UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
FORM 10-K
☒ Annual report pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 for the fiscal year ended December 31 , 2022 .
or
☐ Transition report pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 for the transition period from ________ to ________.
Commission file number: 001-41280
VS Trust
(Exact name of registrant as specified in
its charter)
Delaware 84-6704517
(State or other jurisdiction of (I.R.S. Employer
incorporation or organization) Identification No.)
c/o Volatility Shares LLC
2000 PGA Boulevard , Suite 4440
Palm Beach Gardens , FL 33408
(Address of principal executive offices) (Zip
Code)
(866) 261-0273
(Registrant’s telephone number, including
area code)
Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b)
of the Act:
Title of each class
Trading Symbol(s)
Name of each exchange on which registered
-1x Short VIX Futures ETF SVIX Cboe BZX Exchange
2x Long VIX Futures ETF UVIX Cboe BZX Exchange
Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g)
of the Act: None
Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer,
as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act. ☐ Yes ☒
No
Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports
pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Act. ☐
Yes ☒ No
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. ☒ 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). ☒ Yes ☐
No
Indicate by check mark if disclosure of delinquent filers pursuant
to Item 405 of Regulation S-K (§229.405 of this chapter) is not contained herein, and will not be contained, to the best
of registrant’s knowledge, in definitive proxy or information statements incorporated by reference in Part III of this Form 10-K
or any amendment to this Form 10-K. ☒
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated
filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, 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.
Large Accelerated Filer ☐ Accelerated Filer ☐
Non-Accelerated Filer ☐ Smaller Reporting Company ☒
Emerging Growth Company ☒
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. ☒
Indicate
by check mark whether the registrant has filed a report on and attestation to its management’s assessment of the effectiveness
of its internal control over financial reporting under Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (15 U.S.C. 7262(b)) by the registered
public accounting firm that prepared or issued its audit report. ☐
If securities are registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act,
indicate by check mark whether the financial statement of the registrant included in the filing reflect the correction of an error to
previously issued financial statements. ☐
Indicate by check mark whether any of those error corrections are
restatements that required a recovery analysis of incentive-based compensation received by any of the registrant’s executive officers
during the relevant recovery period pursuant to §240.10D-1(b). ☐
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as
defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.). ☐ Yes ☒
No
As of February 28, 2023, the registrant had 7,570,000 shares
of common stock, $0 par value per share, outstanding.
The aggregate market value of each Fund’s units held by non-affiliates
as of June 30, 2022 and the number of outstanding units for each Fund as of February 28, 2023, are included in the table below.
Fund Aggregate Market Value of the Fund's Units Held by Non-Affiliates as of June 30, 2022 Number of Outstanding Units as of February 28, 2023
-1x Short VIX Futures ETF $ 46,889,371 2,890,000
2x Long VIX Futures ETF $ 60,436,455 4,680,000
Total $ 107,325,826
DOCUMENTS
INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE:
None.
THE FINANCIAL STATEMENT SCHEDULES CONTAINED IN
PART IV OF THIS ANNUAL REPORT ON FORM 10-K CONSTITUTE THE ANNUAL REPORT WITH RESPECT TO THE COMMODITY POOLS FOR PURPOSES OF
COMMODITY FUTURES TRADING COMMISSION RULE 4.22(C)
VS Trust
Table of Contents
Page
Part I.
1
Item 1.
Business
1
Item 1A.
Risk Factors
16
Item 1B.
Unresolved Staff Comments
16
Item 2.
Properties
16
Item 3.
Legal Proceedings
16
Item 4.
Mine Safety Disclosures
16
Part II.
17
Item 5.
Market for Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities
17
Item 6.
[Reserved]
17
Item 7.
Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations
17
Item 8.
Financial Statements and Supplementary Data
24
Item 9.
Changes in and Disagreements With Accountants on Accounting and Financial Disclosure
25
Item 9A.
Controls and Procedures
25
Item 9B.
Other Information
26
Item 9C.
Disclosure
Regarding Jurisdictions that Prevent Inspections
26
Part III.
26
Item 10.
Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance
26
Item 11.
Executive Compensation
30
Item 12.
Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related Stockholder Matters
30
Item 13.
Certain Relationships and Related Transactions, and Director Independence
30
Item 14.
Principal Accounting Fees and Services
30
Part IV.
31
Item 15.
Exhibits and Financial Statement Schedules
31
Item 16.
Form 10-K Summary
31
i
Part I.
Item 1. Business.
Summary
VS Trust
(the “Trust”) is a Delaware statutory trust formed on October 24, 2019 and is currently organized into separate series (each,
a “Fund” and collectively, the “Funds”). As of September 30, 2022, the following two series of the Trust have
commenced investment operations: -1x Short VIX Futures ETF (“SVIX”) and 2x Long VIX Futures ETF (“UVIX”). Each
of the Funds listed above issues common units of beneficial interest (“Shares”), which represent units of fractional undivided
beneficial interest in and ownership of only that Fund. The Shares of each Fund are listed on the Cboe BZX Exchange (“Cboe BZX”).
The Funds’
inception of operation was March 28, 2022. Neither the Trust nor the Funds had any operations prior to March 28, 2022, other than matters
relating to its date of organization and the registration of each series under the Securities Act of 1933.
Each Fund’s
investment exposure to VIX futures contracts will cause each to be deemed a commodity pool, thereby subjecting each Fund to regulation
under the Commodity Exchange Act of 1934 (“CEA”) and Commodity Futures Trading Commission (“CFTC”)
rules. The Sponsor is registered as a Commodity Pool Operator (“CPO”) and the Fund will be operated in accordance with applicable
CFTC rules. Registration as a CPO imposes additional compliance obligations on the Sponsor and the Funds related to additional laws, regulations
and enforcement policies, which could increase compliance costs and may affect the operations and financial performance of the Funds.
Volatility
Shares LLC (the “Sponsor”) is the sponsor of the Trust and the Funds. The Sponsor also will serve as the Trust’s commodity
pool operator. The Funds are commodity pools, as defined under the Commodity Exchange Act (the “CEA”), and the applicable
regulations of the CFTC and are operated by the Sponsor, which is registered as a commodity pool operator with the CFTC. The Trust
is not an investment company registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940.
Penserra Capital (the “Commodity Sub-Adviser”)
serves as the Funds’ sub-adviser (the “Commodity Sub-Adviser”) and provides sub-advisory services to each Fund pursuant
to a commodity sub-advisory agreement (the “Commodity Sub-Advisory Agreement”). Prior to November 1, 2022, Milliman FRM served
as the Funds’ commodity sub-adviser.
SVIX seeks daily investment results, before fees
and expenses, that correspond to the performance of the Short VIX Futures Index (the “Short Index”) for a single day, not
for any other period. UVIX seeks daily investment results, before fees and expenses, that correspond to twice the performance of the Long
VIX Futures Index (the “Long Index”). A “single day” is measured from the time a Fund calculates its net asset
value (“NAV”) to the time of the Fund’s next NAV calculation. The NAV calculation time for a Fund typically is 4:00
p.m. (Eastern Time). The Short Index measures the daily inverse (i.e., opposite) performance of a portfolio of first- and second-month
futures contracts on the CBOE Volatility Index, commonly known as the “VIX.” The Long Index measures the performance of a
portfolio of first- and second-month futures contracts on the VIX. Because the Funds’ portfolios are rebalanced daily to meet their
leveraged (or inverse) investment objective, the Funds may not be suitable for investors who plan to hold them for periods longer than
one day, particularly in volatile markets.
The Funds seek to achieve their investment objective
through the appropriate amount of exposure to the VIX futures contracts included in their respective index. The Funds also have the ability
to engage in options transactions, swaps, forward contracts and other instruments in order to achieve their investment objective, in the
manner and to the extent described herein.
SVIX is not benchmarked to the inverse of, and
UVIX is not benchmarked to twice, the widely referenced VIX. The Short Index and the inverse of the VIX are separate measurements and
can be expected to perform very differently. The Long Index and twice the VIX also are separate measurements and can be expected to perform
very differently. As such, SVIX can be expected to perform very differently from the inverse (-1x) of the performance of the VIX over
any period, and UVIX can be expected to perform very differently from twice (2x) of the performance of the VIX over any period. The Funds
continuously offer and redeem Shares in blocks of at least 10,000 Shares (each such block, a “Creation Unit”) at current per
Share market prices. Only Authorized Participants (as defined herein) may purchase and redeem Shares from a Fund and then only in Creation
Units. An Authorized Participant is an entity that has entered into an Authorized Participant Agreement with the Trust and Volatility
Shares LLC (the “Sponsor”). Shares are offered on a continuous basis to Authorized Participants in Creation Units at 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. The form of Authorized Participant Agreement and the related Authorized Participant Procedures Handbook set forth the terms and
conditions under which an Authorized Participant may purchase or redeem a Creation Unit. Authorized Participants will not receive from
a Fund, the Sponsor, or any of their affiliates, any fee or other compensation in connection with their sale of Shares to the public.
An Authorized Participant may receive commissions or fees from investors who purchase Shares through their commission or fee-based brokerage
accounts.
1
The Sponsor maintains a website at www.volatilityshares.com,
through which monthly account statements and the Trust’s Annual Report on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, Current
Reports on Form 8-K and amendments to those reports filed or furnished pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Securities
Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “1934 Act”), can be accessed free of charge, as soon as reasonably practicable after
such material is electronically file with, or furnished to, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”). Additional
information regarding the Trust may also be found on the SEC’s EDGAR database at www.sec.gov.
Investment Objectives and Principal Investment Strategies
Investment Objectives
SVIX
SVIX seeks daily investment results, before fees
and expenses, that correspond to the performance of the Short Index for a single day. The Fund does not seek to achieve its stated
objective over a period greater than a single day. A “single day” is measured from the time the Fund calculates
its NAV to the time of the Fund’s next NAV calculation.
The Index measures the daily inverse performance
of a portfolio of first and second month VIX futures contracts. This theoretical portfolio is rolled each day to maintain a
consistent time to maturity of the futures contracts. The Index is calculated daily at 4:00 p.m. (Eastern time) and at a value calculated
from the average price for the futures contracts between 3:45 p.m. (Eastern time) and 4:00 p.m. (Eastern time). Through this
price averaging process — known as the Time Weighted Average Price (or TWAP). The Short Index inception date was November 22,
2019. Its ticker symbol is: SHORTVOL.
If SVIX is successful in meeting its objective,
its value on a given day, before fees and expenses, should gain approximately as much on a percentage basis as the level of the Short
Index. Conversely, its value on a given day, before fees and expenses, should lose approximately as much on a percentage basis as
the level of the Short Index. Although the Fund seeks to track the performance of the Short Index each day, the Fund may not perfectly
track the Short Index’s performance over the same period, which is known as tracking error.
UVIX
UVIX seeks daily investment results, before fees
and expenses, that correspond to twice (2x) the performance of the Long Index for a single day. The Fund does not seek to achieve
its stated objective over a period greater than a single day. A “single day” is measured from the time the Fund
calculates its NAV to the time of the Fund’s next NAV calculation.
The Long Index measures the daily performance of
a portfolio of long positions in first and second month VIX futures contracts. This theoretical portfolio is rolled each day
to maintain a consistent time to maturity of the futures contracts. The Index is calculated daily at 4:00 p.m. (Eastern time) and
at a value calculated from the average price for the futures contracts between 3:45 p.m. (Eastern time) and 4:00 p.m. (Eastern
time). Through this price averaging process — known as the Time Weighted Average Price (or TWAP). The Long Index inception
date is October 8, 2021. Its ticker symbol is: LONGVOL. If the Fund is successful in meeting its objective, its value on a given day,
before fees and expenses, should gain or lose approximately as much on a percentage basis as twice (2x) the level of the Index. Although
the Fund seeks to track twice (2x) the performance of the Index each day, the Fund may not perfectly achieve its objective over the
same period, which is known as tracking error. For more information, see Correlation Risk on page 10.
The Fund is not designed to meet its investment
objective over periods longer than one day. Notwithstanding, the table below shows a performance example of the how compounding impacts
a 2x daily rebalanced investment referencing an index over periods longer than one day. Areas shaded lighter represent those scenarios
where a hypothetical fund that seeks 2x daily returns of an index will return the same or outperform (i.e., return more than) 2x of the
index performance; conversely, areas shaded darker represent those scenarios where the hypothetical fund will underperform (i.e., return
less than) 2x of the index performance.
2
Principal Investment Strategies
In seeking to achieve each Fund’s investment
objective, the Commodity Sub-Adviser uses a mathematical approach to investing. Using this approach, the Commodity Sub-Adviser determines
the type, quantity and mix of investment positions that it believes, in combination, should produce daily returns consistent with each
Fund’s objective.
Each Fund intends to meet its investment objective
by investing all or substantially all of its assets in positions in first and second month VIX futures contracts, though it may invest
in any one of, or combinations of, Financial Instruments (e.g., futures contracts, options contracts and swap transactions), such that
a Fund typically has exposure intended to approximate the Index at the time of its NAV calculation. Under normal market conditions, SVIX’s
portfolio will comprise short positions, and UVIX’s portfolio will comprise long positions, on first- and second-month VIX
futures contracts. The number and type of these contracts will naturally change day-to-day as each Fund takes a daily rolling position
in such contracts.
In the event that accountability rules, price limits,
position limits, margin limits or other exposure limits are reached with respect to VIX futures contracts, the Sponsor may cause
a Fund to obtain exposure to the Index through the use of options contracts or swap transactions referencing the VIX futures contracts.
Each Fund may also invest in swaps if the market for a specific futures contract experiences emergencies ( e.g. , natural disaster,
terrorist attack or an act of God) or disruptions ( e.g. , a trading halt or a flash crash) or in situations where the Sponsor deems
it impractical or inadvisable to buy or sell futures contracts (such as during periods of market volatility or illiquidity).
Each Fund also may hold cash or cash equivalents
such as U.S. Treasury securities or other high credit quality, short-term fixed-income or similar securities (such as shares of money
market funds) as collateral for Financial Instruments and pending investment in Financial Instruments.
Neither Fund is actively managed by traditional
methods ( e.g., by effecting changes in the composition of a portfolio on the basis of judgments relating to economic, financial
and market conditions with a view toward obtaining positive results under all market conditions). Each Fund seeks to remain fully invested
at all times in Financial Instruments and money market instruments that, in combination, provide exposure to the Index consistent with
its investment objective without regard to market conditions, trends or direction.
Each Fund seeks to position its portfolio so that
its exposure to its Benchmark is consistent with its investment objective. The time and manner in which the Fund rebalances its portfolio
is defined by the Index methodology but may vary from day to day depending upon market conditions and other circumstances, deemed at
the discretion of the Commodity Sub-Adviser, beneficial at tracking the Benchmark, or beneficial to the Fund holders.
The amount of exposure a Fund has to a specific
combination of Financial Instruments may differ and may be changed without shareholder approval at any given time. Currently, SVIX seeks
to be, under normal market conditions and absent any unforeseen circumstances, fully exposed to short positions in short-term VIX
futures contracts, and UVIX seeks to be, under normal market conditions and absent any unforeseen circumstances, fully exposed to long
positions in short-term VIX futures contracts. To the extent that any options or swap transaction entered into by a Fund are believed
by the Fund to be “securities” under the Investment Company Act of 1940, the Fund will limit its investments in
such transactions so that such investments, in combination, will not exceed 40 percent of the Fund’s assets (other than cash and
government securities) and thereby avoid potentially being deemed an unregistered investment company.”
The amount of a Fund’s exposure should be
expected to change from time to time at the discretion of the Sponsor based on market conditions and other factors.
In addition, the Sponsor has the power to change
the Fund’s investment objective, Benchmark or investment strategy at any time, without shareholder approval, subject to applicable
regulatory requirements.
Mitigating Price Impacts to VIX Futures
Contract Prices at Times of Fund Rebalancing
The Sponsor will seek to minimize the market impact
of rebalances across all exchange traded products based on VIX Futures Contracts that it sponsors (the “VIX ETPs”) on
the price of VIX futures contracts by limiting VIX ETP participation, on any given day, in VIX futures contracts to
no more than ten percent (10%) of the contracts traded on Cboe Futures Exchange, Inc. (“CFE”) during any “Rebalance
Period,” defined as any fifteen minute period of continuous market trading. In the event that any VIX ETP (including each Fund)
expects to hit the ten percent threshold during the primary Rebalance Period from 3:45 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. (Eastern time), the VIX
ETPs would extend participation during periods of market illiquidity, the Sponsor, on any given day, may vary the manner and period
over which all funds it sponsors are rebalanced, and as such, the manner and period over which a Fund is rebalanced.
3
The Short Index
The Short Index measures the daily inverse performance
of a portfolio of first and second month VIX futures contracts. This theoretical portfolio is rolled each day to maintain a
consistent time to maturity of the futures contracts.
The Short Index is calculated daily at 4:00 p.m.
(Eastern time) from the average price of the VIX futures contracts between 3:45 p.m. and 4:00 p.m. (Eastern time).
The Short Index has an inception date of November 22,
2019.
The Long Index
The Long Index measures the daily performance of
long positions in a portfolio of first and second month VIX futures contracts. This theoretical portfolio is rolled each day
to maintain a consistent time to maturity of the futures contracts.
The Long Index is calculated daily at 4:00 p.m.
(Eastern time) from the average price of the VIX futures contracts between 3:45 p.m. and 4:00 p.m. (Eastern time).
The Long Index has an inception date of October 8,
2021.
VIX Futures Contracts
Each Index is comprised of VIX futures contracts. VIX
futures contracts were first launched for trading by the CBOE in 2004. VIX futures contracts allow investors to invest based on their
view of the forward implied market volatility of the S&P 500. Investors that believe the forward implied market volatility of the
S&P 500 will increase may buy VIX futures contracts. Conversely, investors that believe that the forward implied market volatility
of the S&P 500 will decline may sell VIX futures contracts.
While the VIX represents a measure of the
current expected volatility of the S&P 500 over the next 30 days, the prices of VIX futures contracts are based on the current
expectation of the expected 30-day volatility of the S&P 500 on the expiration date of the futures contract. Since the VIX and VIX
futures contracts are two distinctly different measures, the VIX and VIX futures contracts generally behave quite differently.
An important consequence of the spot/forward
relationship between the VIX and VIX futures contracts (and therefore between the VIX and A Fund) that investors should
understand is that the price of a VIX futures contract can be lower, equal to or higher than the VIX, depending on whether the
market expects volatility to be lower, equal to or higher in the 30-day forward period covered by the VIX futures contract than in
the 30-day spot period covered by the VIX. Therefore the performance of VIX Futures contracts should be expected to be
very different than the performance of the VIX as there is no direct relationship between the two measures. As a result, since the
performance of a Fund is linked to the performance of the VIX futures contracts included in the Index, a Fund should be expected
to perform very differently from the VIX (or -1x or 2x thereof).
The VIX
The VIX is an index designed to measure the
implied volatility of the S&P 500 over 30 days in the future. The VIX is calculated based on the prices of certain put and
call options on the S&P 500. The VIX is reflective of the premium paid by investors for certain options linked to the level of
the S&P 500.
● During periods of rising investor uncertainty, including
periods of market instability, the implied level of volatility of the S&P 500 typically increases and, consequently, the prices of
options linked to the S&P 500 typically increase (assuming all other relevant factors remain constant or have negligible changes).
This, in turn, causes the level of the VIX to increase.
● During periods of declining investor uncertainty, the implied
level of volatility of the S&P 500 typically decreases and, consequently, the prices of options linked to the S&P 500 typically
decrease (assuming all other relevant factors remain constant or have negligible changes). This, in turn, causes the level of the VIX
to decrease.
4
Volatility, and the level of the VIX, can
increase (or decrease) without warning. The VIX was developed by the CBOE and is calculated, maintained and published by the CBOE. The
CBOE may change the methodology used to determine the VIX and has no obligation to continue to publish, and may discontinue the publication
of, the VIX. The VIX is reported by Bloomberg Finance L.P. under the ticker symbol “VIX.”
The S&P 500
The S&P 500 is an index that measures large-cap
U.S. stock market performance. It is a float-adjusted market capitalization weighted index of 500 U.S. operating companies and
real estate investment trusts selected by the S&P U.S. Index Committee through a non-mechanical process that factors in criteria
such as liquidity, price, market capitalization and financial viability. Reconstitution occurs both on a quarterly and ongoing basis.
S&P publishes the S&P 500. The daily calculation of the current value of the S&P 500 is based on the relative value of the
aggregate market value of the common stocks of 500 companies as of a particular time compared to the aggregate average initial market
value of the common stocks of 500 similar companies at the time of the inception of the S&P 500. The 500 companies are not the 500
largest publicly traded companies and not all 500 companies are listed on the Exchange. S&P chooses companies for inclusion in the
S&P 500 with the objective of achieving a distribution by broad industry groupings that approximates the distribution of these groupings
in the common stock population of the U.S. equity market. S&P may from time to time, in its sole discretion, add companies to,
or delete companies from, the S&P 500 to achieve the objectives stated above. Relevant criteria employed by S&P include the viability
of the particular company, the extent to which that company represents the industry group to which it is assigned, the extent to which
the company’s common stock is widely held and the market value and trading activity of the common stock of that company.
Information about the Index Provider
EACH FUND IS NOT SPONSORED, ENDORSED, SOLD OR PROMOTED
BY S&P AND ITS AFFILIATES OR CBOE. S&P AND CBOE MAKE NO REPRESENTATION, CONDITION OR WARRANTY, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, TO THE
OWNERS OF A FUND OR ANY MEMBER OF THE PUBLIC REGARDING THE ADVISABILITY OF INVESTING IN SECURITIES GENERALLY OR IN THE FUND PARTICULARLY
OR THE ABILITY OF THE INDEX TO TRACK MARKET PERFORMANCE AND/OR OF GROUPS OF ASSETS OR ASSET CLASSES AND/OR TO ACHIEVE ITS STATED OBJECTIVE
AND/OR TO FORM THE BASIS OF A SUCCESSFUL INVESTMENT STRATEGY, AS APPLICABLE. S&P’S AND CBOE’S ONLY RELATIONSHIP TO
VS TRUST ON BEHALF OF ITS APPLICABLE SERIES AND VOLATILITY SHARES LLC IS THE LICENSING OF CERTAIN TRADEMARKS AND TRADE NAMES AND OF EACH
INDEX WHICH ARE DETERMINED, COMPOSED AND CALCULATED BY S&P AND CBOE WITHOUT REGARD TO VS TRUST ON BEHALF OF ITS APPLICABLE SERIES
AND VOLATILITY SHARES LLC OR THE FUNDS. S&P AND CBOE HAVE NO OBLIGATION TO TAKE THE NEEDS OF VS TRUST ON BEHALF OF ITS APPLICABLE
SERIES AND VOLATILITY SHARES LLC OR THE OWNERS OF THE FUNDS INTO CONSIDERATION IN DETERMINING, COMPOSING OR CALCULATING THE INDEX. S&P
AND CBOE ARE NOT ADVISORS TO THE FUNDS AND ARE NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR AND HAVE NOT PARTICIPATED IN THE DETERMINATION OF THE PRICES AND AMOUNT
OF THE FUNDS OR THE TIMING OF THE ISSUANCE OR SALE OF A FUND OR IN THE DETERMINATION OR CALCULATION OF THE EQUATION BY WHICH FUND SHARES
ARE TO BE CONVERTED INTO CASH. S&P AND CBOE HAVE NO OBLIGATION OR LIABILITY IN CONNECTION WITH THE ADMINISTRATION, MARKETING,
OR TRADING OF THE FUNDS.
NEITHER S&P, ITS AFFILIATES NOR THIRD PARTY
LICENSORS, INCLUDING CBOE, GUARANTEES THE ACCURACY AND/OR THE COMPLETENESS OF AN INDEX OR ANY DATA INCLUDED THEREIN AND S&P, ITS AFFILIATES
AND THEIR THIRD PARTY LICENSORS, INCLUDING CBOE, SHALL HAVE NO LIABILITY FOR ANY ERRORS, OMISSIONS, OR INTERRUPTIONS THEREIN. S&P
AND CBOE MAKE NO WARRANTY, CONDITION OR REPRESENTATION, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, AS TO RESULTS TO BE OBTAINED BY VS TRUST ON BEHALF OF ITS
APPLICABLE SERIES AND VOLATILITY SHARES LLC, SHAREHOLDERS OF THE FUNDS, OR ANY OTHER PERSON OR ENTITY FROM THE USE OF AN INDEX OR ANY
DATA INCLUDED THEREIN. S&P AND CBOE MAKE NO EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, REPRESENTATIONS OR CONDITIONS, AND EXPRESSLY DISCLAIM
ALL WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE OR USE AND ANY OTHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTY OR
CONDITION WITH RESPECT TO THE INDEX OR ANY DATA INCLUDED THEREIN. WITHOUT LIMITING ANY OF THE FOREGOING, IN NO EVENT SHALL S&P,
ITS AFFILIATES OR THEIR THIRD PARTY LICENSORS, INCLUDING CBOE, HAVE ANY LIABILITY FOR ANY SPECIAL, PUNITIVE, INDIRECT, OR CONSEQUENTIAL
DAMAGES (INCLUDING LOST PROFITS) RESULTING FROM THE USE OF THE INDEX OR ANY DATA INCLUDED THEREIN, EVEN IF NOTIFIED OF THE POSSIBILITY
OF SUCH DAMAGES.
5
Information about Financial Instruments and Commodities Markets
Futures Contracts
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. A 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 clearinghouse
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 a Fund to deposit collateral in excess of the clearing
house’s margin requirements for the FCM’s own protection.
Certain futures contracts, including stock index
contracts, VIX futures contracts and certain commodity 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 and exchange fees, 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 a Fund agrees
to pay to or receive from FCMs equal to the daily fluctuation in the value of a futures contract. Additional risks associated with the
use of futures contracts are imperfect correlation between movements in the price of the futures contracts and the level of the underlying
benchmark and the possibility of an illiquid market for a futures contract. With futures contracts, there is minimal but some counterparty
risk to a Fund since futures contracts are exchange traded and the exchange’s clearing house, 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 a Fund to substantial losses. If trading is not possible or if a 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.
Futures Account Agreements
Each Fund has entered into a written agreement
(each, a “Futures Account Agreement”) with one or more FCMs governing the terms of futures transactions of a Fund cleared
by such FCM. Each FCM has its own agreement and other documentation used for establishing customer relationships. As such, the terms
of the Futures Account Agreement and other documentation that a Fund has with a particular FCM may differ in material respects from that
with another FCM.
Most Futures Account Agreements do not require
the FCM to enter into new transactions or maintain existing transactions with a Fund. In general, each FCM is permitted to terminate its
agreement with a Fund at any time in its sole discretion. In addition, an FCM generally will have the discretion to set margin requirements
and/or position limits that would be in addition to any margin requirements and/or position limits required by applicable law, set by
the exchange, or set by the clearing house that clears the futures contracts in which a Fund transacts. As a result, a Fund’s ability
to engage in futures transactions or maintain open positions in such contracts will be dependent on the willingness of its FCMs to continue
to accept or maintain such transactions on terms that are economically appropriate for a Fund’s investment strategy.
When a Fund has an open futures contract position,
it is subject to at least daily variation margin calls by an FCM that could be substantial in the event of adverse price movements. Because
futures contracts may require only a small initial investment in the form of a deposit or margin, they may involve a high degree of leverage.
A Fund with open positions is subject to maintenance or variance margin on its open positions. If a Fund has insufficient cash to meet
daily variation margin requirements, it may need to sell Financial Instruments 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 a Fund’s NAV.
6
Margin posted by a Fund to an FCM typically will
be held by relevant exchange’s clearing house (in the case of clearing house-required margin) or the FCM (in the case of “house”
margin requirements of the FCM). In the event that market movements favorable to a Fund result in the Fund having posted more margin than
is required, the Fund typically would have a right to return of margin from the FCM. However, the timing of such return may be uncertain.
As a result, it is possible that a Fund may face liquidity constraints including potential delays in its ability to pay redemption proceeds,
where margin is not immediately returned by an FCM.
In the event that a Fund fails to comply with its
obligations under a Futures Account Agreement (including, for example, failing to deliver the margin required by an FCM on a timely basis),
the Futures Account Agreement typically will provide the FCM with broad discretion to take remedial action against the Fund. Among other
things, the FCM typically will have the right, upon the occurrence of such a failure by a Fund, to terminate any or all futures contracts
in the Fund’s account with that FCM, to sell the collateral posted as margin by the Fund, to close out any open positions of the
Fund in whole or in part, and to cancel any or all pending transactions with the Fund. Futures Account Agreements typically provide that
the Fund will remain liable for paying to the relevant FCM, on demand, the amount of any deficiency in a Fund’s account with that
FCM.
The Futures Account Agreement between the Fund
and an FCM generally requires the Fund to indemnify and hold harmless the FCM, its directors, officers, employees, agents and affiliates
(collectively, “indemnified persons”) from and against all claims, damages, losses and costs (including reasonable attorneys’
fees) incurred by the indemnified persons, in connection with: (1) any failure by the Fund to perform its obligations under the Futures
Account Agreement and the FCM’s exercise of its rights and remedies thereunder; (2) any failure by the Fund to comply with
applicable law; (3) any action reasonably taken by the indemnified persons pursuant to the Futures Account Agreement to comply with
applicable law; and (4) any actions taken by the FCM in reliance on instructions, notices and other communications that the FCM and
its relevant personnel, as applicable, reasonably believes to originate from a person authorized to act on behalf of the Fund.
To the extent that the Fund trades in futures contracts
on U.S. exchanges, the assets deposited by the Fund with the FCMs (or another eligible financial institution, as applicable) as margin
must be segregated pursuant to the regulations of the CFTC. Such segregated funds may be invested only in a limited range of instruments — principally
U.S. government obligations to margin futures and forward contract positions.
Each Fund currently uses each of the following
firms as an FCM: ADM Investor Services, Inc. (“ADMIS”), Advantage Futures LLC (“Advantage”), Marex North
America LLC (“Marex”), StoneX Financial Inc. — FCM, Straits Financial LLC, E D& F Man Capital Markets Inc. and RBC
Capital Markets, LLC (“RBC Capital”). The FCMs used by a Fund may change from time to time. The above discussion relating
to an FCM also would apply to other firms that serve as an FCM to a Fund in the future. Each FCM in its capacity as a registered FCM,
serves as a clearing broker to the Trust and a Fund and certain other funds of the Trust and as such arranges for the execution and clearing
of a Fund’s futures transactions. Each FCM acts as clearing broker for many other funds and individuals. A variety of executing
brokers may execute futures transactions on behalf of the Funds. The executing brokers will give-up all such transactions to an FCM as
applicable. Each FCM is registered as an FCM with the CFTC, is a member of the NFA and a clearing member of the CBOT, CME, NYMEX, or another
major U.S. commodity exchange. No FCM is affiliated with or acts as a supervisor of the Trust, the Funds, the Sponsor, the Commodity
Sub-Adviser, the Trustee, the Administrator, Sub-Administrator, Transfer Agent, or the Custodian. No FCM acts as an underwriter or sponsor
of the offering of the Shares, or has passed upon the merits of participating in this offering or has passed upon the adequacy of this
Prospectus or on the accuracy of the information contained herein. No FCM provides any commodity trading advice regarding a Fund’s
trading activities. Investors should investors should also note that the Sponsor may select additional clearing brokers or replace any
FCM as a Fund’s clearing broker.
Options
An option is a contract that gives the purchaser
of the option, in return for the premium paid, the right to buy an underlying reference instrument, such as a specified security, currency,
index, or other instrument, from the writer of the option (in the case of a call option), or to sell a specified reference instrument
to the writer of the option (in the case of a put option) at a designated price during the term of the option. The premium paid by the
buyer of an option will reflect, among other things, the relationship of the exercise price to the market price and the volatility of
the underlying reference instrument, the remaining term of the option, supply, demand, interest rates and/or currency exchange rates.
An American style put or call option may be exercised at any time during the option period while a European style put or call option may
be exercised only upon expiration or during a fixed period prior thereto. Put and call options are traded on national securities exchanges
and in the OTC market. Options traded on national securities exchanges are within the jurisdiction of the SEC or other appropriate national
securities regulator, as are securities traded on such exchanges. As a result, many of the protections provided to traders on organized
exchanges will be available with respect to such transactions. In particular, all option positions entered into on a national securities
exchange in the United States are cleared and guaranteed by the Options Clearing Corporation, thereby reducing the risk of counterparty
default. Furthermore, a liquid secondary market in options traded on a national securities exchange may be more readily available than
in the OTC market, potentially permitting a Fund to liquidate open positions at a profit prior to exercise or expiration, or to limit
losses in the event of adverse market movements. There is no assurance, however, that higher than anticipated trading activity or other
unforeseen events might not temporarily render the capabilities of the Options Clearing Corporation inadequate, and thereby result in
the exchange instituting special procedures which may interfere with the timely execution of a Fund’s orders to close out open options
positions.
7
Swap Agreements
Swaps are contracts that have traditionally been
entered into primarily by institutional investors in OTC markets for a specified period ranging from a day to many years. Certain
types of swaps may be cleared, and certain types are, in fact, required to be cleared. The types of swaps that may be cleared are generally
limited to only swaps where the most liquidity exists and a clearing organization is willing to clear the trade on standardized terms.
Swaps with customized terms or those for which significant market liquidity does not exist are generally not able to be cleared.
In a standard swap transaction, the parties agree
to exchange the returns on, among other things, a particular predetermined security, commodity, interest rate, or index for a fixed or
floating rate of return (the “interest rate leg,” which will also include the cost of borrowing for short swaps) in respect
of a predetermined notional amount. The notional amount of the swap reflects the extent of a Fund’s total investment exposure under
the swap.
In the case of futures contracts-based indexes,
such as those used by a Fund, the reference interest rate typically is zero, although a financing spread or fee is generally still applied.
Transaction or commission costs are reflected in the benchmark level at which the transaction is entered into. The gross returns to be
exchanged are calculated with respect to the notional amount and the benchmark returns to which the swap is linked. Swaps are usually
closed out on a net basis, i.e. , the two payment streams are netted out in a cash settlement on the payment date specified in the
agreement, with the parties receiving or paying, as the case may be, only the net amount of the two payments. Thus, while the notional
amount reflects a Fund’s total investment exposure under the swap ( i.e. , the entire face amount or principal of a swap),
the net amount is the Fund’s current obligations (or rights) under the swap. That is the amount to be paid or received under the
agreement based on the relative values of the positions held by each party to the agreement on any given termination date.
Swaps may also expose a Fund to liquidity risk.
Although a Fund may have the ability to terminate a swap at any time, doing so may subject the Fund to certain early termination charges.
In addition, there may not be a liquid market within which to dispose of an outstanding swap even if a permitted disposal might avoid
an early termination charge. Uncleared swaps generally are not assignable except by agreement between the parties to the swap, and generally
no party or purchaser has any obligation to permit such assignments.
Swaps involve, to varying degrees, elements of
market risk and exposure to loss in excess of the amount which would be reflected on a Fund’s Statement of Financial Condition.
In addition to market risk and other risks, the use of swaps also comes with counterparty credit risk — i.e. , the
inability of a counterparty to a swap to perform its obligations. A Fund that invests in swaps bears the risk of loss of the net amount,
if any, expected to be received under a swap agreement in the event of the default or bankruptcy of a swap counterparty. A Fund enters
or intends to enter into swaps only with major, global financial institutions. However, there are no limitations on the percentage of
its assets a Fund may invest in swaps with a particular counterparty.
A Fund that invests in swaps may use various techniques
to minimize counterparty credit risk. A Fund that invests in swaps generally enters into arrangements with its counterparties whereby
both sides exchange collateral on a mark-to-market basis. In addition, the Fund may post “initial margin” or “independent
amount” to counterparties in swaps. Such collateral serves as protection for the counterparty in the event of a failure by the Fund
and is in addition to any mark-to-market collateral that ( i.e. , the Fund may post initial margin to the counterparty even where
the counterparty would owe money to the Fund if the swap were to be terminated). The amount of initial margin posted by the Fund may vary
depending on the risk profile of the swap. The collateral, whether for mark-to-market or for initial margin, generally consists of cash
and/or securities.
Collateral posted by a Fund to a counterparty in
connection with uncleared derivatives transactions is generally held for the benefit of the counterparty in a segregated tri-party account
at a third-party custodian to protect the counterparty against non-payment by the Fund. In the event of a default by a Fund where the
counterparty is owed money in the uncleared swap transaction, such counterparty will seek withdrawal of this collateral from the segregated
account.
8
Collateral posted by the counterparty to a Fund
is typically held for the benefit of the Fund in a segregated tri-party account at a third-party custodian. In the event of a default
by the counterparty where the Fund is owed money in the uncleared swap transaction, the Fund will seek withdrawal of this collateral from
the segregated account. The Fund may incur certain costs exercising its right with respect to the collateral.
Notwithstanding the use of collateral arrangements,
to the extent any collateral provided to a Fund is insufficient or there are delays in accessing the collateral, a Fund will be exposed
to counterparty risk as described above, including possible delays in recovering amounts as a result of bankruptcy proceedings.
Money Market Instruments
Money market instruments are short-term debt instruments
that have a remaining maturity of 397 days or less and exhibit high quality credit profiles. Money market instruments may include
U.S. government securities, securities issued by governments of other developed countries and repurchase agreements.
U.S. Derivatives Exchanges
Derivatives exchanges, including swap execution
facilities that are required under the Dodd-Frank Act, provide centralized market facilities for trading derivatives in which multiple
persons have the ability to execute or trade contracts by accepting bids and offers from multiple participants. Members of, and trades
executed on, a particular exchange are subject to the rules of that exchange. Among the principal exchanges in the United States
are the CBOE (which includes the CBOE Futures Exchange (the “CFE”)), the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (“CME”) (which
includes, among others, the Chicago Board of Trade (“CBOT”) and the New York Mercantile Exchange (the “NYMEX”)
and the Intercontinental Exchange (“ICE”)).
Each derivatives exchange in the United States
has an associated “clearing house.” Clearing houses provide services designed to transfer credit risk and ensure the integrity
of trades. Once trades between members of an exchange have been confirmed and/or cleared, the clearing house becomes substituted for each
buyer and each seller of contracts traded on the exchange and, in effect, becomes the other party to each trader’s open position
in the market. Thereafter, each party to a trade looks only to the clearing house for performance. The clearing house generally establishes
some sort of security or guarantee fund to which all clearing members of the exchange must contribute. This fund acts as an emergency
buffer which is intended to enable the clearing house to meet its obligations with regard to the other side of an insolvent clearing member’s
contracts. Furthermore, clearing houses require margin deposits and continuously mark positions to market to provide some assurance that
their members will be able to fulfil their contractual obligations. Thus, members effecting derivatives transactions on an organized exchange
or clearing an OTC derivatives transaction through a clearing house do not bear the risk of the insolvency of the party on the opposite
side of the trade; their credit risk is limited to the respective solvencies of their commodity broker and the clearing house. The clearing
house “guarantee” of performance on open positions does not run to customers. If a member firm goes bankrupt, customers could
lose money.
If a Fund decides to execute derivatives transactions
through such derivatives exchanges — and especially if it decides to become a direct member of one or more exchanges or
swap execution facilities — the Fund would be subject to the rules of the exchange or swap executive facility, which would
bring additional risks and liabilities, and potential additional regulatory requirements.
Regulations
Derivatives exchanges in the United States
are subject to regulation under the CEA, by the CFTC, the governmental agency having responsibility for regulation of derivatives exchanges
and trading on those exchanges. Following the adoption of the Dodd-Frank Act, the CFTC also has authority to regulate OTC derivatives
markets, including certain OTC foreign exchange markets.
9
The CFTC has exclusive authority to designate exchanges
for the trading of specific futures contracts and to prescribe rules and regulations of the marketing of each. The CFTC also regulates
the activities of “commodity pool operators” and the CFTC has adopted regulations with respect to certain of such persons’
activities. Pursuant to its authority, the CFTC requires a commodity pool operator, such as the Sponsor, to keep accurate, current and
orderly records with respect to each pool it operates. The CFTC may suspend, modify or terminate the registration of any registrant for
failure to comply with CFTC rules or regulations. Suspension, restriction or termination of the Sponsor’s registration as a commodity
pool operator would prevent it, until such time (if any) as such registration were to be reinstated, from managing, and might result in
the termination of the Fund. If the Sponsor were unable to provide services and/or advice to the Fund, the Fund would be unable to pursue
its investment objective unless and until the Sponsor’s ability to provide services and advice to the Fund was reinstated or a replacement
for the Sponsor as commodity pool operator could be found. Such an event could result in termination of the Fund.
The CEA requires all FCMs to meet and maintain
specified fitness and financial requirements, segregate customer funds from proprietary funds and account separately for all customers’
funds and positions, and to maintain specified books and records open to inspection by the staff of the CFTC.
The CEA also gives the states certain powers to
enforce its provisions and the regulations of the CFTC.
Under certain circumstances, the CEA grants shareholders
the right to institute a reparations proceeding before the CFTC against the Sponsor (as a registered commodity pool operator), an FCM,
as well as those of their respective employees who are required to be registered under the CEA. Shareholders may also be able to
maintain a private right of action for certain violations of the CEA.
Pursuant to authority in the CEA, the NFA has been
formed and registered with the CFTC as a registered futures association. At the present time, the NFA is the only self-regulatory organization
for commodities professionals other than exchanges. As such, the NFA promulgates rules governing the conduct of commodity professionals
and disciplines those professionals that do not comply with such standards. The CFTC has delegated to the NFA responsibility for the registration
of commodity pool operators, FCMs, swap dealers, commodity trading advisors, introducing brokers and their respective associated persons
and floor brokers. The Sponsor is a member of the NFA (each Fund itself is not required to become members of the NFA). As an NFA member,
the Sponsor is subject to NFA standards relating to fair trade practices, financial condition, and consumer protection.
The CEA and CFTC regulations prohibit market abuse
and generally require that all futures exchange-based trading be conducted in compliance with rules designed to ensure the integrity of
market prices and without any intent to manipulate prices. CFTC regulations and futures exchange rules also impose limits on the size
of the positions that a person may hold or control as well as standards for aggregating certain positions. The rules of the CFTC and the
futures exchanges also authorize special emergency actions to halt, suspend or limit trading overall or to restrict, halt, suspend or
limit the trading of an individual trader or to otherwise impose special reporting or margin requirements.
Each Fund’s investments in Financial Instruments
will be subject to regulation under the CEA and traded pursuant to CFTC and applicable exchange regulations.
Daily Limits
Most U.S. futures exchanges (but generally
not foreign exchanges or banks or dealers in the cases of swap agreements) limit the amount of fluctuation in some futures contract or
options contract prices during a single day by regulations. These regulations specify what are referred to as “daily price
fluctuation limits” or more commonly “daily limits.” Once the daily limit has been reached in a particular futures contract,
no trades may be made at a price beyond that limit. Currently, CBOE limits daily VIX futures contracts to no more than 50,000 per
entity.
10
Margin
“Initial” or “original”
margin is the minimum dollar amount that a counterparty to a cleared derivatives contract must deposit with its commodity broker in order
to establish an open position. “Maintenance” or “variation” margin is the amount (generally less than initial
margin) to which a trader’s account may decline before he must deliver additional margin so as to maintain open positions. A margin
deposit is like a cash performance bond. It helps assure the futures trader’s performance of the futures contracts he purchases
or sells.
The minimum amount of margin required in connection
with a particular futures contract is set by the exchange on which such contract is traded and is subject to change at any time during
the term of the contract. Futures contracts are customarily bought and sold on margins that represent a percentage of the aggregate purchase
or sales price of the contract.
Brokerage firms may require higher amounts of margin
than exchange minimums. These requirements may change without warning.
Margin requirements are computed each day
or intraday by a commodity broker and the relevant exchange. At the close of each trading day or intraday, each open futures contract
is marked to market, that is, the gain or loss on the position is calculated from the prior day’s close. When the market value
of a particular open futures contract position changes to a point where the margin on deposit does not satisfy maintenance margin requirements,
a margin call is made by the commodity broker. If the margin call is not met within a reasonable time, the broker may close out the customer’s
position.
Creation and Redemption of Shares
Each Fund creates and redeems Shares from time
to time, but only in one or more Creation Units. A Creation Unit is a block of at least 10,000 Shares. Except when aggregated in
Creation Units, the Shares are not redeemable securities.
The manner by which Creation Units are purchased
and redeemed is governed by the terms of the Authorized Participant Agreement and Authorized Participant Procedures Handbook, and all
such procedures are at the discretion of the Sponsor. By placing a purchase order, an Authorized Participant agrees to deposit cash or
Financial Instruments with the Custodian of a Fund (unless as provided otherwise by this Prospectus). Purchases and redemptions made by
Authorized Participants primarily in cash rather than through in-kind delivery of Financial Instruments, if not offset by a transaction
fee (as described below), may cause a Fund to incur certain costs, including brokerage costs or taxable capital gains or losses, that
may decrease the Fund’s net asset value.
If permitted by the Sponsor in its sole discretion
with respect to a Fund, an Authorized Participant may also agree to enter into or arrange for an exchange of a futures contract for related
position (“EFCRP”) or block trade with the Fund whereby the Authorized Participant would also transfer to the Fund a number
and type of exchange-traded futures contracts at or near the closing settlement price for such contracts on the purchase order date. Similarly,
the Sponsor in its sole discretion may agree with an Authorized Participant to use an EFCRP to effect an order to redeem Creation Units.
An EFCRP is a technique permitted by the rules
of certain futures exchanges that, as utilized by a Fund in the Sponsor’s discretion, would allow the Fund to take a position in
a futures contract from an Authorized Participant, or give futures contracts to an Authorized Participant, in the case of a redemption,
rather than to enter the futures exchange markets to obtain such a position. An EFCRP by itself will not change either party’s net
risk position materially. Because the futures position that a Fund would otherwise need to take in order to meet its investment objective
can be obtained without unnecessarily impacting the financial or futures markets or their pricing, EFCRPs can generally be viewed as transactions
beneficial to the Fund. A block trade is a technique that permits a Fund to obtain a futures position without going through the market
auction system and can generally be viewed as a transaction beneficial to the Fund.
Authorized Participants pay a fixed transaction
fee of up to $500 in connection with each order to create or redeem a Creation Unit in order to compensate the Administrator, Sub-Administrator,
the Custodian and the Transfer Agent of a Fund and its Shares, for services in processing the creation and redemption of Creation Units and
to offset the costs of increasing or decreasing derivative positions. Authorized Participants also may pay a variable transaction fee
to the Fund of up to 0.20% of the value of the Creation Unit that is purchased or redeemed unless the transaction fee is waived or otherwise
adjusted by the Sponsor. The Sponsor provides such Authorized Participant with prompt notice in advance of any such waiver or adjustment
of the transaction fee. The Sponsor may waive a fixed or variable transaction fee for any number of reasons, including to maintain similar
costs structures as competitive investment vehicles. Authorized Participants may sell the Shares included in the Creation Units they
purchase from a Fund to other investors.
11
The form of Authorized Participant Agreement and
the related Authorized Participant Procedures Handbook set forth the procedures for the creation and redemption of Creation Units and
for the payment of cash or Financial Instruments required for such creations and redemptions. The Sponsor may delegate its duties and
obligations under the form of Authorized Participant Agreement to the Administrator, Sub-Administrator, the Custodian and the Transfer
Agent without consent from any shareholder or Authorized Participant. The form of Authorized Participant Agreement, the related procedures
attached thereto and the Authorized Participant Procedures Handbook may be amended by the Sponsor without the consent of any shareholder
or Authorized Participant. Authorized Participants who purchase Creation Units from a Fund receive no fees, commissions or other
form of compensation or inducement of any kind from either the Sponsor or the Fund, and no such person has any obligation or responsibility
to the Sponsor or the Fund to effect any sale or resale of Shares.
Each Authorized Participant must be registered
as a broker-dealer under the 1934 Act and regulated by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc. (“FINRA”), or exempt
from being, or otherwise not required to be, so regulated or registered, and must be qualified to act as a broker or dealer in the states
or other jurisdictions where the nature of its business so requires. Certain Authorized Participants may be regulated under federal and
state banking laws and regulations. Each Authorized Participant must have its own set of rules and procedures, internal controls and information
barriers as it determines is appropriate in light of its own regulatory regime.
Authorized Participants may act for their own accounts
or as agents for broker-dealers, custodians and other securities market participants that wish to create or redeem Creation Units.
Persons interested in purchasing Creation Units should
contact the Sponsor or the Administrator to obtain the contact information for the Authorized Participants. Shareholders who are not Authorized
Participants are only able to redeem their Shares through an Authorized Participant.
Pursuant to the Authorized Participant Agreement,
the Sponsor agreed to indemnify the Authorized Participants against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the 1933 Act, and
to contribute to the payments the Authorized Participants may be required to make in respect of those liabilities.
The following description of the procedures for
the creation and redemption of Creation Units is only a summary and an investor should refer to the relevant provisions of the Trust
Agreement and the form of Authorized Participant Agreement for more detail. The Trust Agreement and the form of Authorized Participant
Agreement are filed as exhibits to the Registration Statement of which this Prospectus is a part.
Creation Procedures
On any Business Day, an Authorized Participant
may place an order with the Marketing Agent to create one or more Creation Units.
Purchase orders must be placed by 2:00 p.m.
(Eastern time). The cut-off time may be earlier if, for example, the Exchange or other exchange material to the valuation or operation
of the Fund closes before the cut-off time. If a purchase order is received prior to the applicable cut-off time, the day on which
the Marketing Agent receives a valid purchase order is the purchase order date. If the purchase order is received after the applicable
cut-off time, the purchase order date will be the next Business Day. Purchase orders are irrevocable. By placing a purchase order, and
prior to delivery of such Creation Units, an Authorized Participant’s DTC account will be charged the non-refundable transaction
fee due for the purchase order.
12
Determination of Required Payment
The total payment required to create each Creation
Unit is the value of the Creation Unit on the purchase order date plus the applicable transaction fees.
Delivery of Cash
Cash required for settlement will typically be
transferred to the Custodian through: (1) the Continuous Net Settlement (the “CNS”) clearing process of NSCC, as such
processes have been enhanced to effect creations and redemptions of Creation Units; or (2) the facilities of DTC on a Delivery Versus
Payment (“DVP”) basis, which is the procedure in which the buyer’s payment for securities is due at the time of delivery.
Security delivery and payment are simultaneous. If the Custodian does not receive the cash by the market close on the first Business Day
following the purchase order date (“T+1”), such order may be charged interest for delayed settlement or cancelled. The Sponsor
reserves the right to extend the deadline for the Custodian to receive the cash required for settlement up to the second Business Day
following the purchase order date (“T+2”). In the event a purchase order is cancelled, the Authorized Participant will be
responsible for reimbursing a Fund for all costs associated with cancelling the order including costs for repositioning the portfolio.
At its sole discretion, the Sponsor may agree to a delivery date other than T+2. Additional fees may apply for special settlement. The
Creation Unit will be delivered to the Authorized Participant upon the Custodian’s receipt of the purchase amount.
Delivery of Exchange of Futures Contract for Related Position (“EFCRP”)
Futures Contracts or Block Trades
In the event that the Sponsor shall have determined
to permit the Authorized Participant to transfer futures contracts pursuant to an EFCRP or to engage in a block trade purchase of futures
contracts from the Authorized Participant with respect to a Fund, as well as to deliver cash, in the creation process, futures contracts
required for settlement must be transferred directly to the Fund’s account at its FCM. If the cash is not received by the market
close on the second Business Day following the purchase order date (T+2); such order may be charged interest for delayed settlements or
cancelled. In the event a purchase order is cancelled, the Authorized Participant will be responsible for reimbursing a Fund for all costs
associated with cancelling the order including costs for repositioning the portfolio. At its sole discretion, the Sponsor may agree to
a delivery date other than T+2. The Creation Unit will be delivered to the Authorized Participant upon the Custodian’s receipt of
the cash purchase amount and the futures contracts.
Suspension or Rejection of Purchase Orders
The Sponsor may, in its discretion, suspend the
right to purchase, or postpone the purchase settlement date: (1) for any period during which any of the Exchange, CBOE, CFE, CME
(including CBOT and NYMEX) or ICE or other exchange material to the valuation or operation of a Fund is closed or when trading is suspended
or restricted on such exchanges in any of the underlying VIX futures contracts; (2) for any period during which an emergency
exists as a result of which the fulfilment of a purchase order is not reasonably practicable; or (3) for such other period as the
Sponsor determines to be necessary for the protection of the shareholders. The Sponsor will not be liable to any person or in any way
for any loss or damages that may result from any such suspension or postponement.
The Sponsor also may reject a purchase order if:
● It determines that the purchase order is not in proper form;
● The Sponsor believes that the purchase order would have adverse
tax consequences to the Fund or its shareholders;
● The order would be illegal; or
● Circumstances outside the control of the Sponsor make it,
for all practical purposes, not feasible to process creations of Creation Units.
None of the Sponsor, the Administrator, Sub-Administrator
or the Custodian will be liable for the suspension or rejection of any purchase order.
Redemption Procedures
The procedures by which an Authorized Participant
can redeem one or more Creation Units mirror the procedures for the creation of Creation Units. On any Business Day, an Authorized
Participant may place an order with the Marketing Agent to redeem one or more Creation Units. Redemption orders must be received prior
to 2:00 p.m. (Eastern time), or earlier if, for example, the Exchange or other exchange material to the valuation or operation of
a Fund closes before the cut-off time. If a redemption order is received prior to the applicable cut-off time, the day on which the
Marketing Agent receives a valid redemption order is the redemption order date. If the redemption order is received after the applicable
cut-off time, the redemption order date will be the next day. Redemption orders are irrevocable. Individual shareholders may not
redeem directly from the Fund.
13
By placing a redemption order, an Authorized Participant
agrees to deliver the Creation Units to be redeemed through DTC’s book-entry system to the applicable Fund not later than noon
(Eastern Time), on the first Business Day immediately following the redemption order date (T+1). The Sponsor reserves the right to extend
the deadline for a Fund to receive the Creation Units required for settlement up to the second Business Day following the redemption
order date (T+2). By placing a redemption order, and prior to receipt of the redemption proceeds, an Authorized Participant must wire
to the Custodian the non-refundable transaction fee due for the redemption order or any proceeds due will be reduced by the amount of
the fee payable. At its sole discretion, the Sponsor may agree to a delivery date other than T+2. Additional fees may apply for special
settlement.
Upon request of an Authorized Participant made
at the time of a redemption order, the Sponsor at its sole discretion may determine, in addition to delivering redemption proceeds, to
transfer futures contracts to the Authorized Participant pursuant to an EFCRP or to a block trade sale of futures contracts to the Authorized
Participant.
Determination of Redemption Proceeds
The redemption proceeds from a Fund consist of
the cash redemption amount and, if permitted by the Sponsor in its sole discretion with respect to the Fund, an EFCRP or block trade with
the Fund as described in “— Creation and Redemption of Shares” above. The cash redemption amount is equal
to the NAV of the number of Creation Unit(s) of a Fund requested in the Authorized Participant’s redemption order as of the
time of the calculation of the Fund’s NAV on the redemption order date, less transaction fees and any amounts attributable to any
applicable EFCRP or block trade.
Delivery of Redemption Proceeds
The redemption proceeds due from a Fund are
delivered to the Authorized Participant at noon (Eastern Time), on the second Business Day immediately following the redemption
order date if, by such time on such Business Day immediately following the redemption order date, the Fund’s DTC account has
been credited with the Creation Units to be redeemed. A Fund should be credited through: (1) the CNS clearing process of
NSCC, as such processes have been enhanced to effect creations and redemptions of Creation Units; or (2) the facilities of DTC
on a DVP basis. If a Fund’s DTC account has not been credited with all of the Creation Units to be redeemed by such time,
the redemption distribution is delivered to the extent whole Creation Units are received. Any remainder of the redemption
distribution is delivered on the next Business Day to the extent any remaining whole Creation Units are received if:
(1) the Sponsor receives the fee applicable to the extension of the redemption distribution date which the Sponsor may, from
time to time, determine, and (2) the remaining Creation Units to be redeemed are credited to a Fund’s DTC account by
noon (Eastern Time), on such next Business Day. Any further outstanding amount of the redemption order may be cancelled. The
Authorized Participant will be responsible for reimbursing a Fund for all costs associated with cancelling the order including costs
for repositioning the portfolio.
The Sponsor is also authorized to deliver the redemption
distribution notwithstanding that the Creation Units to be redeemed are not credited to a Fund’s DTC account by noon (Eastern
Time), on the second Business Day immediately following the redemption order date if the Authorized Participant has collateralized its
obligation to deliver the Creation Units through DTC’s book-entry system on such terms as the Sponsor may determine from time
to time.
In the event that the Authorized Participant shall
have requested, and the Sponsor shall have determined to permit the Authorized Participant to receive futures contracts pursuant to an
EFCRP, as well as the cash redemption proceeds, in the redemption process, futures contracts required for settlement shall be transferred
directly from a Fund’s account at its FCM to the account of the Authorized Participant at its FCM.
Suspension or Rejection of Redemption Orders
The Sponsor may, in its discretion, suspend the
right of redemption, or postpone the redemption settlement date, (1) for any period during which any of the Exchange, CBOE, CFE,
CME (including CBOT and NYMEX) or ICE or other exchange material to the valuation or operation of a Fund is closed or when trading is
suspended or restricted on such exchanges in any of the underlying VIX futures contracts; (2) for any period during which an
emergency exists as a result of which the redemption distribution is not reasonably practicable; or (3) for such other period as
the Sponsor determines to be necessary for the protection of the shareholders. The Sponsor will not be liable to any person or in any
way for any loss or damages that may result from any such suspension or postponement.
14
The Sponsor will reject a redemption order if the
order is not in proper form as described in the form of Authorized Participant Agreement or if the fulfilment of the order might be unlawful.
Creation and Redemption Transaction Fee
To compensate Foreside Fund Services, LLC for services
in processing the creation and redemption of Creation Units and to offset some or all of the transaction costs, an Authorized Participant
may be required to pay a fixed transaction fee to Foreside Fund Services, LLC of up to $500 per order to create or redeem Creation Units and
may pay a variable transaction fee to a Fund of up to 0.20% of the value of a Creation Unit. An order may include multiple Creation Units.
The transaction fee(s) may be reduced, increased or otherwise changed by the Sponsor at its sole discretion.
Special Settlement
The Sponsor may allow for early settlement of purchase
or redemption orders. Such arrangements may result in additional charges to the Authorized Participant.
Net Asset Value
The net asset value (“NAV”) in respect
of a Fund means the total assets of the Fund including, but not limited to, all cash and cash equivalents or other debt securities less
total liabilities of the Fund, consistently applied under the accrual method of accounting. In particular, the NAV includes any unrealized
profit or loss on open futures contracts (and Financial Instruments, if any), and any other credit or debit accruing to the Fund but unpaid
or not received by the Fund. The NAV per Share of a Fund is computed by dividing the value of the net assets of the Fund ( i.e. ,
the value of its total assets less total liabilities) by its total number of Shares outstanding. Expenses and fees are accrued daily and
taken into account for purposes of determining the NAV. Each Fund’s NAV is calculated on each day other than a day
when the Exchange is closed for regular trading. Each Fund computes its NAV only once each Business Day as of 4:00 p.m. (Eastern
Time) (the “NAV Calculation Time”) , or an earlier time as set forth on www.volatilityshares.com. For example, a
Fund may calculate its NAV as of an earlier time if the Exchange or other exchange material to the valuation or operation of the Fund
closes early. The Funds’ website at www.volatilityshares.com will display the end of day closing Index level, and NAV
per Share for the Fund. The Fund will provide daily website disclosure, prior to market opening, of the Funds’ portfolio holdings.
This website disclosure of the portfolio composition of the Fund will occur at the same time as the disclosure by the Fund of the portfolio
composition to Authorized Participants so that all market participants are provided portfolio composition information at the same time.
In calculating the NAV of a Fund, the VIX
futures contracts are valued using the Time Weighted Average Price (TWAP) of the futures during the last 15 minutes of NYSE’s regular
trading session, rather than solely from the VIX futures’ settlement price. The value of a Fund’s non-exchange-traded
Financial Instruments typically is determined by applying the then-current disseminated levels for the Index to the terms of the Fund’s
non-exchange-traded Financial Instruments.
In certain circumstances ( e.g. , if the Sponsor
believes market quotations do not accurately reflect the fair value of a Fund’s investment, or a trading halt closes an exchange
or market early), the Sponsor may, in its sole discretion, choose to determine a fair value price as the basis for determining the market
value of such investment for such day. Such fair value prices would generally be determined based on available inputs about the current
value of the underlying VIX futures contract and would be based on principles that the Sponsor deems fair and equitable.
The Funds may use a variety of money market instruments.
Money market instruments generally will be valued using market prices or at amortized cost.
Indicative Optimized Portfolio Value (“IOPV”)
The IOPV, which is also known as the intraday indicative
value or IIV, is an indicator of the value of a Fund’s net assets at the time the IOPV is disseminated. The IOPV is calculated
and disseminated every 15 seconds during a normal Business Day. A Business Day is defined as a day the United States equity
markets are open for trading on the NYSE. The IOPV may cease calculating at an earlier time if the Exchange or other information
material to the valuation or operation of a Fund closes early. The IOPV is generally calculated using the prior day’s closing
net assets of a Fund as a base and updating throughout the Business Day changes in the value of the Financial Instruments held by the
Fund. The IOPV should not be viewed as an actual real time update of the NAV because NAV is calculated only once at the end of each Business
Day. The IOPV also should not be viewed as a precise value of the Shares. Because the market price per Share may differ from the IOPV,
the price at which an investor may be able to sell Shares at any time, and especially in times of market volatility, may be significantly
less than the IOPV at the time of sale. Neither a Fund nor the Sponsor is liable for any errors in the calculation of the IOPV or any
failure to disseminate IOPV.
15
The Exchange disseminates the IOPV. In addition,
the IOPV is published on the Exchange’s website and is available through on-line information services such as Bloomberg Finance
L.P. and/or Reuters.
Fees and Expenses
Management Fee
SVIX pays the Sponsor a management fee (the “Management
Fee”), monthly in arrears, in an amount equal to 1.35 % per annum of its average daily net assets. UVIX pays the Sponsor a
Management Fee, monthly in arrears, in an amount equal to 1.65 % per annum of its average daily net assets. “Average daily
net assets” is calculated by dividing the month-end net assets of each Fund by the number of calendar days in such month.
No other Management Fee is paid by the Funds. The
Management Fee is paid in consideration of the Sponsor’s trading advisory services and the other services provided to the Fund that
the Sponsor pays directly.
Licensing and Index Calculation Fee
Each Fund pays CBOE a fee to calculate and maintain
the Index. Each Fund pays S&P a fee for the futures data that is based on the VIX and the use of third party licensor trademarks.
Recurring and Non-Recurring Fees and Expenses
Each Fund pays all of its fees and expenses, including
recurring, non-recurring, routine and unusual fees and expenses.
Selling Commission
Retail investors may purchase and sell Shares through
traditional brokerage accounts. Investors are expected to be charged a customary commission by their brokers in connection with purchases
of Shares that will vary from investor to investor. Investors are encouraged to review the terms of their brokerage accounts for applicable
charges. The price at which an Authorized Participant sells a Share may be higher or lower than the price paid by such Authorized Participant
in connection with the creation of such Share in a Creation Unit.
Brokerage Commissions and Fees
Each Fund pays all of its respective brokerage commissions,
including applicable exchange fees, NFA fees and give-up fees, pit brokerage fees and other transaction related fees and expenses charged
in connection with trading activities for the Fund’s investments in CFTC regulated investments. On average, total charges paid to
FCMs are expected to be less than $7.00 per round-turn trade, although brokerage commissions and trading fees are determined on a contract-by-contract
basis. Each Fund bears other transaction costs including the effects of trading spreads and financing costs/fees, if any, associated with
the use of Financial Instruments, and costs relating to the purchase of U.S. Treasury securities or similar high credit quality short-term
fixed-income or similar securities (such as shares of money market funds).
Employees
The Trust has no employees.
Item 1A. Risk Factors.
As a smaller reporting company, the Trust is not required to provide
the information required by this item.
Item 1B. Unresolved Staff Comments.
None.
Item 2. Properties.
Not applicable.
Item 3. Legal Proceedings.
None
Item 4. Mine Safety Disclosures.
Not applicable.
16
Part II.
Item 5. Market for Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Stockholder
Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities.
a) The Shares of each Fund that has commenced investment operations are listed in the accompanying table. The dates the Shares of each
Fund began trading, their symbols and their primary listing exchange are indicated below:
Fund
Commencement of Operations
Ticker Symbol
Name of each exchange on which
registered
-1x Short VIX Futures ETF
28-Mar-22
SVIX
Cboe BZX Exchange
2x Long VIX Futures ETF
28-Mar-22
UVIX
Cboe BZX Exchange
The approximate number of holders of the Shares of each Fund as of
December 31, 2022 was as follows:
Fund
Number of Holders
-1x Short VIX Futures ETF
3,170,000
2x Long VIX Futures ETF
21,450,000
Combined Trust:
24,620,000
The Funds made no distributions to Shareholders during the fiscal year
ended December 31, 2022. The Funds have no obligation to make periodic distributions to Shareholders.
b) Not applicable.
Title of Securities Registered
Amount
Registered as of December 31,
2022
Shares Sold For the Three
Months Ended December 31, 2022
Sale Price of Shares Sold For the Three
Months Ended December 31, 2022
Shares Sold For the Year
Ended December 31, 2022
Sale Price of Shares Sold For the Year Ended December 31, 2022
-1x Short VIX Futures ETF
Common Units of Beneficial Interest
An indeterminant amount of securities
1,720,000
$ 20,649,395
16,980,000
$ 189,786,132
2x Long VIX Futures ETF
Common Units of Beneficial Interest
An indeterminant amount of securities
17,830,000
146,749,592
36,390,000
399,696,269
c) From October 1, 2022 through December 31, 2022, the number of Shares redeemed and average price per Share for each Fund
were as follows:
Fund
Total Number of Shares
Redeemed
Average Price
Per Share
-1x Short VIX Futures ETF
10/01/22 to 10/31/22
(1,700,000 )
$ 11.48
11/01/22 to 11/30/22
(1,280,000 )
12.66
12/01/22 to 12/31/22
(950,000 )
14.47
2x Long VIX Futures ETF
10/01/22 to 10/31/22
(1,790,000 )
13.01
11/01/22 to 11/30/22
(250,000 )
8.82
12/01/22 to 12/31/22
(1,100,000 )
6.51
Item 6. [Reserved].
Item 7. 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 Annual Report on Form 10-K. 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,
the Commodity Sub-Adviser, the Trustee, 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, the Commodity Sub-Adviser, the Trustee,
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.
17
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
Funds’ control. The Funds’ forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future results and conditions and important factors,
risks and uncertainties in the markets for financial instruments that the Funds trade, in the markets for related physical commodities,
in the legal and regulatory regimes applicable to the Sponsor, the Funds, and the Funds’ service providers, and in the broader economy
may cause the Funds’ actual results to differ materially from those expressed in forward-looking statements.
Liquidity and Capital Resources
In order to collateralize derivatives positions, a portion of the NAV
of each 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). 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 each Fund varies from period to period as the market values of the underlying swaps, futures
contracts and forward contracts change. During the year ended December 31, 2022, each of the Funds earned total income
as follows:
Fund
Total Income
Year Ended
December 31,
2022
-1x Short VIX Futures ETF
$ 134,777
2x Long VIX Futures ETF
306,187
Each Fund’s underlying swaps, futures, options,
forward contracts and foreign currency forward contracts, as applicable, may be subject to periods of illiquidity because of market conditions,
regulatory considerations and other reasons. For example, swaps and forward contracts are not traded on an exchange, do not have uniform
terms and conditions, and in general are not transferable without the consent of the counterparty. In the case of futures contracts, 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 a Fund from promptly liquidating its futures positions.
In addition, the Sponsor will seek to minimize
the market impact of rebalances across all exchange traded products based on VIX futures contracts (“VIX ETPs”) that
it sponsors on the price of VIX futures contracts by limiting the Funds’ participation, on any given day, in VIX
futures contracts to no more than 10% of the VIX futures contracts traded on Cboe Futures Exchange, Inc. (“CFE”) during
any “Rebalance Period,” defined as any fifteen minute period of continuous market trading. To limit participation during periods
of market illiquidity, the Sponsor, on any given day, may vary the manner and period over which all VIX ETPs it sponsors are
rebalanced, and as such, the manner and period over which the Funds are rebalanced. The Sponsor believes that a Fund will enter an extended
rebalance period most often during periods of extraordinary market conditions or illiquidity in VIX futures contracts. In the event
that the Fund participates in an extended rebalance period, the Fund represents that it will notify the Exchange and the SEC of such participation
as soon as practicable, but no later than 9:00 a.m. ET on the trading day following the event.
Entry into swap agreements or forward contracts
may further impact liquidity because these contractual agreements are executed “off-exchange” between private parties and,
therefore, the time required to offset or “unwind” these positions may be greater than that for exchange-traded instruments.
This potential delay could be exacerbated to the extent a counterparty is not a United States person.
The large size of the positions in which a Fund
may acquire increases the risk of illiquidity by both making their 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 Funds will typically
invest in Financial Investments related to one benchmark, which in many cases is highly concentrated.
Because each Fund may enter into swaps and 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).
18
Market Risk
Trading in derivatives contracts involves each
Fund entering into contractual commitments to purchase or sell a commodity, currency or spot volatility product underlying such Fund’s
benchmark at a specified date and price, should it hold such derivative contract into the deliverable period. Should a 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 7A. Quantitative
and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk” in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
Credit Risk
When a Fund enters into swap agreements, futures
contracts or forward 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.
Certain swap and forward agreements are contracted
for directly with counterparties. There can be no assurance that any counterparty, clearing member or clearing house will meet its obligations
to a Fund.
Swap agreements do not generally involve the delivery
of underlying assets either at the outset of a transaction or upon settlement. Accordingly, if the counterparty to an OTC swap agreement
defaults, the Fund’s risk of loss typically consists of the net amount of payments that the Fund is contractually entitled to receive,
if any. Swap counterparty risk is generally limited to the amount of any unrealized gains, although in the event of a counterparty bankruptcy,
there could be delays and costs associated with the recovery of collateral posted in segregated tri-party accounts at the Fund’s
custodian bank.
Forward agreements do not involve the delivery
of assets at the onset of a transaction, but may be settled physically in the underlying asset if such contracts are held to expiration,
particularly in the case of currency forwards. Thus, prior to settlement, if the counterparty to a forward contract defaults, a Fund’s
risk of loss will generally consist of the net amount of payments that the Fund is contractually entitled to receive, if any. However,
if physically settled forwards are held until expiration (presently, there is no plan to do this), at the time of settlement, a Fund may
be at risk for the full notional value of the forward contracts depending on the type of settlement procedures used.
The Sponsor attempts to minimize certain of these
market and credit risks by normally:
● executing and clearing trades with creditworthy counterparties,
as determined by the Sponsor;
● limiting the outstanding amounts due from counterparties to
the Funds;
● requiring that the counterparty posts collateral in amounts
approximately equal to that owed to the Funds, as marked to
● market daily, subject to certain minimum thresholds;
● limiting the amount of margin or premium posted at a FCM;
and
● ensuring that deliverable contracts are not held to such a
date when delivery of the underlying asset could be called for.
19
Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements and Contractual Obligations
As of February 28, 2023, the Funds have not
used, nor do they expect to use 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 Funds. While each Fund’s exposure under such indemnification provisions cannot be estimated, these
general business indemnifications are not expected to have a material impact on a Fund’s financial position.
Management fee payments made to the Sponsor are
calculated as a fixed percentage of each 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 Funds’ application of these policies involves
judgments and actual results may differ from the estimates used.
Each Fund has significant exposure to Financial
Instruments. The Funds hold a significant portion of their assets in swaps, futures, forward contracts or foreign currency forward 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 Funds’
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).
For financial reporting purposes, the Funds value
investments based upon the closing price in their primary markets. Accordingly, the investment valuations in these financial statements
may differ from those used in the calculation of certain Funds’ final creation/redemption NAV for the year ended December 31,
2022.
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, except for those entered into by the Gold, Silver,
Australian Dollar and Short Euro Funds, are generally valued at the last settled price on the applicable exchange on which that future
trades. Futures contracts entered into by the Gold, Silver,
Fair value pricing may require subjective determinations
about the value of an investment. While each 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 Funds 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 a 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 Funds disclose 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.
Each Fund pays its respective brokerage commissions,
including applicable exchange fees, NFA fees, give up fees, pit futures account fees and other transaction related fees and expenses charged
in connection with trading activities for each Fund’s investment in U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission regulated investments.
Brokerage commissions on futures contracts are recognized on a half-turn basis.
20
Results of Operations for the Year Ended December 31, 2022
-1x Short VIX Futures ETF
Fund Performance
The following table provides summary performance information for the
Fund for the year ended December 31, 2022:
Year Ended
December 31,
2022
NAV beginning of period
$ -
NAV end of period
$ 46,378,603
Percentage change in NAV
100 %
Shares outstanding beginning of period
-
Shares outstanding end of period
3,170,000
Percentage change in shares outstanding
100 %
Shares created
16,980,000
Shares redeemed
(13,810,000 )
Per share NAV beginning of period
$ 15.00
Per share NAV end of period
$ 14.63
Percentage change in per share NAV
-2.5 %
Percentage change in benchmark
5.86 %
Benchmark annualized volatility
68.53 %
The Fund’s
inception of operation was March 28, 2022. Neither the Trust nor the Fund had any operations prior to March 28, 2022, other than matters
relating to its organization and the registration of each series under the Securities Act of 1933.
During the year ended December 31, 2022, the increase in the Fund’s
NAV resulted primarily from the increase of 3,170,000 outstanding Shares during the period. The increase in the Fund’s NAV also
resulted in part from the cumulative effect of the Fund seeking daily investment results, before fees and expenses, that correspond to
the performance of the Short Index.
Net Income/Loss
The following table provides summary income information for the Fund
for the year ended December 31, 2022:
Year Ended
December 31,
2022
Net investment income (loss)
$ (737,456 )
Management fee
489,398
Brokerage commissions / Futures account fees
41,169
Non-recurring fees and expenses
341,666
Net realized gain (loss)
16,573,828
Change in net unrealized appreciation (depreciation)
1,156,106
Net income (loss)
16,992,478
The Fund’s net income was primarily due to a decrease in the
value of the futures prices during the year ended December 31, 2022.
21
Futures Positions as
of December 31, 2022 (1)
Contract
Long or Short
Expiration
Contracts
Valuation Price
Contract Multiplier
Notional
Amount at
Value
CBOE VIX FUTURE Jan23
Short
Jan-23
(1,150 )
$ 23.16
1,000
$ (26,634,000 )
CBOE VIX FUTURE Feb23
Short
Feb-23
(804 )
24.57
1,000
(19,754,280 )
(1) The Fund commenced operations on March 28, 2022.
The December 31, 2022 futures notional values are calculated
by multiplying the number of contracts held times the valuation price times the contract multiplier. The notional values will increase
(decrease) proportionally with increases (decreases) in the price of the futures contract. Additional gains (losses) associated with these
contracts will be equal to any such subsequent increases (decreases) in notional values, before accounting for spreads or transaction
or financing costs. The Fund will generally attempt to adjust its positions in Financial Instruments each day to match the performance
of the Short Index. Future period returns, before fees and expenses, cannot be estimated simply by estimating the return of the Short
Index.
2x Long VIX Futures ETF
Fund Performance
The following table provides summary performance information for the
Fund for the year ended December 31, 2022:
Year Ended
December 31,
2022
NAV beginning of period
$ -
NAV end of period
$ 125,488,766
Percentage change in NAV
100.0 %
Shares outstanding beginning of period
-
Shares outstanding end of period
21,450,000
Percentage change in shares outstanding
100 %
Shares created
36,390,000
Shares redeemed
(14,940,000 )
Per share NAV beginning of period
$ 15.00
Per share NAV end of period
$ 5.85
Percentage change in per share NAV
-61.0 %
Percentage change in benchmark
-30.1 %
Benchmark annualized volatility
68.53 %
The Fund’s
inception of operation was March 28, 2022. Neither the Trust nor the Fund had any operations prior to March 28, 2022, other than matters
relating to its organization and the registration of each series under the Securities Act of 1933.
During the year ended December 31, 2022, the increase in the Fund’s
NAV resulted primarily from the increase of 21,450,000 outstanding Shares during the period. This increase was partially offset by the
cumulative effect of the Fund seeking daily investment results, before fees and expenses, that correspond to the performance of the Long
Index.
22
Net Income/Loss
The following table provides summary income information for the Fund
for the year ended December 31, 2022:
Year Ended
December 31,
2022
Net investment income (loss)
$ (1,191,352 )
Management fee
1,004,754
Brokerage commissions / Futures account fees
43,638
Non-recurring fees and expenses
449,147
Net realized gain (loss)
(67,298,832 )
Change in net unrealized appreciation (depreciation)
(9,203,522 )
Net income (loss)
(77,693,706 )
The Fund’s net loss was primarily due to a decrease in the value
of the futures prices during the year ended December 31, 2022.
Futures Positions as of December 31, 2022 (1)
Contract
Long or
Short
Expiration
Contracts
Valuation
Price
Contract Multiplier
Notional
Amount at
Value
CBOE VIX FUTURE Jan23
Long
Jan-23
6,221
$ 23.16
1,000
$ 144,078,360
CBOE VIX FUTURE Feb23
Long
Feb-23
4,355
24.57
1,000
107,002,350
(1) The Fund commenced operations
on March 28, 2022.
The December 31, 2022 futures notional values are calculated
by multiplying the number of contracts held times the valuation price times the contract multiplier. The notional values will increase
(decrease) proportionally with increases (decreases) in the price of the futures contract. Additional gains (losses) associated with these
contracts will be equal to any such subsequent increases (decreases) in notional values, before accounting for spreads or transaction
or financing costs. The Fund will generally attempt to adjust its positions in Financial Instruments each day to match the performance
of the Long Index. Future period returns, before fees and expenses, cannot be estimated simply by estimating the return of the Long Index.
Qualitative Disclosure
The primary market risks that the Funds are exposed to depend on each
Fund’s investment objective and corresponding benchmark. For example, the primary market risk that SVIX and UVIX are exposed to
are inverse and long exposure, respectively, to the price of certain VIX futures contracts as measured by the return of holding and periodically
rolling such futures contracts.
23
Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data.
Statement of Operations for the three month periods ended March 31,
2022, June 30, 2022, September 30, 2022, and December 31, 2022 and the year ended
December 31, 2022 for each Fund, as applicable.
-1x Short VIX Futures ETF
Three Months Ended (Unaudited)
Year Ended
March 31,
2022
June 30,
2022
September 30,
2022
December 31,
2022
December 31,
2022
Net investment income (loss)
$ (1,793 )
$ (242,779 )
$ (230,841 )
$ (262,043 )
$ (737,456 )
Net realized gain (loss)
(4,078 )
(4,573,052 )
8,077,788
13,073,170
16,573,828
Net unrealized gain (loss)
(135,277 )
835,808
(6,278,300 )
6,733,875
1,156,106
Net income (loss)
$ (141,148 )
$ (3,980,023 )
$ 1,568,647
$ 19,545,002
$ 16,992,478
Net increase (decrease) in net asset value per share
$ (0.84 )
$ (3.76 )
$ (0.06 )
$ 4.29
$ (0.37 )
2x Long VIX Futures ETF
Three Months Ended (Unaudited)
Year Ended
March 31,
2022
June 30,
2022
September 30,
2022
December 31,
2022
December 31,
2022
Net investment income (loss)
$ (1,777 )
$ (180,611 )
$ (495,723 )
$ (513,241 )
$ (1,191,352 )
Net realized gain (loss)
(454 )
7,528,449
(22,686,414 )
(52,140,413 )
(67,298,832 )
Net unrealized gain (loss)
276,202
(256,944 )
20,574,735
(29,797,515 )
(9,203,522 )
Net income (loss)
$ 273,971
$ 7,090,894
$ (2,607,402 )
$ (82,451,169 )
$ (77,693,706 )
Net increase (decrease) in net asset value per share
$ 1.64
$ 0.48
$ (3.25 )
$ (8.02 )
$ (9.15 )
24
Item 9. Changes in and Disagreements With Accountants on
Accounting and Financial Disclosure.
Not applicable.
Item 9A. 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 Funds’
disclosure controls and procedures, and the principal executive officer and principal financial officer have concluded that the disclosure
controls and procedures of the Trust and the Funds (as defined in Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e) under the Securities Exchange Act
of 1934, as amended (the “1934 Act”)) were effective, as of December 31, 2022, to provide 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
Funds is recorded, processed, summarized and reported, within the time periods specified in the SEC’s 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.
Management’s Annual Report on Internal Control Over Financial
Reporting
The Trust’s management is responsible for establishing and maintaining
adequate internal control over financial reporting of the Trust and the Funds, as defined in Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f) under
the 1934 Act. The Trust’s and the Funds’ internal control over financial reporting is a process designed to provide reasonable
assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance
with generally accepted accounting principles. Internal control over financial reporting includes those policies and procedures that:
(1) pertain to the maintenance of records that, in reasonable detail, accurately and fairly reflect the transactions and dispositions
of the assets of the Trust and the Funds; (2) provide reasonable assurance that transactions are recorded as necessary to permit
preparation of financial statements in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, and that the Trust’s and the Funds’
receipts and expenditures are being made only in accordance with appropriate authorizations of management of the Trust on behalf of the
Trust and the Funds; and (3) provide reasonable assurance regarding prevention or timely detection of unauthorized acquisition, use
or disposition of the Trust’s or the Funds’ assets that could have a material effect on the Trust’s or the Funds’
financial statements.
Because of its inherent limitations, internal control over financial
reporting may not prevent or detect misstatements. Also, projections of any evaluation of effectiveness to future periods are subject
to the risk that controls may become inadequate because of changes in conditions, or that the degree of compliance with the policies or
procedures may deteriorate.
Management, including the principal executive officer and principal
financial officer of the Trust, assessed the effectiveness of the Trust’s and the Funds’ internal control over financial reporting
as of December 31, 2022. Their assessment included an evaluation of the design of the Trust’s and the Funds’ internal
control over financial reporting and testing of the operational effectiveness of their internal control over financial reporting. In making
its assessment, the Trust’s management has utilized the criteria set forth by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway
Commission (COSO) in its report entitled Internal Control – Integrated Framework (2013) . Based on their assessment and
those criteria, management, including the principal executive officer and principal financial officer of the Trust, concluded that the
Trust’s and the Funds’ internal control over financial reporting was effective as of December 31, 2022.
25
Changes in Internal Control over Financial Reporting
There were no changes in the Trust’s or the Funds’ internal
control over financial reporting that occurred during the year ended December 31, 2022 that have materially affected, or are reasonably
likely to materially affect, the Trust’s or the Funds’ 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 Annual Report on Form 10-K, apply both to the Trust taken as a whole and each 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 each Fund.
Item 9B. Other Information.
Not applicable.
Item 9C. Disclosure Regarding Jurisdictions that Prevent
Inspections.
Not applicable.
Part III.
Item 10. Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance.
The Sponsor
Volatility Shares LLC, is the Sponsor of the Trust
and the Funds. As noted above, the Sponsor has exclusive management and control of all aspects of the business of the Funds. The Trustee
has no duty or liability to supervise the performance of the Sponsor, nor will the Trustee have any liability for the acts or omissions
of the Sponsor.
As of December 31, 2022, the Sponsor serves as the
Trust’s commodity pool operator.
Specifically, with respect to the Trust, the Sponsor:
● Manages and directs the Funds’ portfolio of Financial
Instruments and other assets, including cash and cash equivalents;
● selects the Funds’ service providers;
● negotiates various agreements and fees;
● performs such other services as the Sponsor believes that
the Trust may require from time to time;
● selects the FCM and Financial Instrument counterparties, if
any; and
● Oversees the Commodity Sub-Adviser’s management of the
Funds’ portfolio of Financial Instruments and other assets, including cash equivalents.
The Shares are not deposits or other obligations
of the Sponsor, the Trustee or any of their respective subsidiaries or affiliates or any other bank, are not guaranteed by the Sponsor,
the Trustee or any of their respective subsidiaries or affiliates or any other bank and are not insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance
Corporation (the “FDIC”) or any other governmental agency. An investment in the Shares of the Fund offered hereby is speculative
and involves a high degree of risk.
The principal office of the Sponsor is located at
2000 PGA Boulevard, Suite 4440, Palm Beach Gardens, FL 33408. The telephone number of the Sponsor and the Trust is (866) 261-0273.
26
Background and Principals
As of December 31, 2022, Volatility Shares
LLC, the Sponsor, is a limited liability company formed in Delaware on July 25, 2019. The Sponsor was formed for the purpose of sponsoring
volatility-linked exchange-traded funds, of which the Funds are the first. Prior to its engagement as Sponsor of the Funds, the Sponsor
had no operating history.
The Sponsor currently serves as the commodity pool
operator of the Trust and the Funds. The Sponsor is registered as a commodity pool operator with the CFTC and is a member in good standing
of the NFA. The Sponsor’s membership with the NFA was originally approved on October 14, 2019. Its membership with the
NFA is currently effective. The Sponsor’s registration as a commodity pool operator was originally approved on October 14,
2019. Its registration as a commodity pool operator is currently effective. As a registered commodity pool operator, with respect to the
Trust, the Sponsor must comply with various regulatory requirements under the CEA, and the rules and regulations of the CFTC and the NFA,
including investor protection requirements, antifraud prohibitions, disclosure requirements, and reporting and recordkeeping requirements.
The NFA approved the Sponsor as a Swaps Firm on October 14, 2019. The Sponsor is also subject to periodic examinations by the CFTC
and NFA staff. Its principal place of business is 2000 PGA Boulevard, Suite 4440, Palm Beach Gardens, FL 33408. The telephone number
of the Sponsor and the Trust is (866) 261-0273. The registration of the Sponsor with the CFTC and its membership in the NFA must
not be taken as an indication that either the CFTC or the NFA has recommended or approved the Sponsor, the Trust and the Funds.
Executive Officers of the Trust and Principals and Significant
Employees of the Sponsor
Name
Position
Justin Young*
Principal of the Sponsor (since 10/4/2019)
Associated Person of the Sponsor (since 12/12/2019)
Principal Executive Officer (since 4/8/2021)
Principal Financial Officer (since 4/8/2021)
Principal Accounting Officer of the Trust (since 4/8/2021)
Stuart Barton*
Principal of the Sponsor (since 10/2/2019)
Associated Person of the Sponsor (since 10/14/2019)
Chief Investment Officer (since 4/8/21)
Chang Kim*
Principal of the Sponsor (since 1/26/2022)
Chief Compliance Officer (since 1/26/2022)
Manzone LLC
Principal of the Sponsor (since 2/11/2021)
* Denotes principal of the Sponsor who participates in making
trading decisions for the Funds.
The following is a biographical summary of the business
experience of the executive officers of the Trust and the principals and significant employees of the Sponsor. Of the Principals listed
below, only Justin Young, Stuart Barton and Chang Kim participate in making trading or operational decisions for the Funds or supervise
persons engaged in making trading or operational decisions for the Funds.
Justin Young holds a BA in American Studies
from Georgetown University. Since April 2017, he has served as Managing Partner of Invest In Vol LLC (overseeing operations at an
investment adviser); from August 2015 to April 2017, he was Vice President of Rex Shares LLC (overseeing product development
at an ETF sponsor); from April 2011 to August 2015 he was Head of Capital Markets for Global X Management Company LLC (overseeing
capital markets operations for an ETF sponsor); and from July 2009 to April 2011 he was an Associate of NYSE Euronext (working
on a number of listing matters for a national securities exchange).
Stuart Barton holds a PhD in Economic History
from the University of Cambridge, an MBA from the University of Surrey, and a B.Sc in engineering from the University of Cape Town. Since
March 2017, he has served as Managing Partner of Invest In Vol LLC (overseeing operations at an investment adviser); from September 2016
to March 2017 he was Chief Investment Officer of Rex Shares (overseeing investments at an ETF sponsor); from September 2014
to September 2017 he was Managing Partner at Corpus Capital Partners LLC (overseeing operations at a commodity pool operator); from
October 2010 to September 2014 he was a Ph.D. Candidate (completed Ph.D.) at the University of Cambridge, UK; from January 2008
to October 2010 he was unemployed and engaged in travel; from June 2007 to January 2008 he was Senior Equity Derivatives
Trader at HSBC’s Hong Kong office (traded derivatives at an investment bank); from September 2004 to June 2007 he
was Senior Equity Derivatives Trader at Barclays Capital PLC in New York (traded derivatives at a broker-dealer); and from August 2001
to September 2004 he was Equity Derivatives Trader at Barclays Capital PLC in London.
Chang Kim holds a BA in Film Studies from
Yale University. From January 2021 to December 2021, he served as the CEO of The Library Shop, Inc. (overseeing operations at an e-commerce
business); from September 2009 to December 2020, he served as a Portfolio Manager and the COO at Global X Management Company LLC (overseeing
operations at an ETF sponsor).
Manzone LLC became a Principal of the Sponsor
on February 11, 2021. Manzone LLC has a passive ownership interest in the Sponsor and exercises no management authority over the
Funds.
27
Duties of the Sponsor and Indemnification
The general fiduciary duties which would otherwise
be imposed on the Sponsor (which would make its operation of the Trust as described herein impracticable due to the strict prohibition
imposed by such duties on, for example, conflicts of interest on behalf of a fiduciary in its dealings with its beneficiaries), are replaced
by the terms of the Trust Agreement (to which terms all shareholders, by subscribing to the Shares, are deemed to consent).
The Trust Agreement provides that the Sponsor and
its affiliates shall have no liability to the Trust or to any shareholder for any loss suffered by the Trust arising out of any action
or inaction of the Sponsor or its affiliates or their respective directors, officers, shareholders, partners, members, managers or employees
(the “Sponsor Related Parties”), if the Sponsor Related Parties, in good faith, determined that such course of conduct was
in the best interests of the Funds and such course of conduct did not constitute gross negligence or willful misconduct by the Sponsor
Related Parties. The Trust has agreed to indemnify the Sponsor Related Parties against claims, losses or liabilities based on their conduct
relating to the Trust, provided that the conduct resulting in the claims, losses or liabilities for which indemnity is sought did
not constitute gross negligence or willful misconduct and was done in good faith and in a manner reasonably believed to be in the best
interests of the Funds.
Under Delaware law, a beneficial owner of a statutory
trust (such as a shareholder of the Funds) may, under certain circumstances, institute legal action on behalf of himself and all other
similarly situated beneficial owners (a “class action”) to recover damages for violations of fiduciary duties, or on behalf
of a statutory trust (a “derivative action”) to recover damages from a third party where there has been a failure or refusal
to institute proceedings to recover such damages. In addition, beneficial owners may have the right, subject to certain legal requirements,
to bring class actions in federal court to enforce their rights under the federal securities laws and the rules and regulations promulgated
thereunder by the SEC. Beneficial owners who have suffered losses in connection with the purchase or sale of their beneficial interests
may be able to recover such losses from the Sponsor where the losses result from a violation by the Sponsor of the anti-fraud provisions
of the federal securities laws.
Under certain circumstances, shareholders also have
the right to institute a reparations proceeding before the CFTC against the Sponsor (a registered commodity pool operator), an FCM, as
well as those of their respective employees who are required to be registered under the CEA, and the rules and regulations promulgated
thereunder. Private rights of action are conferred by the CEA. Investors in futures and in commodity pools may, therefore, invoke
the protections provided thereunder.
The foregoing summary describing in general terms
the remedies available to shareholders under federal law is based on statutes, rules and decisions as of the date of this Prospectus.
As this is a rapidly developing and changing area of the law, shareholders who believe that they may have a legal cause of action against
any of the foregoing parties should consult their own counsel as to their evaluation of the status of the applicable law at such time.
Code of Ethics
The Trust has adopted a code of ethics (“Code
of Ethics”) that applies to its Principal Executive Officer and Principal Financial Officer. A copy of the Code of Ethics can be
obtained, without charge, upon written request to the Sponsor at the following address: VolatilityShares LLC, Attn: Chief Compliance Officer,
2000 PGA Boulevard, Suite 4440, Palm Beach Gardens, FL 33408.
28
The Commodity Sub-Adviser
Penserra Capital (the “Commodity Sub-Adviser”),
with its principal office at 4 Orinda Way, suite 100-a, Orinda, CA. 94563, serves as the Funds’ Commodity Sub-Adviser pursuant to
a commodity sub-advisory agreement (the “Commodity Sub-Advisory Agreement”). Prior to November 1, 2022, Milliman FRM served
as the Funds’ commodity sub-adviser.
The Commodity Sub-Adviser formed in July 2009. It
provides investment advisory services, specializing in ETF sub-advisory serves. The Commodity Sub-Adviser became an NFA member on September
20, 2022 and a registered commodity trading adviser on September 20, 2022. Previously, it was an NFA member from March 29, 2017 through
May 19, 2018, when its membership was withdrawn, and was a commodity trading advisor from April 13, 2017 through May 19, 2018, when its
registration was withdrawn.
The Commodity Sub-Adviser also provides services
as an investment adviser or sub-adviser or CTA, to mutual funds, exchange-traded funds (“ETFs”), unit investment trusts (“UITs”),
funds offered through bank collective investment trusts (“CITs”), and other exchange-traded products (“ETPs”).
The strategy exercised for each product is designed to meet a particular investment goal. In the case of sub-advisory services, the primary
adviser to the fund is usually responsible for the selection of underlying investments for the fund, and the Commodity Sub-Adviser manages
strategies for the various funds’ assets based on the investment goals and objectives as outlined in each of the funds’ offering
documents.
As of December 31, 2022, the Commodity Sub-Adviser
manages 100% of the Funds’ assets. The Commodity Sub-Adviser will be paid by the Sponsor an annual sub-advisory fee of 0.20% based
on each Fund’s average daily net assets (total assets of the Fund, minus the sum of its accrued liabilities). The Funds do not directly
pay the Commodity Sub-Adviser.
The following is a biographical summary of the business
experience of the principals of the Commodity Sub-Adviser. Each of the principals listed below participate in making trading or operational
decisions for the Funds or supervise persons engaged in making trading or operational decisions for the Funds.
Anthony Castelli joined the Commodity Sub-Adviser
in August 2011 and has served as Chief Compliance Officer since August 2011. In that role, he oversees compliance and risk operations
for Commodity Sub-Adviser. Mr. Kelkar was approved as a principal on September 9, 2022.
Dustin Allen Lewellyn joined the Commodity
Sub-Adviser in September 2014 as a Managing Director. In that role he oversees equity and commodity interest trading. Mr. Lewellyn
was approved as a principal on September 9, 2022.
George Madrigal joined the Commodity Sub-Adviser
in August 2009 as President and Chief Operating Officer. In that role, he manages and oversees the operations of the Commodity Sub-Adviser.
He also has served as President of Penserra Securities LLC since December 2007. Mr. Madrigal was approved as a principal on September
9, 2022.
Lee Wilson Geiger joined the Commodity Sub-Adviser
in September 2014 as a Managing Director. In that role, he oversees equity and commodity interest trading. Mr. Lewellyn was approved as
a principal on August 29, 2022, became registered as an associated person on September 20, 2022, and was approved as an NFA associate
member on September 20, 2022.
29
Item 11. Executive Compensation.
The Funds have no employees or directors and are
managed by the Sponsor. None of the officers of the Trust, or the members or officers of the Sponsor receive compensation from the Funds.
SVIX pays the Sponsor a management fee (the “Management
Fee”), monthly in arrears, in an amount equal to 1.35% per annum of its average daily net assets. UVIX pays the Sponsor a Management
Fee, monthly in arrears, in an amount equal to 1.65% per annum of its average daily net assets. “Average daily net assets”
is calculated by dividing the month-end net assets of each Fund by the number of calendar days in such month.
No other Management Fee is paid by the Funds. The
Management Fee is paid in consideration of the Sponsor’s trading advisory services and the other services provided to the Fund that
the Sponsor pays directly.
For the year ended December 31, 2022, the following
represents Management Fees earned by the Sponsor:
Fund
Amount
-1x Short VIX Futures ETF
$ 489,398
2x Long VIX Futures ETF
1,004,754
Item 12. Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners
and Management and Related Stockholder Matters.
Not applicable.
Item 13. Certain Relationships and Related Transactions,
and Director Independence.
Not applicable.
Item 14. Principal Accounting Fees and Services.
(1) to (4). Fees for services performed by Tait, Weller &
Baker, LLP (“Tait Weller”) and PricewaterCoopers (PwC) for the year ended December 31, 2022 were as follows:
Year Ended
December 31,
2022
SVIX
Audit Fees
$ 17,962
Audit-Related Fees
-
Tax Fees
91,905
All Other Fees
-
$ 109,867
UVIX
Audit Fees
$ 17,962
Audit-Related Fees
-
Tax Fees
169,470
All Other Fees
-
$ 187,432
Combined Trust:
$ 297,299
Audit fees for the year ended December 31, 2022 consist of fees
paid to Tait Weller for the audit of the Funds’ December 31, 2022 annual financial statements included in the Annual Report
on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2022, for the review of the financial statements included in each Form 10-Q,
and for the audits of financial statements included with registration statements. Tax fees include certain
tax compliance and reporting services provided by PricewaterhouseCoopers (“PwC”) to the Trust, including processing beneficial
ownership information as it relates to the preparation of tax reporting packages and the subsequent delivery of related information to
the IRS. Services also include assistance with tax reporting and related information using a web-based tax package product developed by
PwC and a toll-free tax package support help line.
(5) The Sponsor approved all of the services provided by Tait Weller and PwC described above. The
Sponsor pre-approves all audit and allowed non-audit services of the Trust’s independent registered public accounting firm,
including all engagement fees and terms.
30
Part IV.
Item 15. Exhibits and Financial Statement Schedules.
Financial Statement Schedules
See the Index to Financial Statements for a list of the financial statements
being filed as part of this Annual Report on Form 10-K. Schedules may have been omitted since they are either not required, not applicable,
or the information has otherwise been included.
Exhibit
No.
Description of Document
3.1*
Restated Certificate of Trust
4.1**
Trust Agreement
4.2**
Form of Authorized Participant Agreement
4.3****
Description of Shares
10.1**
Form of Sponsor Agreement
10.2**
Form of Transfer Agency Services Agreement
10.3**
Form of Custodian Agreement
10.4**
Form of Marketing Agent Agreement
10.5**
Form of Futures Account Agreement
10.6**
Form of Administration Servicing Agreement
10.7* *
Form of Sub-Administration Servicing Agreement
10.8* *
Form of Fund Accounting Servicing Agreement
10.9* **
Commodity Sub-Advisory Agreement
31.1****
Certification by Principal Executive Officer of the Trust Pursuant to Rule 13a-14(a) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended
31.2****
Certification by Principal Financial Officer of the Trust Pursuant to Rule 13a-14(a) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended
32.1****
Certification by Principal Executive Officer of the Trust Pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 1350, As Adopted Pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002
32.2****
Certification by Principal Financial Officer of the Trust Pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 1350, As Adopted Pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002
101.INS****
Inline XBRL Instance Document.
101.SCH****
Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Schema Document.
101.CAL****
Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Calculation Linkbase Document.
101.DEF****
Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Definition Linkbase Document.
101.LAB****
Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Label Linkbase Document.
101.PRE****
Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Presentation Linkbase Document.
104 ****
Cover Page Interactive Data File (formatted as Inline XBRL and contained in Exhibit 101).
* Incorporated by reference to the Trust’s Registration Statement,
filed on January 6, 2022.
** Incorporated by reference to the Trust’s Registration Statement,
filed on August 26, 2020
*** Incorporated by reference to the Trust’s Registration Statement,
filed on September, 26, 2022.
**** Included herewith.
Item 16. Form 10-K Summary.
Not applicable.
31
Signatures
Pursuant to the requirements of Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities
Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this Annual Report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly
authorized.
VS TRUST
/s/ Justin Young
By:
Justin Young
Principal Executive Officer
Date:
March 28, 2023
/s/ Justin Young
By:
Justin Young
Principal Financial and Accounting Officer
Date:
March 28, 2023
32
VS
TRUST
Financial
Statements as of December 31, 2022
Index
Documents Page
Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm (PCAOB number: 238 ) F-2
Statements of Financial Condition, Schedule of Investments, Statements of Operations, Statements of Changes in Shareholders’ Equity and Statements of Cash Flows:
-1x Short VIX Futures ETF F-3
2x Long VIX Futures ETF F-8
Notes to Financial Statements F-17
F- 1
taitweller.com
REPORT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING
FIRM
To Management of the Trust’s Sponsor of
VS Trust
Opinion on the Financial Statements
We have audited the accompanying combined statement
of financial condition of VS Trust as of December 31, 2022, and the related combined statements of operations, changes in net assets,
and cash flows for the period March 28, 2022 (commencement of operations) through December 31, 2022 and the related notes (collectively
referred to as the “combined financial statements”). In our opinion, the combined financial statements present fairly, in
all material respects, the combined financial position of the Trust as of December 31, 2022, and the results of their combined operations,
combined changes in net assets, and combined cash flows for the period March 28, 2022 through December 31 2022, in conformity with accounting
principles generally accepted in the United States of America
We have also audited the accompanying statements
of financial condition of -1x Short VIX Futures ETF and 2x Long VIX Futures ETF (the “Funds”), each a series of VS Trust,
including the schedules of investments as of December 31, 2022, and the related statements of operations, changes in net assets, cash
flows and the financial highlights for the period March 28, 2022 (commencement of operations) through December 31, 2022 and the related
notes (collectively referred to as the “financial statements”). In our opinion, the financial statements present fairly, in
all material respects, the financial position of the Funds as of December 31, 2022, and the results of their operations, changes in net
assets, cash flows and financial highlights for the period March 28, 2022 through December 31 2022, in conformity with accounting principles
generally accepted in the United States of America
Basis for Opinion
These combined financial statements and financial
statements are the responsibility of the management of the Trust’s sponsor. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on the Trust’s
combined financial statements and the Funds’ financial statements based on our audits. We are a public accounting firm registered
with the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) (“PCAOB”) and are required to be independent with respect
to the Trust and the Funds in accordance with the U.S. federal securities laws and the applicable rules and regulations of the Securities
and Exchange Commission and the PCAOB. We have served as the auditor of the Trust and the Funds since 2022.
We conducted our audits in accordance with the
standards of the PCAOB. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audits to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the combined
financial statements and financial statements are free of material misstatement, whether due to error or fraud. The Trust and the Funds
are not required to have, nor were we engaged to perform, an audit of their internal control over financial reporting. As part of our
audits, we are required to obtain an understanding of internal control over financial reporting, but not for the purpose of expressing
an opinion on the effectiveness of the Trust’s and Funds’ internal control over financial reporting. Accordingly, we express
no such opinion.
Our audits included performing procedures to assess
the risks of material misstatement of the combined financial statements and financial statements, whether due to error or fraud, and performing
procedures that respond to those risks. Such procedures included examining, on a test basis, evidence regarding the amounts and disclosures
in the combined financial statements and financial statements. Our audits also included evaluating the accounting principles used and
significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall presentation of the combined financial statements and financial
statements. Our procedures included confirmation of securities owned as of December 31, 2022 by correspondence with the custodian and
brokers. We believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinion.
TAIT, WELLER & BAKER LLP
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
March 27, 2023
F- 2
-1x
SHORT VIX FUTURES ETF
STATEMENT
OF FINANCIAL CONDITION
DECEMBER 31,
2022
ASSETS
Cash
$ 504,600
Interest receivable
12,909
Prepaid expenses and other assets
10,295
Deposit at Broker for Futures
48,144,554
Other receivable
571
Total Assets
$ 48,672,929
LIABILITIES
Variation margin payable
$ 187,030
Fund shares redeemed
1,903,018
Management fees payable
54,374
Administrative, accounting and custodian fees payable
15,869
Professional fees payable
125,274
Licensing and registration fees payable
8,761
Total Liabilities
2,294,326
Net Assets
$ 46,378,603
NET ASSETS CONSIST OF:
Paid-in capital
$ 29,386,125
Total distributable earnings (accumulated deficit)
16,992,478
Net Assets
$ 46,378,603
NET ASSET VALUE:
Class I (unlimited shares authorized):
Net Assets
$ 46,378,603
Shares Outstanding^
3,170,000
Net Asset Value, Offering and Redemption Price per Share
$ 14.63
Market Value per Share (Note 2)
$ 14.66
^ No
par value
See
accompanying notes to financial statements.
F- 3
-1x
SHORT VIX FUTURES ETF
SCHEDULE
OF INVESTMENTS
DECEMBER 31,
2022
Cash - 1.1 % (a)
$ 504,600
Other assets in excess of liabilities - 98.9 % (a)
45,874,003
TOTAL NET ASSETS - 100.0 %
$ 46,378,603
(a) $48,144,554 of cash is pledged as
collateral for futures contracts.
-1x SHORT VIX FUTURES ETF
SHORT FUTURES CONTRACTS
DECEMBER 31, 2022
Contract
Expiration Date
Number of Contracts
Notional Amount at Value
Unrealized Appreciation (Depreciation)
CBOE VIX FUTURE Jan23
January 18, 2023
( 1,150 )
$ ( 26,634,000 )
$ 1,058,571
CBOE VIX FUTURE Feb23
February 15, 2023
( 804 )
( 19,754,280 )
97,536
( 1,954 )
$ ( 46,388,280 )
$ 1,156,106
See
accompanying notes to financial statements.
F- 4
-1x
SHORT VIX FUTURES ETF
STATEMENT
OF OPERATIONS
FOR
THE PERIOD ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2022 (1)
INVESTMENT INCOME
Income:
Dividends
$ 2
Interest income
134,714
Other income
61
Total Income
134,777
Expenses:
Management fees
489,398
Administrative, accounting and custodian fees
40,782
Professional fees
240,079
Licensing and registration fees
60,805
Broker interest expense
41,169
Total Expenses
872,233
Net Investment loss
( 737,456 )
REALIZED AND UNREALIZED GAIN ON INVESTMENTS AND FUTURES CONTRACTS
Net realized gain on:
Short Term Investments
12
Futures
16,573,816
Net change in unrealized appreciation of:
Short Term Investments
-
Futures
1,156,106
Net realized and unrealized gain on investments and futures contracts
17,729,934
NET INCREASE IN NET ASSETS RESULTING FROM OPERATIONS
$ 16,992,478
(1) The
Fund commenced operations on March 28, 2022.
See
accompanying notes to financial statements.
F- 5
-1x
SHORT VIX FUTURES ETF
STATEMENT
OF CHANGES IN NET ASSETS
FOR
THE PERIOD ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2022 (1)
INCREASE (DECREASE) IN NET ASSETS:
OPERATIONS
Net investment loss
$ ( 737,456 )
Net realized gain on investments and futures contracts
16,573,828
Net change in unrealized appreciation of investments and futures contracts
1,156,106
Net increase in net assets resulting from operations
16,992,478
CAPITAL SHARE TRANSACTIONS
Shares sold
189,786,132
Shares redeemed
( 160,400,007 )
Net increase in net assets
from capital share transactions
29,386,125
Total increase in net assets
46,378,603
NET ASSETS
Beginning of Period
-
End of Period #
$ 46,378,603
(1) The
Fund commenced operations on March 28, 2022.
See
accompanying notes to financial statements.
F- 6
- 1x
SHORT VIX FUTURES ETF
STATEMENT
OF CASH FLOWS
PERIOD
ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2022 (1)
CASH FLOW FROM OPERATING ACTIVITIES
Net increase (decrease) in net assets resulting from operations
$ 16,992,478
Adjustments to reconcile net income (loss) to net cash provided by (used in) operating activities
Purchase of investments
( 224,609,285 )
Proceeds from sales or maturities of investments held
224,609,285
Decrease (Increase) in Deposits at broker for futures contracts
( 48,144,554 )
Decrease (Increase) in Prepaid expenses and other assets
( 10,295 )
Decrease (Increase) in interest receivable
( 12,909 )
Decrease (Increase) in other receivables
( 571 )
Increase (Decrease) in Variation margin payable
187,030
Increase (Decrease) in Payable to Sponsor
54,374
Increase (Decrease) in Administrative, accounting and custodian fees payable
15,869
Increase (Decrease) in Professional fees payable
125,274
Increase (Decrease) in Licensing and registration fees payable
8,761
Net cash provided by (used in) operating activities
( 30,784,543 )
CASH FLOW FROM FINANCING ACTIVITIES
Proceeds from shares sold, net of cost from shares purchased
189,786,132
Cost of shares redeemed
( 158,496,989 )
Net cash provided by (used in) financing activities
31,289,143
NET INCREASE IN CASH
504,600
Beginning of Period
-
End of Period #
$ 504,600
(1) The
Fund commenced operations on March 28, 2022.
See
accompanying notes to financial statements.
F- 7
2x
LONG VIX FUTURES ETF
STATEMENT
OF FINANCIAL CONDITION
DECEMBER 31,
2022
ASSETS
Cash
$ -
Investments in securities, at value *
8,250,285
Interest receivable
50,483
Prepaid expenses and other assets
15,666
Receivable for shares sold
1,931,028
Deposit at Broker for Futures
114,821,272
Variation margin receivable
830,840
Other receivable
579
Total Assets
$ 125,900,153
LIABILITIES
Management fees payable
$ 176,838
Administrative, accounting and custodian fees payable
19,957
Professional fees payable
203,411
Licensing and registration fees payable
11,181
Total Liabilities
411,387
Net Assets
$ 125,488,766
NET ASSETS CONSIST OF:
Paid-in capital
$ 203,182,472
Total distributable earnings (accumulated deficit)
( 77,693,706 )
Net Assets
$ 125,488,766
NET ASSET VALUE:
Class I (unlimited shares authorized):
Net Assets
$ 125,488,766
Shares Outstanding^
21,450,000
Net Asset Value, Offering and Redemption Price per Share
$ 5.85
Market Value per Share (Note 2)
$ 5.82
*Investments in securities, at cost
$ 8,250,285
^ No par value
See
accompanying notes to financial statements.
F- 8
2x
LONG VIX FUTURES ETF
SCHEDULE OF INVESTMENTS
DECEMBER 31, 2022
SHORT
TERM INVESTMENT - 6.6%
Money
Market Fund - 6.6%
8,250,285
First American Government Obligations Fund, 4.11% (a)
$ 8,250,285
TOTAL SHORT TERM INVESTMENT (Cost $ 8,250,285 )
8,250,285
TOTAL INVESTMENTS (Cost $8,250,285) - 6.6 %
8,250,285
Other assets in excess of liabilities - 93.4 % (b)
117,238,481
TOTAL NET ASSETS - 100.0 %
$ 125,488,766
Percentages
are stated as a percent of net assets.
(a) Represents
annualized seven-day yield at December 31, 2022.
(b) $114,821,272
of cash is pledged as collateral for futures contracts.
2x LONG VIX FUTURES ETF
LONG FUTURES CONTRACTS
DECEMBER 31, 2022
Contract
Expiration Date
Number of
Contracts
Notional
Amount at
Value
Unrealized
Appreciation
(Depreciation)
CBOE VIX FUTURES Jan23
January 18, 2023
6,221
$ 144,078,360
$ ( 8,416,975 )
CBOE VIX FUTURES Feb23
February 15, 2023
4,355
107,002,350
( 786,547 )
10,576
$ 251,080,710
$ ( 9,203,522 )
See
accompanying notes to financial statements.
F- 9
2x
LONG VIX FUTURES ETF
STATEMENT
OF OPERATIONS
FOR
THE PERIOD ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2022 (1)
INVESTMENT INCOME
Income:
Dividends
$ 7
Interest income
306,021
Other income
159
Total Income
306,187
Expenses:
Management fees
1,004,754
Administrative, accounting and custodian fees
55,759
Professional fees
318,741
Licensing and registration fees
74,647
Broker interest expense
43,638
Total Expenses
1,497,539
Net Investment loss
( 1,191,352 )
REALIZED AND UNREALIZED GAIN (LOSS) ON INVESTMENTS AND FUTURES CONTRACTS
Net realized gain (loss) on:
Short Term Investments
38
Futures
( 67,298,870 )
Net change in unrealized appreciation (depreciation) of:
Short Term Investments
-
Futures
( 9,203,522 )
Net realized and unrealized gain (loss) on investments and futures contracts
( 76,502,354 )
NET DECREASE IN NET ASSETS RESULTING FROM OPERATIONS
$ ( 77,693,706 )
(1) The
Fund commenced operations on March 28, 2022.
See
accompanying notes to financial statements.
F- 10
2x LONG VIX FUTURES ETF
STATEMENT OF CHANGES IN NET ASSETS
FOR THE PERIOD ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2022 (1)
INCREASE (DECREASE) IN NET ASSETS:
OPERATIONS
Net investment loss
$ ( 1,191,352 )
Net realized gain (loss) on investments and futures contracts
( 67,298,832 )
Net change in unrealized appreciation (depreciation) of investments and futures contracts
( 9,203,522 )
Net decrease in net assets resulting from operations
( 77,693,706 )
CAPITAL SHARE TRANSACTIONS
Shares sold
399,696,269
Shares redeemed
( 196,513,797 )
Net
increase in net assets from capital share transactions
203,182,472
Total increase in net assets
125,488,766
NET ASSETS
Beginning of Period
-
End of Period #
$ 125,488,766
(1) The
Fund commenced operations on March 28, 2022.
See
accompanying notes to financial statements.
F- 11
2x
LONG VIX FUTURES ETF
STATEMENT
OF CASH FLOWS
PERIOD
ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2022 (1)
CASH FLOW FROM OPERATING ACTIVITIES
Net increase (decrease) in net assets resulting from operations
$ ( 77,693,706 )
Adjustments to reconcile net income (loss) to net cash provided by (used in) operating activities
Purchase of investments
( 358,531,359 )
Proceeds from sales or maturities of investments held
350,281,074
Decrease (Increase) in Deposits at broker for futures contracts
( 114,821,272 )
Decrease (Increase) in Variation margin receivable
( 830,840 )
Decrease (Increase) in Prepaid expenses and other assets
( 15,666 )
Decrease (Increase) in interest receivable
( 50,483 )
Decrease (Increase) in other receivables
( 579 )
Increase (Decrease) in Payable to Sponsor
176,838
Increase (Decrease) in Administrative, accounting and custodian fees payable
19,957
Increase (Decrease) in Professional fees payable
203,411
Increase (Decrease) in Licensing and registration fees payable
11,181
Net cash provided by (used in) operating activities
( 201,251,444 )
CASH FLOW FROM FINANCING ACTIVITIES
Proceeds from shares sold, net of cost from shares purchased
397,765,241
Cost of shares redeemed
( 196,513,797 )
Net cash provided by (used in) financing activities
201,251,444
NET INCREASE IN CASH
-
Beginning of Period
-
End of Period
$ -
(1) The Fund commenced operations on March 28, 2022.
See
accompanying notes to financial statements.
F- 12
VS
TRUST
COMBINED
STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL CONDITION (1)
DECEMBER 31,
2022
ASSETS
Cash
$ 504,600
Investments in securities, at value *
8,250,285
Interest receivable
63,392
Prepaid expenses and other assets
25,961
Receivable for shares sold
1,931,028
Deposit at Broker for Futures
162,965,826
Variation margin receivable
830,840
Other receivable
1,150
Total Assets
$ 174,573,082
LIABILITIES
Variation margin payable
$ 187,030
Fund shares redeemed
1,903,018
Management fees payable
231,212
Administrative, accounting and custodian fees payable
35,826
Professional fees payable
328,685
Licensing and registration fees payable
19,942
Total Liabilities
2,705,713
Net Assets
$ 171,867,369
NET ASSETS CONSIST OF:
Paid-in capital
$ 232,568,597
Total distributable earnings (accumulated deficit)
( 60,701,228 )
Net Assets #
$ 171,867,369
NET ASSET VALUE:
Class I (unlimited shares authorized):
Net Assets
$ 171,867,369
Shares Outstanding^
24,620,000
*Investments in securities, at cost
$ 8,250,285
(1) The fund commenced operations
on March 28, 2022
^ No par value
See
accompanying notes to financial statements.
F- 13
VS
TRUST
COMBINED
STATEMENT OF OPERATIONS
FOR
THE PERIOD ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2022 (1)
INVESTMENT INCOME
Income:
Dividends
$ 9
Interest income
440,735
Other income
220
Total Income
440,964
Expenses:
Management fees
1,494,152
Administrative, accounting and custodian fees
96,541
Professional fees
558,820
Licensing and registration fees
135,452
Broker interest expense
84,807
Total Expenses
2,369,772
Net
Investment loss
( 1,928,808 )
REALIZED AND UNREALIZED GAIN (LOSS) ON INVESTMENTS AND FUTURES CONTRACTS
Net realized gain (loss) on:
Short Term Investments
50
Futures
( 50,725,054 )
Net change in unrealized appreciation (depreciation) of:
Short Term Investments
-
Futures
( 8,047,416 )
Net
realized and unrealized gain (loss) on investments and futures contracts
( 58,772,420 )
NET DECREASE IN NET ASSETS RESULTING FROM OPERATIONS
$ ( 60,701,228 )
(1) The Funds commenced operations on March 28, 2022.
See
accompanying notes to financial statements.
F- 14
VS
TRUST
COMBINED
STATEMENT OF CHANGES IN NET ASSETS
FOR
THE PERIOD ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2022 (1)
INCREASE (DECREASE) IN NET ASSETS:
OPERATIONS
Net investment loss
$ ( 1,928,808 )
Net realized gain (loss) on investments and futures contracts
( 50,725,004 )
Net change in unrealized appreciation (depreciation) of investments and futures contracts
( 8,047,416 )
Net decrease
in net assets resulting from operations
( 60,701,228 )
CAPITAL SHARE TRANSACTIONS
Shares sold
589,482,401
Shares redeemed
( 356,913,804 )
Net
increase in net assets from capital share transactions
232,568,597
Total
increase in net assets
171,867,369
NET ASSETS
Beginning of Period
-
End of Period
$ 171,867,369
(1) The Funds commenced operations on March 28, 2022.
See
accompanying notes to financial statements.
F- 15
VS
TRUST
COMBINED
STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS
FOR
THE PERIOD ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2022 (1)
CASH FLOW FROM OPERATING ACTIVITIES
Net increase (decrease) in net assets resulting from operations
$ ( 60,701,228 )
Adjustments to reconcile net income (loss) to net cash provided by (used in) operating activities
Purchase of investments
( 583,140,644 )
Proceeds from sales or maturities of investments held
574,890,359
Decrease (Increase) in Deposits at broker for futures contracts
( 162,965,826 )
Decrease (Increase) in Variation margin receivable
( 830,840 )
Decrease (Increase) in Prepaid expenses and other assets
( 25,961 )
Decrease (Increase) in interest receivable
( 63,392 )
Decrease (Increase) in other receivables
( 1,150 )
Increase (Decrease) in Variation margin payable
187,030
Increase (Decrease) in Payable to Sponsor
231,212
Increase (Decrease) in Administrative, accounting and custodian fees payable
35,826
Increase (Decrease) in Professional fees payable
328,685
Increase (Decrease) in Licensing and registration fees payable
19,942
Net cash used in operating activities
( 232,035,987 )
CASH FLOW FROM FINANCING ACTIVITIES
Proceeds from shares sold, net of cost from shares purchased
587,551,373
Cost of shares redeemed
( 355,010,786 )
Net cash provided by financing activities
232,540,587
NET INCREASE IN CASH
504,600
Beginning of Period
-
End of Period
$ 504,600
(1) The Funds commenced operations on March 28, 2022.
See
accompanying notes to financial statements.
F- 16
VS Trust
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
December 31, 2022
NOTE 1 – ORGANIZATION
VS Trust (the “Trust”) is a Delaware
statutory trust formed on October 24, 2019 and is currently organized into separate series (each, a “Fund” and collectively,
the “Funds”). As of December 31, 2022, the following two series of the Trust have commenced investment operations: -1x Short
VIX Futures ETF (“SVIX”) and 2x Long VIX Futures ETF (“UVIX”). Each of the Funds listed above issues common units
of beneficial interest (“Shares”), which represent units of fractional undivided beneficial interest in and ownership of only
that Fund. The Shares of each Fund are listed on the Cboe BZX Exchange (“Cboe BZX”).
The Funds’ inception of operation was March
28, 2022. Neither the Trust nor the Funds had any operations prior to March 28, 2022, other than matters relating to its organization
and the registration of each series under the Securities Act of 1933.
Each Fund’s investment exposure to VIX
futures contracts will cause each to be deemed a commodity pool, thereby subjecting each Fund to regulation under the Commodity Exchange Act of 1934
(“CEA”) and Commodity Futures Trading Commission (“CFTC”) rules. The Sponsor is registered as a Commodity Pool
Operator (“CPO”) and the Fund will be operated in accordance with applicable CFTC rules. Registration as a CPO imposes additional
compliance obligations on the Sponsor and the Funds related to additional laws, regulations and enforcement policies, which could increase
compliance costs and may affect the operations and financial performance of the Funds.
Volatility Shares LLC (the “Sponsor”)
is the sponsor of the Trust and the Funds. The Sponsor also will serve as the Trust’s commodity pool operator. The Funds are commodity
pools, as defined under the Commodity Exchange Act (the “CEA”), and the applicable regulations of the CFTC and are operated
by the Sponsor, which is registered as a commodity pool operator with the CFTC. The Trust is not an investment company registered
under the Investment Company Act of 1940.
NOTE 2 – SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES
Each Fund is an investment company, as defined
by Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) Topic 946 “Financial
Services — Investment Companies.” As such, the Funds follow the investment company accounting and reporting guidance. The
following is a summary of significant accounting policies followed by each Fund, as applicable, in preparation of its financial statements.
These policies are in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“GAAP”).
The accompanying unaudited financial statements
were prepared in accordance with GAAP for interim financial information and with the instructions for Form 10-K and the rules and regulations
of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”). In the opinion of management, all material adjustments, consisting
only of normal recurring adjustments, considered necessary for a fair statement of the interim period financial statements have been made.
Interim period results are not necessarily indicative of results for a full-year period.
Emerging growth company
The Trust is an “emerging growth company,”
as defined in the Jumpstart Our Business Startups 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.”
F- 17
Use of Estimates & Indemnifications
The preparation of financial statements in conformity
with GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosures
of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during
the reporting period. Actual results could differ from those estimates.
In the normal course of business, the Trust enters
into contracts that contain a variety of representations which provide general indemnifications. The Trust’s maximum exposure under
these arrangements cannot be known; however, the Trust expects any risk of loss to be remote.
Basis of Presentation
Pursuant to rules and regulations of the SEC, these
financial statements are presented for the Trust as a whole, as the SEC registrant, and for each Fund individually. The debts, liabilities,
obligations and expenses incurred, contracted for or otherwise existing with respect to a particular Fund shall be enforceable only against
the assets of such Fund and not against the assets of the Trust generally or any other Fund. Accordingly, the assets of each Fund of the
Trust include only those funds and other assets that are paid to, held by or distributed to the Trust for the purchase of Shares in that
Fund.
Statements of Cash Flows
The cash amount shown in the Statements of Cash
Flows is the amount reported as cash in the Statements of Financial Condition dated December 31, 2022, and represents cash but does not include short-term investments.
Final Net Asset Value for Fiscal Period
The cut-off times and the times of the calculation
of the Funds’ final net asset value for creation and redemption of fund Shares for the three months ended December 31, 2022 were
typically as follows. All times are Eastern Standard Time:
Create/Redeem
NAV Calculation
NAV
Fund
Cut-off*(EST)
Time (EST)
Calculation Date
-1x Short VIX Futures ETF and
2:00 p.m.
4:00 p.m.
December 31, 2022
2x Long VIX Futures ETF
2:00 p.m.
4:00 p.m.
December 31, 2022
* Although the Funds’ shares may continue to trade on secondary markets subsequent to the calculation of the final NAV, these times represent the final opportunity to transact in creation or redemption units for the three months ended December 31, 2022.
Market value per Share is determined at the close
of Cboe BZX and may be later than when the Funds’ NAV per Share is calculated.
For financial reporting purposes, the Funds value
transactions based upon the final closing price in their primary markets. Accordingly, the investment valuations in these financial statements
may differ from those used in the calculation of certain of the Funds’ final creation/redemption NAV for the three months ended
December 31, 2022.
Investment Valuation
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. In each of these situations, valuations
are typically categorized as Level I in the fair value hierarchy.
VIX futures contracts are valued using the
Time Weighted Average Price (TWAP) of the futures during the last 15 minutes of NYSE’s regular trading session, rather than
solely from the VIX futures’ settlement price. The value of a Fund’s non-exchange-traded Financial Instruments typically
is determined by applying the then-current disseminated levels for the Index to the terms of the Fund’s non-exchange-traded
Financial Instruments.
In certain circumstances (e.g., if the Sponsor believes market quotations do not accurately reflect the fair
value of a Fund’s investment, or a trading halt closes an exchange or market early), the Sponsor may, in its sole discretion,
choose to determine a fair value price as the basis for determining the market value of such investment for such day. Such fair
value prices would generally be determined based on available inputs about the current value of the underlying VIX futures contract
and would be based on principles that the Sponsor deems fair and equitable.
The Funds may use a variety of money market instruments.
Money market instruments generally will be valued using market prices or at amortized cost.
F- 18
Fair value pricing may require subjective determinations
about the value of an investment. While the Funds’ policies are intended to result in a calculation of its respective Fund’s
NAV that fairly reflects investment values as of the time of pricing, such Fund cannot ensure that fair values determined by the Sponsor
or persons acting at their direction would accurately reflect the price that a 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 such 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.
Fair Value of Financial Instruments
The Funds disclose the fair value of their investments
in a hierarchy that prioritizes the inputs to valuation techniques used to measure fair value. The disclosure requirements establish a
fair value hierarchy that distinguishes between: (1) market participant assumptions developed based on market data obtained from sources
independent of the Funds (observable inputs); and (2) the Funds’ own assumptions about market participant assumptions developed
based on the best information available under the circumstances (unobservable inputs). The three levels defined by the disclosure requirements
hierarchy are as follows:
Level I – Quoted prices (unadjusted) in active markets
for identical assets or liabilities that the reporting entity has the ability to access at the measurement date.
Level II – Inputs other than quoted prices included
within Level I that are observable for the asset or liability, either directly or indirectly. Level II assets include the following: quoted
prices for similar assets or liabilities in active markets, quoted prices for identical or similar assets or liabilities in markets that
are not active, inputs other than quoted prices that are observable for the asset or liability, and inputs that are derived principally
from or corroborated by observable market data by correlation or other means (market-corroborated inputs).
Level III – Unobservable pricing input at the measurement
date for the asset or liability. Unobservable inputs shall be used to measure fair value to the extent that observable inputs are not
available.
In some instances, the inputs used to measure fair
value might fall in different levels of the fair value hierarchy. The level in the fair value hierarchy within which the fair value measurement
in its entirety falls is determined based on the lowest input level that is significant to the fair value measurement in its entirety.
Fair value measurements also require additional
disclosure when the volume and level of activity for the asset or liability have significantly decreased, as well as when circumstances
indicate that a transaction is not orderly.
The following table summarizes the valuation of
investments at December 31, 2022 using the fair value hierarchy:
Level 1 -
Quoted
Prices
Level 2 -
Other
Significant
Observable
Inputs
Fund
Money
Market Fund
Futures
Contracts*
Total
-1x Short VIX Futures ETF
$ -
$ 1,156,106
$ 1,156,106
2x Long VIX Futures ETF
8,250,285
( 9,203,522 )
( 953,237 )
Total Trust
$ 8,250,285
$ ( 8,047,416 )
$ 202,869
* Includes cumulative appreciation (depreciation) of futures contracts as reported in the Schedule of Investments. Only current day’s variation margin is reported within the Statements of Financial Condition in receivable/payable on open futures.
The inputs or methodology used for valuing investments
are not necessarily an indication of the risk associated with investing in those securities.
Investment Transactions and Related Income
Investment transactions are recorded on the trade
date. All such transactions are recorded on the identified cost basis and marked to market daily. Unrealized appreciation (depreciation)
on open contracts are reflected in the Statements of Financial Condition and changes in the unrealized appreciation (depreciation) between
periods are reflected in the Statements of Operations.
Interest income is recognized on an accrual basis
and includes, where applicable, the amortization of premium or discount, and is reflected as Interest Income in the Statement of Operations.
Brokerage Commissions and Futures Account Fees
Each Fund pays its respective brokerage commissions,
including applicable exchange fees, National Futures Association (“NFA”) fees, give-up fees, pit brokerage fees and other
transaction related fees and expenses charged in connection with trading activities for each Fund’s investment in U.S. Commodity
Futures Trading Commission (“CFTC”) regulated investments. The effects of trading spreads, financing costs/fees associated
with Financial Instruments, and costs relating to the purchase of U.S. Treasury securities or similar high credit quality short-term
fixed-income would also be borne by the Funds. Brokerage commissions on futures contracts are recognized on a half-turn basis (e.g.,
the first half is recognized when the contract is purchased (opened) and the second half is recognized when the transaction is closed).
The Sponsor is currently paying brokerage commissions on VIX futures contracts for the Funds that exceed variable create/redeem fees
collected by more than 0.04 % and 0.09 %, for SVIX and UVIX, respectively, of each Fund’s average net assets annually.
F- 19
Federal Income Tax
Each Fund is registered as a series of a Delaware
statutory trust and is treated as a partnership for U.S. federal income tax purposes. Accordingly, no Fund expects to incur U.S. federal
income tax liability; rather, each beneficial owner of a Fund’s Shares is required to take into account its allocable share of its
Fund’s income, gain, loss, deductions and other items for its Fund’s taxable year ending with or within the beneficial owner’s
taxable year.
Management of the Funds has reviewed all open tax
years and major jurisdictions (i.e., the last four tax year ends and the interim tax period since then, as applicable) and concluded that
there is no tax liability resulting from unrecognized tax benefits relating to uncertain income tax positions taken or expected to be
taken in future tax returns. The Funds are also not aware of any tax positions for which it is reasonably possible that the total amounts
of unrecognized tax benefits will significantly change in the next twelve months. On an ongoing basis, management monitors its tax positions
taken under the interpretation to determine if adjustments to conclusions are necessary based on factors including, but not limited to,
on-going analysis of tax law, regulation, and interpretations thereof.
NOTE 3 – INVESTMENTS
Short-Term Investments
The Funds may purchase U.S. Treasury Bills, agency
securities, and other high-credit quality short-term fixed income or similar securities with original maturities of one year or less.
A portion of these investments may be posted as collateral in connection with swap agreements, futures, and/or forward contracts.
Accounting for Derivative Instruments
In seeking to achieve each Fund’s investment
objective, the Sponsor uses a mathematical approach to investing. Using this approach, the Sponsor determines the type, quantity and mix
of investment positions, including derivative positions, which the Sponsor believes in combination, should produce returns consistent
with a Fund’s objective.
All open derivative positions at period end are
reflected on each respective Fund’s Schedule of Investments. Certain Funds utilized a varying level of derivative instruments in
conjunction with investment securities in seeking to meet their investment objectives during the period. While the volume of open positions
may vary on a daily basis as each Fund transacts derivatives contracts in order to achieve the appropriate exposure to meet its investment
objective, the volume of these open positions relative to the net assets of each respective Fund at the date of this report is generally
representative of open positions throughout the reporting period.
Following is a description of the derivative instruments
used by the Funds during the reporting period, including the primary underlying risk exposures related to each instrument type.
Futures Contracts
The Funds may enter into futures contracts to gain
exposure to changes in the value of, or as a substitute for investing directly in (or shorting), an underlying benchmark. A futures contract
obligates the seller to deliver (and the purchaser to accept) the future delivery of a specified quantity and type of asset at a specified
time and place. The contractual obligations of a buyer or seller may generally be satisfied by taking or making physical delivery of the
underlying commodity, if applicable, 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, or by cash settlement at expiration of contract.
Upon entering into a futures contract, each Fund
is required to deposit and maintain as collateral at least such initial margin as required by the exchange on which the transaction is
affected. The initial margin is segregated as cash and/or securities balances with brokers for futures contracts, as disclosed in the
Statements of Financial Condition, and is restricted as to its use. The Funds that enter into futures contracts maintain collateral at
the broker in the form of cash and/or securities. Pursuant to the futures contract, each Fund generally agrees to receive from or pay
to the broker(s) an amount of cash equal to the daily fluctuation in value of the futures contract. Such receipts or payments are known
as variation margin and are recorded by each Fund as unrealized gains or losses. Each Fund will realize a gain or loss upon closing of
a futures transaction.
F- 20
Futures contracts involve, to varying degrees,
elements of market risk (specifically exchange rate sensitivity, commodity price risk or equity market volatility risk) and exposure to
loss in excess of the amount of variation margin. The face or contract amounts reflect the extent of the total exposure each Fund has
in the particular classes of instruments. Additional risks associated with the use of futures contracts are imperfect correlation between
movements in the price of the futures contracts and the market value of the underlying Index or commodity and the possibility of an illiquid
market for a futures contract. With futures contracts, there is minimal but some counterparty risk to the Funds since futures contracts
are exchange-traded and the credit risk resides with the Funds’ clearing broker or clearinghouse itself. 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 a Fund to substantial losses. If
trading is not possible, or if a Fund determines not to close a futures position in anticipation of adverse price movements, the Fund
will be required to make daily cash payments of variation margin. The risk the Fund will be unable to close out a futures position will
be minimized by entering into such transactions on a national exchange with an active and liquid secondary market.
Option Contracts
An option is a contract that gives the buyer the
right, but not the obligation, to buy or sell a specified quantity of a commodity or other instrument at a specific (or strike) price
within a specified period of time, regardless of the market price of that instrument. There are two types of options: calls and puts.
A call option conveys to the option buyer the right to purchase a particular futures contract at a stated price at any time during the
life of the option. A put option conveys to the option buyer the right to sell a particular futures contract at a stated price at any
time during the life of the option. Options written by a Fund may be wholly or partially covered (meaning that the Fund holds an offsetting
position) or uncovered. In the case of the purchase of an option, the risk of loss of an investor’s entire investment (i.e., the
premium paid plus transaction charges) reflects the nature of an option as a wasting asset that may become worthless when the option expires.
Where an option is written or granted (i.e., sold) uncovered, the seller may be liable to pay substantial additional margin, and the risk
of loss is unlimited, as the seller will be obligated to deliver, or take delivery of, an asset at a predetermined price which may, upon
exercise of the option, be significantly different from the market value.
When a Fund writes a call or put, an amount equal
to the premium received is recorded and subsequently marked to market to reflect the current value of the option written. Premiums received
from writing options which expire are treated as realized gains. Premiums received from writing options which are exercised or closed
are added to the proceeds or offset against amounts paid on the underlying futures, swap or security transaction to determine the realized
gain (loss).
When a Fund purchases an option, the Fund pays
a premium which is included as an asset on the Statement of Financial Condition and subsequently marked to market to reflect the current
value of the option. Premiums paid for purchasing options which expire are treated as realized losses. The risk associated with purchasing
put and call options is limited to the premium paid. Premiums paid for purchasing options which are exercised or closed are added to the
amounts paid or offset against the proceeds on the underlying investment transaction to determine the realized gain (loss) when the underlying
transaction is executed.
Certain options transactions may subject the writer
(seller) to unlimited risk of loss in the event of an increase in the price of the contract to be purchased or delivered. The value of
a Fund’s options transactions, if any, will be affected by, among other things, changes in the value of a Fund’s underlying
benchmark relative to the strike price, changes in interest rates, changes in the actual and implied volatility of the Fund’s underlying
benchmark, and the remaining time until the options expire, or any combination thereof. The value of the options should not be expected
to increase or decrease at the same rate as the level of the Fund’s underlying benchmark, which may contribute to tracking error.
Options may be less liquid than certain other securities. A Fund’s ability to trade options will be dependent on the willingness
of counterparties to trade such options with the Fund. In a less liquid market for options, a Fund may have difficulty closing out certain
option positions at desired times and prices. A Fund may experience substantial downside from specific option positions and certain option
positions may expire worthless. Over-the-counter options generally are not assignable except by agreement between the parties concerned,
and no party or purchaser has any obligation to permit such assignments. The over-the-counter market for options is relatively illiquid,
particularly for relatively small transactions. The use of options transactions exposes a Fund to liquidity risk and counterparty credit
risk, and in certain circumstances may expose the Fund to unlimited risk of loss. The Funds may buy and sell options on futures contracts,
which may present even greater volatility and risk of loss.
F- 21
Swap Agreements
The Funds may enter into swap agreements for purposes
of pursuing their investment objectives or as a substitute for investing directly in (or shorting) an underlying Index or to create an
economic hedge against a position. Swap agreements are two-party contracts that have traditionally been entered into primarily with institutional
investors in over-the-counter (“OTC”) markets for a specified period, ranging from a day to more than one year. However, the
Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (the “Dodd-Frank Act”) provides for significant reforms of the OTC
derivative markets, including a requirement to execute certain swap transactions on a CFTC-regulated market and/or to clear such transactions
through a CFTC-regulated central clearing organization. In a standard swap transaction, two parties agree to exchange the returns earned
or realized on a particular predetermined investment, instrument or Index in exchange for a fixed or floating rate of return in respect
of a predetermined notional amount. Transaction or commission costs are reflected in the benchmark level at which the transaction is entered
into. The gross returns to be exchanged are calculated with respect to a notional amount and the benchmark returns to which the swap is
linked. Swap agreements do not involve the delivery of underlying instruments.
Generally, swap agreements entered into by the
Funds calculate and settle the obligations of the parties to the agreement on a “net basis” with a single payment. Consequently,
each Fund’s current obligations (or rights) under a swap agreement will generally be equal only to the net amount to be paid or
received under the agreement based on the relative values of such obligations (or rights) (the “net amount”). In a typical
swap agreement entered into by UVIX, the would be entitled to settlement payments in the event the level of the benchmark increases and
would be required to make payments to the swap counterparties in the event the level of the benchmark decreases, adjusted for any transaction
costs or trading spreads on the notional amount the Funds may pay. In a typical swap agreement entered into by SVIX, the Fund would be
required to make payments to the swap counterparties in the event the level of the benchmark increases and would be entitled to settlement
payments in the event the level of the benchmark decreases, adjusted for any transaction costs or trading spreads on the notional amount
the Funds may pay.
The net amount of the excess, if any, of each Fund’s
obligations over its entitlements with respect to each OTC swap agreement is accrued on a daily basis and an amount of cash and/or securities
having an aggregate value at least equal to such accrued excess is maintained for the benefit of the counterparty in a segregated account
by the Funds’ Custodian. The net amount of the excess, if any, of each Fund’s entitlements over its obligations with respect
to each OTC swap agreement is accrued on a daily basis and an amount of cash and/or securities having an aggregate value at least equal
to such accrued excess is maintained for the benefit of the Fund in a segregated account by a third party custodian. Until a swap agreement
is settled in cash, the gain or loss on the notional amount less any transaction costs or trading spreads payable by each Fund on the
notional amount are recorded as “unrealized appreciation or depreciation on swap agreements” and, when cash is exchanged,
the gain or loss realized is recorded as “realized gains or losses on swap agreements.” Swap agreements are generally valued
at the last settled price of the benchmark referenced asset.
Swap agreements contain various conditions, events
of default, termination events, covenants and representations. The triggering of certain events or the default on certain terms of the
agreement could allow a party to terminate a transaction under the agreement and request immediate payment in an amount equal to the net
positions owed to the party under the agreement. This could cause a Fund to have to enter into a new transaction with the same counterparty,
enter into a transaction with a different counterparty or seek to achieve its investment objective through any number of different investments
or investment techniques.
Swap agreements involve, to varying degrees, elements
of market risk and exposure to loss in excess of the unrealized gain/loss reflected. The notional amounts reflect the extent of the total
investment exposure each Fund has under the swap agreement, which may exceed the NAV of each Fund. Additional risks associated with the
use of swap agreements are imperfect correlations between movements in the notional amount and the price of the underlying reference Index
and the inability of counterparties to perform. Each Fund bears the risk of loss of the amount expected to be received under a swap agreement
in the event of the default or bankruptcy of a swap agreement counterparty. A Fund will typically enter into swap agreements only with
major global financial institutions. The creditworthiness of each of the firms that is a party to a swap agreement is monitored by the
Sponsor. The Sponsor may use various techniques to minimize credit risk including early termination and payment, using different counterparties,
limiting the net amount due from any individual counterparty and generally requiring collateral to be posted by the counterparty in an
amount approximately equal to that owed to the Funds. Outstanding swap agreements contractually terminate within one month but may be
terminated without penalty by either party at any time. Upon termination, the Fund is obligated to pay or receive the “unrealized
appreciation or depreciation” amount.
F- 22
The Funds, as applicable, collateralize swap agreements
by segregating or designating cash and/or certain securities as indicated on the Statements of Financial Condition or Schedules of Investments.
As noted above, collateral posted in connection with OTC derivative transactions is held for the benefit of the counterparty in a segregated
tri-party account at the Custodian to protect the counterparty against non-payment by the Funds. The collateral held in this account is
restricted as to its use. In the event of a default by the counterparty, the Funds will seek withdrawal of this collateral from the segregated
account and may incur certain costs in exercising its right with respect to the collateral. If a counterparty becomes bankrupt or otherwise
fails to perform its obligations due to financial difficulties, the Funds may experience significant delays in obtaining any recovery
in a bankruptcy or other reorganizational proceeding. The Funds may obtain only limited recovery or may obtain no recovery in such circumstances.
The Funds remain subject to credit risk with respect
to the amount they expect to receive from counterparties. However, the Funds have sought to mitigate these risks in connection with OTC
swaps by generally requiring that the counterparties for each Fund agree to post collateral for the benefit of the Fund, marked to market
daily, in an amount approximately equal to what the counterparty owes the Fund, subject to certain minimum thresholds. In the event of
a bankruptcy of a counterparty, such Fund will have direct access to the collateral received from the counterparty, generally as of the
day prior to the bankruptcy, because there is a one day time lag between the Fund’s request for collateral and the delivery of such
collateral. To the extent any such collateral is insufficient, the Funds will be exposed to counterparty risk as described above, including
the possible delays in recovering amounts as a result of bankruptcy proceedings.
The counterparty/credit risk for cleared derivative
transactions is generally lower than for OTC derivatives since generally a clearing organization becomes substituted for each counterparty
to a cleared derivative contract and, in effect, guarantees the parties’ performance under the contract as each party to a trade
looks only to the clearing organization for performance of financial obligations. In addition, cleared derivative transactions benefit
from daily marking-to-market and settlement, and segregation and minimum capital requirements applicable to intermediaries.
Fair Value of Derivative Instruments as of December 31, 2022
Asset Derivatives
Liability Derivatives
Derivatives Not Accounted for as Hedging Instruments
Fund
Statement of
Financial
Condition
Location
Unrealized
Appreciation
Statement of
Financial
Condition
Location
Unrealized
Depreciation
VIX Futures Contracts
-1x Short VIX Futures ETF
$ 1,156,106
2x Long VIX Futures ETF
( 9,203,522 )
Total Trust
$ ( 8,047,416 )
* Includes cumulative appreciation
(depreciation) of futures contracts as reported in the Schedule of Investments. Only current day’s variation margin is reported
within the Statements of Financial Condition in variation margin receivable/payable.
The Effect of Derivative Instruments on the
Statement of Operations
For the Period Ended December 31, 2022
Derivatives Not Accounted for as hedging Instruments
Location of Gain
(Loss) on Derivatives
Recognized in income
Fund
Realized Gain (Loss) on Derivatives Recognized in Income
Change in Unrealized Appreciation (Depreciation) on Derivatives Recognized in Income
VIX Futures Contracts
Net realized gain (loss) on futures contracts/ changes in unrealized appreciation (depreciation) on futures contrats
-1x Short VIX Futures ETF
$ 16,573,816
$ 1,156,106
2x Long VIX Futures ETF
( 67,298,870 )
( 9,203,522 )
Total Trust
$ ( 50,725,054 )
$ ( 8,047,416 )
F- 23
The Effect of Derivative Instruments on the
Statement of Operations
For the three months ended December 31, 2022
Offsetting Assets and Liabilities
Each Fund is subject to master netting agreements
or similar arrangements that allow for amounts owed between each Fund and the counterparty to be netted upon an early termination. The
party that has the larger payable pays the excess of the larger amount over the smaller amount to the other party. The master netting
agreements or similar arrangements do not apply to amounts owed to/from different counterparties. As described above, the Funds utilize
derivative instruments to achieve their investment objective during the year. The amounts shown in the Statements of Financial Condition
do not take into consideration the effects of legally enforceable master netting agreements or similar arrangements.
For financial reporting purposes, the Funds do
not offset derivative assets and derivative liabilities that are subject to netting arrangements in the Statements of Financial Condition.
The following table presents each Fund’s derivatives by investment type and by counterparty net of amounts available for offset
under a master netting agreement and the related collateral received or pledged by the Funds as of December 31, 2022.
Fair Values of Derivative Instruments as of December 31, 2022
Assets
Liabilities
Fund
Gross
Amounts of
Recognized
Assets
presented
in the
Statements of
Financial
Condition
Gross
Amounts
Offset
in the
Statements of
Financial
Condition
Net
Amounts of
Assets
presented
in the
Statements of
Financial
Condition
Gross
Amounts of
Recognized
Liabilities
presented
in the
Statements of
Financial
Condition
Gross
Amounts
Offset
in the
Statements of
Financial
Condition
Net
Amounts of
Liabilities
presented
in the
Statements of
Financial
Condition
-1x Short VIX Futures ETF
$ -
$ -
$ -
$ 187,030
$ -
$ 187,030
2x Long VIX Futures ETF
830,840
-
830,840
-
-
-
Asset (Liability) amounts shown in the table below
represent amounts owed to (by) the Funds for the derivative-related investments at December 31, 2022. These amounts may be collateralized
by cash or financial instruments, segregated for the benefit of the Funds or the counterparties, depending on whether the related contracts
are in an appreciated or depreciated position at period end. Amounts shown in the column labeled “Net Amount” represent the
uncollateralized portions of these amounts at period end. These amounts may be un-collateralized due to timing differences related to
market movements or due to minimum thresholds for collateral movement, as further described above under the caption “Accounting
for Derivative Instruments”.
F- 24
Gross Amounts Not Offset in the Statements of Financial Condition as of December 31, 2022
Fund
Amounts of
Recognized
Assets /
(Liabilities)
presented
in the
Statements of
Financial
Condition
Financial
Instruments for
the Benefit of
(the Funds) /
the
Counterparties
Cash
Collateral for
the Benefit of
(the Funds) /
the
Counterparties
Net
Amount
-1x Short VIX Futures ETF
$ ( 187,030 )
$ -
$ -
$ ( 187,030 )
2x Long VIX Futures ETF
830,840
-
-
830,840
NOTE 4 – AGREEMENTS
Management Fee
SVIX pays the Sponsor a management fee (the “Management
Fee”), monthly in arrears, in an amount equal to 1.35 % per annum of its average daily net assets. UVIX pays the Sponsor
a Management Fee, monthly in arrears, in an amount equal to 1.65 % per annum of its average daily net assets. “Average
daily net assets” is calculated by dividing the month-end net assets of each Fund by the number of calendar days in such month.
No other Management Fee is paid by the Funds. The
Management Fee is paid in consideration of the Sponsor’s trading advisory services and the other services provided to the Fund that
the Sponsor pays directly.
Pursuant to the Sponsor Agreement between Sponsor
and the Trust, on behalf of the Funds, the Sponsor oversees and pays Milliman FRM (“Commodity Sub-Adviser”) for its services
as Commodity Sub-Adviser. The Commodity Sub-Adviser is paid by the Sponsor an annual sub-advisory fee of 0.25 % based on each Fund’s
average daily net assets (total assets of the Fund, minus the sum of its accrued liabilities). The commodity sub-advisory fee is waived
for the first 6 months of each Fund’s operations or until a Fund reaches $ 35 million in average daily net assets. The
Funds do not directly pay the Commodity Sub-Adviser.
Non-Recurring Fees and Expenses
Each Fund pays all its non-recurring and unusual
fees and expenses, if any, as determined by the Sponsor. Non-recurring and unusual fees and expenses are fees and expenses that are unexpected
or unusual in nature, such as legal claims and liabilities, litigation costs or indemnification or other material expenses which are not
currently anticipated obligations of the Funds.
The Administrator, Transfer Agent and Custodian
U.S. Bancorp Fund Services, LLC, doing business
as U.S. Bank Global Fund Services (“Fund Services”), an indirect subsidiary of U.S. Bancorp, serves as the Fund’s
fund accountant, administrator and transfer agent pursuant to certain fund accounting servicing, fund administration servicing and transfer
agent servicing agreements. U.S. Bank National Association, a subsidiary of U.S. Bancorp and parent company of Fund Services,
intends to serve as the Fund’s custodian pursuant to a custody agreement.
F- 25
The Marketing Agent
Foreside Fund Services, LLC (the “Marketing
Agent”) serves as the Marketing Agent of the Funds. Its principal duties are: (i) to work with the Transfer Agent to review
and approve orders placed by Authorized Participants and transmitted to the Transfer Agent; (ii) maintain copies of confirmations
of Creation Unit creation and redemption order acceptances; (iii) maintain telephonic, facsimile and/or access to direct computer
communications links with the Transfer Agent; and (iv) review and approve, prior to use, all Trust marketing materials for compliance
with applicable SEC and FINRA advertising rules.
The Marketing Agent retains all marketing materials
separately for the Funds, at their offices located at Three Canal Plaza, Suite 100 Portland, Maine 04101.
As compensation for the services it provides, the Marketing Agent receives
a fee from the Funds.
NOTE 5 – OFFERING COSTS
Offering costs will be amortized by the Funds over
a twelve month period on a straight-line basis beginning once the fund commences operations. The Sponsor will not charge its Management
Fee in the first year of operations of a Fund in an amount equal to the offering costs. Normal and expected expenses incurred in connection
with the continuous offering of Shares of a Fund after the commencement of its trading operations will be paid by the Sponsor.
NOTE 6 – CREATION AND REDEMPTION OF CREATION UNITS
Each Fund issues and redeems shares from time to
time, but only in one or more Creation Units. A Creation Unit is a block of at least 10,000 Shares of a Fund. Creation Units
may be created or redeemed only by Authorized Participants.
Except when aggregated in Creation Units, the Shares
are not redeemable securities. Retail investors, therefore, generally will not be able to purchase or redeem Shares directly from or with
a Fund. Rather, most retail investors will purchase or sell Shares in the secondary market with the assistance of a broker. Thus, some
of the information contained in these Notes to Financial Statements—such as references to the Transaction Fees imposed on purchases
and redemptions is not relevant to retail investors.
Transaction Fees on Creation and Redemption Transactions
The manner by which Creation Units are purchased
or redeemed is governed by the terms of the Authorized Participant Agreement and Authorized Participant Procedures Handbook. By placing
a purchase order, an Authorized Participant agrees to: (1) deposit cash with the Custodian; and (2) if permitted by the Sponsor in its
sole discretion, enter into or arrange for an exchange of futures contract for related position or block trade with the relevant fund
whereby the Authorized Participant would also transfer to such Fund a number and type of exchange-traded futures contracts at or near
the closing settlement price for such contracts on the purchase order date.
Authorized Participants may pay a fee up to 0.03 %
of the value of each order they place with each order to create or redeem a Creation Unit in order to compensate the Administrator, the
Custodian and the Transfer Agent of each Fund and its Shares, for services in processing the creation and redemption of Creation Units
and to offset the costs of increasing or decreasing derivative positions, unless the transaction fee is waived or otherwise adjusted by
the Sponsor. The Sponsor provides such Authorized Participant with prompt notice in advance of any such waiver or adjustment of the transaction
fee. Authorized Participants may sell the Shares included in the Creation Units they purchase from the Funds to other investors in the
secondary market.
Transaction Fees for the period ended December 31, 2022:
Fund
Period
Ended
December 31,
2022
-1x Short VIX Futures ETF
$ 105,025
2x Long VIX Futures ETF
178,809
Total Trust
$ 283,834
F- 26
NOTE 7 – FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS
Selected data is for a Share outstanding throughout
the period ended December 31, 2022:
VS Trust
Financial Highlights
-1x Short VIX Futures ETF
2x Long VIX Futures ETF
Period Ended
December 31,
2022 (1)
Period Ended
December 31,
2022 (1)
Net Asset Value, Beginning of Period
$ 15.00
$ 15.00
Net investment loss per share (2)
( 0.18 )
( 0.15 )
Net Realized and Unrealized Gain (Loss) on Investments and Futures Contracts (3)
( 0.19 )
( 9.00 )
Net Increase (Decrease) in Net Asset Value Resulting from Operations
( 0.37 )
( 9.15 )
Net Asset Value, End of Period
$ 14.63
$ 5.85
Market Value Per Share, at December 31, 2022 (4)
$ 14.66
$ 5.82
Total Return at Net Asset Value (5)
( 2.47 ) %
( 61.00 ) %
Total Return at Market Value (5)
( 2.27 ) %
( 61.20 ) %
Ratios to Average Net Assets: (6)
Expense ratio (7)
2.41 %
2.46 %
Net Investment Loss
( 2.03 ) %
( 1.96 ) %
(1) Both Funds commenced operations on March 28, 2022.
(2) Net investment loss per share represents net investment loss
divided by the daily average shares of beneficial interest outstanding during the period.
(3) Due to timing of capital share transactions, per share amounts
may not compare with amounts appearing elsewhere within these Financial Statements.
(4) Market values are determined at the close of the applicable
primary listing exchange, which may be later than when the Funds’ net asset value is calculated.
(5) Percentages are not annualized for the period ended December
31, 2022.
(6) Percentages are annualized.
(7) The expense ratio would be 2.29% and 2.39% respectively, if
brokerage commissions and futures and futures account fees were excluded.
F- 27
NOTE 8 – RISK
Correlation and Compounding Risk
The Funds do not seek to achieve their stated investment
objective over a period of time greater than a single day (as measured from NAV calculation time to NAV calculation time). The return
of a Fund for a period longer than a single day is the result of its return for each day compounded over the period and usually will differ
in amount and possibly even direction from the inverse (-1x) or two times (2x) the return of the Fund’s benchmark for the period.
A Fund will lose money if its benchmark performance is flat over time, and it is possible for a Fund to lose money over time even if the
performance of its benchmark increases in the case of UVIX (or decreases in the case of SVIX), as a result of daily rebalancing, the benchmark’s
volatility, compounding, and other factors. Compounding is the cumulative effect of applying investment gains and losses and income to
the principal amount invested over time. Gains or losses experienced over a given period will increase or reduce the principal amount
invested from which the subsequent period’s returns are calculated. The effects of compounding will likely cause the performance
of a Fund to differ from the Fund’s stated multiple times the return of its benchmark for the same period. The effect of compounding
becomes more pronounced as benchmark volatility and holding period increase. The impact of compounding will impact each shareholder differently
depending on the period of time an investment in a Fund is held and the volatility of the benchmark during the holding period of an investment
in the Fund. Longer holding periods, higher benchmark volatility, inverse exposure and greater leverage each affect the impact of compounding
on a Fund’s returns. Daily compounding of a Fund’s investment returns can dramatically and adversely affect its longer-term
performance during periods of high volatility. Volatility may be at least as important to a Fund’s return for a period as the return
of the Fund’s underlying benchmark.
Each Fund uses leverage and should produce daily
returns that are more volatile than that of its benchmark. For example, the daily return of UVIX should be approximately two times as
volatile on a daily basis as is the return of a fund with an objective of matching the same benchmark. The daily return of SVIX is designed
to return the inverse (-1x) of the return that would be expected of a fund with an objective of matching the same benchmark. The
Funds are not appropriate for all investors and present significant risks not applicable to other types of funds. The Funds
use leverage and are riskier than similarly benchmarked exchange-traded funds that do not use leverage. An investor should only consider
an investment in a Fund if he or she understands the consequences of seeking daily leveraged or daily inverse investment results. Shareholders
who invest in the Funds should actively manage and monitor their investments, as frequently as daily.
While the Funds seek to meet their investment objectives,
there is no guarantee they will do so. Factors that may affect a Fund’s ability to meet its investment objective include: (1) the
Sponsor’s ability to purchase and sell Financial Instruments in a manner that correlates to a Fund’s objective; (2) an imperfect
correlation between the performance of Financial Instruments held by a Fund and the performance of the applicable benchmark; (3) bid-ask
spreads on such Financial Instruments; (4) fees, expenses, transaction costs, financing costs associated with the use of Financial Instruments
and commission costs; (5) holding or trading instruments in a market that has become illiquid or disrupted; (6) a Fund’s Share prices
being rounded to the nearest cent and/or valuation methodology; (7) changes to a benchmark Index that are not disseminated in advance;
(8) the need to conform a Fund’s portfolio holdings to comply with investment restrictions or policies or regulatory or tax law
requirements; (9) early and unanticipated closings of the markets on which the holdings of a Fund trade, resulting in the inability of
the Fund to execute intended portfolio transactions; (10) accounting standards; and (11) differences caused by a Fund obtaining exposure
to only a representative sample of the components of a benchmark, over weighting or under weighting certain components of a benchmark
or obtaining exposure to assets that are not included in a benchmark.
F- 28
A number of factors may affect a Fund’s ability
to achieve a high degree of correlation with its benchmark, and there can be no guarantee that a Fund will achieve a high degree of correlation.
Failure to achieve a high degree of correlation may prevent a Fund from achieving its investment objective. In order to achieve a high
degree of correlation with their underlying benchmarks, the Funds seek to rebalance their portfolios daily to keep exposure consistent
with their investment objectives. Being materially under- or over-exposed to the benchmark may prevent such Funds from achieving a high
degree of correlation with such benchmark. Market disruptions or closure, large amounts of assets into or out of the Funds, regulatory
restrictions, extreme market volatility, and other factors will adversely affect such Funds’ ability to adjust exposure to requisite
levels. The target amount of portfolio exposure is impacted dynamically by the benchmarks’ movements during each day. Other things
being equal, more significant movement in the value of its benchmark up or down will require more significant adjustments to a Fund’s
portfolio. Because of this, it is unlikely that the Funds will be perfectly exposed (i.e., --1x, -2x, as applicable) to its benchmark
at the end of each day, and the likelihood of being materially under- or over-exposed is higher on days when the benchmark levels are
volatile near the close of the trading day.
Each Fund seeks to rebalance its portfolio on a
daily basis. The time and manner in which a Fund rebalances its portfolio may vary from day to day depending upon market conditions and
other circumstances at the discretion of the Sponsor. Unlike other funds that do not rebalance their portfolios as frequently, each Fund
may be subject to increased trading costs associated with daily portfolio rebalancing in order to maintain appropriate exposure to the
underlying benchmarks.
Counterparty Risk
Each Fund may use derivatives such as swap agreements
and forward contracts (collectively referred to herein as “derivatives”) in the manner described herein as a means to achieve
their respective investment objectives. The use of derivatives by a Fund exposes the Fund to counterparty risks.
Regulatory Treatment
Derivatives are generally traded in OTC markets
and have only recently become subject to comprehensive regulation in the United States. Cash-settled forwards are generally regulated
as “swaps”, whereas physically settled forwards are generally not subject to regulation (in the case of commodities other
than currencies) or subject to the federal securities laws (in the case of securities). Title VII of the Dodd-Frank Act (“Title
VII”) created a regulatory regime for derivatives, with the CFTC responsible for the regulation of swaps and the SEC responsible
for the regulation of “security-based swaps.” The SEC requirements have largely yet to be made effective, but the CFTC requirements
are largely in place. The CFTC requirements have included rules for some of the types of transactions in which the Funds will engage,
including mandatory clearing and exchange trading, reporting, and margin for OTC swaps. Title VII also created new categories of regulated
market participants, such as “swap dealers,” “security-based swap dealers,” “major swap participants,”
and “major security-based swap participants” who are, or will be, subject to significant new capital, registration, recordkeeping,
reporting, disclosure, business conduct and other regulatory requirements. The regulatory requirements under Title VII continue to be
developed and there may be further modifications that could materially and adversely impact the Funds, the markets in which a Fund trades
and the counterparties with which the Fund engages in transactions.
As noted, the CFTC rules may not apply to all of
the swap agreements and forward contracts entered into by the Funds. Investors, therefore, may not receive the protection of CFTC regulation
or the statutory scheme of the Commodity Exchange Act (the “CEA”) in connection with each Fund’s swap agreements or
forward contracts. The lack of regulation in these markets could expose investors to significant losses under certain circumstances, including
in the event of trading abuses or financial failure by participants.
Counterparty Credit Risk
The Funds will be subject to the credit risk of
the counterparties to the derivatives. In the case of cleared derivatives, the Funds will have credit risk to the clearing corporation
in a similar manner as the Funds would for futures contracts. In the case of OTC derivatives, the Funds will be subject to the credit
risk of the counterparty to the transaction – typically a single bank or financial institution. As a result, a Fund is subject to
increased credit risk with respect to the amount it expects to receive from counterparties to OTC derivatives entered into as part of
that Fund’s principal investment strategy. If a counterparty becomes bankrupt or otherwise fails to perform its obligations due
to financial difficulties, a Fund could suffer significant losses on these contracts and the value of an investor’s investment in
a Fund may decline.
The Funds have sought to mitigate these risks by
generally requiring that the counterparties for each Fund agree to post collateral for the benefit of the Fund, marked to market daily,
subject to certain minimum thresholds. However, there are no limitations on the percentage of assets each Fund may invest in swap agreements
or forward contracts with a particular counterparty. To the extent any such collateral is insufficient or there are delays in accessing
the collateral, the Funds will be exposed to counterparty risk as described above, including possible delays in recovering amounts as
a result of bankruptcy proceedings. The Funds typically enter into transactions only with major global financial institutions.
F- 29
OTC derivatives of the type that may be utilized
by the Funds are generally less liquid than futures contracts because they are not traded on an exchange, do not have uniform terms and
conditions, and are generally entered into based upon the creditworthiness of the parties and the availability of credit support, such
as collateral, and in general, are not transferable without the consent of the counterparty. These agreements contain various conditions,
events of default, termination events, covenants and representations. The triggering of certain events or the default on certain terms
of the agreement could allow a party to terminate a transaction under the agreement and request immediate payment in an amount equal to
the net positions owed to the party under the agreement. For example, if the level of the Fund’s benchmark has a dramatic intraday
move that would cause a material decline in the Fund’s NAV, the terms of the swap may permit the counterparty to immediately close
out the transaction with the Fund. In that event, it may not be possible for the Fund to enter into another swap or to invest in other
Financial Instruments necessary to achieve the desired exposure consistent with the Fund’s objective. This, in turn, may prevent
the Fund from achieving its investment objective, particularly if the level of the Fund’s benchmark reverses all or part of its
intraday move by the end of the day.
In addition, cleared derivatives benefit from daily
marking-to-market and settlement, and segregation and minimum capital requirements applicable to intermediaries. To the extent the Fund
enters into cleared swap transactions, the Fund will deposit collateral with a FCM in cleared swaps customer accounts, which are required
by CFTC regulations to be separate from its proprietary collateral posted for cleared swaps transactions. Cleared swap customer collateral
is subject to regulations that closely parallel the regulations governing customer segregated funds for futures transactions but provide
certain additional protections to cleared swaps collateral in the event of a clearing broker or clearing broker customer default. For
example, in the event of a default of both the clearing broker and a customer of the clearing broker, a clearing house is only permitted
to access the cleared swaps collateral in the legally separate (but operationally comingled) account of the defaulting cleared swap customer
of the clearing broker, as opposed to the treatment of customer segregated funds, under which the clearing house may access all of the
commingled customer segregated funds of a defaulting clearing broker. Derivatives entered into directly between two counterparties do
not necessarily benefit from such protections, particularly if entered into with an entity that is not registered as a “swap dealer”
with the CFTC. This exposes the Funds to the risk that a counterparty will not settle a transaction in accordance with its terms and conditions
because of a dispute over the terms of the contract (whether or not bona fide) or because of a credit or liquidity problem, thus causing
the Funds to suffer a loss.
The Sponsor regularly reviews the performance of
its counterparties for, among other things, creditworthiness and execution quality. In addition, the Sponsor periodically considers the
addition of new counterparties and the counterparties used by a Fund may change at any time. Each day, the Funds disclose their portfolio
holdings as of the prior Business Day. Each Fund’s portfolio holdings identifies its counterparties, as applicable. This portfolio
holdings information may be accessed through the web on the Sponsor’s website at www.volatilityshares.com.
Each counterparty and/or any of its affiliates
may be an Authorized Participant or shareholder of a Fund, subject to applicable law.
The counterparty risk for cleared derivatives transactions
is generally lower than for OTC derivatives. Once a transaction is cleared, the clearing organization is substituted and is a Fund’s
counterparty on the derivative. The clearing organization guarantees the performance of the other side of the derivative. Nevertheless,
some risk remains, as there is no assurance that the clearing organization, or its members, will satisfy its obligations to a Fund.
Leverage Risk
The Funds may utilize leverage in seeking to achieve
their respective investment objectives and will lose more money in market environments adverse to their respective daily investment objectives
than funds that do not employ leverage. The use of leveraged and/or inverse leveraged positions increases the risk of total loss of an
investor’s investment, even over periods as short as a single day.
For example, because UVIX includes a two times
(2x) multiplier, a single-day movement in the relevant benchmark approaching 50 % at any point in the day could result in the total
loss or almost total loss of an investor’s investment if that movement is contrary to the investment objective of the Fund in which
an investor has invested, even if such Fund’s benchmark subsequently moves in an opposite direction, eliminating all or a portion
of the movement. This would be the case with downward single-day or intraday movements in the underlying benchmark of a Fund or upward
single-day or intraday movements in the benchmark of a Fund, even if the underlying benchmark maintains a level greater than zero at all
times.
Liquidity Risk
Financial Instruments cannot always be liquidated
at the desired price. It is difficult to execute a trade at a specific price when there is a relatively small volume of buy and sell orders
in a market. A market disruption can also make it difficult to liquidate a position or find a swap or forward contract counterparty at
a reasonable cost. Market illiquidity may cause losses for the Funds. The large size of the positions which the Funds may acquire increases
the risk of illiquidity by both making their 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 Funds will typically invest in Financial
Instruments related to one benchmark, which in many cases is highly concentrated.
F- 30
“Contango” and “Backwardation” Risk
The Funds typically hold futures contracts. As
the futures contracts near expiration, they are generally replaced by contracts that have a later expiration. Thus, for example, a contract
purchased and held in November 2019 may specify a January 2020 expiration. As that contract nears expiration, it may be replaced by selling
the January 2020 contract and purchasing the contract expiring in March 2020. This process is referred to as “rolling.” Rolling
may have a positive or negative impact on performance. For example, historically, the prices of certain types of futures contracts have
frequently been higher for contracts with shorter-term expirations than for contracts with longer-term expirations, which is referred
to as “backwardation.” In these circumstances, absent other factors, the sale of the January 2020 contract would take place
at a price that is higher than the price at which the March 2020 contract is purchased, thereby creating a gain in connection with rolling.
While certain types of futures contracts have historically exhibited consistent periods of backwardation, backwardation will likely not
exist in these markets at all times.
Since the introduction of VIX futures contracts,
there have frequently been periods where VIX futures prices reflect higher expected volatility levels further out in time. This can result
in a loss from “rolling” the VIX futures to maintain the constant weighted average maturity of the applicable Fund benchmark.
Losses from exchanging a lower priced VIX future for a higher priced longer-term future in the rolling process could adversely affect
the value of a Fund and, accordingly, decrease the return of a Fund.
Natural Disaster/Epidemic Risk
Natural or environmental disasters, such as earthquakes,
fires, floods, hurricanes, tsunamis and other severe weather-related phenomena generally, and widespread disease, including pandemics
and epidemics (for example, the novel coronavirus COVID-19), have been and can be highly disruptive to economies and markets and have
recently led, and may continue to lead, to increased market volatility and significant market losses. Such natural disaster and health
crises could exacerbate political, social, and economic risks previously mentioned, and result in significant breakdowns, delays, shutdowns,
social isolation, and other disruptions to important global, local and regional supply chains affected, with potential corresponding results
on the operating performance of the Funds and their investments. A climate of uncertainty and panic, including the contagion of infectious
viruses or diseases, may adversely affect global, regional, and local economies and reduce the availability of potential investment opportunities,
and increases the difficulty of performing due diligence and modeling market conditions, potentially reducing the accuracy of financial
projections. Under these circumstances, the Funds may have difficulty achieving their investment objectives which may adversely impact
performance. Further, such events can be highly disruptive to economies and markets, significantly disrupt the operations of individual
companies (including, but not limited to, the Funds’ Sponsor and third party service providers), sectors, industries, markets, securities
and commodity exchanges, currencies, interest and inflation rates, credit ratings, investor sentiment, and other factors affecting the
value of the Funds’ investments. These factors can cause substantial market volatility, exchange trading suspensions and closures
and can impact the ability of the Funds to complete redemptions and otherwise affect Fund performance and Fund trading in the secondary
market. A widespread crisis may also affect the global economy in ways that cannot necessarily be foreseen at the current time. How long
such events will last and whether they will continue or recur cannot be predicted. Impacts from these events could have significant impact
on a Fund’s performance, resulting in losses to your investment.
Risk that Current Assumptions and Expectations Could Become Outdated
As a Result of Global Economic Shocks
The onset of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) has
caused significant shocks to global financial markets and economies, with many governments taking extreme actions to slow and contain
the spread of COVID-19. These actions have had, and likely will continue to have, a severe economic impact on global economies as economic
activity in some instances has essentially ceased. Financial markets across the globe are experiencing severe distress at least equal
to what was experienced during the global financial crisis in 2008. In March 2020, U.S. equity markets entered a bear market in the fastest
such move in the history of U.S. financial markets. Contemporaneous with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in the US, oil experienced
shocks to supply and demand, impacting the price and volatility of oil. The global economic shocks being experienced as of the date hereof
may cause the underlying assumptions and expectations of the Funds to become outdated quickly or inaccurate, resulting in significant
losses.
NOTE 9 – SUBSEQUENT EVENTS
Management has evaluated the possibility of subsequent
events existing in the Trust’s and the Funds’ financial statements through the date the financial statements were issued.
On January 11, 2023, the Trust announced a 1-for-5 reverse share split (a “Reverse Split”) of the shares of beneficial interest of 2x
Long VIX Futures ETF (ticker symbol: UVIX). The Reverse Split was effective prior to market open on January 25, 2023, when the fund began
trading at its post-split price. The Reverse Split increased the price per share of the fund with a proportionate decrease in the number
of shares outstanding. Therefore, the Reverse Split did not change the aggregate net asset value of a shareholder’s investment at the
time of the Reverse Split.
For UVIX shareholders who held a quantity of shares that was not an exact multiple of the Reverse Split ratio
(i.e., not a multiple of 5), the Reverse Split resulted in the creation of a fractional share. Post-Reverse Split fractional shares were
made available to be redeemed for cash and sent to the shareholder’s broker of record. This redemption may have caused some shareholders
to realize gains or losses, which could have been a taxable event for those shareholders.
F-31
Text extracted from the filing as submitted to EDGAR. Formatting, tables and exhibits are simplified for reading; the original document is authoritative for anything you rely on.