Toews Unconstrained Income Fund
Summary Prospectus
August 28, 2021
Before you invest, you may want to review the Fund's Prospectus, which contains more information about the Fund and its risks. The Fund's Prospectus and Statement of Additional Information, both dated August 28, 2021, along with the Fund's Annual Report dated April 30, 2021, are incorporated by reference into this Summary Prospectus. You can obtain these documents and other information about the Fund online at https://toewscorp.com/mutual-funds-2/. You can also obtain these documents at no cost by calling
1-877-558-6397 or by sending an email request to [email protected].
Investment Objectives: The Fund seeks to provide income and long-term growth of capital. A secondary objective of the Fund is to limit risk during unfavorable market conditions.
Fees and Expenses of the Fund: This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy, hold and sell shares of the Fund.
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Shareholder Fees
(fees paid directly from your investment)
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Maximum Sales Charge (Load) Imposed on Purchases
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None
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Maximum Deferred Sales Charge (Load)
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None
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Maximum Sales Charge (Load) Imposed on Reinvested Dividends and Other Distributions
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None
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Redemption Fee
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None
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Annual Fund Operating Expenses
(expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)
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Management Fees
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1.00%
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Distribution and/or Service (12b-1) Fees
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0.00%
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Other Expenses
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0.33%
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Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses(1)
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0.27%
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Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses
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1.60%
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Fee Waiver and/or Expense Reimbursement(2)
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(0.08)%
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Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses After Fee Waiver and/or Expense Reimbursement(2)
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1.52%
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(1)
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Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses are the indirect costs of investing in other investment companies. The operating expenses in this fee table will not correlate to the expense ratio in the Fund's financial highlights because the financial statements include only the direct operating expenses incurred by the Fund.
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(2)
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The Fund's adviser has contractually agreed to reduce its fees and/or absorb expenses of the Fund, through at least August 31, 2022, to ensure that Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses After Fee Waiver and/or Reimbursement exclusive of any (i) front-end or contingent deferred loads; (ii) brokerage fees and commissions; (iii) acquired fund fees and expenses; (iv) fees and expenses associated with instruments in other collective investment vehicles or derivative instruments (including for example options and swap fees and expenses); (v) borrowing costs (such as interest and dividend expense on securities sold short); (vi) taxes; (vii) other fees related to underlying investments, (such as option fees and expenses or swap fees and expenses); or (viii) extraordinary expenses such as litigation (which may include indemnification of Fund officers and Trustees or contractual indemnification of Fund service providers (other than the adviser) will not exceed 1.25%; subject to possible recoupment from the Fund in future years on a rolling three year basis (within the three years after the fees have been waived or reimbursed), if such recoupment does not cause the Fund's expense ratio (after the repayment is taken into account) to exceed both: (i) the Fund's expense cap in place at the time such expenses were waived, and (ii) the Fund's current expense cap at the time of recoupment. This agreement may be terminated only by the Board of Trustees, on 60 days' written notice to the adviser.
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Example: This Example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other mutual funds.
The Example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and then redeem 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. The Example further assumes that the expense limitation described in the footnotes to the fee table is in effect only until the end of the 1-year period. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based upon these assumptions your costs would be:
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1 Year
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3 Years
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5 Years
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10 Years
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$155
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$497
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$863
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$1,893
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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 annual fund operating expenses or in the Example, affect the Fund's performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Fund's portfolio turnover rate was 566% of the average value of its portfolio.
Principal Investment Strategies: The Fund's adviser seeks to achieve the Fund's primary investment objective by investing in: (1) exchange traded funds and open-end investment companies ('Underlying Funds') that primarily invest in or are otherwise exposed to domestic or foreign debt instruments, including developed or emerging market high-yield debt instruments (also known as 'junk bonds'); (2) futures contracts, total return swaps and credit default swaps that use high yield debt instruments or high yield indexes as reference assets; (3) U.S. or foreign fixed-income securities, including developed or emerging market fixed income securities (of any rating and varying maturities), and structured notes; (4) preferred stocks; and (5) mortgage-related fixed income instruments of varying maturities (such as mortgage pass-through securities; collateralized mortgage obligations; mortgage-backed securities; asset-backed securities; senior, subordinated and junior subordinated mortgage notes and mortgage dollar rolls). The Fund may also invest a portion of its assets in private placement offerings, including mortgage-related fixed income instruments, which may be illiquid. The Fund's secondary objective is to limit risk. During unfavorable market conditions, and when the adviser determines such conditions exist, the Fund will take a defensive position and/or be allocated 100% to U.S. Treasuries securities or short-term fixed income securities, U.S. or foreign cash or cash equivalents. The Fund may invest in US Treasury securities of any duration or maturity. The Fund may also invest in futures contracts on such US Treasury securities.
The Fund may invest in either U.S. or foreign securities or issuers, without limitation with respect to the amount or type of foreign security and these investments may include securities of issuers in developed or emerging markets.
The Fund may invest in both investment-grade fixed income securities and high yield fixed income securities ('junk bonds'). The Fund defines high-yield debt instruments as corporate bonds or other bonds or debt instruments that are generally rated lower than Baa3 by Moody's Investors Service, Inc. ('Moody's') or lower than BBB- by S&P (below investment grade). Up to 100% of the Fund's assets may be invested in instruments generally rated below Caa3 by Moody's or CCC- by S&P or derivatives of such instruments. The Fund may invest in high yield bonds directly or through derivative instruments designed to replicate some or all of the features of an underlying portfolio of high yield bonds, such as credit default swaps. The Fund may invest in and/or short equity index futures contracts.
The Fund may invest in equity index futures contracts. The advisor may sell short the iBoxx iShares High Yield Corporate Bond Futures contract to hedge the economic exposure of the Fund. The adviser also may use a 'representative sampling' indexing strategy to manage the Fund. This indexing strategy involves investing in a representative sample of securities that collectively has an investment profile similar to the broad-based US and foreign stock indices and, with respect to the high-yield bond segments of the portfolio, the high-yield bond market as a whole.
The Fund may employ an options strategy. The Fund may purchase and sell put and call options on broad-based market and futures market indices. The Fund may also buy put options on or sell short equity index ETFs. A put option is a contract giving the owner the right, but not the obligation, to sell-or sell short-a specified amount of an underlying security at a pre-determined price within a specified time frame. A call option is a contract giving the option buyer the right, but not the obligation, to buy an asset or instrument at a specified price within a specific time period.
The adviser may engage in active and frequent trading to achieve the Fund's investment objectives.
Principal Risks: As with all mutual funds, there is the risk that you could lose money through your investment in the Fund. Many factors affect the Fund's net asset value and performance.
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Below-Investment Grade Securities Risk: High-yield, high-risk fixed income securities, commonly called 'junk bonds,' are considered speculative. While generally providing greater income than investments in higher-quality securities, these lower- quality securities will involve greater risk of principal and income that higher-quality securities, including the possibility of default or bankruptcy of the issuers of the security. Like other fixed-income securities, the value of high-yield securities will also fluctuate as interest rates change.
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Credit Default Swap Risk: Credit default swaps ('CDS') are typically two-party financial contracts that transfer credit exposure between the two parties. Under a typical CDS, one party (the 'seller') receives pre-determined periodic payments from the other party (the 'buyer'). The seller agrees to make compensating specific payments to the buyer if a negative credit event occurs, such as the bankruptcy or default by the issuer of the underlying debt instrument. The use of CDS involves investment techniques and risks different from those associated with ordinary portfolio security transactions, such as potentially heightened counterparty, concentration and exposure risks.
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Credit Risk: Issuers of fixed-income securities may default on interest and principal payments due to the Fund. Generally, securities with lower debt ratings have speculative characteristics and have greater risk the issuer will default on its obligation. For high-yield bonds, changes in economic conditions or other circumstances are more likely to lead to a weakened capacity of those issuers to make principal or interest payments, as compared to issuers of more highly-rated securities. These securities can also be thinly traded or have restrictions on resale, making them difficult to sell at an acceptable price.
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Derivative Risk: Even a small investment in derivatives (which include options, futures, swap contracts such as total return swaps or credit default swaps, forward contracts and other transactions) may give rise to leverage risk (which can increase volatility and magnify the Fund's potential for loss), and can have a significant impact on the Fund's performance. Derivatives are also subject to credit risk (the counterparty may default) and liquidity risk (the Fund may not be able to sell security or otherwise exit the contract in a timely manner).
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Emerging Market Risk: Emerging market countries may have relatively unstable governments, weaker economies, and less- developed legal systems with fewer security holder rights. Emerging market economies may be based on only a few industries and security issuers may be more susceptible to economic weakness and more likely to default. Emerging market securities also tend to be less liquid.
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ETF and Underlying Fund Risk: ETFs and Underlying Funds are subject to investment advisory fees and other expenses, which will be indirectly paid by the Fund. As a result, your cost of investing in the Fund will be higher than the cost of investing directly in ETFs and may be higher than other mutual funds that invest directly in securities. Each ETF is subject to specific risks, depending on its investments. ETFs in which the Fund invests will not be able to replicate exactly the performance of the indices they track because the total return generated by the securities will be reduced by transaction costs incurred in adjusting the actual balance of the securities. The market value of the ETF shares may differ from their net asset value. This difference in price may be 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 underlying basket of securities. Accordingly, there may be times when an ETF share trades at a premium or discount to its net asset value.
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Fixed Income Risk: When the Fund invests in fixed income securities, the value of your investment in the Fund will fluctuate with changes in interest rates. Typically, a rise in interest rates causes a decline in the value of bond funds owned by the Fund. In general, the market price of debt securities with longer maturities will increase or decrease more in response to changes in interest rates than shorter-term securities. Issuers of fixed-income securities may default on interest and principal payments due to the Fund. Generally, securities with lower debt ratings have speculative characteristics and have greater risk the issuer will default on its obligation.
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Foreign Risk: The Fund could be subject to greater risks because the Fund's performance may depend on issues other than the performance of a particular company or U.S. market sector. Changes in foreign economies and political climates are more likely to affect the Fund than a mutual fund that invests exclusively in U.S. companies. The value of foreign securities is also affected by the value of the local currency relative to the U.S. dollar.
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Futures Risk: The Fund's use of futures contracts involves risks different from, or possibly greater than, the risks associated with investing directly in securities and other traditional investments. These risks include (i) leverage risk (ii) risk of mispricing or improper valuation; and (iii) the risk that changes in the value of the futures contract may not correlate perfectly with the underlying index. Investments in futures involve leverage, which means a small percentage of assets invested in futures can have a disproportionately large impact on the Fund. This risk could cause the Fund to lose more than the principal amount invested.
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Hedging Risk: When the adviser believes market conditions are unfavorable, the adviser may attempt to 'hedge' with defensive positions and strategies including holding substantial positions in foreign or domestic fixed-income securities and/or cash equivalents, which may limit potential gains when compared to unhedged funds.
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Interest Rate Risk: When the Fund invests in fixed income securities or in Underlying Funds that own fixed income securities, the value of your investment in the Fund will fluctuate with changes in interest rates. Typically, a rise in interest rates causes a decline in the value of bond funds owned by the Fund. In general, the market price of debt securities with longer maturities will increase or decrease more in response to changes in interest rates than shorter-term securities.
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Investment-Grade Corporate Bonds: Debt securities of industrial, utility, banking and other financial institutions that are rated at or above investment grade (BBB/Baa or higher). These securities are backed by the credit of the corporation issuing the fixed-income instrument as to the timely repayment of principal and interest.
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Issuer Risk: Fund value might decrease in response to the activities and financial prospects of an individual company or issuer in the Fund's portfolio. The value of an individual issuer can be more volatile than the market as a whole and can perform differently from the value of the market as a whole. The value of certain types of companies or issuers can be more volatile due to increased sensitivity to adverse issuer, political, regulatory, market, or economic developments.
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Leverage Risk: The use of leverage by the Fund, such as borrowing money to purchase securities or the use of options, will cause the Fund to incur additional expenses and magnify the Fund's gains or losses.
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Liquidity Risk: Liquidity risk exists when particular investments of the Fund would be difficult to purchase or sell, possibly preventing the Fund from selling such illiquid securities at an advantageous time or price, or possibly requiring the Fund to dispose of other investments at unfavorable times or prices in order to satisfy its obligations.
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Management Risk: The ability of the Fund to meet its investment objectives is directly related to the adviser's investment model. The models used by the adviser to determine or guide investment decisions may not achieve the objectives of the Fund. The adviser's assessment of the attractiveness and potential appreciation of particular investments or markets in which the Fund invests may prove to be incorrect and there is no guarantee that the adviser's investment strategy will produce the desired results.
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Margin Risk: Certain derivatives require the Fund to make margin payments, a form of security deposit intended to protect against nonperformance of the derivative contract. The Fund may have to post additional margin if the value of the derivative position changes in a manner adverse to the Fund. Derivatives may be difficult to value, which may result in increased payment requirements to counterparties or a loss of value to the Fund. If the Fund has insufficient cash to meet additional margin requirements, it might need to sell securities at a disadvantageous time.
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Market and Geopolitical Risk: The increasing interconnectivity between global economies and financial markets increases the likelihood that events or conditions in one region or financial market may adversely impact issuers in a different country, region or financial market. Securities in the Fund may underperform due to inflation (or expectations for inflation), interest rates, global demand for particular products or resources, natural disasters, pandemics, epidemics, terrorism, regulatory events and governmental or quasi-governmental actions. The occurrence of global events similar to those in recent years, such as terrorist attacks around the world, natural disasters, social and political discord or debt crises and downgrades, among others, may result in market volatility and may have long term effects on both the U.S. and global financial markets. It is difficult to predict when similar events affecting the U.S. or global financial markets may occur, the effects that such events may have and the duration of those effects. Any such event(s) could have a significant adverse impact on the value and risk profile of the Fund. The current novel coronavirus (COVID-19) global pandemic and the aggressive responses taken by many governments, including closing borders, restricting international and domestic travel, and the imposition of prolonged quarantines or similar restrictions, as well as the forced or voluntary closure of, or operational changes to, many retail and other businesses, has had negative impacts, and in many cases severe negative impacts, on markets worldwide. It is not known how long such impacts, or any future impacts of other significant events described above, will or would last, but there could be a prolonged period of global economic slowdown, which may impact your investment. Therefore, the Fund could lose money over short periods due to short-term market movements and over longer periods during more prolonged market downturns. During a general market downturn, multiple asset classes may be negatively affected. Changes in market conditions and interest rates can have the same impact on all types of securities and instruments. In times of severe market disruptions you could lose your entire investment.
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Mortgage-Backed, Asset-Backed and Mortgage-Related Instruments Risk: The default rate on underlying mortgage loans or asset loans may be higher than anticipated, potentially reducing payments to the Fund. Default rates are sensitive to overall economic conditions such as unemployment, wage levels and economic growth rates. Mortgage-backed and mortgage- related securities are susceptible to fluctuations in value due to changes in interest rates, are subject to risks associated with the credit quality of the underlying mortgage borrowers, and maturity risk because issuers of securities are able to prepay principal due on these securities, particularly during periods of declining interest rates. Subordinated mortgage-related instruments are considered speculative, subject to liquidity risk and severe losses in the event of default by a borrower.
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Options Risk: There are risks associated with the sale and purchase of call and put options. As the buyer of a put or call option, the Fund risks losing the entire premium invested in the option if the Fund does not exercise the option. As a seller (writer) of a put option, the Fund will tend to lose money if the value of the reference index or security falls below the strike price. As the seller (writer) of a call option, the Fund will tend to lose money if the value of the reference index or security rises above the strike price.
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Portfolio Turnover Risk: Portfolio turnover results in higher brokerage commissions, dealer mark-ups and other transaction costs and may result in taxable capital gains. Higher costs associated with increased portfolio turnover may offset gains in the Fund's performance.
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Preferred Stock Risk: Typically, a rise in interest rates causes a decline in the value of preferred stock. Preferred stocks are also subject to credit and default risk, which is the possibility that an issuer of preferred stock will fail to make its dividend payments.
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Private Placement Risks: The Fund may invest in private placement offerings of investment funds or unregistered securities, including mortgage-related fixed income instruments. Certain investment instruments and techniques that a private fund may use are speculative and involve a high degree of risk. Because of the speculative nature of a private fund's investments and trading strategies, the Fund may suffer a significant or complete loss of its invested capital in one or more private funds. A shareholder will also bear fees and expenses charged by the underlying funds in addition to the Fund's direct fees and expenses. In addition, interests in any private placement may also be illiquid.
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Short Sales Risk: The Fund will engage in short selling and short position derivative activities, which are significantly different from the investment activities commonly associated with conservative stock or bond funds. Positions in shorted securities and derivatives are speculative and more risky than 'long' positions (purchases) because the cost of the replacement security or derivative is unknown. Therefore, the potential loss on an uncovered short is unlimited, whereas the potential loss on long positions is limited to the original purchase price. You should be aware that any strategy that includes selling securities short could suffer significant losses. Shorting will also result in higher transaction costs (such as interest and dividends), which reduce the Fund's return, and may result in higher taxes.
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Tax Inefficiency: The adviser expects that most of the gains generated by the Fund will be categorized as short-term capital gains which will be subject to higher tax rates than long-term capital gains. Given the potential tax-inefficiency of the Fund, investors should consider investing through a tax-deferred account and carefully consider the tax consequences before investing.
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Total Return Swap Risk: In a total return swap, the buyer receives a periodic return equal to the total return of a specified security, securities or index, for a specified period of time. In return, the buyer pays the counterparty a variable stream of payments, typically based upon short term interest rates, possibly plus or minus an agreed upon spread. For example, if the Fund enters into a swap where it agrees to exchange a floating rate of interest for a fixed rate of interest, the Fund may have to pay more money than it receives. Total return swaps entered into in which payments are not netted may entail greater risk than a swap entered into a net basis. There is a risk that adverse price movements in an instrument can result in a loss substantially greater than the Fund's initial investment in that instrument (in some cases, the potential loss is unlimited). If there is a default by the other party to such a transaction, the Fund will have contractual remedies pursuant to the agreements related to the transaction. However, particularly in the case of privately-negotiated instruments, there is a risk that the counterparty will not perform its obligations, which could leave the Fund worse off than if it had not entered into the position. These instruments are subject to high levels of volatility, in some cases due to the high levels of leverage the Fund may achieve with them.
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Underlying Fund Risk: Underlying Funds, including ETFs and other investment companies, are subject to investment advisory fees and other expenses, which will be indirectly paid by the Fund. As a result, your cost of investing in the Fund will be higher than the cost of investing directly in Underlying Funds and may be higher than other mutual funds that invest directly in securities. Each Underlying Funds is subject to specific risks, depending on its investments.
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U.S. Treasury Risk: Although the Fund invests in short-term Treasury obligations, an investment in the Fund is subject to risk even if all securities in the Fund are paid in full at maturity. All money market instruments, including U.S. Treasury obligations, can change in value in response to changes in interest rates, and a major change in rates could cause the share price to change. While U.S. Treasury obligations are backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government, an investment in the Fund is neither insured nor guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, U.S. government or any other government agency.
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Performance: The bar chart and performance table below show the variability of the Fund's returns, which is some indication of the risks of investing in the Fund. The bar chart shows performance of the Fund's shares for each full calendar year since the Fund's inception. The performance table compares the performance of the Fund's shares over time to the performance of a broad-based securities market index. You should be aware that the Fund's past performance (before and after taxes) may not be an indication of how the Fund will perform in the future. Updated performance information is available at no cost by calling 1-877-558-6397.
Performance Bar Chart
Calendar Years Ended December 31
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Best Quarter:
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3/31/2019
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3.50%
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Worst Quarter:
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3/31/2018
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(2.78)%
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The total return for Fund shares from January 1, 2021 to June 30, 2021 was 0.78%.
Performance Table
Average Annual Total Returns
(For periods ended December 31, 2020)
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One
Year
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Five
Years
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Since Inception
of the Fund
(8-28-13)
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Return before taxes
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2.58%
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3.33%
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2.68%
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Return after taxes on distributions
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2.01%
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2.28%
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1.63%
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Return after taxes on distributions and sale of Fund shares
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1.51%
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2.11%
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1.59%
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Bloomberg Barclays Aggregate U.S. Bond Index*
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7.51%
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4.44%
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4.04%
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*
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The Bloomberg Barclays Aggregate U.S. Bond Index is an unmanaged index which represents the U.S. investment-grade fixed-rate bond market (including government and corporate securities, mortgage pass-through securities and asset-backed securities). Investors cannot invest directly in an index or benchmark.
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After-tax returns are calculated using the highest historical individual federal marginal income tax rate and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Actual after-tax returns depend on a shareholder's tax situation and may differ from those shown. The after-tax returns are not relevant if you hold your Fund shares in tax-deferred arrangements, such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts ('IRA').
Adviser: Toews Corporation is the Fund's investment adviser.
Portfolio Managers: Phillip Toews, President, Jason Graffius, Chief Operating Officer, Randall Schroeder, Managing Director of Synthesis Investments, and Charles Collins, Head of Trading, of the adviser, serve as the Fund's Co-Portfolio Managers and are jointly and primarily responsible for the day-to-day management of the Fund. Messrs. Toews and Schroeder have each served the Fund in this capacity since the Fund commenced operations in 2013. Mr. Graffius has served the Fund in this capacity since August 2014. Mr. Collins has served the Fund in this capacity since August 2017.
Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares: The minimum initial investment to open any type of account is $10,000. The minimum subsequent investment is $100 for all accounts. You may purchase and redeem shares of the Fund on any day that the New York Stock Exchange is open. Redemptions requests may be made in writing, by telephone, on the Fund's website, or through a financial intermediary and will be paid by check or wire transfer.
Tax Information: Dividends and capital gain distributions you receive from the Fund, whether you reinvest your distributions in additional Fund shares or receive them in cash, are taxable to you at either ordinary income or capital gains tax rates unless you are investing through a tax-free plan. Withdrawals from your tax-free plan may be taxable.
Payments to Broker-Dealers and Other Financial Intermediaries: If you purchase the Fund through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank), the Fund and its related companies may pay the intermediary for the sale of Fund shares and related services. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing the broker-dealer or other intermediary and your salesperson to recommend the Fund over another investment. Ask your salesperson or visit your financial intermediary's website for more information.
