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 | 0.45% |
Distribution and/or Service (12b-1) Fees | None |
Other Expenses | 0.00% |
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses | 0.45% |
1 Year | 3 Years | 5 Years | 10 Years | |
$ 46 | $ 144 | $ 252 | $ 567 |
■ | 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. |
■ | Market Risk. The trading prices of currencies, fixed income securities and other instruments fluctuate in response to a variety of factors, such as events that impact the entire market, market segments, or specific issuers. 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. |
■ | 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. |
■ | 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. |
2 WisdomTree Trust Prospectus |
■ | 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 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. |
■ | 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 or cause such issuer or counterparty to be perceived (whether by market participants, rating agencies, pricing services or otherwise) as being in such situations. The value of an investment in the Fund may change quickly and without warning in response to issuer or counterparty defaults, changes in the credit ratings of the Fund’s portfolio investments and/or perceptions related thereto. |
■ | Currency Exchange Rate Risk. Changes in currency exchange rates and the relative value of Indian rupees 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. |
■ | Derivatives Risk. The Fund invests 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 the Fund’s Prospectus, such as counterparty and issuer credit risk, 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/or swaps. 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 swaps, these risks include but are not limited to: (1) the success of the adviser’s and sub-adviser’s ability to predict movements in the prices of individual indexes or securities, fluctuations in markets and movements in interest rates; (2) an imperfect or no correlation between the changes in market value of the indexes or securities and the prices of swaps; and (3) no guarantee that an active market will exist for swaps at any particular time. |
■ | 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. Such conditions may impact the ability of the Fund to buy, sell or otherwise transfer securities, adversely affect the trading market and price for Fund shares and cause the Fund to decline in value. |
■ | 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 markets countries. |
■ | Geographic Concentration in
India. Because the Fund invests primarily in the securities of companies in India, it will be impacted by events or conditions affecting India. Political and economic conditions and changes in regulatory, tax, or
economic policy in India could significantly affect the market in that country and in surrounding or related countries and have a negative impact on the Fund’s performance. The Indian economy may differ favorably or unfavorably from the U.S.
economy in such respects as the rate of growth of gross domestic product, the rate of inflation, capital reinvestment, resource self-sufficiency and balance of payments position. The Indian government has exercised and continues to exercise
significant influence over many aspects of the economy, and the number of public sector enterprises in India is substantial. Accordingly, Indian government actions in the future could have a significant effect on the Indian economy. Despite recent downturns, the Indian economy has experienced generally sustained growth during the last several years. There are no guarantees this will continue. While the Indian government has implemented economic structural reforms with the objective of liberalizing India’s exchange and trade policies, reducing the |
WisdomTree Trust Prospectus 3 |
fiscal deficit, controlling inflation, promoting a sound monetary policy, reforming the financial sector, and placing greater reliance on market mechanisms to direct economic activity, there can be no assurance that these policies will continue or that the economic recovery will be sustained. Religious and border disputes persist in India. In addition, India has experienced civil unrest and hostilities with neighboring countries such as Pakistan. The Indian government has confronted separatist movements in several Indian states. Investment and repatriation restrictions in India may impact the ability of the Fund to track its Index. Each of the factors described above could have a negative impact on the Fund’s performance and increase the volatility of the Fund. |
■ | Geopolitical Risk. Some countries and regions in which the Fund invests have experienced security concerns, war, threats of war, aggression and/or conflict, terrorism, economic uncertainty, natural and environmental disasters and/or systemic market dislocations (including due to events outside of such countries or regions) 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. |
■ | Interest Rate Risk. Interest rate risk is the risk that fixed income securities will decline in value because of an increase in interest rates and changes to other factors, such as perception of an issuer’s creditworthiness. Funds with higher durations generally are subject to greater interest rate risk. For example, the price of a security with a ten-year duration would be expected to drop by approximately 10% in response to a 1% increase in interest rates. |
■ | 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. |
■ | 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. |
■ | 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. |
■ | Offshore Investor Risk. In addition to the general risks associated with investing in non-U.S. currencies and non-U.S. currency markets, there are special risks associated with investing in Indian rupee or securities designed to provide exposure to Indian rupee. While the government of India is moving toward a more liberal approach, it still places restrictions on the capability and capacity of foreign investors to access and trade rupee directly. Foreign investors in India still face burdensome taxes on investments in income-producing securities. These limitations and restrictions may impact the availability, liquidity and pricing of securities designed to provide offshore investors with exposure to Indian markets. As a result, returns achieved by offshore investors, such as the Fund, could differ from those available to domestic investors in India. |
■ | 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. |
4 WisdomTree Trust Prospectus |
Return | Quarter/Year | |
Highest Return | 9.01% | 3Q/2012 |
Lowest Return | (8.17)% | 3Q/2011 |
WisdomTree Indian Rupee Strategy Fund | 1 Year | 5 Years | Since
Inception May 14, 2008 |
Return Before Taxes Based on NAV | 1.06% | (1.60)% | 0.12% |
Return After Taxes on Distributions | 1.06% | (2.58)% | (0.62)% |
Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares | 0.60% | (1.53)% | (0.15)% |
JP Morgan Emerging Local Markets Index Plus (ELMI+) India (Reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes) | 1.71% | (1.00)% | 1.12% |
WisdomTree Trust Prospectus 5 |
6 WisdomTree Trust Prospectus |