Notice regarding suspension of creation and redemption applications and significant discrepancy between the net asset value per unit and market price of NEXT FUNDS Russia RTS Linked Exchange Traded Fund (Code: 1324)

Nomura Asset Management Co., Ltd. hereby announces that we have temporarily stopped accepting applications of creation and redemption for NEXT FUNDS Russia RTS Linked Exchange Traded Fund (Code:1324) (hereinafter referred to as "this ETF") due to difficulties in trading Russian stocks.

In addition, we are also announcing that there is a risk of significant discrepancy between the net asset value per unit and the market price of this ETF.

ETF
NEXT FUNDS Russia RTS Linked Exchange Traded Fund (Code:1324)

Suspension of acceptance of creation and redemption
Continuing from yesterday, we have stopped accepting applications of creation and redemption for this ETF. The date on which we will again be accepting applications of creation and redemption has not yet been determined. We will issue another announcement at a later date.

Impact
Trading of this ETF on the Tokyo Stock Exchange is planned to be conducted as usual. However, there is a possibility that the market price may deviate from the net asset value per unit of this ETF on the Tokyo Stock Exchange due to the suspension of new creation. When trading this ETF, please pay close attention to the discrepancy between the market price and the net asset value per unit.

In addition, if this ETF cannot perform adjustment trading of issues incorporated in trust assets, the correlation between the net asset value per unit and the target index may decrease. The net asset value per unit is announced every business day on the following website.

https://nextfunds.jp/en/lineup/1324

Considerations when making investments decisions
As a result of the Russian stock market tumbling on February 24, 2022 following Russian troops' invasion of Ukraine, the RTS Index (denominated in US dollars) fell 38.3% from the previous day. This ETF uses the RTS Index (yen converted) as the tracking index, and we expect the net asset value of this ETF as of today (February 25) to depreciate significantly.

As the outlook for the situation in Ukraine remains extremely uncertain, there is a possibility that the net asset value per unit and market price of this ETF on the Tokyo Stock Exchange will fluctuate drastically.

In general, market prices tend to converge to the net asset value per unit through trading on exchanges, but with regard to this ETF, there is a risk of a discrepancy between the market price and the net asset value per unit due to the effects of supply and demand.

We would like to ask all investors to keep the above in mind when investing in this ETF.