RISKS AND OTHER CONSIDERATIONS
Investors should consider the following risk factors and special considerations associated with investing in the Fund, which may cause you to lose money.
Investment Risk. An investment in the Fund is subject to investment risk, including the possible loss of the entire principal amount that you invest.
Equity Risk. The value of the equity securities held by the Fund may fall due to general market and economic conditions, perceptions regarding the industries in which the issuers of securities held by the Fund participate, or factors relating to specific companies in which the Fund invests. For example, an adverse event, such as an unfavorable earnings report, may depress the value of equity securities of an issuer held by the Fund; the price of common stock of an issuer may be particularly sensitive to general movements in the stock market; or a drop in the stock market may depress the price of most or all of the common stocks and other equity securities held by the Fund. In addition, equity securities of an issuer in the Fund’s portfolio may decline in price if the issuer fails to make anticipated dividend payments because the issuer of the security experiences a decline in its financial condition. Common stock is subordinated to preferred stocks, bonds and other debt instruments in a company’s capital structure, in terms of priority to corporate income, and therefore will be subject to greater dividend risk than preferred stocks or debt instruments of such issuers. In addition, while broad market measures of common stocks have historically generated higher average returns than fixed income securities, common stocks have also experienced significantly more volatility in those returns.
Foreign Investment Risk. The Fund’s investments in non-U.S. issuers may involve unique risks compared to investing in securities of U.S. issuers, including greater market volatility than U.S. securities and less complete financial information than for U.S. issuers. In addition, adverse political, economic or social developments could undermine the value of the Fund’s investments or prevent the Fund from realizing the full value of its investments. Financial reporting standards for companies based in foreign markets differ from those in the United States. Finally, the value of the currency of the country in which the Fund has invested could decline relative to the value of the U.S. dollar, which may affect the value of the investment to U.S. investors. The Fund will not enter into transactions to hedge against declines in the value of the Fund’s assets that are denominated in a foreign currency. In addition, the underlying issuers of certain depositary receipts, particularly unsponsored or unregistered depositary receipts, are under no obligation to distribute shareholder communications to the holders of such receipts, or to pass through to them any voting rights with respect to the deposited securities.
Risks of Investing In Frontier Securities. Frontier Market countries are emerging market countries. Investment in securities in emerging market countries involves risks not associated with investments in securities in developed countries, including risks associated with expropriation and/or nationalization, political or social instability, armed conflict, the impact on the economy as a result of civil war, religious or ethnic unrest and the withdrawal or non-renewal of any license enabling the Fund to trade in securities of a particular country, confiscatory taxation, restrictions on transfers of assets, lack of uniform accounting, auditing and financial reporting standards, less publicly available financial and other information, diplomatic development which could affect U.S. investments in those countries and potential difficulties in enforcing contractual obligations. Emerging markets are subject to greater market volatility, lower trading volume, political and economic instability, uncertainty regarding the existence of trading markets and more governmental limitations on foreign investment than more developed markets. In addition, securities in emerging markets may be subject to greater price fluctuations than securities in more developed markets. There may be less information publicly available with regard to emerging market issuers and such issuers are not subject to the uniform accounting, auditing and financial reporting standards applicable to U.S. issuers. There may be no single centralized securities exchange on which securities are traded in emerging market countries and the systems of corporate governance to which companies in emerging markets are subject may be less advanced than that to which U.S. issuers are subject, and therefore, shareholders in such companies may not receive many of the protections available to shareholders of U.S. issuers. Securities law in many emerging markets countries is relatively new and unsettled. Therefore, laws regarding foreign investment in emerging market securities, securities regulation, title to securities, and shareholder rights may change quickly and unpredictably. In addition, the enforcement of systems of taxation at federal, regional and local levels in emerging market countries may be inconsistent, and subject to sudden change.
Frontier countries generally have smaller economies or less developed capital markets than traditional emerging markets, and, as a result, the risks of investing in emerging market countries are magnified in frontier countries. The economies of frontier countries are less correlated to global economic cycles than those of their more developed counterparts and their markets have low trading volumes and the potential for extreme price volatility and illiquidity. This volatility may be further heightened by the actions of a few major investors. For example, a substantial increase or decrease in cash flows of mutual funds investing in these markets could significantly affect local stock prices and, therefore, the price of Fund Shares. These factors make investing in frontier countries significantly riskier than in other countries and any one of them could cause the price of the Fund’s Shares to decline.
Governments of many frontier countries in which the Fund may invest may exercise substantial influence over many aspects of the private sector. In some cases, the governments of such frontier countries may own or control certain companies. Accordingly, government actions could have a significant effect on economic conditions in a frontier country and on market conditions, prices and yields of securities in the Fund’s portfolio. Moreover, the economies of frontier countries may be heavily dependent upon international trade and, accordingly, have been and may continue to be, adversely affected by trade barriers, exchange controls, managed adjustments in relative currency values and other protectionist measures imposed or negotiated by the countries with which they trade. These economies also have been and may continue to be adversely affected by economic conditions in the countries with which they trade.
Certain foreign governments in countries in which the Fund may invest levy withholding or other taxes on dividend and interest income. Although in some countries a portion of these taxes are recoverable, the non-recovered portion of foreign withholding taxes will reduce the income received from investments in such countries.
From time to time, certain of the companies in which the Fund may invest may operate in, or have dealings with, countries subject to sanctions or embargoes imposed by the U.S. government and the United Nations and/or countries identified by the U.S. government as state sponsors of terrorism. A company may suffer damage to its reputation if it is identified as a company which operates in, or has dealings with, countries subject to sanctions or embargoes imposed by the U.S. government and the United Nations and/or countries identified by the U.S. government as state sponsors of terrorism. As an investor in such companies, the Fund will be indirectly subject to those risks.
Investment in equity securities of issuers operating in certain frontier countries is restricted or controlled to varying degrees. These restrictions or controls may at times limit or preclude foreign investment in equity securities of issuers operating in certain frontier countries and increase the costs and expenses of the Fund. Certain frontier countries require governmental approval prior to investments by foreign persons, limit the amount of investment by foreign persons in a particular issuer, limit the investment by foreign persons only to a specific class of securities of an issuer that may have less advantageous rights than the classes available for purchase by domiciliaries of the countries and/or impose additional taxes on foreign investors. Certain frontier countries may also restrict investment opportunities in issuers in industries deemed important to national interests.
Frontier countries may require governmental approval for the repatriation of investment income, capital or the proceeds of sales of securities by foreign investors, such as the Fund. In addition, if deterioration occurs in a frontier country’s balance of payments, the country could impose temporary restrictions on foreign capital remittances. The Fund could be adversely affected by delays in, or a refusal to grant, any required governmental approval for repatriation of capital, as well as by the application to the Fund of any restrictions on investments. Investing in local markets in frontier countries may require the Fund to adopt special procedures, seek local government approvals or take other actions, each of which may involve additional costs to the Fund.
As of August 31, 2011, a significant percentage of the Index is comprised of securities of companies from Chile, Colombia and Argentina. To the extent that the Index is focused on securities of any one country, including Chile, Colombia and Argentina, the value of the Index, and thus the Fund, will be especially affected by adverse developments in such country, including the risks described above.
Political Risk. Certain of the frontier countries may be subject to a greater degree of political and social instability than is the case in more developed countries. Such instability may result from, among other things, authoritarian governments or military involvement in political and economic decision-making, including changes in government through extra-constitutional means, popular unrest associated with demands for improved political, economic and social conditions, internal insurgencies, hostile relations with neighboring countries and ethnic, religious and racial disaffection. Some frontier countries may be affected by a greater degree of public corruption and crime, including organized crime.
Licensing, Custody and Settlement Risk. Approval of governmental authorities may be required prior to investing in the securities of companies based in certain frontier countries. Delays in obtaining such an approval would delay investments in the particular country.
Rules adopted under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, permit a fund to maintain its foreign securities and cash in the custody of certain eligible non-U.S. banks and securities depositories. Certain banks in foreign countries that are eligible foreign sub-custodians may be recently organized or otherwise lack extensive operating experience. In addition, in certain countries there may be legal restrictions or limitations on the ability of the Fund to recover assets held in custody by a foreign sub-custodian in the event of the bankruptcy of the sub-custodian. Settlement systems in emerging markets may be less well organized than in developed markets. Thus there may be a risk that settlement may be delayed and that cash or securities of the Fund may be in jeopardy because of failures of or defects in the systems. Under the laws of certain countries in which the Fund may invest, the Fund may be required to release local shares before receiving cash payment or may be required to make cash payment prior to receiving local shares.
Certain countries in which the Fund may invest utilize share blocking schemes. Share blocking refers to a practice, in certain foreign markets, where voting rights related to an issuer’s securities are predicated on these securities being blocked from trading at the custodian or sub-custodian level, for a period of time around a shareholder meeting. These restrictions have the effect of prohibiting securities to potentially be voted (or having been voted), from trading within a specified number of days before, and in certain instances, after the shareholder meeting.
Share blocking may prevent the Fund from buying or selling securities for a period of time. During the time that shares are blocked, trades in such securities will not settle. The specific practices may vary by market and the blocking period can last from a day to several weeks, typically terminating on a date established at the discretion of the issuer.
Once blocked, the only manner in which to remove this block would be to withdraw a previously cast vote, or to abstain from voting all together. The process for having a blocking restriction lifted can be quite onerous with the particular requirements varying widely by country. In addition, in certain countries, the block cannot be removed.
Share blocking may present operational challenges for the Fund and Authorized Participants, including the effect that an imposed block would have on pending trades. Pending trades may be caused to fail and could potentially remain unsettled for an extended period of time. Fails may also expose the transfer agent and the fund to “Buy In” situations in which if unable to deliver shares after a certain period of time, a counter party has the right to go to market, purchase a security at the current market price and have any additional expense borne by the fund or transfer agent.
As a result of the ramifications of voting ballots in share blocking proxy markets, the Investment Adviser, on behalf of the Fund, reserves the right to abstain from voting proxies in share blocking proxy markets.
Financial Services Sector Risk. The financial services industries are subject to extensive government regulation, can be subject to relatively rapid change due to increasingly blurred distinctions between service segments, and can be significantly affected by availability and cost of capital funds, changes in interest rates, the rate of corporate and consumer debt defaults, and price competition. In addition, the deterioration of the credit markets since late 2007 generally has caused an adverse impact in a broad range of markets, including U.S. and international credit and interbank money markets generally, thereby affecting a wide range of financial institutions and markets. In particular, events in the financial sector since late 2008 have resulted, and may continue to result, in an unusually high degree of volatility in the financial markets, both domestic and foreign. These events have included the U.S. government’s placement of the Federal National Mortgage Association and the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation under conservatorship, the bankruptcy filing of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc., the sale of Merrill Lynch to Bank of America, the U.S. government support of American International Group, Inc., the sale of Wachovia to Wells Fargo, reports of credit and liquidity issues involving certain money market mutual funds, and emergency measures by the U.S. and foreign governments banning short-selling. This situation has created instability in the financial markets and caused certain financial services companies to incur large losses. Numerous financial services companies have experienced substantial declines in the valuations of their assets, taken action to raise capital (such as the issuance of debt or equity securities), or even ceased operations. These actions have caused the securities of many financial services companies to experience a dramatic decline in value. Moreover, certain financial companies have avoided collapse due to intervention by the U.S. or foreign regulatory authorities (such as the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or the Federal Reserve System), but such interventions have often not averted a substantial decline in the value of such companies’ common stocks. Issuers that have exposure to the real estate, mortgage and credit markets have been particularly affected by the foregoing events and the general market turmoil, and it is uncertain whether or for how long these conditions will continue.
Non-Correlation Risk. The Fund has historically experienced differences between the Fund’s return and that of the Index (“tracking error”), which exceed those experienced by many other ETFs. The tracking error experienced by the Fund has generally arisen from the application of the Fund’s fair valuation policies to certain underlying securities which, despite being listed on a stock exchange (as set forth under “Principal Investment Strategies”), may not experience trades on a daily basis. The underlying Index is not required to fair value its constituents. In addition, the Fund’s return may not match the return of the Index for a number of other reasons. For example, the Fund incurs a number of operating expenses not applicable to the Index, and incurs costs in buying and selling securities, especially when rebalancing the Fund’s securities holdings to reflect changes in the composition of the Index.
The Fund may not be fully invested at times, either as a result of cash flows into the Fund or reserves of cash held by the Fund to meet redemptions and expenses. If the Fund utilizes a sampling approach or otherwise holds instruments other than those which constitute the Index, its return may not correlate as well with the return on the Index, as would be the case if it purchased all of the securities in the Index with the same weightings as the Index.
Small and Medium-Sized Company Risk. Investing in securities of small and medium-sized companies involves greater risk than is customarily associated with investing in more established companies. These companies’ securities may be more volatile and less liquid than those of more established companies. These securities may have returns that vary, sometimes significantly, from the overall stock market.
Micro-Cap Company Risk. Micro-cap securities involve substantially greater risks of loss and price fluctuations because their earnings and revenues tend to be less predictable (and some companies may be experiencing significant losses), and their share prices tend to be more volatile and their markets less liquid than companies with larger market capitalizations. Micro-cap companies may be newly formed or in the early stages of development, with limited product lines, markets or financial resources and may lack management depth. In addition, there may be less public information available about these companies. The shares of micro-cap companies tend to trade less frequently than those of larger, more established companies, which can adversely affect the pricing of these securities and the future ability to sell these securities. Also, it may take a long time before the Fund realizes a gain, if any, on an investment in a micro-cap company.
Replication Management Risk. Unlike many investment companies, the Fund is not “actively” managed. Therefore, it would not necessarily sell a stock because the stock’s issuer was in financial trouble unless that stock is removed from the Index.
Issuer-Specific Changes. The value of an individual security or particular type of security can be more volatile than the market as a whole and can perform differently from the value of the market as a whole. The value of securities of smaller issuers can be more volatile than that of larger issuers.
Non-Diversified Fund Risk. The Fund is considered non-diversified and can invest a greater portion of assets in securities of individual issuers than a diversified fund. Even though no single security weight may exceed 10% of the Index at the time of each quarterly rebalance, changes in the market value of the Index’s constituent securities may result in the Fund being invested in the securities of individual issuers (and making additional such investments in the case of creations of additional Creation Units) in greater proportions. As a result, changes in the market value of a single investment could cause greater fluctuations in share price than would occur in a diversified fund.
The Fund’s Shares will change in value, and you could lose money by investing in the Fund. The Fund may not achieve its investment objective. An investment in the Fund has not been guaranteed, sponsored, recommended, or approved by the United States, or any agency, instrumentality or officer of the United States, has not been insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) and is not guaranteed by and is not otherwise an obligation of any bank or insured depository institution.
As with any investment, you should consider how your investment will be taxed. The tax information contained in the prospectus is provided as general information. Investors should consult their own tax professional about the tax consequences of an investment as Guggenheim Funds Distributors, Inc. does not offer tax advice.
The Fund will issue and redeem Shares at NAV only in a large specified number of Shares called a “Creation Unit” or multiples thereof. A Creation Unit consists of 50,000 Shares. The Fund generally issues and redeems Creation Units principally in-kind. Except when aggregated in Creation Units, the Shares are not redeemable securities of the Fund. Individual Shares of the Fund may only be purchased and sold in secondary market transactions through brokers. Shares of the Fund are listed for trading on NYSE Arca and because Shares trade at market prices rather than NAV, Shares of the Fund may trade at a price greater than or less than NAV.
Investors buying or selling ETF shares on the secondary market may incur brokerage costs and other transactional fees. Shares of ETFs may fluctuate in price due to daily changes in trading volume. At times, shares may not have a high volume of trading.
“BNY Mellon” and “The Bank of New York Mellon New Frontier DR Index” are service marks of The Bank of NewYork Corporation (the “Bank”) and have been licensed for use for certain purposes by the Investment Adviser.
The Guggenheim Frontier Markets ETF and its Shares are not sponsored, endorsed, sold, recommended or promoted by the Bank or any of its subsidiaries or affiliates, and none of the Bank or any of its subsidiaries or affiliates makes any representation or warranty, express or implied, to the shareholders of the Fund or any member of the public regarding the advisability of investing in financial products generally or in the Fund particularly, the ability of The Bank of New York Mellon New Frontier DR Index to track market performance or the suitability or appropriateness of the Fund for shareholders of the Fund or such member of the public.The relationship between the Bank, on one hand, and Guggenheim Funds, on the other, is limited to the licensing of certain trademarks, trade names and the Index, which is determined, composed and calculated by the Bank or its agent without regard to Guggenheim Funds or the Fund. Neither the Bank nor any of its subsidiaries or affiliates has any obligation to take the needs of Guggenheim Funds or the shareholders of the Fund into consideration in determining, composing or calculating The Bank of New York Mellon New Frontier DR Index. Neither the Bank nor any of its subsidiaries or affiliates is responsible for, or has participated in, the determination of the timing of, prices at, or quantities of the products to be issued or in the determination or calculation of the equation by which the Fund is to be converted into cash. Neither the Bank nor any of its subsidiaries or affiliates has any obligation or liability in connection with the administration, marketing or trading of the Fund.
None of the Investment Adviser, the Bank or any of its subsidiaries or affiliates guarantees the accuracy or completeness of the Index or any data included therein, and none of the Investment Adviser, the Bank or any of its subsidiaries or affiliates shall have any liability for any errors, omissions or interruptions therein. None of the Investment Adviser, the Bank or any of its subsidiaries or affiliates makes any warranty, express or implied, as to results to be obtained by the Fund, owners of the Shares of the Fund or any other person or entity from the use of the Index or any data included therein. None of the Investment Adviser, the Bank nor any of its subsidiaries or affiliates makes any express or implied warranties, and expressly disclaims all warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose or use with respect to the Index or any data included therein.Without limiting any of the foregoing, in no event shall the Investment Adviser, the Bank or any of its subsidiaries or affiliates have any liability for any special, punitive, direct, indirect or consequential damages (including, without limitation, lost profits) arising out of matters relating to the use of the Index, even if notified of the possibility of such damages.
Guggenheim Funds Investment Advisors, LLC, an affiliate of Guggenheim Funds Distributors, Inc., serves as the investment adviser.