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Dynamic Shares Trust – ‘10-Q/A’ for 3/31/23

On:  Wednesday, 5/24/23, at 4:43pm ET   ·   For:  3/31/23   ·   Accession #:  1493152-23-18940   ·   File #:  1-40369

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  As Of               Filer                 Filing    For·On·As Docs:Size             Issuer                      Filing Agent

 5/24/23  Dynamic Shares Trust              10-Q/A      3/31/23   43:2.8M                                   M2 Compliance LLC/FA

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                weix-20230331                                                    
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UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549

FORM  i 10-Q/A

(Mark One)

For the quarterly period ended  i March 31,  i 2023 / 

For the transition period from _______________________ to ________________________

 i 001-40369

(Commission File Number)

 i DYNAMIC SHARES TRUST

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

 i c/o Dynamic Shares LLC

 i 401 W. Superior Street,  i Suite 300

 i Chicago,  i IL  i 60654

(Address of principal executive offices) (Zip Code)

 i 312- i 216-2890

(Registrant’s telephone number, including area code)

n/a

(Former name, former address and former fiscal year, if changed since last report)

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days.                ☒  i Yes              ☐ No

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit such files).

☒  i Yes             ☐ No

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated files, a non-accelerated file, a smaller reporting company, or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” “smaller reporting company,” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act.  i ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act).  i ☐

As of May 12, 2023, the registrant had  i 150,005 shares outstanding.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS

This Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q contains “forward-looking statements.” Forward-looking statements discuss matters that are not historical facts. Because they discuss future events or conditions, forward-looking statements may include words such as “anticipate,” “believe,” “estimate,” “intend,” “could,” “should,” “would,” “may,” “seek,” “plan,” “might,” “will,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “predict,” “project,” “forecast,” “potential,” “continue” negatives thereof or similar expressions. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made, are based on various underlying assumptions and current expectations about the future and are not guarantees. Such statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause our actual results, level of activity, performance or achievement to be materially different from the results of operations or plans expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements.

We cannot predict all of the risks and uncertainties. Accordingly, such information should not be regarded as representations that the results or conditions described in such statements or that our objectives and plans will be achieved and we do not assume any responsibility for the accuracy or completeness of any of these forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are found at various places throughout this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q and include information concerning possible or assumed future results of our operations, including statements about future business and financial performance or conditions, anticipated sales growth across markets, distribution channels and product categories, competition from larger, more established companies with greater economic resources than we have, expenses and gross margins, profits or losses, new product introductions, financing and working capital requirements and resources, control by our principal equity holders and the other factors set forth under the section entitled “Risk Factors”.

These forward-looking statements represent our intentions, plans, expectations, assumptions and beliefs about future events and are subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors. Many of those factors are outside of our control and could cause actual results to differ materially from the results expressed or implied by those forward-looking statements. In light of these risks, uncertainties and assumptions, the events described in the forward-looking statements might not occur or might occur to a different extent or at a different time than we have described. You are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of the Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q. All subsequent written and oral forward-looking statements concerning other matters addressed in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q and attributable to us or any person acting on our behalf are expressly qualified in their entirety by the cautionary statements contained or referred to in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q.

Except to the extent required by law, we undertake no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, a change in events, conditions, circumstances or assumptions underlying such statements, or otherwise.

PART I – FINANCIAL INFORMATION

Item 1. Financial Statements

Contents

Dynamic Short Short-Term Volatility Futures ETF

STATEMENTS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION

See accompanying notes to unaudited financial statements.

Dynamic Short Short-Term Volatility Futures ETF

SCHEDULES OF INVESTMENTS

March 31, 2023

(Unaudited)

SCHEDULES OF INVESTMENTS

December 31, 2022

See accompanying notes to unaudited financial statements.

Dynamic Short Short-Term Volatility Futures ETF

STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS

(Unaudited)

See accompanying notes to unaudited financial statements.

Dynamic Short Short-Term Volatility Futures ETF

STATEMENTS OF CHANGES IN SHAREHOLDERS’ EQUITY

(Unaudited)

See accompanying notes to unaudited financial statements.

Dynamic Short Short-Term Volatility Futures ETF

STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS

(Unaudited)

See accompanying notes to unaudited financial statements.

DYNAMIC SHARES TRUST

NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

March 31, 2023

(unaudited)

Item 2. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations

This information should be read in conjunction with the financial statements and notes to the financial statements included with this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q.

The discussion and analysis that follows may contain statements that relate to future events or future performance. In some cases, such forward-looking statements can be identified by terminology such as “will,” “may,” “should,” “expect,” “plan,” “anticipate,” “believe,” “estimate,” “predict,” “potential,” “intend,” “project,” “seek” or the negative of these terms or other comparable terminology. None of the Trust, the Sponsor, or the Administrator assumes responsibility for the accuracy or completeness of any forward-looking statements. Except as expressly required by federal securities laws, none of the Trust, the Sponsor, or the Administrator is under a duty to update any of the forward-looking statements to conform such statements to actual results or to a change in expectations or predictions.

Because forward-looking statements relate to the future, they are subject to inherent uncertainties, risk and changes in circumstances that are difficult to predict and many of which are outside of the Fund’s control. The Fund’s forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future results and conditions and important factors, risks and uncertainties in the markets for financial instruments in which the Fund may trade, in the legal and regulatory regimes applicable to the Sponsor, the Fund, and the Fund’s service providers, and in the broader economy may cause the actual results of the Fund to differ materially from those expressed in forward-looking statements.

Introduction

Dynamic Shares Trust (the “Trust”) is a Delaware statutory trust organized on March 8, 2019 and is currently organized into a single series (the “Fund”) which commenced investment operations on January 12, 2022. The Fund issues common units of beneficial interest (“Shares”), which represent units of fractional undivided beneficial interest in and ownership of the Fund. The Shares of the Fund began trading on the NYSE Arca, Inc. (“NYSE Arca”) as of January 13, 2022.

The Fund seeks to achieve its investment objective, under normal circumstances, by obtaining investment exposure to an actively managed portfolio of short positions in VIX Futures Contracts, which are based on the CBOE VIX Index. The Fund expects that the notional exposure of its portfolio of short positions in VIX Futures Contracts will range from -0.1 to -0.5 under normal circumstances. The Fund expects to primarily take short positions in VIX Futures Contracts by shorting near term VIX Futures Contracts and rolling the nearest month VIX Futures Contract to the next month on a daily basis. As such, the Fund expects to have a constant one-month rolling short position in first and second month VIX Futures Contracts under normal circumstances.

The Fund continuously offers and redeems its Shares in blocks of 50,000 Shares (each such block a “Creation Unit”). Only Authorized Participants may purchase and redeem Shares from the Fund and then only in Creation Units. An Authorized Participant is an entity that has entered into an Authorized Participant Agreement with the Fund. Shares of the Fund are offered to Authorized Participants in Creation Units at the Fund’s NAV. Authorized Participants may then offer to the public, from time to time, Shares from any Creation Unit they create at a per-Share market price that varies depending on, among other factors, the trading price of the Shares of the Fund on its listing exchange, the NAV and the supply of and demand for the Shares at the time of the offer. Shares from the same Creation Unit may be offered at different times and may have different offering prices based upon the above factors. The form of Authorized Participant Agreement and related Authorized Participant Handbook set forth the terms and conditions under which an Authorized Participant may purchase or redeem a Creation Unit. Authorized Participants do not receive from the Fund, the Sponsor, or any of their affiliates, any underwriting fees or compensation in connection with their sale of Shares to the public.

Results of Operations

Fund Performance

The following table provides summary performance information for the Fund for the three months ended March 31, 2023 and the three months ended March 31, 2022.

The Fund is actively managed and does not track an index.

The Fund’s per share NAV increased by 7.82% for the three months ended March 31, 2023. The increase in the Fund’s per share NAV was due in part to lower market volatility and the decrease in the 30 day weighted average VIX futures price over the period. The Fund’s per share NAV decreased by 10.55% for the three months ended March 31, 2022. The decrease in the Fund’s per share NAV was due in part to the increase in the 30 day weighted average VIX futures prices over the period. Performance over time is also impacted by the compounding effect of the inverse or leveraged returns. For instance, if the 30-day weighted VIX futures price was down 20% and then up 20%, the two-day period return for a theoretical -0.5 inversed fund would be equal to a (1.1*0.9)-1 = -1% period return. As the 30-day weighted VIX futures price goes up, the fund would lock in trading losses and leave the fund with a smaller asset base.

Net Income/Loss

The following table provides summary income information for the Fund for the three months ended March 31, 2023, and the three months ended March 31, 2022.

Liquidity and Capital Resources

In order to collateralize derivatives positions in indices, commodities or currencies, a portion of the NAV of the Fund is held in cash and/or U.S. Treasury securities, agency securities, or other high credit quality short term fixed-income or similar securities (such as shares of money market funds, bank deposits, bank money market accounts, certain variable rate-demand notes and repurchase agreements collateralized by government securities, whether denominated in U.S. dollars or the applicable foreign currency with respect to a Currency Fund). A portion of these investments may be posted as collateral in connection with swap agreements, futures, and/or forward contracts. The percentage that U.S. Treasury bills and other short-term fixed-income securities bear to the shareholders’ equity of the Fund varies from period to period as the market values of the underlying swaps, futures contracts and forward contracts change. During the three months ended March 31, 2023, and the three months ended March 31, 2022, the Fund earned interest income as follows:

The Fund’s underlying futures contracts, as applicable, may be subject to periods of illiquidity because of market conditions, regulatory considerations and other reasons. For example, commodity exchanges may limit fluctuations in certain futures contract prices during a single day by regulations referred to as “daily limits.” During a single day, no futures trades may be executed at prices beyond the daily limit. Once the price of a futures contract has increased or decreased by an amount equal to the daily limit, positions in such futures contracts can neither be taken nor liquidated unless the traders are willing to effect trades at or within the limit. Futures contract prices have occasionally moved to the daily limit for several consecutive days with little or no trading. Such market conditions could prevent the Fund from promptly liquidating its futures positions.

The potentially large size of the positions which the Fund may acquire increases the risk of illiquidity by both making the positions more difficult to liquidate and increasing the losses incurred while trying to do so. Any type of disruption or illiquidity will potentially be exacerbated due to the fact that the Fund will be related to one benchmark, which may be highly concentrated.

Because the Fund may trade futures and forward contracts, its capital is at risk due to changes in the value of these contracts (market risk) or the inability of counterparties to perform under the terms of the contracts (credit risk).

Market Risk

Trading in derivatives contracts involves the Fund entering into contractual commitments to purchase or sell a volatility product underlying the Fund’s benchmark at a specified date and price, should it hold such derivative contract into the deliverable period. Should the Fund enter into a contractual commitment to sell a physical commodity, currency or spot volatility product, it would be required to make delivery of that commodity, currency or spot volatility product at the contract price and then repurchase the contract at prevailing market prices or settle in cash. Since the repurchase price to which the value of a commodity, currency or spot volatility product can rise is unlimited, entering into commitments to sell commodities, currencies or spot volatility products would expose a Fund to theoretically unlimited risk.

For more information, see “Item 3. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk” in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q.

Credit Risk

When the Fund enters into futures contracts, the Fund is exposed to credit risk that the counterparty to the contract will not meet its obligations.

The counterparty for futures contracts traded on United States and most foreign futures exchanges as well as certain swaps is the clearing house associated with the particular exchange. In general, clearing houses are backed by their corporate members who may be required to share in the financial burden resulting from the nonperformance by one of their members and, as such, should significantly reduce this credit risk. In cases where the clearing house is not backed by the clearing members (i.e., some foreign exchanges, which may become applicable in the future), it may be backed by a consortium of banks or other financial institutions.

The Sponsor attempts to minimize certain of these market and credit risks by normally:

Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements and Contractual Obligations

As of May 15, 2023, the Fund has not used, nor is it anticipated that the Fund will use such arrangements in the future, special purpose entities to facilitate off-balance sheet financing arrangements and have no loan guarantee arrangements or off-balance sheet arrangements of any kind other than agreements entered into in the normal course of business, which may include indemnification provisions related to certain risks service providers undertake in performing services which are in the best interests of the Fund. While the Fund’s exposure under such indemnification provisions cannot be estimated, these general business indemnifications are not expected to have a material impact on the Fund’s financial position.

Management fee payments made to the Sponsor are calculated as a fixed percentage of the Fund’s NAV. As such, the Sponsor cannot anticipate the payment amounts that will be required under these arrangements for future periods as NAVs are not known until a future date. The agreement with the Sponsor may be terminated by either party upon 30 days written notice to the other party.

Critical Accounting Policies

Preparation of the financial statements and related disclosures in compliance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America requires the application of appropriate accounting rules and guidance, as well as the use of estimates. The Trust’s and the Fund’s application of these policies involves judgments and actual results may differ from the estimates used.

The Trust is an “emerging growth company,” as defined in the Jumpstart Our Business Startups (“JOBS”) Act of 2012. It will remain an emerging growth company until the earlier of (1) the beginning of the first fiscal year following the fifth anniversary of its initial public offering, (2) the beginning of the first fiscal year after annual gross revenue is $1.07 billion (subject to adjustment for inflation) or more, (3) the date on which the Fund has, during the previous three-year period, issued more than $1.0 billion in non-convertible debt securities and (4) as of the end of any fiscal year in which the market value of common equity held by non-affiliates exceeded $700 million as of the end of the second quarter of that fiscal year.

For as long as the Trust remains an “emerging growth company,” it may take advantage of certain exemptions from the various reporting requirements that are applicable to public companies that are not “emerging growth companies” including, but not limited to, not being required to comply with the auditor attestation requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation and financial statements in our periodic reports and proxy statements, and exemptions from the requirements of holding a nonbinding advisory vote to approve executive compensation and shareholder approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved. The Trust will take advantage of these reporting exemptions until it is no longer an “emerging growth company.”

In addition, Section 107 of the JOBS Act also provides that an emerging growth company can take advantage of the extended transition period provided in Section 7(a)(2)(B) of the Securities Act for complying with new or revised accounting standards. In other words, an emerging growth company can delay the adoption of certain accounting standards until those standards would otherwise apply to private companies. The Trust intends to take advantage of the benefits of the extended transition period.

The Fund has significant exposure to futures contracts, all of which are recorded on a trade date basis and at fair value in the financial statements, with changes in fair value reported in the Statements of Operations. The use of fair value to measure Financial Instruments, with related unrealized gains or losses recognized in earnings in each period, is fundamental to the Trust’s and the Fund’s financial statements. The fair value of a Financial Instrument is the amount that would be received to sell an asset or paid to transfer a liability in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement date (the exit price).

Short-term investments are valued at amortized cost which approximates fair value for daily NAV purposes. For financial reporting purposes, short-term investments are valued at their market price using information provided by a third-party pricing service or market quotations.

Derivatives (e.g., futures contracts, options, swap agreements, forward agreements and foreign currency forward contracts) are generally valued using independent sources and/or agreements with counterparties or other procedures as determined by the Sponsor. Futures contracts are generally valued at the last settled price on the applicable exchange on which that future trades. For financial reporting purposes, all futures contracts are valued at last settled price. Futures contracts valuations are typically categorized as Level I in the fair value hierarchy. Swap agreements, forward agreements and foreign currency forward contracts valuations are typically categorized as Level II in the fair value hierarchy. The Sponsor may in its sole discretion choose to determine a fair value price as the basis for determining the market value of such position. Such fair value prices would be generally determined based on available inputs about the current value of the underlying financial instrument or commodity and would be based on principles that the Sponsor deems fair and equitable so long as such principles are consistent with normal industry standards. The Sponsor may fair value an asset of the Fund pursuant to the policies the Sponsor has adopted, which are consistent with normal industry standards. Depending on the source and relevant significance of valuation inputs, these instruments may be classified as Level II or Level III in the fair value hierarchy.

Fair value pricing may require subjective determinations about the value of an investment. While the Fund’s policy is intended to result in a calculation of the Fund’s NAV that fairly reflects investment values as of the time of pricing, the Fund cannot ensure that fair values determined by the Sponsor or persons acting at their direction would accurately reflect the price that the Fund could obtain for an investment if it were to dispose of that investment as of the time of pricing (for instance, in a forced or distressed sale).

The prices used by the Fund may differ from the value that would be realized if the investments were sold and the differences could be material to the financial statements.

The Fund discloses the fair value of their investments in a hierarchy that prioritizes the inputs to valuation techniques used to measure fair value.

Discounts on short-term securities purchased are amortized and reflected as Interest Income in the Statements of Operations.

Realized gains (losses) and changes in unrealized gain (loss) on open investments are determined on a specific identification basis and recognized in the Statements of Operations in the period in which the contract is closed or the changes occur, respectively.

The Fund pays its brokerage commissions, including applicable exchange fees, NFA fees, give up fees, pit brokerage fees and other transaction related fees and expenses charged in connection with trading activities for the Fund’s investment in U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission regulated investments. Brokerage commissions on futures contracts are recognized on a half-turn basis.

Item 3. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk

Quantitative Disclosure

Exchange Rate Sensitivity, Equity Market Volatility Sensitivity, and Commodity Price Sensitivity

The Fund is exposed to equity market volatility risk through its holdings of VIX futures contracts. The table below provides information about the holdings of the Fund.

As of March 31, 2023, the Fund’s futures positions were as follows:

Futures Positions as of March 31, 2023

The March 31, 2023 short futures notional values are calculated by multiplying the number of contracts held times the valuation price times the contract multiplier. The short notional values will increase (decrease) proportionally with decreases (increases) in the price of the futures contract. Additional gains (losses) associated with these contracts will be equal to any such subsequent decreases (increases) in short notional values, before accounting for spreads or transaction or financing costs. The Fund will generally attempt to adjust its position in Financial Instruments each day to have up to a maximum of $0.50 of short exposure to the Index for every $1.00 of net assets. Future period returns, before fees and expenses, cannot be estimated simply by estimating the return of the Index and multiplying by negative one-half.

As of March 31, 2022, the Fund’s positions were as follows:

Futures Positions as of March 31, 2022

The March 31, 2022 short futures notional values are calculated by multiplying the number of contracts held times the valuation price times the contract multiplier. The short notional values will increase (decrease) proportionally with decreases (increases) in the price of the futures contract. Additional gains (losses) associated with these contracts will be equal to any such subsequent decreases (increases) in short notional values, before accounting for spreads or transaction or financing costs. The Fund will generally attempt to adjust its position in Financial Instruments each day to have $0.50 of short exposure to the Index for every $1.00 of net assets. Future period returns, before fees and expenses, cannot be estimated simply by estimating the return of the Index and multiplying by negative one-half.

The Fund’s performance for periods greater than a single day will be the result of each day’s returns compounded over the period. A “single day” is measured from the time a Fund calculates its net asset value to the time of the Fund’s next net asset value calculation. As a consequence, the return for investors that invest for a period different than a trading day will not be the product of the return of the Fund’s stated daily inverse investment objective. Particularly, during periods of high volatility, the Fund may not perform as expected, and the Fund may have losses when an investor may have expected gains if the Fund is held for a period that is different than one trading day.

Compounding affects all investments, but has a more significant impact on an inverse fund, such as the Fund. This effect becomes more pronounced as volatility increases.

Qualitative Disclosure

The investment objective of the Fund to seek daily investment results, before fees and expenses, which correspond to a multiple, the inverse or an inverse multiple of the daily performance, of its corresponding benchmark. The Fund seeks daily investment results, before fees and expenses, that correspond to one-tenth the inverse (-0.1x) or the inverse (-0.5x) of the daily performance of its corresponding benchmark. The Fund does not seek to achieve these stated investment objectives over a period of time greater than a single day because mathematical compounding prevents the Fund from achieving such results. Performance over longer periods of time will be influenced not only by the cumulative period performance of the corresponding benchmark but equally by the intervening volatility of the benchmark as well as fees and expenses, including costs associated with the use of financial instruments such as financing costs and trading spreads. Future period returns, before fees and expenses, cannot be estimated simply by estimating the percent change in the corresponding benchmark and multiplying by negative three, negative two, negative one, negative one-half, one, one and one-half, two or three. Shareholders who invest in the Fund should actively manage and monitor their investments, as frequently as daily.

Equity Market Volatility Sensitivity

VIX Futures Contracts are unlike traditional futures contracts and are not based on a tradable reference asset. The VIX Index is not directly investable, and the settlement price of a VIX Futures Contract is based on the calculation that determines the level of the VIX Index. As a result, the behavior of a VIX Futures Contract may be different from traditional futures contracts whose settlement price is based on a specific tradable asset. In addition, when economic uncertainty increases and there is an associated increase in expected volatility, the value of VIX Futures Contracts will likely also increase. Similarly, when economic uncertainty recedes and there is an associated decrease in expected volatility, the value of VIX Futures Contracts will likely also decrease. When the Fund has an open futures contract position, it is subject to daily variation margin calls that could be substantial in the event of adverse price movements. Because futures require only a small initial investment in the form of a deposit or margin, they involve a high degree of leverage. If the Fund has insufficient cash to meet daily variation margin requirements, it might need to sell portfolio investments at a time when such sales are disadvantageous. Futures markets are highly volatile and the use of or exposure to futures contracts may increase volatility of the Fund’s NAV. Futures contracts are also subject to liquidity risk.

Several factors may affect the price and/or liquidity of VIX Futures Contracts, including, but not limited to: prevailing market prices and forward volatility levels of the U.S. stock markets, the S&P 500®, the equity securities included in the S&P 500® and prevailing market prices of options on the S&P 500®, the VIX Index, options on the VIX Index, VIX Futures Contracts, or any other financial instruments related to the S&P 500® and the VIX Index or VIX Futures Contracts; interest rates, economic, financial, political, regulatory, geographical, biological or judicial events that affect the current volatility reading of the VIX Index or the market price or forward volatility of the U.S. stock markets, the equity securities included in the S&P 500®, the S&P 500®, the VIX Index or the relevant futures or option contracts on the VIX Index; supply and demand as well as hedging activities in the listed and over-the-counter (“OTC”) equity derivatives markets; disruptions in trading of the S&P 500®, futures contracts on the S&P 500® or options on the S&P 500®; and the level of contango or backwardation in the VIX Futures Contracts market. These factors interrelate in complex ways, and the effect of one factor on the market value of the Fund may offset or enhance the effect of another factor.

In addition, the policies of S&P and the CBOE and changes that affect the composition and valuation of the S&P 500® and the VIX Index could affect the level of such indexes and/or the value of VIX Futures Contracts and, therefore, the value of the Fund’s Shares. For example, shareholders will lose money when the values of the VIX Futures Contracts rise, and a single day or intraday increase in the level of the VIX Futures Contracts approaching 200% could result in the total loss or almost total loss of an investor’s investment (“Inverse Exposure Risk”).

Managing Market Risks

The Fund’s exposure to market risk will be influenced by a number of factors, including the liquidity of the markets in which the financial instruments it holds are traded and the relationships among the financial instruments held. The inherent uncertainty of the trading of the Fund as well as the development of drastic market occurrences could ultimately lead to a loss of all or substantially all of investors’ capital.

A futures contract is a standardized contract traded on, or subject to the rules of, an exchange that calls for the future delivery of a specified quantity and type of a particular underlying asset at a specified time and place or alternatively may call for cash settlement. Futures contracts are traded on a wide variety of underlying assets, including bonds, interest rates, agricultural products, stock indexes, currencies, energy, metals, economic indicators and statistical measures. The notional size and calendar term futures contracts on a particular underlying asset are identical and are not subject to any negotiation, other than with respect to price and the number of contracts traded between the buyer and seller. The Fund generally deposits cash and/or securities with an FCM for its open positions in futures contracts, which may, in turn, transfer such deposits to the clearing house to protect the clearing house against non-payment by the Fund. The clearing house becomes substituted for each counterparty to a futures contract, and, in effect, guarantees performance. In addition, the FCM may require the Fund to deposit collateral in excess of the clearing house’s margin requirements for the FCM’s own protection.

Certain futures contracts, including VIX Futures Contracts, settle in cash. The cash settlement amount reflects the difference between the contract purchase/sale price and the contract settlement price. The cash settlement mechanism avoids the potential for either side to have to deliver the underlying asset. For other futures contracts, the contractual obligations of a buyer or seller may generally be satisfied by taking or making physical delivery of the underlying asset or by making an offsetting sale or purchase of an identical futures contract on the same or linked exchange before the designated date of delivery. The difference between the price at which the futures contract is purchased or sold and the price paid for the offsetting sale or purchase, after allowance for brokerage commissions, constitutes the profit or loss to the trader.

Futures contracts involve, to varying degrees, elements of market risk and exposure to loss in excess of the amounts of variation margin, which are the amounts of cash that the Fund agrees to pay to or receive from FCMs equal to the daily fluctuation in the value of a futures contract. With futures contracts, there is minimal but some counterparty risk to the Fund since futures contracts are exchange traded and the exchange’s clearinghouse, as counterparty to all exchange-traded futures contracts, effectively guarantees futures contracts against default. Many futures exchanges and boards of trade limit the amount of fluctuation permitted in futures contract prices during a single trading day. Once the daily limit has been reached in a particular contract, no trades may be made that day at a price beyond that limit or trading may be suspended for specified times during the trading day. Futures contracts prices could move to the limit for several consecutive trading days with little or no trading, thereby preventing prompt liquidation of futures positions and potentially subjecting the Fund to substantial losses. If trading is not possible or if the Fund determines not to close a futures position in anticipation of adverse price movements, the Fund may be required to make daily cash payments of variation margin.

Item 4. Controls and Procedures

Disclosure Controls and Procedures

Under the supervision and with the participation of the principal executive officer and principal financial officer of the Trust, Trust management has evaluated the effectiveness of the Trust’s and the Fund’s disclosure controls and procedures, and have concluded that the disclosure controls and procedures of the Trust and the Fund (as defined in Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e) under the 1934 Act) were effective, as of March 31, 2023, including providing reasonable assurance that information required to be disclosed in the reports that the Trust files or submits under the 1934 Act on behalf of the Trust and the Fund is recorded, processed, summarized and reported, within the time periods specified in the applicable rules and forms, and that such information is accumulated and communicated to management, including the principal executive officer and principal financial officer, of the Trust as appropriate to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure.

Changes in Internal Control over Financial Reporting

There were no changes in the Trust’s or the Fund’s internal control over financial reporting that occurred during the quarter ended March 31, 2023 that have materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, the Trust’s or the Fund’s internal control over financial reporting.

Certifications

The certifications by the Principal Executive Officer and Principal Financial Officer of the Trust required by Section 302 and Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, which are filed or furnished as exhibits to this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, apply both to the Trust taken as a whole and the Fund, and the Principal Executive Officer and Principal Financial Officer of the Trust are certifying both as to the Trust taken as a whole and the Fund.

PART II – OTHER INFORMATION

Item 1. Legal Proceedings

None.

Item 1A. Risk Factors

In addition to the risks described below, please Refer to Part I, Item 1A: Risk Factors of the Fund’s 2022 Form 10-K for a discussion of certain risk factors affecting the Fund.

Item 2. Unregistered Sales of Equity Securities and Use of Proceeds

None.

Item 3. Defaults Upon Senior Securities

None.

Item 4. Mine Safety Disclosures