Correspondence 0001413042-24-000828 from PFS FUNDS (CIK 0001103243)
PFS FUNDS (CIK 0001103243)
Date: Oct. 21, 2024 · CIK: 0001103243 · Accession: 0001413042-24-000828
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File numbers found in text: 333-234544, 811-23439
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CORRESP
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filename1.htm
JOHN H. LIVELY, Managing Partner
john.lively@practus.com
11300 Tomahawk Creek Pkwy., Suite 310
Leawood, KS 66211
(913) 660-0778
October 21, 2024
Ms.
Rebecca Marquigny
Senior
Counsel
Division
of Investment Management
U.S.
Securities and Exchange Commission
100
F Street, N.E.
Washington,
D.C. 20549
Re: PFS Funds (File
Nos. 333-234544 and 811-23439)
Conquer
Risk Fund
Dear Ms. Marquigny:
This
letter provides the responses of PFS Funds (the “Trust” or the “Registrant”) to the comments of the staff (the “Staff”)
of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission”) that you recently provided to Practus, LLP. The comments
related to Post-Effective Amendment (“PEA”) No. 255 to the registration statement of the Trust, which was filed on August 23,
2024, under Rule 485(a) of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended. The PEA was filed to make changes to four series of the Trust, the
Conquer Risk managed Volatility Fund, the Conquer Risk Tactical Rotation Fund, the Conquer Risk Tactical Opportunities Fund, and the
Conquer Risk Defensive Bull Fund (each a “Fund” and collectively the “Funds”). For your convenience, I have summarized
the comments in this letter and provided the Trust’s response below each comment. Capitalized terms not defined in this letter shall
have the same meaning ascribed to such term in the PEA.
General
Comments
·
Please file this comment response letter on EDGAR such
that the Staff has at least five business days to review.
· Please
also apply any new or revised disclosure in one section to similar disclosure in other sections throughout the registration statement.
Identify and explain any variations in the disclosures.
·
Please provide any missing or bracketed information.
Response:
The Trust acknowledges the points made above in the “General Comments.”
Ms.
Rebecca Marquigny
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
October 21, 2024
Prospectus
– Impact of Amendment on All Funds
1. Comment:
Generally, the Staff notes that while the amendment makes only minimal word changes
to the strategies of each Fund, the Staff believes that the impact on each Fund’s potential
investment universe, portfolio composition, and risk profile is unclear. The corresponding
disclosure may require a BXT to permit appropriate review of your subsequent response to
these comments. Please supplement each Fund’s investment strategy disclosure to explain
how indirect exposure to cryptocurrency will be used to achieve that Fund’s objective
differently in response to particular market scenarios. The revised disclosure should be
tailored to the impact that is expected on the portfolio composition of each particular Fund.
In addition, please add disclosure clearly identifying the following:
· The
new exchange-traded products (“ETPs”) each Fund will hold;
· The
circumstances when the investment adviser to the Funds (the “Adviser”) believes
that the ETPs may provide opportunities for higher investment returns;
· The
impact of the ETPs on each Fund’s portfolio construction;
· Proportional
impact of the underlying exchange-traded fund (“ETFs”) and ETPs risks on each Fund’s
overall risk profile; and
· How
these changes should be considered for purposes of assessing shareholder risk tolerance and
appropriateness of the Fund for investment.
Response:
The Adviser has determined and notified the Trust that at this time the use of ETPs and any other instruments that gain exposure to crypto
currencies will not be used as a part of the Funds’ principal investment strategies. Accordingly, the Trust has removed all references
to cryptocurrency investments from the Funds’ principal investment strategies and principal risks.
Conquer
Risk Managed Volatility Fund
2. Comment:
Please provided completed fee tables and example tables.
Response:
Attached as Exhibit A to this response letter, which contains the fee tables and expense examples for each of the Funds.
3. Comment:
In the first paragraph of the Principal Investment Strategies paragraph, please delete the
phrases “such as,” “as well as,” and similar language, and identify the
specific derivative instruments and ETPs in which each of the Funds intend to invest principally
to achieve its objective. For example, in sentences 1 and 11 of that paragraph name the derivative
instruments that will be principal investments in addition to futures contracts. In sentence
2, name the particular “ETPs” that will be principally represented in the Fund’s
portfolio (e.g., exchange traded notes, leveraged and inverse ETPs, commodity and
volatility futures linked ETPs etc.) In your EDGAR correspondence affirmatively represent
that the Fund’s ETF holdings with cryptocurrency exposure will:
2
Ms. Rebecca Marquigny
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
October 21, 2024
· Be
U.S. listed funds;
· Hold
only bitcoin or ether; and
· Use
only bitcoin or ether as a reference asset.
Also
confirm to us that the amended strategy only permits the Fund to hold ETPs that are currently registered and available for investment.
Response:
See Comment #1
5. Comment:
With respect to the leverage and inverse strategies, the Staff notes that the Funds may invest
in underlying funds that may invest in cryptocurrencies. Tailor this disclosure to name the
specific crypto currencies they will provide exposure to and clarify how such exposure is
obtained (i.e., directly or through derivatives).
Response:
See Comment #1.
6. Comment:
The last sentence in the first paragraph states that “there is no limitation on the
amount of the Fund’s assets that may be invested in these types of underlying funds.”
Clarify what “these types of underlying funds” means and how this statement applies
to underlying ETFs and ETNs that invest in cryptocurrencies.
Response:
See Comment #1
7. Comment:
With respect to alternative underlying funds (page 3 paragraph 2), the Staff notes
that the Fund’s investments in alternative underlying funds generally provide exposure
to assets that are not designed to closely track or correlate to the performance of the general
equity and/or fixed-income markets.” Please revise the disclosure to state clearly the
types of underlying assets in which “alternative underlying funds” may invest.
Response:
The Trust has revised the disclosure to address the Staff’s comment.
8. Comment:
With respect to the risks of ETFs and mutual funds, please add disclosure explaining
that: (a) The principal risks of the underlying funds also have a proportional impact on
the top tier fund (i.e., a “Fund”); and (b) specifically identify which risks are
principal to each of these 4 Funds due to their aggregate impact on the Fund’s overall
portfolio (e.g., risks of fixed income securities, equity securities risk, derivatives,
etc.).
Response:
The Trust has revised the disclosure to address the Staff’s comment with respect to part (a) of the comment. The Trust is declining
to make any adjustment in response to part (b) as it believes that the principal risks for each of the Funds has been adequately disclosed.
9. Comment:
With respect to the leveraged ETF Risks, the introductory part of that disclosure notes that,
“The net asset value and market price of leveraged ETFs are usually more volatile than
the value of the tracked index or of other ETFs that do not use leverage.
3
Ms. Rebecca Marquigny
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
October 21, 2024
Leveraged
ETFs use investment techniques and financial instruments that may be considered aggressive, including the use of derivative transactions.”
Please specify all the financial instruments that the Fund intends to rely upon in applying its principal
strategies. Also, in your related strategy disclosure, please address how the Fund will employ leverage. Tailor the corresponding leverage
risk more precisely. Discuss the related leverage risks associated with ether futures and/or bitcoin futures investing or supplementally
explain why this disclosure is unnecessary.
Response:
The Trust is not making any adjustments to the disclosure in response to the part of the comment that directed it to state “all
of the financial instruments” that it may invest in as the Trust believes that its current disclosure is appropriate to afford the
Adviser the discretion that is intended. Notwithstanding, the Trust has enhanced the disclosure to emphasize the broad discretion that
is afforded to the Funds in making investments in levered and inverse strategies. The Trust also believes that the disclosure appropriately
discloses “how” the Funds will employ leverage (and inverse) strategies in that the disclosure indicates that such strategies
will be implemented through the investment in underlying funds – accordingly, no modifications to the underlying disclosure have
been made on the aspect of the Staff’s comment. The Trust also believes that the leverage risk is appropriately tailored to each
Fund and is not making any adjustments to the leverage disclosure as a result. The Trust has removed all references to cryptocurrency
investments.
10. Comment:
With respect to the securities lending risk, please move the first two sentences of the risk
language to the principal investment strategies disclosure. If the Fund will not engage principally
in securities lending, then delete the principal risk.
Response:
The Trust has revised the disclosure to address the Staff’s comment.
11. Comment:
With respect to the commodity risk, please clarify that commodity prices are volatile, so
the risk to investors is the unexpected and potentially significant decrease in the value
of their commodity holdings.
Response:
The Trust has revised the disclosure to address the Staff’s comment.
12. Comment:
with respect to the cryptocurrency risk, the strategy indicates that the Fund will hold underlying
funds that may invest in cryptocurrencies, but provides no information about how an underlying
fund’s cryptocurrency exposure factors into the portfolio selection process. The corresponding
cryptocurrency risk summary refers to underlying ETFs with indirect exposure to crypto from
two sources: a) companies that hold cryptocurrencies on their balance sheet and b) companies
that are directly involved in providing infrastructure, trading platforms, technology, or
other services relating to cryptocurrencies. Please add strategy disclosure directly supporting
these statements and illustrating how the cryptocurrency exposure of underlying funds affects
portfolio selection.
Response:
See Comment #1.
4
Ms. Rebecca Marquigny
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
October 21, 2024
Conquer
Risk Defensive Bull Fund
13. Comment:
Please supplementally explain the context surrounding the other expenses footnote in the
fee table and the rationale of treating this Fund differently than the other Funds.
Response:
The Trust contractually changed breakpoints to the Services Agreement effective October 3, 2023. The expense information in the table
is only being restated for the Conquer Risk Defensive Bull Fund because there was no change to “Other Expenses” for the other
three Funds due to their significantly lower average daily net assets during the prior fiscal year and prior to the contractual change.
14. Comment:
If this Fund will not invest in cryptocurrencies, please explain why the risk is included
in the related disclosure. Please either revise the investment strategies or delete the risk,
whichever is appropriate.
Response:
See Comment #1
.
16. Comment:
The Staff notes that Item 4 of Form N-1A specifically calls for summarized strategy information
based on the information given in response to Item 9. Please add the more detailed strategy
disclosure necessary to comply with both form requirements to the extent appropriate.
Response:
The Trust has revised the disclosure to address the Staff’s comment.
*
* *
Please
contact me at (913) 660-0778 regarding the responses contained in this letter.
Sincerely,
/s/
John H. Lively
John
H. Lively
5
Ms. Rebecca Marquigny
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
October 21, 2024
EXHIBIT A
Summary Section – Potomac Managed Volatility Fund
Investment Objective
The Potomac Managed Volatility Fund (the “Fund”) seeks total
return.
Fees and Expenses of the Fund
The following table describes the expenses and fees
that you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the Fund. You may pay other fees, such as brokerage commissions and other fees to financial
intermediaries, which are not re