Performance Analysis of Option-Based Equity Mutual Funds, CEFs, and ETFs: An Update

Performance Analysis of Option-Based Equity Mutual Funds, CEFs, and ETFs: An Update Keith Black, Ph.D., CAIA, CFA Managing Director of CAIA (Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst) Association Edward Szado, Ph.D., CFA Assistant Professor of Finance, Providence College Director of Research, INGARM (Institute for Global Asset and Risk Management) March 6. 2018 1

Co-authors of the Study Keith Black, Ph.D., CAIA, CFA Keith Black has over twenty-five years of financial market experience, serving approximately half of that time as an academic and half as a trader and consultant to institutional investors. He currently serves as Managing Director of Curriculum and Exams for the CAIA Association. During his most recent role at Ennis Knupp + Associates, Keith advised foundations, endowments and pension funds on their asset allocation and manager selection strategies in hedge funds, commodities and managed futures. Prior experience includes commodities derivatives trading at First Chicago Capital Markets, stock Option research and Cboe market-making for Hull Trading Company, and building quantitative stock selection models for mutual funds and hedge funds for Chicago Investment Analytics. Dr. Black previously served as an assistant professor and senior lecturer at the Illinois Institute of Technology's Stuart school, where he taught courses in both traditional and alternative investments. He contributes regularly to The CFA Digest, and has published in a number of journals, including The Journal of Trading, and The Journal of Alternative Investments. He is the author of the book "Managing a Hedge Fund," as well as a contributor to the second and third editions of the CAIA Level I and Level II textbooks. Dr. Black was named to Institutional Investor magazine's list of "Rising Stars of Hedge Funds" in 2010. Dr. Black earned a BA from Whittier College, an MBA from Carnegie Mellon University, and a PhD from the Illinois Institute of Technology. He has earned the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation and was a member of the inaugural class of the Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst (CAIA) candidates. Edward Szado, Ph.D., CFA Edward Szado is Assistant Professor of Finance, Providence College. He is also the Director of Research at the Institute for Global Asset and Risk Management and received his Ph.D. in Finance from the Isenberg School of Management, University of Massachusetts, Amherst. He has taught Risk Management at the Boston University School of Management, Derivatives at Clark University and a range of finance courses at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. He is a former Option trader and his experience includes product development in the areas of volatility based investments and structured investment products. He is also a Chartered Financial Analyst and has consulted for the Option Industry Council, the Cboe, the Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst Association and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. 2

Methodology In November 2017, we undertook a comprehensive search for SEC-Registered Option-Based Funds and exchange-traded products (ETPs), building on data sourced through Bloomberg and Morningstar. The sample for the study consists of active, liquidated, and merged funds, which should eliminate issues of survivorship bias. Performance analysis of 105 Option-Based Funds. Our performance analysis is conducted on SEC- Registered Option-Based Funds that focus on broad-based US equities. This sample of equity funds includes 74 open-end mutual funds (MF), 20 closed-end funds (CEF), and 11 exchange-traded products (ETFs/ETNs). These funds have a current AUM of $38.1 billion. Exchange-traded notes are not funds. The performance analysis in exhibits 3 through 13 are based on this list of funds. 52 Other Funds That Are Not Analyzed for Performance. In addition, we identified 52 funds with objectives other than broad-based US equities, such as fixed income, currencies, commodities, international and global equity, narrow sector funds (such as master limited partnerships), and futuresbased products. Performance analysis of funds benchmarked to indexes beyond diversified US equities is not conducted in this study. Including both the diversified equity funds and the funds benchmarked to other objectives brings the total AUM to $54.2 billion. In this paper, the 52 funds are included in exhibits 1 and 2, but are not used in the subsequent exhibits on performance. 3

Largest and Oldest Option-Based Funds (December 31, 2017) Funds Greater than $1 Billion Fund Name Ticker AUM ($mill) Gateway GATEX $8,524 Swan Defined Risk I SDRIX $3,183 BlackRock Enhanced Equity Div BDJ $1,868 EV Tax-Managed Div Equity Income ETY $1,846 JPMorgan Hedged Equity I JHEQX $1,572 Nuveen S&P 500 Buy-Write Income BXMX $1,486 AllianzGI NFJ Div Interest & Prem NFJ $1,397 Catalyst Hedged Futures Strategy I HFXIX $1,233 Funds with a 10-Year Track Record Name Ticker Earliest Inception Date Name Ticker Earliest Inception Date Gateway GATEX Dec-77 Nuveen Dow 30 Dynamic Overwrite DIAX Apr-05 Touchstone Dynamic Equity Instl TDELX Jun-78 EV Tax-Managed Buy-Write Inc ETB Apr-05 Virtus Rampart Enhanced Core Equity I PXIIX Sep-97 EV Tax-Managed Buy-Write Opps ETV Jun-05 Hussman Strategic Growth HSGFX Jul-00 Guggenheim Enhanced Equity Inc GPM Aug-05 Bridgeway Managed Volatility BRBPX Jun-01 BlackRock Enhanced Equity Div BDJ Aug-05 ICON Risk-Managed Balanced A IOCAX Sep-02 Nuveen S&P 500 Dynamic Overwrite SPXX Nov-05 BlackRock Enhanced Cap & Inc CII Apr-04 Catalyst Hedged Futures Strategy I HFXIX Dec-05 Madison Covered Call & Equity Strategy MCN Jul-04 EV Tax-Managed Div Equity Income ETY Nov-06 First Trust Enhanced Equity Income FFA Aug-04 Nuveen NASDAQ 100 Dynamic Overwrite QQQX Jan-07 EV Enhanced Equity Income EOI Oct-04 Nuveen Core Equity Alpha JCE Mar-07 Nuveen S&P 500 Buy-Write Income BXMX Oct-04 ipath CBOE S&P 500 BuyWrite ETN BWV May-07 EV Enhanced Equity Income II EOS Jan-05 Nuveen Tax-Adv Div Growth JTD Jun-07 AllianzGI NFJ Div Interest & Prem NFJ Feb-05 EV Risk-Mgd Divers Equity Inc ETJ Jul-07 Centaur Total Return TILDX Mar-05 PowerShares S&P 500 BuyWrite ETF PBP Dec-07 Madison Strategic Sector Prem MSP Apr-05 Lists of funds in this paper should not be construed as a recommendation to buy or sell a security or to provide investment advice. Read closely the applicable prospectus.. 4

Exhibit 1: Number of Option-Based Funds in Sample 350 300 Other Option-Based CEFs, ETFs, MFds US Equity ETFs Number of Option-Based Funds 250 200 150 100 50 US Equity CEFs US Equity Mutual Funds 24 10 12 15 16 48 57 70 77 76 86 98 109 126 135 141 148 157 0 Exhibit 1: Growth in the number of option-based equity funds in our sample. 5

Exhibit 2: Assets Under Management in Option-Based Funds ($Million) 120,000 100,000 Other Option-Based CEFs, ETFs, MFds US Equity Funds 80,000 AUM 60,000 40,000 23,268 33,242 44,746 30,693 34,594 40,646 40,773 44,648 47,374 49,003 48,241 52,314 54,154 20,000 4,104 3,488 3,253 3,993 8,436 0 Exhibit 2: Assets under management continue to grow, rising from $8 billion in 2004 to over $54.1 billion in 2017. 6

Exhibit 3: Option-Based Funds and Indices - Cumulative Growth of $100 (Dec. 31, 1999-Dec. 29, 2017) $450 $400 Cumulative Return $350 $300 $250 $200 $150 $100 $50 $339 - Citigroup 30-yr Treasury $315 - PUT - Cboe S&P 500 PutWrite Index $273 - S&P 500 $242 - BXM - Cboe S&P 500 BuyWrite Index $216 - Option Based Funds US Equity $199 - MSCI EAFE $96 - S&P GSCI $- Dec-99 Oct-00 Aug-01 Jun-02 Apr-03 Feb-04 Dec-04 Oct-05 Aug-06 Jun-07 Apr-08 Feb-09 Dec-09 Oct-10 Aug-11 Jun-12 Apr-13 Feb-14 Dec-14 Oct-15 Aug-16 Jun-17 Exhibit 3: Cumulative return since December 1999 for option based funds, the BXM and PUT indexes and various traditional indices. The Option-Based Fund Portfolio returns are calculated by averaging the returns across all constituents in the sample available each month. The number of funds included in the calculation grows monthly as new funds enter the sample. 7

$400 Exhibit 4: Option-Based Funds and Indices - Cumulative Growth of $100 (Dec. 31, 1999-Dec. 29, 2017) $350 Cumulative Return $300 $250 $200 $150 $100 $50 $339 - Citigroup 30-yr Treasury $315 - PUT - Cboe S&P 500 PutWrite Index $273 - S&P 500 $242 - BXM - Cboe S&P 500 BuyWrite Index $216 - Option Based Funds US Equity $199 - MSCI EAFE $- Dec-99 Oct-00 Aug-01 Jun-02 Apr-03 Feb-04 Dec-04 Oct-05 Aug-06 Jun-07 Apr-08 Feb-09 Dec-09 Oct-10 Aug-11 Jun-12 Apr-13 Feb-14 Dec-14 Oct-15 Aug-16 Jun-17 Exhibit 4: Cumulative return since December 1999 for option based funds, the BXM and PUT indexes and various traditional indexes. The Option-Based Fund Portfolio returns are calculated by averaging the returns across all constituents in the sample available each month. The number of funds included in the calculation grows monthly as new funds enter the sample. This exhibit is identical to exhibit 3 except that the returns to the GSCI have been removed. 8

Exhibit 5: Annualized Total Returns Option Based Funds and Benchmark Indices (Dec. 31, 1999-Dec. 29, 2017) Citi Treasury 30 Yr 7.1% PUT 6.4% S&P 500 5.7% BXM 4.9% Option Based Funds US Equity 4.4% MSCI EAFE 3.8% S&P GSCI -0.8% -2.0% -1.0% 0.0% 1.0% 2.0% 3.0% 4.0% 5.0% 6.0% 7.0% 8.0% 9

Exhibit 6: Annualized Standard Deviation Option Based Funds and Benchmark Indices (Dec. 31, 1999-Dec. 29, 2017) Option Based Funds US Equity 10.4% BXM 10.6% PUT 10.6% Citi Treasury 30 Yr 13.6% S&P 500 14.6% MSCI EAFE 16.8% S&P GSCI 22.7% 0.0% 5.0% 10.0% 15.0% 20.0% 25.0% Exhibit 6: Option-Based Funds had a lower standard deviation than the S&P 500 Index and risk similar to BXM and PUT 10

Exhibit 7: Maximum Drawdown Option Based Funds and Benchmark Indices (Dec. 31, 1999-Dec. 29, 2017) Citi Treasury 30 Yr -26.0% PUT -32.7% BXM -35.8% Option Based Funds US Equity -43.9% S&P 500-50.9% EAFE -56.7% S&P GSCI -80.9% -90.0% -80.0% -70.0% -60.0% -50.0% -40.0% -30.0% -20.0% -10.0% 0.0% Exhibit 7: Option-Based Funds had lower drawdown risk than the S&P 500 Index 11

Exhibit 8: Average Fees for Live Funds (bps) (2017) All US Equity Funds 66 All Equity OBF 93 Equity CEF OBF 93 Equity ETF OBF 96 Equity MF OBF 96 Non-Equity OBF 96 0 20 40 60 80 100 120 Exhibit 8: Source: Morningstar and ICI 12

Ann. Return 30% 20% 10% 0% -10% -20% Exhibit 9: S&P 500 and Option-Based Funds Performance over Rolling Three-Year Periods (Dec. 31, 1999-Dec. 29, 2017) Jan-00 Aug-00 Mar-01 Oct-01 May-02 Dec-02 Rolling 36-Month Historical Annualized Returns Jul-03 Feb-04 Sep-04 Apr-05 Nov-05 Jun-06 Jan-07 Aug-07 Mar-08 Oct-08 May-09 Dec-09 Jul-10 Feb-11 Sep-11 Apr-12 Nov-12 Jun-13 Jan-14 Aug-14 Mar-15 Oct-15 May-16 Dec-16 Jul-17 Option Based Funds US Equity BXM - Cboe S&P 500 BuyWrite Index S&P 500 Ann. Volatility 25% 20% 15% 10% 5% 0% Jan-00 Aug-00 Mar-01 Oct-01 Rolling 36-Month Historical Annualized Standard Deviation May-02 Dec-02 Jul-03 Feb-04 Sep-04 Apr-05 Nov-05 Jun-06 Jan-07 Aug-07 Mar-08 Oct-08 May-09 Dec-09 Jul-10 Feb-11 Sep-11 Apr-12 Nov-12 Jun-13 Jan-14 Aug-14 Mar-15 Oct-15 May-16 Dec-16 Jul-17 Option Based Funds US Equity BXM - Cboe S&P 500 BuyWrite Index S&P 500 Exhibit 9: Option-Based Funds typically have lower risk than the S&P 500 Index. Note the close tracking of return and risk between the BXM Index and the Option-Based Funds. 13

Exhibit 10: Return-to-Risk Ratios Option-Based Funds and Benchmark Indices (Dec. 31, 1999-Dec. 29, 2017) 0.22 0.18 0.22 MSCI EAFE (0.15) (0.04) 0.03 S&P GSCI 0.52 0.52 0.63 Citi Treasury 30 Yr 0.39 0.37 0.39 0.41 0.58 0.60 S&P 500 PUT - Cboe S&P 500 PutWrite 0.32 0.24 0.31 0.27 0.46 0.46 BXM - Cboe S&P 500 BuyWrite Option-Based Funds Stutzer Ratio Sortino Ratio Sharpe Ratio Exhibit 10: The Sortino ratio compares downside risk, while the Stutzer Index accounts for skewness and kurtosis in the risk measures. Data from December 31, 1999 December 29, 2017 14

Exhibit 11: Analysis of Yearly Performance Managers in Quartiles, and vs BXM Benchmark Index (Dec. 31, 1999-Dec. 29, 2017) 200% Returns by Quartile of Option-Based Funds 150% 100% 50% 0% -50% -100% 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 Q1 Median Q3 BXM Exhibit 11: In many years, the median return to Option-based funds matches or exceeds the return on the BXM Index. In most years, there is a large spread between the highest and lowest returning Option-Based Funds. For example, the 2013 return to the median options-based fund was 16.6% while the return to the BXM was 15.9%. 15

Exhibit 12: Summary Statistics: Indexes and Option-Based Funds (Dec. 31, 1999-Dec. 29, 2017) BXM - Cboe S&P 500 BuyWrite Index PUT - Cboe S&P 500 PutWrite Index S&P 500 - Citigroup 30-yr Treasury S&P GSCI MSCI EAFE Option- Jan 2000 to Dec 2017 Based Funds Annualized Return 4.2% 4.9% 6.4% 5.7% 7.1% -0.8% 3.8% Standard Deviation 10.7% 10.6% 10.6% 14.6% 13.6% 22.7% 16.8% Semi-Standard Deviation 9.0% 10.3% 11.7% 11.1% 8.7% 16.2% 12.4% Jensen's Alpha -0.15% 0.61% 2.27% 0.00% 6.66% -4.27% -1.91% Beta to S&P 500 0.67 0.65 0.61 1.00-0.27 0.45 0.99 Skewness -0.91-1.21-1.86-0.59 0.27-0.42-0.57 Kurtosis 3.33 4.55 8.41 1.22 2.84 1.24 1.50 Sharpe Ratio 0.24 0.46 0.60 0.39 0.52-0.04 0.22 Sortino Ratio 0.29 0.32 0.41 0.37 0.63-0.15 0.18 Treynor Ratio 0.04 0.08 0.10 0.06-0.26-0.02 0.04 Stutzer Index 0.24 0.46 0.58 0.39 0.52 0.03 0.22 Autocorrelation 0.15 0.11 0.14 0.10 0.04 0.18 0.15 Correlation to S&P 500 0.91 0.89 0.84 1.00-0.29 0.29 0.86 Correlation to BXM 0.87 1.00 0.97 0.89-0.26 0.34 0.78 Maximum Drawdown -44.0% -35.8% -32.7% -50.9% -26.0% -80.9% -56.7% M-Squared 5.1% 6.1% 8.2% 5.7% 7.5% 0.0% 3.5% Exhibit 12: The risk of Option-Based Funds compare favorably to long-only equity indexes. The Stutzer Index is an alternatives to the Sharpe Ratio that compensates for non-normal return distributions. 16

Exhibit 13: Annual Returns to Indexes and Option-Based Funds (Dec. 31, 1999-Dec. 29, 2017) BXM - CBOE S&P 500 BuyWrite Index CBOE S&P 500 PutWrite Index Exhibit 13: Annual returns to Indexes and Options-Based Funds PPUT - CBOE S&P 500 5% Put Protection Options- Based Funds BXMD -CBOE S&P 500 30-Delta BuyWrite Index Index S&P 500 30-yr Treasury Bond Index (Citi) SP GSCI MSCI EAFE 2000-1.5% 7.4% 13.1% 0.1% -14.2% -9.1% 20.0% 49.7% -14.2% 2001-0.5% -10.9% -10.6% -8.9% -2.1% -11.9% 3.4% -31.9% -21.4% 2002-7.3% -7.6% -8.6% -13.2% -17.6% -22.1% 16.2% 32.1% -15.9% 2003 19.1% 19.4% 21.8% 25.9% 19.3% 28.7% 0.8% 20.7% 38.6% 2004 7.2% 8.3% 9.5% 10.4% 6.0% 10.9% 8.7% 17.3% 20.2% 2005 2.8% 4.2% 6.7% 5.0% 2.3% 4.9% 8.8% 25.6% 13.5% 2006 20.3% 13.3% 15.2% 17.8% 12.3% 15.8% -1.1% -15.1% 26.3% 2007-3.8% 6.6% 9.5% 6.2% -0.5% 5.5% 10.2% 32.7% 11.2% 2008-31.6% -28.7% -26.8% -31.3% -20.1% -37.0% 41.3% -46.5% -43.4% 2009 34.0% 25.9% 31.5% 32.1% 8.7% 26.5% -25.9% 13.5% 31.8% 2010 7.5% 5.9% 9.0% 11.2% 11.7% 15.1% 8.7% 9.0% 7.8% 2011-2.1% 5.7% 6.2% 7.3% -1.4% 2.5% 35.4% -1.2% -12.1% 2012 10.0% 5.2% 8.1% 11.0% 10.0% 15.5% 2.4% 0.1% 17.3% 2013 16.6% 13.3% 12.3% 19.1% 27.1% 32.4% -15.0% -1.2% 22.8% 2014 6.3% 5.6% 6.4% 6.2% 11.2% 13.7% 29.3% -33.1% -4.9% 2015-0.4% 5.2% 6.4% 4.0% -5.1% 1.4% -3.1% -32.9% -0.8% 2016 7.4% 7.1% 7.8% 8.4% 8.3% 12.0% 0.8% 11.4% 1.0% 2017 12.9% 13.0% 10.8% 16.1% 18.6% 21.8% 9.1% 5.8% 25.0% 17

Exhibit 14: Indices and Option-Based Funds Performance (Dec. 31, 1999-Dec. 29, 2017) Risk-Return Tradeoff Annualized Return 8% 30 Yr Bond 7% 60/40 PUT 6% S&P 500 5% BXM 4% Option-Based Funds EAFE 3% 2% 1% 0% GSCI -1% -2% 0.0% 5.0% 10.0% 15.0% 20.0% 25.0% Annualized Standard Deviation Exhibit 14: Option-Based Funds have risk and return more similar to a 60% stock, 40% bond portfolio rather than a long-only equity investment. 18

Institutionally Focused Option-Based Strategies Company Strategy 1 1492 Capital Management, LLC Small Cap Dynamic Hedge 2 Allianz Global Investors AllianzGI Structured Alpha Equity 250 3 Allianz Global Investors AllianzGI Structured Alpha Equity 500 4 Analytic Investors, LLC Covered Call and Put-write 5 Chartwell Investment Partners Chartwell Covered Call Strategy 6 DGV Solutions DGV Enhanced U.S. Equity Fund, LLC 7 First Quadrant L.P Protected Equity Plus 8 Flippin, Bruce & Porter, Inc. FBP Equity and Dividend Plus 9 Gateway Investment Advisers, LLC Gateway Active Index Option Overwrite Composite 10 Gateway Investment Advisers, LLC Gateway Buy-Write Replication Composite 11 Gateway Investment Advisers, LLC Gateway Index/RA (Risk Adjusted) 12 Gateway Investment Advisors Gateway Active Index PutWrite Composite 13 Geode Capital Management, LLC Geode OPT-Premia Spread 14 Glenmede Investment Management LP Secured Options 15 Harvest Volatility Advisors Long Short Replication Equity Hedge 16 Iron Financial LLC IRON S&P 500 Equity Plus Strategy 17 M.D. Sass Investors Services and Associates M.D. Sass Equity Income Plus 18 MAI Capital Management, LLC MAI Managed Volatility Strategy 19 Morgan Stanley Investment Management Global Balanced Income 20 Neuberger Berman S&P 500 PutWrite (OTM) 21 Parametric Portfolio Associates Parametric Liquid Alternative 22 Parametric Portfolio Associates, LLC Parametric Defensive Equity 23 Putnam Investments Putnam Strategic Volatility Equity 24 Putnam Investments Putnam U.S. Low Volatility Equity 25 Ross, Jeffrey & Antle RJA PutWrite Select 26 Schafer Cullen Capital Management Enhanced Equity Income 27 Shelton Capital Management Equity Income Strategy 28 Sterling Capital Management LLC Sterling Enhanced Equity SMA 29 The Pelican Bay Group Yield Plus Covered Calls 30 Van Hulzen Asset Management Van Hulzen Covered Call Strategy 31 Willingdon Wealth Management Willingdon Covered Call Portfolio 32 Ziegler Capital Management LLC FAMCO Covered Call This list is not exhaustive and is not meant to serve as a soliciation for or endorsement of the strategies shown above. 19

Exhibit 15 Index Cumulative Growth Since Mid-1986 Total Return Indices re-scaled to $1 on June 30, 1986 $27 $18 $9 $- Jun-86 Jun-92 Jun-98 Jun-04 Jun-10 Jun-16 $24.99 - BXMD - Cboe S&P 500 30-Delta BuyWrite Index $21.81 - S&P 500 $20.57 - PUT - Cboe S&P 500 PutWrite Index $14.90 - BXM - Cboe S&P 500 BuyWrite Index $8.39 - PPUT - Cboe S&P 500 5% Put Protection Index $8.21-30-yr Treasury Bond (Citi) $7.62 - MSCI EAFE (USD) $3.27 - S&P GSCI Exhibit 15: Cumulative monthly total return since June 30, 1986 for Option-based indexes and various traditional indexes. Performance is re-scaled to represent a starting value of $1 on June 30, 1986 for all indexes Sources: Bloomberg and Cboe Options Exchange. Data From June 30, 1986 Dec. 29, 2017. Total return indexes (pre-tax). Past performance is not predictive of future returns 20

Exhibit 16 Annualized Returns Since Mid-1986 Cboe S&P 500 30-Delta BuyWrite Index (BXMD) 10.8% S&P 500 10.3% Cboe S&P 500 PutWrite Index (PUT) 10.1% Cboe S&P 500 BuyWrite Index (BXM) 9.0% Cboe S&P 500 5% Put Protection Index (PPUT) 7.0% 30-yr Treasury Bond (Citi) 6.9% MSCI EAFE (US$) 6.7% S&P GSCI 3.8% Exhibit 16: Option-Based Strategy indexes had a longer track record than most single funds. Over 25 years, BXMD a higher total return than the S&P 500. It is worth noting that BXM and PUT were introduced in 2006 and 2007, respectively, and earlier data has been backfilled. Sources: Bloomberg and Cboe Options Exchange. Data From June 30, 1986 Dec. 29, 2017. Total return indexes (pre-tax). Past performance is not predictive of future returns. 21

Exhibit 17 Annualized Standard Deviations Since Mid-1986 Cboe S&P 500 PutWrite Index (PUT) Cboe S&P 500 BuyWrite Index (BXM) Cboe S&P 500 5% Put Protection Index (PPUT) 30-yr Treasury Bond (Citi) Cboe S&P 500 30-Delta BuyWrite Index (BXMD) S&P 500 MSCI EAFE (US$) S&P GSCI 9.9% 10.6% 12.1% 12.2% 12.8% 14.9% 17.1% 20.3% Exhibit 17: While BXMD had a higher total return than the S&P 500 since mid-1986, the BXMD also had a lower standard deviation. Sources: Bloomberg and Cboe Options Exchange. Data From June 30, 1986 Dec. 29, 2017. Total return indexes (pre-tax). Past performance is not predictive of future returns. 22

Exhibit 18 Returns and Volatility Since Mid-1986 Annualized Returns 12% 10% 8% 6% 4% PUT BXM 10-Yr Treasury 1-Yr Treasury PPUT BXMD S&P 500 MSCI World Russell 2000 S&P GSCI 2% 0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% Standard Deviation Exhibit 18: Option-Based Strategy indexes can build more efficient portfolios, with similar return and lower risk than the S&P 500 Index. Sources: Cboe Options Exchange and Bloomberg Data as of June 30, 1986 Dec. 29, 2017. Total Return (pre-tax) indexes. 23

Exhibit 19 Summary Statistics since Mid-1986 BXM - Cboe S&P 500 BuyWrite Index PUT - Cboe S&P 500 PutWrite Index BXMD - Cboe S&P 500 30- Delta BuyWrite Index PPUT - Cboe S&P 500 5% Put Protection Index S&P 500 30-yr Treasury Bond (Citi) S&P GSCI MSCI EAFE (US$) Annualized Return 9.0% 10.1% 10.8% 7.0% 10.3% 6.9% 3.8% 6.7% Standard Deviation 10.6% 9.9% 12.7% 12.1% 14.9% 12.2% 20.3% 17.2% Semi-Standard Deviation 10.8% 11.7% 11.3% 8.0% 11.7% 7.7% 14.2% 12.0% Jensen's Alpha 1.58% 3.27% 1.96% -1.29% 0.00% 5.02% -0.46% -2.12% Beta to S&P 500 0.63 0.55 0.81 0.74 1.00-0.08 0.23 0.81 Skewness -1.58-2.14-1.15-0.28-0.82 0.25-0.20-0.39 Kurtosis 6.67 10.28 4.17 0.59 2.64 2.77 2.04 1.03 Sharpe Ratio 0.61 0.77 0.65 0.37 0.52 0.36 0.07 0.24 Sortino Ratio 0.60 0.65 0.73 0.56 0.66 0.57 0.09 0.35 Treynor Ratio 0.10 0.14 0.10 0.06 0.08-0.58 0.06 0.05 Autocorrelation 0.09 0.13 0.05-0.04 0.04 0.07 0.18 0.07 Correlation to S&P 500 0.89 0.84 0.95 0.92 1.00-0.09 0.17 0.70 Correlation to BXM 1.00 0.97 0.97 0.69 0.89-0.10 0.22 0.61 Maximum Drawdown -35.8% -32.7% -42.6% -38.9% -50.9% -26.0% -80.9% -56.7% M-Squared 11.6% 13.9% 12.2% 8.0% 10.3% 7.9% 3.5% 6.1% Exhibit 19: BXM, PUT, and BXMD have a lower standard deviation of returns than the S&P 500 Index. 24

Exhibit 20 Monthly Gross Premiums Received by BXM Index 9% BXM Index - Monthly Gross Premiums Gross amount* received as a % of the underlying Average was about 1.7% per month 6% 3% 0% Jun-88 Jun-90 Jun-92 Jun-94 Jun-96 Jun-98 Jun-00 Jun-02 Jun-04 Jun-06 Jun-08 Jun-10 Jun-12 Jun-14 Jun-16 (June 1988 - Dec. 2017). Source: Cboe. * Please note that these are gross amounts, and the net return usually will be less with a buywrite strategy. www.cboe.com/benchmarks BXM Index - Comparing Gross Premiums and Net Returns Rolling 12-Month BXM Gross Premium Rolling 1-Year Net Returns for BXM Index 60% 40% 20% 0% -20% -40% Jun-89 Jun-91 Jun-93 Jun-95 Jun-97 Jun-99 Jun-01 Jun-03 Jun-05 Jun-07 Jun-09 Jun-11 Jun-13 Jun-15 Jun-17 (June 1989 - Dec. 2017) Sources: Bloomberg and Cboe. Past performance is not predictive of future returns. Exhibit 20: The BXM and PUT strategies regularly sell S&P 500 Index Option. The premium earned varies over time, but has averaged 1.7% per month for BXM. Premiums earned can support a high income yield for Option-Based Funds. Since mid- 1988 the SPX call Option monthly premium received per the hypothetical BXM strategy averaged 1.7% of the value of the stock position held. * Please note that while these gross amounts are positive values, a buy-write strategy can have negative net returns if the value of the stocks held declines. Source: www.cboe.com/buywrite. 25

Exhibit 21 Quarterly Average Richness of S&P 500 Option 10.00 Difference in Volatility Points 5.00 0.00-5.00-10.00-15.00 Mar-90 Jan-91 Nov-91 Sep-92 Jul-93 May-94 Mar-95 Jan-96 Nov-96 Sep-97 Jul-98 May-99 Mar-00 Jan-01 Nov-01 Sep-02 Jul-03 May-04 Mar-05 Jan-06 Nov-06 Sep-07 Jul-08 May-09 Mar-10 Jan-11 Nov-11 Sep-12 Jul-13 May-14 Mar-15 Jan-16 Nov-16 Sep-17 Exhibit 21: Richness is calculated as the level of the VIX Index at the start of a 30-day period minus the annualized standard deviation of returns of the S&P500 that is actually realized in that 30-day period. Since the VIX Index is a forward looking measure, each VIX Index level corresponds with the same 30-day period as the forward looking annualized standard deviation calculation. When implied volatility is higher than realized volatility, options are rich, which allows option sellers to earn additional returns. Exhibit 16 shows that indexes selling options (BXMD, PUT, and BXM) had higher annualized returns than the index that buys options (PPUT). 26

Exhibit 22 Capacity and Notional Volume Notional Value of Avg. Daily Volume for SPX Option at Cboe (in $billions) Grew to more than $280 billion in 2017 $287 $13 $12 $12 $14 $22 $34 $54 $93 $86 $58 $79 $99 $96 $135 $172 $190 $215 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 Exhibit 22: Fund managers examine trading liquidity and capacity when considering investment vehicles. The approximate daily notional value of trading in SPX Option can be estimated by multiplying the average daily volume times the value of the S&P 500 Index times the $100 Option contract multiplier, for a value of more than $280 billion per day. Some investors use a delta-weighting multiplier to develop a more conservative estimate for notional value of Option trading. Sources: Rough estimates of notional volume (in $billions) by Cboe Option Exchange. Some analysts use a delta-weighting multiplier to develop more conservative estimates. Figures include SPX weeklys. www.cboe.com/spx 27

Cboe Exchange, Inc. provided financial support for the research for this paper. Option involve risk and are not suitable for all investors. Prior to buying or selling an option, a person must receive a copy of Characteristics and Risks of Standardized Option. Copies are available from your broker or from The Option Clearing Corporation at www.theocc.com. Investments in ETPs involve risk, including the possible loss of principal, and are not appropriate for all investors. Non-traditional ETPs, including leveraged and inverse ETPs, pose additional risks and can result in magnified gains or losses in an investment. Specific risks are outlined in the fund prospectus and may include concentration risk, correlation risk, counterparty risk, credit risk, market risk, interest rate risk, volatility risk, tracking error risk, among others. Investors should consult with their tax advisors to determine how the profit and loss on any particular investment strategy will be taxed. The information in these materials are provided for general education and information purposes only. No statement within these materials should be construed as a recommendation to buy or sell a security or to provide investment advice. Benchmark indexes ( Indexes ) described here are designed to represent proposed hypothetical Option strategies. The actual performance of investment vehicles such as mutual funds or managed accounts can have significant differences from the performance of the Indexes. Investors attempting to replicate the Indexes should discuss with their advisors possible timing and liquidity issues. Like many passive benchmarks, the Indexes do not take into account significant factors such as transaction costs and taxes. Transaction costs and taxes for strategies such as the Indexes could be significantly higher than transaction costs for a passive strategy of buying-and-holding stocks. Investors should consult their tax advisor as to how taxes affect the outcome of contemplated Option transactions. Past performance does not guarantee future results. It is not possible to invest directly in an index. Past performance is not indicative of future results. Parameters relating to past performance of strategies discussed are not capable of being duplicated. These materials contain index performance data based on back-testing, i.e., calculations of how the index might have performed prior to launch. Back-tested performance information is purely hypothetical and is provided in these materials solely for informational purposes. Back-tested performance does not represent actual performance and should not be interpreted as an indication of actual performance. Index performance returns do not reflect management fees, transactions costs or expenses. No representation is being made that any investment will or is likely to achieve a performance record similar to that shown. The views of third party speakers and their materials are their own and do not necessarily represent the views of Cboe. Third party speakers are not affiliated with Cboe. These materials should not be construed as an endorsement or an indication by Cboe of the value of any non-cboe product or service described in these materials. Cboe, Cboe Vest and VIX are registered trademarks, and RMC SM, SPX SM, BuyWrite SM, PutWrite SM, BXM SM, BXMD SM, PUT SM, PPUT SM and Weeklys SM are service marks of Cboe Exchange, Inc. S&P and S&P 500 are registered trademarks of Standard and Poor's Financial Services, LLC and are licensed for use by Cboe Exchange, Inc. Financial products based on S&P indices are not sponsored, endorsed, sold or promoted by Standard & Poor s, and Standard &Poor s makes no representation regarding the advisability of investing in such products. All other trademarks and service marks are the property of their respective owners. All other trademarks and service marks are the property of their respective owners. More information is or will be available at www.ingarm.org and www.cboe.com/funds. Please email comments to eszado@providence.edu, kblack@caia.org or institutional@cboe.com. 28