WisdomTree Europe Hedged Equity Fund – HEDJ (NYSE Arca)
SUMMARY PROSPECTUS – August 1, 2015
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, as well as other information about the Fund, online at www.wisdomtree.com/prospectus. 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 Hedged Equity Fund (the “Fund”) seeks to track the price and yield performance, before fees and expenses, of the WisdomTree Europe Hedged Equity Index (the “Index”).
Fees and Expenses of the Fund
The following table describes the fees and expenses you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the Fund. 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 |
0.58 | % | ||
| Distribution and/or Service (12b-1) Fees |
None | |||
| Other Expenses |
0.00 | % | ||
| Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses | 0.58 | % |
Example
The following example is intended to help retail investors compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other funds. It illustrates the hypothetical expenses that such investors would incur over various periods if they were to invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and then redeem all of the shares at the end of those periods. This example assumes that the Fund provides a return of 5% a year and that operating expenses remain the same. This example does not include the brokerage commissions that retail investors may pay to buy and sell shares of the Fund. 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 | |||||||||||||
| $59 | $186 | $324 | $726 | |||||||||||||
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 annual fund operating expenses or in the example, affect the Fund’s performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Fund’s portfolio turnover rate was 12% of the average value of its portfolio, excluding the value of portfolio securities received or delivered as a result of in-kind creations or redemptions of the Fund’s capital shares.
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 characteristics resemble the risk,
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return and other characteristics of the Index as a whole. Under normal circumstances, at least 95% of the Fund’s total assets (exclusive of collateral held from securities lending) will be invested in component securities of the Index and investments that have economic characteristics that are substantially identical to the economic characteristics of such component securities.
The Index is a dividend weighted index designed to provide exposure to European equity securities, particularly shares of European exporters, while at the same time neutralizing exposure to fluctuations between the value of the U.S. dollar and the euro. Shares of European exporters stand to benefit from weakness in the value of the euro as this decreases the relative cost of the goods and services they are exporting. The Index consists of those dividend-paying companies within the WisdomTree International Equity Index, which defines the dividend-paying universe of companies in the industrialized world, excluding Canada and the United States, that are organized under the laws of a European country, trade in euros, have at least $1 billion in market capitalization, and derive at least 50% of their revenue from countries outside of Europe. Countries historically represented in the Index include: Germany, France, the Netherlands, Spain, Belgium, Finland, Italy, Portugal, Austria and Ireland. To be eligible for inclusion in the Index, a company must meet the following criteria: (i) payment of at least $5 million in cash dividends on shares of common stock in the annual cycle prior to the annual Index screening date; (ii) average daily dollar trading volume of at least $200,000 for three months preceding the Index screening date; and (iii) trading of at least 250,000 shares per month for each of the six months preceding the Index screening date.
Securities are weighted in the Index based on dividends paid over the prior annual cycle. Companies that pay a greater total dollar amount of dividends are more heavily weighted. To derive a company’s initial Index weight, (i) multiply the U.S. dollar value of the company’s annual gross dividend per share by the number of common shares outstanding for that company (the “Cash Dividend Factor”); (ii) calculate the Cash Dividend Factor for each company; (iii) add together all of the companies’ Cash Dividend Factors; and (iv) divide the company’s Cash Dividend Factor by the sum of all Cash Dividend Factors. At the time of the Index’s annual screening date, the maximum weight of any single security in the Index is capped at 5% and the maximum weight of any one sector and any one country in the Index, is capped at 25%, subject to the following volume factor adjustments. In response to market conditions and/or the volume factor adjustments discussed below, sector, country and security weights may fluctuate above the specified cap between annual Index screening dates. After the foregoing methodology screens and weighting mechanisms are applied, each security’s calculated volume factor is determined by dividing the security’s average daily dollar trading volume for the three months preceding the Index screening date by its weight in the Index. In the event that a security has a calculated volume factor that is less than $200 million, such security is deleted from the Index and its weight is allocated pro rata among the remaining component securities. After deleting any such securities, if a component security has a calculated volume factor that is less than $400 million, but $200 million or greater, the company’s weight in the Index will be reduced. The company’s reduced weight is calculated by multiplying the company’s weight in the Index by the fraction of its calculated volume factor divided by $400 million. The reduction in weight is allocated pro rata among the other component securities in the Index.
WisdomTree Investments, Inc. (“WisdomTree Investments”), as index provider, currently uses Standard & Poor’s Global Industry Classification Standards (“S&P GICS”) to define companies within a sector. The following sectors are included in the Index: consumer discretionary, consumer staples, energy, financials, health care, industrials, information technology, materials, telecommunication services, and utilities. A sector is comprised of multiple industries. For example, the energy sector is comprised of companies in, among others, the natural gas, oil and petroleum industries. As of June 30, 2015, a significant portion of the Index is comprised of companies in the consumer discretionary, consumer staples and industrial sectors.
The Index “hedges” against fluctuations in the relative value of the euro against the U.S. dollar. The Index is designed to have higher returns than an equivalent un-hedged investment when the U.S. dollar is going up in value relative to the euro. Conversely, the Index is designed to have lower returns than an equivalent un-hedged investment when the U.S. dollar is falling in value relative to the euro. The Index applies an applicable published one-month currency forward rate to the total equity exposure of each country in the Index to hedge against fluctuations in the relative value of the euro against the U.S. dollar. If a country that had previously adopted the euro as its official currency were to revert back to its local currency, the country would remain in the Index and the Index would be hedged in such local currency as soon as practicable after forward rates become available for such currency.
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Forward currency contracts or futures contracts are used to offset the Fund’s exposure to the euro. The amount of forward contracts and futures contracts in the Fund is based on the aggregate exposure of the Fund and Index to the euro. While this approach is designed to minimize the impact of currency fluctuations on Fund returns, it does not necessarily eliminate exposure to all currency fluctuations. The return of the forward currency contracts and currency futures contracts may not perfectly offset the actual fluctuations of the euro relative to the U.S. dollar.
To the extent the Index concentrates (i.e., holds 25% or more of its total assets) in the securities of a particular industry or group of industries, the Fund will concentrate its investments to approximately the same extent as the Index.
Principal Risks of Investing in the Fund
You can lose money on your investment in the Fund. The Fund is subject to the risks described below. 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 objectives. 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 Funds” and “Additional Non-Principal Risk Information.”
| n | Investment Risk. As with all investments, an investment in the Fund is subject to investment risk. Investors in the Fund could lose money, including the possible loss of the entire principal amount of an investment, over short or long periods of time. |
| n | Market Risk. The trading prices of equity securities and other instruments fluctuate in response to a variety of factors, such as 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. |
| n | 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 trading 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 foreign exchanges that are closed when the Fund’s primary listing exchange is open, the Fund is likely to experience premiums and discounts greater than those of domestic ETFs. |
| n | Cash Redemption Risk. The Fund’s investment strategy will require it to redeem shares for cash or to otherwise include cash as part of its redemption proceeds. The Fund may be required to sell or unwind portfolio investments in order to obtain the cash needed to distribute redemption proceeds. This may cause the Fund to recognize a capital gain that it might not have recognized if it had made a redemption in-kind. As a result, the Fund may pay out higher annual capital gain distributions than if the in-kind redemption process was used. |
| n | Consumer Discretionary Sector Risk. The Fund currently invests a significant portion of its assets in the consumer discretionary sector. This sector consists of, for example, automobile, retail and media companies. The consumer discretionary sector of the economy can be significantly affected by, among other things, economic growth, worldwide demand and consumers’ disposable income levels and propensity to spend. |
| n | Consumer Staples Sector Risk. The Fund currently invests a significant portion of its assets in the consumer staples sector. This sector can be significantly affected by, among other things, changes in price and availability of underlying commodities, rising energy prices and global and economic conditions. |
| n | Currency Exchange Rate Risk. The Fund uses various strategies to attempt to minimize the impact of changes in the value of the euro against the U.S. dollar. These strategies may not be successful. In order to minimize transaction costs, or for other reasons, the Fund’s exposure to the euro may not be fully hedged at all times. Currency exchange rates can be very volatile and can change quickly and unpredictably. Therefore, the value of an investment in a Fund may also go up or down quickly and unpredictably and investors may lose money. |
| n | Derivatives Risk. The Fund may invest in derivatives. Derivatives are financial instruments that derive their performance from an underlying reference asset, such as a commodity, index, interest rate or inflation rate. The return on |
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| a derivative instrument may not correlate with the return of its underlying reference asset. Derivatives are subject to a number of risks described elsewhere in the Fund’s Prospectus, such as market risk and issuer-specific risk. Derivatives can be volatile and may be less liquid than other securities. As a result, the value of an investment in the Fund may change quickly and without warning and you may lose money. In addition to the other risks associated with the use of derivatives described elsewhere in this Prospectus, there are risks associated with the Fund’s use of forward currency contracts and futures contracts. With respect to forward currency contracts, these risks include but are not limited to the risk that the counterparty will default on its obligations. With respect to futures contracts, these risks include but are not limited to: (1) the success of the adviser’s and sub-adviser’s ability to predict movements in the prices of individual currencies or securities, fluctuations in markets and movements in interest rates; (2) an imperfect or no correlation between the changes in market value of the currencies or securities and the prices of futures contracts; and (3) no guarantee that an active market will exist for the contracts at any particular time. |
| n | Foreign Securities Risk. Investments in non-U.S. securities involve certain risks that may not be present with investments in U.S. securities. For example, investments in non-U.S. securities may be subject to risk of loss due to foreign currency fluctuations or to political or economic instability. 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 and other factors can make investments in the Fund more volatile and potentially less liquid than other types of investments and may be heightened in connection with investments in developing or emerging markets countries. |
| n | Geographic Concentration in Europe. 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. Most developed countries in Western Europe are members of the European Union (EU), and many are also members of the European Monetary Union (EMU), which requires compliance with restrictions on inflation rates, deficits, and debt levels. Unemployment in certain European nations is historically high and several countries face significant debt problems. These conditions can significantly affect every country in Europe. The Fund currently invests a significant portion of its assets in companies organized in Germany, France, Spain, and the Netherlands, although this may change from time to time. |
| n | Geopolitical Risk. Some countries and regions in which the Fund invests have experienced security concerns, war or threats of war and aggression, terrorism, economic uncertainty, natural and environmental disasters and/or systemic market dislocations that have led, and in the future may lead, to increased short-term market volatility and may have adverse long-term effects on the U.S. and world economies and markets generally, each of which may negatively impact the Fund’s investments. |
| n | Hedging Risk. Derivatives used by the Fund to offset its exposure to foreign currencies represented in the Index may not perform as intended. There can be no assurance that the Fund’s hedging transactions will be effective. The value of an investment in the Fund could be significantly and negatively impacted if foreign currencies represented in the Index appreciate at the same time that the value of the Fund’s equity holdings fall. |
| n | Industrial Sector Risk. The Fund currently invests a significant portion of its assets in the industrial sector. The industrial sector can be significantly affected by, among other things, worldwide economy growth, supply and demand for specific products and services, rapid technological developments, and government regulation. |
| n | 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 relating to the Index. |
| n | Issuer-Specific Risk. Issuer-specific events, including changes in the financial condition of an issuer, can have a negative impact on the value of the Fund. |
| n | Large-Capitalization Investing. The Fund may invest a relatively large percentage of its assets in the securities of large-capitalization companies. As a result, the Fund’s performance may be adversely affected if securities of large-capitalization companies underperform securities of smaller-capitalization companies or the market as a whole. The securities of large-capitalization companies may be relatively mature compared to smaller companies and therefore subject to slower growth during times of economic expansion. |
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| n | Non-Correlation Risk. As with all index funds, the performance of the Fund and its Index may differ from each other for a variety of reasons. |
| n | 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
Historical Fund performance, which varies over time, can provide an indication of the risks of investing in the Fund. The bar chart that follows shows the annual total returns of the Fund for each full calendar year since the Fund commenced operations. The table that follows the bar chart shows the Fund’s average annual total returns, both before and after taxes. This table also shows how the Fund’s performance compares to the Index and that of a relevant broad-based securities index. Index returns do not reflect deductions for fees, expenses or taxes. All returns assume reinvestment of dividends and distributions. The Fund’s past performance (before and after taxes) is not necessarily an indication of how the Fund will perform in the future.
The Fund’s name and objective changed effective August 29, 2012. Fund performance prior to August 29, 2012 reflects the investment objective of the Fund when it was the WisdomTree International Hedged Equity Fund and tracked the performance, before fees and expenses, of the WisdomTree DEFA International Hedged Equity Index.
The Fund’s year-to-date total return as of June 30, 2015 was 11.13%.
Best and Worst Quarter Returns (for the period reflected in the bar chart above)
| Return | Quarter/Year | |||||||
| Highest Return |
10.84 | % | 3Q/2013 | |||||
| Lowest Return |
(14.16 | )% | 3Q/2011 | |||||
After-tax returns are calculated using the highest historical individual federal marginal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Actual after-tax returns depend on your tax situation and may differ from those shown and are not relevant if you hold your Fund shares through tax-deferred arrangements, such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts. In some cases the return after taxes may exceed the return before taxes due to an assumed tax benefit from any losses on a sale of Fund shares at the end of the measurement period.
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Average Annual Total Returns for the periods ending December 31, 2014
| WisdomTree Europe Hedged Equity Fund* | 1 Year | 5 Years |
Since Inception (12/31/2009) |
|||||||||
| Return Before Taxes Based on NAV |
6.55 | % | 7.25 | % | 7.24 | % | ||||||
| Return After Taxes on Distributions |
4.80 | % | 6.36 | % | 6.36 | % | ||||||
| Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares |
4.51 | % | 5.54 | % | 5.54 | % | ||||||
| MSCI EAFE Local Currency/MSCI EMU Local Currency Spliced Index** (Reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes) |
4.32 | % | 6.82 | % | 6.82 | % | ||||||
| WisdomTree DEFA International Hedged Equity/WisdomTree Europe Hedged Equity Spliced Index*** (Reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes) |
7.11 | % | 7.77 | % | 7.77 | % | ||||||
| * | The Fund’s objective changed effective August 29, 2012. Prior to that date, the Fund sought to track the price and yield performance, before fees and expenses, of the WisdomTree DEFA International Hedged Equity Index. As of August 29, 2012, the Fund seeks to track the price and yield performance, before fees and expenses, of the WisdomTree Europe Hedged Equity Index. |
| ** | Reflects performance of the MSCI EAFE Local Currency Index prior to August 29, 2012 and the MSCI EMU Local Currency Index thereafter. |
| *** | Reflects performance of the WisdomTree DEFA International Hedged Equity Index prior to August 29, 2012 and the WisdomTree Europe Hedged Equity Index thereafter. |
Management
Investment Adviser and Sub-Adviser
WisdomTree Asset Management, Inc. serves as investment adviser to the Fund. Mellon Capital Management Corporation serves as sub-adviser to the Fund.
Portfolio Managers
Karen Q. Wong, CFA, a Managing Director, Head of Equity Portfolio Management, has been a portfolio manager of the Fund since December 2009.
Richard A. Brown, CFA, a Director and Senior Portfolio Manager, Equity Portfolio Management, has been a portfolio manager of the Fund since December 2009.
Thomas J. Durante, CFA, a Director and Senior Portfolio Manager, Equity Portfolio Management, has been a portfolio manager of the Fund since December 2009.
Buying and Selling Fund Shares
The Fund is an ETF. This means that shares of the Fund are listed on a national securities exchange, such as NYSE Arca, and trade at market prices. Most investors will buy and sell shares of the Fund through brokers. 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).
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. Currently, Creation Units generally consist of 50,000 shares, though this may change from time to time. Creation Units are not expected to consist of less than 50,000 shares. The Fund generally issues and redeems Creation Units in exchange for a portfolio of securities closely approximating the holdings of the Fund and/or a designated amount of 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, Inc. 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-HEDJ-SUM-0815 |