EVNT
1. Summary
- EVNT is an actively managed, event-driven ETF. It mainly runs merger arbitrage: it buys the stock or bonds of companies in announced deals and sometimes shorts the acquirer. It also holds "special situations" such as spin-offs and restructurings.
- It runs almost no leverage. On September 30, 2026 it was 93.1% long and 9.3% short, for 102.3% gross and 83.8% net. The prospectus says it will be "net long."
- It shorts mainly by selling borrowed stock. The fee table carries a 0.01% line for dividends and interest on short positions. Swaps, options and futures are permitted, but no document says how much, if any, it holds.
- Most relevant for us: EVNT says little about reaching 3.0x gross. Its useful lessons are structural. It shows short costs as a separate fee table line under a unitary fee. Its fundamental policies bar buying on margin but allow bank borrowing up to 300% asset coverage. Our fund's policies would need to allow the broker borrowing a 150/150 book uses.
2. Key facts
| Item | Detail | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Name and ticker | AltShares Event-Driven ETF (EVNT). Intraday ticker EVNTIV. | EVNT-FS, page 1, header and "Fund Facts"; EVNT-PR, page 1, cover |
| Exchange | NYSE Arca | EVNT-FS, page 1, "Fund Facts"; EVNT-PR, page 1, cover ("NYSE Arca, Inc. Symbol: EVNT") |
| CUSIP | 03875R783 | EVNT-FS, page 1, "Fund Facts" |
| Inception date | December 31, 2014 on the fact sheet. This is the start of the predecessor mutual fund. Conflict: the SAI says the predecessor "began operations on January 2, 2015 as a traditional open-end mutual fund." The current series took over the assets on September 25, 2026. | EVNT-FS, page 1, "Fund Facts"; EVNT-SAI, page 6, "Trust and Fund Overview" |
| Trust, and whether it is a multi-client series trust | The Arbitrage Funds, a Delaware statutory trust organized December 22, 1999, with five series. All five are advised by Water Island Capital, LLC. So it is the adviser's own trust, not a multi-client platform (my inference). | EVNT-SAI, page 6, "Trust and Fund Overview"; EVNT-SAI, page 4, "Glossary" ("Fund Complex"); EVNT-SAI, page 69, "Organization and Description of Shares of Beneficial Interest" |
| Fiscal year end | May 31 (for example "the fiscal year ended May 31, 2026") | EVNT-SAI, page 69, "Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm"; EVNT-SAI, page 47, "Portfolio Turnover" |
| Net assets and NAV | Fund AUM $13 million, September 30, 2026. NAV per share not stated. | EVNT-FS, page 1, "Fund Facts" |
| Morningstar category and rating | Not stated. The fact sheet names Morningstar only as a data source. | EVNT-FS, page 2, footnote |
| Number of long and short positions | 73 holdings, counted as "# Events," September 30, 2026. Separate long and short counts are not stated. | EVNT-FS, page 2, "Portfolio Characteristics" |
| Distribution frequency | Annually: each fund "distributes its net investment income and net realized capital and foreign currency gains to shareholders as dividends annually" | EVNT-SAI, page 88, "Equalization Accounting" |
| Creations and redemptions | In kind or cash. Purchases use "an in-kind deposit of a designated portfolio of securities (or cash for all or any portion of such securities". Redemptions are paid in "an in-kind basket" or cash. Creation Units are 10,000 shares. The prospectus warns the fund "may effect redemptions partly or wholly for cash". | EVNT-SAI, page 72, "Purchases of Creation Units"; EVNT-SAI, page 75, "Redemptions of Creation Units"; EVNT-SAI, page 6, "Trust and Fund Overview"; EVNT-PR, page 5, "Cash Transactions Risk" |
Other facts:
- Diversification conflict. The fact sheet calls EVNT "a non-diversified, actively managed ETF" (EVNT-FS, page 1, "Objective"). The SAI says "The Event-Driven ETF is a diversified series of the Trust" (EVNT-SAI, page 6, "Trust and Fund Overview"). The summary prospectus lists no non-diversification risk (EVNT-PR, pages 3 to 6, "Principal Risks").
- Control person. As of September 1, 2026, John S. Orrico or the adviser "beneficially owned 38.03% of the outstanding voting shares of the Event-Driven predecessor exchange traded fund" (EVNT-SAI, page 58, "Control Persons and Principal Holders of Securities").
3. Service providers
| Role | Firm | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Adviser | Water Island Capital, LLC, New York. John S. Orrico is its Managing Member and a control person. | EVNT-PR, page 8, "Investment Adviser"; EVNT-SAI, pages 58 and 59, "Investment Advisory Agreement" |
| Sub-adviser | Not stated (no sub-adviser named; "sub-advis" has no hits) | |
| Portfolio managers | Eric Becker (Lead Portfolio Manager), John S. Orrico, CFA, and Matthew Osowiecki. Becker and Orrico ran the predecessor ETF from September 2021, Osowiecki from September 2025. | EVNT-PR, page 8, "Portfolio Managers"; EVNT-FS, page 1, "Portfolio Managers" |
| Administrator | State Street Bank and Trust Company | EVNT-SAI, page 60, "Administrator, Custodian and Transfer Agent" |
| Fund accountant | State Street Bank and Trust Company. Its administration agreement covers "administrative, legal, tax and accounting, and financial reporting services". No separate fund accountant is named. | EVNT-SAI, page 60, "Administrator, Custodian and Transfer Agent" |
| Custodian | State Street Bank and Trust Company | EVNT-SAI, page 60, "Administrator, Custodian and Transfer Agent" |
| Transfer agent | State Street Bank and Trust Company, also dividend disbursing agent | EVNT-SAI, pages 60 and 61, "Administrator, Custodian and Transfer Agent" |
| Distributor | Foreside Financial Services, LLC | EVNT-SAI, page 2, cover; EVNT-FS, page 3, footer |
| Auditor | Cohen & Company, Ltd., Philadelphia, for the fiscal year ended May 31, 2026 | EVNT-SAI, page 69, "Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm" |
| Prime broker | Not stated ("prime broker" has no hits) | |
| Swap counterparties | Not stated. Swaps are permitted only with counterparties "eligible for consideration as repurchase agreement counterparties". | EVNT-SAI, page 44, "Swap Agreements" |
| Securities lending agent | Not stated. "There were no securities lending activities for the Funds' most recently completed fiscal year." | EVNT-SAI, page 41, "Securities Lending" |
Other: K&L Gates LLP is trust counsel (EVNT-SAI, page 69, "Legal Counsel"). The SAI names Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC and State Street as "regular brokers or dealers" whose securities the predecessor held on May 31, 2026, at $677,791 and $677,790 (EVNT-SAI, page 66, "Portfolio Transactions and Brokerage Allocation"). Their role beyond that is not stated.
4. Strategy
- Objective and benchmark. The fund "seeks to achieve capital appreciation over a full market cycle with lower volatility than the broad equity market" (EVNT-PR, page 2, "Investment Objective"). The S&P 500 Index "serves as the Fund's regulatory index". The Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate Bond Index is an additional index, said to be "more representative of the Fund's risk and return" (EVNT-PR, page 7, "Average Annual Total Returns"). The Bloomberg U.S. Treasury Bill Index is also shown (EVNT-PR, page 7).
- Universe. "The Fund is not limited with respect to issuer, geography, market capitalization, credit quality, sector or industry" (EVNT-PR, page 3, "Principal Investment Strategies"). It holds equity and debt, including "junk bonds" (high yield bonds) (EVNT-PR, page 3). On September 30, 2026 (EVNT-FS, page 2):
- Region: United States 84.5% long and -9.3% short. Canada, the U.K., continental Europe and other regions add 8.5% long (my arithmetic).
- Market cap (equity only): small 10.8%, mid 34.7%, large 30.0% long. Shorts are almost all large cap (-9.1%).
- Credit (bonds only): high yield 16.0% and not rated 1.6% long.
- Sectors: largest longs are health care 18.2%, consumer discretionary 14.8%, industrials 14.3% and communication services 13.8%.
- How it picks stocks. Event by event, by the adviser's judgment. It invests "long and/or short, in the equity and debt securities of companies" whose prices the adviser believes "are or will be impacted by a publicly announced or anticipated corporate event" (EVNT-PR, page 2, "Principal Investment Strategies"). It focuses on "hard catalyst events" and "predominantly definitive merger arbitrage investments" (EVNT-PR, page 2). No model is described, so this is discretionary and fundamental, not quantitative (my inference).
- Mix on September 30, 2026: hard catalyst 71.8% and soft catalyst 30.6% of gross; merger arbitrage 66.1% and special situations 36.2% of gross (EVNT-FS, page 2).
- Typical short: in a stock-for-stock deal, the fund buys the target and "the amount of the acquiring company's common stock and/or other securities to be received may be sold short" (EVNT-SAI, page 42, "Short Sales"). The short is later covered with the acquirer shares received at closing (EVNT-SAI, page 42).
- Neutrality targets. None. The fund "will hold a higher percentage of its assets in long positions" and calls itself net long (EVNT-PR, page 3, "Principal Investment Strategies"). It aims for returns tied to each event rather than "the overall direction of broader equity and credit markets" (EVNT-PR, page 2).
- Net exposure. No target range. "The Fund's net long exposure may exceed 100% of the Fund's net assets" (EVNT-PR, page 3). It was 83.8% on September 30, 2026 (EVNT-FS, page 2).
- Limits on position size. No numeric limit is stated. The fund may not "concentrate its investments in any industry," but may hold a large share in one industry when deal flow clusters there (EVNT-SAI, page 9, "Investment Policies and Restrictions"). Holdings of other funds are capped at 10% of total assets, with Rule 12d1-4 exceptions (EVNT-SAI, page 11). The largest long on September 30, 2026 was Warner Bros Discovery Inc at 4.4%. The top ten longs total 31.0% (my arithmetic) (EVNT-FS, page 2, "Top Ten Holdings").
5. Exposure and leverage
- Measured exposure, September 30, 2026 (EVNT-FS, page 2, "Portfolio Characteristics"):
- Long 93.1%, short -9.3%, gross 102.3%, net 83.8%.
- 93.1 + 9.3 = 102.4, so the stated gross differs by 0.1 point, likely rounding (my arithmetic).
- Basis: exposures "reflect the full market value of equity and credit securities, the full notional value of swaps, and delta-adjusted options as a percent of net assets" (EVNT-FS, page 2, footnote).
- The -2.3% short shown as "Multisector" appears in the equity market cap table but not under a sector. It may be an index or ETF short (my inference).
- Stated targets or limits. No gross or short limit is stated. Net long "may exceed 100%" (EVNT-PR, page 3).
- How it gets exposure above 100%. It doesn't today: long exposure is under 100%. The prospectus permits derivatives: "The Fund may maintain long and short positions through the use of derivative instruments, including swap agreements, options, futures, and forward contracts" (EVNT-PR, page 3). Such use "may have the economic effect of creating financial leverage" (EVNT-PR, page 3). Whether short sale proceeds buy longs is not stated.
- Borrowing limits. Fundamental policy: the fund may borrow from banks "to purchase or carry securities or other investments," for "temporary or emergency purposes," or "by entering into reverse repurchase agreements," if asset coverage stays at "at least 300%" (EVNT-SAI, page 9, "Investment Policies and Restrictions"). The SAI says this allows borrowing "equal to as much as 50% of the value of its net assets" (EVNT-SAI, page 32, "Leverage").
- Margin policy. Fundamental policy: the fund "may not purchase securities on margin, except that the Fund may obtain such short-term credits as may be necessary for the clearance of purchases and sales of securities" (EVNT-SAI, page 10, "Investment Policies and Restrictions").
- Line of credit. None named. The SAI mentions "any additional fees to maintain a line of credit" only as a possible cost (EVNT-SAI, page 32, "Leverage").
6. Shorting, financing and collateral
- How it shorts. "The Fund may obtain short exposure by borrowing a security to sell or by trading a derivative instrument that has a similar economic effect, such as a future, forward or swap" (EVNT-PR, page 3, "Short Sale Risk"). No split between methods is given. The fee table line for "Dividend on Short Positions and Interest Expense on Short Positions and/or Borrowings" points to direct short sales (my inference) (EVNT-PR, page 2, "Fees and Expenses").
- Who lends the stock and who holds collateral. Not stated. No prime broker or stock lender is named.
- What is posted. "When the Fund sells a security short, it must maintain cash or high-grade securities equal to the margin requirement" (EVNT-PR, page 3, "Short Sale Risk"). The liquid assets listed include "U.S. Treasury bills, money market instruments, certificates of deposit, high quality commercial paper, and long equity positions" (EVNT-PR, page 3). So long stocks may count toward the margin requirement (my inference).
- Pledging. Fundamental policy bars pledging "except to secure borrowings" (EVNT-SAI, page 10). But the SAI says this "does not prevent the Fund from entering into transactions that may be viewed as involving a pledge of assets" for derivatives, reverse repos, "short sales, or securities lending" (EVNT-SAI, page 11, "Investment Policies and Restrictions").
- Short sale proceeds used to buy longs. Not stated.
- Segregated or tri-party account. Not stated ("segregat" and "tri-party" have no hits). State Street holds the trust's assets "in separate accounts" as custodian (EVNT-SAI, page 61, "Administrator, Custodian and Transfer Agent"). Where short collateral sits is not stated.
- Securities lending. Permitted up to one-third of total assets, with 100% cash collateral (EVNT-SAI, page 41, "Securities Lending"; EVNT-SAI, page 9, policy 7). None in the last fiscal year (EVNT-SAI, page 41).
7. Derivatives and Rule 18f-4
- Derivatives used or permitted.
- Permitted in the prospectus: "swap agreements, options, futures, and forward contracts" (EVNT-PR, page 3). The Swap Risk paragraph says the fund "may enter into total return swaps" and credit default or credit default index swaps (EVNT-PR, page 4, "Swap Risk").
- Permitted in the SAI for EVNT: credit default index swaps and credit default swaps (EVNT-SAI, page 16), equity and currency swaps (EVNT-SAI, page 43, "Swap Agreements"), futures and options (EVNT-SAI, page 13, table).
- Currency hedging is optional: the fund "may, but is not required to, seek to reduce currency risk by hedging" (EVNT-PR, page 6, "Currency Risk").
- Actual holdings of derivatives on September 30, 2026: not stated. The fact sheet's exposure basis mentions swaps and options generally (EVNT-FS, page 2, footnote).
- Short sales also count: the fund "must comply with Rule 18f-4 with respect to its short sale borrowings, which are considered derivative transactions under the Rule" (EVNT-SAI, page 42, "Short Sales").
- Limited derivatives user or full program. Full program: "The Funds have established a DRMP and appointed a derivatives risk manager to administer the DRMP, consistent with Rule 18f-4" (EVNT-SAI, page 22, "Rule 18f-4 under the 1940 Act"). DRMP means derivatives risk management program. So EVNT is not run as a limited derivatives user (my inference). The manager is not named.
- VaR test and reference portfolio. Not stated. The SAI only describes the rule's "outer limit on fund leverage risk based on value at risk" (EVNT-SAI, page 21, "Rule 18f-4 under the 1940 Act"). VaR (value at risk) estimates the most a fund could lose over a set period at a set confidence level. The prospectus's "regulatory index" (S&P 500) is a performance comparison term, not a stated VaR reference (my inference) (EVNT-PR, page 7).
- Commodity pool status (CFTC Rule 4.5). The adviser has filed a notice with the National Futures Association claiming exclusion from the definition of commodity pool operator (EVNT-SAI, page 22, "Additional Government Regulation of Derivatives"). "The Funds are therefore not subject to registration or regulation as a pool operator under the Commodity Exchange Act" and "intend to comply with Section 4.5" (EVNT-SAI, page 22). The adviser will stay within one of the two Rule 4.5 limits: 5% of NAV in margin and premiums, or 100% of NAV in net notional (EVNT-SAI, page 30, "Futures Contracts and Related Options").
8. Costs
| Item | Amount | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Management fee | 1.25%. Unitary in effect: the adviser "bears all of its own costs associated with providing these advisory services and all operating expenses of the Funds," except listed items. | EVNT-PR, page 2, "Fees and Expenses"; EVNT-SAI, page 60, "Investment Advisory Agreement" |
| Other expenses | 0.01% in total. "All Remaining Other Expenses" are 0.00%. | EVNT-PR, page 2, "Fees and Expenses" |
| Dividend and interest expense on short sales | 0.01%, one combined line: "Dividend on Short Positions and Interest Expense on Short Positions and/or Borrowings" | EVNT-PR, page 2, "Fees and Expenses" |
| Borrowing costs | Not stated separately. Included in the 0.01% combined line above. | EVNT-PR, page 2 |
| Acquired fund fees | 0.01% | EVNT-PR, page 2, "Fees and Expenses" |
| Gross and net expense ratio | 1.27%. Only one total is shown, with no waiver line, so gross and net are the same (my inference). The fact sheet also shows 1.27%. | EVNT-PR, page 2; EVNT-FS, page 1, "Fund Facts" |
| Fee waivers or caps | None for EVNT. The adviser "may from time to time voluntarily waive and/or reimburse fees," and can stop at any time. The only named waiver is for the Merger Arbitrage ETF. | EVNT-SAI, pages 59 and 60, "Investment Advisory Agreement" |
| Stated financing spreads or rates | Not stated | |
| Where financing costs are reported | In the expense ratio, combined with short dividends, as the 0.01% line. The fiscal year behind the fee table is not stated. | EVNT-PR, page 2 |
- Who pays what. The fund pays the 1.25% fee plus excluded items. The SAI lists these as 12b-1 payments, brokerage, acquired fund fees, liquidation costs, taxes, "interest (including borrowing costs and dividend interest expenses on securities sold short)," securities lending fees, and litigation or extraordinary costs (EVNT-SAI, page 60, "Investment Advisory Agreement"). The adviser pays State Street from its fee (EVNT-SAI, page 61).
- 12b-1 plan. Up to 0.25%, but "no such fee is currently paid by the Fund" (EVNT-PR, page 2, footnote 1).
- Expense example. $129 for 1 year, $403 for 3 years, $697 for 5 years and $1,534 for 10 years per $10,000 (EVNT-PR, page 2, "Example").
- Advisory fees and implied size (fiscal years ended May 31; EVNT-SAI, page 59, "Investment Advisory Agreement"):
| Fiscal year | Advisory fee accrued | Implied average net assets at 1.25% (my arithmetic) |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $43,495 | About $3.48 million |
| 2025 | $60,774 | About $4.86 million |
| 2026 | $109,915 | About $8.79 million |
- Adviser economics. In fiscal 2026 the adviser paid State Street $151,458 for administration (EVNT-SAI, page 61). That is $41,543 more than the advisory fee it earned (my arithmetic). So at this size the unitary fee did not cover service costs (my inference).
- Brokerage commissions and turnover (predecessor ETF; EVNT-SAI, pages 46, 47 and 66):
| Fiscal year | Commissions | Turnover |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $13,804 | Not stated |
| 2025 | $28,912 | 480% |
| 2026 | $37,363 | 381% |
Fiscal 2026 commissions were about 0.42% of implied average net assets (my arithmetic). They sit outside the expense ratio. The prospectus also gives 381% for fiscal 2026 (EVNT-PR, page 2, "Portfolio Turnover").
- Gap between expense ratio and management fee. 1.27% minus 1.25% is 0.02% (my arithmetic). It is explained by the 0.01% short dividend and interest line plus the 0.01% acquired fund fees line (EVNT-PR, page 2). Short costs are tiny because the short book is about 9% of net assets (my inference).
9. Performance and risk
Trailing returns to September 30, 2026 (EVNT-FS, page 1, "Trailing Returns (%)"). Periods over one year are annualized. The fact sheet gives no benchmark returns.
| Period | NAV | Market price |
|---|---|---|
| 1 month | 0.16% | 0.25% |
| 3 months | 0.74% | 0.91% |
| Year to date | 6.33% | 6.24% |
| 1 year | 8.79% | 8.79% |
| 3 years | 10.46% | 10.38% |
| 5 years | 5.13% | 5.07% |
| 10 years | 7.13% | 7.13% |
| Since inception | 5.70% | 5.70% |
Average annual returns to December 31, 2025, before taxes (EVNT-PR, page 7, "Average Annual Total Returns"):
| 1 year | 5 years | 10 years | Since inception | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fund (predecessor ETF) | 13.57% | 3.78% | 6.89% | 5.51% |
| S&P 500 Index | 17.88% | 14.42% | 14.82% | 13.53% |
| Bloomberg U.S. Treasury Bill Index | 4.30% | 3.19% | 2.20% | 2.01% |
| Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate Bond Index | 7.30% | -0.36% | 2.01% | 1.87% |
After-tax returns are also given (EVNT-PR, page 7).
Calendar-year returns at NAV (EVNT-FS, page 3, "Monthly Return (%)", YTD column; 2016 to 2025 match EVNT-PR, page 7, bar chart):
| 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | 2026 to Sep |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| -7.42% | 4.58% | 5.84% | -4.70% | 6.92% | 43.45% | -2.58% | -9.04% | 13.21% | 5.69% | 13.57% | 6.33% |
- Best quarter 23.87% (quarter ended December 31, 2020). Worst quarter -6.94% (quarter ended June 30, 2022) (EVNT-PR, page 7).
- Returns before May 12, 2019 reflect a different strategy (EVNT-PR, page 6; EVNT-FS, page 1).
- The prospectus warns that "High, double-digit returns were primarily achieved during favorable market conditions" (EVNT-PR, page 7).
Risk statistics, trailing three years to September 30, 2026 (EVNT-FS, page 2, "Risk Metrics"; basis from the page 2 footnote "Risk metrics are trailing three-year values"):
- Standard deviation 5.5%.
- Beta 0.2 and correlation 0.5 to the S&P 500.
- Beta 0.7 and correlation 0.7 to the Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate Bond Index.
- Sharpe ratio, drawdown and up and down capture: not stated.
10. History and structural changes
- Predecessor mutual fund. Water Island Long/Short Fund, "a mutual fund series of The Arbitrage Funds that commenced operations on December 31, 2014" (EVNT-FS, page 1). It followed a different strategy before May 12, 2019 (EVNT-FS, page 1).
- Mutual fund to ETF, 2021. "At the close of business on September 17, 2021, the predecessor ETF had itself acquired the assets" of the mutual fund (EVNT-FS, page 1). The predecessor ETF was a series of AltShares Trust (EVNT-FS, page 1). Performance before September 20, 2021 is the mutual fund's (EVNT-FS, page 1).
- Trust change, 2026. "At the close of business on September 25, 2026, the fund, a series of The Arbitrage Funds, acquired the assets" of the predecessor ETF (EVNT-FS, page 1). The reorganization "did not change the fund's investment objective, strategies, policies, fees and expenses, portfolio managers, name, or ticker" (EVNT-FS, page 1). The SAI and prospectus confirm the September 25, 2026 date (EVNT-SAI, page 6; EVNT-PR, page 6, "Performance").
- 351 conversion. None described. Section 351 appears only in a rule on creation orders that would give a buyer "80% or more of the outstanding shares" (EVNT-SAI, page 79).
- Name changes. Water Island Long/Short Fund became AltShares Event-Driven ETF through the 2021 reorganization (EVNT-FS, page 1). No other name or ticker change is stated.
- Portfolio manager change. Matthew Osowiecki joined the predecessor ETF in September 2025 (EVNT-PR, page 8).
- Document dates.
- The prospectus and SAI are both dated September 25, 2026, the reorganization date. The fact sheet is as of September 30, 2026.
- Fee, turnover, commission and advisory fee figures are for the predecessor ETF's fiscal years ended May 31. No annual report was attached.
- The prospectus is a summary prospectus. The full prospectus is "incorporated by reference" but was not attached (EVNT-PR, page 1).
- Conflicts between documents.
- Start date: December 31, 2014 (EVNT-FS, page 1) versus January 2, 2015 (EVNT-SAI, page 6).
- Diversification: non-diversified (EVNT-FS, page 1) versus diversified (EVNT-SAI, page 6).
11. Principal risks
All from EVNT-PR, "Principal Risks," pages 3 to 6.
- Merger Arbitrage Risk (page 3).
- Short Sale Risk (page 3). Flag: shorting. Losses are in theory unlimited. It names "costs of borrowing" and the need to hold cash or liquid assets "equal to the margin requirement."
- Event-Driven Risk (page 3).
- Special Situations Risk (pages 3 and 4).
- Active Management Risk (page 4).
- Market Risk (page 4).
- High Portfolio Turnover Risk (page 4).
- Hedging Transaction Risk (page 4). Flag: shorting. Hedges such as acquirer shorts may fail through "imperfect correlation."
- Concentration Risk (page 4).
- Sector Risk (page 4).
- Equity Risk (page 4).
- Derivatives Risk (page 4). Flag: leverage. A derivative "typically involves leverage."
- Swap Risk (page 4). Flag: counterparties. The fund bears loss "in the event of the default or bankruptcy of a swap agreement counterparty."
- Credit Risk (page 5).
- Counterparty Risk (page 5). Flag: counterparties. Covers privately negotiated derivative contracts.
- Temporary Investment/Cash Management Risk (page 5).
- ETF Risk (page 5): Premium-Discount; Secondary Market Trading; Cash Transactions (flag: may redeem in cash); International Closed Market Trading; Flash Crash; Authorized Participants Concentration.
- Market Capitalization Risk (page 5).
- Investment Company and ETF Risk (page 5).
- Leverage Risk (page 6). Flag: leverage. Names borrowing, short sales, margin purchases and derivatives as sources.
- Foreign Securities Risk (page 6).
- Currency Risk (page 6).
- Interest Rate Risk (page 6).
- Liquidity Risk (page 6).
- Large Shareholder Risk (page 6). Relevant given the 38.03% holding by Mr. Orrico and the adviser (EVNT-SAI, page 58).
No principal risk is named for a prime broker or for borrow recalls (a lender demanding its stock back).
12. Relevance to our fund
- How close is its structure and leverage? Not close (my inference). EVNT is event-driven and net long (83.8%), at 1.02x gross. Our fund is equity market neutral at 3.0x gross. Its shorts are mostly deal hedges in large-cap acquirers, not a stand-alone short book. It is in the adviser's own trust, not on Tidal.
- What does it show about 3.0x gross in a 40 Act ETF? Little directly (my inference). It adds one point to the precedents in
fund_context.md:- EVNT's fundamental policy (8) bars buying "securities on margin" (EVNT-SAI, page 10, "Investment Policies and Restrictions"). A 150/150 direct-short book on $100 needs about $50 of broker borrowing (the "$50 × d" term in
fund_context.md). A policy worded like EVNT's would block that, or force the debit into the bank-borrowing route. Our fund's fundamental policies need to permit margin borrowing and short sales from day one. Fundamental policies can only change by shareholder vote (EVNT-SAI, pages 7 and 8). - Its borrowing policy, bank loans "to purchase or carry securities" up to 300% asset coverage (EVNT-SAI, page 9), is a ready template for the "bank borrowing plus direct shorts" route.
- The prospectus wording "net long exposure may exceed 100%" (EVNT-PR, page 3) shows a filing that allows long exposure above 100% without stating how. It gives no evidence of a fund that actually ran above 2.0x.
- EVNT's fundamental policy (8) bars buying "securities on margin" (EVNT-SAI, page 10, "Investment Policies and Restrictions"). A 150/150 direct-short book on $100 needs about $50 of broker borrowing (the "$50 × d" term in
- What does it show about financing, collateral, custody and costs? (my inference)
- Cost visibility: EVNT shows short dividends and interest as a separate fee table line under a unitary fee. That is the reporting we would want, so peers' short costs can be compared. Our fee table would need the same line, at a much larger size: at 150% short, short dividends alone could be well above 1% a year.
- Custody: State Street is custodian, administrator and transfer agent. No prime broker, Rule 17f-1 arrangement or tri-party account is named. Where the short collateral sits is unclear. This leaves Tidal's "custodied away" point untested here.
- Collateral: long stocks may count toward short margin (EVNT-PR, page 3). That matches how portfolio margin uses the long book, but no margin type is stated.
- Launch economics: at about $8.8 million average assets, the 1.25% unitary fee did not cover State Street's fees. A 150/150 fund on Tidal at a similar early size would face the same squeeze, before any prime broker costs.
- Trading costs: commissions of about 0.42% of assets at 381% turnover sit outside the expense ratio. A 3.0x book trades three times the notional per unit of capital, so commissions matter more for us.
13. Gaps and open questions
What the documents don't answer, for a 150/150 fund:
- The prime broker or stock lender, and the margin type (Reg T or portfolio margin).
- Where short collateral and pledged longs are held: at State Street, at a broker, or in a tri-party account.
- The split of short exposure between direct shorts and swaps, and whether any swaps or options were held on September 30, 2026.
- Whether short sale proceeds are used to buy longs.
- Leverage cost and short dividends separately, by fiscal year. The fee table combines them at 0.01% and doesn't name the year. The annual report for the year ended May 31, 2026 was not attached.
- Which Rule 18f-4 VaR test is used, the reference portfolio, and the derivatives risk manager's name.
- NAV per share, Morningstar category and rating, separate long and short position counts.
- What the -2.3% "Multisector" short is.
Questions to ask:
- To Water Island: Who is your prime broker? Is the account Reg T or portfolio margin? Is it held under Rule 17f-1 or a tri-party control agreement with State Street?
- To Water Island: What role does Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC play, given it is listed as a regular broker-dealer (EVNT-SAI, page 66)?
- To Water Island: How did you interpret fundamental policy (8), "may not purchase securities on margin" (EVNT-SAI, page 10), for short sale margin? Would you word it differently for a fund that borrows from its broker?
- To Water Island: Which VaR test and reference index did the board approve?
- To Water Island: Which document is right on diversification and on the 2014 versus 2015 start date?
- To Tidal: Would Tidal's standard fundamental policies for a new series allow margin borrowing and short sales at 150/150?
Search terms tried for fields left "Not stated":
- Prime broker and margin type: prime broker, borrow, margin, Regulation T, portfolio margin, segregat, tri-party, 17f-1, pledge, collateral.
- Swaps and counterparties: swap, counterpart.
- Leverage cost and short dividends: short sale, sold short, selling short, interest expense, dividend expense, rebate, borrowing, line of credit, box spread, reverse repurchase.
- VaR test: value at risk, value-at-risk, 18f-4, derivatives risk manager, limited derivatives user.
- Commodity pool: 4.5, commodity pool, futures.
- Securities lending agent: securities lending, lending agent.
- Sub-adviser and service providers: sub-advis, custodian, transfer agent, administrator, distributor, independent registered.
- Fund details: portfolio manager, brokerage commissions, portfolio turnover, fiscal year, CUSIP, predecessor, reorganiz, 351, Morningstar, diversified.
14. Documents used
| Code | Document | Date | Pages | Pages read | File name |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EVNT-FS | Fact sheet | As of September 30, 2026 | 3 | 1 to 3 (all, as text; pages 1 and 2 also as images) | 5e31994a-EVNT_fact_sheet.pdf |
| EVNT-PR | Summary prospectus, The Arbitrage Funds, AltShares Event-Driven ETF only. No supplements bound in. The full prospectus is not attached. | September 25, 2026 | 8 | 1 to 8 (all) | e7925cf3-EVNT_prospectus.pdf |
| EVNT-SAI | Statement of Additional Information for AltShares Merger Arbitrage ETF (ARB) and AltShares Event-Driven ETF (EVNT). No supplements bound in. | September 25, 2026 | 96 | In full: 1 to 4, 6 to 11, 13 to 17, 20 to 22, 30, 32, 41 to 44, 46, 47, 58 to 61, 65, 66, 69. Keyword passages only: 12, 18, 19, 23, 29, 34, 62, 67, 72, 75, 79, 82, 86, 88, 94, 95. | 041ddf48-EVNT_SAI.pdf |
Page numbering.
- EVNT-FS: page 1 has no printed number. Pages 2 and 3 carry the header "AS OF 2026-09-30" and no printed number.
- EVNT-PR: PDF page = printed page. Page 1 (cover) has no printed number.
- EVNT-SAI: PDF page = printed page for pages 1 to 90. PDF pages 91 to 96 are printed A-1 to A-6 (Appendix A, proxy voting). The SAI covers both ETFs. Only shared passages and those about the Event-Driven ETF were used. Passages about the Merger Arbitrage ETF were skipped.
15. Snapshot sources
- Ticker: EVNT-FS, page 1, header and "Fund Facts".
- Fund name: EVNT-FS, page 1, header. Same in EVNT-PR, page 2, "Investment Objective".
- As of date: "Fact Sheet as of September 30, 2026" (EVNT-FS, page 1, header).
- Adviser: EVNT-PR, page 8, "Investment Adviser"; EVNT-FS, page 1, "Why EVNT?".
- Platform: (my inference) The Arbitrage Funds has five series, all advised by Water Island Capital, LLC (EVNT-SAI, page 6, "Trust and Fund Overview"; EVNT-SAI, page 4, "Glossary"). Not a Tidal trust.
- Exchange: EVNT-FS, page 1, "Fund Facts" ("Primary Exchange NYSE ARCA"); EVNT-PR, page 1, cover.
- Inception: EVNT-FS, page 1, "Fund Facts" ("Inception Date December 31, 2014"). This is the predecessor mutual fund's start. The SAI gives January 2, 2015 (EVNT-SAI, page 6). The current series began on September 25, 2026 by reorganization (EVNT-FS, page 1).
- Net assets: "Fund AUM $13 million," as of September 30, 2026 (EVNT-FS, page 1, "Fund Facts").
- Strategy type: "Investment Strategy Event-Driven" (EVNT-FS, page 1, "Fund Facts").
- Long %: "Long Exposure (%) 93.1," September 30, 2026 (EVNT-FS, page 2, "Portfolio Characteristics").
- Short %: "Short Exposure (%) -9.3," September 30, 2026 (EVNT-FS, page 2, "Portfolio Characteristics").
- Gross: "Gross Exposure (%) 102.3," September 30, 2026 (EVNT-FS, page 2, "Portfolio Characteristics"), shown as a multiple (my arithmetic). Long plus short is 102.4% (my arithmetic).
- Above 2.0x: based on stated gross of 102.3% (EVNT-FS, page 2).
- Net: "Net Exposure (%) 83.8," September 30, 2026 (EVNT-FS, page 2, "Portfolio Characteristics").
- Short method: (my inference) The fee table has a line for "Dividend on Short Positions and Interest Expense on Short Positions and/or Borrowings" (EVNT-PR, page 2, "Fees and Expenses"). The SAI describes selling the acquirer's stock short in merger arbitrage (EVNT-SAI, page 42, "Short Sales"). Swaps are permitted (EVNT-PR, page 3), but no document says any are held.
- Prime broker or counterparty: no firm named in any document. "prime broker" has no hits.
- Custodian: EVNT-SAI, page 60, "Administrator, Custodian and Transfer Agent".
- Management fee: EVNT-PR, page 2, "Fees and Expenses"; EVNT-SAI, page 59, "Investment Advisory Agreement".
- Total expense ratio: "Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses 1.27%" (EVNT-PR, page 2, "Fees and Expenses"); "Total Annual Fund Operating Expense 1.27%" (EVNT-FS, page 1). No waiver line.
- Short costs in expense ratio: the fee table includes "Dividend on Short Positions and Interest Expense on Short Positions and/or Borrowings 0.01%" (EVNT-PR, page 2, "Fees and Expenses").
- 3-month return: 0.74% at NAV, 3 months to September 30, 2026 (EVNT-FS, page 1, "Trailing Returns (%)").
- 1-year return: 8.79% at NAV, 1 year to September 30, 2026 (EVNT-FS, page 1, "Trailing Returns (%)").
- Beta: "Beta to S&P 500 0.2" (EVNT-FS, page 2, "Risk Metrics").
- Beta benchmark: S&P 500 Total Return Index (EVNT-FS, page 3, index definition; EVNT-FS, page 2, "Risk Metrics").
- Beta period: "Risk metrics are trailing three-year values" (EVNT-FS, page 2, footnote), to September 30, 2026.
- Leverage Method: "Dividend on Short Positions and Interest Expense on Short Positions and/or Borrowings" (EVNT-PR, page 2, "Fees and Expenses"); the acquiring company's stock "may be sold short" (EVNT-SAI, page 42, "Short Sales"). Long exposure is under 100%, so no method for exposure above 100% applies. No document says Reg T, Regulation T or portfolio margin.
- Leverage cost: the fee table reports one combined 0.01% line for dividends and interest on short positions and borrowings (EVNT-PR, page 2, "Fees and Expenses"). The prospectus doesn't name the fiscal year behind it. Turnover on the same page is for the fiscal year ended May 31, 2026, so that year is likely (my inference).
- Short dividend expense: combined with interest in the same 0.01% line (EVNT-PR, page 2, "Fees and Expenses").
- Ranking properties (Rank to Score): from the ranking of the 27 LS peers prepared November 11, 2026, using only the project's fund profiles. Each of the seven criteria scores Yes = 1, Partly = 0.5, No or Not stated = 0. Funds sort first by Portfolio margin (YES, LIKELY, POSSIBLE, UNLIKELY, NO), then by Score, then Tidal funds first, then higher gross exposure (my inference).
- Rank: 16 of 27, as of November 11, 2026.
- Long/short: Partly. Event-driven and net long: 93.1% long and 9.3% short on September 30, 2026 (EVNT-FS, page 2).
- Portfolio margin: UNLIKELY. Fundamental policy (8): the fund "may not purchase securities on margin, except that the Fund may obtain such short-term credits as may be necessary for the clearance of purchases and sales of securities" (EVNT-SAI, page 10). Changing it needs a shareholder vote (EVNT-SAI, pages 7 and 8). That points away from portfolio margin (my inference).
- Cross-collateral: Partly. The liquid assets that meet the short margin requirement include "long equity positions" (EVNT-PR, page 3).
- Outside Reg T: Not stated.
- Short costs (includes dividends): Partly. A combined dividend and interest line of 0.01%, fiscal year not named, on a short book of about 9% (EVNT-PR, page 2).
- Over 2.0x: No. 1.02x on September 30, 2026 (EVNT-FS, page 2).
- Tidal: No. The fund is a series of The Arbitrage Funds (EVNT-SAI, page 6).
- Score: 1.5 (my arithmetic).