor attempts to maintain
the asset size of the Underlying Funds in order to preserve its fee
income and this may not always be consistent with the Fund’s
objective of having the value of its Shares’ NAV track
changes in the Underlying Fund Average. The Sponsor’s
officers and employees do not devote their time exclusively to the
Fund or the Underlying Funds. These persons may be directors,
officers or employees of other entities and thus could have a
conflict between their responsibilities to the Fund and the
Underlying Funds on the one hand and to those other entities on the
other.
In addition, the Sponsor’s
principals, officers or employees may trade securities and futures
and related contracts for their own accounts. A conflict of
interest may exist if their trades are in the same markets and
occur at the same time as the Fund or an Underlying Fund trades
using the clearing broker to be used by the Fund. A potential
conflict also may occur if the Sponsor’s principals, officers
or employees trade their accounts more aggressively or take
positions in their accounts that are opposite or ahead of the
positions taken by the Underlying Funds.
The Sponsor has sole current authority to manage
the investments and operations of the Fund and the Underlying
Funds, and this may allow it to act in a way that furthers its own
interests and conflicts with your best interests, including the
authority of the Sponsor to allocate expenses to and between the
Teucrium Funds. Shareholders have very limited voting rights, which
will limit the ability to influence matters such as amendment of
the Trust Agreement, changes in the Fund’s basic investment
policies, dissolution of the Fund, or the sale or distribution of
the Fund’s assets.
Shareholders have only very limited voting rights and generally
will not have the power to replace the Sponsor. Shareholders
will not participate in the management of the Fund and do not
control the Sponsor so they will not have influence over basic
matters that affect the Fund.
Shareholders will have very
limited voting rights with respect to the Fund’s
affairs. Shareholders may elect a replacement Sponsor only if
the current Sponsor resigns voluntarily or loses its corporate
charter. Shareholders will not be permitted to participate in
the management or control of the Fund or the conduct of its
business. Furthermore, any voting rights on Underlying Fund
shares held by the Fund will be exercised by the Sponsor, generally
without seeking advice or voting instructions from Fund
Shareholders. Shareholders must therefore rely upon the
duties and judgment of the Sponsor to manage the Fund’s and
the Underlying Funds’ affairs.
The Sponsor may manage a large amount of assets and this could
affect the Fund’s ability to trade
profitably.
Increases in assets under
management may affect trading decisions. While the assets of
the Fund and those of the Underlying Funds are currently at
manageable levels, the Sponsor does not intend to limit the amount
of Fund assets or Underlying Fund assets. The more assets the
Sponsor manages for the Underlying Funds, the more difficult it may
be for it to trade profitably because of the difficulty of trading
larger positions without adversely affecting prices and
performance, and of managing risk associated with larger
positions.
The liability of the Sponsor and the Trustee are limited, and the
value of the Shares will be adversely affected if the Fund is
required to indemnify the Trustee or the
Sponsor.
Under the Trust Agreement, the
Trustee and the Sponsor are not liable, and have the right to be
indemnified, for any liability or expense incurred absent gross
negligence or willful misconduct on the part of the Trustee or
Sponsor, as the case may be. That means the Sponsor may
require the assets of the Fund to be sold in order to cover losses
or liability suffered by the Sponsor or by the Trustee. Any
sale of that kind would reduce the NAV of the Fund and the value of
its Shares.
Although the Shares of the Fund are limited liability investments,
certain circumstances such as bankruptcy could increase a
Shareholder’s liability.
The Shares of the Fund are limited
liability investments; Shareholders may not lose more than the
amount that they invest plus any profits recognized on their
investment. However, Shareholders could be required as a
matter of bankruptcy law, to return to the estate of the Fund any
distribution they received at a time when the Fund was in fact
insolvent or in violation of its Trust
Agreement.
You cannot be assured of
the Sponsor’s continued services, and discontinuance may be
detrimental to the Fund.
You cannot be assured that the
Sponsor will be willing or able to continue to service the Fund or
the Underlying Funds for any length of time. The Sponsor was
formed for the purpose of sponsoring the Fund, the Underlying Funds
and other commodity pools, and has limited financial resources and
no significant source of income apart from its management fees from
such commodity pools to support its continued service for the Fund
and the Underlying Funds. If the Sponsor discontinues its
activities on behalf of the Fund or an Underlying Fund, the Fund
may be adversely affected. If the Sponsor’s
registrations with the CFTC or memberships in the NFA were revoked
or suspended, the Sponsor would no longer be able to provide
services to the Fund or the Underlying Funds.
The Fund could terminate at any time and cause the liquidation and
potential loss of your investment and could upset the overall
maturity and timing of your investment
portfolio.
The Fund may terminate at any
time, regardless of whether the Fund has incurred losses, subject
to the terms of the Trust Agreement. For example, the
dissolution or resignation of the Sponsor would cause the Trust to
terminate unless the Teucrium Funds’ shareholders, holding a
majority of the outstanding shares of the Fund; and each other fund
that is a series of the Trust, voting together as a single class,
elect within 90 days of the event to continue the Trust and appoint
a successor Sponsor. In addition, the Sponsor may terminate
the Fund if it determines that the Fund’s aggregate net
assets in relation to its operating expenses make the continued
operation of the Fund unreasonable or imprudent. As of the
date of this prospectus, the Fund pays the fees, costs, and
expenses of its operations. If the Sponsor and the Fund are unable
to raise sufficient funds so that the Fund’s expenses are
reasonable in relation to the NAV, the Fund may be forced to
terminate and investors may lose all or part of their investment.
Any expenses related to the operation of the Fund would need to be
paid by the Fund at the time of termination. However, no level of
losses will require the Sponsor to terminate the Fund. The
Fund’s termination would result in the liquidation of its
investments and the distribution of its remaining assets to the
Shareholders on a pro rata basis in accordance with their Shares,
and the Fund could incur losses in liquidating its investments in
connection with a termination. Termination could also
negatively affect the overall maturity and timing of your
investment portfolio.
Termination of an Underlying Fund could result in a change in the
nature of your investment in the Fund.
The Sponsor may terminate an
Underlying Fund for any of the reasons that it may terminate the
Fund. If an Underlying Fund is terminated, the Sponsor may invest
the Fund’s assets directly in Commodity Interests in the
Specified Commodity, but it is not obligated to do so. The
Sponsor also might choose to allocate the assets of the Fund that
had been invested in the terminated Underlying Fund among the
remaining Underlying Funds or to invest such assets in another
commodity pool investing in another commodity. While you will
generally receive notice of these fundamental changes, you will not
have voting rights with respect to them or other ability to
influence the Sponsor’s decision.
The NYSE Arca may halt trading in the Shares of the Fund or the
shares of an Underlying Fund which would adversely impact your
ability to sell Shares.
Trading in Shares of the Fund or
shares of an Underlying Fund may be halted due to market conditions
or, in light of NYSE Arca rules and procedures, for reasons that,
in the view of the NYSE Arca, make trading in Shares of the Fund or
shares of an Underlying Fund inadvisable. In addition, trading is
subject to trading halts caused by extraordinary market volatility
pursuant to “circuit breaker” rules that require
trading to be halted for a specified period based on a specific
market decline. There can be no assurance that the requirements
necessary to maintain the listing of the Shares of the Fund or the
shares of an Underlying Fund will continue to be met or will remain
unchanged. The Fund will be terminated if its Shares are
delisted.
The lack of active trading markets for the Shares of the Fund or
shares of an Underlying Fund may result in losses on your
investment in the Fund at the time of disposition of your
Shares.
Although the Shares of the Fund
will be listed and traded on the NYSE Arca, there can be no
guarantee that an active trading market for the Shares of the Fund
or the shares of an Underlying Fund will be maintained. If you need
to sell your Shares at a time when no active market for them or the
shares of an Underlying Fund exist, the price you receive for your
Shares, assuming that you are able to sell them, likely will be
lower than what you would receive if an active market did
exist.
As a Shareholder, you will not have the rights enjoyed by investors
in certain other types of entities.
As interests in separate
series of a Delaware statutory trust, the Shares do not involve the
rights normally associated with the ownership of shares of a
corporation (including, for example, the right to bring shareholder
oppression and derivative actions). In addition, the Shares
have limited voting and distribution rights (for example,
Shareholders do not have the right to elect directors, as the Trust
does not have a board of directors, and generally will not receive
regular distributions of the net income and capital gains earned by
the Fund). The Fund is also not subject to certain investor
protection provisions of the Sarbanes Oxley Act of 2002 and the
NYSE Arca governance rules (for example, audit committee
requirements).
A court could potentially conclude that the assets and liabilities
of the Fund are not segregated from those of another series of the
Trust, thereby potentially exposing assets in the Fund to the
liabilities of another series.
The Fund is a series of a Delaware
statutory trust and not itself a legal entity separate from the
other Teucrium Funds. The Delaware Statutory Trust Act
provides that if certain provisions are included in the formation
and governing documents of a statutory trust organized in series
and if separate and distinct records are maintained for any series
and the assets associated with that series are held in separate and
distinct records and are accounted for in such separate and
distinct records separately from the other assets of the statutory
trust, or any series thereof, then the debts, liabilities,
obligations and expenses incurred by a particular series are
enforceable against the assets of such series only, and not against
the assets of the statutory trust generally or any other series
thereof. Conversely, none of the debts, liabilities,
obligations and expenses incurred with respect to any other series
thereof is enforceable against the assets of such series. The
Sponsor is not aware of any court case that has interpreted this
inter-series limitation on liability or provided any guidance as to
what is required for compliance. The Sponsor intends to
maintain separate and distinct records for the Fund and account for
the Fund separately from any other Trust series, but it is possible
a court could conclude that the methods used do not satisfy the
Delaware Statutory Trust Act, which would potentially expose assets
in the Fund to the liabilities of one or more of the Teucrium Funds
and/or any other Trust series created in the
future.
The Sponsor and the Trustee are not obligated to prosecute any
action, suit or other proceeding in respect of any Fund or
Underlying Fund property.
Neither the Sponsor nor the
Trustee is obligated to, although each may in its respective
discretion, prosecute any action, suit or other proceeding in
respect of any Fund’s or Underlying Fund’s
property. The Trust Agreement does not confer upon
Shareholders the right to prosecute any such action, suit or other
proceeding.
The Fund does not expect to make cash
distributions.
The Sponsor intends to re-invest
any income and realized gains rather than distributing cash to
Shareholders. Therefore, unlike mutual funds, commodity pools
or other investment pools that generally distribute income and
gains to their investors, the Fund generally will not distribute
cash to Shareholders. In addition, the Underlying Funds
generally will not distribute cash to their shareholders because
the Sponsor reinvests any income and related gains of the
Underlying Funds in additional Commodity Interests. As a result,
the Fund does not anticipate receiving cash distributions from the
Underlying Funds. You should not invest in the Fund if you will
need cash distributions from the Fund to pay taxes on your share of
income and gains of the Fund, if any, or for any other
reason. Although the Fund does not intend to make cash
distributions, the income earned from its investments held directly
or posted as margin may reach levels that merit distribution, e.g.,
at levels where such income is not necessary to support its
investments and investors adversely react to being taxed on such
income without receiving distributions that could be used to pay
such tax. Cash distributions may be made in these and similar
instances.
There is a risk that the Fund and the Underlying Funds will not
have sufficient net assets to compensate for the fees and expenses
that they must pay and as such the expense ratio of the Fund and
the Underlying Funds may be higher than that filed in this document
or the documents of the Underlying Funds.
While the Fund does not directly
pay any management fees or certain other types of expenses, the
Fund does pay certain expenses directly, including certain
administrative and accounting expenses. In addition, the Fund
bears a proportionate share of Underlying Fund expenses as a
shareholder of the Underlying Funds. Each Underlying Fund
pays management fees at an annual rate of 1.00% of its average net
assets, brokerage charges, over-the-counter spreads and various
other expenses of its ongoing operations (e.g., fees of the
Administrator, Trustee and Distributor). Accordingly, the
Fund has a total estimated expense ratio, including its
proportionate share of Underlying Fund expenses, of approximately
2.21% of net assets. These fees and expenses must be paid in
all events, regardless of whether the Fund’s and Underlying
Funds’ total net assets.
If this offering of Shares does not raise sufficient funds to make
the Fund’s future operations viable, the Fund may be forced
to terminate and investors may lose all or part of their
investment.
All of the expenses relating to
the Fund incurred prior to the commencement of operations on March
28, 2012 were paid by the Sponsor. These payments by the
Sponsor were designed to allow the Fund the ability to commence the
public offering of its Shares. As of the date of this
prospectus, the Fund pays the fees, costs and expenses of its
operations. If the Sponsor and the Fund are unable to raise
sufficient funds so that the Fund’s expenses are reasonable
in relation to its NAV, the Fund may be forced to terminate and
investors may lose all or part of their investment. Any expenses
related to the operation of the Fund would need to be paid by the
Fund at the time of termination.
The Fund and the Underlying Funds may incur higher fees and
expenses upon renewing existing or entering into new contractual
relationships.
The arrangements between clearing
brokers and counterparties on the one hand and the Fund or an
Underlying Fund, as applicable, on the other generally are
terminable by the clearing brokers or counterparty upon notice to
the Fund or Underlying Fund, as applicable. In addition, the
agreements between the Fund or an Underlying Fund, as applicable,
and its third-party service providers, such as the Distributor
and the Custodian, are generally terminable at specified
intervals. Upon termination, the Sponsor may be required to
renegotiate or make other arrangements for obtaining similar
services if the Fund or an Underlying Fund intends to continue to
operate. Comparable services from another party may not be
available, or even if available, these services may not be
available on terms as favorable as those of the expired or
terminated arrangements.
The Underlying Funds, and thus the Fund may experience a higher
breakeven if interest rates decline.
The Underlying Funds earn interest
on cash balances available for investment. If actual interest rates
earned were to fall, the breakeven estimated by the Underlying
Funds in this prospectus could be higher, if the Sponsor were not
able to waive expenses sufficient to cover the
deficit.
The Fund or the Underlying Funds may miss certain trading
opportunities because they will not receive the benefit of the
expertise of independent trading advisors.
The Sponsor does not employ
trading advisors for the Fund or the Underlying Funds; however, it
reserves the right to employ them in the future. The only
advisor to the Fund or the Underlying Funds is the Sponsor. A
lack of independent trading advisors may be disadvantageous to the
Fund and the Underlying Funds because they will not receive the
benefit of the advisors’ independent
expertise.
The net asset value calculation of an Underlying Fund may be
overstated or understated due to the valuation method employed when
a settlement price is not available on the date of the net asset
value calculation.
An Underlying Fund’s NAV
includes, in part, any unrealized profits or losses on Commodity
Interests. Under normal circumstances, the NAV reflects the
settlement price of open Futures Contracts on the date when the NAV
is being calculated as quoted on the applicable exchange. In
instances when the quoted settlement price of Futures Contracts
traded on an exchange may not be reflective of fair value based on
market condition, generally due to the operation of daily limits or
other rules of the exchange or otherwise, the NAV may not reflect
the fair value of open futures contracts on such date. For purposes
of financial statements and reports related to the Fund and the
Underlying Funds, the Sponsor will recalculate the NAV where
necessary to reflect the fair value of a Futures Contract when the
Futures Contract closes at its price fluctuation limit for the
day.
An unanticipated number of redemption requests during a short
period of time could have an adverse effect on the NAV of the
Fund.
If a substantial number of
requests for redemption of Redemption Baskets are received by the
Fund during a relatively short period of time, the Fund will
generally need to sell shares of the Underlying Funds, increasing
its trading costs. To the extent that the Fund’s sale
of Underlying Fund shares on the secondary market results in
redemption requests to an Underlying Fund, the Underlying
Fund’s trading costs will increase and it may be necessary to
liquidate the Underlying Fund’s trading positions before the
time that its trading strategies would otherwise call for
liquidation, resulting in an adverse effect on the NAVs of the Fund
and Underlying Fund.
If a minimum number of shares is outstanding, market makers may be
less willing to purchase shares in the secondary market which may
limit your ability to sell shares.
There is a minimum number of
baskets and associated shares specified for the Fund. If the Fund
experienced redemptions that caused the number of Shares
outstanding to decrease to the minimum level of Shares required to
be outstanding, until the minimum, number of Shares is again
exceeded through the purchase of a new Creation Basket, there can
be no more redemptions by an Authorized Purchaser. In such case,
market makers may be less willing to purchase Shares from investors
in the secondary market, which may in turn limit the ability of
Shareholders of the Fund to sell their shares in the secondary
market. The minimum level of Shares specified for the Fund is
subject to change. As of January 31, 2018, this minimum level for
the Fund is 50,002 shares representing 2 baskets; as of January 31,
2018, there were 50,002 Shares outstanding. As of April 11, 2018,
there were 75,005 shares outstanding. (The current number of Shares
outstanding is posted daily on our website,
www.teucriumtagsfund.com.)
The liquidity of the Shares may be affected by the withdrawal from
participation of Authorized Purchasers, market-makers, or other
significant secondary-market participants which could adversely
affect the market price of the Shares.
Only an Authorized Purchaser may engage in
creation or redemption transactions directly with the Fund. The
Fund has a limited number of institutions that act as Authorized
Purchasers. To the extent that these institutions exit the business
or are unable to proceed with creation and/or redemption orders
with respect to the Fund and no other Authorized Purchaser is able
to step forward to create or redeem Creation Units, Fund shares may
trade at a discount to NAV and possibly face trading halts and/or
delisting. In addition, a decision by a market maker or lead market
maker, to cease activities for the Fund or a decision by a
secondary market participant to sell a significant number of the
Fund’s Shares could adversely affect liquidity, the spread
between the bid and ask quotes, and potentially the price of the
Shares. The Sponsor can make no guarantees that participation by
Authorized Purchasers or market makers will
continue.
You may be adversely affected by redemption orders that are subject
to postponement, suspension or rejection under certain
circumstances.
The Trust may, in its discretion,
suspend the right to redeem Shares of the Fund or postpone the
redemption settlement date: (1) for any period during
which an applicable exchange is closed other than customary weekend
or holiday closing, or trading is suspended or restricted; (2) for
any period during which an emergency exists as a result of which
delivery, disposal or evaluation of the Fund’s assets is not
reasonably practicable; (3) for such other period as the Sponsor
determines to be necessary for the protection of
Shareholders; (4) if there is a possibility that any or all of
the Benchmark Component Futures Contracts of the Underlying Funds
from which the NAVs of the Underlying Funds are calculated will be
priced at a daily price limit restriction; or (5) if, in the sole
discretion of the Sponsor, the execution of such an order would not
be in the best interest of the Fund or its Shareholders. In
addition, the Trust will reject a redemption order if the order is
not in proper form as described in the agreement with the
Authorized Purchaser or if the fulfillment of the order, in the
opinion of its counsel, might be unlawful. The Sponsor
may also reject a redemption order if the number of Shares being
redeemed would reduce the remaining outstanding Shares to 50,000
Shares (i.e., two baskets of 25,000 Shares each) or less, unless
the Sponsor has reason to believe that the placer of the redemption
order does in fact possess all the outstanding Shares of the Fund
and can deliver them. Any such postponement, suspension or
rejection could adversely affect a redeeming
Shareholder. For example, the resulting delay may
adversely affect the value of the Shareholder’s redemption
proceeds if the NAV of the Fund declines during the period of
delay. The Trust Agreement provides that the Sponsor and
its designees will not be liable for any loss or damage that may
result from any such suspension or
postponement.
Any postponement, suspension or
rejection of a redemption order could adversely affect a redeeming
Shareholder or shareholders of any Underlying Fund. For
example, the resulting delay may adversely affect the value of a
Shareholder’s redemption proceeds if the NAV of the Fund
declines during the period of delay. The Trust Agreement
provides that the Sponsor and its designees will not be liable for
any loss or damage that may result from any such suspension or
postponement.
The failure or bankruptcy of a clearing broker could result in
substantial losses for an Underlying Fund; the clearing broker
could be subject to proceedings that impair its ability to execute
the Underlying Fund’s trades.
Under CFTC regulations, a clearing
broker with respect to an Underlying Fund’s exchange-traded
Commodity Interests must maintain customers’ assets in a bulk
segregated account. If a clearing broker fails to do so, or
is unable to satisfy a substantial deficit in a customer account,
its other customers may be subject to risk of a substantial loss of
their funds in the event of that clearing broker’s
bankruptcy. In that event, the clearing broker’s
customers, such as the Underlying Funds, are entitled to recover,
even in respect of property specifically traceable to them, only a
proportional share of all property available for distribution to
all of that clearing broker’s customers. The Underlying
Funds (and, therefore, the Fund) also may be subject to the risk of
the failure of, or delay in performance by, any exchanges and
markets and their clearing organizations, if any, on which
Commodity Interests are traded.
From time to time, the clearing
brokers may be subject to legal or regulatory proceedings in the
ordinary course of their business. A clearing broker’s
involvement in costly or time-consuming legal proceedings may
divert financial resources or personnel away from the clearing
broker’s trading operations, which could impair the clearing
broker’s ability to successfully execute and clear an
Underlying Fund’s trades.
The failure or insolvency of the Fund’s Custodian or other
financial institution in which the Fund or the Underlying Funds has
deposits could result in a substantial loss of the Fund’s
assets.
As noted above, the vast majority
of the Underlying Funds’ assets are held in cash and/or cash
equivalents with the Custodian, other financial institutions, or in
commercial paper with a maturity date of 90 days or less. The
insolvency of the Custodian or any financial institution in which
the Underlying Funds have demand deposits, or in a commercial paper
issuer could result in a complete loss of the Underlying
Funds’ assets. The Underlying Funds currently have cash and
or cash equivalents at the Custodian and Rabobank, N.A, Mascoma
Savings Bank and Morgan Stanley, and commercial paper. The Fund
does not maintain large cash and/or cash equivalent deposits due to
the nature of the investment in the shares of the Underlying
Funds.
Third parties may infringe upon or otherwise violate intellectual
property rights or assert that the Sponsor has infringed or
otherwise violated their intellectual property rights, which may
result in significant costs, litigation, and diverted attention of
Sponsor’s management.
Third parties may assert that the
Sponsor has infringed or otherwise violated their intellectual
property rights. Third parties may independently develop
business methods, trademarks or proprietary software and other
technology similar to that of the Sponsor and claim that the
Sponsor has violated their intellectual property rights, including
their copyrights, trademark rights, trade names, trade secrets and
patent rights. As a result, the Sponsor may have to
litigate in the future to determine the validity and scope of other
parties’ proprietary rights, or defend itself against claims
that it has infringed or otherwise violated other parties’
rights. Any litigation of this type, even if the Sponsor
is successful and regardless of the merits, may result in
significant costs, divert resources from the Fund, or require the
Sponsor to change its proprietary software and other technology or
enter into royalty or licensing agreements.
The Sponsor has a patent on
certain business methods and procedures used with respect to the
Fund and the Underlying Funds. The Sponsor utilizes certain
proprietary software. Any unauthorized use of such
proprietary software, business methods and/or procedures could
adversely affect the competitive advantage of the Sponsor or the
Fund and/or require the Sponsor to take legal action to protect its
rights.
The success of the Fund depends on the ability of the Sponsor to
accurately implement its trading strategies, and any failure to do
so could subject the Fund to losses on such
transactions.
The Sponsor’s trading
strategy is quantitative in nature and it is possible that the
Sponsor will make errors in its implementation. The execution
of the quantitative strategy is subject to human error, such as
incorrect inputs into the Sponsor’s computer systems and
incorrect information provided to the Fund’s and Underlying
Funds’ clearing brokers. In addition, it is possible
that a computer or software program may malfunction and cause an
error in computation. Any failure, inaccuracy or delay in
executing the Fund’s or an Underlying Fund’s
transactions could affect the Fund’s ability to achieve its
investment objective. It could also result in decisions to
undertake transactions based on inaccurate or incomplete
information. This could cause substantial losses on
transactions. The Sponsor is not required to reimburse the Fund or
the Underlying Funds for any costs associated with an error in the
placement or execution of a trade in commodity future interests or
in shares of the Underlying Funds.
The Fund may experience substantial losses on transactions if the
computer or communications system fails.
The Fund’s and Underlying
Funds’ activities depend on the integrity and performance of
the computer and communications systems supporting them.
Extraordinary transaction volume, hardware or software failure,
power or telecommunications failure, a natural disaster, cyber
attack or other catastrophe could cause the computer systems to
operate at an unacceptably slow speed or even fail. Any
significant degradation or failure of the systems that the Sponsor
uses to gather and analyze information, enter orders, process data,
monitor risk levels and otherwise engage in trading activities may
result in substantial losses on transactions, liability to other
parties, lost profit opportunities, damages to the Sponsor’s,
the Fund’s and the Underlying Funds’ reputations,
increased operational expenses and diversion of technical
resources.
If the computer and communications systems are not upgraded when
necessary, the Fund’s financial condition could be
harmed.
The development of complex
computer and communications systems and new technologies may render
the existing computer and communications systems supporting the
Fund’s and Underlying Funds’ activities obsolete.
In addition, these computer and communications systems must be
compatible with those of third parties, such as the systems of
exchanges, clearing brokers and the executing brokers. As a
result, if these third parties upgrade their systems, the Sponsor
will need to make corresponding upgrades to effectively continue
its trading activities. The Sponsor may have limited financial
resources for these upgrades or other technological changes. The
Fund’s future success may depend on the Sponsor’s
ability to respond to changing technologies on a timely and
cost-effective basis.
The Fund and the Underlying Funds depend on the reliable
performance of the computer and communications systems of third
parties, such as brokers and futures exchanges, and may experience
substantial losses on transactions if they
fail.
The Fund and Underlying Funds
depend on the proper and timely function of complex computer and
communications systems maintained and operated by the futures
exchanges, brokers and other data providers that the Sponsor uses
to conduct trading activities. Failure or inadequate
performance of any of these systems could adversely affect the
Sponsor’s ability to complete transactions, including its
ability to close out positions, and result in lost profit
opportunities and significant losses on commodity interest
transactions. This could have a material adverse effect on
revenues and materially reduce the Fund’s available capital
of the Fund or an Underlying Fund. For example,
unavailability of price quotations from third parties may make it
difficult or impossible for the Sponsor to conduct trading
activities so that an Underlying Fund will closely track its
Benchmark. Unavailability of records from brokerage firms may
make it difficult or impossible for the Sponsor to accurately
determine which transactions have been executed or the details,
including price and time, of any transaction executed. This
unavailability of information also may make it difficult or
impossible for the Sponsor to reconcile its records of transactions
with those of another party or to accomplish settlement of executed
transactions.
The occurrence of a severe weather event, natural disaster,
terrorist attack, or the outbreak, continuation or expansion of war
or other hostilities could disrupt the Fund’s trading
activity and materially affect the Fund’s
profitability.
The operations of the Fund, the
exchanges, brokers and counterparties with which the Fund does
business, and the markets in which the Fund does business could be
severely disrupted in the event of a severe weather event, natural
disaster, major terrorist attack, data breach or the outbreak,
continuation or expansion of war or other hostilities. Global
terrorist attacks, anti-terrorism initiatives, and political unrest
continue to fuel this concern.
Failures or breaches of electronic systems could disrupt the
trading activity and materially affect the profitability of the
Underlying Funds and the Fund.
Failures or breaches of the
electronic systems of the Underlying Fund and/or the Fund, the
Sponsor, the Custodian or mutual funds or other financial
institutions in which the Underlying Funds or the Fund invests, or
the Fund’s other service providers, market makers, Authorized
Purchasers, NYSE Arca, exchanges on which Futures Contracts or
Other Commodity Interests are traded or cleared, or counterparties
have the ability to cause disruptions and negatively impact the
Fund’s business operations, potentially resulting in
financial losses to the Fund and its shareholders. While the Fund
has established business continuity plans and risk management
systems seeking to address system breaches or failures, there are
inherent limitations in such plans and systems. Furthermore, the
Fund cannot control the cyber security plans and systems of the
Custodian or mutual funds or other financial institutions in which
the Fund invests, or the Fund’s other service providers,
market makers, Authorized Purchasers, NYSE Arca, exchanges on which
Futures Contracts or Other Commodity Interests are traded or
cleared, or counterparties.
An investment in a Fund faces numerous risks from its shares being
traded in the secondary market, any of which may lead to the
Fund’s shares trading at a premium or discount to
NAV.
Although the Fund’s shares are
listed for trading on the NYSE Arca, there can be no assurance that
an active trading market for such shares will develop or be
maintained. Trading in the Fund’s shares may be halted due to
market conditions or for reasons that, in the view of the NYSE
Arca, make trading in shares inadvisable. There can be no assurance
that the requirements of the NYSE Arca necessary to maintain the
listing of the Fund will continue to be met or will remain
unchanged or that the shares will trade with any volume, or at all.
The NAV of the Fund’s shares will generally fluctuate with
changes in the market value of the Fund’s portfolio holdings.
The market prices of shares will generally fluctuate in accordance
with changes in the Fund’s NAV and supply and demand of
shares on the NYSE Arca. It cannot be predicted whether a Fund
shares will trade below, at or above their NAV. Investors buying or
selling Fund 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.
The NYSE Arca may halt trading in the Shares which would adversely
impact your ability to sell Shares.
Trading in Shares of the Fund may
be halted due to market conditions or, in light of NYSE Arca rules
and procedures, for reasons that, in view of the NYSE Arca, make
trading in Shares inadvisable. In addition, trading is subject to
trading halts caused by extraordinary market volatility pursuant to
“circuit breaker” rules that require trading to be
halted for a specified period based on a specified market decline.
There can be no assurance that the requirements necessary to
maintain the listing of the Shares will continue to be met or will
remain unchanged. The Fund will be terminated if its Shares are
delisted.
The lack of active trading markets for the Shares of the Fund may
result in losses on your investment in the Fund at the time of
disposition of your Shares.
Although the Shares of the Fund
will be listed and traded on the NYSE Arca, there can be no
guarantee that an active trading market for the Shares of the Fund
will be maintained. If you need to sell your Shares at a time when
no active market for them exists, the price you receive for your
Shares, assuming that you are able to sell them, likely will be
lower than what you would receive if an active market did
exist.
Risk of Leverage and
Volatility
If the Sponsor causes or permits an Underlying Fund to become
leveraged, the Fund could incur substantial losses if the
Underlying Fund’s trading positions suddenly turn
unprofitable.
Commodity pools’ trading
positions in Commodity Interests are typically required to be
secured by the deposit of margin funds or collateral that
represents only a small percentage of the Commodity
Interest’s entire market value. This feature permits
commodity pools to “leverage” their assets by
purchasing or selling Commodity Interests with an aggregate
notional amount in excess of the commodity pool’s
assets. While this leverage can increase a pool’s
profits, relatively small adverse movements in the price of the
pool’s Commodity Interests can cause significant losses to
the pool. While the Sponsor does not intend to leverage the
assets of any Underlying Fund, it is not prohibited from doing so
under the Trust Agreement. If the Sponsor was to cause or
permit an Underlying Fund to become leveraged, the Fund could incur
substantial losses if an Underlying Fund’s trading positions
suddenly turn unprofitable.
The price of agricultural commodities can be volatile which could
cause large fluctuations in the price of
Shares.
Movements in the price of
agricultural commodities are outside of the Sponsor’s control
and may not be anticipated by the Sponsor. As discussed in
more detail above, price movements for agricultural commodities are
influenced by, among other things, weather conditions, crop
disease, transportation and storage difficulties, various planting,
growing and harvesting problems, governmental policies, changing
demand, and seasonal fluctuations in supply. Commodity prices
may also be influenced by economic and monetary events such as
changes in interest rates, changes in balances of payments and
trade, U.S. and international inflation rates, currency valuations
and devaluations, U.S. and international economic events, and
changes in the philosophies and emotions of market
participants. Because the Fund is exposed primarily to
interests in agricultural commodities, it is not a diversified
investment vehicle, and therefore may be subject to greater
volatility than a diversified portfolio of stocks or bonds or a
more diversified commodity pool.
Over-the-Counter Contract
Risk
Over-the-counter transactions are subject to changing
regulation.
A portion of the Fund’s
assets may be used to trade over-the-counter Commodity Interests of
the Underlying Funds, such as forward contracts or swaps. The
markets for over-the-counter contracts will continue to rely upon
the integrity of market participants in lieu of the additional
regulation imposed by the CFTC on participants in the futures
markets. To date, the forward markets have been largely
unregulated, except for anti-manipulation and anti-fraud
provisions, forward contracts have been executed bi-laterally and,
in general historically, forward contracts have not been cleared or
guaranteed by a third party. While increased regulation of
over-the-counter Commodity Interests is likely to result from
changes that are required to be effectuated by the Dodd-Frank Act,
there is no guarantee that such increased regulation will be
effective to reduce these risks.
The Underlying Funds will be subject to credit risk with respect to
counterparties to over-the-counter contracts entered into by the
Underlying Funds.
The Underlying Funds face the risk
of non-performance by the counterparties to over-the-counter
contracts. Unlike in futures contracts, the counterparty to
these contracts is generally a single bank or other financial
institution, rather than a clearing organization backed by a group
of financial institutions. As a result, there will be greater
counterparty credit risk in these transactions. A
counterparty may not be able to meet its obligations to an
Underlying Fund, in which case the Underlying Fund could suffer
significant losses on these contracts.
If a counterparty becomes bankrupt
or otherwise fails to perform its obligations due to financial
difficulties, the Underlying Fund may experience significant delays
in obtaining any recovery in a bankruptcy or other reorganization
proceeding. During any such period, the Underlying Fund may
have difficulty in determining the value of its contracts with the
counterparty, which in turn could result in the overstatement or
understatement of the Underlying Fund’s NAV and, indirectly,
the Fund’s NAV. The Underlying Fund may eventually
obtain only limited recovery or no recovery in such
circumstances. Failure by an Underlying Fund to recover
sufficient amounts in the event of a counterparty default could
result in losses to the Underlying Fund and impact its NAV, which
could result in corresponding adverse effects on the
Fund.
The Underlying Funds may be subject to liquidity risk with respect
to their over-the-counter contracts.
Over-the-counter contracts may
have terms that make them less marketable than Futures Contracts.
Over-the-counter contracts are less marketable because they are not
traded on an exchange, do not have uniform terms and conditions,
and are entered into based upon the creditworthiness of the parties
and the availability of credit support, such as collateral, and in
general, they are not transferable without the consent of the
counterparty. These conditions make such contracts less liquid than
standardized futures contracts traded on a commodities exchange and
diminish the ability to realize the full value of such contracts.
In addition, even if collateral is used to reduce counterparty
credit risk, sudden changes in the value of over-the-counter
transactions may leave a party open to financial risk due to a
counterparty default since the collateral held may not cover a
party’s exposure on the transaction in such
situations.
In general, valuing OTC
derivatives is less certain than valuing actively traded financial
instruments such as exchange traded futures contracts and
securities because the price and terms on which such OTC
derivatives are entered into or can be terminated are individually
negotiated, and those prices and terms may not reflect the best
price or terms available from other sources. In addition, while
market makers and dealers generally quote indicative prices or
terms for entering into or terminating OTC contracts, they
typically are not contractually obligated to do so, particularly if
they are not a party to the transaction. As a result, it may be
difficult to obtain an independent value for an outstanding OTC
derivatives transaction.
The foregoing liquidity risks
could impact adversely affect the Fund’s ability to meet its
investment objective.
Risk of Trading in
International Markets
Trading in international markets would expose the Underlying Funds
to credit and regulatory risk.
A significant portion of the
Futures Contracts entered into by the Underlying Funds will be
traded on United States exchanges including the CBOT and ICE
Futures. However, a portion of the Underlying Funds’
trades may take place on markets or exchanges outside the United
States. Some non-U.S. markets present risks because they are
not subject to the same degree of regulation as their U.S.
counterparts. None of the CFTC, NFA, or any domestic exchange
regulates activities of any foreign boards of trade or exchanges,
including the execution, delivery and clearing of transactions, has
the power to compel enforcement of the rules of a foreign board of
trade or exchange or of any applicable non-U.S. laws.
Similarly, the rights of market participants, such as the
Underlying Funds, in the event of the insolvency or bankruptcy of a
non-U.S. market or broker are also likely to be more limited than
in the case of U.S. markets or brokers. As a result, in these
markets, the Underlying Funds have less legal and regulatory
protection than they do when they trade domestically. Currently the
Fund does not place any trades for the Fund or the Underlying Funds
on any markets or exchanges outside of the United States and does
not anticipate doing so in the foreseeable
future.
In some of these non-U.S. markets,
the performance on a futures contract is the responsibility of the
counterparty and is not backed by an exchange or clearing
corporation and therefore exposes an Underlying Fund to credit
risk. Additionally, trading on non-U.S. exchanges is subject
to the risks presented by exchange controls, expropriation,
increased tax burdens and exposure to local economic declines and
political instability. An adverse development with respect to
any of these variables could reduce the profit or increase the loss
earned on trades in the affected international
markets.
International trading activities subject the Underlying Funds to
foreign exchange risk.
The price of any non-U.S.
Commodity Interest and, therefore, the potential profit and loss on
such investment, may be affected by any variance in the foreign
exchange rate between the time the order is placed and the time it
is liquidated, offset or exercised. However, a portion of the
trades for Fund or the Underlying Funds may take place in markets
and on exchanges outside of the U.S. Some non-U.S. markets present
risks because they are not subject to the same degree of regulation
as their U.S. counterparts. As a result, changes in the value
of the local currency relative to the U.S. dollar may cause losses
to the Underlying Fund even if the contract is
profitable.
The Underlying Funds’ international trading could expose them
to losses resulting from non-U.S. exchanges that are less developed
or less reliable than United States exchanges.
Some non-U.S. exchanges also may
be in a more developmental stage so that prior price histories may
not be indicative of current price dynamics. In addition, the
Underlying Funds may not have the same access to certain positions
on foreign trading exchanges as do local traders, and the
historical market data on which the Sponsor bases its strategies
may not be as reliable or accessible as it is for U.S.
exchanges.
The CFTC’s implementation of
its regulations under the Dodd-Frank Act may further affect the
Underlying Funds’ ability to enter into foreign exchange
contracts and to hedge exposure to foreign exchange
losses.
Please refer to “U.S.
Federal Income Tax Considerations” for information regarding
the U.S. federal income tax consequences of the purchase, ownership
and disposition of Shares.
Your tax liability from holding Shares may exceed the amount of
distributions, if any, on your Shares.
Cash or property will be
distributed by the Fund at the sole discretion of the Sponsor, and
the Sponsor currently does not intend to make cash or other
distributions with respect to Shares. You will be required to
pay U.S. federal income tax and, in some cases, state, local, or
foreign income tax, on your allocable share of the Fund’s
taxable income, without regard to whether you actually receive
distributions from the Fund. Therefore, the tax liability
resulting from your ownership of Shares may exceed the amount of
cash or value of property (if any) distributed by the
Fund.
Your allocable share of income or loss for U.S. federal income tax
purposes may differ from your economic income or loss on your
Shares.
Due to the application of the
assumptions and conventions applied by the Fund and the Underlying
Funds in making allocations for U.S. federal income tax
purposes and other factors, your allocable share of the
Fund’s income, gain, deduction or loss may be different than
your economic profit or loss from your Shares for a taxable
year. This difference could be temporary or permanent and, if
permanent, could result in your being taxed on amounts in excess of
your economic income.
Items of income, gain, deduction, loss, and credit with respect to
Shares could be reallocated (or the taxable years beginning
after December 31, 2017, the Fund itself could be liable for U.S.
federal income tax along with interest and penalties) if the IRS
does not accept the assumptions and conventions applied by the Fund
and the Underlying Funds in allocating those items, with
potential adverse tax consequences for you.
As described herein, it is
intended that the Fund (and each Underlying Fund) be classified as
a partnership not taxable as a corporation for U.S. federal income
tax purposes. The U.S. federal income tax rules
pertaining to entities treated as partnerships are complex and
their application to publicly traded partnerships such as the Fund
(and the Underlying Funds) is in many respects
uncertain. The Fund and the Underlying Funds will apply
certain assumptions and conventions in an attempt to comply with
the intent of the applicable rules and to report taxable income,
gains, deductions, losses and credits in a manner that properly
reflects Shareholders’ economic gains and
losses. These assumptions and conventions may not fully
comply with all aspects of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 as
amended (the “Code”) and applicable Treasury
Regulations, however, and it is possible that the U.S. Internal
Revenue Service (“IRS”) could be successful in
challenging the Fund’s and the Underlying Funds’
allocation methods and require the Fund to reallocate items of
income, gain, deduction, loss or credit in a manner that adversely
affects you. If a reallocation were to occur, you may be
required to file an amended U.S. federal income tax return and pay
additional taxes plus deficiency interest.
In addition, for taxable
years beginning after December 31, 2017, the Fund may be liable for
U.S. federal income tax on any “imputed understatement”
of tax resulting from an adjustment as a result of an IRS audit.
The amount of the imputed understatement generally includes
increases in allocations of items of income or gains to any
investor and decreases in allocations of items of deduction, loss,
or credit to any investor without any offset for any corresponding
reductions in allocations of items of income or gain to any
investor or increases in allocations of items of deduction, loss,
or credit to any investor. If the Fund is required to pay any U.S.
federal income taxes on any imputed understatement, the resulting
tax liability would reduce the net assets of the Fund and would
likely have an adverse impact on the value of the Shares. In such a
case, the tax liability would in effect be borne by Shareholders
that own shares at the time of such assessment, which may be
different persons, or persons with different ownership percentages,
than persons owning Shares for the tax year under audit. It is also
possible that the Fund could be required to bear a proportionate
portion of any additional taxes owed by an Underlying Fund. Under
certain circumstances, the Fund may be eligible to make an election
to cause Shareholders to take into account the amount of any
imputed understatement, including any interest and penalties. The
ability of a publicly traded partnership such as the Fund to make
this election is uncertain. If the election is made, the Fund would
be required to provide Shareholders who owned beneficial interests
in the Shares in the year to which the adjusted allocations relate
with a statement setting forth their proportionate shares of the
adjustment (“Adjusted K-1s”). The investors would be
required to take the adjustment into account in the taxable year in
which the Adjusted K-1s are issued. For an additional discussion
please see “U.S. Federal Income Tax Considerations –
Other U.S. Federal Income Tax
Matters.”
If
the Fund is required to withhold tax with respect to any Non-U.S.
Shareholders, the cost of such withholding may be borne by all
Shareholders.
Under certain circumstances,
the Fund may be required to pay withholding tax with respect to
allocations to Non-U.S. Shareholders. Although the Trust Agreement
provides that any such withholding will be treated as being
distributed to the Non-U.S. Shareholder, the Fund may not be able
to cause the economic cost of such withholding to be borne by the
Non-U.S. Shareholder on whose behalf such amounts were withheld
since the Fund does not intend to make any distributions. Under
such circumstances, the economic cost of the withholding may be
borne by all Shareholders, not just the Shareholders on whose
behalf such amounts were withheld. This could have a material
impact on the value of your Shares.
The Fund or
one or more of the Underlying Funds could be treated as
corporations for U.S. federal income tax purposes, which may
substantially reduce the value of your
Shares.
Based in part upon representations
of the Sponsor and the Trust, the Fund has received an opinion of
counsel that, although the matter is not free from doubt, under
current U.S. federal income tax laws, it is more likely than not
that the Fund will be classified as a partnership not taxable
as a corporation for U.S. federal income tax purposes.
Treatment of the Fund as a partnership not taxable as a corporation
for U.S. federal income tax purposes is dependent, in part, upon
the realization by the Underlying Funds of sufficient
“qualifying income” and classification of the
Underlying Funds as partnerships for U.S. federal income tax
purposes. If the IRS were to determine that the Fund or
an Underlying Fund is taxable as a corporation for U.S. federal
income tax purposes in any taxable year, the Fund or an Underlying
Fund, rather than passing through its income, gains, losses and
deductions proportionately to Shareholders, would be subject to tax
on its net income for the year at corporate tax
rates. In addition, although the Fund currently does not
intend to make distributions with respect to Shares, any such
distributions would be taxable to Shareholders as dividend income
to the extent of the Fund's current and accumulated earnings and
profits if the Fund were classified as a
corporation. Taxation of the Fund or an Underlying Fund
as a corporation could materially reduce the after-tax return on an
investment in Shares and could substantially reduce the value of
your Shares.
Tax legislation that has been or could be enacted may affect you
with respect to your investment in the Fund.
Legislative, regulatory or
administrative changes could be enacted or promulgated at any time,
either prospectively or with retroactive effect, and may adversely
affect the Fund and its Shareholders. Tax legislation informally
known as the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 (the “2017 Tax
Cuts and Jobs Act”) was signed into law on December 22, 2017,
generally effective for taxable years beginning on or after January
1, 2018. In addition to modifying income tax rates for individuals
and corporations, the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act made certain
changes to the tax treatment for passthrough entities, such
as the Fund. Please consult a tax advisor regarding the
implications of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act on an investment in
Shares of the Fund.
PROSPECTIVE INVESTORS ARE STRONGLY
URGED TO CONSULT THEIR OWN TAX ADVISORS WITH RESPECT TO THE
POSSIBLE TAX CONSEQUENCES TO THEM OF AN INVESTMENT IN SHARES; SUCH
TAX CONSEQUENCES MAY DIFFER IN RESPECT OF DIFFERENT
INVESTORS.
The Fund is a series of the Trust,
a statutory trust organized under the laws of the State of Delaware
on September 11, 2009. Currently, the Trust has five series
that are separate operating commodity pools: the Teucrium Corn
Fund, the Teucrium Wheat Fund, the Teucrium Soybean Fund, the
Teucrium Sugar Fund, and the Teucrium Agricultural Fund.
Additional series of the Trust may be created in the future at the
Sponsor’s discretion. The Fund maintains its main
business office at 115 Christina Landing Drive Unit 2004,
Wilmington, DE 19801. The Fund is a commodity pool. It
operates pursuant to the terms of the Trust Agreement, which is
dated as of October 21, 2010 and grants full management control to
the Sponsor.
The Fund is publicly traded and
seeks to have the daily changes in percentage terms of the
Shares’ NAV reflect the daily changes in percentage terms of
the NAVs of the Underlying Funds, as measured by the Underlying
Fund Average. The Fund will invest in shares of the
Underlying Funds, and to a lesser extent in short-term Treasury
Securities, cash and/or cash equivalents, and the Underlying Funds
will in turn invest in a mixture of listed Futures Contracts, Other
Commodity Interests, cash and/or cash
equivalents.
See “Prior Performance of
the Fund” on page 38 for more information about prior
performance of the Fund.
The Sponsor of the Trust is
Teucrium Trading, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company. The
principal office of the Sponsor and the Trust are located at 115
Christina Landing Drive Unit 2004, Wilmington, DE 19801. The
Sponsor registered as a CPO with the CFTC and became a member of
the NFA on November 10, 2009. The Sponsor also registered as a
Commodity Trading Advisor (“CTA”) with the CFTC
effective September 8, 2017.
Aside from establishing the series
of the Trust, operating those series that have commenced offering
their shares, and obtaining capital from a small number of outside
investors in order to engage in these activities, the Sponsor has
not engaged in any business activity prior to the date of this
prospectus. Under the Trust Agreement, the Sponsor is solely
responsible for the management and conducts or directs the conduct
of the business of the Trust, the Fund, the Underlying Funds and
any series of the Trust that may from time to time be established
and designated by the Sponsor. The Sponsor is required to
oversee the purchase and sale of Shares by Authorized Purchasers
and to manage the Fund’s and Underlying Funds’
investments, including to evaluate the credit risk of FCMs and swap
counterparties and to review daily positions and margin/collateral
requirements. The Sponsor has the power to enter into
agreements as may be necessary or appropriate for the offer and
sale of the Fund’s Shares and the conduct of the
Trust’s activities. Accordingly, the Sponsor is
responsible for selecting the Trustee, Administrator, Distributor,
the independent registered public accounting firm of the Trust, and
any legal counsel employed by the Trust. The Sponsor is also
responsible for preparing and filing periodic reports on behalf of
the Trust with the SEC and will provide any required certification
for such reports. No person other than the Sponsor and its
principals was involved in the organization of the Trust or the
Fund.
The Sponsor may determine to
engage marketing agents who will assist the Sponsor in marketing
the Shares. See “Plan of Distribution” for more
information.
The Sponsor maintains a public
website on behalf of the Fund, www.teucriumtagsfund.com, which
contains information about the Trust, the Fund and the Shares, and
oversees certain services for the benefit of Shareholders.
The Sponsor also maintains websites for each Underlying Fund as
follows: www.teucriumcornfund.com,
www.teucriumweatfund.com,
www.teucriumsoybfund.com,
www.teucriumcanefund.com.
The Sponsor has discretion to
appoint one or more of its affiliates as additional
Sponsors.
The Sponsor does not receive any
management fee or other fee or compensation from the
Fund. For services performed under the Trust Agreement,
the Sponsor receives a fee, accrued daily and paid monthly, at an
annual rate of 1.00% of the average daily net assets of each
Underlying Fund. Each of the Fund and the Underlying Funds
are responsible for other ongoing fees, costs and expenses of their
respective operations, including brokerage fees, SEC and FINRA
registration fees and legal, printing, accounting, custodial,
administration and transfer agency costs, although the Sponsor
bears the costs and expenses related to the initial offer and sale
of Shares of the Fund and the shares each Underlying
Fund. None of the costs and expenses related to the
initial registration, offer and sale of Shares, which total
approximately $293,650, are chargeable to the Fund, and the Sponsor
may not recover any of these costs and expenses from the
Fund.
Shareholders have no right to
elect the Sponsor on an annual or any other continuing basis or to
remove the Sponsor. If the Sponsor voluntarily withdraws, the
holders of a majority of the outstanding shares of the Fund and
each other fund that is a series of the Trust voting together as a
single class (excluding for purposes of such determination Shares
owned by the withdrawing Sponsor and its affiliates) may elect its
successor. Prior to withdrawing, the Sponsor must give ninety
days’ written notice to the holders of the Trust’s
outstanding Shares and the Trustee.
Ownership or
“membership” interests in the Sponsor are owned by
persons referred to as “members.” The Sponsor
currently has three voting or “Class A” members –
Mr. Sal Gilbertie, Mr. Dale Riker and Mr. Carl N. Miller III
– and a small number of non-voting or “Class B”
members who have provided working capital to the Sponsor.
Messrs. Gilbertie and Riker each currently own 45.7% of the
Sponsor’s Class A membership interests, while Mr. Miller
holds the remainder, which is less than
10%.
The Sponsor has an information
technology plan (the “IT Plan”) in place which is part
of the internal controls of the Trust and the Fund. The IT Plan is
tested by both the management of the Sponsor and by the independent
external auditor as a part of their internal control audit over the
financial reporting of the Trust and the Fund. The IT Plan also
takes reasonable care to look beyond the controls developed and
implemented for the Trust and the Fund directly to the platforms
and controls in place for the key service providers. Such review of
the IT plans of key service providers is part of the
Sponsor’s disaster recovery and business continuity planning.
The Sponsor provides regular training to all employees of the
Sponsor regarding cybersecurity topics, in addition to real-time
dissemination of information regarding cybersecurity matters as
needed. The IT plan is reviewed and updated as needed, but at a
minimum on an annual basis.
Management of the Sponsor
In general, under the
Sponsor’s Amended and Restated Limited Liability Company
Operating Agreement, as amended from time to time, the Sponsor (and
as a result the Trust and the Fund) is managed by the officers of
the Sponsor. The Chief Executive Officer of the Sponsor
is responsible for the overall strategic direction of the Sponsor
and will have general control of its business. The Chief Investment
Officer and President of the Sponsor is primarily responsible for
new investment product development with respect to the Fund and
each of the Teucrium Funds. The Chief Operating Officer has assumed
primary responsibility for trade operations, trade execution, and
portfolio activities with respect to the Fund. The Chief Financial
Officer, Chief Accounting Officer and Chief Compliance Officer acts
as the Sponsor’s principal financial and accounting officer,
which position includes the functions previously performed by the
Treasurer of the Sponsor, and administers the Sponsor’s
regulatory compliance programs. Furthermore, certain fundamental
actions regarding the Sponsor, such as the removal of officers, the
addition or substitution of members, or the incurrence of
liabilities other than those incurred in the ordinary course of
business and de minimis
liabilities, may not be taken without the affirmative vote of a
majority of the Class A members (which is generally defined as the
affirmative vote of Mr. Gilbertie and one of the other two Class A
members). The Sponsor has no board of directors, and the
Trust has no board of directors or officers. The three Class A
members of the Sponsor are Sal Gilbertie, Dale Riker and Carl N.
Miller III.
The Officers of the Sponsor, two
of whom are also Class A members of the Sponsor, are the
following:
Sal Gilbertie has
been the President of the Sponsor since its inception and its Chief
Investment Officer since September 2011, was approved by the NFA as
a principal of the Sponsor on September 23, 2009, and was
registered as an associated person of the Sponsor on November 10,
2009. He maintains his main business office at 65 Adams Road,
Easton, Connecticut 06612. Effective July 16, 2012, Mr.
Gilbertie was registered with the NFA as the Branch Manager for
this location. Since October 18, 2010, Mr. Gilbertie has been an
associated person of the Distributor under the terms of the
Securities Activities and Services Agreement (“SASA”)
between the Sponsor and the Distributor. Additional information
regarding the SASA can be found in the section of this disclosure
document entitled “Plan of Distribution.” From October
2005 until December 2009, Mr. Gilbertie was employed by Newedge
USA, LLC, an FCM and broker-dealer registered with the CFTC and the
SEC, where he headed the Renewable Fuels/Energy Derivatives OTC
Execution Desk and was an active futures contract and
over-the-counter derivatives trader and market maker in multiple
classes of commodities. (Between January 2008 and October
2008, he also held a comparable position with Newedge Financial,
Inc., an FCM and an affiliate of Newedge USA, LLC.) From
October 1998 until October 2005, Mr. Gilbertie was principal and
co-founder of Cambial Asset Management, LLC, an adviser to two
private funds that focused on equity options, and Cambial Financing
Dynamics, a private boutique investment bank. While at
Cambial Asset Management, LLC and Cambial Financing Dynamics, Mr.
Gilbertie served as principal and managed the day-to-day activities
of the business and the portfolio of both companies. Mr.
Gilbertie is 57 years old.
Dale Riker has been
the Secretary of the Sponsor since January 2010, and its Chief
Executive Officer since September 2011, was approved by the NFA as
a principal of the Sponsor on October 29, 2009, and was registered
as an associated person of the Sponsor on February 17, 2010. He
maintains his main business office at 115 Christina Landing Drive
Unit 2004, Wilmington, DE 19801 and is responsible for the overall
strategic direction of the Sponsor and has general control of its
business. Mr. Riker was Treasurer of the Sponsor from its inception
until September 2011. From February 2005 to December 2012, Mr.
Riker was the President of Cambial Emerging Markets LLC, a
consulting company specializing in emerging market equity
investment. As President of Cambial Emerging Markets LLC, Mr. Riker
had responsibility for business strategy, planning and operations.
From July 1996 to February 2005, Mr. Riker was a private investor.
Mr. Riker is married to the Chief Financial Officer, Chief
Accounting Officer and Chief Compliance Officer of the Sponsor,
Barbara Riker. Mr. Riker is 60 years old.
Barbara Riker began
working for the Sponsor in July 2010 providing accounting and
compliance support. She has been the Chief Financial Officer, Chief
Accounting Officer and Chief Compliance Officer for Teucrium since
September 2011, was approved by the NFA as a principal of the
Sponsor on October 19, 2011, and has a background in finance,
accounting, investor relations, corporate communications and
operations. She maintains her main business office at 115 Christina
Landing Drive Unit 2004, Wilmington, DE 19801. From September 1980
to February 1993, Ms. Riker worked in various financial capacities
for Pacific Telesis Group, the California-based Regional Bell
Operating Company, and its predecessors. In February 1993, with the
spin-off of AirTouch Communications from Pacific Telesis Group, Ms.
Riker was selected to lead the Investor Relations team for the
global mobile phone operator. In her capacity as Executive Director
– Investor Relations and Corporate Communications from
February 1993 to June 1995, AirTouch completed its initial public
offering and was launched as an independent publicly-traded
company. In June 1995, she was named Chief Financial Officer of
AirTouch International and, in addition to her other duties, served
on the board of several of the firm’s joint ventures, both
private and public, across Europe. In June 1997, Ms. Riker moved
into an operations capacity as the District General Manager for
AirTouch Paging’s San Francisco operations. In February 1998
she was named Vice President and General Manager of AirTouch
Cellular for Arizona and New Mexico. Ms. Riker retired in July
1999, coincident with the purchase of AirTouch by Vodafone PLC and
remained retired until she began working for the Sponsor. Ms. Riker
graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration
from Cal State – East Bay in 1980. Ms. Riker is married to
the Chief Executive Officer of the Sponsor, Dale Riker. Ms. Riker
is 60 years old.
Steve Kahler, Chief
Operating Officer, began working for the Sponsor in November 2011
as Managing Director in the trading division. He became the Chief
Operating Officer on May 24, 2012 and has primary responsibility
for the Trade Operations for the Teucrium Funds. He maintains his
main business office at 13520 Excelsior Blvd., Minnetonka, MN
55345. Mr. Kahler was registered as an Associated Person of the
Sponsor on November 25, 2011, approved as a Branch Manager of the
Sponsor on March 16, 2012 and approved by the NFA as a Principal of
the Sponsor on May 16, 2012. Since January 18, 2012, Mr. Kahler has
been an associated person of the Distributor under the terms of the
SASA between the Sponsor and the Distributor. Additional
information regarding the SASA can be found in the section of this
disclosure document entitled “Plan of Distribution.”
Prior to his employment with the Sponsor, Mr. Kahler worked for
Cargill Inc., an international producer and marketer of food,
agricultural, financial and industrial products and services, from
April 2006 until November 2011 in the Energy Division as Senior
Petroleum Trader. In October 2006 and while employed at Cargill
Inc., Mr. Kahler was approved as an Associated Person of Cargill
Commodity Services Inc., a commodity trading affiliate of Cargill
Inc. from September 13, 2006 to November 9, 2011. Mr. Kahler
graduated from the University of Minnesota with a Bachelors of
Agricultural Business Administration in 1992 and is 50 years
old.
Mr. Kahler is primarily
responsible for making trading and investment decisions for the
Fund and other Teucrium Funds, and for directing Fund and other
Teucrium Fund trades for execution.
Messrs. Gilbertie, Riker, and
Kahler and Ms. Riker are individual “principals,” as
that term is defined in CFTC Rule 3.1, of the Sponsor. These
individuals are principals due to their positions and/or due to
their ownership interests in the Sponsor. Beneficial ownership
interests of the principals, if any, are shown under the section
entitled “Security Ownership of Principal Shareholders and
Management” below and any of the principals may acquire
beneficial interests in the Fund in the future. GFI Group LLC is a
principal for the Sponsor under CFTC Rules due to its ownership of
certain non-voting securities of the Sponsor.
Market Price of Shares
The Fund’s Shares have
traded on the NYSE Arca under the symbol TAGS since March 28, 2012.
The following table sets forth the range of reported high and low
sales prices of the Shares as reported on NYSE Arca for the periods
indicated below.
Fiscal Year Ended December 31, 2017:
|
|
|
Quarter
Ended
|
|
|
March 31, 2017
|
$27.55
|
$24.71
|
June 30, 2017
|
$24.80
|
$22.92
|
September 30,
2017
|
$25.53
|
$22.14
|
December 31,
2017
|
$22.90
|
$21.20
|
Fiscal Year Ended December 31, 2016:
|
|
|
Quarter
Ended
|
|
|
March 31, 2016
|
$27.08
|
$24.52
|
June 30, 2016
|
$30.95
|
$25.35
|
September 30,
2016
|
$28.80
|
$25.84
|
December 31,
2016
|
$27.50
|
$24.29
|
As of December 31, 2017, the Fund
had approximately 100 Shareholders.
Prior Performance of the Fund
PERFORMANCE
DATA FOR THE FUND
PAST
PERFORMANCE IS NOT NECESSARILY INDICATIVE OF FUTURE
RESULTS
The Teucrium Agricultural Fund
commenced trading and investment operations on March 28, 2012. The
Teucrium Agricultural Fund is listed on NYSE Arca and is neither:
(i) a privately offered pool pursuant to Section 4(a)(2) of the
Securities Act of 1933, as amended; (ii) a multi-advisor pool as
defined in CFTC Regulation 4.10(d)(2); or (iii) a
principal-protected pool as defined in CFTC Regulation
4.10(d)(3).
Units of beneficial interest
issued (from inception until January 31,
2018)
|
350,002
|
Aggregate gross sale price for
units issued
|
$17,706,678
|
NAV per share as of January 31,
2018
|
$22.88
|
Pool NAV as of January 31,
2018
|
$1,144,023
|
Worst monthly percentage
draw-down*
|
|
Worst peak-to-valley
draw-down**
|
(58.86)% July 2012
– December 2017
|
* A draw-down is a loss
experienced by the fund over a specified
period. Draw-downs are measured on the basis of monthly
returns only and do not reflect intra-month figures. The
worst monthly percentage draw-down reflects the largest single
month loss sustained over the most recent five calendar years and
the current year-to-date.
** The worst peak-to-valley
draw-down is the largest percentage decline in the NAV per unit
over the most recent five calendar years and the current
year-to-date. This need not be a continuous decline, but
can be a series of positive and negative returns. Worst
peak-to-valley draw-down represents the greatest percentage decline
from any month-end NAV per unit that occurs without such month-end
NAV per unit being equaled or exceeded as of a subsequent
month-end. For example, if the NAV per unit declined by
$1 in each of January and February, increased by $1 in March and
declined again by $2 in April, a “peak-to-valley
drawdown” analysis conducted as of the end of April would
consider that “drawdown” to be continuing and to be $3
in amount, whereas if the NAV per unit had increased by $2 in
March, the drawdown would have ended as of the end of February at
the $2 level.
|
Rates of Return*
|
Month
|
2013
|
|
2014
|
|
2015
|
|
2016
|
|
2017
|
|
2018
|
|
|
January
|
0.49
|
%
|
(3.72)
|
%
|
(6.51)
|
%
|
(1.54)
|
%
|
3.34
|
%
|
0.57
|
%
|
|
February
|
(5.43)
|
%
|
7.69
|
%
|
0.78
|
%
|
(1.72)
|
%
|
(0.29)
|
%
|
2.67
|
%
|
|
March
|
(3.37)
|
%
|
6.15
|
%
|
(5.81)
|
%
|
3.93
|
%
|
(5.97)
|
%
|
(2.98)
|
%
|
|
April
|
1.12
|
%
|
2.16
|
%
|
(1.53)
|
%
|
5.65
|
%
|
(2.16)
|
%
|
|
|
|
May
|
(0.20)
|
%
|
(5.96)
|
%
|
(4.54)
|
%
|
1.03
|
%
|
(2.32)
|
%
|
|
|
|
June
|
(5.76)
|
%
|
(5.19)
|
%
|
11.93
|
%
|
0.91
|
%
|
2.91
|
%
|
|
|
|
July
|
(3.24)
|
%
|
(7.57)
|
%
|
(11.76)
|
%
|
(6.28)
|
%
|
1.00
|
%
|
|
|
|
August
|
0.51
|
%
|
(2.02)
|
%
|
(3.67)
|
%
|
(3.82)
|
%
|
(6.47)
|
%
|
|
|
|
September
|
(1.30)
|
%
|
(10.74)
|
%
|
3.85
|
%
|
4.78
|
%
|
(0.72)
|
%
|
|
|
|
October
|
(1.35)
|
%
|
8.59
|
%
|
1.62
|
%
|
1.65
|
%
|
(1.27)
|
%
|
|
|
|
November
|
(2.01)
|
%
|
(0.45)
|
%
|
(2.85)
|
%
|
(4.41)
|
%
|
(0.47)
|
%
|
|
|
|
December
|
(3.95)
|
%
|
(0.54)
|
%
|
(1.12)
|
%
|
(0.38)
|
%
|
(1.60)
|
%
|
|
|
|
Annual Rate of
Return
|
(22.16)
|
%
|
(12.87)
|
%
|
(19.55)
|
%
|
(0.98)
|
%
|
(13.60)
|
%
|
0.18
|
%
|
**
|
* The monthly rate of return
is calculated by dividing the ending NAV for a given month by the
ending NAV for the previous month, subtracting 1 and multiplying
this number by 100 to arrive at a percentage increase or
decrease.
** Not
annualized.
The sole Trustee of the Trust is
Wilmington Trust Company, a Delaware banking corporation. The
Trustee’s principal offices are located at 1100 North Market
Street, Wilmington, Delaware 19890-0001. The Trustee is
unaffiliated with the Sponsor. The Trustee’s duties and
liabilities with respect to the offering of Shares and the
management of the Trust and the Fund are limited to its express
obligations under the Trust Agreement.
The Trustee will accept service of
legal process on the Trust in the State of Delaware and will make
certain filings under the Delaware Statutory Trust Act. The
Trustee does not owe any other duties to the Trust, the Sponsor or
the Shareholders. The Trustee is permitted to resign upon at
least sixty (60) days’ notice to the Sponsor. If no
successor trustee has been appointed by the Sponsor within such
sixty-day period, the Trustee may, at the expense of the Trust,
petition a court to appoint a successor. The Trust Agreement
provides that the Trustee is entitled to reasonable compensation
for its services from the Sponsor or an affiliate of the Sponsor
(including the Trust), and is indemnified by the Sponsor against
any expenses it incurs relating to or arising out of the formation,
operation or termination of the Trust, or any action or inaction of
the Trustee under the Trust Agreement, except to the extent that
such expenses result from the gross negligence or willful
misconduct of the Trustee. The Sponsor has the discretion to
replace the Trustee.
The Trustee has not signed the
registration statement of which this prospectus is a part, and is
not subject to issuer liability under the federal securities laws
for the information contained in this prospectus and under federal
securities laws with respect to the issuance and sale of the
Shares. Under such laws, neither the Trustee, either in its
capacity as Trustee or in its individual capacity, nor any
director, officer or controlling person of the Trustee is, or has
any liability as, the issuer or a director, officer or controlling
person of the issuer of the Shares.
Under the Trust Agreement,
the duty and authority to manage the business affairs of the Trust,
and of all of the funds that are a series of the Trust, including
control of the Fund and the Underlying Funds, is rested solely with
the Sponsor, which the Sponsor may delegate as provided for in the
Trust Agreement. The Trustee has no duty or liability to
supervise or monitor the performance of the Sponsor, nor does the
Trustee have any liability for the acts or omissions of the
Sponsor.
Because the Trustee has delegated
substantially all of its authority over the operation of the Trust
to the Sponsor, the Trustee itself is not registered in any
capacity with the CFTC.
The investment
objective of the Fund is to have the daily changes in percentage
terms of the NAV of its Shares reflect the daily changes in
percentage terms of a weighted average (the “Underlying Fund
Average”) of the NAVs per share of four other commodity pools
that are series of the Trust and are sponsored by the Sponsor: the
Teucrium Corn Fund, the Teucrium Wheat Fund, the Teucrium Soybean
Fund and the Teucrium Sugar Fund (collectively, the
“Underlying Funds”). The Underlying Fund Average will
have a weighting of 25% to each Underlying Fund, and the
Fund’s assets will be rebalanced, generally on a daily basis,
to maintain the approximate 25% allocation to each Underlying
Fund:
TAGS Benchmark
Underlying Fund
|
|
CORN
|
25%
|
SOYB
|
25%
|
CANE
|
25%
|
WEAT
|
25%
|
The investment objective of each
Underlying Fund is to have the daily changes in percentage terms of
its Shares’ NAV reflect the daily changes in percentage terms
of the Underlying Fund’s Benchmark. Specifically, the
Teucrium Corn Fund’s Benchmark is: (1) the second-to-expire
Futures Contract for corn traded on the CBOT, weighted 35%, (2) the
third-to-expire CBOT corn Futures Contract, weighted 30%, and (3)
the CBOT Corn Futures Contract expiring in the December
following the expiration month of the third-to-expire contract,
weighted 35%. The Teucrium Wheat Fund’s Benchmark is: (1) the
second-to-expire CBOT Wheat Futures Contract, weighted 35%, (2) the
third-to-expire CBOT wheat Futures Contract, weighted 30%, and (3)
the CBOT Wheat Futures Contract expiring in the December
following the expiration month of the third-to-expire contract,
weighted 35%. The Teucrium Soybean Fund’s Benchmark is:
(1) the second-to-expire CBOT Soybean Futures Contract, weighted
35%, (2) the third-to-expire CBOT Soybean Futures Contract,
weighted 30%, and (3) the CBOT Soybean Futures Contract expiring in
the November following the expiration month of the
third-to-expire contract, weighted 35%, except that CBOT Soybean
Futures Contracts expiring in August and September will not be part
of the Teucrium Soybean Fund’s Benchmark because of the less
liquid market for these Futures Contracts. The Teucrium Sugar
Fund’s Benchmark is: (1) the second-to-expire Sugar No. 11
Futures Contract traded on ICE Futures, weighted 35%, (2) the
third-to-expire ICE Futures Sugar No. 11 Futures Contract, weighted
30%, and (3) the ICE Futures Sugar No. 11 Futures Contract expiring
in the March following the expiration month of the
third-to-expire contract, weighted 35%.
Each Underlying Fund seeks to
achieve its investment objective by investing under normal market
conditions in Benchmark Component Futures Contracts or, in certain
circumstances, in other Futures Contracts for its Specified
Commodity. In addition, and to a limited extent, an
Underlying Fund also may invest in exchange-traded options on
Futures Contracts and in Cleared Swaps for its Specified Commodity
in furtherance of the Underlying Fund's investment objective.
Once position limits or accountability levels on Futures Contracts
on an Underlying Fund’s Specified Commodity are applicable,
each Underlying Fund's intention is to invest in Other Commodity
Interests on its Specified Commodity. See “The Offering
– Futures Contracts” below. By utilizing certain
or all of these investments, the Sponsor endeavors to cause each
Underlying Fund's performance to closely track that of its
Benchmark.
The Underlying
Funds invest in Commodity Interests to the fullest extent possible
without being leveraged or unable to satisfy their current or
potential margin or collateral obligations with respect to its
investments in Commodity Interests. After fulfilling such
margin and collateral requirements, the Underlying Funds invest the
remainder of its proceeds from the sale of baskets in cash and/or
cash equivalents, including money market funds and investment grade
commercial paper. Therefore, the focus of the Sponsor in
managing the Underlying Funds is investing in Commodity Interests
and in cash and/or cash equivalents. The Sponsor expects to
manage the Fund’s and Underlying Funds’ investments
directly, although it has been authorized by the Trust to retain,
establish the terms of retention for, and terminate third-party
commodity trading advisors to provide such management. The
Sponsor has substantial discretion in managing the Fund’s and
Underlying Funds’ investments consistent with meeting their
investment objectives, including the discretion: (1) to choose
whether to invest an Underlying Fund’s assets in the
Benchmark Component Futures Contracts or other Futures Contracts or
Other Commodity Interests with similar investment characteristics;
(2) to choose when to “roll” the Underlying
Fund’s positions in Commodity Interests as described below,
and (3) to manage the Fund’s and Underlying Funds’
investments in cash and cash equivalents.
The
Underlying Funds seek to achieve their investment objectives
primarily by investing in Commodity Interests such that the changes
in its NAV will be expected to closely track the changes in its
Benchmark. Each Underlying Fund’s positions in
Commodity Interests will be changed or “rolled” on a
regular basis in order to track the changing nature of its
Benchmark. For example, several times a year (on the dates on
which Futures Contracts on the Underlying Fund’s Specified
Commodity expire), a particular Futures Contract will no longer be
a Benchmark Component Futures Contract, and the Underlying
Fund’s investments will have to be changed accordingly.
In order that the Underlying Funds’ trading does not cause
unwanted market movements and to make it more difficult for third
parties to profit by trading based on such expected market
movements, the Underlying Funds’ investments may not be
rolled entirely on that day, but rather may be rolled over a period
of days.
In seeking to achieve each
Underlying Fund’s investment objective of tracking its
Benchmark, the Sponsor may for certain reasons cause the Underlying
Fund to enter into or hold Futures Contracts other than the
Benchmark Component Futures Contracts and/or Other Commodity
Interests. Therefore, an Underlying Fund might enter into
multiple over-the-counter Commodity Interests related to its
Specified Commodity that are intended to exactly replicate the
performance of each of the Underlying Fund’s Benchmark
Component Futures Contracts, or a single over-the-counter Commodity
Interest designed to replicate the performance of its Benchmark as
a whole. Assuming that there is no default by a counterparty
to an over-the-counter Commodity Interest, the performance of the
Commodity Interest will necessarily correlate exactly with the
performance of the Underlying Fund’s Benchmark or the
applicable Benchmark Component Futures Contract. The
Underlying Funds might also enter into or hold Commodity Interests
other than the Benchmark Component Futures Contracts to facilitate
effective trading, consistent with the discussion of the Underlying
Fund’s “roll” strategy in the preceding
paragraph. In addition, an Underlying Fund might enter into
or hold Commodity Interests related to its Specified Commodity that
would be expected to alleviate overall deviation between the
Underlying Fund’s performance and that of its Benchmark that
may result from certain market and trading inefficiencies or other
reasons. By utilizing certain or all of the investments
described above, the Sponsor endeavors to cause each Underlying
Fund’s performance to closely track that of its
Benchmark.
The Sponsor endeavors to place the
Fund’s trades in the Underlying Funds and otherwise manage
the Fund’s investments so that the Fund’s average daily
tracking error against the Underlying Fund Average will be less
than 10 percent over any period of 30 trading days. More
specifically, the Sponsor endeavors to manage the Fund so that A
will be within plus/minus 10 percent of B,
where:
|
●
|
A is the average daily change in
the Fund’s NAV for any period of 30 successive valuation
days; i.e., any trading day as of which the Fund calculates its
NAV, and
|
|
●
|
B is the average daily change in
the price of the Underlying Fund Average over the same
period.
|
The Sponsor believes that market
arbitrage opportunities cause daily changes in the Fund’s
Share price on the NYSE Arca to closely track daily changes in
the Fund’s NAV per Share, and cause daily changes in the
price of shares of each Underlying Fund on the NYSE Arca to closely
track daily changes in the Underlying Fund’s NAV per
share. The Sponsor believes that the net effect of these
expected relationships and its expected ability (as described
above) to cause daily changes in the Fund’s NAV to track
daily changes in the Underlying Fund Average and to cause daily
changes in each Underlying Fund’s NAV to closely track daily
changes in its Benchmark will be that daily changes in the price of
the Fund’s Shares on the NYSE Arca will track daily changes
in an average of the Underlying Funds’ Benchmarks. In
addition, while the Benchmarks are composed of Futures Contracts
and are therefore a measure of the price of commodities for future
delivery, there is nonetheless expected to be a reasonable degree
of correlation between the Benchmarks and the cash or spot prices
of the Specified Commodities.
These relationships are
illustrated in the following diagram:
An investment in the Shares
provides a means for diversifying an investor’s portfolio or
hedging exposure to changes in agricultural commodity prices.
An investment in the Shares allows both retail and institutional
investors to easily gain this exposure to the agricultural
commodities market in a transparent and cost-effective
manner.
The Sponsor employs a
“neutral” investment strategy intended to track changes
in the Underlying Fund Average and the Underlying Funds will track
changes in their Benchmarks regardless of whether the Underlying
Fund Average or Benchmarks go up or go down. The Fund’s
and Underlying Funds’ “neutral” investment
strategies are designed to permit investors generally to purchase
and sell the Fund’s Shares for the purpose of investing
indirectly in the agricultural commodities market in a
cost-effective manner. Such investors may include
participants in agricultural industries and other industries
seeking to hedge the risk of losses in their commodity-related
transactions, as well as investors seeking exposure to the
agricultural commodities market. Accordingly, depending on
the investment objective of an individual investor, the risks
generally associated with investing in the agricultural commodities
market and/or the risks involved in hedging may exist. In
addition, an investment in the Fund involves the risk that the
changes in the price of the Fund’s Shares will not accurately
track the changes in the Underlying Fund Average, that changes in
the prices of the shares of the Underlying Funds will not
accurately track the changes in the Underlying Funds’
Benchmarks, and that changes in the Benchmarks will not closely
correlate with changes in the prices of the Specified Commodities
on the spot market. Furthermore, as noted above, the Fund and
Underlying Funds also hold cash and/or cash equivalents. The
Sponsor does not expect there to be any meaningful correlation
between the performance of the Fund’s and Underlying
Funds’ investments in cash and/or cash equivalents and the
changes in the prices of the Specified Commodities or Commodity
Interests. While the level of interest earned on or the
market price of these investments may in some respects correlate to
changes in the price of the Specified Commodities, this correlation
is not anticipated as part of the Fund’s efforts to meet its
objective.
The total portfolio composition of
the Fund and Underlying Funds is disclosed each business day that
the NYSE Arca is open for trading on the Fund’s website at
www.teucriumtagsfund.com.
The website disclosure of portfolio holdings is made daily and
includes, as applicable, the name and value of each Underlying Fund
and each cash equivalent, and the amount of cash, held in the
Fund’s portfolio, and the name and value of each Futures
Contract and Cleared Swap, the specific types of Other Commodity
Interests and characteristics of such Other Commodity Interests,
the name and value of each Treasury security and cash equivalent,
and the amount of cash held in each Underlying Fund’s
portfolio. The Fund’s website is publicly accessible at
no charge.
The Shares issued by the Fund may
only be purchased by Authorized Purchasers and only in blocks of
25,000 Shares called Creation Baskets. The amount of the
purchase payment for a Creation Basket is equal to the aggregate
NAV of Shares in the Creation Basket. Similarly, only
Authorized Purchasers may redeem Shares and only in blocks of
25,000 Shares called Redemption Baskets. The amount of the
redemption proceeds for a Redemption Basket is equal to the
aggregate NAV of Shares in the Redemption Basket. The
purchase price for Creation Baskets and the redemption price for
Redemption Baskets are the actual NAV calculated at the end of the
business day when a request for a purchase or redemption is
received by the Fund. The NYSE Arca publishes an approximate
NAV intra-day based on the prior day’s NAV and the current
price of the Benchmark Component Futures Contracts, but the price
of Creation Baskets and Redemption Baskets is determined based on
the actual NAV calculated at the end of each trading
day.
While the Fund issues Shares only
in Creation Baskets, Shares may also be purchased and sold in much
smaller increments on the NYSE Arca. These transactions,
however, are effected at the bid and ask prices established by the
specialist firm(s). Like any listed security, Shares can be
purchased and sold at any time a secondary market is
open.
The Investment Strategies of the Fund and the Underlying
Funds
In managing the Fund’s and
Underlying Funds’ assets, the Sponsor does not use a
technical trading system that automatically issues buy and sell
orders. Instead, each time one or more baskets of Fund Shares
are purchased or redeemed, the Sponsor will purchase or sell shares
of the Underlying Funds in the secondary market. While the
Fund will not cause Authorized Purchasers to purchase or redeem
baskets on its behalf, the demand for Underlying Fund shares caused
by the Fund’s trades may cause an Authorized Purchaser to
create independently one or more baskets of one or more of the
Underlying Funds. When one or more baskets of shares of an
Underlying Fund are purchased or redeemed, Commodity Interests are
purchased or sold with an aggregate market value that approximates
the amount of cash received or paid upon the purchase or redemption
of the basket(s).
As an example, assume that a
Creation Basket is sold by an Underlying Fund, that the
Fund’s closing NAV per Share is $25.00, and that the basket
size for the Underlying Funds is 25,000 shares. In that case,
the Underlying Fund would receive $625,000 in proceeds from the
sale of the Creation Basket ($25.00 NAV per Share multiplied by
25,000 Shares, and ignoring any Creation Basket fee). If one
were to assume further that the Sponsor wants to invest the entire
proceeds from the Creation Basket in the Benchmark Component
Futures Contracts and that the market value of each such Benchmark
Component Futures Contract is $50,326 (or otherwise not a round
number), the Underlying Fund would be unable to buy an exact number
of Futures Contracts with an aggregate market value equal to
$625,000. Instead, the Underlying Fund would be able to
purchase 12 Benchmark Component Futures Contracts with an aggregate
market value of $603,912. Assuming a margin requirement equal
to 10% of the value of the Futures Contracts (although the actual
percentage is approximately 6%), the Fund would be required to
deposit $60,391 in cash with the FCM through which the Futures
Contracts were purchased. The remainder of the proceeds from
the sale of the Creation Basket, $564,609, would remain invested in
cash and/or cash equivalents, as determined by the Sponsor from
time to time based on factors such as potential calls for margin or
anticipated redemptions.
The specific Commodity Interests
purchased by an Underlying Fund will depend on various factors,
including a judgment by the Sponsor as to the appropriate
diversification of the Underlying Fund’s investments.
While the Sponsor anticipates that a substantial majority of each
Underlying Fund’s assets will be invested in Futures
Contracts on its Specified Commodity, for various reasons,
including the ability to enter into the precise amount of exposure
to the market for the Specified Commodity and position limits on
Futures Contracts, it may also invest in Other Commodity Interests,
including swaps in the over-the-counter market to a potentially
significant degree.
The Sponsor does not anticipate
letting the Underlying Funds’ Futures Contracts expire and
taking delivery of a Specified Commodity. Instead, the
Sponsor closes out existing positions, e.g., in response to ongoing
changes in an Underlying Fund’s Benchmark or if it otherwise
determines it would be appropriate to do so and reinvest the
proceeds in new Commodity Interests. Positions may also be
closed out to meet orders for Redemption Baskets, in which case the
proceeds from closing the positions will not be
reinvested.
Futures Contracts are agreements
between two parties that are executed on a designated contract
market (“DCM”), i.e., a commodity futures exchange, and
that are cleared and margined through a derivatives clearing
organization (“DCO”), i.e., a clearing house. One
party agrees to buy a commodity from the other party at a later
date at a price and quantity agreed-upon when the contract is
made. In market terminology, a party who purchases a Futures
Contract is long in the market and a party who sells a Futures
Contract is short in the market. The contractual obligations
of a buyer or seller may generally be satisfied by taking or making
physical delivery of the underlying commodity or by making an
offsetting sale or purchase of an identical Futures Contract on the
same or linked exchange before the designated date of
delivery. The difference between the price at which the
Futures Contract is purchased or sold and the price paid for the
offsetting sale or purchase, after allowance for brokerage
commissions, constitutes the profit or loss to the
trader.
If the price of the commodity
increases after the original Futures Contract is entered into, the
buyer of the Futures Contract will generally be able to sell a
Futures Contract to close out its original long position at a price
higher than that at which the original contract was purchased,
generally resulting in a profit to the buyer. Conversely, the
seller of a Futures Contract will generally profit if the price of
the underlying commodity decreases, as it will generally be able to
buy a Futures Contract to close out its original short position at
a price lower than that at which the original contract was
sold. Because the Underlying Funds seek to track their
Benchmarks directly and profit when the price of the Specified
Commodity and, as a likely result of an increase in the price of
the Specified Commodity, the price of Futures Contracts on the
Specified Commodity increase, each Underlying Fund will generally
be long in the market for its Specified Commodity, and will
generally sell Futures Contracts only to close out existing long
positions.
Futures Contracts are
typically traded on futures exchanges (i.e. DCMs) such as the CBOT
and ICE Futures, which provide centralized market facilities in
which multiple persons may trade contracts. Members of a
particular futures exchange and the trades executed on such
exchange are subject to the rules of that exchange. Futures
exchanges and their related clearing organizations (i.e., DCOs) are
given reasonable latitude in promulgating rules and regulations to
control and regulate their
members.
Trades on a futures exchange are
generally cleared by the DCO, which provides services designed to
mutualize or transfer the credit risk arising from the trading of
contracts on an exchange. The clearing organization
effectively becomes the other party to the trade, and each clearing
member party to the trade looks only to the clearing organization
for performance.
Futures Contracts on corn, wheat
and soybeans are traded on the CBOT (which is part of the CME
Group) in units of 5,000 bushels, and Sugar No. 11 Futures
Contracts are traded on ICE Futures and the New York Mercantile
Exchange in units of 112,000 pounds. Generally, Futures
Contracts traded on an exchange are priced by floor brokers and
other exchange members through an electronic, screen-based system
that determines the price by electronically matching offers to
purchase and sell. Futures Contracts may also be based on
commodity indices, in that they call for a cash payment based on
the change in the value of the specified index during a specified
period. No Futures Contracts based on an index of prices of a
Specified Commodity are currently available, although an Underlying
Fund could enter into such contracts should they become available
in the future.
Certain typical and significant
characteristics of Futures Contracts are discussed below.
Additional risks of investing in Futures Contracts are included in
“What are the Risk Factors Involved with an Investment in the
Fund?”
Impact of Position Limits, Accountability Levels, and Price
Fluctuation Limits
All of these limits may
potentially cause a tracking error between the price of an
Underlying Fund’s shares and its Benchmark. This may in
turn prevent you from being able to effectively use the Fund as a
way to hedge against commodity-related losses or as a way to
indirectly invest in agricultural commodities.
The Fund and the Underlying Funds
do not intend to limit the size of their offerings and will attempt
to expose substantially all of their proceeds to the agricultural
commodities market either directly through Commodity Interests or,
in the case of the Fund, indirectly through the Underlying
Funds. If an Underlying Fund encounters position limits or
price fluctuation limits for Futures Contracts on U.S. exchanges,
it may then, if permitted under applicable regulatory requirements,
purchase Other Commodity Interests and/or Futures Contracts listed
on foreign exchanges. However, the Futures Contracts
available on such foreign exchanges may have different underlying
sizes, deliveries, and prices than the Underlying Funds’
Benchmark Component Futures Contracts. In addition, the
Futures Contracts available on these exchanges may be subject to
their own position limits or similar restrictions. In any
case, notwithstanding the potential availability of these
instruments in certain circumstances, position limits could force
the Fund and the Underlying Funds to limit the number of Creation
Baskets that they sell.
Price Volatility
Despite daily price limits, the
price volatility of futures contracts generally has been
historically greater than that for traditional securities such as
stocks and bonds. Price volatility often is greater
day-to-day as opposed to intra-day. Economic factors that may
cause volatility in Futures Contracts include changes in interest
rates; governmental, agricultural, trade, fiscal, monetary and
exchange control programs and policies; weather and climate
conditions; changing supply and demand relationships; changes in
balances of payments and trade; U.S. and international rates of
inflation; currency devaluations and revaluations; U.S. and
international political and economic events; and changes in
philosophies and emotions of market participants. Because the
Underlying Funds invest a significant portion of their assets in
Futures Contracts, the assets of the Underlying Funds, and
therefore the price of shares of the Underlying Funds and the
Fund’s Shares, may be subject to greater volatility than
traditional securities.
Term Structure of Futures Contracts and the Impact on Total
Return
Several factors determine the
total return from investing in Futures Contracts. Because the
Underlying Funds must periodically “roll” Futures
Contract positions, closing out soon-to-expire contracts that are
no longer part of a Benchmark and entering into
subsequent-to-expire contracts, one such factor is the price
relationship between soon-to-expire contracts and later-to-expire
contracts. For example, if market conditions are such that
the prices of soon-to-expire contracts are higher than
later-to-expire contracts (a situation referred to as
“backwardation” in the futures market), then, absent a
change in the market, the price of contracts will rise as they
approach expiration. Conversely, if the price of
soon-to-expire contracts is lower than later-to-expire contracts (a
situation referred to as “contango” in the futures
market), then absent a change in the market the price of contracts
will decline as they approach expiration.
Over time, the price of a
commodity will fluctuate based on a number of market factors,
including demand for the commodity relative to its supply.
The value of Futures Contracts will likewise fluctuate in reaction
to a number of market factors. If investors seek to maintain
their holdings in Futures Contracts with a roughly constant
expiration profile and not take delivery of the Specified
Commodity, they must on an ongoing basis sell their current
positions as they approach expiration and invest in later-to-expire
contracts.
If the futures market is in a
state of backwardation (i.e., when the price of the Specified
Commodity in the future is expected to be less than the current
price), an Underlying Fund will buy later-to-expire contracts for a
lower price than the sooner-to-expire contracts that it
sells. Hypothetically, and assuming no changes to either
prevailing commodity prices or the price relationship between the
spot price, soon-to-expire contracts and later-to-expire contracts,
the value of a contract will rise as it approaches expiration,
increasing the Underlying Fund’s (and, therefore, the
Fund’s) total return (ignoring the impact of commission costs
and the interest earned on cash and/or cash
equivalents).
If the futures market is in
contango, an Underlying Fund will buy later-to-expire contracts for
a higher price than the sooner-to-expire contracts that it
sells. Hypothetically, and assuming no other changes to
either prevailing commodity prices or the price relationship
between the spot price, soon-to-expire contracts and
later-to-expire contracts, the value of a contract will fall as it
approaches expiration, decreasing the Underlying Fund’s (and,
therefore, the Fund’s) total return (ignoring the impact of
commission costs and the interest earned on cash and/or cash
equivalents).
Historically, the futures markets
have experienced periods of both contango and backwardation.
Frequently, whether contango or backwardation exists for Futures
Contracts on agricultural commodities is a function, among other
factors, of the seasonality of the markets for such
commodities.
Margin Requirements and Marking-to-Market Futures
Positions
“Initial margin” is an
amount of funds that must be deposited by a commodity interest
trader with the trader’s broker to initiate an open position
in Futures Contracts. A margin deposit is like a cash
performance bond. It helps assure the trader’s
performance of the Futures Contracts that he or she purchases or
sells. Futures Contracts are customarily bought and sold on
initial margin that represents a small percentage of the aggregate
purchase or sales price of the contract. The amount of margin
required in connection with a particular Futures Contract is set by
the exchange on which the contract is traded. Brokerage
firms, such as the Underlying Funds’ FCM, carrying accounts
for traders in Commodity Interest contracts may require higher
amounts of margin as a matter of policy to further protect
themselves.
Futures Contracts are marked to
market at the end of each trading day and the margin required with
respect to such contracts is adjusted accordingly. This
process of marking-to-market is designed to prevent losses from
accumulating in any futures account. Therefore, if an
Underlying Fund’s futures positions have declined in value,
the Underlying Fund may be required to post “variation
margin” to cover this decline. Alternatively, if the
Underlying Fund’s futures positions have increased in value,
this increase will be credited to the Underlying Fund’s
account.
Over-the-Counter
Derivatives
In addition to futures contracts,
options on Futures Contracts, derivative contracts that are tied to
various commodities are entered into outside of public
exchanges. These “over-the-counter”
contracts are entered into between two parties in private contracts
or on a recently formed swap execution facility (“SEF”)
for certain standardized swaps. Unlike futures
contracts, which are guaranteed by a clearing organization, each
party to an over-the-counter derivative contract bears the credit
risk of the other party (unless such over-the-counter swap is
cleared through a DCO), i.e, the risk that the other party will not
be able to perform its obligations under its
contract.
Some over-the-counter derivatives
contracts contain relatively standardized terms and conditions and
are available from a wide range of participants. Others
have highly customized terms and conditions and are not as widely
available. While the Underlying Funds may enter into
these more customized contracts, the Underlying Funds will only
enter into over-the-counter contracts containing certain terms and
conditions, as discussed further below, that are designed to
minimize the credit risk to which the Underlying Fund will be
subject and only if the terms and conditions of the contract are
consistent with achieving the Underlying Fund’s investment
objective of tracking its Benchmark. The
over-the-counter contracts that the Underlying Funds may enter into
will take the form of either forward contracts, swaps or
options.
A forward contract is a
contractual obligation to purchase or sell a specified quantity of
a commodity at or before a specified date in the future at a
specified price and, therefore, is economically similar to a
futures contract except that, unlike a futures contract it cannot
be financially settled (i.e., one must intend to make or take
delivery of a commodity under a forward
contract.) Unlike futures contracts, however, forward
contracts are typically privately negotiated or are traded in the
over-the-counter markets. Forward contracts for a given commodity
are generally available for various amounts and maturities and are
subject to individual negotiation between the parties
involved. Moreover, generally there is no direct means
of offsetting or closing out a forward contract by taking an
offsetting position as one would a Futures Contract on a U.S.
exchange. If a trader desires to close out a forward
contract position, he generally will establish an opposite position
in the contract but will settle and recognize the profit or loss on
both positions simultaneously on the delivery
date. Thus, unlike in the futures contract market where
a trader who has offset positions will recognize profit or loss
immediately, in the forward market a trader with a position that
has been offset at a profit will generally not receive such profit
until the delivery date, and likewise a trader with a position that
has been offset at a loss will generally not have to pay money
until the delivery date. However, in some very limited
instances such contracts may provide a right of look out that will
allow for the receipt of profit and payment for losses prior to the
delivery date.
An over-the-counter swap agreement
is a bilateral contract to exchange a periodic stream of payments
determined by reference to a notional amount, with payment
typically made between the parties on a net basis. For
instance, an Underlying Fund may be obligated to pay a fixed price
per bushel of a commodity multiplied by a notional number of
bushels and be entitled to receive an amount per bushel equal to
the current value of an index of that commodity’s prices, the
price of a specified Futures Contract, or the average price of a
group of Futures Contracts such as the Underlying Fund’s
Benchmark. Each party to the swap is subject to the
credit risk of the other party. The Underlying Funds
will only enter into over-the-counter swaps on a net basis, where
the two payment streams are netted out on a daily basis, with the
parties receiving or paying, as the case may be, only the net
amount of the two payments. Like cleared swaps,
over-the-counter swaps do not generally involve the delivery of
underlying assets or principal and re therefore financially
settled. Accordingly, an Underlying Fund’s risk of
loss with respect to an over-the-counter swap will generally be
limited to the net amount of payments that its counterparty is
contractually obligated to make less any collateral the Underlying
Fund is holding from its counterparty.
To reduce the credit risk that
arises in connection with over-the-counter contracts, the
Underlying Funds will generally enter into agreements with each
counterparty based on the Master Agreement published by the
International Swaps and Derivatives Association, Inc. that provides
for the netting of an Underlying Fund’s overall exposure to
each counterparty and for daily collateral transfers based on the
marked-to-market value of the contract.
The creditworthiness of each
potential counterparty will be assessed by the
Sponsor. The Sponsor assesses or reviews, as
appropriate, the creditworthiness of each potential or existing
counterparty to an over-the-counter contract pursuant to guidelines
approved by the Sponsor. The creditworthiness of
existing counterparties will be reviewed periodically by the
Sponsor. The Sponsor’s President and Chief Investment Officer
has over 25 years of experience in over-the-counter derivatives
trading, including the counterparty creditworthiness analysis
inherent therein. The Sponsor’s Chief Executive Officer,
through his prior experience as a Chief Financial Officer and
Treasurer, has extensive experience evaluating the creditworthiness
of business partners and counterparties to commercial and
derivative contracts. Notwithstanding this experience,
there is no guarantee that the Sponsor’s creditworthiness
analysis will be successful and that counterparties selected for
Fund transactions will not default on their contractual
obligations.
The Underlying Funds also may
require that a counterparty be highly rated and/or provide
collateral or other credit support. The Sponsor on
behalf of the Underlying Funds may enter into over-the-counter
contracts with various types of counterparties, including; (a)
entities registered as swap dealers (“SD”) or major
swap participants (“MSP”), or (b) any other entities
that qualify as eligible contract participants
(“ECP”).
After the enactment of the
Dodd-Frank Act, swaps (and options that are regulated as swaps) are
subject to the CFTC’s exclusive jurisdiction and are
regulated as rigorously as futures. Generally, however, if a swap
is entered into with an SD or MSP, such counterparty will conduct
all necessary compliance with respect to swaps and options under
the Dodd-Frank Act.
See the information presented in
the “Results of Operations” on page 73 of this
prospectus.
Corn is currently
the most widely produced livestock feed grain in the United States.
The two largest demands of the United States’ corn crop are
used in livestock feed and ethanol production. Corn is also
processed into food and industrial products, including starch,
sweeteners, corn oil, beverages and industrial alcohol. The United
States Department of Agriculture (“USDA”) publishes
weekly, monthly, quarterly and annual updates for U.S. domestic and
worldwide corn production and consumption, and for other grains
such as soybeans and wheat which can be used in some cases as a
substitute for corn. These reports are available on the
USDA’s website, www.usda.gov, at no
charge.
The United States
is the world’s leading producer and exporter of corn. For the
Crop Year 201718, the United States Department of Agriculture
(“USDA”) estimates that the U.S. will produce
approximately 36% of all the corn globally, of which about 13% will
be exported. For 20172018, based on the January 2018 USDA
reports, global consumption of 1,067 Million Metric Tons (MMT) is
expected to be slightly higher than global production of 1,045 MMT.
If the global supply of corn exceeds global demand, this may have
an adverse impact on the price of corn. Besides the United States,
other principal world corn exporters include Argentina, Brazil and
the former Soviet Union nations known as the FSU12 which
includes the Ukraine. Major importer nations include Mexico, Japan,
the European Union (EU), South Korea, Egypt and parts of Southeast
Asia. China’s production at 216 MMT is approximately 11% less
than its domestic usage.
According to the
USDA, global corn consumption has increased just over 446% from
crop year 1960/1961 to 2017/2018 as demonstrated by the graph below
and is projected to continue to grow in upcoming years. Consumption
growth is the result of a combination of many factors including: 1)
global population growth, which, according to the U.S. Census
Department, is estimated to increase by approximately 82.5 million
people in the 201718 timeframe and reach 9.4 billion by 2050.
2) a growing global middle class which is increasing the demand for
protein and meatbased products globally and most
significantly in developing countries. and 3) increased use of
biofuels, including ethanol in the United States. Based on
USDA estimates as of October 12, 2017, for each person added to the
population, there needs to be an additional 5.6 bushels of corn,
1.7 bushels of soybeans and 3.7 bushels of wheat
produced.
While global
consumption of corn has increased over the 1960/19612017/2018
period, so has production, driven by increases in acres planted and
yield per acre. However, according to the USDA and United Nations,
future growth in planted acres and yield may be inhibited by
lowerproductive land, and lack of infrastructure and
transportation. In addition, agricultural crops such as corn are
highly weatherdependent for yield and therefore susceptible
to changing weather patterns. In addition, given the current
production/consumption patterns, nearly 100% of all corn produced
globally is consumed which leaves minimal excess inventory if
production issues arise.
The price per
bushel of corn in the United States is primarily a function of both
U.S. and global production, as well as U.S. and global demand. The
graph below shows the USDA published price per bushel by month for
the period January 2007 to November 2017.
On January 12,
2018, the USDA released its monthly World Agricultural Supply and
Demand Estimates (WASDE) for the Crop Year 201718. The
exhibit below provides a summary of historical and current
information for United States corn production.
Standard Corn
Futures Contracts trade on the CBOT in units of 5,000 bushels,
although 1,000 bushels “minicorn” Corn Futures
Contracts also trade. Three grades of corn are deliverable under
CBOT Corn Futures Contracts: Number 1 yellow, which may be
delivered at 1.5 cents over the contract price. Number 2 yellow,
which may be delivered at the contract price. and Number 3 yellow,
which may be delivered at 1.5 cents under the contract price for
all contract months prior to March 2019 or may be delivered between
2 and 4 cents per bushel under the contract price for all contract
months commencing with March 2019 and beyond. There are five months
each year in which CBOT Corn Futures Contracts expire: March, May,
July, September and December.
If the futures
market is in a state of backwardation (i.e., when the price of corn
in the future is expected to be less than the current price), the
Fund will buy latertoexpire contracts for a lower price
than the soonertoexpire contracts that it sells.
Hypothetically, and assuming no changes to either prevailing corn
prices or the price relationship between immediate delivery,
soontoexpire contracts and latertoexpire
contracts, the value of a contract will rise as it approaches
expiration. Over time, if backwardation remained constant, the
differences would continue to increase. If the futures market is in
contango, the Fund will buy latertoexpire contracts for
a higher price than the soonertoexpire contracts that
it sells. Hypothetically, and assuming no other changes to either
prevailing corn prices or the price relationship between the spot
price, soontoexpire contracts and
latertoexpire contracts, the value of a contract will
fall as it approaches expiration. Over time, if contango remained
constant, the difference would continue to increase. Historically,
the corn futures markets have experienced periods of both contango
and backwardation. Frequently, whether contango or backwardation
exists is a function, among other factors, of the seasonality of
the corn market and the corn harvest cycle. All other things being
equal, a situation involving prolonged periods of contango may
adversely impact the returns of the Fund. conversely a situation
involving prolonged periods of backwardation may positively impact
the returns of the Fund.
Global soybean
production is concentrated in the U.S., Brazil, Argentina and
China. The United States Department of Agriculture
(“USDA”) has estimated that, for the Crop Year
201718, the United States will produce approximately 120 MMT
of soybeans or approximately 34% of estimated world production,
with Brazil production at 110 MMT. Argentina is projected to
produce about 56 MMT. For 201718, based on the January 2018
USDA report, global consumption of 344 MMT is estimated slightly
lower than global production of 349 MMT. If the global supply of
soybeans exceeds global demand, this may have an adverse impact on
the price of soybeans. The USDA publishes weekly, monthly,
quarterly and annual updates for U.S. domestic and worldwide
soybean production and consumption. These reports are available on
the USDA’s website, www.usda.gov, at no
charge.
The soybean
processing industry converts soybeans into soybean meal, soybean
hulls, and soybean oil. Soybean meal and soybean hulls are
processed into soy flour or soy protein, which are used, along with
other commodities, by livestock producers and the farm fishing
industry as feed. Soybean oil is sold in multiple grades and is
used by the food, petroleum and chemical industries. The food
industry uses soybean oil in cooking and salad dressings, baking
and frying fats, and butter substitutes, among other uses. In
addition, the soybean industry continues to introduce
soybased products as substitutes to various
petroleumbased products including lubricants, plastics, ink,
crayons and candles. Soybean oil is also converted to biodiesel for
use as fuel.
Standard Soybean
Futures Contracts trade on the CBOT in units of 5,000 bushels,
although 1,000 bushel “minisized” Soybean Futures
Contracts also trade. Three grades of soybean are deliverable under
CBOT Soybean Futures Contracts: Number 1 yellow, which may be
delivered at 6 cents per bushel over the contract price. Number 2
yellow, which may be delivered at the contract price. and Number 3
yellow, which may be delivered at 6 cents per bushel under the
contract price. There are seven months each year in which CBOT
Soybean Futures Contracts expire: January, March, May, July,
August, September and November.
If the futures
market is in a state of backwardation (i.e., when the price of
soybeans in the future is expected to be less than the current
price), the Fund will buy latertoexpire contracts for a lower
price than the soonertoexpire contracts that it sells.
Hypothetically, and assuming no changes to either prevailing
soybean prices or the price relationship between immediate
delivery, soontoexpire contracts and
latertoexpire contracts, the value of a contract will
rise as it approaches expiration. If the futures market is in
contango, the Fund will buy latertoexpire contracts for
a higher price than the soonertoexpire contracts that
it sells. Hypothetically, and assuming no other changes to either
prevailing soybean prices or the price relationship between the
spot price, soontoexpire contracts and
latertoexpire contracts, the value of a contract will
fall as it approaches expiration. Historically, the soybeans
futures markets have experienced periods of both contango and
backwardation. Frequently, whether contango or backwardation exists
is a function, among other factors, of the seasonality of the
soybean market and the soybean harvest cycle. All other things
being equal, a situation involving prolonged periods of contango
may adversely impact the returns of the Fund. conversely a
situation involving prolonged periods of backwardation may
positively impact the returns of the Fund.
The price per
bushel of soybeans in the United States is primarily a function of
both U.S. and global production, as well as U.S. and global demand.
The graph below shows the USDA published price per bushel by month
for the period January 2007 to November 2017.
On January 12,
2018, the USDA released its monthly World Agricultural Supply and
Demand Estimates (WASDE) for the Crop Year 201718. The
exhibit below provides a summary of historical and current
information for United States soybean
production.
Sugarcane accounts
for about 80% of the world’s sugar production, while sugar
beets account for the remainder of the world’s sugar
production. Sugar manufacturers use sugar beets and sugarcane as
the raw material from which refined sugar (sucrose) for industrial
and consumer use is produced. Sugar is produced in various forms,
including granulated, powdered, liquid, brown, and molasses. The
food industry (in particular, producers of baked goods, beverages,
cereal, confections, and dairy products) uses sugar and sugarcane
molasses to make sugarcontaining food products. Sugar beet
pulp and molasses products are used as animal feed ingredients.
Ethanol is an important byproduct of sugarcane processing.
Additionally, the material that is left over after sugarcane is
processed is used to manufacture paper, cardboard, and
“environmentally friendly” eating
utensils.
The Sugar No. 11
Futures Contract is the world benchmark contract for raw sugar
trading. This contract prices the physical delivery of raw cane
sugar, delivered to the receiver’s vessel at a specified port
within the country of origin of the sugar. Sugar No. 11 Futures
Contracts trade on ICE Futures US and the NYMEX in units of 112,000
pounds.
The United States
Department of Agriculture (“USDA”) publishes two major
reports annually on U.S. domestic and worldwide sugar production
and consumption. These are usually released in November and May. In
addition, the USDA publishes periodic, but not as comprehensive,
reports on sugar monthly. These reports are available on the
USDA’s website, www.usda.gov, at no charge. The USDA’s
November 2017 report forecasts that Brazil, with estimated record
production of 40.2 million metric tons, will continue to be the
leading producer of sugarcane worldwide. Brazil’s production,
which outpaces the other principal global producers, namely India,
Thailand and China, equates to approximately 22% of the
world’s supply. The principal producers of sugar beets, as
forecasted by the USDA for 2018, include the European Union, the
United States, and Russia.
World estimated
raw sugar production is record 185 million metric tons, up from the
USDA’s initial forecast in May 2017. The USDA’s
November 2017 report estimates that record global consumption of
174 million metric tons will still be below production. Because of
record production this year, ending stocks are projected to rise 5%
to 40.8 million metric tons. Unlike the previous two years in which
demand exceeded supply, the most current period may see the global
supply for sugar exceed demand. In the past, this situation has,
generally, resulted in price decrease. However, if the global
demand of sugar exceeds global supply, prices will generally
increase.
The USDA, in its
November 2017 report highlights, in the graph immediately below,
the fact that sugar prices have fallen in response to record
production. The second graph shows the increased exports out of the
European Union as a result of regulatory
changes.
If the futures
market is in a state of backwardation (i.e., when the price of
sugar in the future is expected to be less than the current price),
the Fund will buy laterto-expire contracts for a lower price
than the soonertoexpire contracts that it sells.
Hypothetically, and assuming no changes to either prevailing sugar
prices or the price relationship between immediate delivery,
soontoexpire contracts and latertoexpire
contracts, the value of a contract will rise as it approaches
expiration. If the futures market is in contango, the Fund will buy
latertoexpire contracts for a higher price than the
soonertoexpire contracts that it sells. Hypothetically,
and assuming no other changes to either prevailing sugar prices or
the price relationship between the spot price,
soontoexpire contracts and latertoexpire
contracts, the value of a contract will fall as it approaches
expiration. Historically, the sugar futures markets have
experienced periods of both contango and backwardation. Frequently,
whether contango or backwardation exists is a function, among other
factors, of the seasonality of the sugar market and the sugar
harvest cycle. All other things being equal, a situation involving
prolonged periods of contango may adversely impact the returns of
the Funds. conversely a situation involving prolonged periods of
backwardation may positively impact the returns of the
Funds.
Wheat is used to
produce flour, the key ingredient for breads, pasta, crackers and
many other food products, as well as several industrial products
such as starches and adhesives. Wheat byproducts are used in
livestock feeds. Wheat is the principal food grain produced in the
United States, and the United States’ output of wheat is
typically exceeded only by that of China, the European Union, the
former Soviet nations, known as the FSU12, including the
Ukraine, and India. The United States Department of Agriculture
(“USDA”) estimates that for 201718, the principal
global producers of wheat will be the EU, the former Soviet nations
known as the FSU12, China, India, the United States,
Australia and Canada. The U.S. generates approximately 6% of the
global production, with approximately 56% of that being exported.
For 201718, based on the January 2018 USDA report, global
consumption of 742 MMT is estimated to be slightly lower than
production of 757 MMT. If the global supply of wheat exceeds global
demand, this may have an adverse impact on the price of wheat. The
USDA publishes weekly, monthly, quarterly and annual updates for
U.S. domestic and worldwide wheat production and consumption. These
reports are available on the USDA’s website, www.usda.gov, at
no charge.
There are several
types of wheat grown in the U.S., which are classified in terms of
color, hardness, and growing season. CBOT Wheat Futures Contracts
call for delivery of #2 soft red winter wheat, which is generally
grown in the eastern third of the United States, but other types
and grades of wheat may also be delivered (Grade #1 soft red winter
wheat, Hard Red Winter, Dark Northern Spring and Northern Spring
wheat may be delivered at 3 cents premium per bushel over the
contract price and #2 soft red winter wheat, Hard Red Winter, Dark
Northern Spring and Northern Spring wheat may be delivered at the
contract price.) Winter wheat is planted in the fall and is
harvested in the late spring or early summer of the following year,
while spring wheat is planted in the spring and harvested in late
summer or fall of the same year. Standard Wheat Futures Contracts
trade on the CBOT in units of 5,000 bushels, although 1,000 bushel
“miniwheat” Wheat Futures Contracts also trade.
There are five months each year in which CBOT Wheat Futures
Contracts expire: March, May, July, September and
December.
If the futures
market is in a state of backwardation (i.e., when the price of
wheat in the future is expected to be less than the current price),
the Fund will buy laterto expire contracts for a lower price
than the soonertoexpire contracts that it sells.
Hypothetically, and assuming no changes to either prevailing wheat
prices or the price relationship between immediate delivery,
soontoexpire contracts and latertoexpire
contracts, the value of a contract will rise as it approaches
expiration. If the futures market is in contango, the Fund will buy
latertoexpire contracts for a higherprice than the
soonertoexpire contracts that it sells. Hypothetically,
and assuming no other changes to either prevailing wheat prices or
the price relationship between the spot price,
soontoexpire contracts and latertoexpire
contracts, the value of a contract will fall as it approaches
expiration. Historically, the wheat futures markets have
experienced periods of both contango and backwardation. Frequently,
whether contango or backwardation exists is a function, among other
factors, of the seasonality of the wheat market and the wheat
harvest cycle. All other things being equal, a situation involving
prolonged periods of contango may adversely impact the returns of
the Fund. conversely a situation involving prolonged periods of
backwardation may positively impact the returns of the
Fund.
The price per
bushel of wheat in the United States is primarily a function of
both U.S. and global production, as well as U.S. and global demand.
The graph below shows the USDA published price per bushel by month
for the period January 2007 to November 2017.
On January 12, 2018, the USDA
released its monthly World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates
(WASDE) for the Crop Year 201718. The exhibit below provides
a summary of historical and current information for United States
wheat production.
Other Trading Policies
of the Fund
Exchange for Related Position
An “exchange for related
position” (“EFRP”) can be used by the Fund or an
Underlying Fund as a technique to facilitate the exchanging of a
futures hedge position against a creation or redemption order, and
thus the Fund or an Underlying Fund may use an EFRP transaction in
connection with the creation and redemption of shares. The market
specialist/market maker that is the ultimate purchaser or seller of
shares in connection with the creation or redemption basket,
respectively, agrees to sell or purchase a corresponding offsetting
shares or futures position which is then settled on the same
business day as a cleared futures transaction by the
FCMs. The Fund or the Underlying Fund will become
subject to the credit risk of the market specialist/market maker
until the EFRP is settled within the business day, which is
typically 7 hours or less. The Fund and the Underlying Funds
reports all activity related to EFRP transactions under the
procedures and guidelines of the CFTC and the exchanges on which
the futures are traded.
EFRPs are subject to specific
rules of the CME and CFTC guidance. It is likely that EFRP
mechanisms will significantly change in the future which may make
it uneconomical or impossible from a regulatory perspective for the
Fund to utilize these mechanisms.
Options on Futures Contracts
An option on a Futures Contract
gives the buyer of the option the right, but not the obligation, to
buy or sell a Futures Contract at a specified price on or before a
specified date. The option buyer deposits the purchase
price or “premium” for the option with his broker, and
the money goes to the option seller. Regardless of how
much the market swings, the most an option buyer can lose is the
option premium plus all fees and commissions associated with the
option. However, the buyer will typically lose the premium if the
exercise price of the option is above (in the case of an option to
buy or “call” option) or below (in the case of an
option to sell or “put” option) the market value at the
time of exercise. Option sellers, on the other hand,
face risks similar to participants in the futures
markets. For example, since the seller of a call option
is assigned a short futures position if the option is exercised,
his risk is the same as someone who initially sold a futures
contract. Because no one can predict exactly how the
market will move, the option seller posts margin to demonstrate his
ability to meet any potential contractual
obligations.
In addition to Futures Contracts,
there are also a number of options on Futures Contracts relating to
the Specified Commodities listed on the CBOT and ICE
Futures. These contracts offer investors and hedgers
another set of financial vehicles to use in managing exposure to
the commodities market. An Underlying Fund may purchase
and sell (write) options on Futures Contracts in pursuing its
investment objective, except that it will not sell call options
when it does not own the underlying Futures Contract. An
Underlying Fund would make use of options on Futures Contracts if,
in the opinion of the Sponsor, such an approach would cause the
Underlying Fund to more closely track its Benchmark or if it would
lead to an overall lower cost of trading to achieve a given level
of economic exposure to movements in the prices of the Underlying
Fund’s Specified Commodity.
Liquidity
The Underlying Funds invest only
in Futures Contracts that, in the opinion of the Sponsor, are
traded in sufficient volume to permit the ready taking and
liquidation of positions in these financial interests and in
over-the-counter Commodity Interests that, in the opinion of the
Sponsor, may be readily liquidated with the original counterparty
or through a third party assuming the Underlying Fund’s
position.
Spot Commodities
While most Futures Contracts can
be physically settled, the Fund and the Underlying Funds do not
intend to take or make physical delivery. However, the
Underlying Funds may from time to time trade in Other Commodity
Interests based on the spot price of a Specified
Commodity.
Leverage
The Sponsor endeavors to have the
value of each Underlying Fund’s Treasury Securities, cash and
cash equivalents, whether held by the Underlying Fund or posted as
margin or collateral, at all times approximate the aggregate market
value of its obligations under its Commodity Interests. Commodity
pools’ trading positions in futures contracts are typically
required to be secured by the deposit of margin funds that
represent only a small percentage of a futures contract’s (or
other commodity interest’s) entire market value. While the
Sponsor does not intend to leverage the Fund’s assets, it is
not prohibited from doing so under the Trust
Agreement.
Borrowings
The Fund and the Underlying Funds
do not intend to nor foresee the need to borrow money or establish
credit lines. Each Underlying Fund maintains cash and
cash equivalents, either held by the Underlying Fund or posted as
margin or collateral, with a value that at all times approximates
the aggregate market value of its obligations under Commodity
Interests.
Pyramiding
Neither the Fund nor any
Underlying Fund employs or will employ the technique, commonly
known as pyramiding, in which a speculator uses unrealized profits
on existing positions as variation margin for the purchase or sale
of additional positions in the same or another Commodity
Interest.
The Fund is authorized to lend
securities to qualified brokers, dealers, banks and other financial
institutions for the purpose of earning additional income a portion
of which will be allocated to the Sponsor as compensation for its
services in managing the associated securities lending
activities. The value of securities loans may not exceed
33 1/3 % of the value of the Fund’s total assets, which
includes the value of collateral received. To the extent
the Fund loans a portion of its securities, the Fund will receive
collateral consisting generally of cash and/or cash collateral,
which will be established initially in an amount equal to at least
105% of the current market value of the loaned securities. The
loaned securities and such collateral will be marked-to-market at
the end of each subsequent Business Day on which the securities
loan is outstanding. On any Business Day the value of such
collateral is less than 102% of the current market value of the
loaned securities, the borrower of the loaned securities will
deposit additional collateral in an amount sufficient to increase
the total amount of collateral to an amount equal to or greater
than 105% of the current market value of the loaned
securities. Subject to its stated investment policy, the Fund will
generally invest the cash collateral received for the loaned
securities in accordance with applicable investment
guidelines.
In addition, the Fund will be able
to terminate the loan at any time and will receive reasonable
interest on the loan, as well as amounts equal to any dividends,
interest or other distributions on the loaned securities. In the
event of the bankruptcy or insolvency of the borrower, or any
similar proceeding, the Fund could experience delay in recovering
the loaned securities or only recover cash or a security of
equivalent value.
The Service
Providers of the Fund and Underlying Funds
Contractual Arrangements with the Sponsor and Third-Party Service
Providers
The Sponsor is responsible for
investing the assets of the Fund and the Underlying Funds in
accordance with the objectives and policies of the Fund and the
Underlying Funds. In addition, the Sponsor arranges for one or more
third parties to provide administrative, custodial, accounting,
transfer agency and other necessary services to the Fund and the
Underlying Funds. For these services, the Underlying Funds are
contractually obligated to pay a monthly management fee to the
Sponsor based on average daily net assets, at a rate equal to 1.00%
per annum. The Sponsor can elect to waive the payment of this fee
in any amount at its sole discretion, at any time and from time to
time, in order to reduce the Underlying Funds’ expenses or
for any other purpose.
In its capacity as the
Fund’s and Underlying Funds’ custodian, the Custodian,
U.S. Bank, N.A., holds the Underlying Fund shares owned by the Fund
and securities, cash and/or cash equivalents owned by the Fund and
the Underlying Funds pursuant to a custodial
agreement. U.S. Bancorp Fund Services, LLC
(“USBFS”), an entity affiliated with U.S. Bank, N.A.,
the registrar and transfer agent for the Fund’s
Shares. In addition, USBFS also serves as Administrator
for the Fund and the Underlying Funds, performing certain
administrative and accounting services and preparing certain SEC
and CFTC reports on behalf of the Fund and the Underlying
Funds. For these services, the Fund pays fees to the
Custodian and USBFS as set forth in the table
below.
The Bank of New York Mellon
Capital Markets is the broker for some, but not all, of the equity
transactions related to the purchase and sale of the Underlying
Funds for the Fund.
The Custodian is located at 1555
North RiverCenter Drive, Suite 302, Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53212.
U.S. Bank, N.A. is a nationally chartered bank, regulated by the
Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, Department of the
Treasury, and is subject to regulation by the Board of Governors of
the Federal Reserve System. The principal address for USBFS is 615
East Michigan Street, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
53202.
The Fund and the Underlying Funds
also employ Foreside Fund Services, LLC, the Distributor, which is
further discussed under “Plan of
Distribution.” The Underlying Funds pay the
Distributor’s fees as set forth in the table
below.
The Distribution Services
Agreement among the Distributor and the Sponsor calls for the
Distributor to work with the Custodian in connection with the
receipt and processing of orders for Creation Baskets and
Redemption Baskets and the review and approval of all Fund sales
literature and advertising materials. The Distributor and the
Sponsor have also entered into a Securities Activities and Service
Agreement (the “SASA”) under which certain employees
and officers of the Sponsor are licensed as registered
representatives or registered principals of the Distributor, under
FINRA rules (“Registered Representatives”). As
Registered Representatives of the Distributor, these persons are
permitted to engage in certain marketing activities for the Fund
that they would otherwise not be permitted to engage in. Under the
SASA, the Sponsor is obligated to ensure that such marketing
activities comply with applicable law and are permitted by the SASA
and the Distributor’s internal
procedures.
The Distributor’s principal
business address is Three Canal Plaza, Suite 100, Portland, Maine
04101. The Distributor is a broker-dealer registered
with the SEC and a member of FINRA.
The Fund purchases and sells
shares of the Underlying Funds through broker-dealers selected on a
trade-by-trade basis. Commissions and other transactions
costs for such transactions are negotiated separately with each
such broker-dealer.
Currently, ED&F Man Capital
Markets, Inc. (“ED&F Man”) serves as the Underlying
Funds’ clearing broker to execute and clear the futures and
provide other brokerage-related services. ED&F Man is
registered as a futures commission merchant (“FCM”)
with the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission
(“CFTC”) and is a member of the National Futures
Association (“NFA”). ED&F Man is also registered as
a broker/dealer with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
and is a member of FINRA. ED&F Man is a clearing member of ICE
Futures U.S., Inc., Chicago Board of Trade, Chicago Mercantile
Exchange, New York Mercantile Exchange, and all other major United
States commodity exchanges.
There have been no material civil,
administrative, or criminal proceedings pending, on appeal, or
concluded against ED&F Man or its principals in the past five
(5) years. For a list of concluded
actions, please go to http://www.nfa.futures.org/basicnet/welcome.aspx.
This link will take you to the Welcome Page of the NFA’s
Background Affiliation Status Information Center
(“BASIC”). At this page, there is a box where you can
enter the NFA ID of ED&F Man Capital Markets Inc. (0002613) and
then click “Go”. You will be transferred to the
NFA’s information specific to ED&F Man Capital Markets
Inc. Under the heading “Regulatory Actions”, click
“details” and you will be directed to the full list of
regulatory actions brought by the CFTC and
exchanges.
ED&F Man, in its capacity as a
registered FCM, will serve as the Fund's clearing broker and, as
such, will arrange for the execution and clearing of the Fund's
futures and options on futures transactions. ED&F Man acts as
clearing broker for many other funds and
individuals.
The investor should be advised
that ED&F Man is not affiliated with and does not act as a
supervisor of the Fund or the Fund's Sponsor, investment managers,
members, officers, administrators, transfer agents, registrars or
organizers. Additionally, ED&F Man is not acting as an
underwriter or sponsor of the offering of any shares or interests
in the Fund and has not passed upon the adequacy of this
prospectus, the merits of participating in this offering or on the
accuracy of the information contained herein.
Additionally, ED&F Man does
not provide any commodity trading advice regarding the Underlying
Funds’ trading activities. Investors should not rely upon
ED&F Man in deciding whether to invest in the Underlying Funds
or retain their interests in the Funds. Investors should also note
that the Underlying Funds may select additional clearing brokers or
replace ED&F Man as the Funds’ clearing
broker.
Currently, the Sponsor does
not employ commodity trading advisors. If, in the
future, the Sponsor does employ commodity trading advisors, it will
choose each advisor based on arm’s-length negotiations and
will consider the advisor’s experience, fees, and
reputation.
Contractual Fees and Compensation Arrangements with the Sponsor and
Third-Party Service Providers
Service Provider
|
|
Compensation
Paid by the
Fund
|
|
Compensation
Paid by the
Underlying Funds
|
Teucrium Trading,
LLC, Sponsor
|
|
None.
|
|
1.00% of average net assets
annually
|
U.S. Bank,
N.A.
|
|
For custody services: - 0.0075% of
average gross assets up to $1 billion, and .0050% of average gross
assets over $1 billion, annually, plus certain per-transaction
charges
|
|
For custody services: - 0.0075% of
average gross assets up to $1 billion, and .0050% of average gross
assets over $1 billion, annually, plus certain per-transaction
charges
|
U.S. Bancorp Fund Services,
LLC,
Transfer Agent, Fund Accountant
and Fund Administrator
|
|
For Transfer Agency, Fund
Accounting and Fund Administration services: based on the total
assets for all the Funds in the Trust: 0.06% of average gross
assets on the first $250 million, 0.05% on the next $250 million,
0.04% on the next $500 million and 0.03% on the balance over $1
billion annually. A combined minimum annual fee of $64,500 for
custody, transfer agency, accounting and administrative services is
assessed per Fund.
|
|
For Transfer Agency, Fund
Accounting and Fund Administration services: based on the total
assets for all the Funds in the Trust: 0.06% of average gross
assets on the first $250 million, 0.05% on the next $250 million,
0.04% on the next $500 million and 0.03% on the balance over $1
billion annually. A combined minimum annual fee of $64,500 for
custody, transfer agency, accounting and administrative services is
assessed per Fund.
|
Foreside Fund Services, LLC,
Distributor
|
|
For reimbursement of expenses
including sales and advertising FINRA filing fees, and other
miscellaneous expenses incurred in connection with the provision of
distribution services on behalf of the Fund, not to exceed $6,000
for the two year period of May 1, 2018 to April 30, 2020 (the
“two year offering period”).
|
|
The Distributor receives a fee of
0.01% of the Fund’s average daily net assets and an aggregate
annual fee of $100,000 for all Teucrium Funds. The fees which will
be paid to the Distributor by the Fund per year are estimated not
to exceed $100,000 per year. The total maximum base fee and basis
point fee for the two year offering period equals $500,000.
Therefore, the maximum amount of fees the Distributor could receive
from the Underlying Funds for distribution services with respect to
this offering equals $500,000.
The Distributor also receives
certain expense reimbursements relating to its distribution
services for the Underlying Funds, which are estimated not to
exceed $24,000 for the two year offering period. None of these
expense reimbursements are allocated to services provided for the
Fund. Expense reimbursements for distribution services for this
offering are paid by the Fund and disclosed under the column titled
Compensation Paid by the Fund.
Under the Securities Activities
and Service Agreement, the Distributor receives compensation for
its activities on behalf of all the Teucrium Funds, which is
estimated not to exceed an aggregate for the Teucrium Funds of
$33,000 per year and $66,000 for the two year offering period. Of
this $65,000 mentioned above, all will be allocated to the
Underlying Funds. In addition, the Distributor receives certain
expense reimbursements relating to the registration, continuing
education and other administrative expenses of the Registered
Representatives in relation to the Teucrium Funds, currently
estimated at $17,000 per year and $45,000 for the two year offering
period. Of this $34,000 mentioned above, all will be allocated to
the Underlying Funds. The total amount of the SASA fee allocated to
the Fund is estimated to be approximately $1,000 per year and
$2,000 for the two year offering period. The total amount of
expenses to be reimbursed under the SASA allocated to the Fund is
estimated to be approximately $1,000 per year and $2,000 for the
two year offering period.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Broker-Dealers
|
|
As negotiated with the particular
broker-dealer.
|
|
N/A
|
|
|
|
|
|
Wilmington Trust Company,
Trustee
|
|
None
|
|
$3,300
annually
|
|
|
|
|
|
Employees of the Sponsor
Registered with the Distributor (the “Registered
Representatives”)
|
|
For services provided to the Fund,
$10,000, such amount to be paid by the Sponsor; for marketing and
wholesaling services, $3,000, such amount to be paid by the
Sponsor.
|
|
N/A
|
Other Non-Contractual Payments by the Fund
The Fund pays for all brokerage
fees, taxes and other expenses, including licensing fees for the
use of intellectual property, registration or other fees paid to
the SEC, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority
(“FINRA”), formerly the National Association of
Securities Dealers, or any other regulatory agency in connection
with the offer and sale of subsequent Shares after its initial
registration and all legal, accounting, printing and other expenses
associated therewith. The Fund also pays its portion of the fees
and expenses for services directly attributable to the Fund such as
accounting, financial reporting, regulatory compliance and trading
activities, which the Sponsor elected not to outsource. Certain
aggregate expenses common to all Funds within the Trust are
allocated by the Sponsor to the respective funds based on activity
drivers deemed most appropriate by the Sponsor for such expenses,
including but not limited to relative assets under management and
creation and redeem order activity. These aggregate common expenses
include, but are not limited to, legal, auditing, accounting and
financial reporting, tax-preparation, regulatory compliance,
trading activities, and insurance costs, as well as fees paid to
the Distributor. A portion of these aggregate common expenses are
related to the Sponsor or related parties of principals of the
Sponsor; these are necessary services to the Funds, which are
primarily the cost of performing accounting and financial
reporting, regulatory compliance, and trading activities that are
directly attributable to the Fund. For the period ended December
31, such expenses totaled $12,512 in 2017, $14,004 in 2016 and
$13,329 in 2015; of these amounts, $9,438 in 2017, $11,975 in 2016
and $13,329 in 2015 were waived by the Sponsor. The Sponsor can
elect to pay (or waive reimbursement for) certain fees or expenses
that would generally be paid for by the Fund, although it has no
contractual obligation to do so. Any election to pay or waive
reimbursement for fees that would generally be paid by the Fund,
can be changed at the discretion of the Sponsor. All asset-based
fees and expenses are calculated on the prior day's net
assets.
The contractual and
non-contractual fees and expenses paid by the Fund, net of any
expenses waived by the Sponsor, as described above (exclusive of
the estimated brokerage fees) are as follows. These are also the
“Other Fund Fees and Expenses” included in the section
entitled “Breakeven Analysis” in this prospectus on
page 9.
Professional
Fees1
|
$0.03
|
Distribution and
Marketing Fees2
|
0.03
|
Custodian Fees and
Expenses3
|
0.03
|
General and
Administrative Fees4
|
0.00
|
Business Permits and
Licenses
|
0.00
|
Other
Expenses
|
0.00
|
Total
Other Fund Fees and Expenses
|
$0.09
|
(1)
Professional fees
consist of primarily, but not entirely, legal, auditing and
tax-preparation related costs.
(2)
Distribution and
marketing fees consist of primarily, but not entirely, fees paid to
the Distributor (Foreside Fund Services, LLC), costs related to
regulatory compliance activities and other costs related to the
trading activities of the Fund
(3)
Custodian and
Administrator fees consist of fees to the Administrator and
Custodian for for accounting, transfer agent and custodian
activities
(4)
General and Administrative
fees consist of primarily, but not entirely, insurance and printing
costs.
Asset-based fees are calculated on
a daily basis (accrued at 1/365 of the applicable percentage of NAV
on that day) and paid on a monthly basis. NAV is
calculated by taking the current market value of the Fund’s
total assets and subtracting any liabilities.
Registered Form
Shares are issued in registered
form in accordance with the Trust Agreement. USBFS has
been appointed registrar and transfer agent for the purpose of
transferring Shares in certificated form. USBFS keeps a
record of all Shareholders and holders of the Shares in
certificated form in the registry
(“Register”). The Sponsor recognizes
transfers of Shares in certificated form only if done in accordance
with the Trust Agreement. The beneficial interests in
such Shares are held in book-entry form through participants and/or
accountholders in DTC.
Book Entry
Individual certificates are not
issued for the Shares. Instead, Shares are represented
by one or more global certificates, which are deposited by the
Administrator with DTC and registered in the name of Cede &
Co., as nominee for DTC. The global certificates
evidence all of the Shares outstanding at any
time. Shareholders are limited to (1) participants in
DTC such as banks, brokers, dealers and trust companies (“DTC
Participants”), (2) those who maintain, either directly or
indirectly, a custodial relationship with a DTC Participant
(“Indirect Participants”), and (3) those who hold
interests in the Shares through DTC Participants or Indirect
Participants, in each case who satisfy the requirements for
transfers of Shares. DTC Participants acting on behalf
of investors holding Shares through such participants’
accounts in DTC will follow the delivery practice applicable to
securities eligible for DTC’s Same-Day Funds Settlement
System. Shares are credited to DTC Participants’
securities accounts following confirmation of receipt of
payment.
DTC
DTC has advised us as
follows: It is a limited purpose trust company organized
under the laws of the State of New York and is a member of the
Federal Reserve System, a “clearing corporation” within
the meaning of the New York Uniform Commercial Code and a
“clearing agency” registered pursuant to the provisions
of Section 17A of the Exchange Act. DTC holds securities
for DTC Participants and facilitates the clearance and settlement
of transactions between DTC Participants through electronic
book-entry changes in accounts of DTC
Participants.
The Shares are only transferable
through the book-entry system of DTC. Shareholders who
are not DTC Participants may transfer their Shares through DTC by
instructing the DTC Participant holding their Shares (or by
instructing the Indirect Participant or other entity through which
their Shares are held) to transfer the Shares. Transfers
are made in accordance with standard securities industry
practice.
Transfers of interests in Shares
with DTC are made in accordance with the usual rules and operating
procedures of DTC and the nature of the transfer. DTC
has established procedures to facilitate transfers among the
participants and/or accountholders of DTC. Because DTC
can only act on behalf of DTC Participants, who in turn act on
behalf of Indirect Participants, the ability of a person or entity
having an interest in a global certificate to pledge such interest
to persons or entities that do not participate in DTC, or otherwise
take actions in respect of such interest, may be affected by the
lack of a certificate or other definitive document representing
such interest.
DTC has advised us that it will
take any action permitted to be taken by a Shareholder (including,
without limitation, the presentation of a global certificate for
exchange) only at the direction of one or more DTC Participants in
whose account with DTC interests in global certificates are
credited and only in respect of such portion of the aggregate
principal amount of the global certificate as to which such DTC
Participant or Participants has or have given such
direction.
Inter-Series Limitation on
Liability
Because the Trust was established
as a Delaware statutory trust, each Teucrium Fund and each other
series that may be established under the Trust in the future will
be operated so that it will be liable only for obligations
attributable to such series and will not be liable for obligations
of any other series or affected by losses of any other
series. If any creditor or shareholder of any particular
series (such as the Fund) asserts against the series a valid claim
with respect to its indebtedness or shares, the creditor or
shareholder will only be able to obtain recovery from the assets of
that series and not from the assets of any other series or the
Trust generally. The assets of the Fund and any other
series will include only those funds and other assets that are paid
to, held by or distributed to the series on account of and for the
benefit of that series, including, without limitation, amounts
delivered to the Trust for the purchase of shares in a
series. This limitation on liability is referred to as
the Inter-Series Limitation on Liability. The
Inter-Series Limitation on Liability is expressly provided for
under the Delaware Statutory Trust Act, which provides that if
certain conditions (as set forth in Section 3804(a)) are met, then
the debts of any particular series will be enforceable only against
the assets of such series and not against the assets of any other
series or the Trust generally. In furtherance of the
Inter-Series Limitation on Liability, every party providing
services to the Trust, the Fund or the Sponsor on behalf of the
Trust or the Fund, will acknowledge and consent in writing to the
Inter-Series Limitation on Liability with respect to such
party’s claims.
The existence of a Trustee should
not be taken as an indication of any additional level of management
or supervision over the Fund or any Underlying
Fund. Consistent with Delaware law, the Trustee acts in
an entirely passive role, delegating all authority for the
management and operation of the Fund and the Trust to the
Sponsor. The Trustee does not provide custodial services
with respect to the assets of the Fund or any Underlying
Fund.
Buying and Selling Shares
Most investors buy and sell Shares
of the Fund in secondary market transactions through
brokers. Shares trade on the NYSE Arca under the ticker
symbol “TAGS.” Shares are bought and sold
throughout the trading day like other publicly traded
securities. When buying or selling Shares through a
broker, most investors incur customary brokerage commissions and
charges. Investors are encouraged to review the terms of
their brokerage account for details on applicable charges and, as
discussed below under “U.S. Federal Income Tax
Considerations,” any provisions authorizing the broker to
borrow Shares held on your behalf.
The Distributor and Authorized Purchasers
The offering of the Fund’s
Shares is a best efforts offering. The Fund continuously offers
Creation Baskets consisting of 25,000 Shares at their NAV through
the Distributor to Authorized Purchasers. Merrill Lynch
Professional Clearing Corp was the initial Authorized Purchaser.
The initial Authorized Purchaser purchased one Creation Basket of
50,000 units, which was the Creation Basket size at the time of the
initial offering, at a per unit price of $50.00 on March 27,
2012.
The Sponsor and the Trust are
parties to an Amended and Restated Distribution Services Agreement
dated as of November 17, 2010 (the “Distribution
Agreement”), which amended and restated in its entirety a
Distribution Services Agreement between the Sponsor, the Trust, and
Foreside Fund Services, LLC (the “Distributor”) dated
as of October 15, 2010. Pursuant to the Distribution Agreement the
Distributor, together with USBFS, is required to provide services
in connection with the receipt and processing of orders for
Creation Baskets and Redemption baskets of units of the funds that
are series of the Trust, including the Fund.
The Distribution Agreement, as
amended, remains in full force and effect between the parties. The
Distribution Agreement was most recently amended on December 10,
2014 and was previously amended on May 25, 2011, October 1, 2011,
and April 22, 2014. The first amendment to the Distribution
Agreement, dated May 25, 2011, provided for the application of the
agreement to additional series of the Trust and revised the fee
schedule, including the specific fees and expenses allocable to the
Fund and each of the funds that are series of the
Trust.
The second amendment and third
amendments revised the fee schedule between the parties, including
the specific fees and expenses allocable to the Fund and each
Teucrium Fund. The fourth amendment eliminated the two series of
the Trust which ceased operations on December 21,
2014.
The Distributor receives a fee at
an annual rate of 0.01% of each Teucrium Fund’s average daily
net assets calculated and billed monthly, and an annual aggregate
fee of $100,000 for all Teucrium Funds for which the Distributor
serves as such. The Distributor also receives certain expense
reimbursements relating to its distribution services, for all
Teucrium Funds, currently estimated at $24,000 for a two year
offering period. The fees which will be paid to the Distributor by
the Fund per year are estimated not to exceed $100,000 per
year.
The Distributor receives fees only
from the Underlying Funds. The Distributor will not
receive a separate fee directly from the assets of the Fund;
however, the Fund will reimburse the Distributor for certain
expenses relating to sales and advertising FINRA filing fees and
other miscellaneous expenses incurred in connection with the
provision of distribution services on behalf of the Fund, currently
estimated at $6,000 for the two year offering
period. The Distributor receives, for its services as
distributor for the Underlying Funds, a fee at an annual rate of
0.01% of each Underlying Fund’s average daily net assets (or
an aggregate maximum fee of $150,000), and an annual fee of
$100,000 in the aggregate for all of the Underlying
Funds. The total maximum base fee and basis point fee
for the two year offering period equals $500,000. Of this total, a
percentage has been allocated to the Underlying Funds, which amount
equals $500,000 for the two year offering period and $250,000 per
year. Therefore, the maximum amount of fees the Distributor will
receive from the Underlying Funds with respect to this offering
equals $500,000. In no event may the aggregate compensation paid to
the Distributor and any affiliate of the Distributor for
distribution-related services in connection with this offering of
Shares exceed 10 percent (10%) of the gross proceeds of this
offering. The maximum expense reimbursements the
Distributor will receive from the Fund over the expected two year
offering period will not exceed $6,000.
The Distribution Services
Agreement among the Distributor, the Sponsor and the Trust calls
for the Distributor to work with the Custodian in connection with
the receipt and processing of orders for Creation Baskets and
Redemption Baskets and the review and approval of all Fund sales
literature and advertising materials. The Distributor and the
Sponsor have also entered into a Securities Activities and Services
Agreement (the “SASA”) under which certain employees
and officers of the Sponsor are licensed as registered
representatives or registered principals of the Distributor, under
FINRA rules. As Registered Representatives of the
Distributor, these persons are permitted to engage in certain
marketing activities for the Fund that they would otherwise not be
permitted to engage in. Under the SASA, the Sponsor is
obligated to ensure that such marketing activities comply with
applicable law and are permitted by the SASA and the
Distributor’s internal procedures. The Distributor is paid a
fee and reimbursed for expenses in connection with the services
provided pursuant to the SASA. The fees and expenses are allocated
across all five of the funds in the Teucrium Trust. Therefore, the
total amount of the fee allocated to the Fund is $1,000 per year
and $2,000 for the two year offering period. The total amount of
expenses to be reimbursed under the SASA allocated to the Fund is
$1,000 per year and $2,000 for the two year offering period. The
total non-transaction based compensation to be paid to the
Registered Representatives is $3,000 per year, of which all will be
paid by the Sponsor for marketing and wholesaling
services.
The offering of baskets is being
made in compliance with Conduct Rule 2310 of
FINRA. Accordingly, Authorized Purchasers will not make
any sales to any account over which they have discretionary
authority without the prior written approval of a purchaser of
Shares.
The per share price of Shares
offered in Creation Baskets on any subsequent day will be the total
NAV of the Fund calculated shortly after the close of the NYSE Arca
on that day divided by the number of issued and outstanding
Shares. An Authorized Purchaser is not required to sell
any specific number or dollar amount of Shares.
By executing an Authorized
Purchaser Agreement, an Authorized Purchaser becomes part of the
group of parties eligible to purchase baskets from, and put baskets
for redemption to, the Fund. An Authorized Purchaser is
under no obligation to create or redeem baskets or to offer to the
public Shares of any baskets it does create. If an
Authorized Purchaser sells Shares that it has created to the
public, it will be expected to sell them at
per-Share offering prices that are expected to reflect, among other
factors, the trading price of the Shares on the NYSE Arca, the NAV
of the Fund at the time the Authorized Purchaser purchased the
Creation Baskets and the NAV at the time of the offer of the Shares
to the public, the supply of and demand for Shares at the time of
sale, and the liquidity of the Commodity Interest
markets. The prices of Shares offered by Authorized
Purchasers are expected to fall between the Fund’s NAV and
the trading price of the Shares on the NYSE Arca at the time of
sale.
The following entities have
entered into Authorized Purchaser Agreements with respect to the
Fund: Deutsche Bank Securities Inc., J.P. Morgan Securities
LLC, Merrill
Lynch Professional Clearing Corp., Goldman Sachs & Co., Citadel
Securities, LLC, and Virtu Financial BD LLC.
In order to increase the amount of
outstanding Shares, the Sponsor or the Fund may compensate certain
persons, including broker-dealers, for purchasing Creation Baskets
themselves or for locating others to purchase Creation Baskets.
Assets under management derived from such purchases may represent a
significant proportion of total assets in the Fund. Any such
compensation paid to FINRA member firms will not exceed, in the
aggregate, $500,000 over the expected two year offering period. The
Sponsor believes that increasing the assets under management of the
Fund is in the best interest of shareholders because it creates
economies of scale in the operation of the Fund and allows the Fund
the visibility to reach a broader group of investors. For example,
some advisers require funds to have a certain level of assets under
management before considering them for recommendation. Furthermore,
a larger number of Shares outstanding should increase liquidity
because there will be more Shares available for investors to buy
and sell in the secondary market. A smaller number of Shares
outstanding, conversely, may inhibit trading on the secondary
market by limiting Shares available for purchase at any given
time.
Because new Shares can be
created and issued on an ongoing basis, at any point during the
life of the Fund, a “distribution,” as such term is
used in the 1933 Act, will be occurring. Authorized
Purchasers, other broker-dealers and other persons are cautioned
that some of their activities may result in their being deemed
participants in a distribution in a manner that would render them
statutory underwriters and subject them to the prospectus-delivery
and liability provisions of the 1933 Act. For example,
an Authorized Purchaser, other broker-dealer firm or its client
will be deemed a statutory underwriter if it purchases a basket
from the Fund, breaks the basket down into the constituent Shares
and sells the Shares to its customers; or if it chooses to couple
the creation of a supply of new Shares with an active selling
effort involving solicitation of secondary market demand for the
Shares. In contrast, Authorized Purchasers may engage in
secondary market or other transactions in Shares that would not be
deemed “underwriting.” For example, an
Authorized Purchaser may act in the capacity of a broker or dealer
with respect to Shares that were previously distributed by other
Authorized Purchasers. A determination of whether a
particular market participant is an underwriter must take into
account all the facts and circumstances pertaining to the
activities of the broker-dealer or its client in the particular
case, and the examples mentioned above should not be considered a
complete description of all the activities that would lead to
designation as an underwriter and subject them to the
prospectus-delivery and liability provisions of the 1933
Act.
Dealers who are neither Authorized
Purchasers nor “underwriters” but are nonetheless
participating in a distribution (as contrasted to ordinary
secondary trading transactions), and thus dealing with Shares that
are part of an “unsold allotment” within the meaning of
Section 4(a)(3)(C) of the 1933 Act, would be unable to take
advantage of the prospectus-delivery exemption provided by Section
4(a)(3) of the 1933 Act.
The Sponsor expects that any
broker-dealers selling Shares will be members of
FINRA. Investors intending to create or redeem baskets
through Authorized Purchasers in transactions not involving a
broker-dealer registered in such investor’s state of domicile
or residence should consult their legal advisor regarding
applicable broker-dealer regulatory requirements under the state
securities laws prior to such creation or
redemption.
While the Authorized Purchasers
may be indemnified by the Sponsor, they will not be entitled to
receive a discount or commission from the Trust or the Sponsor for
their purchases of Creation Baskets.
The Fund’s NAV per Share is
calculated by:
|
●
|
taking the current market value of
its total assets, and
|
|
●
|
subtracting any liabilities and
dividing the balance by the number of Shares.
|
USBFS, in its capacity as the
Administrator, calculates the NAV of the Fund once each trading
day. It calculates NAV as of the earlier of the close of
the New York Stock Exchange or 4:00 p.m. New York
time. The NAV for a particular trading day is released
after 4:15 p.m. New York time.
For purposes of the determining
the Fund’s NAV, the Fund’s investments in the
Underlying Funds will be valued based on the Underlying
Funds’ NAVs. In turn, in determining the value of
the Futures Contracts held by the Underlying Funds, the
Administrator will use the closing price on the exchange on which
they are traded, except that the “fair value” of a
Futures Contract (as described in more detail below) may be used
when the Futures Contract close at its price fluctuation limit for
the day. The Administrator will determine the value of
all other Fund and Underlying Fund investments as of the earlier of
the close of the New York Stock Exchange or 4:00 p.m. New York
time, in accordance with the current Services Agreement between the
Administrator and the Trust. The value of
over-the-counter Commodity Interests will be determined based on
the value of the commodity or Futures Contract underlying such
Commodity Interest, except that a fair value may be determined if
the Sponsor believes that the Underlying Fund is subject to
significant credit risk relating to the counterparty to such
Commodity Interest. Cash equivalents held by the Fund or
Underlying Funds are valued by the Administrator using values
received from recognized third-party vendors (such as Reuters) and
dealer quotes. NAV includes any unrealized profit or
loss on open Commodity Interests and any other credit or debit
accruing to the Fund but unpaid or not received by the
Fund.
The fair value of a Commodity
Interest shall be determined by the Sponsor in good faith and in a
manner that assesses the Commodity Interest’s value based on
a consideration of all available facts and information on the
valuation date. When a Futures Contract has closed at
its price fluctuation limit, the fair value determination attempts
to estimate the price at which such Futures Contract would be
trading in the absence of the price fluctuation limit (either above
such limit when an upward limit has been reached or below such
limit when a downward limit has been
reached). Typically, this estimate will be made
primarily by reference to the price of comparable Commodity
Interests trading in the over-the-counter market. The
fair value of a Commodity Interest may not reflect such
instrument’s market value or the amount an Underlying Fund
might reasonably expect to receive upon closing out the
instrument.
In addition, in order to provide
updated information relating to the Fund for use by investors and
market professionals, NYSE Arca calculates and disseminates
throughout the trading day an updated “indicative fund
value.” The indicative fund value is calculated by
using the prior day’s closing NAV per Share of the Fund as a
base and updating that value throughout the trading day to
reflect changes in the
indicative fund values of the Underlying Funds’
shares. Changes in the value of cash equivalents are not
included in the calculation of indicative fund
value. For this and other reasons, the indicative fund
value disseminated during the NYSE Arca trading hours should not be
viewed as an actual real time update of the NAV. NAV is
calculated only once at the end of each trading
day.
The indicative fund value for the
Fund and each Underlying Fund is disseminated by one or more major
market data vendors on a per Share basis every 15 seconds during
the NYSE Arca Core Trading Session. The normal
trading hours for Futures Contracts may begin after 9:30 a.m. and
end before 4:00 p.m. New York time, and there is a gap in time at
the beginning and the end of each day during which the Underlying
Funds’ shares are traded on the NYSE Arca, but real-time
trading prices for at least some of the Futures Contracts held by
the Underlying Funds are not available. As a result,
during those gaps there is no update to the indicative fund values
of the Underlying Funds and such indicative fund values, therefore,
will be static.
The NYSE Arca disseminates the
indicative fund value through the facilities of CTA/CQ High Speed
Lines. In addition, the indicative fund value is
published on the NYSE Arca’s website and is available through
on-line information services such as Bloomberg and
Reuters.
Dissemination of the indicative
fund value provides additional information that is not otherwise
available to the public and is useful to investors and market
professionals in connection with the trading of Fund Shares on the
NYSE Arca. Investors and market professionals are able
throughout the trading day to compare the market price of the Fund
and the indicative fund value. If the market price of
Fund Shares diverges significantly from the indicative fund value,
market professionals may have an incentive to execute arbitrage
trades. For example, if the Fund appears to be trading
at a discount compared to the indicative fund value, a market
professional could buy Fund Shares on the NYSE Arca, aggregate them
into Redemption Baskets, and receive the NAV of such Shares by
redeeming them to the Trust provided that there are not a minimum
number of shares outstanding. Such arbitrage trades can
tighten the tracking between the market price of the Fund and the
indicative fund value and thus can be beneficial to all market
participants.
Creation and Redemption of
Shares
The Fund creates and redeems
Shares from time to time, but only in one or more Creation Baskets
or Redemption Baskets. The creation and redemption of
baskets are only made in exchange for delivery to the Fund or the
distribution by the Fund of the amount of cash, cash equivalents
and/or Underlying Fund shares equal to the combined NAV of the
number of Shares included in the baskets being created or redeemed
determined as of 4:00 p.m. New York time on the day the order to
create or redeem baskets is properly received.
Authorized Purchasers are the only
persons that may place orders to create and redeem
baskets. Authorized Purchasers must be (1) either
registered broker-dealers or other securities market participants,
such as banks and other financial institutions, that are not
required to register as broker-dealers to engage in securities
transactions as described below, and (2) DTC
Participants. To become an Authorized Purchaser, a
person must enter into an Authorized Purchaser Agreement with the
Sponsor. The Authorized Purchaser Agreement provides the
procedures for the creation and redemption of baskets and for the
delivery of the cash, cash equivalents and/or Underlying Fund
shares required for such creations and redemptions. The
Authorized Purchaser Agreement and the related procedures attached
thereto may be amended by the Sponsor, without the consent of any
Shareholder or Authorized Purchaser. Authorized Purchasers pay a
transaction fee of $250 to the Sponsor for each creation order they
place and a fee of $250 per order for
redemptions. Authorized Purchasers who make deposits
with the Fund in exchange for baskets receive no fees, commissions
or other form of compensation or inducement of any kind from either
the Trust or the Sponsor, and no such person will have any
obligation or responsibility to the Trust or the Sponsor to effect
any sale or resale of Shares.
Certain Authorized Purchasers are
expected to be capable of investing directly in the Specified
Commodities or the Commodity Interest markets. Some
Authorized Purchasers or their affiliates may from time to time buy
or sell the Specified Commodity or Commodity Interests and may
profit in these instances.
Each Authorized Purchaser will be
required to be registered as a broker-dealer under the Exchange Act
and a member in good standing with FINRA, or exempt from being or
otherwise not required to be registered as a broker-dealer or a
member of FINRA, and will be qualified to act as a broker or dealer
in the states or other jurisdictions where the nature of its
business so requires. Certain Authorized Purchasers may
also be regulated under federal and state banking laws and
regulations. Each Authorized Purchaser has its own set
of rules and procedures, internal controls and information barriers
as it determines is appropriate in light of its own regulatory
regime.
Under the Authorized Purchaser
Agreement, the Sponsor has agreed to indemnify the Authorized
Purchasers against certain liabilities, including liabilities under
the 1933 Act, and to contribute to the payments the Authorized
Purchasers may be required to make in respect of those
liabilities.
The following description of the
procedures for the creation and redemption of baskets is only a
summary and an investor should refer to the relevant provisions of
the Trust Agreement and the form of Authorized Purchaser Agreement
for more detail, each of which has been filed as an exhibit to the
registration statement of which this prospectus is a
part. See “Where You Can Find More
Information” for information about where you can obtain the
registration statement.
Creation Procedures
On any business day, an Authorized
Purchaser may place an order with USBFS in their capacity as the
transfer agent to create one or more baskets. For
purposes of processing purchase and redemption orders, a
“business day” means any day other than a day when any
of the NYSE Arca, CBOT, ICE, or the New York Stock Exchange is
closed for regular trading. Purchase orders must be
placed by noon New York time or the close of regular trading on the
New York Stock Exchange, whichever is earlier. The day
on which the Distributor receives a valid purchase order is
referred to as the purchase order date.
By placing a purchase order, an
Authorized Purchaser agrees to deposit cash, cash equivalents,
Underlying Fund shares, or a combination of cash, cash equivalents
and Underlying Fund shares with the Fund, as described
below. Prior to the delivery of baskets for a purchase
order, the Authorized Purchaser must also have wired to the Sponsor
the non-refundable transaction fee due for the purchase
order. Authorized Purchasers may not withdraw a purchase
order without the prior consent of the Sponsor in its
discretion.
Determination of Required Deposits
The total deposit required to
create each basket (“Creation Basket Deposit”) is the
amount of cash, cash equivalents and/or Underlying Fund shares that
is in the same proportion to the total assets of the Fund (net of
estimated accrued but unpaid fees, expenses and other liabilities)
on the purchase order date as the number of Shares to be created
under the purchase order is in proportion to the total number of
Shares outstanding on the purchase order date. The
Sponsor determines, directly in its sole discretion or in
consultation with the Custodian and the Administrator, the
requirements for cash, cash equivalents and/or Underlying Fund
shares, including the remaining maturities of the Treasury
Securities and proportions of cash, cash equivalents and/or
Underlying Fund shares, that may be included in deposits to create
baskets. If cash equivalents are to be included in a
Creation Basket Deposit for orders placed on a given business day,
the Administrator will publish an estimate of the Creation Basket
Deposit requirements at the beginning of such
day.
Delivery of Required Deposits
An Authorized Purchaser who places
a purchase order is responsible for transferring to the
Fund’s account with the Custodian the required amount of
cash, cash equivalents and/or Underlying Fund shares by the end of
a later business day, generally, and not to exceed, two business
days after the purchase order date, as agreed to between the
Authorized Purchaser and the Custodian when the purchase order is
placed (the “Purchase Settlement
Date”). Upon receipt of the deposit amount, the
Custodian directs DTC to credit the number of baskets ordered to
the Authorized Purchaser’s DTC account on the Purchase
Settlement Date.
Because orders to purchase baskets
must be placed by noon, New York time, but the total payment
required to create a basket during the continuous offering period
will not be determined until 4:00 p.m., New York time, on the date
the purchase order is received, Authorized Purchasers will not know
the total amount of the payment required to create a basket at the
time they submit an irrevocable purchase order for the
basket. The Fund’s NAV and the total amount of the
payment required to create a basket could rise or fall
substantially between the time an irrevocable purchase order is
submitted and the time the amount of the purchase price in respect
thereof is determined.
Rejection of Purchase Orders
The Sponsor acting by itself or
through the Distributor or transfer agent may reject a purchase
order or a Creation Basket Deposit if:
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it determines that, due to
position limits or otherwise, investment alternatives that will
enable the Fund to meet its investment objective are not available
or practicable at that time;
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it determines that the purchase
order or the Creation Basket Deposit is not in proper
form;
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it believes that acceptance of the
purchase order or the Creation Basket Deposit would have adverse
tax consequences to the Fund or its
Shareholders;
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the acceptance or receipt of the
Creation Basket Deposit would, in the opinion of counsel to the
Sponsor, be unlawful;
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circumstances outside the control
of the Sponsor, Distributor or transfer agent make it, for all
practical purposes, not feasible to process creations of
baskets;
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there is a possibility that any or
all of the Benchmark Component Futures Contracts of an Underlying
Fund on the futures exchange from which the NAV of that Underlying
Fund is calculated will be priced at a daily price limit
restriction; or
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if, in the sole discretion of the
Sponsor, the execution of such an order would not be in the best
interest of the Fund or its Shareholders.
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None of the Sponsor, Distributor
or transfer agent will be liable for the rejection of any purchase
order or Creation Basket Deposit.
Redemption Procedures
The procedures by which an
Authorized Purchaser can redeem one or more baskets mirror the
procedures for the creation of baskets. On any business
day, an Authorized Purchaser may place an order with the transfer
agent to redeem one or more baskets. Redemption orders
must be placed by noon New York time or the close of regular
trading on the New York Stock Exchange, whichever is
earlier. A redemption order so received will be
effective on the date it is received in satisfactory form by the
Distributor. The redemption procedures allow Authorized
Purchasers to redeem baskets and do not entitle an individual
Shareholder to redeem any Shares in an amount less than a
Redemption Basket, or to redeem baskets other than through an
Authorized Purchaser. By placing a redemption order, an
Authorized Purchaser agrees to deliver the baskets to be redeemed
through DTC’s book-entry system to the Fund by the end of a
later business day, generally, but not to exceed, two business days
after the effective date of the redemption order, as agreed to
between the Authorized Purchaser and the transfer agent when the
redemption order is placed (the “Redemption Settlement
Date”). Prior to the delivery of the redemption
distribution for a redemption order, the Authorized Purchaser must
also have wired to the Sponsor’s account at the Custodian the
non-refundable transaction fee due for the redemption
order. An Authorized Purchaser may not withdraw a
redemption order without the prior consent of the Sponsor in its
discretion.
Determination of Redemption Distribution
The redemption distribution from
the Fund consists of a transfer to the redeeming Authorized
Purchaser of an amount of cash, cash equivalents and/or Underlying
Fund shares that is in the same proportion to the total assets of
the Fund (net of estimated accrued but unpaid fees, expenses and
other liabilities) on the date the order to redeem is properly
received as the number of Shares to be redeemed under the
redemption order is in proportion to the total number of Shares
outstanding on the date the order is received. The
Sponsor, directly or in consultation with the Custodian and
Administrator, determines the requirements for cash, cash
equivalents and/or Underlying Fund shares, including the remaining
maturities of the cash, cash equivalents and/or Underlying Fund
shares, that may be included in distributions to redeem
baskets. If cash equivalents are to be included in a
redemption distribution for orders placed on a given business day,
the Custodian and Administrator will publish an estimate of the
redemption distribution composition as of the beginning of such
day.
Delivery of Redemption Distribution
The redemption distribution due
from the Fund will be delivered to the Authorized Purchaser on the
Redemption Settlement Date if the Fund’s DTC account has been
credited with the baskets to be redeemed. If the
Fund’s DTC account has not been credited with all of the
baskets to be redeemed by the end of such date, the redemption
distribution will be delivered to the extent of whole baskets
received. Any remainder of the redemption distribution
will be delivered on the next business day after the Redemption
Settlement Date to the extent of remaining whole baskets received
if the Sponsor receives the fee applicable to the extension of the
Redemption Settlement Date which the Sponsor may, from time to
time, determine and the remaining baskets to be redeemed are
credited to the Fund’s DTC account on such next business
day. Any further outstanding amount of the redemption
order shall be cancelled. Pursuant to information from
the Sponsor, the Custodian will also be authorized to deliver the
redemption distribution notwithstanding that the baskets to be
redeemed are not credited to the Fund’s DTC account by noon
New York time on the Redemption Settlement Date if the Authorized
Purchaser has collateralized its obligation to deliver the baskets
through DTC’s book entry-system on such terms as the Sponsor
may from time to time determine.
Suspension or Rejection of Redemption Orders
The Sponsor may, in its
discretion, suspend the right of redemption, or postpone the
redemption settlement date, (1) for any period during which the
NYSE Arca, CBOT or ICE is closed other than customary weekend or
holiday closings, or trading on the NYSE Arca, CBOT or ICE, is
suspended or restricted, (2) for any period during which an
emergency exists as a result of which delivery, disposal or
evaluation of cash equivalents is not reasonably practicable, (3)
for such other period as the Sponsor determines to be necessary for
the protection of the Shareholders, (4) if there is a possibility
that any or all of the Benchmark Component Futures Contracts of the
Underlying Funds on the CBOT or ICE from which the NAV of the Fund
is calculated will be priced at a daily price limit restriction, or
(5) if, in the sole discretion of the Sponsor, the execution of
such an order would not be in the best interest of the Fund or its
Shareholders. For example, the Sponsor may determine
that it is necessary to suspend redemptions to allow for the
orderly liquidation of the Fund’s assets at an appropriate
value to fund a redemption. If the Sponsor has
difficulty liquidating the Fund’s positions, e.g., because of
a market disruption event in the futures markets or an
unanticipated delay in the liquidation of a position in an over the
counter contract, it may be appropriate to suspend redemptions
until such time as such circumstances are
rectified. None of the Sponsor, the Distributor, or the
transfer agent will be liable to any person or in any way for any
loss or damages that may result from any such suspension or
postponement.
Redemption orders must be made in
whole baskets. The Sponsor will reject a redemption order if the
order is not in proper form as described in the Authorized
Purchaser Agreement or if the fulfillment of the order, in the
opinion of its counsel, might be unlawful. The Sponsor
may also reject a redemption order if the number of Shares being
redeemed would reduce the remaining outstanding Shares to 50,000
Shares (i.e., two baskets of 25,000 Shares each) or less, unless
the Sponsor has reason to believe that the placer of the redemption
order does in fact possess all the outstanding Shares of the Fund
and can deliver them.
Creation and Redemption Transaction Fees
To compensate the Sponsor for its
expenses in connection with the creation of baskets, an Authorized
Purchaser is required to pay a transaction fee to the Sponsor of
$250 per order. The transaction fees may be
reduced, increased or otherwise changed by the
Sponsor.
Tax Responsibility
Authorized Purchasers are
responsible for any transfer tax, sales or use tax, stamp tax,
recording tax, value added tax or similar tax or governmental
charge applicable to the creation or redemption of baskets,
regardless of whether or not such tax or charge is imposed directly
on the Authorized Purchaser, and agree to indemnify the Sponsor and
the Fund if they are required by law to pay any such tax, together
with any applicable penalties, additions to tax and interest
thereon.
Secondary Market
Transactions
As noted, the Fund will create and
redeem Shares from time to time, but only in one or more Creation
Baskets or Redemption Baskets. The creation and
redemption of baskets are only made in exchange for delivery to the
Fund or the distribution by the Fund of the amount of cash, cash
equivalents and/or Underlying Fund shares to the aggregate NAV of
the number of Shares included in the baskets being created or
redeemed determined on the day the order to create or redeem
baskets is properly received.
As discussed above, Authorized
Purchasers are the only persons that may place orders to create and
redeem baskets. Authorized Purchasers must be registered
broker-dealers or other securities market participants, such as
banks and other financial institutions that are not required to
register as broker-dealers to engage in securities
transactions. An Authorized Purchaser is under no
obligation to create or redeem baskets, and an Authorized Purchaser
is under no obligation to offer to the public Shares of any baskets
it does create. Authorized Purchasers that do offer to
the public Shares from the baskets they create will do so at
per-Share offering prices that are expected to reflect, among other
factors, the trading price of the Shares on the NYSE Arca, the NAV
of the Shares at the time the Authorized Purchaser purchased the
Creation Baskets, the NAV of the Shares at the time of the offer of
the Shares to the public, the supply of and demand for Shares at
the time of sale, and the liquidity of the Commodity Interest
markets. The prices of Shares offered by Authorized
Purchasers are expected to fall between the Fund’s NAV and
the trading price of the Shares on the NYSE Arca at the time of
sale. Shares initially comprising the same basket but
offered by Authorized Purchasers to the public at different times
may have different offering prices. An order for one or
more baskets may be placed by an Authorized Purchaser on behalf of
multiple clients. Shares are expected to trade in the
secondary market on the NYSE Arca. Shares may trade in
the secondary market at prices that are lower or higher relative to
their NAV per Share. The amount of the discount or
premium in the trading price relative to the NAV per Share may be
influenced by various factors, including the number of investors
who seek to purchase or sell Shares in the secondary market and the
liquidity of the Commodity Interest markets. While the
Shares trade on the NYSE Arca until 4:00 p.m. New York time,
liquidity in the markets for Commodity Interests may be reduced
after the close of regular trading for Futures Contracts (the
closing hours of the CBOT and the ICE Futures are adjusted
periodically by those Exchanges and can be confirmed by accessing
the websites of those same). As a result, during this
time, trading spreads, and the resulting premium or discount, on
the Shares may widen.
Payments to Financial Intermediaries
Investors purchasing Shares in the
secondary market through a brokerage account or with the assistance
of a broker may be subject to brokerage commissions and charges. If
you purchase Fund Shares through a broker-dealer or other financial
intermediary (such as a bank), the Fund, the Sponsor or an
affiliate of the Sponsor may pay the intermediary for the sale of
Fund Shares and related services. These payments may create a
conflict of interest by influencing broker-dealers or other
intermediaries and your salesperson to recommend the Fund over
another investment. Ask your salesperson or visit your financial
intermediary’s website for more
information.
The Sponsor causes the Fund to
transfer the proceeds of the sale of Creation Baskets to the
Custodian or another custodian for use in trading
activities. The Sponsor invests substantially all of the
Fund’s assets in shares of the Underlying Funds, although
some residual amount of Fund assets may be held in cash and/or cash
equivalents. The Sponsor invests the Underlying
Funds’ assets in Futures Contracts, Other Commodity
Interests, cash and cash equivalents. When the
Underlying Funds purchase Futures Contracts and certain Other
Commodity Interests that are exchange-traded, the Underlying Fund
is required to deposit with the FCM on behalf of the exchange a
portion of the value of the contract or other interest as security
to ensure payment for the obligation under the Commodity Interests
at maturity. This deposit is known as initial
margin. Counterparties in transactions in
over-the-counter Commodity Interests will generally impose similar
collateral requirements on the Underlying Funds. The
Sponsor invests the Underlying Funds’ assets that remain
after margin and collateral is posted in cash and/or cash
equivalents. Subject to these margin and collateral
requirements, the Sponsor has sole authority to determine the
percentage of assets that will be:
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held as margin or collateral with
FCMs or other custodians;
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used for other investments;
and
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held in bank accounts to pay
current obligations and as reserves.
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In general, the Underlying Funds
expect that they will be required to post approximately 5% of the
notional amount of a Commodity Interest as initial margin when
entering into such Commodity Interest. Ongoing margin
and collateral payments will generally be required for both
exchange-traded and over-the-counter Commodity Interests based on
changes in the value of the Commodity
Interests. Furthermore, ongoing collateral requirements
with respect to over-the-counter Commodity Interests are negotiated
by the parties, and may be affected by overall market volatility,
volatility of the underlying commodity or index, the ability of the
counterparty to hedge its exposure under the Commodity Interest,
and each party’s creditworthiness. In light of the
differing requirements for initial payments under exchange-traded
and over-the-counter Commodity Interests and the fluctuating nature
of ongoing margin and collateral payments, it is not possible to
estimate what portion of the Underlying Funds’ assets will be
posted as margin or collateral at any given time. The
cash and cash equivalents held by the Underlying Fund constitute
reserves that are available to meet ongoing margin and collateral
requirements. All interest income received by an
Underlying Fund is used for such Underlying Fund’s
benefit.
An FCM, counterparty, government
agency or commodity exchange could increase margin or collateral
requirements applicable to the Fund to hold trading positions at
any time. Moreover, margin is merely a security deposit
and has no bearing on the profit or loss potential for any
positions held. Further, under recently adopted CFTC rules, the
Fund may be obligated to post initial and variation margin with
respect to swaps (and options that qualify as swaps) and traded
over-the -counter, and, where applicable, on
SEFs.
The approximate 5% of the assets of the
Underlying Funds that are held by the FCM are held in segregation
pursuant to the CEA and CFTC regulations.
Management’s Discussion and Analysis of
Financial Condition and Results of Operations
Critical Accounting Policies
Preparation of the financial
statements and related disclosures in conformity with U. S.
generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”)
requires the application of appropriate accounting rules and
guidance, as well as the use of estimates, and requires management
to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts
of assets and liabilities, revenue, and expense and related
disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities during the
reporting period of the financial statements and accompanying
notes. The Trust’s application of these policies involves
judgments, and actual results may differ from the estimates
used.
The Sponsor has determined that
the valuation of Commodity Interests that are not traded on a U.S.
or internationally recognized futures exchange (such as swaps and
other over-the-counter contracts) involves a critical accounting
policy. The values which are used by the Funds for futures
contracts will be provided by the commodity broker who will use
market prices when available, while over-the-counter contracts will
be valued based on the present value of estimated future cash flows
that would be received from or paid to a third party in settlement
of these derivative contracts prior to their delivery date. Values
will be determined on a daily basis.
As it relates to the Commodity
Futures held by the Underlying Funds, the Sponsor has determined
that the valuation of Commodity Interests that are not traded on a
U.S. or internationally recognized futures exchange (such as swaps
and other over-the-counter contracts) involves a critical
accounting policy. The values which are used by the
Underlying Funds for futures contracts will be provided by the
commodity broker who will use market prices when available, while
over-the-counter contracts will be valued based on the present
value of estimated future cash flows that would be received from or
paid to a third party in settlement of these derivative contracts
prior to their delivery date. Values will be determined on a
daily basis.
In addition, Commodity Futures
held by the Underlying Funds are recorded on the trade date. All
such transactions are recorded on the identified cost basis and
marked to market daily. Unrealized appreciation or depreciation on
commodity futures contracts are reflected in the statement of
operations as the difference between the original contract amount
and the fair market value as of the last business day of the year
or as of the last date of the financial statements. Changes in the
appreciation or depreciation between periods are reflected in the
statement of operations for the Underlying Fund. Interest on cash
equivalents and deposits are recognized on the accrual basis. The
Underlying Funds earn interest funds held at the custodian and
other financial institutions at prevailing market rates for such
investments.
Cash and cash equivalents are cash
held at financial institutions in demand-deposit accounts or
highly-liquid investments with original maturity dates of three
months or less at inception. The Fund reports cash
equivalents in the statements of assets and liabilities at market
value, or at carrying amounts that approximate fair value, because
of their highly-liquid nature and short-term maturities. Assets
deposited with financial institutions may, at times, exceed
federally insured limits.
The use of fair value to measure
financial instruments, with related unrealized gains or losses
recognized in earnings in each period is fundamental to the
Fund’s financial statements. In accordance with GAAP, fair
value is defined as the price that would be received to sell an
asset or paid to transfer a liability (i.e., the exit price) in an
orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement
date.
In determining fair value, the
Trust uses various valuation approaches. In accordance with
GAAP, a fair value hierarchy for inputs is used in measuring fair
value that maximizes the use of observable inputs and minimizes the
use of unobservable inputs by requiring that the most observable
inputs be used when available. Observable inputs are those
that market participants would use in pricing the asset or
liability based on market data obtained from sources independent of
the Trust. Unobservable inputs reflect the Trust’s
assumptions about the inputs market participants would use in
pricing the asset or liability developed based on the best
information available in the circumstances. The fair value
hierarchy is categorized into three levels: a) Level 1 - Valuations based on
unadjusted quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or
liabilities that the Trust has the ability to access.
Valuation adjustments and block discounts are not applied to Level
1 securities and financial instruments. Since valuations are
based on quoted prices that are readily and regularly available in
an active market, valuation of these securities and financial
instruments does not entail a significant degree of judgment, b)
Level 2 - Valuations based
on quoted prices in markets that are not active or for which all
significant inputs are observable, either directly or indirectly,
and c) Level 3 - Valuations
based on inputs that are unobservable and significant to the
overall fair value measurement. See the notes within the
financial statements for further information.
The Fund and the Trust record
their derivative activities at fair value. Gains and losses from
derivative contracts are included in the statement of
operations. Derivative contracts include futures
contracts related to commodity prices. Futures, which are listed on
a national securities exchange, such as the CBOT or the New York
Mercantile Exchange (“NYMEX”), or reported on another
national market, are generally categorized in Level 1 of the fair
value hierarchy. OTC derivatives contracts (such as
forward and swap contracts) which may be valued using models,
depending on whether significant inputs are observable or
unobservable, are categorized in Levels 2 or 3 of the fair value
hierarchy.
The Trust, in presenting its
financial statements including all the series of the Trust,
excludes the shares of the other series of the Trust owned by the
Teucrium Agricultural Fund from its statements of assets and
liabilities. The Trust excludes the net change in unrealized
appreciation or depreciation on securities owned by the Teucrium
Agricultural Fund from its statements of operations. Upon the sale
of the Underlying Funds by the Teucrium Agricultural Fund, the
Trust includes any realized gain or loss in its statements of
changes in net assets.
Brokerage commissions on all open
commodity futures contracts are accrued on a full-turn
basis.
Margin is the minimum amount of
funds that must be deposited by a commodity interest trader with
the trader’s broker to initiate and maintain an open position
in futures contracts. A margin deposit acts to assure the
trader’s performance of the futures contracts purchased or
sold. Futures contracts are customarily bought and sold on initial
margin that represents a very small percentage of the aggregate
purchase or sales price of the contract. Because of such low margin
requirements, price fluctuations occurring in the futures markets
may create profits and losses that, in relation to the amount
invested, are greater than are customary in other forms of
investment or speculation. As discussed below, adverse price
changes in the futures contract may result in margin requirements
that greatly exceed the initial margin. In addition, the amount of
margin required in connection with a particular futures contract is
set from time to time by the exchange on which the contract is
traded and may be modified from time to time by the exchange during
the term of the contract. Brokerage firms, such as the Teucrium
Funds’ clearing brokers, carrying accounts for traders in
commodity interest contracts generally require higher amounts of
margin as a matter of policy to further protect themselves.
Over-the-counter trading generally involves the extension of credit
between counterparties, so the counterparties may agree to require
the posting of collateral by one or both parties to address credit
exposure.
When a trader purchases an option,
there is no margin requirement; however, the option premium must be
paid in full. When a trader sells an option, on the other hand, he
or she is required to deposit margin in an amount determined by the
margin requirements established for the underlying interest and, in
addition, an amount substantially equal to the current premium for
the option. The margin requirements imposed on the selling of
options, although adjusted to reflect the probability that
out-of-the-money options will not be exercised, can in fact be
higher than those imposed in dealing in the futures markets
directly. Complicated margin requirements apply to spreads and
conversions, which are complex trading strategies in which a trader
acquires a mixture of options positions and positions in the
underlying interest.
Ongoing or
“maintenance” margin requirements are computed each day
by a trader’s clearing broker. When the market value of a
particular open futures contract changes to a point where the
margin on deposit does not satisfy maintenance margin requirements,
a margin call is made by the broker. If the margin call is not met
within a reasonable time, the broker may close out the
trader’s position. With respect to the Teucrium Funds’
trading, the Funds (and not its shareholders personally) are
subject to margin calls.
Finally, many major U.S. exchanges
have passed certain cross margining arrangements involving
procedures pursuant to which the futures and options positions held
in an account would, in the case of some accounts, be aggregated,
and margin requirements would be assessed on a portfolio basis,
measuring the total risk of the combined
positions.
For federal income tax purposes,
the Teucrium Funds will be treated as partnerships. Therefore, the
Teucrium Funds do not record a provision for income taxes because
the partners report their share of a Fund’s income or loss on
their income tax returns. The financial statements reflect the
Teucrium Funds’ transactions without adjustment, if any,
required for income tax purposes.
For commercial paper, the Fund and
the Underlying Funds use the effective interest method for
calculating the actual interest rate in a period based on the
amount of a financial instrument's book value at the beginning of
the accounting period. Accretion on these investments are
recognized on the effective interest method in U.S. dollars and
recognized in cash equivalents. All discounts on purchase prices of
debt securities are accreted over the life of the respective
security.
Results of
Operations
The Teucrium
Agricultural Fund commenced operation on March 28, 2012. On April
22, 2011, an initial registration statement was filed with the
Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”). On February
10, 2012, the Fund’s initial registration of 5,000,000 shares
on Form S1 was declared effective by the U.S. Securities and
Exchange Commission (“SEC”). On March 28, 2012, the
Fund listed its shares on the NYSE Arca under the ticker symbol
“TAGS.” On the business day prior to that, the Fund
issued 300,000 shares in exchange for $15,000,000 at the
Fund’s initial NAV of $50 per share. The Fund also commenced
investment operations on March 28, 2012 by purchasing shares of the
Underlying Funds. On December 31, 2011, the Fund had two shares
outstanding, which were owned by the Sponsor.
The investment
objective of the Fund is to have the daily changes in percentage
terms of the Net Asset Value (“NAV”) of its common
units (“Shares”) reflect the daily changes in
percentage terms of a weighted average (the “Underlying Fund
Average”) of the NAVs per share of four other commodity pools
that are series of the Trust and are sponsored by the Sponsor: the
Teucrium Corn Fund (“CORN”), the Teucrium Wheat Fund
(“WEAT”), the Teucrium Soybean Fund
(“SOYB”) and the Teucrium Sugar Fund
(“CANE”) (collectively, the “Underlying
Funds”). The Underlying Fund Average will have a weighting of
25% to each Underlying Fund, and the Fund’s assets will be
rebalanced, generally on a daily basis, to maintain the approximate
25% allocation to each Underlying Fund. The Fund does not intend to
invest directly in futures contracts (“Futures
Contracts”), although it reserves the right to do so in the
future, including if an Underlying Fund ceases
operations.
The investment
objective of each Underlying Fund is to have the daily changes in
percentage terms of its shares’ NAV reflect the daily changes
in percentage terms of a weighted average of the closing settlement
prices for certain Futures Contracts for the commodity specified in
the Underlying Fund’s name. (This weighted average is
referred to herein as the Underlying Fund’s
“Benchmark,” the Futures Contracts that at any given
time make up an Underlying Fund’s Benchmark are referred to
herein as the Underlying Fund’s “Benchmark Component
Futures Contracts,” and the commodity specified in the
Underlying Fund’s name is referred to herein as its
“Specified Commodity.”) Specifically, the Teucrium Corn
Fund’s Benchmark is: (1) the secondtoexpire
Futures Contract for corn traded on the Chicago Board of Trade
(“CBOT”), weighted 35%, (2) the
thirdtoexpire CBOT corn Futures Contract, weighted 30%,
and (3) the CBOT corn Futures Contract expiring in the December
following the expiration month of the thirdtoexpire
contract, weighted 35%. The Teucrium Wheat Fund’s Benchmark
is: (1) the secondtoexpire CBOT wheat Futures Contract,
weighted 35%, (2) the thirdtoexpire CBOT wheat Futures
Contract, weighted 30%, and (3) the CBOT wheat Futures Contract
expiring in the December following the expiration month of the
thirdtoexpire contract, weighted 35%. The Teucrium
Soybean Fund’s Benchmark is: (1) the
secondtoexpire CBOT soybean Futures Contract, weighted
35%, (2) the thirdtoexpire CBOT soybean Futures
Contract, weighted 30%, and (3) the CBOT soybean Futures Contract
expiring in the November following the expiration month of the
thirdtoexpire contract, weighted 35%, except that CBOT
soybean Futures Contracts expiring in August and September will not
be part of the Teucrium Soybean Fund’s Benchmark because of
the less liquid market for these Futures Contracts. The Teucrium
Sugar Fund’s Benchmark is: (1) the secondtoexpire
Sugar No. 11 Futures Contract traded on ICE Futures US (“ICE
Futures”), weighted 35%, (2) the thirdtoexpire
ICE Futures Sugar No. 11 Futures Contract, weighted 30%, and (3)
the ICE Futures Sugar No. 11 Futures Contract expiring in the March
following the expiration month of the thirdtoexpire
contract, weighted 35%.
On December 31,
2017, the Fund held: 1) 17,158 shares of CORN with a fair value of
$287,376. 2) 47,737 shares of WEAT with a fair value of $286,031.
3) 15,331 shares of SOYB with a fair value of $273,664. and 4)
29,524 shares of CANE with a fair value of $289,049. The weighting
on December 31, 2017 was 25% to CORN, 25% to WEAT, 25% to SOYB and
25% to CANE.
The
benchmark for the Fund is the Teucrium Agricultural Index (TTAGS)
which is defined as: A weighted average of the daily changes in
percentage terms of the Shares’ NAV reflect the daily changes
in percentage terms of a weighted average (the “Underlying
Fund Average”) of the NAVs per share of four other commodity
pools that are series of the Trust and are sponsored by the
Sponsor: the Teucrium Corn Fund, the Teucrium Wheat Fund, the
Teucrium Soybean Fund and the Teucrium Sugar Fund (collectively,
the “Underlying Funds”). The Fund seeks to achieve its
investment objective by investing under normal market conditions in
the publiclytraded shares of each Underlying Fund so that the
Underlying Fund Average will have a weighting of 25% to each
Underlying Fund, and the Fund’s assets will be rebalanced,
generally on a daily basis, to maintain the approximate 25%
allocation to each Underlying Fund. To convert to an index, 100 is
set to $50 the opening day price of TAGS.
The chart below
shows the percent change in the NAV per share for the Fund, the
market price of the Fund shares, represented by the closing price
of the Fund on the NYSE Arca or the midpoint of the 4 pm bid
and ask if no closing price is available, and TTAGS for two
periods. One period is December 31, 2016 compared to December 31,
2017. The second period is from the commencement of operations to
December 31, 2017. The Benchmark does not reflect any impact of
expenses, which would generally reduce the Fund’s NAV, or
interest income, which would generally increase the NAV. The actual
results for the NAV do include the impacts of both expenses and
interest income.
Period
|
Change
in NAV per share
|
Change
in Market Price
|
Change
in the Benchmark (TTAGS)
|
December 31, 2016 to
December 31, 2017
|
13.58%
|
13.94%
|
13.25%
|
March 28, 2012 to
December 31, 2017
|
54.00%
|
55.48%
|
52.46%
|
For the Year Ended December 31, 2017 Compared to the Years Ended
December 31, 2016 and 2015
On December 31,
2017, 2016 and 2015, the Fund had 50,002 shares outstanding. The
net assets of the Fund were $1,137,639 in 2017, $1,316,370 in 2016,
and $1,329,390 in 2015. There were no shares issued or redeemed in
2017, 2016 or 2015. Effective August 2, 2012, the Fund was at
50,002 shares outstanding which represents a minimum number of
shares and there could be no further redemptions until additional
shares are created. As of April 11, 2018, there were 75,002 shares
outstanding and there could be a redemption of 25,000
shares.
Total net assets
for the Fund were $1,137,639 on December 31, 2017, compared to
$1,316,370 on December 31, 2016 and $1,329,390 on December 31,
2015. The Net Asset Values (“NAV”) per share related to
these balances were $22.75, $26.33, and $26.59 respectively. When
comparing December 31, 2017 with 2016, there was a decrease in
total net assets of 14%, which was driven by a change in the NAV
per share which decreased by ($3.58) or 14%. When comparing
December 31, 2017 with 2015, there was an decrease in total net
assets of 14%, which was driven by a change in the NAV per share
which decreased by ($3.84) or 14%. The closing prices per share for
2017, 2016 and 2015, as reported by the NYSE Arca, were $22.10,
$25.68, and $26.47, respectively. The change from December 31, 2017
over prior years was a 14% decrease from 2016 and 17% decrease from
2015.
The graph below
shows the actual shares outstanding, total net assets (or AUM) and
net asset value per share (NAV per share) for the Fund from
inception to December 31, 2017 and serves to illustrate the
relative changes of these components.
Total loss for
2017 was ($172,520) resulting from the realized loss on the
securities of the Underlying Funds totaling ($238,398) and a gain
generated by the unrealized appreciation on the securities of the
Underlying Funds of $65,864. Total loss for the period in 2016 and
2015 was ($6,220) and ($316,186), respectively. Realized gain or
loss on the securities of the Underlying Funds is a function of: 1)
the change in the price of particular contracts sold in relation to
redemption of shares, and 2) the gain or loss associated with
rebalancing trades which are made to ensure conformance to the
benchmark. Unrealized gain or loss on the securities of the
Underlying Funds is a function of the change in the price of shares
held on the final date of the period versus the purchase price for
each and the number held. The Sponsor has a static benchmark as
described above and trades futures contracts to adhere to that
benchmark and to adjust for the creation or redemption of
shares.
On August 17, 2015 (the
“Conversion Date”), U.S. Bank N.A. replaced The Bank of
New York Mellon as the Custodian for the Funds. In addition,
effective on the Conversion Date, U.S. Bancorp Fund Services, LLC
(“USBFS”), a wholly owned subsidiary of U.S. Bank,
commenced serving as administrator for the Fund, performing certain
administrative and accounting services and preparing certain SEC
reports on behalf of the Funds, and also became the registrar and
transfer agent for each Fund’s Shares. For such services,
U.S. Bank and USBFS will receive an asset-based fee, subject to a
minimum annual fee.
The Sponsor stated in the Forms
10-Q filed on August 10, 2015 and November 9, 2015, in addition to
other documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission,
that it did not anticipate any material change to the expenses for
any Fund, net of expenses waived by the Sponsor, as a result of the
servicing conversion to USBFS. Given this conversion, the Sponsor
has, for the year-ended December 31, 2015, reflected an expense,
before and after fees waived by the Sponsor, for fees associated
with Custodian, Fund Administration and Transfer Agent services
(“Custodian Fees”) that have or will be paid to the
Bank of New York Mellon by a Fund or by the Sponsor on behalf of a
Fund.
Total expenses
gross of expenses waived by the Sponsor (“Total
expenses”) for 2017 were $46,481. total expenses for 2016
were $45,259 and $200,236 in 2015. This represents a $1,222 or 3%
increase for 2017 over 2016 and a ($153,755) or 77% decrease for
2017 over 2015. The increase for 2017 over 2016 was driven
principally by: 1) a $3,015 or 25% increase in professional fees
related to auditing, legal and tax preparation fees. and 2) a $67
or 12% increase in other expenses. There were decreases in all
other categories due to lower average net assets relative to the
other Funds. There were decreases in all expense categories when
comparing 2017 versus 2015. These decreases were driven principally
by: 1) a ($9,926) or 40% decrease in professional fees related to
auditing, legal and tax preparation fees. 2) a ($131,875) or 98%
decrease in custodian fees and expenses as a result of the
servicing conversion to USBFS and U.S. Bank, N.A.. and 3) a
($6,993) or 80% decrease in general and administrative expenses.
All other expense categories also decreased slightly. The total
expense ratio gross of expenses waived by the Sponsor for these
years was 3.74% in 2017, 3.33% in 2016, and 13.97% in
2015.
The Sponsor has
the ability to elect to pay certain expenses on behalf of the Fund.
This election is subject to change by the Sponsor, at its
discretion. For the year ended December 31, 2017, the Sponsor
waived fees of $40,270. the Sponsor has determined that no
reimbursement will be sought in future periods for those expenses
which have been waived for the year. The Sponsor permanently waived
$38,459 of expenses in 2016 and $193,063 in
2015.
Total expenses net
of expenses waived by the Sponsor (“Total expenses,
net”) for 2017, 2016 and 2015 were $6,211, $6,800, and $7,173
respectively. The total expense ratio net of expenses waived by the
Sponsor for these periods was 0.50% in 2017, 0.50% in 2016 and
0.50% in 2015.
Other than the
brokerage commissions, most of the expenses incurred by the Fund
are associated with the daytoday operation of the Fund
and the necessary functions related to regulatory compliance. These
are generally based on contracts, which extend for some period of
time and up to one year, or commitments regardless of the level of
assets under management. The structure of the Fund and the nature
of the expenses are such that as total net assets grow, there is a
scalability of expenses that may allow the net expense ratio to be
reduced. As the Sponsor has initiated a percentage based daily
expense accrual for the Fund, even if total net assets for the Fund
fall, the total expense ratio of the Fund will not increase. The
Sponsor can elect to adjust the daily expense accruals at its
discretion based on market conditions and other Fund
considerations.
Net cash provided
by the Fund’s operating activities during the period was $114
in 2017, $545 in 2016, and $168 in 2015. There were no proceeds
from creation baskets or payments for redemption baskets in 2017,
2016 or in 2015.
Benchmark Performance
As noted above, the Sponsor
endeavors to place the Fund’s trades in shares of the
Underlying Funds and otherwise manage the Fund’s investments
so that the Fund’s average daily tracking error against the
Benchmark will be less than 10 percent over any period of 30
trading days. More specifically, the Sponsor will endeavor to
manage the Fund so that A will be within plus/minus 10 percent of
B, where:
|
●
|
A is the average daily change in
the Fund’s NAV for any period of 30 successive valuation
days, i.e., any trading day as of which the Fund calculates its
NAV, and
|
|
●
|
B is the average daily change in
the Benchmark over the same period.
|
During the period from the January
1, 2017 through December 31, 2017, the average daily change in the
Fund’s NAV was within plus/minus 10 percent of the average
daily change in the Fund’s Benchmark.
Liquidity and Capital Resources
The Fund and the Underlying Funds
do not anticipate making use of borrowings or other lines of credit
to meet their obligations. It is anticipated that the
Fund and the Underlying Funds will meet their liquidity needs in
the normal course of business from the proceeds of the sale of
their investments or from the cash, cash equivalents and/or the
Treasuries Securities that they intend to hold. The
Fund’s liquidity needs include: redeeming Shares and paying
expenses. The purchase and or sale of shares of the
Underlying Funds for rebalancing purposes to meet the investment
objectives of the Fund will, generally, be liquidity neutral. The
Underlying Funds’ liquidity need include: redeeming their
shares, providing margin deposits for existing Futures Contracts or
the purchase of additional Futures Contracts, posting collateral
for over-the-counter Commodity Interests, and paying expenses,
summarized below under “Contractual
Obligations.”
The Fund generates cash primarily
from the sale of Creation Baskets, and the Underlying Funds will
generate cash primarily from (i) the sale of Creation Baskets and
(ii) interest earned on cash and cash
equivalents. Investment activities for the Fund have not
begun. Substantially all of the net assets of the Fund
are allocated to investments in the Underlying
Funds. Generally, all of the net assets of the
Underlying Funds are allocated to trading in Commodity
Interests. Most of the assets of the Underlying Funds
are held in, cash and/or cash equivalents that could or will be
used as margin or collateral for trading in Commodity
Interests. The percentage that such assets will bear to
the total net assets will vary from period to period as the market
values of the Commodity Interests change. Interest
earned on interest-bearing assets of a Fund or Underlying Fund will
be paid to the Fund or Underlying Fund, as the case may
be.
The investments of the Underlying
Funds in Commodity Interests will be subject to periods of
illiquidity because of market conditions, regulatory considerations
and other reasons. For example, U.S. futures exchanges
limit the fluctuations in the prices of certain Futures Contracts
during a single day by regulations referred to as “daily
limits.” During a single day, no trades may be
executed at prices beyond the daily limit. Once the
price of such a Futures Contract has increased or decreased by an
amount equal to the daily limit, positions in the contracts can
neither be taken nor liquidated unless the traders are willing to
effect trades at or within the limit. Such market
conditions could prevent the Fund from promptly liquidating a
position in Futures Contracts.
Beginning in the quarter-ended
June 30, 2015, the Sponsor invested a portion of the available cash
for the Underlying Funds in alternative demand-deposit savings
accounts; as of January 31, 2018, the Sponsor has cash deposits
Rabobank, N.A., a U.S. chartered bank headquartered in Roseville,
CA, and Mascoma Savings Bank, headquartered in White River
Junction, VT. These accounts have higher overnight
deposit rates than were available in the money market products at
the Custodians that had been utilized solely in the past. In
addition, the Underlying Funds have established an account at
Morgan Stanley so that the Underlying Funds may invest in
commercial paper rated at the date of purchase
“Prime-1” or “Prime-2” by Moody’s
and/or “A-1” or “A-2” by S&P, or if
unrated, of comparable quality as determined by the Sponsor.
Commercial paper represents short-term unsecured promissory notes
issued in bearer form by banks or bank holding companies,
corporations and finance companies. The duration until maturity of
such commercial paper held by the Underlying Funds will not exceed
ninety days.
If the Fund is
unsuccessful in raising sufficient funds to cover its expenses and
the Sponsor is unable or unwilling to continue covering the
Fund’s expenses, the Fund may terminate.
Market Risk
Investment by the Fund in shares
of the Underlying Funds will subject the Fund to the risks of the
Underlying Funds. Trading in Commodity Interests such as
Futures Contracts will involve the Underlying Funds entering into
contractual commitments to purchase or sell specific amounts of a
Specified Commodity at a specified date in the
future. The gross or face amount of the contracts is
expected to significantly exceed the future cash requirements of an
Underlying Fund since each Underlying Fund intends to close out any open
positions prior to the contractual expiration date. As a
result, an Underlying Fund’s market risk is the risk of loss
arising from the decline in value of the contracts, not from the
need to make delivery under the contracts. The
Underlying Funds consider the “fair value” of
derivative instruments to be the unrealized gain or loss on the
contracts. The market risk associated with the
commitment by an Underlying Fund to purchase a specific commodity
will be limited to the aggregate face amount of the contacts
held.
The exposure of an Underlying Fund
to market risk will depend on a number of factors including the
markets for its Specified Commodity, the volatility of interest
rates and foreign exchange rates, the liquidity of the Commodity
Interest markets and the relationships among the contracts held by
the Underlying Fund. The lack of experience of the
Sponsor in utilizing its model to trade in Commodity Interests in a
manner that tracks changes in an Underlying Fund’s
Benchmark, as well as
drastic market events, could ultimately lead to substantial losses
for Shareholders.
In addition, the Fund bears the
risk that its transactions in shares of the Underlying Funds will
not be executed at prices that accurately reflect the value of the
Underlying Funds. The Fund will purchase and sell
Underlying Fund shares in the secondary market rather than by
purchasing or redeeming Baskets, and the price of an Underlying
Fund’s shares on the secondary market will generally differ
somewhat from the Underlying Fund’s NAV. Such
premiums or discounts from NAV could at times be
substantial.
Credit Risk
When an Underlying Fund enters
into Commodity Interests, it will be exposed to the credit risk
that the counterparty will not be able to meet its
obligations. For purposes of credit risk, the
counterparty for the Futures Contracts traded on a futures exchange
is the clearinghouse associated with such exchange. In
general, clearinghouses are backed by their members who may be
required to share in the financial burden resulting from the
nonperformance of one of their members, which should significantly
reduce credit risk. Some foreign exchanges are not
backed by their clearinghouse members but may be backed by a
consortium of banks or other financial
institutions. Unlike in the case of exchange-traded
Futures Contracts, the counterparty to an over-the-counter
Commodity Interest contract is generally a single bank or other
financial institution such as an SD. As a result, there
will be greater counterparty credit risk in over-the-counter
transactions. There can be no assurance that any
counterparty, clearing house, or their financial backers will
satisfy their obligations to an Underlying
Fund.
The Fund may engage in off
exchange transactions broadly called an “exchange for related
position” transaction.” For purposes of the Dodd-Frank
Act and related CFTC rules, such a transaction is treated as a
“swap.” An “exchange for related position”
(“EFRP”) can be used by the Fund or an Underlying Fund
as a technique to facilitate the exchanging of a futures hedge
position against a creation or redemption order, and thus the Fund
or an Underlying Fund may use an EFRP transaction in connection
with the creation and redemption of shares. The market
specialist/market maker that is the ultimate purchaser or seller of
shares in connection with the creation or redemption basket,
respectively, agrees to sell or purchase a corresponding offsetting
shares or futures position which is then settled on the same
business day as a cleared futures transaction by the
FCMs. The Fund or the Underlying Fund will become
subject to the credit risk of the market specialist/market maker
until the EFRP is settled within the business day, which is
typically 7 hours or less. The Fund and the Underlying Funds
reports all activity related to EFRP transactions under the
procedures and guidelines of the CFTC and the exchanges on which
the futures are traded.
The Sponsor attempts to manage the
credit risk of the Underlying Funds by following certain trading
limitations and policies. In particular, the Underlying
Funds intend to post margin and collateral and/or hold liquid
assets that will be equal to approximately the face amount of the
Commodity Interests they hold. The Sponsor has
implemented procedures that include, but are not limited to,
executing and clearing trades and entering into over-the-counter
transactions only with parties it deems creditworthy and/or
requiring the posting of collateral by such parties for the benefit
of the Underlying Fund to limit its credit
exposure.
The Underlying Funds will
generally retain cash positions of approximately 95% of total net
assets; this balance represents the total net assets less the
initial margin requirements held by the FCM. These cash assets are
either: 1) deposited by the Sponsor in demand deposit accounts of
financial institutions which are rated in the highest short-term
rating category by a nationally recognized statistical rating
organization or deemed by the Sponsor to be of comparable quality;
2) invested in commercial paper; or 3) held in a money-market fund
which is deemed to be a cash equivalent under the most recent SEC
definition.
Off Balance Sheet Financing
As of the date of this prospectus,
neither the Trust nor the Fund has any loan guarantees, credit
support or other off-balance sheet arrangements of any kind other
than agreements entered into in the normal course of business,
which may include indemnification provisions relating to certain
risks service providers undertake in performing services which are
in the best interests of the Fund. While the
Fund’s exposure under these indemnification provisions cannot
be estimated, they are not expected to have a material impact on
the Fund’s financial positions.
Redemption Basket Obligation
Other than as necessary to meet
the investment objective of the Fund and pay its contractual
obligations described below, the Fund requires liquidity to redeem
Redemption Baskets. The Fund intends to satisfy this
obligation through the transfer of cash of the Fund (generated, if
necessary, through the sale of Underlying Fund shares) in an amount
proportionate to the number of Shares being redeemed, as described
above under
“Redemption Procedures.”
Contractual Obligations
The Fund’s and Underlying
Funds’ primary contractual obligation is with the Sponsor and
certain other service providers. While the Fund does not
pay the Sponsor a management fee directly, the Sponsor, in return
for its services, is entitled to a management fee from each
Underlying Fund calculated as a fixed percentage of the Underlying
Fund’s NAV, currently 1.00% of the Underlying Fund’s
average net assets, and the Fund indirectly pays its proportionate
share of the Underlying Funds’ management fees as a
shareholder of the Underlying Funds. The Fund and the
Underlying Fund are each also responsible for all ongoing fees,
costs and expenses of their operation, including (i) brokerage and
other fees and commissions incurred in connection with the trading
activities of the Fund or Underlying Fund; (ii) expenses incurred
in connection with registering additional Shares of the Fund or
Underlying Fund or offering Shares of the Fund or Underlying after
the time any Shares have begun trading on NYSE Arca; (iii) the
routine expenses associated with the preparation and, if required,
the printing and mailing of monthly, quarterly, annual and other
reports required by applicable U.S. federal and state regulatory
authorities, Trust meetings and preparing, printing and mailing
proxy statements to Shareholders; (iv) the payment of any
distributions related to redemption of Shares; (v) payment for
routine services of the Trustee, legal counsel and independent
accountants; (vi) payment for routine accounting, bookkeeping,
custody and transfer agency services, whether performed by an
outside service provider or by Affiliates of the Sponsor; (vii)
postage and insurance; (viii) costs and expenses associated with
client relations and services; (ix) costs of preparation of all
federal, state, local and foreign tax returns and any taxes payable
on the income, assets or operations of the Fund or Underlying Fund;
and (xi) extraordinary expenses (including, but not limited to,
legal claims and liabilities and litigation costs and any
indemnification related thereto).
While the Sponsor has agreed to
pay registration fees to the SEC, FINRA and any other regulatory
agency in connection with the offer and sale of the Shares offered
through this prospectus, the legal, printing, accounting and other
expenses associated with such registrations, and the initial fee of
$5,000 for listing the Shares on the NYSE Arca, the Fund will be
responsible for any registration fees and related expenses incurred
in connection with any future offer and sale of Shares of the Fund
in excess of those offered through this
prospectus.
The Fund and Underlying Funds pay
their own brokerage and other transaction costs. The
Fund will generally use broker-dealers to execute its transactions
in shares of the Underlying Funds. Other expenses to be
paid by the Fund are estimated to be 0.41% for the twelve-month
period ending April 30, 2019, though this amount may change in
future years. The Sponsor may, in its discretion, pay or
reimburse the Fund for, or waive a portion of its management fees
to offset, expenses that would otherwise be borne by the
Fund.
Any general expenses of the Trust
will be allocated among the Teucrium Funds and each other series
that may be established under the Trust in the future as determined
by the Sponsor in its sole and absolute discretion. The
Trust is also responsible for extraordinary expenses, including,
but not limited to, legal claims and liabilities and litigation
costs and any indemnification related thereto. The Trust
and/or the Sponsor may be required to indemnify the Trustee,
Distributor or Custodian/Administrator under certain
circumstances.
The parties cannot anticipate the
amount of payments that will be required under these arrangements
for future periods as the Fund’s NAV and trading levels to
meet their investment objectives will not be known until a future
date. These agreements are effective for a specific term
agreed upon by the parties with an option to renew, or, in some
cases, are in effect for the duration of the Fund’s
existence. The parties may terminate these agreements
earlier for certain reasons listed in the
agreements.
The following paragraphs are a
summary of certain provisions of the Trust Agreement. The following
discussion is qualified in its entirety by reference to the Trust
Agreement.
Authority of the Sponsor
The Sponsor is generally
authorized to perform all acts deemed necessary to carry out the
purposes of the Trust and to conduct the business of the
Trust. The Trust, the Fund and the Underlying Funds will
continue to exist until terminated in accordance with the Trust
Agreement. The Sponsor’s authority includes,
without limitation, the right to take the following
actions:
|
●
|
To enter into, execute, deliver
and maintain contracts, agreements and other documents and to take
action in furtherance of the Trust’s purpose or necessary or
appropriate for the offer and sale of the Shares and the conduct of
Trust activities;
|
|
●
|
To establish, maintain, deposit
into, sign checks and otherwise draw upon accounts on behalf of the
Trust with appropriate banking and savings institutions, and
execute and accept any instrument or agreement incidental to the
Trust’s business and in furtherance of its
purposes;
|
|
●
|
To deposit, withdraw, pay, retain
and distribute the trust estate of the Fund, the Underlying Funds
or any other Teucrium Fund (or any portion thereof) in any manner
consistent with the provisions of the Trust
Agreement;
|
|
●
|
To supervise the preparation and
filing of any registration statement (and supplements and
amendments thereto) for the Fund, the Underlying Funds and any
other Teucrium Fund;
|
|
●
|
To adopt, implement or amend, from
time to time, such disclosure and financial reporting information
gathering and control policies and procedures as are necessary or
desirable to ensure compliance with applicable disclosure and
financial reporting obligations under any applicable securities
laws;
|
|
●
|
To make any necessary
determination or decision in connection with the preparation of the
Trust’s financial statements and amendments
thereto;
|
|
●
|
To prepare, file and distribute,
if applicable, any periodic reports or updates that may be required
under the Exchange Act, the CEA or rules and regulations
promulgated thereunder;
|
|
●
|
To pay or authorize the payment of
distributions to the Shareholders and expenses of the Teucrium
Funds, including the Fund and the Underlying
Funds;
|
|
●
|
To make any elections on behalf of
the Trust or any Teucrium Fund under the Code, or any other
applicable U.S. federal or state tax law as the Sponsor shall
determine to be in the best interests of the Trust or the
applicable Fund; and
|
|
●
|
In its sole discretion, to admit
an affiliate or affiliates of the Sponsor as additional
Sponsors.
|
The Sponsor’s Obligations
In addition to the duties imposed
by the Delaware Trust Statute and under the Trust Agreement, the
Sponsor has the following obligations as a sponsor of the
Trust:
|
●
|
Devote to the business and affairs
of the Trust such of its time as it determines in its discretion
(exercised in good faith) to be necessary for the benefit of the
Trust and the shareholders of the Teucrium
Funds;
|
|
●
|
Execute, file, record and/or
publish all certificates, statements and other documents and do any
and all other things as may be appropriate for the formation,
qualification and operation of the Trust and for the conduct of its
business in all appropriate jurisdictions;
|
|
●
|
Appoint and remove independent
public accountants to audit the accounts of the Trust and employ
attorneys to represent the Trust;
|
|
●
|
Employ attorneys to represent the
Trust;
|
|
●
|
Use its best efforts to maintain
the status of the Trust and each Teucrium Fund as a statutory trust
for state law purposes and as a partnership for U.S. federal income
tax purposes;
|
|
●
|
Invest, reinvest, hold uninvested,
sell, exchange, write options on, lease, lend and, subject to
certain limitations set forth in the Trust Agreement, pledge,
mortgage and hypothecate the estate of each Teucrium Fund in
accordance with the purposes of the Trust and any registration
statement filed on behalf of the Fund, the Underlying Funds or any
other Teucrium Funds;
|
|
●
|
Have fiduciary responsibility for
the safekeeping and use of the Trust’s assets, whether or not
in the Sponsor’s immediate possession or
control;
|
|
●
|
Enter into and perform agreements
with Authorized Purchasers, receive from Authorized Purchasers and
process properly submitted purchase orders, receive Creation Basket
Deposits, deliver or cause the delivery of Creation Baskets to the
Depository for the account of the Authorized Purchaser submitting a
purchase order;
|
|
●
|
Receive from Authorized Purchasers
and process, or cause the Distributor or other Fund service
provider to process, properly submitted redemption orders, receive
from the redeeming Authorized Purchasers through the Depository,
and thereupon cancel or cause to be cancelled, Shares corresponding
to the Redemption Baskets to be redeemed;
|
|
●
|
Interact with the Depository;
and
|
|
●
|
Delegate duties to one or more
administrators, as the Sponsor determines.
|
To the extent that, at law (common
or statutory) or in equity, the Sponsor has duties (including
fiduciary duties) and liabilities relating thereto to the Trust,
the Fund or any other Teucrium Fund, the Shareholders or to any
other person, the Sponsor will not be liable to the Trust, the Fund
or any other Teucrium Fund, the Shareholders or to any other person
for its good faith reliance on the provisions of the Trust
Agreement or this prospectus (or the prospectus applicable to such
other Teucrium Fund) unless such reliance constitutes gross
negligence or willful misconduct on the part of the
Sponsor.
Liability and Indemnification
Under the Trust Agreement, the
Sponsor, the Trustee and their respective Affiliates (collectively,
“Covered Persons”) shall have no liability to the
Trust, the Fund or any other Teucrium Fund or any Shareholder for
any loss suffered by the Trust, the Fund or any other Teucrium Fund
which arises out of any action or inaction of such Covered Person
if such Covered Person, in good faith, determined that such course
of conduct was in the best interest of the Trust, the Fund or any
other Teucrium Fund and such course of conduct did not constitute
gross negligence or willful misconduct of such Covered
Person. Subject to the foregoing, neither the Sponsor
nor any other Covered Person shall be personally liable for the
return or repayment of all or any portion of the capital or profits
of any Shareholder or assignee thereof, it being expressly agreed
that any such return of capital or profits made pursuant to the
Trust Agreement shall be made solely from the assets of the
applicable Teucrium Fund without any rights of contribution from
the Sponsor or any other Covered Person. A Covered
Person shall not be liable for the conduct or willful misconduct of
any administrator or other delegatee selected by the Sponsor with
reasonable care, provided, however, that the Trustee and its
Affiliates shall not, under any circumstances be liable for the
conduct or willful misconduct of any administrator or other
delegatee or any other person selected by the Sponsor to provide
services to the Trust.
To the extent that, at law (common
or statutory) or in equity, the Sponsor has duties (including
fiduciary duties) and liabilities relating to the Trust, the
Teucrium Funds, the shareholders of the Teucrium Funds, or to any
other person, the Sponsor, acting under the Trust Agreement, shall
not be liable to the Trust, the Teucrium Funds, the shareholders of
the Teucrium Funds or to any other person for its good faith
reliance on the provisions of the Trust Agreement. The
provisions of the Trust Agreement, to the extent they restrict or
eliminate the duties and liabilities of the Sponsor otherwise
existing at law or in equity, replace such other duties and
liabilities of the Sponsor.
The Trust Agreement also provides
that the Sponsor shall be indemnified by the Trust (or by a series
separately to the extent the matter in question relates to a single
series or disproportionately affects a specific series in relation
to other series) against any losses, judgments, liabilities,
expenses and amounts paid in settlement of any claims sustained by
it in connection with its activities for the Trust, provided that
(i) the Sponsor was acting on behalf of or performing services for
the Trust and has determined, in good faith, that such course of
conduct was in the best interests of the Trust and such liability
or loss was not the result of gross negligence, willful misconduct,
or a breach of the Trust Agreement on the part of the Sponsor and
(ii) any such indemnification will only be recoverable from the
assets of the applicable series. The Sponsor’s
rights to indemnification permitted under the Trust Agreement shall
not be affected by the dissolution or other cessation to exist of
the Sponsor, or the withdrawal, adjudication of bankruptcy or
insolvency of the Sponsor, or the filing of a voluntary or
involuntary petition in bankruptcy under Title 11 of the Bankruptcy
Code by or against the Sponsor.
Notwithstanding the above, the
Sponsor shall not be indemnified for any losses, liabilities or
expenses arising from or out of an alleged violation of U.S.
federal or state securities laws unless (i) there has been a
successful adjudication on the merits of each count involving
alleged securities law violations as to the particular indemnitee
and the court approves the indemnification of such expenses
(including, without limitation, litigation costs), (ii) such claims
have been dismissed with prejudice on the merits by a court of
competent jurisdiction as to the particular indemnitee and the
court approves the indemnification of such expenses (including,
without limitation, litigation costs), or (iii) a court of
competent jurisdiction approves a settlement of the claims against
a particular indemnitee and finds that indemnification of the
settlement and related costs should be made.
The payment of any indemnification
shall be allocated, as appropriate, among the Trust’s
series. The Trust and its series shall not incur the
cost of that portion of any insurance which insures any party
against any liability, the indemnification of which is prohibited
under the Trust Agreement.
Expenses incurred in defending a
threatened or pending action, suit or proceeding against the
Sponsor shall be paid by the Trust in advance of the final
disposition of such action, suit or proceeding, if (i) the legal
action relates to the performance of duties or services by the
Sponsor on behalf of the Trust; (ii) the legal action is initiated
by a party other than the Trust; and (iii) the Sponsor undertakes
to repay the advanced funds with interest to the Trust in cases in
which it is not entitled to indemnification.
The Trust Agreement provides that
the Sponsor and the Trust shall indemnify the Trustee and its
successors, assigns, legal representatives, officers, directors,
shareholders, employees, agents and servants (the “Trustee
Indemnified Parties”) against any liabilities, obligations,
losses, damages, penalties, taxes, claims, actions, suits, costs,
expenses or disbursements which may be imposed on a Trustee
Indemnified Party relating to or arising out of the formation,
operation or termination of the Trust, the execution, delivery and
performance of any other agreements to which the Trust is a party,
or the action or inaction of the Trustee under the Trust Agreement
or any other agreement, except for expenses resulting from the
gross negligence or willful misconduct of a Trustee Indemnified
Party. Further, certain officers of the Sponsor are insured against
liability for certain errors or omissions which an officer may
incur or that may arise out of his or her capacity as
such.
In the event the Trust is made a
party to any claim, dispute, demand or litigation or otherwise
incurs any liability or expense as a result of or in connection
with any Shareholder’s (or assignee’s) obligations or
liabilities unrelated to the Trust business, such Shareholder (or
assignees cumulatively) is required under the Trust Agreement to
indemnify the Trust for all such liability and expense incurred,
including attorneys’ and accountants’
fees.
Withdrawal of the Sponsor
The Sponsor may withdraw
voluntarily as the Sponsor of the Trust only upon ninety (90)
days’ prior written notice to the holders of the
Trust’s outstanding shares and the Trustee. If the
withdrawing Sponsor is the last remaining Sponsor, shareholders
holding a majority (over 50%) of the outstanding shares of the
Teucrium Funds voting together as a single class (not including
shares acquired by the Sponsor through its initial capital
contribution) may vote to elect a successor Sponsor. The
successor Sponsor will continue the business of the
Trust. Shareholders have no right to remove the
Sponsor.
In the event of withdrawal, the
Sponsor is entitled to a redemption of the shares it acquired
through its initial capital contribution to any of the series of
the Trust at their NAV per Share. If the Sponsor
withdraws and a successor Sponsor is named, the withdrawing Sponsor
shall pay all expenses as a result of its
withdrawal.
Meetings
Meetings of the Trust’s
shareholders may be called by the Sponsor and will be called by it
upon the written request of Shareholders holding at least 25% of
the outstanding Shares of the Trust or the Fund, as applicable (not
including Shares acquired by the Sponsor through its initial
capital contribution. The Sponsor shall deposit in the United
States mail or electronically transmit written notice to all
Shareholders of the Fund of the meeting and the purpose of the
meeting, which shall be held on a date not less than 30 nor more
than 60 days after the date of mailing of such notice, at a
reasonable time and place. Where the meeting is called upon the
written request of the shareholders of the Teucrium Funds, or any
Teucrium fund, as applicable, such written notice shall be mailed
or transmitted not more than 45 days after such written request for
a meeting was received by the Sponsor. Any notice of meeting shall
be accompanied by a description of the action to be taken at the
meeting and, if applicable, an opinion of independent counsel as to
the effect of such proposed action on the liability of shareholders
of the Teucrium Funds, or any Teucrium fund, as applicable, for the
debts of the applicable Teucrium Fund. Shareholders may vote in
person or by proxy at any such meeting. The Sponsor shall be
entitled to establish voting and quorum requirements and other
reasonable procedures for shareholder voting. Any action required
or permitted to be taken by Shareholders by vote may be taken
without a meeting by written consent setting forth the actions so
taken. Such written consents shall be treated for all purposes as
votes at a meeting. If the vote or consent of any Shareholder to
any action of the Trust, the Fund or any Shareholder, as
contemplated by the Trust Agreement, is solicited by the Sponsor,
the solicitation shall be effected by notice to each Shareholder
given in the manner provided in accordance with the Trust
Agreement.
Voting Rights
Shareholders have very limited
voting rights. Specifically, the Trust Agreement
provides that shareholders of the Teucrium Funds holding shares
representing at least a majority (over 50%) of the outstanding
shares of the Teucrium Funds voting together as a single class
(excluding shares acquired by the Sponsor in connection with its
initial capital contribution to any Trust series) may vote to (i)
continue the Trust by electing a successor Sponsor as described
above, and (ii) approve amendments to the Trust Agreement that
impair the right to surrender Redemption Baskets for
redemption. (Trustee consent to any amendment to the
Trust Agreement is required if the Trustee reasonably believes that
such amendment adversely affects any of its rights, duties or
liabilities.) In addition, shareholders of the Teucrium
Funds holding shares representing seventy-five percent (75%) of the
outstanding shares of the Teucrium Funds, voting together as a
single class (excluding shares acquired by the Sponsor in
connection with its initial capital contribution to any Trust
series) may vote to dissolve the Trust upon not less than ninety
(90) days’ notice to the Sponsor. Shareholders
have no voting rights with respect to the Trust or the Fund except
as expressly provided in the Trust Agreement. Fund
Shareholders have no voting rights with respect to shares of the
Underlying Funds held by the Fund.
Limited Liability of Shareholders
Shareholders shall be entitled to
the same limitation of personal liability extended to stockholders
of private corporations for profit organized under the general
corporation law of Delaware, and no Shareholder shall be liable for
claims against, or debts of the Trust or the Fund in excess of his
share of the Fund’s assets. The Trust or the Fund
shall not make a claim against a Shareholder with respect to
amounts distributed to such Shareholder or amounts received by such
Shareholder upon redemption unless, under Delaware law, such
Shareholder is liable to repay such amount.
The Trust or the Fund shall
indemnify to the full extent permitted by law and the Trust
Agreement, each Shareholder (excluding the Sponsor to the extent of
its ownership of any Shares acquired through its initial capital
contribution) against any claims of liability asserted against such
Shareholder solely because of its ownership of Shares (other than
for taxes on income from Shares for which such Shareholder is
liable).
Every written note, bond,
contract, instrument, certificate or undertaking made or issued by
the Sponsor on behalf of the Trust or the Fund shall give notice to
the effect that the same was executed or made by or on behalf of
the Trust or the Fund and that the obligations of such instrument
are not binding upon the Shareholders individually but are binding
only upon the assets and property of the Fund and no recourse may
be had with respect to the personal property of a Shareholder for
satisfaction of any obligation or claim.
Amendments to the Trust Agreement
Effective March 22, 2018, the
Sponsor, pursuant to its authority under the Trust Agreement, has
amended the Trust Agreement to reflect certain provisions of the
Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015 and the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of
2017, each of which became effective on January 1, 2018. The
changes to the Trust Agreement reflect changes to partnership audit
rules under the Code and reflect certain changes to partnership
rules under the Code (see “U.S. Federal Income Tax
Classification” for additional information about the
changes to the Code.)
The Sponsor Has Conflicts of
Interest
There are present and potential
future conflicts of interest in the Trust’s structure and
operation you should consider before you purchase Shares. The
Sponsor may use this notice of conflicts as a defense against any
claim or other proceeding made.
The Sponsor’s principals,
officers and employees do not devote their time exclusively to the
Fund. Under the organizational documents of the Sponsor,
Mr. Sal Gilbertie and Mr. Dale Riker, in their respective
capacities as President and Chief Investment Officer of the Sponsor
and Chief Executive Officer and Secretary of the Sponsor, are
obligated to use commercially reasonable efforts to manage the
Sponsor, devote such amount of time to the Sponsor as would be
consistent with their roles in similarly placed commodity pool
operators, and remain active in managing the Sponsor until they are
no longer managing members of the Sponsor or the Sponsor
dissolves. In addition, the Sponsor expects that
operating the Teucrium Funds will generally constitute the
principal and a full-time business activity of its principals,
officers and employees. Notwithstanding these
obligations and expectations, the Sponsor’s principals may be
directors, officers or employees of other entities, and may manage
assets of other entities, including the other Teucrium Funds,
through the Sponsor or otherwise. In particular, the
principals could have a conflict between their responsibilities to
the Fund on the one hand and to those other entities on the
other. It is not possible to quantify the proportion of
their time that the Sponsor’s personnel will devote to the
Fund and its management.
The Sponsor and its principals,
officers and employees may trade securities, futures and related
contracts for their own accounts, creating the potential for
preferential treatment of their own
accounts. Shareholders will not be permitted to inspect
the trading records of such persons or any written policies of the
Sponsor related to such trading. A conflict of interest
may exist if their trades are in the same markets and at
approximately the same times as the trades for the Fund or
Underlying Funds. A potential conflict also may occur
when the Sponsor’s principals trade their accounts more
aggressively or take positions in their accounts which are
opposite, or ahead of, the positions taken by the Underlying
Funds.
The Sponsor has sole current
authority to manage the investments and operations of the Fund and
the Underlying Funds, and this may allow it to act in a way that
furthers its own interests which may create a conflict with your
best interests, including the authority of the Sponsor to allocate
expenses to and between the Teucrium Funds. Shareholders
have very limited voting rights with respect to the Fund, which
will limit the ability to influence matters such as amendment of
the Trust Agreement, change in the Fund’s basic investment
policies, or dissolution of the Fund or the
Trust. Shareholders have no voting rights with respect
to the Underlying Funds.
The Sponsor serves as the Sponsor
to the Teucrium Funds, and may in the future serve as the Sponsor
or investment adviser to commodity pools other than the Teucrium
Funds. The Sponsor may have a conflict to the extent
that its trading decisions for the Fund may be influenced by the
effect they would have on the other pools it
manages. While the Sponsor will attempt to maintain the
equal allocation of Fund assets among the four Underlying Funds,
the Sponsor may have an incentive to purchase shares of or trade in
a particular Underlying Fund relative to the other Underlying
Funds.
In addition, the Sponsor may be
required to indemnify the officers and directors of the other
pools, if the need for indemnification arises. This
potential indemnification will cause the Sponsor’s assets to
decrease. If the Sponsor’s other sources of income
are not sufficient to compensate for the indemnification, it could
cease operations, which could in turn result in Fund losses and/or
termination of the Fund.
If the Sponsor acquires knowledge
of a potential transaction or arrangement that may be an
opportunity for the Fund or an Underlying Fund, it shall have no
duty to offer such opportunity to the Fund or the Underlying
Fund. The Sponsor will not be liable to the Fund or the
Shareholders for breach of any fiduciary or other duty if Sponsor
pursues such opportunity or directs it to another person or does
not communicate such opportunity to the Fund or an Underlying
Fund. Neither the Fund nor any Shareholder has any
rights or obligations by virtue of the Trust Agreement, the trust
relationship created thereby, or this prospectus in such business
ventures or the income or profits derived from such business
ventures. The pursuit of such business ventures, even if
competitive with the activities of the Fund or an Underlying Fund,
will not be deemed wrongful or improper.
Resolution of Conflicts Procedures
The Trust Agreement provides that
whenever a conflict of interest exists between the Sponsor or any
of its Affiliates, on the one hand, and the Trust, any shareholder
of a Trust series, or any other person, on the other hand, the
Sponsor shall resolve such conflict of interest, take such action
or provide such terms, considering in each case the relative
interest of each party (including its own interest) to such
conflict, agreement, transaction or situation and the benefits and
burdens relating to such interests, any customary or accepted
industry practices, and any applicable generally accepted
accounting practices or principles. In the absence of
bad faith by the Sponsor, the resolution, action or terms so made,
taken or provided by the Sponsor shall not constitute a breach of
the Trust Agreement or any other agreement contemplated therein or
of any duty or obligation of the Sponsor at law or in equity or
otherwise.
The Sponsor or any affiliate
thereof may engage in or possess an interest in other
profit-seeking or business ventures of any nature or description,
independently or with others, whether or not such ventures are
competitive with the Trust and the doctrine of corporate
opportunity, or any analogous doctrine, shall not apply to the
Sponsor. If the Sponsor acquires knowledge of a
potential transaction, agreement, arrangement or other matter that
may be an opportunity for the Trust, it shall have no duty to
communicate or offer such opportunity to the Trust, and the Sponsor
shall not be liable to the Trust or to the Shareholders for breach
of any fiduciary or other duty by reason of the fact that the
Sponsor pursues or acquires for, or directs such opportunity to,
another person or does not communicate such opportunity or
information to the Trust. Neither the Trust nor any
Shareholder shall have any rights or obligations by virtue of the
Trust Agreement or the trust relationship created thereby in or to
such independent ventures or the income or profits or losses
derived therefrom, and the pursuit of such ventures, even if
competitive with the activities of the Trust, shall not be deemed
wrongful or improper. Except to the extent expressly
provided in the Trust Agreement, the Sponsor may engage or be
interested in any financial or other transaction with the Trust,
the Shareholders or any affiliate of the Trust or the
Shareholders.
Interests of Named
Experts and Counsel
No expert hired by the Fund to
give advice on the preparation of this offering document has been
hired on a contingent fee basis, nor do any of them have any
present or future expectation of interest in the Sponsor,
Distributor, Authorized Purchasers, Custodian/Administrator or
other service providers to the Fund.
Provisions of
Federal and State Securities Laws
This offering is made pursuant to
federal and state securities laws. The SEC and state
securities agencies take the position that indemnification of the
Sponsor that arises out of an alleged violation of such laws is
prohibited unless certain conditions are met. Those
conditions require that no indemnification of the Sponsor or any
underwriter for the Fund may be made in respect of any losses,
liabilities or expenses arising from or out of an alleged violation
of federal or state securities laws unless: (i) there
has been a successful adjudication on the merits of each count
involving alleged securities law violations as to the party seeking
indemnification and the court approves the indemnification; (ii)
such claim has been dismissed with prejudice on the merits by a
court of competent jurisdiction as to the party seeking
indemnification; or (iii) a court of competent jurisdiction
approves a settlement of the claims against the party seeking
indemnification and finds that indemnification of the settlement
and related costs should be made, provided that, before seeking
such approval, the Sponsor or other indemnitee must apprise the
court of the position held by regulatory agencies against such
indemnification.
The Trust keeps its books of
record and account at its office located at 115 Christina Landing
Drive Unit 2004, Wilmington, DE 19801, or at the offices of the
Administrator, U.S. Bancorp, LLC, located at 615 East Michigan
Street, Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53202, or such office, including of an
administrative agent, as it may subsequently designate upon
notice. The books of account of the Fund are open to
inspection by any Shareholder (or any duly constituted designee of
a Shareholder) at all times during the usual business hours of the
Fund upon reasonable advance notice to the extent such access is
required under CFTC rules and regulations. In addition, the
Trust keeps a copy of the Trust Agreement on file in its office
which will be available for inspection by any Shareholder at all
times during its usual business hours upon reasonable advance
notice.
Analysis of Critical Accounting
Policies
The Fund’s critical
accounting policies are set forth in the financial statements that
are incorporated by reference in this prospectus prepared in
accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the
United States of America, which require the use of certain
accounting policies that affect the amounts reported in these
financial statements, including the following: (i) Fund
trades are accounted for on a trade-date basis and marked to market
on a daily basis; (ii) the difference between the cost and market
value of Commodity Interests is recorded as “change in
unrealized profit/loss” for open (unrealized) contracts, and
recorded as “realized profit/loss” when open positions
are closed out; and (iii) earned interest income, as well as the
fees and expenses of the Fund, are recorded on an accrual
basis. The Sponsor believes that all relevant accounting
assumptions and policies have been considered.
Statements, Filings,
and Reports to Shareholders
The Trust will furnish to DTC
Participants for distribution to Shareholders annual reports (as of
the end of each fiscal year) for the Fund as are required to be
provided to Shareholders by the CFTC and the NFA. These
annual reports will contain financial statements prepared by the
Sponsor and audited by an independent registered public accounting
firm designated by the Sponsor. The Trust will also post
monthly reports to the Fund’s website (www.teucriumtagsfund.com).
These monthly reports will contain certain unaudited financial
information regarding the Fund, including the Fund’s
NAV. The Sponsor will furnish to the Shareholders other
reports or information which the Sponsor, in its discretion,
determines to be necessary or appropriate. In addition, under
SEC rules the Trust will be required to file quarterly and annual
reports for the Fund with the SEC, which need not be sent to
Shareholders but will be publicly available through the SEC.
The Trust will post the same information that would otherwise be
provided in the Trust’s CFTC, NFA and SEC reports on the
Fund’s website www.teucriumtagsfund.com.
The Sponsor is responsible for the
registration and qualification of the Shares under the federal
securities laws, federal commodities laws, and laws of any other
jurisdiction as the Sponsor may select. The Sponsor is
responsible for preparing all required reports, but has entered
into an agreement with the Administrator to prepare these reports
on the Trust’s behalf.
The accountants’ report on
its audit of the Fund’s financial statements will be
furnished by the Trust to Shareholders upon request. The
Trust will make such elections, file such tax returns, and prepare,
disseminate and file such tax reports for the Fund, as it is
advised by its counsel or accountants are from time to time
required by any applicable statute, rule or
regulation.
PricewaterhouseCoopers
(“PwC”), 2001 Ross Avenue, Suite 1800, Dallas, Texas
75201-2997, will provide tax information in accordance the Code and
with applicable U.S. Treasury Regulations. Persons treated as
middlemen for purposes of these regulations may obtain tax
information regarding the Fund from PwC or from the Fund’s
website, www.teucriumtagsfund.com.
The fiscal year of the Fund is the
calendar year.
The rights of the
Sponsor, the Trust, the Fund, DTC (as registered owner of the
Fund’s global certificate for Shares) and the Shareholders
are governed by the laws of the State of Delaware, except with
respect to causes of action for violations of U.S. federal or state
securities laws. The Trust Agreement and the effect of every
provision thereof shall control over any contrary or limiting
statutory or common law of the State of Delaware, other than the
Delaware Trust Statute.
Security Ownership
of Principal Shareholders and Management
The following
table sets forth information with respect to each person known to
own beneficially more than 5% of the outstanding shares of any
series in the Trust as of December 31, 2017, based on information
known to the Sponsor.
|
(2)
Name
and Address of Beneficial Owner
|
(3)
Amount
and Nature of Beneficial Ownership
|
|
TAGS
|
Hunting Hill Equity Arbitrage,
420 Lexington Avenue,
New York, NY 10170
|
13,822 common units(1)
|
27.64%
|
TAGS
|
Interactive
Investor Services
LTD, Exchange Court
Duncombe Street, Leeds UK
|
|
9.00%
|
TAGS
|
Jane
Street Capital LLC, 1 New
York Plaza Floor
33,
New York, NT
10004
|
|
7.02%
|
TAGS
|
Susquehanna
Capital Group,
401 City Line
Avenue,
Suite 220, Bala
Cynwyd PA 19004
|
|
6.00%
|
The following table sets forth
information regarding the beneficial ownership of shares by the
executive officers of the Sponsor as of December 31, 2017.
Except as listed, no other executive officer of the Sponsor is a
beneficial owner of shares of the Fund.
(1)
Title of Class
|
(2)
Name of Beneficial
Owner
|
(3)
Amount and nature of Beneficial
Ownership
|
|
TAGS
|
Sal Gilbertie
|
1,800 common
units
|
3.60%
|
TAGS
|
Dale Riker
|
200 common
units(1)
|
*
|
______________________
(1) Units are held by an entity
controlled by Mr. Riker. (* Less than 1%.)
Litigation and Claims
Within the past 10 years of the
date of this prospectus, there have been no material
administrative, civil or criminal actions against the Sponsor, the
Trust or the Fund, or any principal or affiliate of any of
them. This includes any actions pending, on appeal,
concluded, threatened, or otherwise known to
them.
Legal Opinion
Vedder Price, P.C. has been
retained to advise the Trust and the Sponsor with respect to the
Shares being offered hereby and has passed upon the validity of the
Shares being issued hereunder. Vedder Price, P.C. has
also provided the Sponsor with its opinion with respect to federal
income tax matters addressed herein under the heading "U.S. Federal
Income Tax Considerations."
Experts
The financial statements of the
Trust and the Fund, and management’s assessment of the
effectiveness of internal control over financial reporting of the
Trust and the Fund incorporated by reference in this prospectus and
elsewhere in the registration statement have been so incorporated
by reference in reliance upon the reports of Grant Thornton LLP,
independent registered public accountants, upon the authority of
said firm as experts in accounting and
auditing.
This Privacy Policy explains the
policies of the Sponsor, a commodity pool operator registered with
the CFTC, and (i) the Trust, and (ii) each commodity pool for which
the Sponsor serves as Sponsor currently or in the future including
Teucrium Corn Fund, Teucrium Wheat Fund, Teucrium Sugar Fund, and
Teucrium Soybean Fund, and Teucrium Agricultural Fund (each of
which is a series of the Trust), relating to the collection,
maintenance, and use of nonpublic personal information about the
Teucrium Funds’ investors, as required under federal law.
Federal law gives investors the
right to limit some but not all sharing of their nonpublic personal
information. Federal law also requires the Sponsor to tell
investors how it collects, shares, and protects such nonpublic
personal information. Please read this policy carefully to
understand what the Sponsor does. This Privacy Policy
applies to the nonpublic personal information of investors who are
individuals and who obtain financial products or services from the
Sponsor, the Trust, and the Teucrium Funds primarily for personal,
family, or household purposes. This Privacy Policy applies to both
current and former Fund investors; the Sponsor will only disclose
nonpublic personal information about former investors to the same
extent as for current investors, as described
below.
Collection of Nonpublic Personal Information
The Sponsor may collect or have
access to nonpublic personal information about current and former
Fund investors for certain purposes relating to the operation of
the Teucrium Funds. This information may include information
received from investors, such as their name, social security
number, telephone number, and address, and information about
investors’ holdings and transactions in shares of the
Teucrium Funds.
Use and Disclosure of Nonpublic Personal
Information
The Sponsor recognizes and
respects the privacy expectation of each of the Teucrium
Funds’ investors. The Sponsor believes that the
confidentiality and protection of investors’ nonpublic
personal information is one of its fundamental responsibilities.
This means, most importantly, that the Sponsor does not sell
nonpublic personal information to any third parties. The Sponsor
primarily uses investors’ nonpublic personal information to
complete financial transactions that may be requested. Below are
the circumstances in which the Sponsor may disclose
investors’ nonpublic personal information to third parties;
investors may not opt out of these disclosures:
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The Sponsor may provide an
investor’s nonpublic personal information to non-affiliated
service providers involved in servicing and administering products
and services for, or on behalf of the Sponsor (e.g., accountants, compliance
consultants, legal advisors, broker-dealers, introducing brokers,
FCMs, investment companies, investment advisers, commodity trading
advisors, commodity pool operators, administrators, and
custodians). In all such cases, the Sponsor will provide the third
party with only the nonpublic personal information necessary to
carry out its assigned responsibilities and only for that
purpose.
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The Sponsor will release nonpublic
personal information if directed by an investor to do so. The
Sponsor may also release nonpublic personal information to persons
acting in a fiduciary or representative capacity on behalf of an
investor.
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The Sponsor may release an
investor’s nonpublic personal information to courts and other
parties related to a subpoena or other court, government, or SRO
order or process, as authorized by law.
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The Sponsor may release an
investor’s nonpublic personal information to regulators
(including SROs) or governmental entities that have made a
reasonable request for such information, as authorized by
law.
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The Sponsor may release an
investor’s nonpublic personal information to certain
governmental entities and others to prevent money laundering, as
authorized by law.
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Investors’ nonpublic
personal information, particularly information about
investors’ holdings and transactions in shares of the Funds,
may be shared between and amongst the Sponsor and the Funds.
An investor cannot opt-out of the
sharing of nonpublic personal information between and amongst the
Sponsor and the Funds. However, the Sponsor and the Funds
will not use this information for any cross-marketing purposes.
In other words, all investors will
be treated as having “opted out” of receiving marketing
solicitations from Funds other than the Fund(s) in which it
invests.
Protection of Nonpublic Personal Information
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The Sponsor restricts access to
investors’ nonpublic personal information only to those
employees, agents, and representatives who require that information
to provide financial products and services.
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The Sponsor requires all
employees, financial professionals, and companies providing
services on its behalf to keep investors’ nonpublic personal
information confidential.
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Third parties with whom the
Sponsor shares investor nonpublic personal information must agree
to follow appropriate standards of security and confidentiality,
which includes safeguarding such information physically,
electronically, and procedurally.
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The Sponsor maintains physical,
technical, administrative, and procedural safeguards that comply
with federal standards to protect the confidentiality and security
of investors’ nonpublic personal information including, where
applicable, its disposal.
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Employees, agents, and
representatives who have access to shareholder reports or other
correspondence containing investors’ nonpublic personal
information are required to utilize passwords on all electronic
devices used to carry out their professional
responsibilities.
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U.S. Federal Income Tax
Considerations
The following discussion
summarizes the material U.S. federal income tax consequences of the
purchase, ownership and disposition of Shares of the Fund and the
U.S. federal income tax treatment of the Fund. Except where
otherwise noted, this discussion deals only with the U.S. federal
income tax consequences relating to Shares held as capital assets
by U.S. Shareholder (as defined below) who are not subject to
special tax treatment. For example, it does not address the
tax consequences to (i) dealers in securities, currencies, or
commodities, (ii) traders in securities, or dealers or traders in
commodities, that elect to use a mark-to-market method of
accounting, (iii) financial institutions, (iv) tax-exempt entities,
(v) insurance companies, (vi) persons holding Shares as a part of a
position in a “straddle” or as part of a
“hedging,” “conversion,” or other
integrated transaction for U.S. federal income tax purposes, or
(vii) holders of Shares whose “functional currency” is
not the U.S. dollar. Furthermore, the discussion that follows
below is based upon the provisions of the Internal Revenue Code of
1986, as amended (the "Code"), and regulations (“Treasury
Regulations”), rulings, and judicial decisions thereunder as
of the date hereof, and such authorities may be repealed, revoked,
or modified (possibly with retroactive effect) so as to result in
U.S. federal income tax consequences different from the
consequences discussed below.
The Sponsor has received the
opinion of Vedder Price P.C. ("Vedder Price"), counsel to the
Trust, that the U.S. federal income tax discussion that follows
below is accurate with respect to the matters discussed. In
rendering its opinion, Vedder Price has relied on the facts and
assumptions described in this prospectus as well as certain factual
representations made by the Trust and the Sponsor. This
opinion is not binding on the Internal Revenue Service
(“IRS”). No rulings have been requested from the
IRS with respect to any matter affecting the Fund or prospective
investors. The IRS may disagree with the tax positions taken
by the Fund, and, if the IRS were to challenge the Fund’s tax
positions in litigation, they might not be sustained by the
courts.
As used herein, the term
“U.S. Shareholder” means a Shareholder that is, for
United States federal income tax purposes, (i) a citizen or
resident of the United States, (ii) a corporation or partnership
created or organized in or under the laws of the United States or
any political subdivision thereof, (iii) an estate the income of
which is subject to United States federal income taxation
regardless of its source or (iv) a trust that (X) is subject to the
supervision of a court within the United States and the control of
one or more United States persons as described in section
7701(a)(30) of the Code or (Y) has a valid election in effect under
applicable Treasury Regulations to be treated as a United States
person. A “Non-U.S. Shareholder” is a holder
that is not a U.S. Shareholder. If a partnership holds
our Shares, the tax treatment of a partner will generally depend
upon the status of the partner and the activities of the
partnership. If you are a partner of a partnership holding our
Shares, you should consult your own tax advisor regarding the tax
consequences.
EACH PROSPECTIVE INVESTOR IS
ADVISED TO CONSULT ITS OWN TAX ADVISOR REGARDING THE U.S. FEDERAL
INCOME TAX CONSEQUENCES OF AN INVESTMENT IN SHARES, AS WELL AS ANY
APPLICABLE STATE, LOCAL, OR FOREIGN TAX CONSEQUENCES, IN LIGHT OF
ITS PARTICULAR CIRCUMSTANCES.
Tax Classification of the Trust and the Fund
The Trust is organized and will be
operated as a statutory trust in accordance with the provisions of
the Trust Agreement and applicable Delaware law.
Notwithstanding the Trust’s status as a statutory trust and
the Fund’s status as a series of the Trust, due to the nature
of the Fund’s activities, the Fund will be classified as a
“business entity” rather than as a trust for U.S.
federal income tax purposes. In addition, the trading of
Shares on the NYSE Arca will cause the Fund to be classified as a
“publicly traded partnership” for U.S. federal income
tax purposes. Under the Code, a publicly traded partnership
generally is taxable as a corporation. In the case of a
business entity (such as the Fund) not registered under the
Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, however, an exception
to this general rule applies if at least 90% of the entity’s
gross income is “qualifying income” for each taxable
year of its existence (the “qualifying income
exception”). For this purpose, qualifying income is
defined as including, in pertinent part, interest (other than from
a financial business), dividends, and gains from the sale or
disposition of capital assets held for the production of interest
or dividends. In the case of a partnership of which a
principal activity is the buying and selling of commodities other
than as inventory, or futures, forwards, and options with respect
to commodities, “qualifying income” also means income
and gains from commodities and from futures, forwards, options, and
swaps and other notional principal contracts with respect to
commodities.
The Trust and the Sponsor have
made the following representations (the
“Representations”) to Vedder Price:
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At least 90% of each Underlying
Fund’s gross income for each taxable year will constitute
“qualifying income” within the meaning of Code section
7704 (as described above);
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Each of the Underlying Funds is
classified as a partnership for U.S. federal income tax purposes
and has not elected and will not elect to be taxed as a corporation
for U.S. Federal income tax purposes;
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In addition to holding shares of
the Underlying Funds, the only other assets the Fund may hold are
residual amounts in cash equivalents, and/or cash (generally in
interest-bearing accounts);
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At least 90% of the Fund’s
gross income for each taxable year will consist of (i) qualifying
income derived by the Fund with respect to the Fund’s
interests in the Underlying Funds, and (ii) interest
income;
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The Fund is organized and will be
operated in accordance with its governing documents and applicable
law; and
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The Fund has not elected, and will
not elect, to be classified as a corporation for U.S. federal
income tax purposes.
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Based in part on the
Representations, Vedder Price is of the opinion that, although the
matter is not free from doubt, it is more likely than not that (i)
at least 90% of the Fund’s gross income for each taxable year
will constitute “qualifying income” within the meaning
of Code section 7704 and (ii) the Fund will be treated as a
partnership that it is not taxable as a corporation for U.S.
federal income tax purposes. The Fund’s taxation
as a partnership rather than as a corporation will require the Fund
to satisfy the requirements of the qualifying income exception on a
continuing basis. No assurances can be given that the
Fund will satisfy these requirements for any given
year. Vedder Price will not review the Fund’s
ongoing compliance with these requirements and will have no
obligation to advise the Trust, the Fund or the Fund’s
Shareholders in the event of any subsequent change in the facts,
representations or applicable law relied upon in reaching its
opinion.
If the Fund failed to satisfy the
qualifying income exception in any year, other than a failure that
is determined by the IRS to be inadvertent and that is cured within
a reasonable time after discovery (in which case, as a condition of
relief, the Fund could be required to pay the government amounts
determined by the IRS), the Fund would be taxable as a corporation
for U.S. federal income tax purposes and would pay U.S. federal
income tax on its income at regular corporate rates. In that
event, Shareholders would not report their share of the
Fund’s income or loss on their tax returns.
Distributions by the Fund (if any) would be treated as dividend
income to the Shareholders to the extent of the Fund’s
current and accumulated earnings and profits. Accordingly, if
the Fund were to be taxable as a corporation, it likely would have
a material adverse effect on the economic return from an investment
in the Fund and on the value of the Shares.
The remainder of this summary
assumes that the Fund (and each Underlying Fund) is classified for
U.S. federal income tax purposes as a partnership that it is not
taxable as a corporation.
U.S. Shareholders
Tax Consequences of Ownership of Shares
Taxation of the Fund’s
Income. No U.S. federal income tax is paid by the Fund
on its income. Instead, the Fund files annual partnership
returns, and each U.S. Shareholder is required to report on its
U.S. federal income tax return its allocable share of the income,
gain, loss, deductions, and credits reflected on such
returns. The Fund’s income, gain, loss, deduction, or
credits will include its allocable share of those items derived
from its interests in the Underlying Funds. If the Fund
recognizes income for a taxable year in the form of interest and/or
net capital gains from the cash settlement of Commodity Interests
as a result of its investment in an Underlying Fund, Shareholders
must report their share of these items even though the Fund makes
no distributions of cash or property during the taxable year.
Consequently, a Shareholder may be taxable on income or gain
recognized by the Fund (including the Fund’s allocable share
of income or gain derived from the Underlying Funds) but receive no
cash distribution with which to pay the resulting tax liability, or
may receive a distribution that is insufficient to pay such tax
liability. Because the Fund currently does not intend to make
distributions, it is likely that a U.S. Shareholder that realizes
net income or gain with respect to Shares for a taxable year will
be required to pay any resulting tax from sources other than Fund
distributions. Additionally individuals with modified
adjusted gross income in excess of $200,000 ($250,000 in the case
of married individuals filing jointly) and certain estates and
trusts are subject to an additional 3.8% tax on their “net
investment income,” which generally includes net income from
interest, dividends, annuities, royalties, and rents, and net
capital gains (other than certain amounts earned from trades or
businesses). Also included as income subject to the additional 3.8%
tax is income from businesses involved in the trading of financial
instruments or commodities. Shareholders subject to this provision
may be required to pay this 3.8% surtax on interest income and
capital gains allocated to them by the Fund.
Monthly Conventions for Allocations of the
Fund’s Profit and Loss and Capital Account
Restatements. Under Code section 704, the
determination of a partner’s distributive share of any item
of income, gain, loss, deduction, or credit is governed by the
applicable organizational document unless the allocation provided
by such document lacks “substantial economic
effect.” An allocation that lacks substantial
economic effect nonetheless will be respected if it is in
accordance with the partners’ interests in the partnership,
determined by taking into account all facts and circumstances
relating to the economic arrangements among the partners.
Subject to the possible exceptions noted below concerning certain
conventions to be used by the Fund, allocations pursuant to the
Trust Agreement should be considered as having substantial economic
effect or being in accordance with Shareholders’ interests in
the Fund.
In situations where a
partner’s interest in a partnership is redeemed or sold
during a taxable year, the Code generally requires that partnership
tax items for the year be allocated to the partner using either an
interim closing of the books or a daily proration method. The
Fund intends to allocate tax items using an interim closing of the
books method under which income, gains, losses, and deductions will
be determined on a monthly basis, taking into account the
Fund’s accrued income, deductions, gains, and losses (both
realized and unrealized) for the month. The tax items for
each month during a taxable year will then be allocated among the
holders of Shares in proportion to the number of Shares owned by
them as of the close of trading on the last trading day of the
immediately preceding month (the “monthly allocation
convention”).
Under the monthly allocation
convention, an investor who disposes of a Share during the current
month will be treated as disposing of the Share as of the end of
the last day of the calendar month. For example, an investor
who buys a Share on April 10 of a year and sells it on May 20 of
the same year will be allocated all of the tax items attributable
to May (because it is deemed to hold the Share through the last day
of May) but none of the tax items attributable to April. The
tax items attributable to that Share for April will be allocated to
the person who is the actual or deemed holder of the Share as of
the close of trading on the last trading day of March. Under
the monthly allocation convention, an investor who purchases and
sells a Share during the same month, and therefore does not hold
(and is not deemed to hold) the Share at the close of the last
trading day of either that month or the previous month, will
receive no allocations with respect to that Share for any
period. Accordingly, investors may not receive allocations
with respect to Shares that they actually held, or they may receive
allocations with respect to Shares attributable to periods that
they did not actually hold the Shares. Investors who hold
Shares on the last trading day of the first month of the
Fund’s operation will be allocated the tax items for that
month, as well as the tax items for the following month,
attributable to the Shares.
Each of the Underlying Funds
applies an allocation method for its partnership items that is
essentially identical to the monthly allocation convention.
Therefore, the amounts allocated among Shareholders by the Fund
themselves are based on simplifying assumptions and conventions
that may not precisely reflect the Fund’s economic income or
loss from an investment in the Underlying
Funds.
By investing in Shares, a U.S.
Shareholder agrees that, in the absence of new legislation,
regulatory or administrative guidance, or judicial rulings to the
contrary, it will file its U.S. federal income tax returns in a
manner that is consistent with the monthly allocation convention as
described above and with the IRS Schedule K-1 or any successor form
provided to Shareholders by the Fund or the
Trust.
For any month in which a Creation
Basket is issued or a Redemption Basket is redeemed, the Fund will
credit or debit the “book” capital accounts of existing
Shareholders with the amount of any unrealized gain or loss,
respectively, on Fund assets. For this purpose, unrealized
gain or loss will be computed based on the lowest NAV of the
Fund’s assets during the month in which Shares are issued or
redeemed, which may be different than the value of the assets on
the date of an issuance or redemption. The capital accounts
as adjusted in this manner will be used in making tax allocations
intended to account for differences between the tax basis and fair
market value of the property owned by the Fund at the time new
Shares are issued or outstanding Shares are redeemed (so-called
“reverse Code section 704(c) allocations”). The
intended effect of these adjustments is to allocate equitably among
Shareholders any unrealized appreciation or depreciation in the
Fund’s assets existing at the time of a contribution or
redemption for book and tax purposes.
As noted above, the conventions
used by the Fund in making tax allocations may cause a Shareholder
to be allocated more or less income or loss for U.S. federal income
tax purposes than its proportionate share of the economic income or
loss realized by the Fund during the period such Shareholder held
its Shares. This mismatch between taxable and economic income
or loss in some cases may be temporary, reversing itself in a later
year when the Shares are sold, but could be permanent. For
example, a Shareholder could be allocated income accruing after it
sold its Shares, resulting in an increase in the basis of the
Shares (see “ Tax Basis of
Shares ”, below). In connection with the
disposition of the Shares, the additional basis might produce a
capital loss the deduction of which may be limited (see
“Limitations on
Deductibility of Losses and Certain Expenses”,
below).
Section 754 election. The Fund
(and each of the Underlying Funds) intends to make (or has made)
the election permitted by Code section 754 (a “section 754
election”), which election is irrevocable without the consent
of the IRS. The effect of this election is that, when a
secondary market sale of Shares occurs, the Fund adjusts the
purchaser’s proportionate share of the tax basis of the
Fund’s assets to fair market value, as reflected in the price
paid for the Shares, as if the purchaser had made a direct
acquisition of an interest in the Fund’s assets. The
section 754 election is intended to eliminate disparities between a
partner’s basis in its partnership interest and its share of
the tax basis of the partnership’s assets, so that the
partner’s allocable share of taxable gain or loss on a
disposition of an asset will correspond to the partner’s
share of the appreciation or depreciation in the value of the asset
since the partner acquired its interest. Depending on the
price paid for Shares and the tax basis of the Fund’s assets
at the time of the purchase, the effect of the section 754 election
on a purchaser of Shares may be favorable or unfavorable. In
order to make the appropriate basis adjustments in a cost effective
manner, the Fund will use certain simplifying conventions and
assumptions. In particular, the Fund will obtain information
regarding secondary market transactions in its Shares and use this
information to make adjustments to the Shareholders’ indirect
basis in Fund assets. It is possible that the IRS could be
successful in asserting that the conventions and assumptions
applied are improper and require different basis adjustments to be
made, which could adversely affect some Shareholders. If the
Fund acquires shares of an Underlying Fund on the secondary market,
the Underlying Fund will adjust the Fund’s share of the tax
basis of the Underlying Fund’s assets using the conventions
and assumptions described above.
Section 1256 Contracts. Under the
Code, special rules apply to instruments constituting
“section 1256 contracts.” Section 1256
requires that such instruments held at the end of a taxable year be
treated as if they were sold for their fair market value on the
last business day of the taxable year (i.e., “marked to
market”). Moreover, any gain or loss realized from a
disposition, termination or marking-to-market of section 1256
contracts is treated as long-term capital gain or loss to the
extent of 60% thereof, and as short-term capital gain or loss to
the extent of 40% thereof, without regard to the actual holding
period (“60-40 Treatment”). The term
“section 1256 contract” generally includes, in relevant
part: (1) a ”regulated futures contract,”
defined as a contract (a) that is traded on or subject to the rules
of a national securities exchange that is registered with the SEC,
a domestic board of trade designated as a contract market by the
CFTC, or any other board of trade or exchange designated by the
Secretary of the Treasury (a “qualified board or
exchange”), and (b) with respect to which the amount required
to be deposited and the amount that may be withdrawn depends on a
system of “marking to market”; and (2) a non-equity
option traded on or subject to the rules of a qualified board or
exchange.
An interest rate swap, currency
swap, basis swap, interest rate cap, interest rate floor, commodity
swap, equity swap, equity index swap, credit default swap or
similar agreement is not a section 1256 contract, even if traded on
a qualified board or exchange. Proposed Treasury Regulations
interpreting this exception to section 1256 provide that a contract
constituting a notional principal contract within the meaning of
section 1.446-3 of the Treasury Regulations is not subject to
section 1256. These regulations will not become effective until
published in final form.
Many of the Underlying
Funds’ Futures Contracts will qualify as “section 1256
contracts” under the Code, as will some Other Commodity
Interests that are cleared through a qualified board or
exchange. Any gain or loss recognized by the Underlying Funds
with respect to section 1256 contracts will be subject to the 60-40
treatment and will be allocated to Shareholders of the Underlying
Fund (including the Fund) in accordance with the monthly allocation
convention.
Limitations on Deductibility of Losses and
Certain Expenses. A number of different provisions of
the Code may defer or disallow the deduction of losses or expenses
allocated to Shareholders by the Fund, including but not limited to
those described below.
A Shareholder’s deduction of
its allocable share of any loss of the Fund (including its
allocable share of any loss of an Underlying Fund) is limited to
the lesser of (1) the tax basis in its Shares or (2) in the case of
a Shareholder that is an individual or a closely held corporation,
the amount that the Shareholder is considered to have “at
risk” with respect to the Fund’s activities. In
general, the amount at risk will be a Shareholder’s invested
capital. Losses in excess of the amount at risk initially
must be deferred until years in which the Fund generates additional
taxable income against which to offset such carryover losses or
until additional capital is placed at risk.
Individuals and other
non-corporate taxpayers are permitted to deduct capital losses only
to the extent of their capital gains for the taxable year plus
$3,000 of other income. Unused capital losses can be carried
forward and used to offset capital gains in future years. In
addition, a non-corporate taxpayer may elect to carry back net
losses on section 1256 contracts to each of the three preceding
years and use them to offset section 1256 contract gains in those
years, subject to certain limitations. Corporate taxpayers
generally may deduct capital losses only to the extent of capital
gains, subject to special carryback and carryforward
rules.
The deduction for expenses
incurred by non-corporate taxpayers constituting
“miscellaneous itemized deductions,” generally
including investment-related expenses (other than interest and
certain other specified expenses), is suspended for taxable years
beginning after December 31, 2017 and before January 1, 2026.
During these taxable years, non-corporate taxpayers will not be
able to deduct miscellaneous itemized deductions. Provided the
suspension is not extended for taxable years ending on or after
January 1, 2026, miscellaneous itemized deductions are deductible
only to the extent that they exceed 2% of the taxpayer’s
adjusted gross income for the year. Although the matter is
not free from doubt, the Sponsor believes that the expenses of the
Fund (including its allocable share of the expenses of the
Underlying Funds) will constitute investment-related expenses
subject to this miscellaneous itemized deduction limitation, rather
than expenses incurred in connection with a trade or business, and
the Fund will report these expenses consistent with that
interpretation for taxable years beginning on or after Januar 1,
2026, the Code imposes additional limitations on the amount of
certain itemized deductions allowable to individuals with adjusted
gross income in excess of certain amounts by reducing the otherwise
allowable portion of such deductions by an amount equal to the
lesser of:
● 3% of the
individual’s adjusted gross income in excess of certain
threshold amounts; or
● 80% of the amount of
certain itemized deductions otherwise allowable for the taxable
year.
Non-corporate Shareholders
generally may deduct “investment interest expense” only
to the extent of their “net investment
income.” Investment interest expense of a
Shareholder will generally include any interest accrued by the Fund
(or an Underlying Fund) and any interest paid or accrued on direct
borrowings by a Shareholder to purchase or carry its Shares, such
as interest with respect to a margin account. Net investment
income generally includes gross income from property held for
investment (including “portfolio income” under the
passive loss rules but not, absent an election, long-term capital
gains or certain qualifying dividend income) less deductible
expenses other than interest directly connected with the production
of investment income.
If
the Fund incurs indebtedness, the Fund’s ability to deduct
interest on its indebtedness allocable to its trade or business is
limited to an amount equal to the sum of (1) the Fund’s
business interest income during the year and (2) 30% of the
Fund’s adjusted taxable income for such taxable year. If the
Fund is not entitled to fully deduct its business interest in any
taxable year, such excess business interest expense will be
allocated to each Shareholder as excess business interest and can
be carried forward by the Shareholder to successive taxable years
and used to offset any excess taxable income allocated by the Fund
to such Shareholder. Any excess business interest expense allocated
to a Shareholder will reduce such Shareholder’s basis in its
Shares in the year of the allocation even if the expense does not
give rise to a deduction to the Shareholder in that year.
Immediately prior to a Shareholder’s disposition of its
Shares, the Shareholder’s basis will be increased by the
amount by which such basis reduction exceeds the excess interest
expense that has been deducted by such Shareholder. This limitation
also applies to any indebtedness incurred by an Underlying
Fund.
To the extent that the Fund
allocates losses or expenses to a Shareholder that are deferred or
disallowed as a result of the limitations described above or other
limitations in the Code, the Shareholder may be taxed on income in
excess of its economic income or distributions (if any) on its
Shares. As one example, a Shareholder could be allocated and
required to pay tax on its share of interest income accrued by the
Fund for a particular taxable year and, in the same year, be
allocated a share of a capital loss that the Shareholder cannot
deduct currently because it has insufficient capital gains against
which to offset the loss. As another example, a Shareholder
could be allocated and required to pay tax on its share of interest
income and capital gain for a year, but be unable to deduct some or
all of its share of Fund expenses and/or margin account interest
incurred by the Shareholder with respect to its Shares. Each
Shareholder is urged to consult its own professional tax advisor
regarding the effect of limitations under the Code on the ability
to deduct its allocable share of the Fund’s losses and
expenses.
Tax Basis of Shares
A Shareholder’s tax basis in
its Shares is important in determining (1) the amount of taxable
gain or loss that it will realize on the sale or other disposition
of its Shares, (2) the amount of non-taxable distributions that it
may receive from the Fund, and (3) its ability to utilize its
distributive share of any losses of the Fund on its tax
return. A Shareholder’s initial tax basis of its Shares
will equal its cost for the Shares plus its share of the
Fund’s liabilities (if any) at the time of purchase. In
general, a Shareholder’s “share” of the
Fund’s liabilities will equal the sum of (i) the entire
amount of any otherwise nonrecourse liability of the Fund as to
which the Shareholder or an affiliate of the Shareholder is the
creditor (a “partner nonrecourse liability”) and (ii) a
pro rata share of any nonrecourse liabilities of the Fund that are
not partner nonrecourse liabilities as to any Shareholder.
For this purpose, the Fund’s liabilities will include its
share of any liabilities of an Underlying Fund.
A Shareholder’s tax basis in
its Shares generally will be (1) increased by (a) its allocable
share of the Fund’s taxable income and gain and (b) any
additional contributions by the Shareholder to the Fund and (2)
decreased (but not below zero) by (a) its allocable share of the
Fund’s tax deductions and losses and (b) distributions (if
any) by the Fund to the Shareholder. For this purpose, an
increase in a Shareholder’s share of the Fund’s
liabilities will be treated as a contribution of cash by the
Shareholder to the Fund and a decrease in that share will be
treated as a distribution of cash by the Fund to the
Shareholder. Pursuant to certain IRS rulings, a Shareholder
will be required to maintain a single, “unified” basis
in all Shares that it owns. As a result, when a Shareholder
that acquired its Shares at different prices sells less than all of
its Shares, such Shareholder will not be entitled to specify
particular Shares (e.g.,
those with a higher basis) as having been sold. Rather, the
Shareholder must determine its gain or loss on the sale by using an
“equitable apportionment” method to allocate a portion
of its unified basis in its Shares to the Shares
sold.
Treatment of Fund Distributions.
If the Fund makes non-liquidating distributions to Shareholders,
such distributions generally will not be taxable to any particular
Shareholder for U.S. federal income tax purposes except to the
extent that the sum of (i) the amount of cash and (ii) the fair
market value (subject to certain exceptions and adjustments) of
marketable securities distributed exceeds the Shareholder’s
adjusted basis of its interest in the Fund immediately before the
distribution. Any cash distributions and such fair market
value of the marketable securities distributed that are in excess
of a Shareholder’s tax basis generally will be treated as
gain from the sale or exchange of Shares. Similar rules apply
to non-liquidating distributions received by the Fund from an
Underlying Fund.
Tax Consequences of Disposition of Shares
If a Shareholder sells its Shares,
it will recognize gain or loss equal to the difference between the
amount realized and its adjusted tax basis for the Shares
sold. A Shareholder’s amount realized will be the sum
of the cash or the fair market value of other property received
plus its share of the Fund's liabilities (including an allocable
share of any Underlying Fund's
liabilities).
Gain or loss recognized by a
Shareholder on the sale or exchange of Shares held for more than
one year generally will be taxable as long-term capital gain or
loss; otherwise, such gain or loss generally will be taxable as
short-term capital gain or loss. A special election is
available under the Treasury Regulations that allows Shareholders
to identify and use the actual holding periods for the Shares sold
for purposes of determining whether the gain or loss recognized on
a sale of Shares will give rise to long-term or short-term capital
gain or loss. It is expected that most Shareholders will be
eligible to elect, and generally will elect, to identify and use
the actual holding period for Shares sold. If a Shareholder
fails to make the election or is not able to identify the holding
periods of the Shares sold, the Shareholder may have a split
holding period in the Shares sold. Under such circumstances,
a Shareholder will be required to determine its holding period in
the Shares sold by first determining the portion of its entire
interest in the Fund that would give rise to long-term capital gain
or loss if its entire interest were sold and the portion that would
give rise to short-term capital gain or loss if the entire interest
were sold. The Shareholder then would treat each Share sold
as giving rise to long-term capital gain or loss and short-term
capital gain or loss in the same proportions as if it had sold its
entire interest in the Fund.
Under Code section 751, a portion
of a Shareholder’s gain or loss from the sale of Shares
(regardless of the holding period for such Shares), will be
computed separately and taxed as ordinary income or loss to the
extent attributable to “unrealized receivables” or
“inventory” owned by the Fund (or by an Underlying
Fund). The term “unrealized receivables”
includes, among other things, market discount bonds and short-term
debt instruments to the extent that such items would give rise to
ordinary income if sold by the Fund (or by an Underlying Fund).
However, the short term capital gain on section 1256 contracts
resulting from 60-40 treatment, described above, should not be
subject to this rule.
If some or all of a
Shareholder’s Shares are lent by its broker or other agent to
a third party—for example, for use by the third party in
covering a short sale—the Shareholder may be considered as
having made a taxable disposition of the loaned Shares, in which
case—
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●
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The Shareholder may recognize
taxable gain or loss to the same extent as if it had sold the
Shares for cash;
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●
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Any of the income, gain, loss, or
deduction allocable to those Shares during the period of the loan
is not reportable by the Shareholder for U.S. federal income tax
purposes; and
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●
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Any distributions that the
Shareholder receives with respect to the Shares under the loan
agreement will be fully taxable to the Shareholder, most likely as
ordinary income.
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Shareholders desiring to avoid
these and other possible consequences of a deemed disposition of
their Shares should consider modifying any applicable brokerage
account agreements to prohibit the lending of their
Shares.
Other U.S. Federal Income Tax Matters
Information Reporting. The
Fund provides tax information to Shareholders and to the IRS, as
needed. Shareholders are treated as partners for U.S. federal
income tax purposes. Accordingly, the Fund will furnish
Shareholders each year, with tax information on IRS Schedule K-1
(Form 1065), which will be used by the Shareholders in completing
their tax returns. The IRS has ruled that assignees of
partnership interests that have not been admitted to a partnership
as partners but who have the capacity to exercise substantial
dominion and control over the assigned partnership interests will
be considered partners for U.S. federal income tax purposes.
On the basis of this ruling, except as otherwise provided herein,
the Fund will treat as a Shareholder any person whose shares are
held on their behalf by a broker or other nominee if that person
has the right to direct the nominee in the exercise of all
substantive rights attendant to the ownership of the
Shares.
Persons who hold an interest in
the Fund as a nominee for another person are required to furnish to
the Fund the following information: (1) the name,
address, and taxpayer identification number of the beneficial owner
and the nominee; (2) whether the beneficial owner is (a) a person
that is not a U.S. person, (b) a foreign government, an
international organization, or any wholly-owned agency or
instrumentality of either of the foregoing, or (c) a tax-exempt
entity; (3) the number and a description of Shares acquired or
transferred for the beneficial owner; and (4) certain information
including the dates of acquisitions and transfers, means of
acquisitions and transfers, and acquisition cost for purchases, as
well as the amount of net proceeds from sales. Brokers and
financial institutions are required to furnish additional
information, including whether they are U.S. persons and certain
information on Shares that they acquire, hold, or transfer for
their own account. A penalty of $250 per failure (as adjusted
for inflation), up to a maximum of $1,300,000 per calendar year (as
adjusted for inflation), is imposed by the Code for failure to
report such information correctly to the Fund. If the failure
to furnish such information correctly is determined to be willful,
the per failure penalty increases to $500 (as adjusted for
inflation) or, if greater, 10% of the aggregate amount of items
required to be reported, and the $1,300,000 maximum does not apply.
The nominee is required to supply the beneficial owner of the
Shares with the information furnished to the
Fund.
Partnership Audit Procedures.
The IRS may audit the U.S. federal income tax returns filed
by the Fund (or by an Underlying Fund). Adjustments resulting
from any such audit may require a Shareholder to adjust a prior
year’s tax liability and could result in an audit of the
Shareholder’s own return. Any audit of a
Shareholder’s return could result in adjustments of
non-partnership items as well as Fund items. Partnerships
generally are treated as separate entities for purposes of U.S.
federal income tax audits, judicial review of administrative
adjustments by the IRS, and tax settlement proceedings. The
tax treatment of partnership items of income, gain, loss, and
deduction are determined at the partnership level in a unified
partnership proceeding rather than in separate proceedings with the
partners. The Code provides for one partner to be designated
as the “tax matters partner” and to represent the
partnership at these proceedings. The Trust Agreement
appoints the Sponsor as the tax matters partner of the
Fund.
The Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015
adopted a new partnership-level audit and assessment procedure for
all entities treated as partnerships for U.S. federal income tax
purposes. These new rules generally apply to partnership taxable
years beginning after December 31, 2017. Under these rules, tax
deficiencies (including interest and penalties) that arise from an
adjustment to partnership items generally would be assessed and
collected from the partnership (rather than from the partners), and
generally would be calculated using maximum applicable tax rates
(although such partnership level tax may be reduced or eliminated
under limited circumstances). A narrow category of partnerships
(generally, partnerships having no more than 100 partners that
consist exclusively of individuals, C corporations, S corporations
and estates) are permitted to elect out of the new
partnership-level audit rules. As an alternative to
partnership-level tax liability, a partnership may elect to furnish
adjusted Schedule K-1s to the IRS and to each person who was a
partner in the audit year, stating such partner’s share of
any partnership adjustments, and each such partner would then take
the adjustments into account on its tax returns in the year in
which it receives its adjusted Schedule K-1 (rather than by
amending their tax returns for the audited year). If the Fund were
subject to a partnership level tax as a result of these new rules,
the economic return of all Shareholders (including Shareholders
that did not own Shares in the Fund during the taxable year to
which the audit relates) may be affected.
To address these new rules, the
Sponsor amended the Trust Agreement so that if the Fund becomes
subject to any tax as a result of any adjustment to taxable income,
gain, loss, deduction or credit for any taxable year of the Fund
(pursuant to a tax audit or otherwise), such Shareholder (and each
former Shareholder) is obligated to indemnify the Fund and the
Sponsor against any such taxes (including any interest and
penalties) to the extent such tax (or portion thereof) is properly
attributable to such Shareholder (or former Shareholder). In
addition, the Sponsor, on behalf of the Fund, will be authorized to
take any action permitted under applicable law to avoid the
assessment of any such taxes against the Fund (including an
election to issue adjusted Schedule K-1s to the Shareholders
(and/or former Shareholders) which takes such adjustments to
taxable income, gain, loss, deduction or credit into
account.
Reportable Transaction Rules.
In certain circumstances, the Code and Treasury Regulations
require that the IRS be notified of transactions through a
disclosure statement attached to a taxpayer’s U.S. federal
income tax return. These disclosure rules may apply to
transactions irrespective of whether they are structured to achieve
particular tax benefits, and they could require disclosure by the
Trust or Shareholders if a Shareholder incurs a loss in excess of a
specified threshold from a sale or redemption of its Shares and
possibly in other circumstances. While these rules generally
do not require disclosure of a loss recognized on the disposition
of an asset in which the taxpayer has a “qualifying
basis” (generally a basis equal to the amount of cash paid by
the taxpayer for such asset), they apply to a loss recognized with
respect to interests in a pass-through entity, such as the Shares
or the Shares of an Underlying Fund, even if the taxpayer’s
basis in such interests is equal to the amount of cash that it paid
for such interests. In addition, significant monetary
penalties may be imposed in connection with a failure to comply
with these reporting requirements. Investors should consult
their own tax advisor concerning the application of these reporting
requirements to their specific situation.
Tax-Exempt Organizations.
Subject to numerous exceptions, qualified retirement plans
and individual retirement accounts, charitable organizations, and
certain other organizations that otherwise are exempt from U.S.
federal income tax (collectively “exempt
organizations”) nonetheless are subject to the tax on
unrelated business taxable income (“UBTI”).
Generally, UBTI means the gross income derived by an exempt
organization from a trade or business that it regularly carries on,
the conduct of which is not substantially related to the exercise
or performance of its exempt purpose or function, less allowable
deductions directly connected with that trade or business. If
the Fund (or an Underlying Fund) were to regularly carry on
(directly or indirectly) a trade or business that is unrelated to
the exercise or performance of the exempt purpose or function of an
exempt organization Shareholder, then, in computing its UBTI, that
Shareholder would have to include its share of (1) the Fund’s
gross income (including the Fund’s allocable share of the
gross income of an Underlying Fund) from the unrelated trade or
business, whether or not distributed, and (2) the Fund’s
allowable deductions directly connected with that gross
income.
UBTI generally does not include
dividends, interest, payments with respect to securities loans, or
gains from the sale of property (other than property held for sale
to customers in the ordinary course of a trade or business).
Nonetheless, income on, and gain from the disposition of,
“debt-financed property” is UBTI. Debt-financed
property generally is income-producing property (including
securities) the use of which is not substantially related to the
exempt organization’s tax-exempt purpose or function, and
with respect to which there is “acquisition
indebtedness” at any time during the taxable year (or, if the
property was disposed of during the taxable year, the 12-month
period ending with the disposition). Acquisition indebtedness
includes debt incurred to acquire property, debt incurred before
the acquisition of property if the debt would not have been
incurred but for the acquisition, and debt incurred subsequent to
the acquisition of property if the debt would not have been
incurred but for the acquisition and, at the time of acquisition,
the incurrence of debt was foreseeable. The portion of the
income from debt-financed property attributable to acquisition
indebtedness is equal to the ratio of the average outstanding
principal amount of acquisition indebtedness over the average
adjusted basis of the property for the tax year. The Sponsor
currently does not anticipate that the Fund (or any Underlying
Fund) will borrow money to acquire investments; however, it cannot
be certain that the Fund (or an Underlying Fund) will not borrow
for such purpose in the future. In addition, an exempt
organization Shareholder that incurs acquisition indebtedness to
purchase its Shares in the Fund may have UBTI.
The U.S. federal income tax rate
applicable to an exempt organization Shareholder on its UBTI
generally will be either the corporate or trust tax rate, depending
upon the Shareholder’s form of organization. The Fund
may report to each such Shareholder information as to the portion,
if any, of the Shareholder’s income and gains from the Fund
for any year that will be treated as UBTI; the calculation of that
amount is complex, and there can be no assurance that the
Fund’s calculation of UBTI will be accepted by the IRS.
An exempt organization Shareholder will be required to make
payments of estimated U.S. federal income tax with respect to its
UBTI.
Regulated Investment Companies.
Interests in and income from “qualified publicly traded
partnerships” satisfying certain gross income tests are
treated as qualifying assets and income, respectively, for purposes
of determining eligibility for regulated investment company
(“RIC”) status. A RIC may invest up to 25% of its
assets in interests in a qualified publicly traded
partnership. The determination of whether a publicly traded
partnerships such as the Fund is a qualified publicly traded
partnership is made on an annual basis. The Fund expects to
be a qualified publicly traded partnership in each of its taxable
years. However, such qualification is not
assured.
Non-U.S. Shareholders
Generally, non-U.S. persons who
derive U.S.-source income or gain from investing or engaging in a
U.S. trade or business are taxable on two categories of
income. The first category consists of amounts that are fixed
or determinable, annual or periodic income, such as interest,
dividends, and rent that are not connected with the operation of a
U.S. trade or business (“FDAP”). The second
category is income that is effectively connected with the conduct
of a U.S. trade or business (“ECI”). FDAP income
(other than interest that is considered “portfolio
interest,” as discussed below) generally is subject to a 30%
U.S. withholding tax, which may be reduced for certain categories
of income by a treaty between the U.S. and the recipient’s
country of residence. In contrast, ECI generally is subject
to U.S. federal income tax on a net basis at graduated rates upon
the filing of a U.S. federal income tax return. Where a
non-U.S. person has ECI as a result of an investment in a
partnership, the ECI is currently subject to a withholding tax at a
rate of 37% for individual Shareholders and a rate of 21% for
corporate Shareholders. The rate of withholding on ECI, which
is the highest tax rate under Code section 1 for non-corporate
Non-U.S. Shareholders and Code section 11(b) for corporate Non-U.S.
Shareholders, may increase in future tax years if tax rates
increase from their current levels.
Withholding on Allocations and
Distributions. The Code provides that a non-U.S.
person who is a partner in a partnership that is engaged in a U.S.
trade or business during a taxable year also will be considered to
be engaged in a U.S. trade or business during that year.
Classifying an activity by a partnership as an investment or an
operating business is a factual determination. Under certain
safe harbors in the Code, an investment fund whose activities
consist of trading in stocks, securities, or commodities for its
own account generally will not be considered to be engaged in a
U.S. trade or business unless it is a dealer in such stocks,
securities, or commodities. This safe harbor applies to
investments in commodities only if (i) the commodities are of a
kind customarily dealt in on an organized commodity exchange and
(ii) the transaction is of a kind customarily consummated at such
place. Although the matter is not free from doubt, in light
of the activities currently contemplated for the Fund and each of
the Underlying Funds, neither the Fund nor any Underlying Fund will
be engaged in a trade or business within the United States.
However, there can be no assurance that the IRS would not be
successful in asserting that the Fund or an Underlying Fund is
engaged in a U.S. trade or business.
In the event that the Fund or an
Underlying Fund is considered to be engaged in a U.S. trade or
business, the Fund would be required to withhold at the highest
rate specified in Code section 1 (currently 37%) on allocations of
its ECI (including its allocable share of any ECI of an Underlying
Fund) to non-corporate Non-U.S. Shareholders and the highest rate
specified in Code section 11(b) (currently 21%) on allocations of
its ECI (including its allocable share of any ECI of an Underlying
Fund) to corporate Non-U.S. Shareholders, when such income is
distributed. Non-U.S. Shareholders would
also be subject to a 10% withholding tax upon a sale or exchange of
such Non-U.S. Shareholder’s Shares, although the IRS has
temporarily suspended this withholding for interests in publicly
traded partnerships until regulations implementing such withholding
are issued. A Non-U.S. Shareholder with ECI generally will
be required to file a U.S. federal income tax return, and the
return will provide the Non-U.S. Shareholder with the mechanism to
seek a refund of any withholding in excess of such
Shareholder’s actual U.S. federal income tax
liability.
Even if the Fund and each of the
Underlying Funds did not realize ECI, a Non-U.S. Shareholder
nevertheless may be treated as having FDAP income, which would be
subject to a 30% U.S. withholding tax (possibly subject to
reduction by treaty), with respect to some or all of its
distributions from the Fund or its allocable share of Fund income
(including its allocable share of any FDAP income of an Underlying
Fund).
Amounts withheld by the Fund on
behalf of a Non-U.S. Shareholder will be treated as being
distributed to such Shareholder to the extent possible. In
some cases, the Fund may not be able to match the economic cost of
satisfying its withholding obligations to a particular Non-U.S.
Shareholder, which may result in that cost being borne by the Fund,
generally, and accordingly, by all Shareholders
proportionately.
To the extent that any interest
income allocated to a Non-U.S. Shareholder that otherwise
constitutes FDAP is considered “portfolio interest,”
neither the allocation of such interest income to the Non-U.S.
Shareholder nor a subsequent distribution of such interest income
to the Non-U.S. Shareholder will be subject to withholding,
provided that the Non-U.S. Shareholder is not otherwise engaged in
a trade or business in the U.S. and provides the Fund with a timely
and properly completed and executed IRS Form W-8BEN or other
applicable form. In general, portfolio interest is interest
paid on debt obligations issued in registered form, unless the
recipient owns 10% or more of the voting power of the issuer.
A Non-U.S.
Shareholder’s allocable share of interest on U.S. bank
deposits, certificates of deposit and discount obligations with
maturities from original issue of 183 days or less should qualify
as portfolio interest. Currently, other interest from U.S. sources
paid to the Fund or Underlying Funds and allocable to Non-U.S.
Shareholders will be subject to
withholding.
It is expected that most of the
Fund’s interest income (including its allocable share of any
interest income of an Underlying Fund) will qualify as portfolio
interest. In order for the Fund to avoid withholding on any
interest income allocable to Non-U.S. Shareholders that would
qualify as portfolio interest, it will be necessary for all
Non-U.S. Shareholders to provide the Fund with a timely and
properly completed and executed Form W-8BEN (or other applicable
form).
Gain from Sale of Shares.
Gain from the sale or exchange of Shares may be taxable to a
Non-U.S. Shareholder if the Non-U.S. Shareholder is a nonresident
alien individual who is present in the U.S. for 183 days or more
during the taxable year. In such case, the nonresident alien
individual will be subject to a 30% U.S. withholding tax on the
amount of such individual’s gain.
Foreign Account Tax Compliance
Act. Legislation commonly referred to as the
Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act or "FATCA" generally imposes a
30% U.S. withholding tax on payments of certain types of income to
foreign financial institutions that fail to enter into an agreement
with the United States Treasury to report certain required
information with respect to accounts held by U.S. persons (or held
by foreign entities that have U.S. persons as substantial
owners). The types of income subject to the tax withholding
include U.S.-source interest and dividends and the gross proceeds
from the sale of any property that could produce U.S.-source
interest or dividends. The information required to be
reported includes the identity and taxpayer identification number
of each account holder that is a U.S. person and transaction
activity within the holder’s account. In addition,
subject to certain exceptions, this legislation also imposes a 30%
U.S. withholding tax on payments to foreign entities that are not
financial institutions unless the foreign entity certifies that it
does not have a greater than 10% U.S. owner or provides the
withholding agent with identifying information on each greater than
10% U.S. owner. Depending on the status of a Non-U.S.
Shareholder and the status of the intermediaries through which it
holds Shares, a Non-U.S. Shareholder could be subject to this 30%
U.S. withholding tax with respect to distributions on its Shares
and proceeds from the sale of its Shares. Under certain
circumstances, a Non-U.S. Shareholder may be eligible for a refund
or credit of such taxes.
Prospective Non-U.S. Shareholders
should consult their own tax advisor regarding these and other tax
issues unique to Non-U.S. Shareholders.
Backup Withholding
The Fund may be required to
withhold U.S. federal income tax (“backup withholding”)
from payments to: (1) any Shareholder who fails to
furnish the Fund with his, her or its correct taxpayer
identification number or a certificate that the Shareholder is
exempt from backup withholding, and (2) any Shareholder with
respect to which the IRS notifies the Fund that the Shareholder is
subject to backup withholding. Backup withholding is not an
additional tax and may be returned or credited against a
taxpayer’s regular U.S. federal income tax liability if
appropriate information is provided to the IRS. The backup
withholding rate is the fourth lowest rate applicable to
individuals under Code section 1(c) (currently 24%), and may
increase in future tax years.
Other Tax Considerations
In addition to U.S. federal income
taxes, Shareholders may be subject to other taxes, such as state
and local income taxes, unincorporated business taxes, business
franchise taxes, and estate, inheritance, or intangible taxes that
may be imposed by the various jurisdictions in which the Fund does
business or owns property or where the Shareholders reside.
Although an analysis of those various taxes is not presented here,
each prospective Shareholder should consider their potential impact
on its investment in the Fund. It is each Shareholder’s
responsibility to file the appropriate U.S. federal, state, local,
and foreign tax returns. Vedder Price has not provided an
opinion concerning any aspects of state, local, or foreign tax or
U.S. federal tax other than those U.S. federal income tax issues
discussed herein.
Investment By ERISA
Accounts
General
Most employee benefit plans and
individual retirement accounts (“IRAs”) are subject to
the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended
(“ERISA”), or the Code, or both. This section
discusses certain considerations that arise under ERISA and the
Code that a fiduciary of: (i) an employee benefit plan as defined
in ERISA; (ii) a plan as defined in Section 4975 of the Code; or
(iii) any collective investment vehicle, business trust, investment
partnership, pooled separate account or other entity the assets of
which are treated as comprised (at least in part) of “plan
assets” under the ERISA “plan assets” rules
(“plan asset entity”) who has investment discretion
should take into account before deciding to invest the plan’s
assets in the Fund. Employee benefit plans under ERISA, plans
under the Code and plan asset entities are collectively referred to
below as “plans,” and fiduciaries with investment
discretion are referred to below as “plan
fiduciaries.”
This summary is based on the
provisions of ERISA and the Code as of the date hereof. This
summary is not intended to be complete, but only to address certain
questions under ERISA and the Code likely to be raised by your
advisors. The summary does not include state or local
law.
Potential plan
investors are urged to consult with their own professional advisors
concerning the appropriateness of an investment in the Fund and the
manner in which Shares should be purchased.
Special Investment Considerations
Each plan fiduciary must consider
the facts and circumstances that are relevant to an investment in
the Fund, including the role that an investment in the Fund would
play in the plan’s overall investment portfolio. Each
plan fiduciary, before deciding to invest in the Fund, must be
satisfied that the investment is prudent for the plan, that the
investments of the plan are diversified so as to minimize the risk
of large losses, and that an investment in the Fund complies with
the terms of the plan. The Sponsor is not
undertaking to provide investment advice, or to give advice in a
fiduciary capacity, in connection with a plan’s investment in
the Fund.
The Fund and Plan Assets
A regulation issued under ERISA
contains rules for determining when an investment by a plan in an
equity interest of a statutory trust will result in the underlying
assets of the statutory trust being deemed plan assets for purposes
of ERISA and Section 4975 of the Code. Those rules provide
that assets of a statutory trust will not be plan assets of a plan
that purchases an equity interest in the statutory trust if the
equity interest purchased is a publicly-offered security. If
the underlying assets of a statutory trust are considered to be
assets of any plan for purposes of ERISA or Section 4975 of the
Code, the operations of that trust would be subject to and, in some
cases, limited by the provisions of ERISA and Section 4975 of the
Code.
The publicly-offered security
exception described above applies if the equity interest is a
security that is:
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(1)
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freely transferable (determined
based on the relevant facts and circumstances);
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(2)
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part of a class of securities that
is widely held (meaning that the class of securities is owned by
100 or more investors independent of the issuer and of each other);
and
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(3)
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either (a) part of a class of
securities registered under Section 12(b) or 12(g) of the Exchange
Act or (b) sold to the plan as part of a public offering pursuant
to an effective registration statement under the 1933 Act and the
class of which such security is a part is registered under the
Excahnge Act within 120 days (or such later time as may be allowed
by the SEC) after the end of the fiscal year of the issuer in which
the offering of such security occurred.
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The plan asset regulations under
ERISA state that the determination of whether a security is freely
transferable is to be made based on all the relevant facts and
circumstances. In the case of a security that is part of an
offering in which the minimum investment is $10,000 or less, the
following requirements, alone or in combination, ordinarily will
not affect a finding that the security is freely transferable: (1)
a requirement that no transfer or assignment of the security or
rights relating to the security be made that would violate any
federal or state law; and (2) a requirement that no transfer or
assignment be made without advance written notice given to the
entity that issued the security.
The Sponsor believes that the
conditions described above are satisfied with respect to the
Shares. The Sponsor believes that the Shares therefore
constitute publicly-offered securities, and the underlying assets
of the Fund should not be considered to constitute plan assets of
any plan that purchases Shares.
Prohibited Transactions
ERISA and the Code generally
prohibit certain transactions involving a plan and persons who have
certain specified relationships to the plan. In general,
Shares may not be purchased with the assets of a plan if the
Sponsor, the clearing brokers, the trading advisors (if any), or
any of their affiliates, agents or employees
either:
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exercise any discretionary
authority or discretionary control with respect to management of
the plan;
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exercise any authority or control
with respect to management or disposition of the assets of the
plan;
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render investment advice for a fee
or other compensation, direct or indirect, with respect to any
moneys or other property of the plan;
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have any authority or
responsibility to render investment advice with respect to any
monies or other property of the plan; or
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have any discretionary authority
or discretionary responsibility in the administration of the
plan.
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Also, a prohibited transaction may
occur under ERISA or the Code when circumstances indicate that (1)
the investment in Shares is made or retained for the purpose of
avoiding application of the fiduciary standards of ERISA, (2) the
investment in Shares constitutes an arrangement under which the
Fund is expected to engage in transactions that would otherwise be
prohibited if entered into directly by the plan purchasing the
Shares, (3) the investing plan, by itself, has the authority or
influence to cause the Fund to engage in such transactions, or (4)
a person who is prohibited from transacting with the investing plan
may, but only with the aid of certain of its affiliates and the
investing plan, cause the Fund to engage in such transactions with
such person.
Special IRA Rules
IRAs are not subject to
ERISA’s fiduciary standards, but are subject to their own
rules, including the prohibited transaction rules of Section 4975
of the Code, which generally mirror ERISA’s prohibited
transaction rules. For example, IRAs are subject to special
custody rules and must maintain a qualifying IRA custodial
arrangement separate and distinct from the Fund and its custodial
arrangement. If a separate qualifying custodial arrangement
is not maintained, an investment in the Shares will be treated as a
distribution from the IRA. Second, IRAs are prohibited from
investing in certain commingled investments, and the Sponsor makes
no representation regarding whether an investment in Shares is an
inappropriate commingled investment for an IRA. Third, in
applying the prohibited transaction provisions of Section 4975 of
the Code, in addition to the rules summarized above, the individual
for whose benefit the IRA is maintained is also treated as the
creator of the IRA. For example, if the owner or beneficiary
of an IRA enters into any transaction, arrangement, or agreement
involving the assets of his or her IRA to benefit the IRA owner or
beneficiary (or his or her relatives or business affiliates)
personally, or with the understanding that such benefit will occur,
directly or indirectly, such transaction could give rise to a
prohibited transaction that is not exempted by any available
exemption. Moreover, in the case of an IRA, the consequences
of a non-exempt prohibited transaction are that the IRA’s
assets will be treated as if they were distributed, causing
immediate taxation of the assets (including any early distribution
penalty tax applicable under Section 72 of the Code), in addition
to any other fines or penalties that may apply.
Exempt Plans
Certain employee benefit plans may
be governmental plans or church plans. Governmental plans and
church plans are generally not subject to ERISA, nor do the
prohibited transaction provisions described above apply to
them. These plans are, however, subject to prohibitions
against certain related-party transactions under Section 503 of the
Code, which are similar to the prohibited transaction rules
described above. In addition, the fiduciary of any
governmental or church plan must consider any applicable state or
local laws and any restrictions and duties of common law imposed
upon the plan.
No view is expressed as to whether
an investment in the Fund (and any continued investment in the
Fund), or the operation and administration of the fund, is
appropriate or permissible for any governmental plan or church plan
under Code Section 503, or under any state, county, local or other
law relating to that type of plan.
Allowing an
investment in the Fund is not to be construed as a representation
by the Trust, the Fund, the Sponsor, any trading advisor, any
clearing broker, the Distributor or legal counsel or other advisors
to such parties or any other party that this investment meets some
or all of the relevant legal requirements with respect to
investments by any particular plan or that this investment is
appropriate for any such particular plan. The person with
investment discretion should consult with the plan’s attorney
and financial advisors as to the propriety of an investment in the
Fund in light of the circumstances of the particular plan, current
tax law and ERISA.
INCORPORATION BY REFERENCE OF
CERTAIN INFORMATION
We are a reporting company and
file annual, quarterly and current reports and other information
with the SEC. The rules of the SEC allow us to “incorporate
by reference” information that we file with them, which means
that we can disclose important information to you by referring you
to those documents. The information incorporated by reference is an
important part of this prospectus. This prospectus incorporates by
reference the documents set forth below that have been previously
filed with the SEC and any other future filing that we make with
the SEC under Section 13(a), 13(c), 14 and 15(d) of the Securities
Exchange Act of 1934 (in each case other than those documents or
portions of those documents not deemed to have been filed in
accordance with SEC rules) between the date of this prospectus and
the termination of the offering of the securities to be issued
under the registration statement:
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our
Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31,
2017, filed with the SEC on March 16, 2018.
Any statement contained in a
document incorporated by reference in this prospectus shall be
deemed to be modified or superseded for purposes of this prospectus
to the extent that a statement contained in this prospectus or in
any other subsequently filed document that also is or is deemed to
be incorporated by reference in this prospectus modifies or
supersedes such statement. Any statement so modified or superseded
shall not be deemed, except as so modified or superseded, to
constitute a part of this prospectus.
We will provide to each person to
whom a prospectus is delivered, including any beneficial owner, a
copy of any document incorporated by reference in the prospectus
(excluding any exhibits to those documents unless the exhibit is
specifically incorporated by reference in that document) at no
cost, upon written or oral request at the following address or
telephone number:
Teucrium Agricultural
Fund
Attention: Barbara
Riker
115 Christina Landing Drive Unit
2004
Wilmington, DE
19801
(302) 543-5977
Our Internet website is
www.teucriumtagsfund.com. We
make our electronic filings with the SEC, including our annual
reports on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, current
reports on Form 8-K and amendments to these reports available on
our website free of charge as soon as practicable after we file or
furnish them with the SEC. The information contained on our website
is not incorporated by reference in this prospectus and should not
be considered a part of this prospectus.
INFORMATION YOU
SHOULD KNOW
This prospectus contains
information you should consider when making an investment decision
about the Shares. You should rely only on the information
contained in this prospectus or any applicable prospectus
supplement. None of the Trust, the Fund or the Sponsor has
authorized any person to provide you with different information
and, if anyone provides you with different or inconsistent
information, you should not rely on it. This prospectus is
not an offer to sell the Shares in any jurisdiction where the offer
or sale of the Shares is not permitted.
The information contained in this
prospectus was obtained from us and other sources believed by us to
be reliable.
You should disregard anything we
said in an earlier document that is inconsistent with what is
included in this prospectus or any applicable prospectus
supplement. Where the context requires, when we refer to this
“prospectus,” we are referring to this prospectus and
(if applicable) the relevant prospectus
supplement.
You should not assume that the
information in this prospectus or any applicable prospectus
supplement is current as of any date other than the date on the
front page of this prospectus or the date on the front page of any
applicable prospectus supplement.
We include cross references in
this prospectus to captions in these materials where you can find
further related discussions. The table of contents tells you
where to find these captions.
WHERE YOU CAN FIND MORE
INFORMATION
The Trust has filed on behalf of
the Fund a registration statement on Form S-1 with the SEC under
the 1933 Act. This prospectus does not contain all of the
information set forth in the registration statement (including the
exhibits to the registration statement), parts of which have been
omitted in accordance with the rules and regulations of the
SEC. For further information about the Trust, the Fund or the
Shares, please refer to the registration statement, which you may
inspect, without charge, at the public reference facilities of the
SEC at the below address or online at www.sec.gov, or obtain at
prescribed rates from the public reference facilities of the SEC at
the below address. Information about the Trust, the Fund and
the Shares can also be obtained from the Fund’s website,
which is www.teucriumtagsfund.com.
The Fund’s website address is only provided here as a
convenience to you and the information contained on or connected to
the website is not part of this prospectus or the registration
statement of which this prospectus is part. The Trust is
subject to the informational requirements of the Exchange Act and
will file certain reports and other information with the SEC under
the Exchange Act. The Sponsor will file an updated prospectus
annually for the Fund pursuant to the 1933 Act. The reports
and other information can be inspected at the public reference
facilities of the SEC located at 100 F Street, N.E., Washington, DC
20549 and online at www.sec.gov. You may also obtain copies
of such material from the public reference facilities of the SEC at
100 F Street, NE, Washington, D.C. 20549, at prescribed
rates. You may obtain more information concerning the
operation of the public reference facilities of the SEC by calling
the SEC at 1-800-SEC-0330 or visiting online at www.sec.gov.
Glossary of
Defined Terms
In this prospectus, each of the
following terms have the meanings set forth after such
term:
Administrator: U.S. Bancorp Fund
Services, LLC
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Authorized Purchaser: One that purchases or
redeems Creation Baskets or Redemption Baskets, respectively, from
or to the Fund.
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Benchmark: A weighted
average of the closing settlement prices for three Futures
Contracts the daily changes in which each Underlying Fund attempts
to track.
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Benchmark Component Futures Contracts: The
three Futures Contracts that at any given time make up an
Underlying Fund’s
Benchmark.
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Business Day: Any day other than a
day when any of the NYSE Arca, CBOT, ICE, or the New York Stock
Exchange is closed for regular
trading.
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CFTC: Commodity Futures
Trading Commission, an independent federal agency with the mandate
to regulate commodity futures and options in the United
States.
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Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT): The primary exchange
on which corn, wheat and soybean Futures Contracts are traded in
the U.S. The Fund expressly disclaims any association
with the CBOT or endorsement of the Fund by the CBOT and
acknowledges that “CBOT” and “Chicago Board of
Trade” are registered trademarks of such exchange. The CBOT
is part of the CMR Group.
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Code:
Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as
amended.
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Commodity Interests: Futures Contracts,
Cleared Swaps and Other Commodity
Interests.
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Commodity Pool: An enterprise in which
several individuals contribute funds in order to trade futures
contracts or options on futures contracts
collectively.
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Commodity Pool Operator or CPO: Any person engaged in a
business which is of the nature of an investment trust, syndicate,
or similar enterprise, and who, in connection therewith, solicits,
accepts, or receives from others, funds, securities, or property,
either directly or through capital contributions, the sale of stock
or other forms of securities, or otherwise, for the purpose of
trading in any swap or commodity for future delivery or commodity
option on or subject to the rules of any contract
market.
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Creation Basket: A block of 25,000
Shares used by the Fund to issue
Shares.
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Custodian: U.S. Bank,
N.A.
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Distributor: Foreside
Fund Services, LLC
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DTC: The Depository Trust
Company. DTC will act as the securities depository for the
Shares.
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DTC Participant: An entity that has an
account with DTC.
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Exchange Act: The Securities Exchange
Act of 1934.
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Exchange for Related Position: A privately negotiated
and simultaneous exchange of a futures contract position for a swap
or other over-the-counter instrument on the corresponding
commodity.
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FINRA: Financial Industry
Regulatory Authority, formerly the National Association of
Securities Dealers.
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Futures Contracts: Futures contracts for
corn, wheat, soybeans or sugar that are traded on U.S. or foreign
exchanges.
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ICE Futures: The primary exchange on
which Sugar No. 11 Futures Contracts are traded in the U.S. The
Fund expressly disclaims any association with ICE Futures or
endorsement of the Fund by ICE Futures and acknowledges that
“ICE Futures” and “ICE Futures US” are
registered trademarks of such
exchange.
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Indirect Participants: Banks, brokers, dealers
and trust companies that clear through or maintain a custodial
relationship with a DTC Participant, either directly or
indirectly.
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Limited Liability Company (LLC): A type of business
ownership combining several features of corporation and partnership
structures.
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Margin: The amount of equity
required for an investment in Futures
Contracts.
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NAV: Net Asset Value of the
Fund.
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New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX): An exchange on which
Futures Contracts are traded in the U.S. The Fund expressly
disclaims any association with the NYMEX or endorsement of the Fund
by the NYMEX and acknowledges that “NYMEX” and
“New York Mercantile Exchange” are registered
trademarks of such exchange.
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NFA: National Futures
Association.
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NSCC: National Securities
Clearing Corporation.
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1933 Act: The Securities Act of
1933.
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Option: The right, but not the
obligation, to buy or sell a futures contract or forward contract
at a specified price on or before a specified
date.
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Other Commodity Interests: Other investments
related to corn, wheat, soybeans, sugar or some combination of
these commodities such as cash-settled options on Futures
Contracts, swaps and forward contracts relating to these
commodities, and over-the-counter transactions that are based on
the price of such commodities, Futures Contracts and indices based
on the foregoing.
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Over-the-Counter Derivative: A financial contract,
whose value is designed to track the return on stocks, bonds,
currencies, commodities, or some other benchmark, that is traded
over-the-counter or off organized
exchanges.
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Redemption Basket: A block of 25,000
Shares used by the Fund to redeem
Shares.
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SEC: Securities and Exchange
Commission.
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Secondary Market: The stock exchanges and
the over-the-counter market. Securities are first issued as a
primary offering to the public. When the securities are traded from
that first holder to another, the issues trade in these secondary
markets.
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Shareholders: Holders
of Shares.
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Shares: Common
units representing fractional undivided beneficial interests in the
Fund.
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Sponsor: Teucrium Trading, LLC,
a Delaware limited liability company, which is registered as a
Commodity Pool Operator, who controls the investments and other
decisions of the Fund and the Underlying
Funds.
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Spot Contract: A cash market
transaction in which the buyer and seller agree to the immediate
purchase and sale of a commodity, usually with a two-day
settlement.
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Swap Agreement: An over-the-counter
derivative that generally involves an exchange of a stream of
payments between the contracting parties based on a notional amount
and a specified index.
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Tracking Error: Possibility that the
daily NAV of the Fund will not track the
Benchmark.
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Trust Agreement: The Second Amended and
Restated Declaration of Trust and Trust Agreement of the Trust
effective as of October 21, 2010.
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Underlying Fund: The
commodity pools in which the Fund invests — specifically, the
Teucrium Corn Fund, Teucrium Wheat Fund, Teucrium Soybean Fund and
Teucrium Sugar Fund.
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Underlying Fund Average: An
average of the daily changes in the Underlying Funds’ NAVs,
with each Underlying Fund equally weighted at
25%.
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Valuation Day: Any day as of which the
Fund calculates its NAV.
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You: The owner of
Shares.
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STATEMENT OF
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
TEUCRIUM
AGRICULTURAL FUND
This statement of additional
information is the second part of a two part document. The first
part is the Fund’s disclosure document. The disclosure
document and this statement of additional information are bound
together, and both parts contain important information. This
statement of additional information should be read in conjunction
with the disclosure document. To obtain a copy of the disclosure
document without charge, call the Fund at (302) 543-5977. Before
you decide whether to invest, you should read the entire prospectus
carefully and consider the risk factors beginning on page
13.
This statement of additional
information and accompanying disclosure document are both dated
April 30, 2018.
TEUCRIUM
AGRICULTURAL FUND
TABLE OF
CONTENTS
Commodity Market
Participants
The two broad classes of persons
who trade commodities are hedgers and
speculators. Hedgers include financial institutions that
manage or deal in interest rate-sensitive instruments, foreign
currencies or stock portfolios, and commercial market participants,
such as farmers and manufacturers, that market or process
commodities. Hedging is a protective procedure designed
to effectively lock in prices that would otherwise change due to an
adverse movement in the price of the underlying commodity, such,
the adverse price movement between the time a merchandiser or
processor enters into a contract to buy or sell a raw or processed
commodity at a certain price and the time he must perform the
contract. For example, if a hedger contracts to
physically sell the commodity at a future date, he may
simultaneously buy a Futures Contract or forward contract for the
necessary equivalent quantity of the commodity. At the
time for performance of the physical contract, the hedger may
accept delivery under his Futures Contract and sell the commodity
quantity as required by the physical contract or he may buy the
actual commodity, sell it under the physical contract and close out
his Futures Contract position by making an offsetting
sale.
The Commodity Interest markets
enable the hedger to shift the risk of price
fluctuations. The usual objective of the hedger is to
protect the profit that he expects to earn from farming,
merchandising, or processing operations rather than to profit from
his trading. However, at times the impetus for a hedge
transaction may result in part from speculative objectives and
hedgers can end up paying higher prices than they would have if
they did not enter into a Commodity Interest transaction if current
market prices are lower than the locked-in
price.
Unlike the hedger, the speculator
generally expects neither to make nor take delivery of the
underlying commodity. Instead, the speculator risks his
capital with the hope of making profits from price fluctuations in
the commodities. The speculator is, in effect, the risk
bearer who assumes the risks that the hedger seeks to
avoid. Speculators rarely make or take delivery of the
underlying commodity; rather they attempt to close out their
positions prior to the delivery date. A speculator who
takes a long position generally will make a profit if the price of
the underlying commodity goes up and incur a loss if the price of
the underlying commodity goes down, while a speculator who takes a
short position generally will make a profit if the price of the
underlying commodity goes down and incur a loss if the price of the
underlying commodity goes up.
The regulation of futures markets,
futures contracts, and futures exchanges has historically been
comprehensive. The CFTC and the exchanges are authorized to take
extraordinary actions in the event of a market emergency including,
for example, the retroactive implementation of speculative position
limits, increased margin requirements, the establishment of daily
price limits and the suspension of trading on an exchange or
trading facility.
Pursuant to authority in the CEA,
the NFA has been formed and registered with the CFTC as a
registered futures association. At the present time, the NFA
is the only SRO for commodity interest professionals, other than
futures exchanges. The CFTC has delegated to the NFA
responsibility for the registration of CPOs and FCMs and their
respective associated persons. The Sponsor and the Underlying
Funds’ clearing broker are members of the NFA. As such,
they will be subject to NFA standards relating to fair trade
practices, financial condition and consumer
protection. The NFA also arbitrates disputes
between members and their customers and conducts registration and
fitness screening of applicants for membership and audits of its
existing members. Neither the Trust nor the Teucrium Funds
are required to become a member of the NFA. The regulation of
commodity interest transactions in the United States is a rapidly
changing area of law and is subject to ongoing modification by
governmental and judicial action. Considerable regulatory attention
has been focused on non-traditional investment pools that are
publicly distributed in the United States. There is a possibility
of future regulatory changes within the United States altering,
perhaps to a material extent, the nature of an investment in the
Fund or the Underlying Funds, or the ability of a Fund to continue
to implement its investment strategy. In addition, various national
governments outside of the United States have expressed concern
regarding the disruptive effects of speculative trading in the
commodities markets and the need to regulate the derivatives
markets in general. The effect of any future regulatory change on
the Teucrium Funds is impossible to predict but could be
substantial and adverse.
The CFTC possesses exclusive
jurisdiction to regulate the activities of commodity pool operators
and commodity trading advisors with respect to "commodity
interests," such as futures and swaps and options, and has adopted
regulations with respect to the activities of those persons and/or
entities. Under the Commodity Exchange Act
(“CEA”), a registered commodity pool operator, such as
the Sponsor, is required to make annual filings with the CFTC and
the NFA describing its organization, capital structure, management
and controlling persons. In addition, the CEA authorizes the
CFTC to require and review books and records of, and documents
prepared by, registered commodity pool operators. Pursuant to
this authority, the CFTC requires commodity pool operators to keep
accurate, current and orderly records for each pool that they
operate. The CFTC may suspend the registration of a commodity
pool operator (1) if the CFTC finds that the operator’s
trading practices tend to disrupt orderly market conditions, (2) if
any controlling person of the operator is subject to an order of
the CFTC denying such person trading privileges on any exchange,
and (3) in certain other circumstances. Suspension,
restriction or termination of the Sponsor’s registration as a
commodity pool operator would prevent it, until that registration
were to be reinstated, from managing the Fund or the Underlying
Funds, and might result in the termination of a Fund if a successor
sponsor is not elected pursuant to the Trust Agreement. None
of the Trust, the Fund, or the Underlying Funds are required to be
registered with the CFTC in any capacity.
The Fund’s and Underlying
Funds’ investors are afforded prescribed rights for
reparations under the CEA. Investors may also be able to
maintain a private right of action for violations of the CEA.
The CFTC has adopted rules implementing the reparation provisions
of the CEA, which provide that any person may file a complaint for
a reparations award with the CFTC for violation of the CEA against
a floor broker or an FCM, introducing broker, commodity trading
advisor, CPO, and their respective associated
persons.
The regulations of the CFTC and
the NFA prohibit any representation by a person registered with the
CFTC or by any member of the NFA, that registration with the CFTC,
or membership in the NFA, in any respect indicates that the CFTC or
the NFA has approved or endorsed that person or that person’s
trading program or objectives. The registrations and
memberships of the parties described in this summary must not be
considered as constituting any such approval or endorsement.
Likewise, no futures exchange has given or will give any similar
approval or endorsement.
Trading venues in the United
States are subject to varying degrees of regulation under the CEA
depending on whether such exchange is a designated contract market
(i.e. a futures exchange) or a swap execution facility. Clearing
organizations are also subject to the CEA and the rules and
regulations adopted thereunder as administered by the CFTC. The
CFTC’s function is to implement the CEA’s objectives of
preventing price manipulation and excessive speculation and
promoting orderly and efficient commodity interest markets. In
addition, the various exchanges and clearing organizations
themselves as SROs exercise regulatory and supervisory authority
over their member firms.
The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform
and Consumer Protection Act (the “Dodd-Frank Act”) was
enacted in response to the economic crisis of 2008 and 2009 and it
significantly altered the regulatory regime to which the securities
and commodities markets are subject. To date, the CFTC has issued
proposed or final versions of almost all of the rules it is
required to promulgate under the Dodd-Frank Act, and it continues
to issue proposed versions of additional rules that it has
authority to promulgate. Provisions of the new law include the
requirement that position limits be established on a wide range of
commodity interests, including agricultural, energy, and
metal-based commodity futures contracts, options on such futures
contracts and uncleared swaps that are economically equivalent to
such futures contracts and options (“Reference
Contracts”); new registration and recordkeeping requirements
for swap market participants; capital and margin requirements for
“swap dealers” and “major swap
participants,” as determined by the new law and applicable
regulations; reporting of all swap transactions to swap data
repositories; and the mandatory use of clearinghouse mechanisms for
sufficiently standardized swap transactions that were historically
entered into in the over-the-counter market, but are now designated
as subject to the clearing requirement; and margin requirements for
over-the-counter swaps that are not subject to the clearing
requirements.
The effect of future regulatory
change on the Fund and the Underlying Funds, and the exact timing
of such changes, is impossible to predict but it may be substantial
and adverse.
In addition, considerable
regulatory attention has recently been focused on non-traditional
publicly distributed investment pools such as the Funds.
Furthermore, various national governments have expressed concern
regarding the disruptive effects of speculative trading in certain
commodity markets and the need to regulate the derivatives markets
in general. The effect of any future regulatory change on the
Fund and the Underlying Funds is impossible to predict, but could
be substantial and adverse.
The Dodd-Frank Act was intended to
reduce systemic risks that may have contributed to the 2008/2009
financial crisis. Since the first draft of what became the
Dodd-Frank Act, opponents have criticized the broad scope of the
legislation and, in particular, the regulations implemented by
federal agencies as a result. Since 2010, and most notably in 2015
and 2016, Republicans have proposed comprehensive legislation both
in the House and the Senate of the US Congress. These bills are
intended to pare back some of the provisions of the Dodd-Frank Act
of 2010 that critics view as overly broad, unnecessary to the
stability of the U.S. financial system, and inhibiting the growth
of the U.S. economy. Further, during the campaign and after taking
office, President Donald J. Trump has promised and issued several
executive orders intended to relieve the financial burden created
by the Dodd-Frank Act, although these executive orders only set
forth several general principles to be followed by the federal
agencies and do not mandate the wholesale repeal of the Dodd-Frank
Act. The scope of the effect that passage of new financial reform
legislation could have on U.S. securities, derivatives and
commodities markets is not clear at this time because each federal
regulatory agency would have to promulgate new regulations to
implement such legislation. Nevertheless, regulatory reform may
have a significant impact on U.S.-regulated
entities.
Position
Limits, Aggregation Limits, Price Fluctuation
Limits
On December 16, 2016, the CFTC
issued a final rule to amend part 150 of the CFTC’s
regulations with respect to the policy for aggregation under the
CFTC’s position limits regime for futures and option
contracts on nine agricultural commodities (“the Aggregation
Requirements”). This final rule addressed the circumstances
under which market participants would be required to aggregate all
their positions, for purposes of the position limits, of all
positions in Reference Contracts of the 9 agricultural commodities
held by a single entity and its affiliates, regardless of whether
such positions exist on US futures exchanges, non-US futures
exchanges, or in over-the-counter swaps. An affiliate of a
market participant is defined as two or more persons acting
pursuant to an express or implied agreement or understanding.
The Aggregation Requirements became effective on February 14, 2017.
On August 10, 2017, the CFTC issued No-Action Relief Letter No.
17-37 to clarify several provisions under regulation 150.4
regarding position aggregation filing requirements of market
participants. The Sponsor does not anticipate that this order will
have an impact on the ability of the Fund to meet its respective
investment objectives.
In addition, on December 30, 2016,
the CFTC reproposed regulations that would establish revised
specific limits on speculative positions in futures contracts,
option contracts and swaps on 25 agricultural, energy and metals
commodities (the “Proposed Position Limit
Rules”).
The Proposed Position Limit Rules
were a reproposal and the CFTC has requested comments from the
public. It remains to be seen whether the Proposed Position Limit
Rules will become effective as the CFTC has proposed, as comments
could result in modifications to the proposed limits or
implementation could be delayed for other reasons. In general, the
Proposed Position Limit Rules do not appear to have a substantial
or adverse effect on the Fund and the Underlying Funds. However, if
the total net assets of the Fund were to increase significantly
from current levels, the Position Limit Rules as proposed could
negatively impact the ability of a Fund to meet its respective
investment objectives through limits that may inhibit the
Sponsor’s ability to sell additional Creation Baskets of the
Fund and the Underlying Funds. However, it is not expected that the
Fund will reach asset levels that would cause these position limits
to be reached in the near future.
In addition, the Proposed Position
Limit Rules state that the CFTC will review, and may amend, the
Position Limit Rules at a minimum every two years and more often as
deemed necessary. Such future amendments may affect the Fund or one
or more of the Underlying Funds, and it may, at that time, be
substantial and adverse. By way of example, future
amendments, in combination with the Position Limit Rules, may
negatively impact the ability of the Fund to meet its respective
investment objectives through limits that may inhibit the
Sponsor’s ability to sell additional Creation Baskets of the
Fund and the Underlying Funds, if the total net assets of a Fund
grow significantly from current levels.
The futures exchanges, e.g. the
CME, may under the Proposed Position Limit Rules impose position
limits which are lower than those imposed by the CFTC. Such a limit
by an exchange on which the Fund trades futures contracts may
negatively and adversely impact the ability of the Fund to meet its
respective investment objectives through limits that may inhibit
the Sponsor’s ability to sell additional Creation Baskets of
the Fund and the Underlying Funds. No such lower limits by an
exchange are currently in place.
The aggregate position limits
currently in place under the current position limits and the
Aggregation Requirements are as follows for each of the commodities
traded by the Underlying Funds:
Commodity
Future
|
Spot Month Position
Limit
|
All Month Aggregate Position
Limit
|
corn
|
600 contracts
|
33,000
contracts
|
soybeans
|
600 contracts
|
15,000
contracts
|
sugar
|
5,000
contracts
|
Accountability – see
discussion below
|
wheat
|
600 contracts
|
12,000
contracts
|
The aggregate speculative position
limits currently as proposed in the Proposed Position Limit Rules
are as follows for each of the commodities traded by the Underlying
Funds:
Commodity
Future
|
Spot Month Position
Limit
|
All Month Aggregate Position
Limit
|
corn
|
600 contracts
|
62,400
contracts
|
soybeans
|
600 contracts
|
31,900
contracts
|
sugar
|
23,300
contracts
|
38,400
contracts
|
wheat
|
600 contracts
|
32,800
contracts
|
Accountability levels differ from
position limits in that they do not represent a fixed ceiling, but
rather a threshold above which a futures exchange may exercise
greater scrutiny and control over an investor’s
positions. If a Fund were to exceed an applicable
accountability level for investments in futures contracts, the
exchange will monitor the Fund’s exposure and may ask for
further information on its activities, including the total size of
all positions, investment and trading strategy, and the extent of
liquidity resources of the Fund. If deemed necessary by the
exchange, the Fund could be ordered to reduce its aggregate net
position back to the accountability
level.
In addition to position limits and
accountability levels, the exchanges set daily price fluctuation
limits on futures contracts. The daily price fluctuation
limit establishes the maximum amount that the price of futures
contracts may vary either up or down from the previous day’s
settlement price. Once the daily price fluctuation limit has
been reached in a particular futures contract, no trades may be
made at a price beyond that limit.
As of May 1, 2014, the CME
replaced the fixed price fluctuation limits with variable price
limits for corn, soybean and wheat. The change, which is now
effective and is described in the CME Group Special Executive
Report S7038 and can be accessed at http://www.cmegroup.com/toolsinformation/lookups/advisories/ser/SER7038.html.
Margin for OTC
Uncleared Swaps
During 2015 and 2016, the CFTC and
the US bank prudential regulators completed their rulemakings under
the Dodd-Frank Act on margin for uncleared over-the-counter swaps
(and option agreements that qualify as swaps). Margin requirements
went into effect for the largest swap entities in September 2016,
and went into effect for financial end users in March 2017. Under
these regulations, swap dealers (such as sell-side counterparties
to swaps), major swap participants, and financial end users (such
as buy-side counterparties to swaps who are not physical traders)
are required in most instances, to post and collect initial and
variation margin, depending on the regulatory classification of
their counterparty. European and Asian regulators are also
implementing similar regulations, which were scheduled to become
effective on the same dates as the US-promulgated rules. As a
result of these requirements, additional capital will be required
to be committed to the margin accounts to support transactions
involving uncleared over-the-counter swaps and, consequently, these
transactions may become more expensive. While the Fund and the
Underlying Funds currently do not generally engage in uncleared
over the counter swaps, to the extent they do so in the future, the
additional margin required to be posted could adversely impact the
profitability (if any) to the Funds from entering into these
transactions.
Potential Advantages of
Investment
Interest Income
Unlike some alternative investment
funds, the Fund and the Underlying Funds do not borrow money in
order to obtain leverage, so the Fund and the Underlying Funds do
not incur any interest expense. Rather, the Fund’s
residual cash and the Underlying Funds’ margin deposits and
cash reserves are maintained in cash and/or cash equivalents, and
interest is generally earned on available assets, which include
unrealized profits credited to the Underlying Funds’
accounts.
The following graph sets forth the
historical performance of the Fund from commencement of operations
on March 28, 2012 through January 31, 2018.
PAST
PERFORMANCE IS NOT NECESSARILY INDICATIVE OF FUTURE
RESULTS.