SPDR® DoubleLine® Emerging Markets Fixed Income ETF (EMTL) – Q4 2020 Commentary

¹DoubleLine Capital L.P. as of December 31, 2020.

Credit Spreads
The spread between Treasury securities and non-Treasury securities that are identical in all respects except for quality rating.

Emerging Market Fixed Income
International bonds issued by governments or corporations located in emerging market countries that are considered sovereign (issued in something other than local currency).

High Yield
Based on the two main credit rating agencies, high-yield bonds carry a rating below “BBB” from S&P, and below “BAA” from Moody’s. Bonds with ratings at or above these levels are considered investment grade. To compensate for the added risk, yields will typically be higher than investment-grade issues.

Investment-Grade Corporate Credit
A corporate bond with a rating that indicates that it has a relatively low risk of default. Bond rating firms, such as Standard & Poor’s, use different designations consisting of upper- and lower-case letters “A” and “B” to identify a bond’s credit quality rating. “AAA” and “AA” (high credit quality) and “A” and “BBB” (medium credit quality) are considered investment grade.

JP Morgan Corporate Emerging Market Bond Index Broad Diversified
A benchmark of US dollar denominated corporate bonds issued by emerging market entities. The index is an expansion of the JP Morgan Corporate Emerging Markets Bond Index (CEMBI). The CEMBI is a market capitalization weighted index consisting of US dollar denominated emerging market corporate bonds.

Yield Curve
A line that plots the interest rates, at a set point in time, of bonds having equal credit quality but differing maturity dates. The most frequently reported yield curve compares the three-month, two-year, five-year and 30-year US Treasury debt.

Investing involves risk including the risk of loss of principal.

This communication is not intended to be an investment recommendation or investment advice and should not be relied upon as such.

The fund’s total annual fund operating expenses are 0.76%, and net annual fund operating expenses after fee waiver and/or reimbursement are 0.65%. SSGA Funds Management, Inc. (“SSGA FM” or “Advisor”) has contractually agreed to waive a portion of its management fee and/or reimburse certain expenses until October 31, 2020, so that the net annual fund operating expenses, before application of any fees and expenses not paid by the Advisor pursuant to the Investment Advisory Agreement, if any, are limited to 0.65% of the fund’s average daily net assets. The contractual fee waiver and/or reimbursement does not provide for the recoupment by the Advisor of any fees the Advisor previously waived. The Advisor may continue the waiver and/or reimbursement from year to year, but there is no guarantee that the Advisor will do so and after October 31, 2020, the waiver and/or reimbursement may be cancelled or modified at any time. This waiver and/or reimbursement may not be terminated prior to October 31, 2020 except with the approval of the SSGA Active Trust’s Board of Trustees.

Actively managed funds do not seek to replicate the performance of a specified index. An actively managed fund may underperform its benchmark. An investment in the fund is not appropriate for all investors and is not intended to be a complete investment program. Investing in the fund involves risks, including the risk that investors may receive little or no return on the investment or that investors may lose part or even all of the investment.

Bank loans are subject to credit, interest rate, income and prepayment risks. The fund may invest in secured and unsecured participations in bank loans. Participation loans are loans made by multiple lenders to a single borrower, e.g., several banks participate in one large loan with one of the banks taking the role of the lead bank. The lead bank recruits other banks to participate and share in the risks and profits. There is also the risk that the collateral may be difficult to liquidate or that a majority of the collateral may be illiquid. In participation, the fund assumes the credit risk of the lender selling the participation in addition to the credit risk of the borrower.

Bonds generally present less short-term risk and volatility than stocks, but contain interest rate risk (as interest rates raise, bond prices usually fall), issuer default risk, issuer credit risk, liquidity risk and inflation risk. These effects are usually pronounced for longer-term securities. Any fixed income security sold or redeemed prior to maturity may be subject to a substantial gain or loss. High-yield securities may be subject to greater risks (including the risk of default) than other fixed-income securities.

Foreign investments involve greater risks than US investments, including political and economic risks and the risk of currency fluctuations, all of which may be magnified in emerging markets.

Sovereign bonds are issued by governments and government agencies and instrumentalities, which may be unable or unwilling to repay principal or interest on debt obligations in times of economic uncertainty.

DoubleLine® is a registered trademark of DoubleLine Capital LP.
The advisor, State Street Global Advisors Funds Management, Inc., has retained DoubleLine Capital LP as the sub-advisor. DoubleLine LP and State Street Global Advisors Funds Distributors, LLC are not affiliated.