# EDGAR Filing Document

**Accession Number:** 0001491978
**File Stem:** 0001193125-23-051146
**Filing Date:** 2023-2
**Character Count:** 35380
**Document Hash:** a93117deb31ace230904e4a2ebffdeb2
**Contains OCR:** False
**Source Format:** 

## Filing Content

## Filing Summary
**0001193125-23-051146.hdr.sgml**: 20230228

**ACCESSION NUMBER**: 0001193125-23-051146

**CONFORMED SUBMISSION TYPE**: 497K

**PUBLIC DOCUMENT COUNT**: 4

**FILED AS OF DATE**: 20230228

**DATE AS OF CHANGE**: 20230227

**EFFECTIVENESS DATE**: 20230228

**FILER**: 

**COMPANY DATA:**
- **COMPANY CONFORMED NAME:** FLEXSHARES TRUST
- **CENTRAL INDEX KEY:** 0001491978
- **IRS NUMBER:** 272560399
- **STATE OF INCORPORATION:** MD
- **FISCAL YEAR END:** 1031

**FILING VALUES:**
- **FORM TYPE:** 497K
- **SEC ACT:** 1933 Act
- **SEC FILE NUMBER:** 333-173967
- **FILM NUMBER:** 23677230

**BUSINESS ADDRESS:**
- **STREET 1:** 50 SOUTH LASALLE STREET
- **CITY:** CHICAGO
- **STATE:** IL
- **ZIP:** 60603
- **BUSINESS PHONE:** (855) 353-9383

**MAIL ADDRESS:**
- **STREET 1:** 50 SOUTH LASALLE STREET
- **CITY:** CHICAGO
- **STATE:** IL
- **ZIP:** 60603

**FORMER COMPANY:**
- **FORMER CONFORMED NAME:** FlexShares Trust
- **DATE OF NAME CHANGE:** 20110414

**FORMER COMPANY:**
- **FORMER CONFORMED NAME:** NT ETF Trust
- **DATE OF NAME CHANGE:** 20100513

## Series and Classes Contracts Data

### FlexShares High Yield Value-Scored Bond Index Fund (Series ID: S000062125)

| Class ID   | Class Name                                         | Ticker Symbol   |
|:---|:---|:---|
| C000201101 | FlexShares High Yield Value-Scored Bond Index Fund | HYGV            |

## Summary Prospectus<br>

### FlexShares<sup>®</sup> High Yield Value-Scored Bond Index Fund
![](g701946xyflex_logosm.gif)

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| | | |
|:---|:---|:---|
| **March 1, 2023** | **Ticker: HYGV** | **Stock Exchange: NYSE Arca, Inc.** |

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*Before you invest, you may want to review the Fund's complete Prospectus, which contains more information about the Fund and its risks. You can find the Fund's complete Prospectus and other information about the Fund online at www.flexshares.com/prospectus. You can also get this information at no cost by calling 1-855-FLEXETF (1-855-353-9383) or by sending an e-mail request to info@flexshares.com. The Fund's complete Prospectus and Statement of Additional Information, both dated March 1, 2023, as supplemented, are incorporated by reference into this summary prospectus and may be obtained, free of charge, at the website, phone number or e-mail address noted above.*

#### Investment Objective
The Fund seeks investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield performance, before fees and expenses, of the Northern Trust High Yield Value-Scored US Corporate Bond Index<sup>SM</sup> (the "Underlying Index").

#### Fees and Expenses of the Fund
This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy, hold and sell shares of the Fund. Under the Fund's Investment Advisory Agreement, the Fund is responsible for the following expenses: interest expenses, brokerage commissions and other trading expenses, fees and expenses of the independent trustees and their independent legal counsel, taxes and other extraordinary costs such as litigation and other expenses not incurred in the ordinary course of business. You will also incur usual and customary brokerage commissions and fees to financial intermediaries when buying or selling shares of the Fund in the secondary market, which are not reflected in the example that follows:

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| | |
|:---|:---|
| Annual Fund Operating Expenses (expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment) | Annual Fund Operating Expenses (expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment) |
| Management Fees | 0.37% |
| Distribution (12b-1) Fees | 0.00% |
| Other Expenses | 0.01% |
| Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses | 0.38% |
| Expense Reimbursement<sup>(1)</sup> | -0.01% |
| Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses After Expense Reimbursement | 0.37% |

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 *<sup>(1)</sup>* *Northern Trust Investments, Inc. ("NTI") has contractually agreed to reimburse a portion of the operating expenses of the Fund (other than 12b-1 Fees, Tax Expenses, Extraordinary Expenses, and Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses) to the extent the "Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses" exceed 0.37%. This contractual limitation may not be terminated before March 1, 2024 without the approval of the Fund's Board of Trustees. The Fund's Board of Trustees may terminate the contractual agreement at any time if it determines that it is in the best interest of the Fund and its shareholders.* 

#### Example
The following Example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other funds. The Example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and then redeem all of your shares at the end of those periods. The Example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Fund's operating expenses remain the same (taking into account the expense reimbursement arrangement for one year). Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:

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| | |
|:---|:---|
| 1 Year | &nbsp;&nbsp;$38 |
| 3 Years | $121 |
| 5 Years | $212 |
| 10 Years | $479 |

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**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. Portfolio turnover may vary from year to year, as well as within a year. During the most recent fiscal year, the Fund's portfolio turnover rate was 146% of the average value of its portfolio.**

#### Principal Investment Strategies
The Underlying Index is designed to reflect the performance of a diversified universe of high yield, U.S.-dollar denominated bonds of companies exhibiting favorable fundamental qualities, market valuations and liquidity, as defined by NTI's proprietary scoring models. The securities included in the Underlying Index are a subset of the securities included in the Northern Trust High Yield US Corporate Bond Index<sup>SM</sup> (the "Parent Index"), which is a market-capitalization weighted index comprised of U.S. dollar-denominated high yield corporate bonds.

#### www.flexshares.com
![](g701946img136c17261.gif)

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FlexShares<sup>®</sup> High Yield Value-Scored Bond Index Fund

The Underlying Index begins with the Parent Index and then follows a rules-based methodology to select and weight securities, subject to certain constraints, to optimize exposure to a proprietary value score, credit score, and liquidity score, each as determined by NTI acting in its capacity as index provider ("Index Provider").

The core components of the proprietary value score and proprietary credit score are based on quantitative rankings of various metrics obtained from company filings and recent price activity. The value score has multiple components, including: (a) valuation (e.g., to assess the relative value of the security versus other similar securities); (b) spread analysis (e.g., to assess the risk/return trade-off associated with each security versus other similar securities); and (c) financial solvency (e.g., debt servicing capacity). The credit score has three components: (i) management efficiency (e.g., corporate finance activities and corporate governance); (ii) profitability (e.g., reliability and sustainability of financial performance); and (iii) financial solvency. The core components of the proprietary liquidity score are based on a quantitative ranking of security characteristics obtained from company filings. Examples of data sets utilized to determine the liquidity score include: (x) time to maturity (e.g., time until the security reaches its maturity date as measured in in years); (y) total issuer debt outstanding (e.g., the sum of all debt outstanding for a single corporate issuer); and (z) time since original issuance (e.g., the time that has elapsed since the security was originally issued as measured in years). The primary objective of the optimization process is to maximize exposure to the value score relative to the Underlying Index's eligible universe. In addition, the optimization process also includes issuer level, sector, effective duration, low credit and liquidity score, and turnover constraints to seek to manage systematic risk.

The inception date of the Underlying Index was April 30, 2018. As of December 31, 2022, there were 1,051 issues in the Underlying Index. The Underlying Index is governed by transparent, objective rules for security selection, exclusion, rebalancing and adjustments for corporate actions. The Underlying Index is reconstituted monthly. The Fund generally reconstitutes its portfolio in accordance with the Underlying Index.

NTI uses a "passive" or indexing approach to try to achieve the Fund's investment objective. Unlike many investment companies, the Fund does not try to "beat" the index it tracks and does not seek temporary defensive positions when markets decline or appear overvalued.

NTI intends to use representative sampling strategy to manage the Fund. "Representative sampling" is investing in a representative sample of securities that collectively has an investment profile similar to the Underlying Index. The Fund may or may not hold all of the securities that are included in the Underlying Index. The Fund reserves the right to invest in substantially all of the securities in its Underlying Index in approximately the same proportions (i.e., replication) if NTI determines that it is in the best interest of the Fund.

The Fund generally will invest under normal circumstances at least 80% of its total assets (exclusive of collateral held from securities lending) in the securities of its Underlying Index. The Fund may also invest up to 20% of its assets in cash and cash equivalents, including shares of money market funds advised by NTI or its affiliates, futures contracts and options on futures, as well as securities not included in the Underlying Index, but which NTI believes will help the Fund track its Underlying Index.

The Underlying Index is created and sponsored by NTI, as the Index Provider. NTI also serves as the investment adviser to the Fund. The Index Provider determines the composition and relative weightings of the securities in the Underlying Index and publishes information regarding the market value of the Underlying Index.

The Fund may lend securities representing up to one-third of the value of the Fund's total assets (including the value of the collateral received).

**Industry Concentration Policy. The Fund will concentrate its investments (i.e., hold 25% or more of its total assets) in a particular industry or group of industries to approximately the same extent that the Underlying Index is concentrated.**

#### Principal Risks
As with any investment, you could lose all or part of your investment in the Fund, and the Fund's performance could trail that of other investments. The Fund is subject to certain risks, including the principal risks noted below, any of which may adversely affect the Fund's net asset value ("NAV"), trading price, yield, total return and ability to meet its investment objective. Each risk noted below is considered a principal risk of investing in the Fund, regardless of the order in which it appears. The significance of each risk factor below may change over time and you should review each risk factor carefully.

**High Yield Securities Risk is the risk that the Fund will be subject to greater credit risk, price volatility and risk of loss than if it invested primarily in investment grade securities,**

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FlexShares<sup>®</sup> High Yield Value-Scored Bond Index Fund

which can adversely impact the Fund's return and NAV. High yield securities are considered highly speculative and are subject to increased risk of an issuer's inability to make principal and interest payments. The Underlying Index is designed to be comprised of securities with the potential for higher yields as compared to the overall high yield corporate bond market. As such, the Fund is expected to exhibit greater sensitivity to market fluctuations.

*Distressed Securities Risk is the substantial risk of investing in distressed securities that is in addition to the risks of investing in non-investment grade securities generally. NTI defines securities issued by companies whose financial condition is troubled or uncertain and that may be involved in bankruptcy proceedings, reorganizations or financial restructurings as "distressed securities." Distressed securities are speculative and involve a substantial risk that principal will not be paid. In addition, the Fund will generally not receive interest payments on the distressed securities and may incur costs to protect its investment. These securities may present a substantial risk of default. The Fund may incur additional expenses to the extent it is required to seek recovery upon a default in the payment of principal of or interest on its portfolio holdings. In any reorganization or liquidation proceeding relating to a portfolio company, the Fund may lose its entire investment or may be required to accept cash or securities with a value less than its original investment. Distressed securities and any securities received in an exchange for such securities may be subject to restrictions on resale.*

*Substantial Volatility Risk is the risk that the value of the securities in the Fund's portfolio may fluctuate, sometimes rapidly and unpredictably at a greater level than the overall market. There is a risk that the Fund could have substantial volatility.*

**Value Score Risk is the risk that the Fund's investment in companies whose securities are believed to be undervalued will not appreciate in value as anticipated. Although the Underlying Index is designed to measure a portfolio of bonds of companies with the potential for higher yields and less risk of insolvency relative to the Parent Index, there is no assurance that the Underlying Index or Fund will be comprised of such securities. Accordingly, the Fund may be subject to greater credit risk, price volatility and risk of loss relative to the Parent Index.**

**Concentration Risk is the risk that, if the Fund is concentrated in a particular industry or group of industries, the Fund is likely to present more risks than a fund that is broadly diversified over several industries or groups of industries. Compared to the broad market, an individual**

industry may be more strongly affected by changes in the economic climate, broad market shifts, moves in a particular dominant stock or regulatory changes.

**Income Risk is the risk that the Fund's income may decline when interest rates fall. This decline can occur because the Fund must invest in lower-yielding bonds as bonds in its portfolio mature, bonds in the Underlying Index are substituted or the Fund otherwise needs to purchase additional bonds.**

**Credit (or Default) Risk is the risk that the inability or unwillingness of an issuer or guarantor of a fixed-income security, or a counterparty to a TBA, repurchase or other transaction, to meet its payment or other financial obligations will adversely affect the value of the Fund's investments and its returns. The credit quality of a debt security or of the issuer of a debt security held by the Fund could deteriorate rapidly, which may impair the Fund's liquidity or cause a deterioration in the Fund's NAV. The Fund could also be delayed or hindered in its enforcement of rights against an issuer, guarantor or counterparty. The degree of credit risk depends on the issuer's or counterparty's financial condition and on the terms of the securities.**

**Market Risk is the risk that the value of the Fund's investments may increase or decrease in response to expected, real or perceived economic, political or financial events in the U.S. or global markets. The frequency and magnitude of such changes in value cannot be predicted. Certain securities and other investments held by the Fund may experience increased volatility, illiquidity, or other potentially adverse effects in response to changing market conditions, inflation, changes in interest rates, lack of liquidity in the bond or equity markets, or volatility in the equity markets. Market disruptions caused by local or regional events such as war, acts of terrorism, the spread of infectious illness (including epidemics and pandemics) or other public health issues, recessions or other events or adverse investor sentiment could have a significant impact on the Fund and its investments and could result in the Fund's shares trading at increased premiums or discounts to the Fund's NAV. During periods of market disruption or other abnormal market conditions, the Fund's exposure to the risks described elsewhere in this summary will likely increase. Market disruptions, regulatory restrictions or other abnormal market conditions could have an adverse effect on the Fund's ability to adjust its exposure to the required levels in order to track its Underlying Index or cause delays in the Underlying Index's rebalancing or reconstitution schedule. During any such delay, it is possible that the Underlying Index and, in turn, the Fund will deviate from the Underly-**

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FlexShares<sup>®</sup> High Yield Value-Scored Bond Index Fund

ing Index's stated methodology and therefore experience returns different than those that would have been achieved under a normal rebalancing or reconstitution schedule.

**Index Risk is the risk that the Fund would not necessarily buy or sell a security unless that security is added to or removed from, respectively, the Underlying Index, even if that security generally is underperforming, because unlike many investment companies, the Fund does not utilize an investing strategy that seeks returns in excess of the Underlying Index. Additionally, the Fund rebalances and/or reconstitutes its portfolio in accordance with the Underlying Index, and, therefore, any changes to the Underlying Index's rebalance and/or reconstitution schedule will result in corresponding changes to the Fund's rebalance and/or reconstitution schedule.**

**Tracking Error Risk is the risk that the Fund's performance may vary from the performance of the Underlying Index as a result of creation and redemption activity, transaction costs, expenses and other factors.**

**Sampling Risk is the risk that the Fund's use of a representative sampling approach may result in increased tracking error because the securities selected for the Fund in the aggregate may vary from the investment profile of the Underlying Index. Additionally, the use of a representative sampling approach may result in the Fund holding a smaller number of securities than the Underlying Index, and, as a result, an adverse development to an issuer of securities that the Fund holds could result in a greater decline in NAV than would be the case if the Fund held all of the securities in the Underlying Index.**

**Authorized Participant Concentration Risk is the risk that the Fund may be adversely affected because it has a limited number of institutions that act as authorized participants ("Authorized Participants"). Only an Authorized Participant may engage in creation or redemption transactions directly with the Fund and none of those Authorized Participants is obligated to engage in creation and/or redemption transactions. To the extent that these institutions exit the business or are unable or unwilling to proceed with creation and/or redemption orders with respect to the Fund and no other Authorized Participant is able or willing to step forward to create or redeem Creation Units (as defined below), Fund shares may trade at a discount to NAV and possibly face trading halts and/or delisting.**

**Calculation Methodology Risk is the risk that the Underlying Index's calculation methodology or sources of information may not provide an accurate assessment of included issuers or correct valuation of securities, nor is the**

availability or timeliness of the production of the Underlying Index guaranteed. A security included in the Underlying Index may not exhibit the characteristic or provide the specific exposure for which it was selected and consequently a Fund's holdings may not exhibit returns consistent with that characteristic or exposure.

**Market Trading Risk is the risk that the Fund faces because its shares are listed on a securities exchange, including the potential lack of an active market for Fund shares, losses from trading in secondary markets, periods of high volatility and disruption in the creation/redemption process of the Fund. ANY OF THESE FACTORS MAY LEAD TO THE FUND'S SHARES TRADING AT A PREMIUM OR DISCOUNT TO NAV.**

Trading in Fund shares may be halted due to market conditions or for reasons that, in the view of its listing exchange, make trading in the shares inadvisable. The market prices of Fund shares will generally fluctuate in accordance with changes in its NAV, changes in the relative supply of, and demand for, Fund shares, and changes in the liquidity, or the perceived liquidity, of the Fund's holdings.

**Debt Extension Risk is the risk that when interest rates rise an issuer will exercise its right to pay principal on certain debt securities held by the Fund later than expected. This will cause the value of the security, and the Fund's NAV, to decrease, and the Fund may lose opportunities to invest in higher yielding securities.**

**Derivatives Risk is the risk that derivatives may pose risks in addition to and greater than those associated with investing directly in securities, currencies and other instruments, may be illiquid or less liquid, more volatile, more difficult to value and leveraged so that small changes in the value of the underlying instrument may produce disproportionate losses to the Fund. Derivatives are also subject to counterparty risk, which is the risk that the other party to the transaction will not perform its contractual obligations. The use of derivatives is a highly specialized activity that involves investment techniques and risks different from those associated with investments in more traditional securities and instruments.**

• **Futures Contracts Risk is the risk that there will be imperfect correlation between the change in market value of the Fund's securities and the price of futures contracts, which may result in the strategy not working as intended; the possible inability of the Fund to sell or close out a futures contract at the desired time or price; losses due to unanticipated market movements, which potentially are unlimited; and the possible inability of NTI to correctly predict the direction of securities'** 

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FlexShares<sup>®</sup> High Yield Value-Scored Bond Index Fund

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| | |
|:---|:---|
|  | prices, interest rates, currency exchange rates and other economic factors, which may make the Fund's returns more volatile or increase the risk of loss. |
| &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;• | **Options Contracts Risk Options contracts give the holder of the option the right to buy (or to sell) a position in a security or in a contract to the writer of the option, at a certain price. They are subject to correlation risk because there may be an imperfect correlation between the options and the securities markets that cause a given transaction to fail to achieve its objectives. The successful use of options depends on the investment adviser's ability to predict correctly future price fluctuations and the degree of correlation between the options and securities markets. Exchanges can limit the number of positions that can be held or controlled by the Fund or the investment adviser, thus limiting the ability to implement the Fund's strategies.** |

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**High Portfolio Turnover Risk is the risk that active and frequent trading of the Fund's portfolio securities may result in increased transaction costs to the Fund, including brokerage commissions, dealer mark-ups and other transaction costs, which could reduce the Fund's return.**

**Interest Rate/Maturity Risk is the risk that the value of the Fund's fixed-income assets will decline because of rising interest rates. In general, securities with longer maturities or durations are more sensitive to interest rate changes. Changing interest rates, including rates that fall below zero, may have unpredictable effects on the markets and the Fund's investments, may result in heightened market volatility, may impact the liquidity of fixed-income securities and of the Fund, and may detract from Fund performance. A low or negative interest rate environment could cause the Fund's earnings to fall below the Fund's expense ratio, resulting in a negative yield and a decline in the Fund's share price. An increase in interest rates may cause investors to move out of fixed incomes securities on a large scale, which could adversely affect the price of fixed income securities, lead to heightened volatility in the fixed-income markets and may adversely affect the liquidity of certain fixed-income investments.**

**Liquidity Risk is the risk that certain portfolio securities may be less liquid than others, which may make them difficult or impossible to sell at the time and the price that the Fund would like, adversely affecting the value of the Fund's investments and its returns. Illiquid investments may be harder to value, especially in changing markets, and if the Fund is forced to sell these investments to meet redemption requests or for other cash needs, the Fund may suffer a loss. Liquidity Risk may result from the lack of an active market, reduced number and capacity of traditional market partici-**

pants to make a market in fixed income securities, and may be magnified in a rising interest rate environment or other circumstances where investor redemptions from fixed income funds may be higher than normal, causing increased supply in the market due to selling activity. The market for certain investments may become illiquid under adverse market or economic conditions independent of any specific adverse changes in the conditions of a particular issuer. In such cases, the Fund, due to limitations on investments in illiquid securities and/or purchasing and selling such investments, may be unable to achieve a high degree of correlation with the Underlying Index. Additionally, in adverse market conditions, the Fund's market price may begin to reflect illiquidity or pricing uncertainty of the Fund's portfolio securities. This could lead to the Fund's shares trading at a price that is higher or lower than the Fund's NAV. At times, such differences may be significant.

**Foreign Securities Risk is the risk that investing in foreign (non-U.S.) securities may result in the Fund experiencing more rapid and extreme changes in value than a fund that invests exclusively in securities of U.S. companies, due to less liquid markets and adverse economic, political, diplomatic, financial, and regulatory factors. Foreign governments may impose limitations on foreigners' ownership of interests in local issuers, restrictions on the ability to repatriate assets, and may also impose taxes. Any of these events could cause the value of the Fund's investments to decline. Foreign banks, agents and securities depositories that hold the Fund's foreign assets may be subject to little or no regulatory oversight over, or independent evaluation, of their operations. Additional costs associated with investments in foreign securities may include higher custodial fees than those applicable to domestic custodial arrangements and transaction costs of foreign currency conversions. Unless the Fund has hedged its foreign currency exposure, foreign securities risk also involves the risk of negative foreign currency rate fluctuations, which may cause the value of securities denominated in such foreign currency (or other instruments through which the Fund has exposure to foreign currencies) to decline in value. Currency exchange rates may fluctuate significantly over short periods of time. Currency hedging strategies, if used, are not always successful. For instance, forward foreign currency exchange contracts, if used by the Fund, could reduce performance if there are unanticipated changes in currency exchange rates.**

**Prepayment (or Call) Risk is the risk that an issuer could exercise its right to pay principal on callable debt securities held by the Fund earlier than expected. Issuers may be**

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FlexShares<sup>®</sup> High Yield Value-Scored Bond Index Fund

more likely to prepay when interest rates fall, when credit spreads change, or when an issuer's credit quality improves. If this happens, the Fund will not benefit from the rise in the market price of the securities that normally accompanies a decline in interest rates, and will be forced to reinvest prepayment proceeds in lower yielding securities, which may reduce the Fund's returns. The Fund may also lose any premium it paid to purchase the securities.

**Securities Lending Risk is the risk that the Fund may lose money because the borrower of the loaned securities fails to return the securities in a timely manner or at all. The Fund could also lose money in the event of a decline in the value of collateral provided for loaned securities or a decline in the value of any investments made with cash collateral.**

**Valuation Risk is the risk that the sale price the Fund could receive for a portfolio security may differ from the Fund's valuation of the security, particularly for securities that trade in low volume or volatile markets or that are valued using a fair value methodology. In addition, the value of the securities in the Fund's portfolio may change on days when shareholders will not be able to purchase or sell the Fund's shares.**

**It is possible to lose money on an investment in the Fund. An investment in the Fund is not a deposit of any bank and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, any other government agency, or The Northern Trust Company, its affiliates, subsidiaries or any other bank.**

#### Fund Performance
The bar chart and table that follow show how the Fund has performed on a calendar year basis and provide an indication of the risks of investing in the Fund by showing (A) changes in the Fund's performance from year to year, (B) how the Fund's average annual returns compare with those of a broad measure of market performance, and (C) an additional index with characteristics relevant to the Fund. Past performance (before and after taxes) does not necessarily indicate how the Fund will perform in the future. Updated information on the Fund's performance results can be obtained by visiting flexshares.com.

#### Calendar Year Total Returns
![](g701946hyvsbi.jpg)

#### For the periods in the bar chart above:
Best Quarter (6/30/2020): 11.06%

Worst Quarter (3/31/2020): -14.42%

#### Average Annual Total Returns

#### (for the periods ended December 31, 2022)

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| | | | |
|:---|:---|:---|:---|
|  | One <br> Year | Since <br> Inception<br> of Fund | Inception <br> Date<br> of Fund |
| Before Taxes | -13.01% | 2.26% | 7/17/2018 |
| After Taxes on Distributions | -15.53% | -0.61% | &nbsp;&nbsp;— |
| After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Shares | -7.66% | 0.57% | &nbsp;&nbsp;— |
| ICE <sup>®</sup> BofA<sup>®</sup> US High Yield Index\* | -11.22% | 2.24% | &nbsp;&nbsp;— |
| Northern Trust High Yield Value-Scored US Corporate Bond Index<sup>SM</sup>\*\* | -11.71% | 3.60% | &nbsp;&nbsp;— |

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*\** *Prior to July 1, 2022, index returns reflect no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes. Effective July 1, 2022, index returns reflect no deduction for taxes, but include transaction costs, which may be higher or lower than the actual transaction costs incurred by the Fund.* 

*\*\** *Reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes.* 

After-tax returns are calculated using the historical highest individual federal marginal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Actual after-tax returns depend on an investor's tax situation and may differ from those shown. After-tax returns shown are not relevant to investors who hold shares through tax-advantaged arrangements, such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement plans. After-tax returns may exceed the return before taxes due to an assumed tax benefit from realizing a capital loss on a sale of Fund shares.

#### Management
**Investment Adviser and Portfolio Managers. NTI, a subsidiary of Northern Trust Corporation, serves as the Investment Adviser of the Fund. Eric R. Williams, a Senior Vice President of NTI, and Benjamin J. McCubbin, CFA, a Sec-**

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FlexShares<sup>®</sup> High Yield Value-Scored Bond Index Fund

ond Vice President of NTI, have served as Portfolio Managers of the Fund since June 2020 and September 2020, respectively.

#### Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares
The Fund is an exchange-traded fund (commonly referred to as an "ETF"). The Fund's shares may be issued and redeemed only by certain large institutions, referred to as "Authorized Participants," that enter into agreements with the Fund's principal underwriter. Retail investors may acquire and sell Fund shares in the secondary market through a broker-dealer. The price of Fund shares is based on market price, and because ETF shares trade at market prices rather than NAV, shares may trade at a price greater than NAV (a premium) or less than NAV (a discount). An investor may incur costs attributable to the difference between the highest price a buyer is willing to pay to purchase shares of the Fund (bid) and the lowest price a seller is willing to accept for shares of the Fund (ask) when buying or selling shares in the secondary market ("the bid-ask spread"). Recent information, including information about the Fund's NAV, market price, premiums and discounts, and bid-ask spreads, is included on the Fund's website at flexshares.com.

#### Tax Information
The Fund's distributions are generally taxable to you as ordinary income, capital gains, or a combination of the two, unless you are investing through a tax-advantaged arrangement, such as a 401(k) plan or an individual retirement account. Distributions may be taxable upon withdrawal from tax-advantaged accounts.

#### Payments to Brokers-Dealers and Other Financial Intermediaries
If you purchase the Fund through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank), NTI and its related companies may pay the intermediary for activities related to the marketing and promotion of the Fund. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing the broker-dealer or other intermediary and your salesperson to recommend the Fund over another investment. Ask your salesperson or visit your financial intermediary's website for more information.

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