to the Fund, either may invest the Fund's assets in a subset of securities in the Index or may invest the Fund's assets in
substantially all of the securities represented in the Index in approximately the same proportions as the Index, as determined by the Adviser to be in the best interest of the Fund in pursuing its objective.
Under normal market conditions, the Fund generally invests substantially all, but at least 80%, of its total assets in the securities comprising the Index and in securities that the Adviser determines have economic characteristics that are substantially identical to the economic characteristics of the securities that comprise the Index. In addition, in seeking to track the Index, the Fund may invest in debt securities that are not included in the Index, cash and cash equivalents or money market instruments, such as repurchase
agreements and money market funds (including money market funds advised by the Adviser).
The Index is designed to measure the performance of public obligations of the U.S. Treasury that have a
remaining maturity of 10 years or more. The Index includes all publicly issued, U.S. Treasury securities that have a remaining maturity of 10 years or more, are rated investment grade, and have $300 million or more of outstanding face value. In addition, the securities must be
denominated in U.S. dollars and must be fixed rate and non-convertible. Excluded from the Index are certain special issues, such as flower bonds, targeted investor notes, state and local government series bonds, inflation protected public obligations of the U.S. Treasury, commonly known as “TIPS,” and coupon issues that have been stripped from bonds included in the Index. The Index is market capitalization weighted and the securities in the Index are updated on the last business day of each month. As of July 31, 2023, there were 76 securities in the Index and the dollar-weighted average maturity of the securities in the Index was 22.90 years.
The Index is sponsored by Bloomberg Index Services Limited (the “Index Provider”), which is not affiliated with the Fund or the Adviser. The Index Provider determines the composition of the Index, relative
weightings of the securities in the Index and publishes information regarding the market value of the Index.
Principal Risks
of Investing in the Fund
As with all investments, there are certain risks of investing in the Fund. Fund
Shares will change in value, and you could lose money by investing in the Fund. An investment in the Fund is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
or any other government agency.
Market Risk: The Fund's investments
are subject to changes in general economic conditions, general market fluctuations and the risks inherent in investment in securities markets. Investment markets can be volatile and
prices of investments can change substantially due to various factors including, but not limited to, economic growth or recession, changes in interest rates, inflation, changes in the actual or perceived creditworthiness of issuers, and general market liquidity. The Fund is subject to the risk that geopolitical events will disrupt securities markets and adversely affect global economies and markets. Local, regional or global
events such as war, military conflicts, acts of terrorism, natural disasters, the spread of infectious illness or other public health issues, or other events could have a significant impact on the Fund and its investments.
Debt Securities Risk: The values of debt securities may increase or decrease as a result of the following:
market fluctuations, changes in interest rates, actual or perceived inability or unwillingness of issuers, guarantors or liquidity providers to make scheduled principal or interest payments, or illiquidity in debt securities markets. To the extent that interest rates rise, certain underlying obligations may be paid off substantially slower than originally anticipated and the value of those securities may fall sharply. A rising interest rate environment may cause the value of the Fund's fixed income securities to decrease, an adverse
impact on the liquidity of the Fund's fixed income securities, and increased volatility of the fixed income markets. During periods when interest rates are at low levels, the Fund's yield can be low, and the Fund may have a negative yield (i.e., it may lose money on an operating basis). To the extent that interest rates fall, certain underlying obligations may be paid off substantially faster than originally anticipated. If the principal on a debt obligation is prepaid before expected, the prepayments of principal may have to be reinvested in obligations paying interest at lower rates. During periods of falling interest rates, the income received by the Fund may decline. Changes in interest rates will likely have a greater effect on the values of debt securities of longer durations. Returns on investments in debt securities could trail the returns on other investment options, including investments in equity securities.
U.S. Treasury
Obligations Risk: U.S. Treasury obligations may differ from other fixed income securities in their interest rates,
maturities, times of issuance and other characteristics. Similar to other issuers, changes to the financial condition or credit rating of the U.S. government may cause the value of the Fund's U.S. Treasury obligations to decline.
Fluctuation of Net Asset Value, Share Premiums and Discounts Risk: As with all exchange-traded funds, Fund
Shares may be bought and sold in the secondary market at market prices. The trading prices of Fund Shares in the secondary market may differ from the Fund's daily net asset value per share and there may be times when the market price of the shares is more than the net
asset value per share (premium) or less than the net asset value per share (discount). This risk is heightened in times of market volatility or periods of steep market declines.