07/15/2025 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 07/15/2025 08:41
WisdomTree Europe Defense Fund - WDEF (NYSE Arca)
Summary Prospectus - July 15, 2025
Before you invest in the Fund, as defined below, you may want to review the Fund's prospectus and statement of additional information ("SAI"), which contain more information about the Fund and the risks of investing in the Fund. The Fund's current prospectus and SAI are incorporated by reference into this summary prospectus. You can find the Fund's prospectus and SAI, reports to shareholders, as well as other information about the Fund, online at www.wisdomtree.com/investments/resource-library/prospectus-regulatory-reports. You may also obtain this information at no charge by calling 1-866-909-9473 or by sending an e-mail request to getinfo@wisdomtree.com.
Investment Objective
The WisdomTree Europe Defense Fund (the "Fund") seeks to track the price and yield performance, before fees and expenses, of the WisdomTree Europe Defense Index (the "Index").
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. 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. The fees are expressed as a percentage of the Fund's average net assets.
Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment) | None |
Annual Fund Operating Expenses (expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment) | |
Management Fees | 0.45% |
Distribution and/or Service (12b-1) Fees | None |
Other Expenses | 0.00%1 |
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses | 0.45% |
1 | Other Expenses are based on estimated amounts for the current fiscal year. |
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 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. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions, your costs would be:
1 Year | 3 Years | |
$46 | $144 |
Portfolio Turnover
The Fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or "turns over" its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Fund shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in the Fund's Annual Fund Operating Expenses or in the example, affect the Fund's performance. The Fund is newly organized and therefore, portfolio turnover information is not yet available.
Principal Investment Strategies of the Fund
The Fund employs a "passive management" - or indexing - investment approach designed to track the performance of the Index. The Fund generally uses a representative sampling strategy to achieve its investment objective, meaning it generally will invest in a sample of the securities in the Index whose risk, return, and other
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characteristics resemble the risk, return, and other characteristics of the Index as a whole. Under normal circumstances, the Fund invests at least 80% of its net assets, plus any borrowings for investment purposes, in constituents of the Index and/or investments that have economic characteristics that are substantially similar to the economic characteristics of such constituents.
WisdomTree, Inc. ("WisdomTree"), the Index Provider and parent company of the Fund's investment adviser, WisdomTree Asset Management, Inc. ("WisdomTree Asset Management" or the "Adviser"), designed the Index to provide exposure to common stock (including through depositary receipts) of European companies focused on the defense industry. The Index is maintained in accordance with a rules-based methodology overseen and implemented by the WisdomTree Defense Index Committee (the "Index Committee").
To be eligible for inclusion in the Index, a company must conduct its Primary Business Activities and list its shares on a securities exchange operating in one or more of the following European countries: Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. The country in which a company conducts its Primary Business Activities is determined based on one or more of the following factors: country of organization or incorporation, country in which a company's headquarters is located, country to which a company has the greatest risk exposure, and country from which a company generates the most significant portion of its revenue or to which it allocates the greatest resources. A company must also have a minimum market capitalization of $200 million as of the Index screening date, and a median daily dollar trading volume greater than $1 million for the preceding three months.
Securities of companies that generate at least 10% of revenue from the defense industry are eligible for inclusion in the Index. Defense industry revenue is defined as revenue generated from sales of military equipment and services to governments and their representatives. Each security is assigned an exposure score based on the revenue exposure to defense activities as follows:
1) Exposure Score 1: 10-25% of revenue
2) Exposure Score 2: 25-50% of revenue
3) Exposure Score 3: Over 50% of revenue
The Index has between 20 and 100 constituents with a maximum weight of 12.5% for "Exposure Score 3" constituents and 4.5% for "Exposure Score 2" and "Exposure Score 1" constituents. Generally, at each rebalance, the constituents are weighted by their free float market capitalization adjusted for their exposure score, subject to the individual constituent weight cap and, if applicable, a liquidity adjustment. The Index is rebalanced and reconstituted semi-annually in March and September.
WisdomTree currently uses the Global Industry Classification Standard (GICS®), a widely recognized industry classification methodology developed by MSCI, Inc. and Standard & Poor's Financial Services LLC, to identify the extent of the Index's exposure to a sector or industry. A GICS sector typically is composed of multiple industries. Because the Fund seeks to track the Index, it is expected to have the same sector and industry exposure as the Index. While the Index's and, therefore, the Fund's sector exposure may vary from time to time, as of June 3, 2025, the Index had, and, therefore, the Fund is expected to have, significant exposure (e.g., approximately 15% or more of the Index's total weight) to the Industrials Sector.
To the extent the Index is concentrated in the securities of companies assigned to a particular industry or group of industries, the Fund will seek to concentrate its investments (i.e., invest more than 25% of its assets) in such industry or group of industries to approximately the same extent as the Index.
As of June 3, 2025, the equity securities of companies that conduct their Primary Business Activities in France, Germany, and the United Kingdom comprised a significant portion (e.g., approximately 15% or more of the Index's total weight) of the Index, although the Index's geographic exposure may change from time to time. As a result, the Fund can be expected to also have significant exposure to France, Germany, and the United Kingdom.
Principal Risks of Investing in the Fund
You can lose money on your investment in the Fund. While certain of the risks are prioritized in terms of their relevance to the Fund's investment strategies, most risks are presented in alphabetical order. This ordering approach is designed to both facilitate an investor's understanding of the Fund's risks and enable an investor to easily locate and compare risks among funds. Each risk summarized below is considered a "principal risk" of investing in the Fund, regardless of the order in which it appears. Some or all of these risks may adversely affect the Fund's net asset value per share ("NAV"), trading price, yield, total return and/or ability to meet its investment
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objective. For more information about the risks of investing in the Fund, see the sections in the Fund's Prospectus titled "Additional Principal Risk Information About the Fund" and "Additional Non-Principal Risk Information."
■ | Geographic Concentration in Europe Risk. Because the Fund invests primarily in the securities of companies in Europe, the Fund's performance is expected to be closely tied to social, political, and economic conditions within Europe and to be more volatile than the performance of more geographically diversified funds. Many countries within Europe are closely connected and their economies and markets largely interdependent. As such, economic and political events in one European country, including monetary exchange rates between European countries and armed conflicts among two or more European countries, may have adverse effects across Europe. European countries that are members of the European Union ("EU") and the European Economic and Monetary Union ("EMU") are subject to certain economic and monetary policies and controls and the risks associated with such coordinated economic and fiscal policies. Members of the EMU must comply with restrictions on inflation rates, deficits, debt levels, and fiscal and monetary controls. The implementation of any such restrictions or controls, the default of an EU member country on its sovereign debt, significant fluctuations in the euro's exchange rate, or a change in governmental or EU trade regulations could each have a significant impact on the economies of some or all European countries. The European economy is also subject to the ongoing risks associated with the United Kingdom's decision to withdraw from the EU and the stability of the remaining EU membership. In addition, the extent and duration of Russia's military invasion of Ukraine, initiated in February 2022, and the broad-ranging economic sanctions levied against Russia by the United States, the EU, the United Kingdom, and other countries, are impossible to predict, but these events could have a significant adverse impact on Europe's overall economy and may adversely affect the Fund's performance even in the absence of direct exposure to Russian securities. The manifestation of any of these risks could have a negative effect on the Fund's investments in Europe. The Fund currently invests a significant portion of its assets in companies organized in France, Germany, and the United Kingdom, although this may change from time to time. |
Investments in France
France's economy is dependent on its agricultural exports and fluctuations in the demand for agricultural products may have negative impacts on France's economy. The United Kingdom's exit from the European Union may adversely impact France's economy due to decreased demand for French exports in the United Kingdom. France has experienced several terrorist attacks over the past several years, creating a climate of insecurity that has been detrimental to tourism.
Investments in Germany
Germany's economy is closely connected to the economies of other members of the EU and EMU and adverse economic conditions effecting one member may have effects across Europe. Additionally, EU or EMU policies and restrictions may have significant impacts on Germany's economy. These and other factors, including the potential consequences of sanctions related to Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the EU, could have a negative impact on the Fund's performance.
Investments in the United Kingdom
Investments in the United Kingdom ("U.K.") are subject to risks associated with the U.K.'s economy and uncertainties surrounding the U.K.'s exit from the EU single market and customs union ("Brexit"). The U.K.'s economic growth, as well as the strength of its currency, the British pound, may be affected by changes in the economic health of its primary trade partners across Europe and the United States. The U.K.'s economy is also heavily dependent on the export of financial services and may be impacted by a slowdown in the financial services sector.
■ | Foreign Securities Risk. Investments in non-U.S. securities, including depositary receipts, involve political, regulatory, and economic risks that may not be present in investments in U.S. securities. For example, investments in non-U.S. securities may be subject to risk of loss due to currency fluctuations, political or economic instability, or geographic events that adversely impact issuers of foreign securities. Investments in non-U.S. securities also may be subject to withholding or other taxes and may be subject to additional trading, settlement, custodial, and operational risks. These additional risks may make investments in the Fund more volatile and potentially less liquid than other types of investments. These risks may be heightened to the extent the Fund invests in companies domiciled in or otherwise tied to developing or emerging market countries. |
■ | Investment Risk. As with all investments, an investment in the Fund is subject to loss, including the possible loss of the entire principal amount of an investment, over short or long periods of time. |
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■ | Market Risk. The trading prices of securities and other instruments fluctuate in response to a variety of factors, such as economic, financial or political events that impact the entire market, market segments, or specific issuers. The Fund's NAV and market price may fluctuate significantly in response to these and other factors. As a result, an investor could lose money over short or long periods of time. |
■ | Shares of the Fund May Trade at Prices Other Than NAV. As with all exchange-traded funds ("ETFs"), Fund shares may be bought and sold in the secondary market at market prices. The market prices of the Fund's shares in the secondary market generally differ from the Fund's daily NAV, and there may be times when the market price of the shares is more than the NAV (premium) or less than the NAV (discount). This risk is heightened in times of market volatility or periods of steep market declines. Because securities held by the Fund trade on, or have exposure to, foreign exchanges that are closed when the Fund's principal listing exchange is open, the Fund is likely to experience premiums and discounts greater than those of domestic ETFs. Additionally, in stressed market conditions, the market for the Fund's shares may become less liquid in response to deteriorating liquidity in the markets for the Fund's underlying portfolio holdings. |
■ | Capital Controls and Sanctions Risk. Economic conditions, such as volatile currency exchange rates and interest rates, political events, military action and other conditions may, without prior warning, lead to foreign government intervention (including intervention by the U.S. government with respect to foreign governments, economic sectors, foreign companies and related securities and interests) and the imposition of capital controls and/or sanctions, which may also include retaliatory actions of one government against another government, such as seizure of assets. Capital controls and/or sanctions include the prohibition of, or restrictions on, the ability to own or transfer currency, securities or other assets, which may potentially include derivative instruments related thereto. Capital controls and/or sanctions may also impact the ability of the Fund to buy, sell, transfer, receive, deliver or otherwise obtain exposure to, foreign securities or currency, negatively impact the value and/or liquidity of such instruments, adversely affect the trading market and price for shares of the Fund, and cause the Fund to decline in value. |
■ | Cash Redemption Risk. The Fund generally redeems shares for cash or otherwise includes cash as part of its redemption proceeds. The Fund may be required to sell or unwind its portfolio investments to obtain the cash needed to pay out redemption proceeds. This may cause the Fund to recognize capital gains that it might not have recognized if it had satisfied such redemption requests with securities held by the Fund (i.e., redeemed its shares in kind). As a result, the Fund may pay out higher annual capital gains distributions than a fund that redeems its shares in kind. |
■ | Currency Exchange Rate Risk. Changes in currency exchange rates and the relative value of non-U.S. currencies will affect the value of the Fund's investment and the value of your Fund shares. Currency exchange rates can be very volatile and can change quickly and unpredictably. As a result, the value of an investment in the Fund may also change quickly, unpredictably, and without warning, and you may lose money. |
■ | Cybersecurity Risk. The Fund and its service providers may be susceptible to operational and information security risks resulting from a breach in cybersecurity, including cyber-attacks. A breach in cybersecurity, intentional or unintentional, may adversely impact the Fund in many ways, including, but not limited to, disruption of the Fund's operational capacity, loss of proprietary information, theft or corruption of data, denial-of-service attacks on websites or network resources, and the unauthorized release of confidential information. Cyber-attacks affecting the Fund's third-party service providers, market makers, institutional investors authorized to purchase and redeem shares directly from the Fund (i.e., Authorized Participants), or the issuers of securities in which the Fund invests may subject the Fund to many of the same risks associated with direct cybersecurity breaches. |
■ | Geopolitical Risk. Some countries and regions in which the Fund invests have and may continue to experience security concerns, war, threats of war, aggression and/or conflict, terrorism, economic uncertainty, sanctions or the threat of sanctions, natural and environmental disasters, the spread of infectious illness, widespread disease or other public health issues and/or systemic market dislocations that lead to increased short-term market volatility and have adverse long-term effects on the U.S. and world economies and disrupt the orderly functioning of securities markets generally, which may negatively impact the Fund's investments. |
■ | Index and Data Risk. The Fund seeks to track the price and yield performance, before fees and expenses, of the Index. The Index may not perform as intended. The Index Provider has the right to make adjustments to the composition and/or operation of the Index or to cease making the Index available without regard to the particular interests of the Fund or its shareholders. If the computers or other facilities of the Index Provider, Index calculation agent, data providers and/or relevant stock exchange malfunction for any reason, calculation and dissemination of Index values may be delayed and trading in Fund shares may be suspended for a period of |
4 WisdomTree Trust Prospectus |
time. Errors in Index data, Index calculations and/or the construction of the Index may occur from time to time and may not be identified and/or corrected by the Index Provider, Index calculation agent, or any other party for a period of time or at all, which may have an adverse impact on the Index as well as the Fund and its shareholders. The potential risk of a continuing error may be particularly heightened in the case of the Index, which is generally not used as a benchmark by other funds or managers. |
■ | Industrials Sector Risk. The Fund currently invests a significant portion of its assets in the Industrials Sector, and therefore, the Fund's performance could be negatively impacted by events affecting this sector. The Industrials Sector includes, for example, aerospace and defense, non-residential construction, engineering, machinery, transportation, and commercial and professional services companies. This sector can be significantly affected by, among other things, business cycle fluctuations, worldwide economy growth, rapid technological developments, international political and economic developments, exchange rates, commodity prices, environmental issues, government and corporate spending, supply and demand for specific products and manufacturing, and government regulation. |
■ | Investment Style Risk. The Fund invests in the securities included in, or representative of, the Index regardless of their investment merit. The Fund does not attempt to outperform the Index or take defensive positions in declining markets. As a result, the Fund's performance may be adversely affected by a general decline in the market segments represented in the Index. |
■ | Issuer-Specific Risk. Issuer-specific events, including changes in the actual or perceived financial condition of an issuer, can have a negative impact on the value of the Fund. |
■ | Non-Correlation Risk. As with all index funds, the performance of the Fund and that of the Index may differ from each other for a variety of reasons. For example, the Fund incurs operating expenses and portfolio transaction costs, while also managing cash flows and potential operational inefficiencies, not incurred by the Index. In addition, when markets are volatile, the ability to sell securities at fair market prices may be adversely affected and may result in additional trading costs and/or increase the non-correlation risk. The Fund's use of sampling techniques also may affect its ability to achieve close correlation with the Index. |
■ | Non-Diversification Risk. The Fund is considered to be non-diversified, which means that it may invest more of its assets in the securities of a single issuer or a smaller number of issuers than if it were a diversified fund. To the extent the Fund invests a significant percentage of its assets in a limited number of issuers, the Fund is subject to the risks of investing in those few issuers, and may be more susceptible to a single adverse economic or regulatory occurrence. As a result, changes in the market value of a single security could cause greater fluctuations in the value of Fund shares than would occur in a diversified fund. |
Fund Performance
The Fund is new and therefore does not yet have performance history. Once the Fund has completed a full calendar year of operations, a bar chart and table will be included that will provide some indication of the risks of investing in the Fund by showing the variability of the Fund's return based on net assets and comparing the Fund's performance to a broad measure of market performance. Updated performance information for the Fund will be available online on the Fund's website at www.wisdomtree.com/investments.
Management
Investment Adviser and Sub-Adviser
WisdomTree Asset Management serves as investment adviser to the Fund. Mellon Investments Corporation ("Mellon" or the "Sub-Adviser") serves as the investment sub-adviser to the Fund.
Portfolio Managers
The Fund is managed by the Sub-Adviser's Equity Index Strategies Portfolio Management team. The individual members of the team jointly and primarily responsible for the day-to-day management of the Fund's portfolio are identified below.
Marlene Walker-Smith, a Senior Director and Chief Investment Officer, has been a portfolio manager of the Fund since its inception in June 2025.
David France, CFA, a Senior Vice President, Senior Portfolio Manager and Team Manager, has been a portfolio manager of the Fund since its inception in June 2025.
Todd Frysinger, CFA, a Senior Vice President, Senior Portfolio Manager and Team Manager, has been a portfolio manager of the Fund since its inception in June 2025.
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Vlasta Sheremeta, CFA, a Senior Vice President, Senior Portfolio Manager and Team Manager, has been a portfolio manager of the Fund since its inception in June 2025.
Michael Stoll, a Senior Vice President, Senior Portfolio Manager and Team Manager, has been a portfolio manager of the Fund since its inception in June 2025.
Buying and Selling Fund Shares
The Fund is an ETF. This means that individual shares of the Fund are listed for trading on a national securities exchange, currently NYSE Arca, Inc. (the "Listing Exchange"), and may only be purchased and sold in the secondary market through a broker-dealer at market prices. Because Fund shares trade at market prices rather than NAV, shares may trade at a price greater than NAV (premium) or less than NAV (discount). In addition, an investor may incur costs attributable to the difference between the highest price a buyer is willing to pay to purchase shares (bid) and the lowest price a seller is willing to accept for shares (ask) when buying and selling shares in the secondary market (the "bid/ask spread"). Recent information regarding the Fund, including its NAV, market price, premiums and discounts, and bid/ask spreads, is available on the Fund's website at www.wisdomtree.com/investments.
The Fund issues and redeems shares at NAV only in large blocks of shares ("Creation Units"), which only certain institutions or large investors (typically market makers or other broker-dealers) may purchase or redeem. The Fund issues and redeems Creation Units in exchange for a portfolio of securities and/or U.S. cash.
Tax Information
The Fund intends to make distributions that may be taxed as ordinary income, qualified dividend income, or capital gains.
Payments to Broker-Dealers and Other Financial Intermediaries
If you purchase shares of the Fund through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank) (an "Intermediary"), WisdomTree Asset Management or its affiliates may pay Intermediaries for certain activities related to the Fund, including participation in activities that are designed to make Intermediaries more knowledgeable about exchange-traded products, including the Fund, or for other activities, such as marketing, educational training or other initiatives related to the sale or promotion of Fund shares. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing the Intermediary and your salesperson to recommend the Fund over another investment. Any such arrangements do not result in increased Fund expenses. Ask your salesperson or visit the Intermediary's website for more information.
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WIS-WDEF-SUM-0725