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ADVISORSHARES MORGAN CREEK GLOBAL TACTICAL ETF (NYSE Arca Ticker: GTAA)

 

SUMMARY PROSPECTUS – November 1, 2016

 

Before you invest in the AdvisorShares Fund, you may want to review the Fund’s prospectus and statement of additional information, which contain more information about the Fund and the risks of investing in the Fund. The Fund’s current prospectus and statement of additional information, each dated November 1, 2016, as supplemented from time to time, are incorporated by reference into this summary prospectus. You can find the Fund’s prospectus and statement of additional information, as well as other information about the Fund, online at http://advisorshares.com/fund/gtaa. You may also obtain this information at no charge by calling 877.843.3831 or by sending an email request to info@advisorshares.com.

 

INVESTMENT OBJECTIVE

 

The AdvisorShares Morgan Creek Global Tactical ETF (the “Fund”) seeks to preserve and grow capital from investments in the U.S. and foreign equity, fixed income, commodity and currency markets, independent of market direction.

 

FUND FEES AND EXPENSES

 

This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the Fund. Most investors will incur customary brokerage commissions when buying or selling shares of the Fund, which are not reflected in the table below.

 

SHAREHOLDER FEES (fees paid directly from your investment) None
ANNUAL FUND OPERATING EXPENSES (expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)
MANAGEMENT FEES 0.90%
DISTRIBUTION (12b-1) FEES 0.00%
OTHER EXPENSES 1.36%
ACQUIRED FUND FEES AND EXPENSES(a) 0.43%
TOTAL ANNUAL OPERATING EXPENSES 2.69%
FEE WAIVER/EXPENSE REIMBURSEMENT(b) -1.01%
TOTAL ANNUAL OPERATING EXPENSES AFTER FEE WAIVER/EXPENSE REIMBURSEMENT 1.68%

 

(a)Total Annual Operating Expenses and Total Annual Operating Expenses After Fee Waiver/Expense Reimbursement or Recaptured Expense in this fee table may not correlate to the expense ratios in the Fund’s financial highlights (and the Fund’s financial statements) because the financial highlights include only the Fund’s direct operating expenses and do not include Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses, which represent the Fund’s pro rata share of the fees and expenses of the exchange-traded funds in which it invests.

 

(b)AdvisorShares Investments, LLC (the “Advisor”) has contractually agreed to reduce its fees and/or reimburse expenses to keep net expenses(excluding amounts payable pursuant to any plan adopted in accordance with Rule 12b-1, interest expense, taxes, brokerage commissions, acquired fund fees and expenses, other expenditures which are capitalized in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, and extraordinary expenses) from exceeding 1.25% of the Fund’s average daily net assets for at least one year from the date of this Prospectus. The expense limitation agreement may be terminated without payment of any penalty (i) by the Trust for any reason and at any time and (ii) by the Advisor, for any reason, upon ninety (90) days’ prior written notice to the Trust, such termination by the Advisor to be effective as of the close of business on the last day of the then-current one-year period.

 

EXAMPLE

 

This Example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the shares of the Fund with the cost of investing in other funds. This Example does not take into account creation or redemption transaction fees, or the brokerage commissions that you pay when purchasing or selling shares of the Fund. If these fees and commissions were included, your costs would be higher.

 

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The Example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and then sell all of your shares at the end of those periods. The Example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Fund’s operating expenses remain the same. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:

 

  1 YEAR 3 YEARS 5 YEARS 10 YEARS
AdvisorShares Morgan Creek Global Tactical ETF $171 $740 $1,335 $2,948

 

PORTFOLIO TURNOVER

 

The Fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Fund shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in Total Annual Operating Expenses or in the Example, affect the Fund’s performance. This rate excludes the value of portfolio securities received or delivered as a result of in-kind creations or redemptions of the Fund’s shares. During the most recent fiscal year ended June 30, 2016, the Fund’s portfolio turnover rate was 81% of the average value of its portfolio.

 

PRINCIPAL INVESTMENT STRATEGIES

 

The Fund is considered a “fund of funds” that seeks to achieve its investment objective by primarily investing in other affiliated and unaffiliated exchange-traded funds (“ETFs”) that offer diversified exposure, including inverse exposure, to global regions, countries, styles (market capitalization, value, growth, etc.) or sectors, and other exchange-traded products including, but not limited to, exchange-traded notes (“ETNs”), exchange-traded currency trusts, and closed-end funds (collectively with ETFs and ETNs, “ETPs”). In addition, to a lesser extent the Fund may invest in individual equities (stocks), futures contracts, and options (calls or puts) as a means of enhancing returns or limiting portfolio risk.

 

The Fund is a discretionary macro fund that seeks to preserve and grow capital by producing consistent returns with reduced volatility and manageable drawdowns. The Fund’s investment process contains specific risk management and capital preservation strategies. The Fund will invest in ETPs spanning the major asset classes on a global basis, including equities, bonds, commodities, and currencies. Morgan Creek Capital Management, LLC (the “Sub-Advisor”) will utilize a combination of qualitative and quantitative approaches with established risk management controls to actively manage the Fund’s portfolio in an attempt to control downside losses and protect capital. The wide diversification coupled with prudent portfolio management should allow for the Fund to perform effectively across multiple economic environments. The Sub-Advisor seeks investment opportunities across all asset classes in both developed and emerging markets around the world.

 

PRINCIPAL RISKS OF INVESTING IN THE FUND

 

The Fund is subject to a number of risks, as described below, that may affect the value of its shares, including the possible loss of money. As with any fund, there is no guarantee that the Fund will achieve its investment objective.

 

Allocation Risk. The Fund’s particular allocations may have a significant effect on the Fund’s performance. Allocation risk is the risk that the selection of ETPs and the allocation of assets among such ETPs will cause the Fund to underperform other funds with a similar investment objective that do not allocate their assets in the same manner or the market as a whole.

 

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Closed-End Fund Risk. Secondary market trading prices of closed-end funds should be expected to fluctuate and such prices may be higher or lower than the net asset value (“NAV”) of a closed-end fund’s portfolio holdings. There can be no guarantee that shares of a closed-end held by the Fund will not trade at a persistent and ongoing discount. Nor can there be any guarantee that an active market in shares of closed-end funds held by the Fund will exist. The Fund may not be able to sell closed-end fund shares at a price equal to the NAV of the closed-end fund.

 

Derivatives Risk. Derivatives may be riskier than other types of investments because they may be more sensitive to changes in economic or market conditions than other types of investments and could result in losses that significantly exceed the Fund’s original investment. A derivative is a financial contract the value of which depends on, or is derived from, the value of a financial asset (such as stock, bond or currency), a physical asset (such as gold) or a market index (such as the S&P 500 Index). Many derivatives create leverage thereby causing the Fund to be more volatile than it would be if it had not invested in derivatives. Derivatives also expose the Fund to counterparty risk (the risk that the derivative counterparty will not fulfill its contractual obligations) and to credit risk.

 

Equity Risk. The prices of equity securities rise and fall daily. These price movements may result from factors affecting individual issuers, industries or the securities market as a whole. In addition, equity markets tend to move in cycles which may cause stock prices to fall over short or extended periods of time.

 

Exchange-Traded Note Risk. ETNs are senior, unsecured unsubordinated debt securities issued by an underwriting bank that are designed to provide returns that are linked to a particular reference asset or benchmark less investor fees. ETNs have a maturity date and generally are backed only by the creditworthiness of the issuer. As a result, the value of an ETN may be influenced by time to maturity, level of supply and demand for the ETN, volatility and lack of liquidity in the underlying market (e.g., the commodities market), changes in the applicable interest rates, and changes in the issuer’s credit rating and economic, legal, political or geographic events that affect the underlying market. ETNs also may be subject to commodities market risk and credit risk.

 

Exchange-Traded Product Investment Risk. Through its investments in ETPs, the Fund is subject to the risks associated with the ETPs’ investments or reference assets/benchmark components, including the possibility that the value of the securities or instruments held by or linked to an ETP could decrease. These risks include any combination of the risks described below, as well as certain of the other risks described in this section. The Fund’s exposure to a particular risk will be proportionate to the Fund’s overall allocation to the ETPs and the ETPs’ asset allocation.

 

Commodity Risk. Because certain of the ETPs may have a significant portion of their assets exposed directly or indirectly to commodities or commodity-linked securities, developments affecting commodities may have a disproportionate impact on such ETPs. An ETP’s investment in commodities or commodity-linked derivative instruments may subject the ETP (and indirectly the Fund) to greater volatility than investments in traditional securities, particularly if the instruments involve leverage. The value of commodities and commodity-linked derivative instruments may be affected by changes in overall market movements, commodity index volatility, changes in interest rates, or factors affecting a particular industry or commodity, such as drought, floods, weather, livestock disease, embargoes, tariffs and international economic, political and regulatory developments.

 

Credit Risk. Certain of the ETPs are subject to the risk that a decline in the credit quality of a portfolio investment or a counterparty to a portfolio investment could cause the ETP’s share price to fall. The ETPs could lose money if the issuer or guarantor of a portfolio investment or the counterparty to a derivatives contract fails to make timely principal or interest payments or otherwise honor its obligations.

 

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Emerging Markets Risk. There is an increased risk of price volatility associated with an ETP’s investments in, or an ETN’s exposure to, emerging market countries, which may be magnified by currency fluctuations relative to the U.S. dollar.

 

Fixed Income Securities Risk. An ETP’s investments in, or exposure to, fixed income securities are subject to the risk that the securities may be paid off earlier or later than expected. Either situation could cause the ETP to hold securities paying lower-than-market rates of interest, which could hurt the Fund’s yield or share price.

 

Foreign Currency Risk. Currency movements may negatively impact the value of an ETP portfolio security or reference asset even when there is no change in the value of the security in the issuer’s home country. Certain of the ETPs may not hedge against the risk of currency exchange rate fluctuations, while other ETPs may if there is volatility in currency exchange rates.

 

Foreign Securities Risk. An ETP’s investments in, or exposure to, foreign issuers involve certain risks including, but not limited to, risks of adverse changes in foreign economic, political, regulatory and other conditions, or changes in currency exchange rates or exchange control regulations (including limitations on currency movements and exchanges). In certain countries, legal remedies available to investors may be more limited than those available with respect to investments in the United States. In addition, the securities of some foreign companies may be less liquid and, at times, more volatile than securities of comparable U.S. companies.

 

Interest Rate Risk. An ETP’s investments in or exposure to, fixed income securities are subject to the risk that interest rates rise and fall over time. As with any investment whose yield reflects current interest rates, an ETP’s yield will change over time. During periods when interest rates are low, an ETP’s yield (and total return) also may be low. To the extent that the investment advisor or issuer of an ETP anticipates interest rate trends imprecisely, the ETP could miss yield opportunities or its share price could fall.

 

Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) Risk. Certain of the ETPs invest in REITs. An ETP’s investments in REITs will be subject to the risks associated with the direct ownership of real estate. Risks commonly associated with the direct ownership of real estate include fluctuations in the value of underlying properties, defaults by borrowers or tenants, changes in interest rates and risks related to general or local economic conditions. REITs are more dependent upon specialized management skills, have limited diversification and are, therefore, generally dependent on their ability to generate cash flow to make distributions to shareholders. In addition, REITs have their own expenses, and the ETP will bear a proportionate share of those expenses.

 

Liquidity Risk. Liquidity risk exists when particular Fund investments are difficult to purchase or sell. This can reduce the Fund’s returns because the Fund may be unable to transact at advantageous times or prices.

 

Management Risk. The Sub-Advisor continuously evaluates the Fund’s holdings, purchases and sales with a view to achieving the Fund’s investment objective. However, the achievement of the stated investment objective cannot be guaranteed over short- or long-term market cycles. The Sub-Advisor’s judgments about the markets, the economy, or companies may not anticipate actual market movements, economic conditions or company performance, and these judgments may affect the return on your investment.

 

Market Risk. Due to market conditions, the value of the Fund’s investments may fluctuate significantly from day to day. Price fluctuations may be temporary or may last for extended periods. This volatility may cause the value of your investment in the Fund to decrease.

 

Tax Risk. In order to qualify for the favorable U.S. federal income tax treatment accorded to regulated investment companies (“RICs”), the Fund must derive at least 90% of its gross income in each taxable year from certain categories of income (“qualifying income”) and must satisfy certain asset diversification requirements. Certain of the Fund’s investments may generate income that is not qualifying income. If the Fund were to fail to meet the qualifying income test or asset diversification requirements and fail to qualify as a RIC, it would be taxed in the same manner as an ordinary corporation, and distributions to its shareholders would not be deductible by the Fund in computing its taxable income.

 

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Trading Risk. Shares of the Fund may trade above or below their NAV. The trading price of the Fund’s shares may deviate significantly from their NAV during periods of market volatility. There can be no assurance that an active trading market for the Fund’s shares will develop or be maintained. In addition, trading in shares of the Fund may be halted because of market conditions or for reasons that, in the view of the NYSE Arca, Inc. (the “Exchange”), make trading in shares inadvisable.

 

FUND PERFORMANCE

 

The bar chart and table that follow show how the Fund has performed on a calendar year basis and provide an indication of the risks of investing in the Fund. The table also shows how the Fund’s performance compares to the S&P 500 Index, which is a broad-based, unmanaged measurement of changes in stock market conditions based on the average of 500 widely held common stocks. Both the bar chart and the table assume the reinvestment of all dividends and distributions. Past performance (before and after taxes) does not necessarily indicate how the Fund will perform in the future.

 

Updated performance information is available on the Fund’s website at www.advisorshares.com.

 

 

 

The Fund’s year-to-date total return as of September 30, 2016 was 6.02%.

 

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Best and Worst Quarter Returns (for the period reflected in the bar chart above)

           
    Return     Quarter/Year
Highest Return   3.84%     1Q/2012
Lowest Return   -8.73%     3Q/2015

 

AVERAGE ANNUAL TOTAL RETURNS FOR THE PERIODS ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2015

 

ADVISORSHARES MORGAN CREEK GLOBAL TACTICAL ETF   1 Year   5 Years   Since
Inception
(10/25/2010)
Return Before Taxes Based on NAV   -8.77%   -1.13%   -0.61%  
Return After Taxes on Distributions 1   -9.04%   -1.42%   -0.94%  
Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares 1   -4.66%   -0.81%   -0.43%  
S&P 500 Index (Reflects no deduction for fees, expenses, or taxes)   1.38%   12.57%   13.47%  

 

1 After-tax returns are calculated using the highest historical individual federal marginal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Actual after-tax returns depend on your tax situation and may differ from those shown and are not relevant if you hold your shares through tax-advantaged arrangements, such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts. In some cases the return after taxes may exceed the return before taxes due to an assumed tax benefit from any losses on a sale of Fund shares at the end of the measurement period.

 

MANAGEMENT

 

Name Title
AdvisorShares Investments, LLC Advisor
Morgan Creek Capital Management, LLC Sub-Advisor

 

PORTFOLIO MANAGER

 

Name and Title  Length of Service with Sub-Advisor
Mark W. Yusko, Chief Executive Officer and Chief Investment Officer  since 2004

 

PURCHASE AND SALE OF FUND SHARES

 

The Fund issues and redeems shares on a continuous basis at NAV only in a large specified number of shares called a “Creation Unit.” The shares of the Fund that trade on the Exchange are “created” at their NAV by market makers, large investors and institutions only in block-size Creation Units of at least 25,000 shares. A “creator” enters into an authorized participant agreement (“Participant Agreement”) with the Distributor or uses a Depository Trust Company (“DTC”) participant who has executed a Participant Agreement (an “Authorized Participant”), and deposits into the Fund a basket of shares of specific ETFs and a specified amount of cash, together totaling the NAV of the Creation Unit(s), in exchange for at least 25,000 shares of the Fund (or multiples thereof).

 

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Individual Fund shares may only be purchased and sold in secondary market transactions through brokers. The shares of the Fund are listed on the Exchange, and because shares trade at market prices rather than at NAV, shares may trade at a value greater than or less than their NAV.

 

TAX INFORMATION

 

The Fund intends to make distributions that may be taxed as ordinary income, qualified dividend income or capital gains (or a combination thereof), unless you are investing through a tax-advantaged arrangement such as a 401(k) plan or an individual retirement account (“IRA”), which may be taxed upon withdrawal.

 

PAYMENTS TO BROKER-DEALERS AND OTHER 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 Advisor or the Sub-Advisor 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.

 

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