Investment Objective
The investment objective of the WSTCM Credit Select Risk-Managed Fund is to seek total return from income and capital appreciation.
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Management Team
Wayne F. Wilbanks, CFA
Roger H. Scheffer, CPA, PFS
Tomas F. McNally, CMT, CFA
Portfolio Structure
The Fund is a “fund of funds.” The term “fund of funds” is typically used to describe mutual funds, such as the Credit Select RM Fund, whose primary investment strategy involves investing in other investment companies, such as ETFs and other mutual funds (e.g. open end and closed end mutual funds).
To achieve its investment objective, the Fund will generally invest in a combination of (i) U.S. high-yield debt securities and (ii) U.S. investment grade debt securities and U.S. Treasury debt obligations. Although the Fund may invest directly in debt securities, it will primarily invest in such securities indirectly through exchange-traded funds (“ETFs”), open end and closed end mutual funds, and/or baskets of securities.
The Advisor allocates assets between High-Yield Securities and Investment Grade Securities using a proprietary quantitative model, its “Credit Select Risk-Managed Strategy.” This strategy employs a combination of short-, intermediate-, and long-term trend-following techniques to identify periods of favorable or unfavorable market conditions for High-Yield Securities. In allocating the portfolio, the Advisor may consider multiple factors, including those related to credit, duration, Federal Reserve policy and the Advisor’s expectations for the future course of interest rates and then-prevailing price and yield levels in the debt market. The Advisor selects securities for their potential for interest income, capital appreciation, or both.
Other than periods when the Fund is invested solely in cash, at least 10% of the Fund’s assets will generally be invested in Investment Grade Securities at all times.
Fund Risks
An investment in the Fund is subject to investment risks; therefore, you may lose money by investing in the Fund. There can be no assurance that the Fund will be successful in meeting its investment objective. The Fund is not intended to be a complete investment program. Generally, the Fund will be subject to the following principal risks:
Market Risk: Market risk is the risk that the value of the securities in the Fund’s portfolio may decline due to daily fluctuations in the securities markets that are generally beyond the Advisor’s control, including fluctuation in interest rates, the quality of the Fund’s investments, economic conditions and general bond market conditions. Certain market events could cause turbulence in financial markets, and reduced liquidity in equity, credit and fixed-income markets, which may negatively affect many issuers domestically and around the world. During periods of market volatility, security prices (including securities held by the Fund) could change drastically and rapidly and, therefore, adversely affect the Fund.
Investment Model Risk: The share price of the Fund changes daily based on the performance of the securities in which it invests, the selection of which are determined primarily by the Credit Select Risk-Managed Strategy (the “Credit Select Risk-Managed Model”). The ability of the Fund to meet its investment objective is directly related to the ability of the Credit Select Risk-Managed Model to accurately measure market risk or volatility and appropriately react to current and developing market trends. There can be no assurance that the use of the Credit Select Risk-Managed Model will enable the Fund to achieve positive returns or outperform the market. If the Credit Select Risk-Managed Model and Advisor fail to accurately evaluate market risk or appropriately react to current and developing market conditions, the Fund’s share price may be adversely affected.
Exchange Traded Funds (“ETFs”) Risk: An investment in an ETF generally presents the same primary risks as an investment in a conventional mutual fund (i.e., one that is not exchange traded), including the risk that the general level of security prices, or that the prices of securities within a particular sector, may increase or decline, thereby affecting the value of the shares of an ETF. In addition, ETFs are subject to the following risks that do not apply to a conventional mutual fund: (1) the market price of the ETF’s shares may trade at a discount to its net asset value (“NAV”) due to the fact that the supply and demand in the market for ETF shares at any point in time is not always identical to the supply and demand in the market for the ETF’s underlying basket of securities, accordingly, there may be times when an ETF trades at a premium (creating the risk that the Fund pays more than NAV for an ETF when making a purchase) or discount (creating the risks that the Fund’s NAV is reduced for undervalued ETFs it holds, and that the Fund receives less than NAV when selling an ETF).; (2) an active trading market for an ETF’s shares may not develop or be maintained; (3) trading of an ETF’s shares may be halted if the listing exchange deems such action appropriate; (4) ETF shares may be delisted from the exchange on which they trade; and (5) activation of “circuit breakers” (which are tied to large decreases in stock prices) may halt trading of the ETF temporarily. ETFs are also subject to the risks of the underlying securities or sectors the ETF is designed to track. ETFs may be actively managed or indexed-based. Actively managed ETFs are subject to management risk and may not achieve their objective if the ETF’s manager’s expectations regarding particular securities or markets are not met. An index-based ETF’s objective is to track the performance of a specific index. Index- based ETFs generally invest in a securities portfolio that includes substantially all of the securities (in substantially the same amount) included in the applicable index. Since passively managed ETFs are designed to track an index, securities may be purchased, retained and sold when an actively managed ETF would not do so. As a result, passively managed ETFs can expect greater risk of loss (and a corresponding prospect of gain) from changes in the value of the securities that are heavily weighted in the index than would be the case if the ETF were not fully invested in such securities.
Risks Related to “Fund of Funds” Structure: Investments in ETFs and other investment companies (e.g., open-end and closed- end mutual funds) subject the Fund to paying its proportionate share of fees and expenses from those investments. In addition, under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”), the Fund is subject to restrictions that may limit the amount of any particular ETF or other registered investment company that the Fund may own.
Since the Fund is a “fund of funds,” your cost of investing in the Fund will generally be higher than the cost of investing directly in ETFs or other investment companies. By investing in the Fund, you will indirectly bear fees and expenses charged by the underlying ETFs and investment companies in which the Fund invests in addition to the Fund’s direct fees and expenses. Furthermore, the use of a fund of funds structure could affect the timing, amount, and character of the Fund’s distributions and therefore may increase the amount of your tax liability.
Additionally, the Fund is subject to the risks associated with the underlying holdings of the ETFs and other investment companies in which it invests. As described elsewhere in this Prospectus, the Fund will invest in a variety of ETFs and other investment companies, and, accordingly, such risks will vary.
Income Risk: A primary source of income for the Fund will be derived from the receipt of interest payments from debt securities. An economic downturn or an increase in interest rates may have a negative or adverse effect on an issuer’s ability to timely make payments of principal and interest. If the issuer fails to make timely interest and/or principal payments, then the Fund’s current income will be adversely affected and reduced.
Interest Rate Risk: The value of the Fund’s debt securities will generally vary inversely with the direction of the prevailing interest rates. A rise in interest rates will normally cause the value of debt securities to decrease. Consequently, changes in interest rates may have a significant effect on the Fund, especially if the Fund is holding a significant portion of its assets in debt securities that are particularly sensitive to interest rate fluctuations, such as debt securities with long-term maturities, zero coupon bonds, and debentures. The Fund may be subject to greater risk of rising interest rates due to the current period of historically low interest rates and the likelihood of a general rise in interest rates.
Credit Risk: Credit risk is the risk that the issuer of a debt security (including corporate, government and mortgage- backed securities) will be unable or unwilling to make timely principal and/or interest payments, or otherwise will be unable or unwilling to honor its financial obligations. If the issuer fails to pay interest, the Fund’s income will be reduced. If the issuer fails to repay principal, the value of that debt security and of the Fund’s shares may be reduced. To the extent the Fund invests in lower rated debt securities (such as High Yield Securities), the Fund will be subject to a higher level of credit risk than a fund that invests only in the highest rated debt securities.
Corporate Debt Securities Risk: The Fund’s debt securities investments may directly or indirectly include corporate debt securities. Corporate debt obligations purchased by the Fund may be any credit quality, maturity or yield. Accordingly, the Fund’s debt securities may include “investment grade” securities (those rated at least Baa by Moody’s, BBB by S&P or Fitch or, if not rated, of equivalent quality in the Advisor’s opinion). In addition, the Fund’s debt securities may include lower-rated debt securities including, without limitation, high-yield and/or junk bonds rated below Baa by Moody’s or BBB by S&P’s or Fitch (see “Junk Bonds or Lower-Rated Securities Risk” below). The Fund’s fixed-income securities investments are subject to risks of non-payment of interest and principal, the risk that bond demand in the marketplace will decrease periodically, and the risk that ratings of the various credit services (and the Advisor’s independent assessments of the securities’ creditworthiness) are or may become inaccurate.
U.S. Government Securities Risk: Securities issued by the U.S. government or its agencies are subject to risks related to the creditworthiness of the U.S. government. In addition, such securities may not be backed by the “full faith and credit” of the U.S. government, but rather by a right to borrow from the U.S. government or the creditworthiness of the issuer itself. The value of any such securities may fluctuate with changes in credit ratings and market perceptions of the U.S. government and the issuers of the securities, as well as interest rates and other risks applicable to fixed-income securities generally.
Junk Bonds or Lower-Rated Securities Risk: Debt securities rated below Baa by Moody’s or BBB by S&P or Fitch are generally considered speculative in nature and are generally subject to greater risks with respect to the non-payment of interest and principal and greater market fluctuations than higher-rated debt securities. Lower-rated debt securities are usually issued by companies without long track records of sales and earnings, or by companies with questionable credit strength. These debt securities are considered below “investment-grade.” The retail secondary market for these “junk bonds” may be less liquid than that of higher-rated debt securities, and adverse conditions could make it difficult at times to sell certain securities or could result in lower prices than those used in calculating the Fund’s net asset value. These risks can reduce the value of the Fund’s shares and the income it earns.
Liquidity Risk: Liquidity risk is the risk that the Fund may not be able to sell a particular investment at an advantageous time or price or at all. For example, if a debt security is downgraded or drops in price, the market demand for such security may be limited, making the security difficult to sell. Additionally, the market for certain securities may become illiquid under adverse market or economic conditions. Investments in debt securities, including below investment grade securities, tend to involve greater liquidity risk.
Maturity Risk: Maturity risk is another factor that can affect the value of the Fund’s debt security holdings. In general, but not in all cases, the longer the maturity of a debt security, the higher its yield and the greater its price sensitivity to changes in interest rates. Conversely, the shorter the maturity, the lower the yield but the greater the price stability. The Fund will be subject to greater maturity risk to the extent it is invested in debt securities with longer maturities.
Prepayment Risk: Issuers of debt securities in which the Fund may invest may be able to prepay principal due on these securities. Declining interest rates may encourage issuers to pay off their debt obligations sooner than expected. This can reduce the effective maturity of the debt security and lower returns to the Fund, especially if the Fund reinvests its assets at a lower prevailing interest rate.
Regional and Sector Risk: Regional and sector risk is the risk that if the Fund invests heavily in securities within the same state, region, currency, industry or economic sector, an adverse economic, business or political development may affect the value of the Fund’s investments more than if its investments were not so focused. To the extent the Fund invests heavily in securities in any such area that experiences an adverse development, the value of the Fund’s portfolio may be negatively affected.
Risks Related to Frequent Trading and Portfolio Turnover: As a result of its trading strategies, the Fund may sell portfolio securities without regard to the length of time they have been held and will likely have a higher portfolio turnover rate than other mutual funds. Since portfolio turnover may involve paying brokerage commissions and other transaction costs, higher turnover generally results in additional Fund expenses. High rates of portfolio turnover may lower the performance of the Fund due to these increased costs and may also result in the realization of short-term capital gains. If the Fund realizes capital gains when portfolio investments are sold, the Fund must generally distribute those gains to shareholders, increasing the Fund’s taxable distributions. High rates of portfolio turnover in a given year would likely result in short-term capital gains that are taxed to shareholders at ordinary income tax rates. Under normal circumstances, the anticipated annual portfolio turnover rate for the Fund is expected to be significantly greater than 100%.
