Correspondence 0000894189-25-001095 from ADVISORS SERIES TRUST (CIK 0001027596)
ADVISORS SERIES TRUST (CIK 0001027596)
Date: Feb. 19, 2025 · CIK: 0001027596 · Accession: 0000894189-25-001095
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File numbers found in text: 333-17391, 811-07959
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CORRESP 1 filename1.htm Document Advisors Series Trust c/o U.S. Bank Global Fund Services 2020 East Financial Way, Suite 100 Glendora, California 91741 February 19, 2025 Mr. David Orlic U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Division of Investment Management 100 F Street NE Washington, DC 20549 Re: Advisors Series Trust (the “Trust”) File Nos.: 333-17391 and 811-07959 VegTech™ Plant-based Innovation & Climate ETF Dear Mr. Orlic: This correspondence is being filed in response to comments the Trust received from the staff (the “Staff”) of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission”) on January 27, 2025, regarding the Trust’s Post-Effective Amendment (“PEA”) No. 1155 which was filed pursuant to Rule 485(a) under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Amendment No. 1157 under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, on Form N-1A on December 10, 2024 (SEC Accession No. 0000894189-24-007114). The purpose of PEA No. 1155 to the Registration Statement of the Trust was: (i) to change the name of the VegTech™ Plant-based Innovation & Climate ETF (the “Fund”) to “VegTech™ Food Innovation & Climate ETF”; (ii) to revise the description of the Fund’s principal investment strategy; and (iii) to make other material and other non-material changes to the Registration Statement. For your convenience, each Staff comment has been reproduced below with a response following the comment. Capitalized terms not otherwise defined have the same meaning as in the PEA. Comment 1: Please respond to the comments no less than five days prior to effectiveness. Response: The Trust has filed this response letter more than five days before PEA 1155 is scheduled to automatically become effective. Comment 2: Please ensure the Fee Table and Expense Example have been completed and submitted for Staff review prior to the Registration Statement’s effectiveness. Response: The Trust responds by including a completed Fee Table and Expense Example in Appendix A to this letter. 1 Comment 3: Regarding the “ESG” disclosure in the principal investment strategy sections of the Prospectus, please consider whether including risk disclosure related to the Fund’s use of third-party data providers is appropriate, since the criteria used by providers can differ significantly. Response: The Trust notes that the Adviser has decided to remove specific references to ESG from the prospectus as noted in Appendix B to this letter. That said, the Adviser still believes it is appropriate to add the requested risk disclosure to Items 4 and 9 of the Prospectus, respectively, as shown below: Item 4 - Principal Risks of Investing in the Fund •Third-Party Data Provider Risk. In evaluating issuers, the Adviser may rely upon information and data, including from third-party data providers and companies. The data obtained from third-party data providers or companies may be limited, incomplete, inaccurate, or unavailable, or may present conflicting information and data with respect to an issuer, which in each case could cause the Adviser to incorrectly assess an issuer’s business practices as they relate to the Fund’s investment criteria. Item 9 - Principal Risks of Investing in the Fund •Third-Party Data Provider Risk. In evaluating issuers, the Adviser may rely upon information and data, including from third-party data providers and companies. The data obtained from third-party data providers or companies may be limited, incomplete, inaccurate, or unavailable, or may present conflicting information and data with respect to an issuer, which in each case could cause the Adviser to incorrectly assess an issuer’s business practices as they relate to the Fund’s investment criteria. In addition, such third-party data may include quantitative and/or qualitative measures, and consideration of this data may be subjective. Different methodologies may be used by such providers and may lack standardization, consistency, and transparency. As a result, there exists a risk that the Adviser may incorrectly assess a security or company, resulting in the incorrect inclusion or exclusion of a security in the Fund’s portfolio, or that the Fund may underperform funds that do not screen or score companies based on similar investment criteria or funds that use different third-party data providers. If you have any questions regarding the enclosed, please contact the undersigned at (626) 914-7363 or elaine.richards@usbank.com. Sincerely, /s/ Elaine E. Richards Elaine E. Richards Assistant Secretary Advisors Series Trust Enclosures 2 APPENDIX A Fees and Expenses of the Fund The following table describes the fees and expenses you may pay if you buy, hold, and sell shares of the Fund (“Shares”). You may pay other fees, such as brokerage commissions and other fees to financial intermediaries, which are not reflected in the table and Example below. Annual Fund Operating Expenses (expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment) Management Fees 0.75% Distribution and/or Service (12b-1) Fees 0.00% Other Expenses(1) 0.00% Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses(2) 0.01% Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses 0.76% (1) Pursuant to an investment advisory agreement, VegTechTM LLC (“VegTech” or the “Adviser”) pays all other expenses of the Fund (other than taxes and governmental fees, brokerage fees, commissions and other transaction expenses, certain foreign custodial fees and expenses, costs of borrowing money, including interest expenses, and extraordinary expenses (such as litigation and indemnification expenses and shareholder proxy)). (2) Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses do not correlate to the ratio of operating expenses to average net assets found in the “Financial Highlights” section of this Prospectus, which reflects the Fund’s operating expenses and does not include acquired fund fees and expenses (“AFFE”). Expense Example This Example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other funds. The Example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and then redeem or hold all of your Shares at the end of those periods. The Example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Fund’s operating expenses remain the same. The Example does not take into account brokerage commissions that you may pay on your purchases and sales of Shares. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be: 1 Year 3 Years 5 Years 10 Years $77 $240 $417 $930 3 APPENDIX B Principal Investment Strategy The Fund invests in innovative and sustainable solutions in the food and materials sectors. This involves investing across the entire food and materials supply chain, starting with agriculture technology (“AgTech”) and proceeding through food, nutrition, bio-tech, flavor and texture, ingredient and consumer goods companies. These types of companies focus on enhancing the sustainability and efficiency of the food and materials supply system, often using regenerative practices. The Fund is an actively managed exchange-traded fund (“ETF”). The Fund will invest under normal circumstances at least 80% of its net assets (plus any borrowings for investment purposes) in the securities of innovative companies focused on sustainable, regenerative and resilient food systems (“VegTechTM Companies”) or companies making a positive impact on climate change matters (“Climate Companies”). VegTechTM Companies are companies that (1) innovate or use technology in their primary products by utilizing at least one plant ingredient, or innovate or use technology to enable or support companies that do the same; and (2) the end product enables regenerative practices, resilient food systems, or plant-, nature- or bio-based materials. The Adviser believes that VegTechTM Companies are a critical component in the global food and materials systems shift towards sustainability, resiliency and efficiency, and that they promote positive climate change. Further, the Adviser believes that these companies provide a path towards capitalizing on and supporting sustainable, regenerative food systems and materials transformation. Regenerative refers to practices or products that prioritize plant-based solutions and reduce land use by avoiding industrial animal feed operations or monocropping, supporting the restoration of ecosystems and aligning with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s (“IPCC”) focus on land sparing for sustainability and climate-positive outcomes. The IPCC is a United Nations body tasked with assessing the science related to climate change. In looking for VegTechTM Companies, the Adviser searches for companies it considers to be innovators in developing products and technologies contributing to a nutritional, resilient, efficient and sustainable food supply system, such as plant-based and regenerative products, diversified proteins, innovative production and materials processes, advancements in nutrition, food and bio-tech innovations, and the latest technology and advancements in scientific research. Technology is a critical element of these advancements. It includes agriculture and AgTech, such as agricultural robotics companies, and innovative sustainable materials and scientific services. It can include bio-technology such as cell-cultured and precision fermentation technology companies that use sustainable carbohydrates in the process of growing cells, nutrients, proteins, flavors, and ingredients. To be considered an innovator by the Adviser, a company should work to advance a nutritious, resilient, efficient and sustainable food supply system and may use at least one plant or plant-derived ingredient and the end product, component, or service must enable protein diversification, regenerative foods or regenerative materials; or, the company may help other businesses create diversified protein or regenerative foods or materials along the supply chain by offering specialized products, machinery, services, or technologies. These companies are part of a long-term secular trend towards building a food and materials supply system that is efficient and sustainable and prolific with the end goal of feeding more people, more nutritiously, in a shorter amount of time, using fewer resources while creating less damage. The Adviser looks for VegTechTM Companies that are also part of a circular economy with an established food waste goal or policy. These companies may make commitments to ensure that products are sourced 4 responsibly to minimize deforestation and biodiversity loss through certifications. Biodiversity loss is defined as the reduction in the variety of life across the globe, primarily driven by land/sea-use change (such as from deforestation caused by the meat and dairy sector when converting forests to pastureland), overuse of natural resources (such as overfishing and deforestation), climate change, pollution, and the introduction of non-native species that overtake native species. Deforestation refers to the conversion of forested land to non-forest uses in a manner that falls outside of recognized sustainability standards (such as those set by the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil, RSPO or Forest Stewardship Council, FSC), contrasting with sustainable forestry that ensure long-term ecological balance and biodiversity conservation. Further, the company should show positive performance potential, as determined through an analysis of quantitative and fundamental data, analyst price targets, or expert knowledge of the sector. Additionally, a VegTechTM Company produces no primary products designed solely for industrial farm animal production (“primary products” meaning more than 50% of revenues come in their entirety from the sale of these products, as shown conclusively in a public financial statement), must not perform animal testing unless required to do so by law in order to bring a product to market, and must have a minimum market capitalization of $25 million. For a VegTechTM Company to qualify as such, the issuer’s plant-based “primary products,” “primary services,” or “primary assets” must account for more than 50% of the company’s revenues or assets, as disclosed in public financial statements as available. The Adviser performs a qualitative and quantitative analysis as feasible to determine whether a company is a VegTechTM Company. The Adviser believes VegTechTM Companies contribute to several United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (“SDG”). Within the SDG framework, these goals include “Climate Action,” “Life on Land,” “Life Below Water,” “Zero Hunger,” and “Good Health and Well-being.” To qualify as a Climate Company, the issuer must meet at least one of the following criteria: (1) The company has committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions by signing a pledge to measure and reduce those emissions. Acceptable pledges include, but are not limited to, the United Nations “Climate Neutral Now” and Global Optimism’s “The Climate Pledge;” (2) The company sells a product that generates less greenhouse gas emissions than typical replacement products, as determined by a formal evaluation. Acceptable evaluations follow the standards defined by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO 14040 or ISO 14044); (3) The company has disclosed a commitment to reducing greenhouse gas emissions; (4) The company has greenhouse gas emissions lower than its average peer, per unit of sales or assets, as measured by Bloomberg or a similar data provider; or (5) The company has a Climate Rating from a third-party environmental, social and governance (“ESG”) data provider such as Bloomberg or Ethos ESG that is above average for peers or that indicates the company is aligned with the Paris Agreement to limit global warming to 2 and preferably 1.5 degrees Celsius. The Fund will predominantly invest in the equity securities of VegTechTM and Climate companies, which may include, but are not limited to, common and preferred publicly-traded stocks of U.S. and foreign companies, rights and warrants, partnership interests and business trust shares. The Fund may also invest in initial public offerings (“IPOs”) of VegTechTM or Climate companies or in companies that have recently completed an IPO. The Fund’s foreign investments may be direct or through American Depositary Receipts (“ADRs”) and Global Depositary Receipts (“GDRs”). The Fund’s portfolio is expected to be a focused portfolio with typically fewer than 50 holdings, although the number of such 5 holdings may increase over time if the universe of VegTechTM and Climate companies increases. The Fund may experience high portfolio turnover from time to time. The Adviser maintains an internal, proprietary, and systematic research process to determine which companies qualify as VegTechTM or Climate companies. The Adviser conducts its own screening research by reviewing financial statements, websites, and brochures. The Adviser may also conduct company interviews and analyzes product labels prior to investing in any company. In identifying VegTechTM Companies, the Adviser considers companies with primary products, services, or assets in the following categories: •Regenerative and Plant-based Companies. Companies that produce end products that are typically derived from plants, fungi, microbes, cells or algae, to support a sustainable, efficient and nutritious food supply system. These may include companies that employ food scientists to develop beef alternatives or diversified proteins that use less land and water and generate less methane than industrial animal agriculture, or may include food or materials companies that produce products that include plants and plant derivatives. It could also include companies that offer products or services that support and enable