Sage Announces Proposed Changes to ESG ETF

AUSTIN, Texas, Jan. 24, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Sage Advisory Services ("Sage"), a fixed income investment management firm, announced that its ESG Intermediate Credit exchanged‐traded fund (the "Fund"), "GUDB," will be actively managed on or about February 14, 2020.

At that time, the Fund will no longer seek to track an index and operate pursuant to a transparent actively managed strategy. The Fund's name will change to Sage Intermediate Term ETF. The expense ratio and ticker remain unchanged. The new investment objective and strategy includes:

• The Fund seeks competitive risk-adjusted returns by investing in fixed income securities that display strong fundamentals and positive environmental, social and governance ("ESG") characteristics.
• A proprietary ESG framework to score individual issuers based on environmental, social, and governance attributes. Sage subscribes to the philosophy that companies with more sustainable corporate policies will keep pace with non‐ESG portfolios while promoting enhanced ESG characteristics.
• Each security considered for inclusion in the Fund's portfolio is assessed and scored based on a proprietary system called the "Sage Leaf Score." The Sage Leaf Score, which is based on a 1 to 5 scale (5 represents ESG leaders), combines an ESG macro industry risk analysis with a company‐level sustainability evaluation along with any possible exclusions to create an individual score for each issuer. The Fund seeks to maintain an investment portfolio that consists of securities with a Sage Leaf Score of 3 or better.
• Includes government and agency credits in order to broaden the investment horizon and improve the Fund's risk/reward profile and potential.

"The risk dynamics of the marketplace are changing, and we feel this product needs to adjust for the benefit of the investor," said Bob Smith, Sage President and CIO. "Creating a more active approach is consistent with the general investment strategy of the firm."

About Sage Advisory Services
Sage is an independent investment management firm headquartered in Austin, TX, that serves the institutional and private client marketplace with traditional fixed‐income asset management, global tactical ETF strategies and liability‐driven investment solutions. As of December 2019, Sage manages and advises over $14 billion in client assets. For more information, visit https://www.sageadvisory.com/

Investors should carefully consider the investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses of the Sage ESG Intermediate Credit ETF (to be called "Sage ESG Intermediate Term ETF"). This and other important information about the Fund is contained in the prospectus, which can be obtained by calling 888‐724‐3911. The prospectus should be read carefully before investing. The Fund is distributed by Northern Lights Distributors, LLC, Member FINRA/SIPC. Sage Advisory Services LTD Co. and Northern Lights Distributors, LLC are not affiliated.

Important Risk Information

Investing in the Fund involves risk including the possible loss of principal. There is no guarantee that the Fund will achieve its objectives. The fund will generally invest at least 80% of its assets in intermediate term fixed‐income securities. The value of fixed income securities will fluctuate with changes in interest rates. Lower quality bonds present greater risk than bonds of higher quality. The ESG investment strategy limits the types and number of investment opportunities available and the strategy may underperform other strategies. The Fund is structures as an ETF and is subject to risks including, not individually redeemable, trading issues and market price variance.

The investment technique and risk analyses applied by the adviser may not produce the desired results and market conditions may affect the Fund's value. The fund's investment in collateralized mortgage obligations may entail greater market, prepayment and liquidity risks than other mortgage backed securities. The Fund is subject to risks that may impact the real estate market. Shares may trade below their NAV and there is no assurance that an active trading market for the shares will develop or by maintained.

3110‐NLD‐1/21/2020

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SOURCE Sage Advisory