WisdomTree Western Asset Unconstrained Bond Fund – UBND (NASDAQ Ticker)
SUMMARY PROSPECTUS – May 1, 2015, as revised May 15, 2015
Before you invest in the Fund, as defined below, you may want to review the Fund’s prospectus and statement of additional information (“SAI”), which contain more information about the Fund and the risks of investing in the Fund. The Fund’s current prospectus and SAI are incorporated by reference into this summary prospectus. You can find the Fund’s prospectus and SAI, as well as other information about the Fund, online at www.wisdomtree.com/prospectus. You may also obtain this information at no charge by calling 1-866-909-9473 or by sending an e-mail request to getinfo@wisdomtree.com.
Investment Objective
The WisdomTree Western Asset Unconstrained Bond Fund (the “Fund”) seeks a high level of total return consisting of both income and capital appreciation.
Fees and Expenses of the Fund
The following table describes the fees and expenses you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the Fund. The fees are expressed as a percentage of the Fund’s average net assets.
| Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment) | None | |||
| Annual Fund Operating Expenses (expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment) |
||||
| Management Fees |
0.60 | % | ||
| Distribution and/or Service (12b-1) Fees |
None | |||
| Other Expenses* |
0.00 | % | ||
| Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses | 0.60 | % | ||
| Fee Waivers |
(0.05 | )% | ||
| Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses After Fee Waivers** | 0.55 | % |
| * | “Other Expenses” are based on estimated amounts for the current fiscal year. |
| ** | WisdomTree Asset Management, Inc. has contractually agreed to limit the Management Fee to 0.55% through December 31, 2016, unless earlier terminated by the Board of Trustees of the Trust at any time. |
Example
The following example is intended to help retail investors compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other funds. It illustrates the hypothetical expenses that such investors would incur over various periods if they were to invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and then redeem all of the shares at the end of those periods. This example assumes that the Fund provides a return of 5% a year and that operating expenses remain the same. This example does not include the brokerage commissions that retail investors may pay to buy and sell shares of the Fund. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions, your costs would be:
| 1 Year | 3 Years | |||||||
| $56 | $184 | |||||||
Portfolio Turnover
The Fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Fund shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in annual fund operating expenses or in the example, affect the Fund’s performance. Because the Fund is newly organized, portfolio turnover information is not yet available.
Principal Investment Strategies of the Fund
The Fund is an actively managed exchange traded fund (“ETF”) and seeks to achieve its investment objective through direct and indirect investments in debt securities (“Debt”). Under normal circumstances, the Fund will invest at least 80% of its net assets, plus the amount of any borrowings for investment purposes, in Debt. For these purposes, Debt includes fixed income securities, such as bonds, notes and other debt obligations, denominated in U.S. dollars or local currencies, as well as certain derivatives and other instruments based on debt instruments or currency described herein. Debt may be issued or guaranteed by the U.S. Treasury, agencies or instrumentalities of the U.S. government or government sponsored enterprises, sovereign governments, agencies or instrumentalities (government notes or bonds), local government or agencies (municipals, regional government or agency bonds), supranational organizations (supranational bonds) or corporations (corporate bonds). Debt includes debt securities linked to inflation rates of the U.S. and non-U.S. countries, credit-linked notes, zero coupon securities,
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interest-only securities, loan participation notes, TBA Transactions, money market securities, mortgage-backed and asset-backed securities, repurchase agreements backed by U.S. and non-U.S. government securities, “putable bonds” and “busted” convertible securities. For these purposes, “supranational organizations” include entities such as the European Investment Bank, International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, International Finance Corporation or other regional development banks. The Fund may invest up to 25% of its net assets in credit-linked notes.
The Fund intends to provide global exposure across geographic regions and countries. The Fund intends to invest in Debt originating in the following regions/countries: North America, South America, Asia, Australia and New Zealand, Latin America, Europe, Africa and the Middle East. The Fund intends to invest primarily in developed and emerging markets countries. The Fund may invest up to 50% of the Fund’s total assets in securities issued by issuers organized in or that maintain their principal place of business in emerging market countries. The Fund’s credit exposure is monitored on an ongoing basis from a risk perspective, and may be modified, reduced, or eliminated. The Fund’s exposure to any single corporate issuer will generally be limited to 10% of the Fund’s total assets. The Fund’s exposure to any single sovereign issuer (other than the United States government) generally will be limited to 25% of the Fund’s total assets. The percentage of the Fund’s assets in a specific region, country or issuer will change from time to time. The Fund’s exposure to any one country generally will be limited to 30% of the Fund’s net assets, excluding U.S. exposure, though this percentage may change from time to time in response to economic events and changes to the respective credit ratings of the Debt in such country.
The universe of Debt includes securities that are rated “investment grade” as well as “non-investment grade” (commonly referred to as “junk bonds”). Securities rated investment grade generally are considered to be of higher credit quality and subject to lower default risk. Although securities rated below investment grade may offer the potential for higher yields, they generally are subject to a higher potential risk of loss.
The Fund attempts to limit interest rate risk by seeking to keep the average effective duration of its portfolio between negative five years and ten years under normal market conditions. The Fund’s average effective portfolio duration is important to investors as an indication of the Fund’s sensitivity to changes in interest rates. Funds with higher durations generally are subject to greater interest rate risk. For example, the value of a fund with a portfolio duration of ten years would be expected to drop by 10% for every 1% increase in interest rates. To protect the Fund against the impact of rising rates, the Adviser or Sub-Advisers may take the duration of the Fund below zero. A negative duration suggests that the Fund may benefit from a rise in rates. The Fund’s actual portfolio duration may be longer or shorter depending on market conditions.
The Fund may invest up to 20% of its net assets in securities other than Debt. The Fund may invest up to 35% of its net assets in derivatives and will not invest more than 20% of its nets assets in derivatives that are not Debt. The Fund uses derivatives primarily to hedge interest rate risk and foreign currency risk (including short positions in derivatives, such as short positions in U.S. Treasury futures contracts, and through the use of currency forward contracts), but the Fund may also use derivatives to enhance returns, as a substitute for, or to gain exposure to, a position in an underlying asset, to reduce transaction costs, to maintain full market exposure (i.e., adjust investment characteristics to more closely approximate the characteristics of the market in which the Fund invests), to manage cash flow, or to preserve capital. The Fund’s use of derivatives will be collateralized by investments in money market securities and other liquid assets. Such investments will be consistent with the Fund’s investment objective and will not be used to enhance leverage.
The decision to secure exposure through direct investment in Debt or indirectly through derivative transactions will be a function of, among other things, market accessibility, credit exposure, tax ramifications and regulatory requirements applicable to U.S. investment companies.
Principal Risks of Investing in the Fund
You can lose money on your investment in the Fund. The Fund is subject to the risks described below. Some or all of these risks may adversely affect the Fund’s net asset value per share (“NAV”), trading price, yield, total return and/or ability to meet its objectives. For more information about the risks of investing in the Fund, see the sections in the Fund’s Prospectus, titled “Additional Principal Risk Information About the Fund” and “Additional Non-Principal Risk Information.”
| n | Investment Risk. As with all investments, an investment in the Fund is subject to investment risk. Investors in the Fund could lose money, including the possible loss of the entire principal amount of an investment, over short or long periods of time. |
| n | Market Risk. The trading prices of fixed income securities and other instruments fluctuate in response to a variety of factors. The Fund’s NAV and market price may fluctuate significantly in response to these and other factors. As a result, an investor could lose money over short or long periods of time. |
| n | Shares of the Fund May Trade at Prices Other Than NAV. As with all ETFs, Fund shares may be bought and sold in the secondary market at market prices. The trading prices of the Fund’s shares in the secondary market generally differ from the Fund’s daily NAV, and there may be times when the market price of the shares is more than the NAV (premium) or less than the NAV (discount). This risk is heightened in times of market volatility or periods of steep market declines. |
| n | Capital Controls and Sanctions Risk. Economic conditions, such as volatile currency exchange rates and interest rates, political events, military action and other conditions may, without prior warning, lead to foreign government intervention (including intervention by the U.S. government with respect to foreign governments, economic sectors, foreign companies and related securities and interests) and the imposition of capital controls and/or sanctions, which may also include retaliatory actions of one government against another government, such as seizure of assets. Capital controls and/or sanctions include the prohibition of, or restrictions on, the ability to own or transfer currency, securities or other assets, which may potentially include derivative instruments related thereto. Capital controls and/or sanctions may also impact the ability of the Fund to buy, sell, transfer, receive, deliver or otherwise obtain exposure to, foreign securities or currency, negatively impact the value and/or liquidity of such instruments, adversely affect the trading market and price for shares of the Fund, and cause the Fund to decline in value. |
| n | Cash Redemption Risk. The Fund generally redeems shares for cash or otherwise includes cash as part of its redemption proceeds. The Fund may be required to sell or unwind portfolio investments in order to obtain the cash |
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| needed to distribute redemption proceeds. This may cause the Fund to recognize a capital gain that it might not have recognized if it had made a redemption in-kind. As a result, the Fund may pay out higher annual capital gain distributions than if the in-kind redemption process was used. |
| n | Counterparty and Issuer Credit Risk. The financial condition of an issuer of a debt security or other instrument or a counterparty to a derivative or other contract may cause such issuer or counterparty to default, become unable to pay interest or principal due or otherwise fail to honor its obligations. While the Fund attempts to limit credit and counterparty exposure in a manner consistent with its investment objective, the value of an investment in the Fund may change quickly and without warning in response to issuer or counterparty defaults and changes in the credit ratings of the Fund’s portfolio investments. |
| n | Currency Exchange Rate Risk. While the Fund intends to focus its investment on Debt denominated in U.S. dollars, the Fund may invest a portion of its assets in investments denominated in non-U.S. currencies, or in securities that provide exposure to such currencies, currency exchange rates or interest rates denominated in such currencies. Changes in currency exchange rates and the relative value of non-U.S. currencies will affect the value of the Fund’s investment and the value of your Fund shares. Currency exchange rates can be very volatile and can change quickly and unpredictably. As a result, the value of an investment in the Fund may change quickly and without warning and you may lose money. |
| n | Derivatives Risk. The Fund may invest in derivatives. Derivatives are financial instruments that derive their performance from an underlying reference asset, such as a commodity, index, interest rate or inflation rate. The return on a derivative instrument may not correlate with the return of its underlying reference asset. Derivatives are subject to a number of risks described elsewhere in this Prospectus, such as interest rate risk, market risk, and issuer-specific risk. Derivatives can be volatile and may be less liquid than other securities. As a result, the value of an investment in the Fund may change quickly and without warning and you may lose money. In addition to the other risks associated with the use of derivatives described elsewhere in this Prospectus, there are risks associated with the Fund’s use of forward currency contracts and futures contracts. With respect to forward currency contracts, these risks include but are not limited to the risk that the counterparty will default on its obligations. With respect to futures contracts, these risks include but are not limited to: (1) the success of the adviser’s and sub-advisers’ ability to predict movements in the prices of individual currencies or securities, fluctuations in markets and movements in interest rates; (2) an imperfect or no correlation between the changes in market value of the currencies or securities and the prices of futures contracts; and (3) no guarantee that an active market will exist for the contracts at any particular time. |
| n | Emerging Markets Risk. Investments in securities and instruments traded in developing or emerging markets, or that provide exposure to such securities or markets, can involve additional risks relating to political, economic, or regulatory conditions not associated with investments in U.S. securities and instruments or investments in more developed international markets. For example, developing or emerging market governments may, without prior warning, impose capital controls on the ability to transfer currency, securities or other assets. The Fund’s ability to access certain developing or emerging markets also may be limited due to a variety of factors, including currency convertibility issues. Such conditions may impact the ability of the Fund to buy, sell or otherwise transfer securities, cause the Fund’s returns to differ from those available to domestic investors, adversely affect the trading market and price for Fund shares and cause the Fund to decline in value. |
| n | Financial Sector Risk. The Fund may invest in securities issued by companies in the financial sector, and therefore the performance of the Fund could be negatively impacted by events affecting this sector. This sector can be significantly affected by changes in interest rates, government regulation, the rate of defaults on corporate, consumer and government debt, the availability and cost of capital, and fallout from the housing and sub-prime mortgage crisis. |
| n | Foreign Securities Risk. Investments in non-U.S. securities involve certain risks that may not be present with investments in U.S. securities. For example, investments in non-U.S. securities may be subject to risk of loss due to foreign currency fluctuations or to political or economic instability. Investments in non-U.S. securities also may be subject to withholding or other taxes and may be subject to additional trading, settlement, custodial, and operational risks. These and other factors can make investments in the Fund more volatile and potentially less liquid than other types of investments and may be heightened in connection with investments in developing or emerging market countries. |
| n | Geographic Investment Risk. To the extent the Fund invests a significant portion of its assets in the debt securities of companies or agencies of a single country or region, it is more likely to be impacted by events or conditions affecting that country or region. |
| n | Geopolitical Risk. Some countries and regions in which the Fund invests have experienced security concerns, war or threats of war and aggression, terrorism, economic uncertainty, natural and environmental disasters and/or systemic market dislocations that have led, and in the future may lead, to increased short-term market volatility and may have adverse long-term effects on the U.S. and world economies and markets generally, each of which may negatively impact the Fund’s investments. |
| n | High Yield Securities Risk. Higher yielding, high risk debt securities, sometimes referred to as junk bonds, may present additional risk because these securities may be less liquid and present more credit risk than investment grade bonds. The price of high yield securities tends to be more susceptible to issuer-specific operating results and outlook and to real or perceived adverse economic and competitive industry conditions. |
| n | Interest Rate Risk. Interest rate risk is the risk that fixed income securities will decline in value because of changes in interest rates and other factors, such as perception of an issuer’s creditworthiness. |
| n | Issuer-Specific Risk. Issuer-specific events, including changes in the financial condition of an issuer, can have a negative impact on the value of the Fund. |
| n | Management Risk. The Fund is actively managed using proprietary investment strategies and processes. There can be no guarantee that these strategies and processes will be successful or that the Fund will achieve its investment objective. |
| n | Mortgage- and Asset-Backed Securities Risk. Movements in interest rates (both increases and decreases) may quickly and significantly reduce the value of certain types of mortgage- and asset-backed securities. Mortgage- and asset- |
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| backed securities can also be subject to the risk of default on the underlying mortgages or other assets. Mortgage- and asset-backed securities are subject to fluctuations in yield due to prepayment rates that may be faster or slower than expected. Default or bankruptcy of a counterparty to a TBA Transaction would expose the Fund to possible loss. |
| n | Non-Diversification Risk. The Fund is considered to be non-diversified, which means that it may invest more of its assets in the securities of a single issuer or a smaller number of issuers than if it were a diversified fund. To the extent the Fund invests a significant percentage of its assets in a limited number of issuers, the Fund is subject to the risks of investing in those few issuers, and may be more susceptible to a single adverse economic or regulatory occurrence. As a result, changes in the market value of a single security could cause greater fluctuations in the value of Fund shares than would occur in a diversified fund. |
| n | Repurchase Agreement Risk. The Fund’s investment in repurchase agreements may be subject to market and credit risk with respect to the collateral securing the repurchase agreements. Investments in repurchase agreements also may be subject to the risk that the market value of the underlying obligations may decline prior to the expiration of the repurchase agreement term. |
| n | Short Sales Risk. The Fund may engage in “short sale” transactions. The Fund will lose value if the security or instrument that is the subject of a short sale increases in value. The Fund also may enter into a short derivative position through a futures contract, swap agreement, structured note, or short positions on currency forwards. If the price of the security or derivative that is the subject of a short sale increases, then the Fund will incur a loss equal to the increase in price from the time that the short sale was entered into plus any premiums and interest paid to a third party in connection with the short sale. Therefore, short sales involve the risk that losses may be exaggerated, potentially losing more money than the actual cost of the investment. Also, there is the risk that the third party to the short sale may fail to honor its contract terms, causing a loss to the Fund. |
| n | Sovereign Debt Risk. Bonds issued by governments, sometimes referred to as “sovereign” debt, present risks not associated with investments in other types of bonds. The government or agency issuing the debt may be unable or unwilling to make interest payments and/or repay the principal owed. In such instance, the Fund may have limited recourse against the issuing government or agency. In the past, governments of emerging market countries have refused to honor their payment obligations on issued bonds. |
Fund Performance
The Fund is new and therefore does not have a performance history. Once the Fund has completed a full calendar year of operations, a bar chart and table will be included that will provide some indication of the risks of investing in the Fund by showing the variability of the Fund’s return based on net assets and comparing the Fund’s performance to a broad measure of market performance.
Management
Investment Adviser and Sub-Advisers
WisdomTree Asset Management, Inc. serves as investment adviser to the Fund. Western Asset Management Company, Western Asset Management Company Limited, and Western Asset Management Company Pte. Ltd. in Singapore serve as sub-advisers to the Fund.
Portfolio Managers
S. Kenneth Leech, Chief Investment Officer, has been a portfolio manager of the Fund since its inception.
Mark Lindbloom, Portfolio Manager, has been a portfolio manager of the Fund since its inception.
Christopher Orndorff, CFA, Portfolio Manager, has been a portfolio manager of the Fund since its inception.
Michael C. Buchanan, Deputy Chief Investment Officer, has been a portfolio manager of the Fund since its inception.
Chia-Liang Lian, Head of Emerging Markets Debt, has been a portfolio manager of the Fund since its inception.
Anup Agarwal, Head of MBS/ABS, has been a portfolio manager of the Fund since its inception.
Buying and Selling Fund Shares
The Fund is an ETF. This means that shares of the Fund are listed on a national securities exchange, such as NASDAQ, and trade at market prices. Most investors will buy and sell shares of the Fund through brokers. Because Fund shares trade at market prices rather than NAV, shares may trade at a price greater than NAV (premium) or less than NAV (discount).
The Fund issues and redeems shares at NAV only in large blocks of shares (“Creation Units”), which only certain institutions or large investors (typically market makers or other broker-dealers) may purchase or redeem. Currently, Creation Units generally consist of 100,000 shares, though this may change from time to time. Creation Units are not expected to consist of less than 50,000 shares. The Fund generally issues and redeems Creation Units in exchange for a portfolio of securities closely approximating the holdings of the Fund and/or a designated amount of U.S. cash.
Tax Information
The Fund intends to make distributions that may be taxed as ordinary income, qualified dividend income, or capital gains.
Payments to Broker-Dealers and Other Financial Intermediaries
If you purchase shares of the Fund through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank) (an “Intermediary”), WisdomTree Asset Management, Inc. or its affiliates may pay Intermediaries for certain activities related to the Fund, including participation in activities that are designed to make Intermediaries more knowledgeable about exchange traded products, including the Fund, or for other activities, such as marketing, educational training or other initiatives related to the sale or promotion of Fund shares. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing the Intermediary and your salesperson to recommend the Fund over another investment. Any such arrangements do not result in increased Fund expenses. Ask your salesperson or visit the Intermediary’s website for more information.
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