Investors should carefully consider the investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses of the Sterling Capital Short Duration Bond ETF. This and other important information about the Fund is contained in the prospectus, which can be obtained at www.sterlingcapital.com/ETF or by calling 888.637.7798. The prospectus should be read carefully before investing. The Fund is not insured by the FDIC or any other government agency. The Fund is distributed by Sterling Capital Distributors LLC.
Important Risks
Investing involves risk including the possible loss of principal. There is no guarantee that the Fund’s investment objectives will be achieved. The Sterling Capital Short Duration Bond ETF is new and has a limited history of operations.
ETFs are subject to advisory and other expenses, which will be indirectly paid by the Fund(s). ETFs are subject to issuer risks and other risks specific to the Fund(s). Shares of any ETF are bought and sold at market price (not NAV), may trade at a discount or premium to NAV and are not individually redeemed from the Fund(s). Brokerage commissions will reduce returns.
The Fund(s) may face more risks than if it were diversified broadly over numerous industries or sectors. An investment in the Fund is not a deposit or obligation of any bank, is not endorsed or guaranteed by any bank and is not insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (“FDIC”) or any other government agency.
Interest Rate Risk: The possibility that the value of the Fund’s investments will change or decline in value due to a change in interest rates. Interest rate risk is generally higher for longer-term debt instruments and lower for shorter-term debt instruments.
Income Risk: The possibility that the Fund’s income will decline due to a decrease in interest rates. Income risk is generally higher for shorter-term bonds and lower for longer-term bonds.
Fixed Income Market Risk: Fixed income securities markets may, in response to governmental intervention, economic or market developments (including potentially a reduction in the number of broker-dealers willing to engage in market-making activity), or other factors, experience periods of increased volatility and reduced liquidity.
Prepayment/Call Risk: When mortgages and other obligations are prepaid and when securities are called, the Fund may have to reinvest in securities with a lower yield or fail to recover additional amounts (i.e., premiums) paid for securities with higher interest rates, resulting in an unexpected capital loss. Call risk is the possibility that, during periods of declining interest rates, a bond issuer will “call” — or repay — higher-yielding bonds before their stated maturity date. In both cases, investors receive their principal back and are typically forced to reinvest it in bonds that pay lower interest rates.
Estimated Maturity Risk: The possibility that an underlying security holder will exercise its right to pay principal on an obligation earlier or later than expected. This may happen when there is a rise or fall in interest rates. These events may shorten or lengthen the duration (i.e., interest rate sensitivity) and potentially reduce the value of these securities.
U.S. Government Securities Risk: The Fund invests in securities issued or guaranteed by the U.S. government or its agencies or instrumentalities (such as Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac securities). Although U.S. government securities issued directly by the U.S. government are guaranteed by the U.S. Treasury, other U.S. government securities issued by an agency or instrumentality of the U.S. government may not be. No assurance can be given that the U.S. government would provide financial support to its agencies and instrumentalities if not required to do so by law.
Credit Risk: The possibility that an issuer cannot make timely interest and principal payments on its debt securities such as bonds. The lower a security’s rating, the greater its credit risk. Changes in actual or perceived creditworthiness may occur quickly.
Mortgage-Backed and Asset-Backed Securities Risk: Mortgage-backed and other asset-backed securities may be particularly sensitive to changes in prevailing interest rates. Rising interest rates tend to extend the duration of mortgage-backed securities, making them more sensitive to changes in interest rates, and may reduce the market value of the securities. Mortgage-backed securities are also subject to pre-payment risk. Due to their often complicated structures, various mortgage-backed and asset-backed securities may be difficult to value and may constitute illiquid securities. Furthermore, debtors may be entitled to the protection of a number of state and federal consumer protection credit laws with respect to these securities, which may give the debtor the right to avoid or reduce payment.
Counterparty Risk: The possibility that a counterparty to a contract will default or otherwise become unable to honor a financial obligation.
High-Yield/High-Risk Debt Securities: High-yield/high-risk debt securities are securities that are rated below investment grade by the primary rating agencies. These securities are considered speculative and involve greater risk of loss than investment grade debt securities.
Foreign Currency Transaction Risk: Funds that invest directly in foreign currencies and in securities that trade in, or receive revenues in, foreign currencies are subject to the risk that those currencies will fluctuate in value relative to the U.S. dollar.
Foreign Investment Risk: Foreign securities involve risks not typically associated with investing in U.S. securities. Foreign securities may be adversely affected by various factors, including currency fluctuations and social, economic or political instability. These risks are particularly pronounced for emerging markets.
Emerging Markets Risk: The risks associated with foreign investments (see “Foreign Investment Risk” above) are particularly pronounced in connection with investments in emerging markets.
Derivatives Risk: The possibility that the Fund will suffer a loss from its use of derivatives. The primary risk with many derivatives is that they can amplify a gain or loss, potentially earning or losing substantially more money than the actual cost of the derivative instrument. It is possible that the Fund’s liquid assets may be insufficient to support its obligations under its derivatives positions. The Fund’s use of derivatives such as futures transactions and swap transactions involves other risks, such as the credit risk relating to the other party to a derivative contract (which is heightened for over-the-counter swaps and other derivatives as compared to centrally cleared derivatives), the risk of difficulties in pricing and valuation, and the risk that changes in the value of a derivative may not correlate perfectly with relevant assets, rates or indices. There is also the risk that the Fund may be unable to terminate or sell a derivatives position at an advantageous time or price. When the Fund uses credit default swaps to gain indirect long exposure to an issuer or a fixed income security by selling credit protection on such issuer or security, the Fund is exposed to the risk that it will be required to pay the full notional value of the swap contract in the event of a default.
Convertible Securities Risk: Convertible securities are securities that may be converted or exchanged into shares of an underlying stock or other asset at a stated exchange ratio or predetermined price. The market value of convertible securities tends to decline as interest rates increase and may be affected by changes in the price of the underlying security.
Preferred Stock Risk: Preferred stock represents an interest in a company that generally entitles the holder to receive, in preference to the holders of common stock, dividends and a fixed share of the proceeds resulting from a liquidation of the company. Preferred stocks are generally subordinated in right of payment to all debt obligations and creditors of the issuer.
Active Trading Risk: The Fund may trade securities actively, which could increase its transaction costs (thereby lowering its performance) and may increase the amount of taxes that a shareholder pays, by increasing the amount of the Fund’s realized capital gains and increasing the portion of the Fund’s realized capital gains that are short-term capital gains.
Operational and Technology Risk: Cyber-attacks, disruptions, or failures that affect the Fund’s service providers, counterparties, market participants, or issuers of securities held by the Fund may adversely affect the Fund and its shareholders, including by causing losses for the Fund or impairing Fund operations.
Focused Investment Risk: Investments focused in asset classes, countries, regions, sectors, industries, or issuers that are subject to the same or similar risk factors and investments whose prices are closely correlated are subject to greater overall risk than investments that are more diversified or whose prices are not as closely correlated.
Management Risk: The risk that an investment technique used by the Fund’s portfolio manager may fail to produce the intended result.
Collateralized Loan Obligations Risk: Collateralized loan obligations are structured investment vehicles typically collateralized by a pool of loans, which may include, among others, senior secured loans, senior unsecured loans, and subordinate corporate loans, including loans that may be rated below investment grade or equivalent unrated loans. Collateralized loan obligations are subject to the risks of substantial losses, including losses due to actual defaults by borrowers of the loans underlying the collateralized loan obligations, which will be greater during periods of economic or financial stress. Collateralized loan obligations may also lose value due to collateral defaults and impairment of subordinate tranches, market anticipation of defaults, and investor aversion to collateralized loan obligation securities as a class. The Fund may invest in collateralized loan obligations that hold loans of uncreditworthy borrowers, which may absorb losses from underlying borrower defaults before senior tranches. Investments in such collateralized loan obligations present a greater risk of loss. In addition, collateralized loan obligations are subject to interest rate risk, credit risk, prepayment/call risk and fixed income market risk.
Municipal Securities Risk: Municipal obligations are issued by or on behalf of states, territories and possessions of the United States and their political subdivisions, agencies and instrumentalities and the District of Columbia to obtain funds for various public purposes. Municipal obligations are subject to more credit risk than U.S. government securities that are supported by the full faith and credit of the United States. The ability of municipalities to meet their obligations will depend on the availability of tax and other revenues, economic, political and other conditions within the state and municipality, and the underlying fiscal condition of the state and municipality. As with other fixed income securities, municipal securities also expose their holders to market risk because their values typically change as interest rates fluctuate.
Diversification does not ensure a profit or guarantee against loss.
Technical Terms
The ICE BofA 1-3 Year U.S. Corporate/Government Bond Index includes fixed-rate debt issues rated investment-grade or higher by Moody’s and S&P. All issues have at least one year to three years to maturity and an outstanding par value of at least $300MM. All returns are market value weighted inclusive of accrued interest. The total return includes price appreciation/depreciation and income as a percentage of the original investment. The total return index is rebalanced monthly by market capitalization.
The opinions contained on this website reflect those of Sterling Capital Management LLC (SCM), are for general information only, and are educational in nature. This information and the opinions expressed are as of the date of publication and are subject to change without notice. These opinions are not meant to be predictions and do not constitute an offer of individual or personalized investment advice. They are not intended as an offer or solicitation with respect to the purchase or sale of any security. All opinions and information herein have been obtained or derived from sources believed to be reliable. Any type of investing involves risk and there are no guarantees that these methods will be successful. SCM does not assume liability for any loss which may result from the reliance by any person upon such information or opinions.
SCM, an indirect, wholly-owned subsidiary of Guardian Capital Group Limited, serves as investment adviser to the Sterling Capital Short Duration Bond ETF and is paid a fee for its services.
