Zacks SMID Select Portfolio Series 17

The Zacks SMID Select Unit Investment Trust Strategy is an investment strategy that uses a quantitative selection process to determine the constituents of a final portfolio. The Sponsor selects securities for the Trust through a screening process performed on all companies listed in a primary database compiled by Zacks Investment Research, Inc. (“Zacks”). The screening process to determine the actual investment portfolio of the Trust was run approximately one to two weeks before the deposit of the Trust.

The portfolio is comprised of 50 stocks of which 25 are classified as growth stocks and 25 are classified as value stocks. The stocks in the portfolio are approximately equally-weighted as of the date of deposit. This weighting may change slightly if a stock qualifies under both screens and would be double counted to include a weighting in each composite strategy.

The Trust’s portfolio is selected based on the following three-step process and is approximately equally-weighted as of the initial date of deposit (the “Inception Date”):

Step 1: Zacks Growth Screening Process

The growth portion of the Trust’s portfolio is reduced to approximately 25 small-, mid- and/or large-capitalization growth stocks by following pre-set quantitative investment criteria, which includes the following screens:

• The stock has a Zacks Rank of “Strong Buy” as of the portfolio construction date, as well as at least $50 million in annual sales and a share price of at least $5.00.
• Eliminate all stocks that do not have at least $100 million in market capitalization and less than $300,000 liquidity, where liquidity is defined as price multiplied by average three month daily volume.
• Calculate the year-to-year annual sales growth for each stock for the past three years.
• Average the year-to-year annual sales growth for the previous three-year period.
• Select the 25 stocks with the largest three-year sales growth.

Step 2: Zacks Value Screening Process

The value portion of the Trust’s portfolio is reduced to approximately 25 small-, mid- and/or large-capitalization value stocks by following pre-set quantitative investment criteria, which includes the following screens:

• Exclude all closed-end funds, indices, real estate investment trusts and Canadian stocks from the investable universe.
• Exclude all stocks not listed on the NYSE or NASDAQ exchanges.
• Exclude all stocks that have a price under $1.00 as of the portfolio construction date.
• Rank all stocks that remain in the investable universe by descending market capitalization.
• Exclude all stocks that do not have at least $100 million in market capitalization and less than $300,000 in liquidity, where liquidity is defined as price multiplied by average three month daily volume.
• Select the best two stocks in each sector that have the lowest price-to-book ratio.
• Of those stocks, select the 25 stocks with the lowest price-to-book ratio as calculated in the Zacks’ database.
• Limit American Depositary Receipt (“ADR”) exposure to 15% of the entire portfolio or lower; if ADR exposure is greater than 15%, eliminate the worstranking ADRs by price-to-book ratio and select the next best non-ADR in the sector.

Step 3: Combine growth stocks with value stocks to form one approximately equally-weighted 50 stock portfolio.

Zacks Investment Research

Zacks Investment Research, Inc. is a Chicago-based firm with over 25 years of experience in providing institutional and individual investors with the analytical tools and financial information necessary to the success of their investment process.

As with all investments, you may lose some or all of your investment in the Trust. No assurance can be given that the Trust’s investment objective will be achieved. The Trust also might not perform as well as you expect. This can happen for reasons such as these:

• Stock prices can be volatile. The value of your investment may fall over time. Market value fluctuates in response to various factors. These can include stock market movements, purchases or sales of securities by the Trust, government policies, litigation, and changes in interest rates, inflation, the financial condition of the securities’ issuer or even perceptions of the issuer. Units of the Trust are not deposits of any bank and are not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency.
• Due to the current state of the economy, the value of the securities held by the Trust may be subject to steep declines or increased volatility due to changes in performance or perception of the issuers. In the last year, economic activity has declined across all sectors of the economy, and the United States is experiencing increased unemployment. The current economic crisis has affected the global economy with European and Asian markets also suffering historic losses. Extraordinary steps have been taken by the governments of several leading economic countries to combat the economic crisis; however, the impact of these measures is not yet known and cannot be predicted.
• The Trust includes securities of companies in the consumer products sectors. General risks of companies in the consumer products sectors include cyclicality of revenues and earnings, economic recession, currency fluctuations, changing consumer tastes, extensive competition, product liability litigation and increased government regulation. A weak economy and its effect on consumer spending would adversely affect consumer products companies.
• The Trust invests in stocks issued by small-capitalization and mid-capitalization companies. These stocks customarily involve more investment risk than stocks of larger capitalization companies. Small-capitalization and mid-capitalization companies may have limited product lines, markets or financial resources and may be more vulnerable to adverse general market or economic developments.
• Share prices or dividend rates on the securities in the Trust may decline during the life of the Trust. There is no guarantee that the issuers of the securities will declare dividends in the future, and, if declared, whether they will remain at current levels or increase over time.
• The Trust invests in ADRs and U.S.- listed foreign securities. The Trust’s investment in ADRs and U.S.-listed foreign securities presents additional risk. ADRs are issued by a bank or trust company to evidence ownership of underlying securities issued by foreign corporations. Securities of foreign issuers present risks beyond those of domestic securities. More specifically, foreign risk is the risk that foreign stocks will be more volatile than U.S. stocks due to such factors as adverse economic, currency, political, social or regulatory developments in a country, including government seizure of assets, excessive taxation, limitations on the use or transfer of assets, the lack of liquidity or regulatory controls with respect to certain industries or differing legal and/or accounting standards.
• The Trust includes securities issued by companies headquartered or incorporated in countries considered to be emerging markets. Emerging markets are generally defined as countries with low per capita income in the initial stages of their industrialization cycles. Risks of investing in developing or emerging countries include the possibility of investment and trading limitations, liquidity concerns, delays and disruptions in settlement transactions, political uncertainties and dependence on international trade and development assistance. Companies headquartered in emerging market countries may be exposed to greater volatility and market risk.
• The Trust includes a REIT. REITs may concentrate their investments in specific geographic areas or in specific property types, such as, hotels, shopping malls, residential complexes and office buildings. The value of the REITs and other real estate securities and the ability of such securities to distribute income may be adversely affected by several factors, including: rising interest rates; changes in the global and local economic climate and real estate conditions; perceptions of prospective tenants of the safety, convenience and attractiveness of the properties; the ability of the owner to provide adequate management, maintenance and insurance; increased competition from new properties; the impact of present or future environmental legislation and compliance with environmental laws; changes in real estate taxes and other operating expenses; adverse changes in governmental rules and fiscal policies; adverse changes in zoning laws; declines in the value of real estate; the downturn in the subprime mortgage lending market in the United States; and other factors beyond the control of the issuer of the security.
• Inflation may lead to a decrease in the value of assets or income from investments.
• The Sponsor does not actively manage the portfolio. The Trust will generally hold, and may continue to buy, the same securities even though a security’s outlook, market value or yield may have changed.