AXS Managed Futures Strategy Fund Class C (MHFCX) Exchange: NMFQS

The Fund pursues its investment objective by mainly investing, primarily, directly or indirectly through its wholly-owned subsidiary (the “Subsidiary”), in a combination of (i) Trading Companies that employ the Managed Futures Program of one or more commodity trading advisers (“CTAs”) selected by the Fund’s investment adviser, Equinox Institutional Asset Management, LP (“Equinox” or the “Adviser”) and/or derivative instruments such as swap agreements that provide exposure to the such Managed Futures Programs, and (ii) an actively managed fixed-income portfolio. A “Managed Futures Program” generally is a trading program that a CTA uses to guide its investments in futures, forwards, options or spot contracts. Each of these investments may be tied to a particular asset class: commodities, equities, fixed income or foreign currencies. A “Trading Company” is a pooled investment vehicle organized as a limited liability company and operated as a commodity pool. The Fund’s return will be derived principally from changes in the value of securities held in the Fund’s portfolio, and the Fund’s assets consist principally of securities (including shares of the Subsidiary). • Derivative Instruments: The Fund or the Subsidiary may invest directly in a variety of derivative instruments including exchange-traded futures and option contracts, forward contracts (including interbank currencies), swaps and other over the counter (“OTC”) derivatives, or may invest in one or more Managed Futures Programs that utilize such derivative instruments to gain exposure to a wide variety of global markets for currencies, interest rates, stock market indices, energy resources, metals and agricultural products. Derivatives may be used as substitutes for securities, commodity, and currencies and for hedging price risk. In general, a derivative instrument typically involves leverage, i.e., it provides exposure to potential gain or loss from a change in the level of the market price of a security, currency or commodity (or a basket or index) in a notional amount that exceeds the amount of cash or assets required to establish or maintain the derivative contract. Any Managed Futures Program may take a long or short position in such markets. Any investment in derivative instruments may be subject to fees and transaction costs that will negatively impact the Fund’s performance.  To the extent the Fund employs derivatives to gain exposure to Managed Futures Programs, it is anticipated that the Fund will utilize a total return swap (a “Swap”), a type of derivative instrument based on a customized index of Managed Futures Program(s) or a basket of Trading Companies (in each case, a “Reference Program”) designed to replicate the aggregate returns of the Managed Futures Programs selected by the Adviser. Any Swap will be based on a notional amount agreed upon by the Adviser and a counterparty. The Adviser will retain the ability to (i) add or remove Managed Futures Programs from the Reference Program and (ii) adjust the notional exposure between the Managed Futures Programs that comprise the Reference Program. Generally, the fees and expenses of a Swap are based on the notional value of the Swap. The value of a Reference Program typically includes a deduction for fees of the counterparty as well as management and performance fees of the relevant CTAs. Because the Reference Program is designed to replicate the returns of Managed Futures Programs selected by the Adviser, the performance of the Fund will depend on the ability of the relevant CTAs to generate returns in excess of the costs of the relevant Swap(s).  • Fixed-Income Securities: The fixed-income securities that the Fund invests in may have any maturity and may include, without limitation, corporate bonds and other corporate debt securities, securities issued by the U.S. government and its agencies and instrumentalities, money market securities and other interest-bearing instruments or any derivative instrument meant to track the return of any such instrument, and cash. The Fund may buy debt securities for liquidity purposes, to serve as collateral related to other Fund investments, or to seek income. The Fund may, without limitation, seek to obtain market exposure to the securities in which it primarily invests by entering into a series of purchase and sale contracts. The Fund may also invest, without limitation, in money market funds or other investment companies (such as exchange traded funds (“ETFs”)) whose assets are comprised primarily of fixed income securities or that seek to track the composition and/or performance of specific fixed income indexes. These fixed-income securities and other investments may serve as margin and collateral for the derivatives positions of the Fund.  • Subsidiary: Generally, the Fund may invest up to approximately 25% of its total assets in the Subsidiary, which has the same investment objective as the Fund. Investments in the Subsidiary are intended to provide the Fund with exposure to futures contracts and commodities in a manner consistent with the limitations of the federal tax requirements that apply to the Fund. To the extent they are applicable to the investment activities of the Subsidiary, the Subsidiary is subject to the same investment restrictions and limitations, and follows the same compliance policies and procedures as the Fund.  Equinox employs a multi-step process to select and allocate across Managed Futures Programs that are consistent with the Fund’s investment objective:  • i. Screening. Equinox uses proprietary and commercial databases to identify a universe of Managed Futures Programs that may be suitable for investment by the Subsidiary. These programs are quantitatively screened primarily based on their historic performance data (i.e., return streams and volatility over selected time frames). Other criteria are also used to screen programs, including length of track record and assets under management.  • ii. Analysis and Selection. Equinox further analyzes the pre-screened Managed Futures Programs by examining both qualitative and quantitative factors. The qualitative factors include the business backgrounds of the principals, the trading strategies used, and the depth of the CTA’s research department. Quantitative analyses include a variety of financial and statistical measures that are used to better comprehend and categorize the program trading strategies.  All Managed Futures Programs selected for inclusion into the portfolio undergo rigorous due diligence reviews before receiving an allocation. Due diligence reviews include site visits, track record verification, and background checks of the firm and principals.  • iii. Portfolio Design. Equinox invests the assets of the Subsidiary with the aim of providing exposure to a portfolio of complementary Managed Futures Programs that is consistent with the Fund’s investment objective. Equinox seeks to moderate portfolio risk by diversifying the Fund’s exposure to futures contracts and other derivative instruments across: (i) trading methodologies (e.g., trend following, countertrend, spread, technical, fundamental); (ii) trading time horizons; and (iii) sectors and markets (currencies, interest rates, stock market indices, energy resources, metals and agricultural products). The relative weightings and overall exposure to Managed Futures Programs in the portfolio are adjusted periodically.  • iv. Risk Management. Equinox monitors the trading and performance of the Managed Futures Programs in the portfolio with the aims of identifying and mitigating unusual risks. Some of the factors monitored are margin usage, daily volatility, and equity drawdowns. Responses to extraordinary trading patterns or increased risk may include consultation with the CTA to determine the cause of the condition, partial redemption of allocated assets, or complete withdrawal from the trading program.