Investment advisor: Hennessy Advisors, Inc.; Sub-Advisors: Stance Capital, LLC and Vident Advisory, LLC
Launch date: March 1, 2021
Expense ratio: 0.85%
Investment objective: The fund seeks to achieve long-term capital appreciation.
Fundamental investment strategy: The Fund is an actively managed exchange-traded fund (“ETF”)** that will invest, under normal circumstances, at least 80% of the value of its net assets, plus the amount of any borrowings for investment purposes, in exchange-traded equity securities of U.S. issuers that meet environmental, social, and governance (“ESG”) standards, as determined by the Portfolio Managers. The Portfolio Managers also screen on the basis of fundamental financial standards. The Fund primarily invests in large-capitalization issuers but may also invest in small- and medium-capitalization issuers. The Fund considers companies within the Russell 1000® Index and S&P 500® Index to be large-capitalization issuers.
In identifying investments for the Fund, the Portfolio Managers utilize three independent processes. First, the Portfolio Managers apply a rules-based ESG methodology that seeks to identify the top 50% from each industry and sub-industry group in the universe of large-capitalization companies, medium-capitalization companies, or small-capitalization companies, as applicable. Companies that have exclusively or primarily engaged in weapons, tobacco, or thermal coal are excluded from consideration. The remaining universe is then quantitatively scored against industry group peers on up to 25 sustainability-related key performance indicators (“KPIs”) such as energy productivity, carbon intensity, water dependence, waste profile, and KPIs relating to governance, including capacity to innovate, unfunded pension fund liabilities, chief executive officer/average worker pay, safety performance, employee turnover, leadership diversity, percentage tax paid, and percent of bonus linked to sustainability performance. The securities in the top 50% may be retained. The Portfolio Managers utilize data feeds from third parties that the Portfolio Managers consider, in their sole discretion, as trustworthy or have the expertise in specific KPI areas. The current primary external data source is Corporate Knights Research, an affiliate of Stance Capital, LLC, but such firm or firms may change in the Portfolio Managers’ discretion. Corporate Knights Research is based in Toronto, and is a leading media firm in Canada focused on climate risk. For over 20 years, it has published an annual ranking of the most sustainable companies in the world. Its methodology is rules-based and forms the foundation of the Portfolio Managers’ approach to ESG scoring. Second, the Portfolio Managers apply a machine-learning model that uses financial, risk, and other factors to identify companies that are most likely to outperform both in the absolute returns and in risk-adjusted returns over the next quarter. In the final process, the portfolio is optimized to minimize tail risk and maximize diversification. Tail risk is the risk that an investment’s return will move significantly beyond expectations (namely, more than three standard deviations from its mean). The Portfolio Managers generally rebalance the portfolio quarterly.
Positions are sold quarterly if the Portfolio Managers decide they are no longer optimal in the portfolio. The Fund’s investment portfolio is focused, generally composed of around 35 investment positions.
While investing in a particular sector is not a principal investment strategy of the Fund, its portfolio may be significantly invested in a sector as a result of the portfolio management decisions made pursuant to its principal investment strategy. While the Fund does not place any restrictions on its level of sector concentration, it will limit its investments in industries within any particular sector to less than 25% of the Fund’s total assets. On each rebalancing date, investments within a particular sector will also be capped at up to twice the weight of the sector within the S&P 500® Index.
Sustainable Investing approach: In identifying investments for the Fund, the Portfolio Managers utilize three independent processes. First, the Portfolio Managers apply a rules-based ESG methodology that seeks to identify the top 50% from each industry and sub-industry group in the universe of large-capitalization companies, medium-capitalization companies, or small-capitalization companies, as applicable. Companies that have exclusively or primarily engaged in weapons, tobacco, or thermal coal are excluded from consideration. The remaining universe is then quantitatively scored against industry group peers on up to 25 sustainability-related key performance indicators (“KPIs”) such as energy productivity, carbon intensity, water dependence, waste profile, and KPIs relating to governance, including capacity to innovate, unfunded pension fund liabilities, chief executive officer/average worker pay, safety performance, employee turnover, leadership diversity, percentage tax paid, and percent of bonus linked to sustainability performance. The securities in the top 50% may be retained. The Portfolio Managers utilize data feeds from third parties that the Portfolio Managers consider, in their sole discretion, as trustworthy or have the expertise in specific KPI areas. The current primary external data source is Corporate Knights Research, an affiliate of Stance Capital, LLC, but such firm or firms may change in the Portfolio Managers’ discretion. Corporate Knights Research is based in Toronto, and is a leading media firm in Canada focused on climate risk. For over 20 years, it has published an annual ranking of the most sustainable companies in the world. Its methodology is rules-based and forms the foundation of the Portfolio Managers’ approach to ESG scoring. Second, the Portfolio Managers apply a machine-learning model that uses financial, risk, and other factors to identify companies that are most likely to outperform both in the absolute returns and in risk-adjusted returns over the next quarter. In the final process, the portfolio is optimized to minimize tail risk and maximize diversification.
*The Hennessy Stance ESG ETF, trading under the ticker symbol STNC, was initially launched on March 15, 2021, as the Stance Equity ESG Large Cap Core ETF. In the fourth quarter of 2022, Hennessy Advisors signed an agreement with Stance Capital and Red Gate Advisers to reorganize the fund into the Hennessy Stance ESG Large Cap ETF, with Hennessy Advisors becoming the investment advisor. The fund was listed on NYSE Arca until December 18, 2024, when it transferred its listing to The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC, continuing to trade under the same ticker symbol
**The fund is a Semi-Transparent Actively-Managed ETF.
Notes of Explanation: For mutual funds, expense ratio may vary by share class and launch date applies to the launch date of the earliest share class. Sources: Fund prospectus or other offering document, as disclosed.
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