Technological Innovation Portfolio Series 18

Under normal circumstances, the Trust will invest at least 80% of the value of its assets in companies that the Sponsor believes are technologically innovative. Technologically innovative companies are innovative companies that create new technology or use current technology in a new way to create new growth opportunities. These technological innovations are being engineered and applied in multiple sectors of the economy to improve corporate profit, marketing and operations as well as the efficiency, productivity and enjoyment in the daily lives of individuals.

The Trust consists of companies that the Sponsor feels have demonstrated a capacity to be innovative or are involved in an industry that has been involved in technological advances in various fields, including, but not limited to, health sciences, global security, information access and manufacturing improvements. The U.S.-listed common stocks held by the Trust may include the common stocks of U.S. and non-U.S. companies. The foreign securities that may be held by the Trust may include American Depositary Receipts (“ADRs”). The Trust may invest in the securities of real estate investment Trusts (“REITs”). The Trust may also invest in small-, mid- and large-capitalization companies. As a result of this strategy, the Trust is concentrated in the information technology sector.

The Sponsor selects companies it believes are contributing to some of today’s largest technological innovations. The Sponsor begins with a universe of approximately 130 securities of companies that the Sponsor believes to be innovative. The Sponsor then reduces the initial universe of securities by following a disciplined process based on, but not limited to, the following factors:

• Valuation. The Sponsor may screen for reasonably valued companies based on measures such as price-to-earnings, price-to-book and price-to-cash flow.
• Growth. The Sponsor may screen for companies with a history of better than average growth of revenues, earnings and dividends (if applicable).
• Profitability. The Sponsor may screen for companies with a history of consistent and high profitability as measured by return-on-assets, return-on-equity, gross margin and net margin.
• Liquidity. The Sponsor may screen for companies whose shares may not trade frequently enough to be able to be included in a portfolio.
• Balance Sheet. The Sponsor favors companies that possess overall financial strength and exhibit balance sheet improvements relative to their peers and the marketplace.
• Industry Leadership. The Sponsor favors companies that possess a strong competitive position among their domestic and global peers.

As with all investments, you may lose some or all of your investment in the Trust. No assurance can be given that the Trust’s investment objective will be achieved. The Trust also might not perform as well as you expect. This can happen for reasons such as these:

• Securities prices can be volatile. The value of your investment may fall over time. Market value fluctuates in response to various factors. These can include stock market movements, purchases or sales of securities by the Trust, government policies, litigation, and changes in interest rates, inflation, the financial condition of the securities’ issuer or even perceptions of the issuer. Changes in legal, political, regulatory, tax and economic conditions may cause fluctuations in markets and securities prices, which could negatively impact the value of the Trust. Additionally, event such war, terrorism, natural and environmental disasters and the spread of infectious illnesses or other public health emergencies may adversely affect the economy, various markets and issuers. Recently, the outbreak of a novel and highly contagious form of coronavirus (“COVID-19”) has adversely impacted global commercial activity and contributed to significant volatility in certain markets. Many governments and businesses have instituted quarantines and closures, which has resulted in significant disruption in manufacturing, supply chains, consumer demand and economic activity. The potential impacts are increasingly uncertain, difficult to assess and impossible to predict, and may result in significant losses. Any adverse event could materially and negatively impact the value and performance of Trust and the Trust’s ability to achieve its investment objectives. Units of the Trust are not deposits of any bank and are not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency.
• The Trust is concentrated in the information technology sector. As a result, the factors that impact the information technology sector will likely have a greater effect on this Trust than on a more broadly diversified Trust. Companies involved in this sector must contend with rapid changes in technology, intense competition, government regulation and the rapid obsolescence of products and services. Furthermore, sector predictions may not materialize and the companies selected for the Trust may not represent the entire sector and may not participate in the overall sector growth.
• The Trust invests in securities issued by small-capitalization and mid-capitalization companies. These securities customarily involve more investment risk than securities of large-capitalization companies. Small-capitalization and mid-capitalization companies may have limited product lines, markets or financial resources and may be more vulnerable to adverse general market or economic developments.
• Share prices or dividend rates on the securities in the Trust may decline during the life of the Trust. There is no guarantee that share prices of the securities in the Trust will not decline and that the issuers of the securities will declare dividends in the future and, if declared, whether they will remain at current levels or increase over time.
• The Trust may be susceptible to potential risks through breaches in cybersecurity. A breach in cybersecurity refers to both intentional and unintentional events that may cause the Trust to lose proprietary information, suffer data corruption or lose operational capacity. Such events could cause the Sponsor of the Trust to incur regulatory penalties, reputational damage, additional compliance costs associated with corrective measures and/or financial loss. In addition, cybersecurity breaches of the Trust’s third-party service providers, or issuers in which the Trust invests, can also subject the Trust to many of the same risks associated with direct cybersecurity breaches.
• The Trust is subject to risks arising from various operational factors and their service providers. Operational factors include, but not limited to, human error, processing and communication errors, errors of the Trust’s service providers, counterparties or other third-parties, failed or inadequate processes and technology or systems failures. Additionally, the Trust may be subject to the risk that a service provider may not be willing or able to perform their duties as required or contemplated by their agreements with the Trust. Although the Trust seeks to reduce these operational risks through controls and procedures, there is no way to completely protect against such risks.
• Inflation may lead to a decrease in the value of assets or income from investments.
• The Sponsor does not actively manage the portfolio. The Trust will generally hold, and may, when creating additional units, continue to buy, the same securities even though a security’s outlook, market value or yield may have changed.

See “Investment Risks” in Part A of the prospectus and “Risk Factors” in Part B of the prospectus for additional information.