AlphaClone Alternative Alpha ETF (ALFA) Receives Five-Star Morningstar Rating

SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

AlphaClone, a leader in building investable equity strategies based on hedge fund holdings research, announced today that the AlphaClone Alternative Alpha ETF ALFA, received a 5-Star Overall Morningstar Rating^TM. The ETF, the first of its kind to track hedge fund holdings, was rated against 25 Large Cap Growth ETFs for its overall risk-adjusted performance over the three-year period ending May 31, 2015.

Launched in May 2012, the fund gives investors a rules-based, efficient way to own equities that established hedge fund managers believe could outperform traditional market benchmarks. The fund tracks the AlphaClone Hedge Fund Long/Short Index, which utilizes AlphaClone's innovative Clones Score methodology to continuously select which managers and holdings to include as index constituents. The index employs a rules-based hedge mechanism that allows the index to vary from being long only to market hedged.

ALFA is a new breed of automated, alpha-seeking strategies that look to combine the benefits of active management such as the potential to outperform traditional market benchmarks and the ability to vary market exposure with the benefits of passive, rules-based investing.

"ALFA's 5-Star Morningstar Rating^TM is a true testament to our research capabilities and investment methodology," said Maz Jadallah, founder and CEO of AlphaClone. "The fund has over $160 million in assets under management (as of 5/31/2015), which indicates investors' growing demand for alpha-seeking strategies that are rules-driven and offered inside the transparency and efficiency of ETFs."

For more information about AlphaClone, or for media inquiries, please visit www.alphaclonefunds.com.

About AlphaClone

AlphaClone is a registered investment advisor and equity research firm that is a leader in building investable equity strategies based on hedge fund holdings research. The firm's investment products and solutions are derived from institutional investor public disclosures and give investors direct access to stock positions favored by established hedge funds. The firm's proven, intelligent, risk managed, portfolio construction approach seeks to provide liquid, transparent, low-fee strategies that give investors exposure to the alpha potential inherent in hedge fund investments. AlphaClone's innovative investment research and strategies are available to investors through managed accounts, and exchange-traded products. The firm is based in San Francisco, California.

© 2015 Morningstar, Inc. All Rights Reserved. The information contained herein: (1) is proprietary to Morningstar; (2) may not be copied or distributed; and (3) is not warranted to be accurate, complete or timely. Neither Morningstar nor its content providers are responsible for any damages or losses arising from any use of this information.

For each fund with at least a three-year history, Morningstar calculates a Morningstar Rating™ based on a Morningstar Risk-Adjusted Return measure that accounts for variation in a fund's monthly performance (including the effects of sales charges, loads, and redemption fees), placing more emphasis on downward variations and rewarding consistent performance. The top 10% of funds in each category receive 5 stars, the next 22.5% receive 4 stars, the next 35% receive 3 stars, the next 22.5% receive 2 stars and the bottom 10% receive 1 star. The Overall Morningstar Rating for a fund is derived from a weighted average of the performance figures associated with its three-, five- and ten-year (if applicable) Morningstar Rating metrics. The AlphaClone Alternative Alpha ETF was rated against the 25 U.S.-domiciled Large Cap Growth ETFs over the 3-year period ending May 31, 2015. With respect to these Large Cap Growth ETFs, the AlphaClone Alternative Alpha ETF received a Morningstar Rating of 5-stars for the three-year period. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.

The fund's investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses must be considered carefully before investing. The prospectus contains this and other important information about the investment company, and it may be obtained here. Read it carefully before investing.

Investments involve risk. Principal loss is possible. Gross Expense Ratio = 0.95%. The AlphaClone Alternative Alpha Fund has the same risks as the underlying securities traded on the exchange throughout the day. Redemptions are limited and often commissions are charged on each trade. The fund can make short sales of securities, which involves the risk that losses in securities may exceed the original amount invested in a security. Investments by the fund in derivatives involve risks different from, and in certain cases, greater than the risks presented by more traditional investments. The fund is non-diversified, meaning it may concentrate its assets in fewer individual holdings than a diversified fund. Therefore, the Fund is more exposed to individual stock volatility than a diversified fund. REITs may be affected by changes in the value of their underlying properties or mortgages or by defaults by their borrowers or tenants. Furthermore, these entities depend upon specialized management skills, have limited diversification and are, therefore, subject to risks inherent in financing a limited number of projects. In addition, the performance of a REIT may be affected by changes in the tax laws or by its failure to qualify for tax-free pass-through of income. Investments in securities of MLPs involve risks that differ from an investment in common stock. Holders of the units of MLPs have more limited control and limited rights to vote on matters affecting the partnership. There are also certain tax risks associated with an investment in units of MLPs. In addition, conflicts of interest may exist between common unit holders, subordinated unit holders and the general partner of a MLP, including a conflict arising as a result of incentive distribution payments. REITs and MLPs may involve higher fees and charges. The performance of the Fund may diverge from that of the Index. Because the Fund employs a representative sampling strategy, it may experience tracking error to a greater extent than a fund that seeks to replicate an index.

The AlphaClone Hedge Fund Long/Short Index represents equity securities that are favored by hedge funds and institutional investors in their public disclosures. The index is equal weighted with an overlap bias which gives a security held by twice the number of managers twice the weight. The index is reconstituted quarterly and can vary between being long only and market neutral. The index's adjustment in long/short positions does not guarantee against market loss. Alpha is the abnormal return on a security or portfolio in excess of what would be predicted by an equilibrium model like the Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM).

This material has been distributed for informational purposes only and should not be considered as investment advice or a recommendation of any particular security, strategy or investment product. Information contained herein has been obtained from sources believed to be reliable, but not guaranteed. No part of this material may be reproduced in any form, or referred to in any other publication, without express written permission.

The AlphaClone Alternative Alpha Fund is distributed by Quasar Distributors LLC. The fund's investment advisor is Exchange Traded Concepts LLC which is not affiliated with the index owner, AlphaClone, or Quasar Distributors. AlphaClone and the Fund are in no way affiliated with the hedge funds or institutional investors whose public disclosure filings are utilized to derive investment decisions.

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