UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
FORM N-CSR
CERTIFIED SHAREHOLDER REPORT OF REGISTERED
MANAGEMENT INVESTMENT COMPANIES
Investment Company Act file number: 811-04537
Liberty All-Star Growth Fund, Inc.
(exact name of registrant as specified in charter)
1290 Broadway, Suite 1100, Denver, Colorado 80203
(Address of principal executive offices) (Zip code)
Tane T. Tyler, General Counsel
ALPS Fund Services, Inc.
1290 Broadway, Suite 1100
Denver, Colorado 80203
(Name and address of agent for service)
Registrants telephone number, including area code: 303-623-2577
Date of fiscal year end: | December 31 | |||
Date of reporting period: | January 1 - December 31, 2010 |
Item 1. Reports to Stockholders.
LIBERTY ALL-STAR® GROWTH FUND | 1 | |||||
PRESIDENTS LETTER (UNAUDITED) |
www.all-starfunds.com |
ASG |
2 | LIBERTY ALL-STAR® GROWTH FUND | |||||
PRESIDENTS LETTER (UNAUDITED) |
ANNUAL REPORT DECEMBER 31, 2010 |
LIBERTY ALL-STAR® GROWTH FUND | 3 | |||||
PRESIDENTS LETTER (UNAUDITED) |
FUND STATISTICS AND SHORT-TERM PERFORMANCE PERIODS ENDING DECEMBER 31, 2010 |
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FUND STATISTICS: |
||||||||||||||
Net Asset Value (NAV) |
$4.57 | |||||||||||||
Market Price |
$4.25 | |||||||||||||
Discount |
7.0% | |||||||||||||
Quarter | 2010 | |||||||||||||
Distributions |
$0.07 | $0.25 | ||||||||||||
Market Price Trading Range |
$3.75 to $4.33 | $2.95 to $4.33 | ||||||||||||
Discount Range |
6.3% to 9.6% | 6.3% to 16.2% | ||||||||||||
PERFORMANCE: |
||||||||||||||
Shares Valued at NAV |
11.00% | 21.47% | ||||||||||||
Shares Valued at NAV with Dividends Reinvested |
11.10% | 21.79% | ||||||||||||
Shares Valued at Market Price with Dividends Reinvested |
13.35% | 34.84% | ||||||||||||
NASDAQ Composite Index |
12.32% | 18.02% | ||||||||||||
Russell 3000® Growth Index |
12.26% | 17.64% | ||||||||||||
S&P 500 Index |
10.76% | 15.06% | ||||||||||||
Lipper Multi-Cap Growth Mutual Fund Average* |
11.97% | 18.62% | ||||||||||||
NAV Reinvested Percentile Rank (1 = best; 100 = worst) |
67th | 29th | ||||||||||||
Number of Funds in Category |
467 | 433 | ||||||||||||
LONG-TERM PERFORMANCE SUMMARY AND DISTRIBUTIONS |
ANNUALIZED RATES OF RETURN | |||||||||||||
PERIODS ENDING DECEMBER 31, 2010 |
3 YEARS | 5 YEARS | 10 YEARS | |||||||||||
LIBERTY ALL-STAR® GROWTH FUND, INC. |
||||||||||||||
Distributions |
$0.96 | $2.16 | $5.54 | |||||||||||
Shares Valued at NAV |
(1.35%) | 3.56% | 1.01% | |||||||||||
Shares Valued at NAV with Dividends Reinvested |
(0.59%) | 4.27% | 1.46% | |||||||||||
Shares Valued at Market Price with Dividends Reinvested |
(2.59%) | 4.70% | 2.15% | |||||||||||
NASDAQ Composite Index |
0.98% | 4.69% | 1.41% | |||||||||||
Russell 3000® Growth Index |
(0.26%) | 3.88% | 0.30% | |||||||||||
S&P 500 Index |
(2.86%) | 2.29% | 1.41% | |||||||||||
Lipper Multi-Cap Growth Mutual Fund Average* |
(1.92%) | 3.46% | 1.20% | |||||||||||
NAV Reinvested Percentile Rank (1 = best; 100 = worst) |
33rd | 38th | 53rd | |||||||||||
Number of Funds in Category |
359 | 298 | 202 |
* Percentile ranks calculated using the Funds NAV Reinvested results within the Lipper Multi-Cap Growth Open-end Mutual Fund Universe.
Figures shown for the Fund and the Lipper Multi-Cap Growth Mutual Fund Average are total returns, which include dividends, after deducting Fund expenses. The Funds performance is calculated assuming that a shareholder exercised all primary rights in the Funds rights offerings. Figures shown for the unmanaged NASDAQ Composite Index, the Russell 3000®Growth Index and the S&P 500 Index are total returns, including dividends. A description of the Lipper benchmark and the market indices can be found on page 35.
Past performance cannot predict future results. Performance will fluctuate with market conditions. Current performance may be lower or higher than the performance data shown. Performance information does not reflect the deduction of taxes that shareholders would pay on Fund distributions or the sale of Fund shares. An investment in the Fund involves risk, including loss of principal.
Shares of closed-end funds frequently trade at a discount to net asset value. The price of the Funds shares is determined by a number of factors, several of which are beyond the control of the Fund. Therefore, the Fund cannot predict whether its shares will trade at, below or above net asset value.
www.all-starfunds.com |
ASG |
4 | LIBERTY ALL-STAR® GROWTH FUND | |||||
UNIQUE FUND ATTRIBUTES (UNAUDITED) |
|
Multi-management for Individual Investors
|
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Large institutional investors have traditionally employed multiple investment managers. With three investment managers investing across the full capitalization range of growth stocks, the Fund brings multi-management to individual investors. |
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Real-time Trading and Liquidity
|
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The Fund has a fixed number of shares that trade on the New York Stock Exchange and other exchanges. Share pricing is continuousnot just end-of-day, as it is with open-end mutual funds. In addition, Fund shares offer immediate liquidity and there are no annual sales fees. |
ANNUAL REPORT DECEMBER 31, 2010 |
LIBERTY ALL-STAR® GROWTH FUND | 5 | |||||
UNIQUE FUND ATTRIBUTES (UNAUDITED) |
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Access to Institutional Managers
|
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The Funds investment managers invest primarily for pension funds, endowments, foundations and other institutions. Because institutional managers are closely monitored by their clients, they tend to be more disciplined and consistent in their investment process. |
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Monitoring and Rebalancing
|
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ALPS Advisors continuously monitors these investment managers to ensure that they are performing as expected and adhering to their style and strategy, and will replace the managers when warranted. Periodic rebalancing maintains the Funds structural integrity and is a well-recognized investment discipline. |
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Alignment and Objectivity
|
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Alignment with shareholders best interests and objective decision-making help to ensure that the Fund is managed openly and equitably. In addition, the Fund is governed by a Board of Directors that is elected by and responsible to shareholders. |
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Distribution Policy
|
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Since 1997, the Fund has followed a policy of paying annual distributions on its shares at a rate that approximates historical equity market returns. The current annual distribution rate is 6 percent of the Funds net asset value (paid quarterly at 1.5 percent per quarter), providing a systematic mechanism for distributing funds to shareholders.
|
www.all-starfunds.com |
ASG |
6 | LIBERTY ALL-STAR® GROWTH FUND |
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INVESTMENT MANAGERS/PORTFOLIO CHARACTERISTICS (UNAUDITED) |
THE FUNDS THREE GROWTH INVESTMENT MANAGERS AND THE MARKET CAPITALIZATION ON WHICH EACH FOCUSES: |
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MANAGERS DIFFERING INVESTMENT STRATEGIES ARE REFLECTED IN PORTFOLIO CHARACTERISTICS |
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The portfolio characteristics table below is a regular feature of the Funds shareholder reports. It serves as a useful tool for understanding the value of the Funds multi-managed portfolio. The characteristics are different for each of the Funds three investment managers. These differences are a reflection of the fact that each has a different capitalization focus and investment strategy. The shaded column highlights the characteristics of the Fund as a whole, while the first three columns show portfolio characteristics for the Russell Smallcap, Midcap and Largecap Growth indices. See page 35 for a description of these indices.
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MARKET CAPITALIZATION SPECTRUM | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
PORTFOLIO CHARACTERISTICS |
SMALL | LARGE | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
AS OF DECEMBER 31, 2010 |
RUSSELL GROWTH: |
||||||||||||||||||
Smallcap
Index |
Midcap Index |
Largecap Index |
M.A. Weatherbie |
TCW (Mid-Cap) |
TCW (Large-Cap) |
Total Fund | ||||||||||||
Number of Holdings |
1269 | 493 | 627 | 60 | 55 | 32 | 131* | |||||||||||
Weighted Average Market Capitalization (billions) | $1.4 | $8.1 | $83.9 | $2.6 | $6.7 | $60.4 | $22.7 | |||||||||||
Average Five-Year Earnings Per Share Growth | 10% | 11% | 11% | 9% | 16% | 23% | 16% | |||||||||||
Dividend Yield | 0.5% | 0.9% | 1.4% | 0.3% | 0.4% | 0.7% | 0.4% | |||||||||||
Price/Earnings Ratio** | 22x | 22x | 18x | 25x | 28x | 24x | 26x | |||||||||||
Price/Book Value Ratio | 4.4x | 5.0x | 4.8x | 5.0x | 7.0x | 5.4x | 5.8x |
* Certain holdings are held by more than one manager.
** Excludes negative earnings.
ANNUAL REPORT DECEMBER 31, 2010 |
LIBERTY ALL-STAR® GROWTH FUND | 7 | |||||
MANAGER ROUNDTABLE (UNAUDITED) |
www.all-starfunds.com |
ASG |
8 | LIBERTY ALL-STAR® GROWTH FUND | |||||
MANAGER ROUNDTABLE (UNAUDITED) |
ANNUAL REPORT DECEMBER 31, 2010 |
LIBERTY ALL-STAR® GROWTH FUND | 9 | |||||
MANAGER ROUNDTABLE (UNAUDITED) |
www.all-starfunds.com |
ASG |
10 | LIBERTY ALL-STAR® GROWTH FUND |
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INVESTMENT GROWTH (UNAUDITED) |
GROWTH OF A HYPOTHETICAL $10,000 INVESTMENT | ||
The graph below illustrates the growth of a hypothetical $10,000 investment assuming the purchase of shares of common stock at the closing market price (NYSE: ASG) of $9.25 on December 31, 1996, and tracking its progress through December 31, 2010. For certain information, it also assumes that a shareholder exercised all primary rights in the Funds rights offerings (see below). This graph covers the period since the Fund commenced its 10 percent distribution policy in 1997. Effective with the 2009 second quarter distribution, the annual distribution rate was changed from 10 percent to 6 percent. | ||
| ||
The growth of the investment assuming all distributions were received in cash and not reinvested back into the Fund. The value of the investment under this scenario grew to $16,162 (including the December 31, 2010 value of the original investment of $4,595, plus distributions during the period of $11,567). | ||
The additional value realized through reinvestment of all distributions. The value of the investment under this scenario grew to $19,523. | ||
The additional value realized by exercising all primary rights in the Funds rights offerings. The value of the investment under this scenario grew to $22,004 excluding the cost to exercise all primary rights in the rights offerings which was $5,299. | ||
Past performance cannot predict future results. Performance will fluctuate with changes in market conditions. Current performance may be lower or higher than the performance data shown. Performance information does not reflect the deduction of taxes that shareholders would pay on Fund distributions or the sale of Fund shares. An investment in the Fund involves risk, including loss of principal. |
ANNUAL REPORT DECEMBER 31, 2010 |
LIBERTY ALL-STAR® GROWTH FUND |
11 | |||||
TABLE OF DISTRIBUTIONS AND RIGHTS OFFERINGS (UNAUDITED) |
RIGHTS OFFERINGS |
||||||||||||||||||
YEAR |
PER
SHARE DISTRIBUTIONS |
MONTH COMPLETED |
SHARES NEEDED
TO PURCHASE |
SUBSCRIPTION PRICE |
||||||||||||||
1997 |
$1.24 | |||||||||||||||||
1998 |
1.35 | July | 10 | $12.41 | ||||||||||||||
1999 |
1.23 | |||||||||||||||||
2000 |
1.34 | |||||||||||||||||
2001 |
0.92 | September | 8 | 6.64 | ||||||||||||||
2002 |
0.67 | |||||||||||||||||
2003 |
0.58 | September | 8* | 5.72 | ||||||||||||||
2004 |
0.63 | |||||||||||||||||
2005 |
0.58 | |||||||||||||||||
2006 |
0.59 | |||||||||||||||||
2007 |
0.61 | |||||||||||||||||
2008 |
0.47 | |||||||||||||||||
2009** |
0.24 | |||||||||||||||||
2010 |
0.25 |
* The number of shares offered was increased by an additional 25% to cover a portion of the over-subscription requests.
** Effective with the second quarter distribution, the annual distribution rate was changed from 10 percent to 6 percent.
DISTRIBUTION POLICY
Liberty All-Star® Growth Fund, Inc.s current policy is to pay distributions on its shares totaling approximately 6 percent of its net asset value per year, payable in four quarterly installments of 1.5 percent of the Funds net asset value at the close of the New York Stock Exchange on the Friday prior to each quarterly declaration date. The fixed distributions are not related to the amount of the Funds net investment income or net realized capital gains or losses and may be taxed as ordinary income up to the amount of the Funds current and accumulated earnings and profits. If, for any calendar year, the total distributions made under the distribution policy exceed the Funds net investment income and net realized capital gains, the excess will generally be treated as a non-taxable return of capital, reducing the shareholders adjusted basis in his or her shares. If the Funds net investment income and net realized capital gains for any year exceed the amount distributed under the distribution policy, the Fund may, in its discretion, retain and not distribute net realized capital gains and pay income tax thereon to the extent of such excess.
www.all-starfunds.com |
ASG |
12 | LIBERTY ALL-STAR® GROWTH FUND | |||||
TOP 20 HOLDINGS AND ECONOMIC SECTORS (UNAUDITED) |
||||||
December 31, 2010 |
TOP 20 HOLDINGS* | PERCENT OF NET ASSETS | |
C.H. Robinson Worldwide, Inc. |
2.39% | |
Salesforce.com, Inc. |
2.13 | |
Apple, Inc. |
2.13 | |
Expeditors International of Washington, Inc. |
1.72 | |
QUALCOMM, Inc. |
1.72 | |
Rockwell Automation, Inc. |
1.70 | |
Core Laboratories N.V. |
1.60 | |
Google, Inc., Class A |
1.59 | |
FMC Technologies, Inc. |
1.47 | |
Oceaneering International, Inc. |
1.46 | |
ACE Ltd. |
1.45 | |
IHS, Inc., Class A |
1.43 | |
Resources Connection, Inc. |
1.42 | |
Rue21, Inc. |
1.41 | |
Intuitive Surgical, Inc. |
1.37 | |
MSCI, Inc., Class A |
1.36 | |
Amazon.com, Inc. |
1.34 | |
VeriFone Systems, Inc. |
1.30 | |
Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp., Class A |
1.23 | |
Varian Medical Systems, Inc. |
1.16 | |
31.38% |
ECONOMIC SECTORS* |
PERCENT OF NET ASSETS | |
Information Technology |
25.21% | |
Industrials |
17.66 | |
Health Care |
15.02 | |
Financials |
12.24 | |
Consumer Discretionary |
11.92 | |
Energy |
9.36 | |
Consumer Staples |
3.23 | |
Materials |
1.55 | |
Telecommunication Services |
1.01 | |
Utilities |
0.61 | |
Other Net Assets |
2.19 | |
100.00% |
* | Because the Fund is actively managed, there can be no guarantee that the Fund will continue to hold securities of the indicated issuers and sectors in the future. |
ANNUAL REPORT DECEMBER 31, 2010 |
LIBERTY ALL-STAR® GROWTH FUND | 13 | |||||
MAJOR STOCK CHANGES IN THE QUARTER (UNAUDITED) |
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December 31, 2010 |
The following are the major ($500,000 or more) stock changes - both purchases and sales - that were made in the Funds portfolio during the fourth quarter of 2010.
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SECURITY NAME | PURCHASES (SALES) | SHARES AS OF 12/31/10 | ||||||
PURCHASES |
||||||||
athenahealth, Inc. |
22,983 | 22,983 | ||||||
Brigham Exploration Co. |
30,200 | 30,200 | ||||||
E-Commerce China Dangdang, Inc. |
29,673 | 29,673 | ||||||
Gildan Activewear, Inc. |
23,800 | 23,800 | ||||||
Green Dot Corp., Class A |
13,311 | 15,500 | ||||||
Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, Inc. |
28,307 | 28,307 | ||||||
Harman International Industries, Inc. |
20,004 | 20,004 | ||||||
Precision Castparts Corp. |
6,400 | 6,400 | ||||||
QLIK Technologies, Inc. |
31,872 | 31,872 | ||||||
Rue21, Inc. |
19,360 | 66,277 | ||||||
Under Armour, Inc., Class A |
13,050 | 13,050 | ||||||
Youku.com, Inc. |
20,964 | 20,964 | ||||||
SALES |
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Clean Harbors, Inc. |
(8,900) | 0 | ||||||
Contango Oil & Gas Co. |
(15,800) | 0 | ||||||
Flowserve Corp. |
(8,200) | 0 | ||||||
Martek Biosciences Corp. |
(28,579) | 0 | ||||||
Marvell Technology Group Ltd. |
(49,600) | 0 | ||||||
Quanta Services, Inc. |
(39,000) | 0 | ||||||
Spirit Aerosystems Holdings, Inc., |
(35,100) | 0 | ||||||
Venoco, Inc. |
(32,411) | 0 |
www.all-starfunds.com |
ASG |
14 | LIBERTY ALL-STAR® GROWTH FUND | |||||
SCHEDULE OF INVESTMENTS
|
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as of December 31, 2010 |
COMMON STOCKS (97.81%) | SHARES | MARKET VALUE | ||||||
u CONSUMER DISCRETIONARY (11.92%) |
||||||||
Automobiles (0.51%) |
||||||||
Thor Industries, Inc. |
20,704 | $ | 703,108 | |||||
Distributors (1.16%) |
||||||||
LKQ Corp.(a) |
70,194 | 1,594,808 | ||||||
Diversified Consumer Services (2.10%) |
||||||||
Capella Education Co.(a) |
17,638 | 1,174,338 | ||||||
Global Education & Technology Group Ltd.(a)(b) |
44,918 | 424,924 | ||||||
Strayer Education, Inc. |
6,500 | 989,430 | ||||||
Xueda Education Group(a)(b) |
26,254 | 295,883 | ||||||
2,884,575 | ||||||||
Hotels, Restaurants & Leisure (1.02%) |
||||||||
BJs Restaurants, Inc.(a) |
21,050 | 745,801 | ||||||
Ctrip.com International Ltd.(a)(b) |
16,066 | 649,870 | ||||||
1,395,671 | ||||||||
Household Durables (0.67%) |
||||||||
Harman International Industries, Inc.(a) |
20,004 | 926,185 | ||||||
Internet & Catalog Retail (2.71%) |
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Amazon.com, Inc.(a) |
10,240 | 1,843,200 | ||||||
E-Commerce China Dangdang, Inc.(a)(b) |
29,673 | 803,248 | ||||||
priceline. com, Inc.(a) |
2,700 | 1,078,785 | ||||||
3,725,233 | ||||||||
Specialty Retail (2.74%) |
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CarMax, Inc.(a) |
29,600 | 943,648 | ||||||
Monro Muffler Brake, Inc. |
10,635 | 367,847 | ||||||
Rue21, Inc.(a) |
66,277 | 1,942,579 | ||||||
Ulta Salon, Cosmetics & Fragrance, Inc.(a) |
14,884 | 506,056 | ||||||
3,760,130 | ||||||||
Textiles, Apparel & Luxury Goods (1.01%) |
||||||||
Gildan Activewear, Inc.(a) |
23,800 | 678,062 | ||||||
Under Armour, Inc., Class A(a) |
13,050 | 715,662 | ||||||
1,393,724 | ||||||||
u CONSUMER STAPLES (3.23%) |
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Food & Staples Retailing (1.36%) |
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Costco Wholesale Corp. |
12,700 | 917,067 | ||||||
CVS Caremark Corp. |
27,300 | 949,221 | ||||||
1,866,288 | ||||||||
Food Products (1.32%) |
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Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, Inc.(a) |
28,307 | 930,168 | ||||||
Mead Johnson Nutrition Co. |
14,200 | 883,950 | ||||||
1,814,118 | ||||||||
Household Products (0.55%) |
||||||||
The Procter & Gamble Co. |
11,870 | 763,597 | ||||||
See Notes to Schedule of Investments and Financial Statements
ANNUAL REPORT DECEMBER 31, 2010 |
LIBERTY ALL-STAR® GROWTH FUND | 15 | |||||
SCHEDULE OF INVESTMENTS |
as of December 31, 2010
COMMON STOCKS (continued) | SHARES | MARKET VALUE | ||||||
u ENERGY (9.36%) |
||||||||
Energy Equipment & Services (6.21%) |
||||||||
Core Laboratories N.V. |
24,646 | $ | 2,194,726 | |||||
Dril-Quip, Inc.(a) |
10,973 | 852,822 | ||||||
FMC Technologies, Inc.(a) |
22,800 | 2,027,148 | ||||||
Oceaneering International, Inc.(a) |
27,200 | 2,002,736 | ||||||
Schlumberger Ltd. |
17,495 | 1,460,832 | ||||||
8,538,264 | ||||||||
Oil, Gas & Consumable Fuels (3.15%) |
||||||||
Brigham Exploration Co.(a) |
30,200 | 822,648 | ||||||
Occidental Petroleum Corp. |
15,900 | 1,559,790 | ||||||
Plains Exploration & Production Co.(a) |
37,100 | 1,192,394 | ||||||
Ultra Petroleum Corp.(a) |
15,900 | 759,543 | ||||||
4,334,375 | ||||||||
u FINANCIALS (12.24%) |
||||||||
Banks (0.05%) |
||||||||
First Republic Bank(a) |
2,300 | 66,976 | ||||||
Capital Markets (4.65%) |
||||||||
Affiliated Managers Group, Inc.(a) |
14,457 | 1,434,424 | ||||||
The Charles Schwab Corp. |
50,100 | 857,211 | ||||||
Duff & Phelps Corp., Class A |
23,325 | 393,259 | ||||||
FXCM, Inc., Class A(a) |
16,628 | 220,321 | ||||||
Janus Capital Group, Inc. |
77,700 | 1,007,769 | ||||||
LPL Investment Holdings, Inc.(a) |
1,700 | 61,829 | ||||||
optionsXpress Holdings, Inc. |
23,220 | 363,857 | ||||||
SEI Investments Co. |
40,600 | 965,874 | ||||||
T. Rowe Price Group, Inc. |
16,800 | 1,084,272 | ||||||
6,388,816 | ||||||||
Commercial Banks (1.11%) |
||||||||
SignatureBank(a) |
30,521 | 1,526,050 | ||||||
Consumer Finance (0.64%) |
||||||||
Green Dot Corp., Class A(a) |
15,500 | 879,470 | ||||||
Diversified Financial Services (2.82%) |
||||||||
IntercontinentalExchange, Inc.(a) |
5,000 | 595,750 | ||||||
MSCI, Inc., Class A(a) |
48,103 | 1,874,093 | ||||||
Portfolio Recovery Associates, Inc.(a) |
18,726 | 1,408,195 | ||||||
3,878,038 | ||||||||
Insurance (2.07%) |
||||||||
ACE Ltd. |
32,100 | 1,998,225 | ||||||
Greenlight Capital Re Ltd., Class A(a) |
31,484 | 844,086 | ||||||
2,842,311 | ||||||||
Real Estate Management & Development (0.90%) |
||||||||
China Real Estate Information Corp.(a)(b) |
53,969 | 518,103 | ||||||
FirstService Corp.(a) |
24,022 | 727,386 | ||||||
1,245,489 | ||||||||
See Notes to Schedule of Investments and Financial Statements
www.all-starfunds.com |
ASG |
16 | LIBERTY ALL-STAR® GROWTH FUND | |||||
SCHEDULE OF INVESTMENTS
|
||||||
as of December 31, 2010 |
COMMON STOCKS (continued) | SHARES | MARKET VALUE | ||||||
u HEALTH CARE (15.02%) |
||||||||
Biotechnology (2.97%) |
||||||||
BioMarin Pharmaceutical, Inc.(a) |
48,522 | $ | 1,306,698 | |||||
Dendreon Corp.(a) |
18,800 | 656,496 | ||||||
Genzyme Corp.(a) |
11,500 | 818,800 | ||||||
Human Genome Sciences, Inc.(a) |
21,088 | 503,792 | ||||||
Ironwood Pharmaceuticals, Inc.(a) |
20,300 | 210,105 | ||||||
Vertex Pharmaceuticals, Inc.(a) |
16,800 | 588,504 | ||||||
4,084,395 | ||||||||
Health Care Equipment & Supplies (5.05%) |
||||||||
Accuray, Inc.(a) |
57,082 | 385,304 | ||||||
Intuitive Surgical, Inc.(a) |
7,300 | 1,881,575 | ||||||
Masimo Corp. |
54,992 | 1,598,617 | ||||||
ResMed, Inc.(a) |
21,300 | 737,832 | ||||||
Varian Medical Systems, Inc.(a) |
23,100 | 1,600,368 | ||||||
Volcano Corp.(a) |
27,100 | 740,101 | ||||||
6,943,797 | ||||||||
Health Care Providers & Services (1.80%) |
||||||||
IPC The Hospitalist Co., Inc.(a) |
6,483 | 252,902 | ||||||
Lincare Holdings, Inc. |
26,825 | 719,715 | ||||||
PSS World Medical, Inc.(a) |
32,547 | 735,562 | ||||||
VCA Antech, Inc.(a) |
32,967 | 767,801 | ||||||
2,475,980 | ||||||||
Health Care Technology (1.74%) |
||||||||
athenahealth, Inc.(a) |
22,983 | 941,844 | ||||||
Cerner Corp.(a) |
15,300 | 1,449,522 | ||||||
2,391,366 | ||||||||
Life Sciences Tools & Services (1.06%) |
||||||||
Life Technologies Corp.(a) |
26,100 | 1,448,550 | ||||||
Pharmaceuticals (2.40%) |
||||||||
Allergan, Inc. |
18,300 | 1,256,661 | ||||||
Mylan, Inc.(a) |
39,500 | 834,635 | ||||||
Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd.(b) |
23,210 | 1,209,937 | ||||||
3,301,233 | ||||||||
u INDUSTRIALS (17.66%) |
||||||||
Aerospace & Defense (2.41%) |
||||||||
Aerovironment, Inc.(a) |
27,700 | 743,191 | ||||||
HEICO Corp. |
16,155 | 824,389 | ||||||
Precision Castparts Corp. |
6,400 | 890,944 | ||||||
TransDigm Group, Inc.(a) |
11,979 | 862,608 | ||||||
3,321,132 | ||||||||
Air Freight & Logistics (4.11%) |
||||||||
C.H. Robinson Worldwide, Inc. |
41,000 | 3,287,790 | ||||||
Expeditors International of Washington, Inc. |
43,300 | 2,364,180 | ||||||
5,651,970 | ||||||||
See Notes to Schedule of Investments and Financial Statements |
ANNUAL REPORT DECEMBER 31, 2010 |
LIBERTY ALL-STAR® GROWTH FUND | 17 | |||||
SCHEDULE OF INVESTMENTS
|
||||||
as of December 31, 2010 |
COMMON STOCKS (continued) | SHARES | MARKET VALUE | ||||||
Commercial Services & Supplies (2.17%) |
||||||||
American Reprographics Co.(a) |
67,082 | $ | 509,152 | |||||
Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers, Inc. |
17,140 | 395,077 | ||||||
Stericycle, Inc.(a) |
14,654 | 1,185,802 | ||||||
Waste Connections, Inc. |
32,318 | 889,715 | ||||||
2,979,746 | ||||||||
Electrical Equipment (2.20%) |
||||||||
II-VI, Inc.(a) |
14,960 | 693,546 | ||||||
Rockwell Automation, Inc. |
32,500 | 2,330,575 | ||||||
3,024,121 | ||||||||
Machinery (0.81%) |
||||||||
Graco, Inc. |
21,287 | 839,772 | ||||||
Watts Water Technologies, Inc., Class A |
7,367 | 269,559 | ||||||
1,109,331 | ||||||||
Professional Services (4.97%) |
||||||||
Huron Consulting Group, Inc.(a) |
29,883 | 790,405 | ||||||
ICF International, Inc.(a) |
17,970 | 462,188 | ||||||
IHS, Inc., Class A(a) |
24,537 | 1,972,530 | ||||||
Resources Connection, Inc. |
105,312 | 1,957,750 | ||||||
Robert Half International, Inc. |
33,100 | 1,012,860 | ||||||
Stantec, Inc.(a) |
22,616 | 632,570 | ||||||
6,828,303 | ||||||||
Road & Rail (0.99%) |
||||||||
Knight Transportation, Inc. |
27,402 | 520,638 | ||||||
Landstar System, Inc. |
20,507 | 839,556 | ||||||
1,360,194 | ||||||||
u INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (25.21%) | ||||||||
Communications Equipment (3.76%) |
||||||||
Aruba Networks, Inc.(a) |
31,800 | 663,984 | ||||||
Cisco Systems, Inc.(a) |
59,405 | 1,201,763 | ||||||
Polycom, Inc.(a) |
24,198 | 943,238 | ||||||
QUALCOMM, Inc. |
47,665 | 2,358,941 | ||||||
5,167,926 | ||||||||
Computers & Peripherals (2.13%) |
||||||||
Apple, Inc.(a) |
9,060 | 2,922,393 | ||||||
Electronic Equipment & Instruments (0.99%) |
||||||||
FARO Technologies, Inc.(a) |
2,460 | 80,786 | ||||||
FLIR Systems, Inc.(a) |
20,202 | 601,010 | ||||||
National Instruments Corp. |
18,030 | 678,649 | ||||||
1,360,445 | ||||||||
See Notes to Schedule of Investments and Financial Statements
www.all-starfunds.com |
ASG |
18 | LIBERTY ALL-STAR® GROWTH FUND | |||||
SCHEDULE OF INVESTMENTS
|
||||||
as of December 31, 2010 |
COMMON STOCKS (continued) | SHARES | MARKET VALUE | ||||||
Internet Software & Services (5.05%) |
||||||||
Akamai Technologies, Inc.(a) |
16,200 | $ | 762,210 | |||||
Baidu, Inc.(a)(b) |
9,100 | 878,423 | ||||||
comScore, Inc.(a) |
16,655 | 371,573 | ||||||
Google, Inc., Class A(a) |
3,675 | 2,182,840 | ||||||
Monster Worldwide, Inc.(a) |
52,488 | 1,240,291 | ||||||
VistaPrint Ltd.(a) |
16,759 | 770,914 | ||||||
Youku.com, Inc.(a)(b) |
20,964 | 733,950 | ||||||
6,940,201 | ||||||||
IT Services (4.09%) |
||||||||
Alliance Data Systems Corp.(a) |
13,400 | 951,802 | ||||||
Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp., Class A(a) |
23,100 | 1,692,999 | ||||||
FleetCor Technologies, Inc.(a) |
9,310 | 287,865 | ||||||
VeriFone Systems, Inc.(a) |
46,366 | 1,787,873 | ||||||
Visa, Inc., Class A |
12,915 | 908,958 | ||||||
5,629,497 | ||||||||
Semiconductors & Semiconductor Equipment (2.25%) |
||||||||
ARM Holdings Plc(b) |
54,200 | 1,124,650 | ||||||
Cavium Networks, Inc.(a) |
26,388 | 994,300 | ||||||
Hittite Microwave Corp.(a) |
16,024 | 978,105 | ||||||
3,097,055 | ||||||||
Software (6.94%) |
||||||||
ANSYS, Inc.(a) |
23,333 | 1,214,949 | ||||||
Concur Technologies, Inc.(a) |
12,992 | 674,675 | ||||||
QLIK Technologies, Inc.(a) |
31,872 | 822,616 | ||||||
RealPage, Inc.(a) |
13,925 | 430,700 | ||||||
Salesforce. com, Inc.(a) |
22,200 | 2,930,400 | ||||||
SMART Technologies, Inc., Class A(a) |
77,200 | 728,768 | ||||||
Solera Holdings, Inc. |
23,763 | 1,219,517 | ||||||
VMware, Inc., Class A(a) |
17,160 | 1,525,696 | ||||||
9,547,321 | ||||||||
u MATERIALS (1.55%) |
||||||||
Chemicals (1.55%) |
||||||||
CF Industries Holdings, Inc. |
6,400 | 864,960 | ||||||
Praxair, Inc. |
13,300 | 1,269,751 | ||||||
2,134,711 | ||||||||
Mining (0.00%)* |
||||||||
Contango ORE, Inc.(a) |
47 | 494 | ||||||
u TELECOMMUNICATION SERVICES (1.01%) | ||||||||
Wireless Telecommunication Services (1.01%) |
||||||||
American TowerCorp., Class A(a) |
26,800 | 1,383,952 | ||||||
u UTILITIES (0.61%) | ||||||||
Electric Utilities (0.61%) |
||||||||
ITC Holdings Corp. |
13,493 | 836,296 | ||||||
TOTAL COMMON STOCKS | ||||||||
(COST OF $108,124,927) |
134,467,635 | |||||||
See Notes to Schedule of Investments and Financial Statements |
ANNUAL REPORT DECEMBER 31, 2010 |
LIBERTY ALL-STAR® GROWTH FUND | 19 | |||||
SCHEDULE OF INVESTMENTS |
||||||
as of December 31, 2010 |
SHORT TERM INVESTMENT (2.33%) | PAR VALUE | MARKET VALUE | ||||||
u REPURCHASE AGREEMENT (2.33%) |
||||||||
Repurchase agreement with State Street Bank & Trust Co., dated 12/31/10, due 01/03/11 at 0.010%, collateralized by several Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac instruments with various maturity dates, market value of $3,265,421 (Repurchase proceeds of $3,196,003) (COST OF $3,196,000) |
$ | 3,196,000 | $ | 3,196,000 | ||||
TOTAL INVESTMENTS (100.14%) |
||||||||
(COST OF $111,320,927)(c) |
137,663,635 | |||||||
LIABILITIES IN EXCESS OF OTHER ASSETS (-0.14%) |
(190,888) | |||||||
NET ASSETS (100.00%) |
$ | 137,472,747 | ||||||
NET ASSET VALUE PER SHARE |
||||||||
(30,080,350 SHARES OUTSTANDING) |
$ | 4.57 | ||||||
Notes to Schedule of Investments:
* | Less than 0.005% of net assets. |
(a) | Non-income producing security. |
(b) | American Depositary Receipt. |
(c) | Cost of investments for federal income tax purposes is $111,710,194. |
Gross unrealized appreciation and depreciation at December 31, 2010 based on cost of investments for federal income tax purposes is as follows:
Gross unrealized appreciation |
$ | 30,353,004 | ||||||
Gross unrealized depreciation |
(4,399,563 | ) | ||||||
Net unrealized appreciation |
$ | 25,953,441 | ||||||
For Fund compliance purposes, the Funds industry classifications refer to any one or more of the industry sub-classifications used by one or more widely recognized market indexes or ratings group indexes, and/or as defined by Fund management. This definition may not apply for purposes of this report, which may combine industry sub-classifications for reporting ease. Industries are shown as a percent of net assets. These industry classifications are unaudited.
See Notes to Financial Statements | ||
www.all-starfunds.com |
ASG |
20 | LIBERTY ALL-STAR® GROWTH FUND | |||||
STATEMENT OF ASSETS AND LIABILITIES |
||||||
December 31, 2010 |
ASSETS: |
||||
Investments at market value (Cost $111,320,927) |
$ | 137,663,635 | ||
Cash |
612 | |||
Receivable for investment securities sold |
2,659,062 | |||
Dividends and interest receivable |
42,316 | |||
Prepaid and other assets |
31 | |||
TOTAL ASSETS |
140,365,656 | |||
LIABILITIES: |
||||
Payable for investments purchased |
564,202 | |||
Distributions payable to shareholders |
2,105,625 | |||
Investment advisory fee payable |
93,437 | |||
Payable for administration, pricing and bookkeeping fees |
29,725 | |||
Accrued expenses |
99,920 | |||
TOTAL LIABILITIES |
2,892,909 | |||
NET ASSETS |
$ | 137,472,747 | ||
NET ASSETS REPRESENTED BY: |
||||
Paid-in capital |
$ | 113,600,217 | ||
Overdistributed net investment income |
(62,208) | |||
Accumulated net realized loss on investments |
(2,407,970) | |||
Net unrealized appreciation on investments |
26,342,708 | |||
NET ASSETS |
$ | 137,472,747 | ||
Shares of common stock outstanding |
||||
(authorized 60,000,000 shares at $0.10 par) |
30,080,350 | |||
NET ASSET VALUE PER SHARE |
$ | 4.57 | ||
See Notes to Financial Statements |
ANNUAL REPORT DECEMBER 31, 2010 |
LIBERTY ALL-STAR® GROWTH FUND | 21 | |||||
STATEMENT OF OPERATIONS |
||||||
For the Year Ended December 31, 2010 |
INVESTMENT INCOME: |
||||
Dividends (Net of foreign taxes withheld at source which amounted to $8,526) |
$ | 1,050,010 | ||
Interest |
271 | |||
TOTAL INVESTMENT INCOME |
1,050,281 | |||
EXPENSES: |
||||
Investment advisory fee |
993,074 | |||
Administration fee |
248,268 | |||
Pricing and bookkeeping fees |
70,995 | |||
Custodian fee |
46,360 | |||
Directors fees and expenses |
74,493 | |||
Insurance expense |
8,909 | |||
Legal fees |
138,816 | |||
Proxy solicitation and related legal expenses(a) |
468,113 | |||
NYSE fee |
24,472 | |||
Shareholder communication expenses |
79,633 | |||
Transfer agent fees |
37,608 | |||
Miscellaneous expenses |
35,107 | |||
TOTAL EXPENSES |
2,225,848 | |||
NET INVESTMENT LOSS |
(1,175,567) | |||
REALIZED AND UNREALIZED GAIN ON INVESTMENTS: |
||||
Net realized gain on investment transactions |
5,137,175 | |||
Net unrealized appreciation on investments: |
||||
Beginning of year |
5,722,007 | |||
End of year |
26,342,708 | |||
Net change in unrealized appreciation |
20,620,701 | |||
NET REALIZED AND UNREALIZED GAIN ON INVESTMENTS |
25,757,876 | |||
NET INCREASE IN NET ASSETS FROM OPERATIONS |
$ | 24,582,309 | ||
(a) | See Note 8 to Financial Statements |
See Notes to Financial Statements | ||
www.all-starfunds.com |
ASG |
22 | LIBERTY ALL-STAR® GROWTH FUND | |||||
STATEMENTS OF CHANGES IN NET ASSETS |
Year Ended December 31, | ||||||||||
2010 | 2009 | |||||||||
FROM OPERATIONS: |
||||||||||
Net investment loss |
$ | (1,175,567) | $ | (601,322) | ||||||
Net realized gain/(loss) on investment transactions |
5,137,175 | (1,607,219) | ||||||||
Net change in unrealized appreciation/(depreciation) |
20,620,701 | 32,715,240 | ||||||||
Net Increase in Net Assets From Operations |
24,582,309 | 30,506,699 | ||||||||
DISTRIBUTIONS TO SHAREHOLDERS: |
||||||||||
From net investment income |
(5,615,921) | | ||||||||
Tax return of capital |
(1,904,168) | (7,157,268) | ||||||||
Total Distributions |
(7,520,089) | (7,157,268) | ||||||||
CAPITAL SHARE TRANSACTIONS: |
||||||||||
Dividend reinvestments |
| 1,531,661 | ||||||||
Net Increase in net assets from capital share transactions |
| 1,531,661 | ||||||||
Total Increase in Net Assets |
17,062,220 | 24,881,092 | ||||||||
NET ASSETS: |
||||||||||
Beginning of period |
120,410,527 | 95,529,435 | ||||||||
End of period (includes overdistributed net investment income of $(62,208) and $0, respectively) |
$ | 137,472,747 | $ | 120,410,527 | ||||||
See Notes to Financial Statements
ANNUAL REPORT DECEMBER 31, 2010 |
LIBERTY ALL-STAR® GROWTH FUND | 23 | |||||
FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS |
Year Ended December 31, | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
2010 | 2009 | 2008 | 2007 | 2006 | ||||||||||||||||||||
PER SHARE OPERATING PERFORMANCE: |
||||||||||||||||||||||||
Net asset value at beginning of year |
$ | 4.00 | $ | 3.24 | $ | 6.03 | $ | 5.69 | $ | 5.97 | ||||||||||||||
INCOME FROM INVESTMENT OPERATIONS: |
||||||||||||||||||||||||
Net investment loss(a) |
(0.04 | ) | (0.02 | ) | (0.03 | ) | (0.03 | ) | (0.04 | ) | ||||||||||||||
Net realized and unrealized gain/(loss) |
0.86 | 1.02 | (2.29 | ) | 0.98 | 0.35 | ||||||||||||||||||
Total from Investment Operations |
0.82 | 1.00 | (2.32 | ) | 0.95 | 0.31 | ||||||||||||||||||
LESS DISTRIBUTIONS TO SHAREHOLDERS: |
||||||||||||||||||||||||
Net investment income |
(0.19 | ) | | | | | ||||||||||||||||||
Net realized gain on investments |
| | (0.02 | ) | (0.61 | ) | (0.47 | ) | ||||||||||||||||
Tax return of capital |
(0.06 | ) | (0.24 | ) | (0.45 | ) | | (0.12 | ) | |||||||||||||||
Total Distributions |
(0.25 | ) | (0.24 | ) | (0.47 | ) | (0.61 | ) | (0.59 | ) | ||||||||||||||
Net asset value at end of year |
$ | 4. 57 | $ | 4.00 | $ | 3.24 | $ | 6.03 | $ | 5.69 | ||||||||||||||
Market price at end of year |
$ | 4. 25 | $ | 3.36 | $ | 2.60 | $ | 5.96 | $ | 5.37 | ||||||||||||||
TOTAL INVESTMENT RETURN FOR SHAREHOLDERS:(b) |
||||||||||||||||||||||||
Based on net asset value |
21.8 | % | 34.6 | % | (40.0 | %) | 17.9 | % | 6.4 | % | ||||||||||||||
Based on market price |
34.8 | % | 40.8 | % | (51.3 | %) | 23.5 | % | 10.2 | % | ||||||||||||||
RATIOS AND SUPPLEMENTAL DATA: |
||||||||||||||||||||||||
Net assets at end of year (millions) |
$ | 137 | $ | 120 | $ | 96 | $ | 172 | 157 | |||||||||||||||
Ratio of expenses to average net assets |
1.79 | % | 1.44 | % | 1.46 | % | 1.28 | %(c) | 1.40 | %(c) | ||||||||||||||
Ratio of net investment loss to average net assets |
(0.95 | %) | (0.58 | %) | (0.74 | %) | (0.51 | %)(c) | (0.73 | %)(c) | ||||||||||||||
Portfolio turnover rate |
80 | % | 135 | % | 97 | % | 60 | % | 52 | % |
(a) | Calculated using average shares outstanding during the year. |
(b) | Calculated assuming all distributions are reinvested at actual reinvestment prices. The net asset value and market price returns will differ depending upon the level of any discount from or premium to net asset value at which the Funds shares traded during the period. Past performance is not a guarantee of future results. |
(c) | The benefits derived from custody credits and directed brokerage arrangements, if any, had an impact of less than 0.01%. |
See Notes to Financial Statements | ||
www.all-starfunds.com |
ASG |
24 | LIBERTY ALL-STAR® GROWTH FUND | |||||
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS |
||||||
December 31, 2010 |
ANNUAL REPORT DECEMBER 31, 2010 |
LIBERTY ALL-STAR® GROWTH FUND | 25 | |||||
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS |
||||||
December 31, 2010 |
www.all-starfunds.com |
ASG |
26 | LIBERTY ALL-STAR® GROWTH FUND | |||||
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS |
||||||
December 31, 2010 |
ANNUAL REPORT DECEMBER 31, 2010 |
LIBERTY ALL-STAR® GROWTH FUND | 27 | |||||
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS |
||||||
December 31, 2010 |
www.all-starfunds.com |
ASG |
28 | LIBERTY ALL-STAR® GROWTH FUND | |||||
REPORT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM |
TO THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS AND SHAREHOLDERS OF LIBERTY ALL-STAR®GROWTH FUND, INC.:
We have audited the accompanying statement of assets and liabilities of Liberty All-Star® Growth Fund, Inc. (the Fund), including the schedule of investments, as of December 31, 2010, and the related statements of operations for the year then ended, the statements of changes in net assets for each of the two years in the period then ended, and the financial highlights for each of the four years in the period then ended. These financial statements and financial highlights are the responsibility of the Funds management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on these financial statements and financial highlights based on our audits. The financial highlights of the Fund for the year ended December 31, 2006 were audited by other auditors whose report, dated February 20, 2007, expressed an unqualified opinion on the financial highlights.
We conducted our audits in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States). Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements and financial highlights are free of material misstatement. The Fund is not required to have, nor were we engaged to perform, an audit of its internal control over financial reporting. Our audits included consideration of internal control over financial reporting as a basis for designing audit procedures that are appropriate in the circumstances, but not for the purpose of expressing an opinion on the effectiveness of the Funds internal control over financial reporting. Accordingly, we express no such opinion. An audit also includes examining, on a test basis, evidence supporting the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements, assessing the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall financial statement presentation. Our procedures included confirmation of securities owned as of December 31, 2010, by correspondence with the custodian and brokers where replies were not received from brokers, we performed other auditing procedures. We believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinion.
In our opinion, the financial statements and financial highlights referred to above present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the Liberty All-Star® Growth Fund, Inc., as of December 31, 2010, the results of its operations for the year then ended, the changes in its net assets for each of the two years in the period then ended, and the financial highlights for each of the four years in the period then ended, in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America.
DELOITTE & TOUCHE LLP
Denver, Colorado
February 17, 2011
ANNUAL REPORT DECEMBER 31, 2010 |
LIBERTY ALL-STAR® GROWTH FUND |
29 | |||||
AUTOMATIC DIVIDEND REINVESTMENT AND DIRECT PURCHASE PLAN (UNAUDITED) |
www.all-starfunds.com |
ASG |
30 | LIBERTY ALL-STAR® GROWTH FUND | |||||
TAX INFORMATION (UNAUDITED)
|
All 2010 distributions whether received in cash or shares of the Fund consist of the following: | ||||||||||||
(1) ordinary dividends, and |
||||||||||||
(2) return of capital |
||||||||||||
The table below details the breakdown of each 2010 distribution for federal income tax purposes. | ||||||||||||
TAX STATUS OF 2010 DISTRIBUTIONS |
ORDINARY DIVIDENDS | ||||||||||||
DATE PAID | AMOUNT PER SHARE | QUALIFIED | NON-QUALIFIED | LONG-TERM CAPITAL GAINS | RETURN OF CAPITAL | |||||||
01/04/10* |
$0.06 | | 77.79% | | 22.21% | |||||||
03/15/10 |
$0.06 | | 77.79% | | 22.21% | |||||||
06/14/10 |
$0.06 | | 77.79% | | 22.21% | |||||||
09/13/10 |
$0.06 | | 77.79% | | 22.21% | |||||||
01/03/11** |
$0.07 | | | | |
* Pursuant to Section 852 of the Internal Revenue Code, the taxability of this distribution will be reported in the Form 1099-DIV for 2010 | ||||||||
** Pursuant to Section 852 of the Internal Revenue Code, the taxability of this distribution will be reported in the Form 1099-DIV for 2011 | ||||||||
TAX DESIGNATIONS | ||||||||
The Fund designates the following amounts for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2010:
| ||||||||
Qualified Dividend Income |
0.00% | |||||||
Corporate Dividends Received Deduction |
0.00% |
ANNUAL REPORT DECEMBER 31, 2010 |
LIBERTY ALL-STAR® GROWTH FUND | 31 | |||||
DIRECTORS AND OFFICERS (UNAUDITED) |
The names of the Directors and Officers of the Liberty All-Star® Growth Fund, Inc., the date each was first elected or appointed to office, their term of office, their principal business occupations and other directorships they have held during at least the last five years, are shown below.
INDEPENDENT DIRECTORS
NAME AND ADDRESS*
|
POSITION WITH GROWTH AND TERM OF OFFICE
|
PRINCIPAL OCCUPATION(S) DURING PAST FIVE YEARS
|
NUMBER OF PORTFOLIOS IN FUND COMPLEX OVERSEEN BY DIRECTOR
|
OTHER DIRECTORSHIPS HELD
| ||||
John A. Benning (Age 76) |
Director Since 2002; Term expires 2011 |
Retired |
2 | Trustee, Liberty All-Star Equity Fund (since 2002).
| ||||
Thomas W. Brock (Age 63) |
Director Since 2005; Term expires 2012 |
CEO, StoneHarbor Investment Partners LP (since April, 2006); Adjunct Professor, Columbia University Graduate School of Business (1998-2006). |
2 | Trustee, Liberty All-Star Equity Fund (since 2005); Trustee and Chairman, Stone Harbor Investment Funds (since 2007)
| ||||
George R. Gaspari (Age 70) |
Director Since 2006; Term Expires 2013 |
Financial Services Consultant (since 1996) |
2 | Trustee and Chairman, The Select Sector SPDR Trust (since 1999); Trustee, Liberty All-Star Equity Fund (since 2006).
| ||||
Richard W. Lowry (Age 74) |
Director Since 1994; Term Expires 2013; Chairman since 2004
|
Private Investor (since 1987) |
2 | Trustee and Chairman, Liberty All-Star Equity Fund (since 1986).
| ||||
John J. Neuhauser (Age 67) |
Director Since 1998; Term Expires 2012 |
President, St. Michaels College (since August, 2007); University Professor December 2005-2007, Boston College (formerly Academic Vice President and Dean of Faculties, from August 1999 to December 2005, Boston College)
|
2 | Trustee, Liberty All-Star Equity Fund (since 1998); Trustee, Columbia Funds Series Trust I (66 funds). | ||||
Richard C. Rantzow (Age 72) |
Director Since 2006; Term expires 2011 |
Retired; Chairman of the Board of First Funds (from 1992 to July, 2006) |
2 | Director, Clough Global Allocation Fund (since 2004), Clough Global Equity Fund (since 2005) and Clough Global Opportunities Fund (since 2006); Trustee, Liberty All-Star Equity Fund (since 2006). |
* | The address for all Directors and Officers is: c/o ALPS Fund Services, Inc., 1290 Broadway, Suite 1100; Denver, CO 80203. |
www.all-starfunds.com |
ASG |
32 | LIBERTY ALL-STAR® GROWTH FUND | |||||
DIRECTORS AND OFFICERS (UNAUDITED) |
INTERESTED DIRECTOR
NAME AND ADDRESS*
|
POSITION WITH GROWTH FUND, LENGTH OF SERVICE AND TERM OF OFFICE
|
PRINCIPAL OCCUPATION(S) DURING PAST FIVE YEARS
|
NUMBER OF PORTFOLIOS IN FUND COMPLEX OVERSEEN BY DIRECTOR
|
OTHER DIRECTORSHIPS HELD
| ||||
Edmund J. Burke (Age 50)** |
Director Since 2006; Term expires 2012 |
CEO and a Director of ALPS Holdings, Inc. (since 2005); Director, ALPS Advisors (since 2001), ALPS Distributors, Inc. (since 2000) and ALPS (since 2000); President and a Director of ALPS Financial Services, Inc. (1991-2005) |
2 | President (since 2001), Trustee and Chairman (since 2009), Financial Investors Trust; Trustee and President, Clough Global Allocation Fund (Trustee since 2006, President since 2004); Trustee and President, Clough Global Equity Fund (Trustee since 2006, President since 2005); Trustee and President Clough Global Opportunities Fund (since 2006); Trustee, Liberty All-Star Equity Fund (since 2006); formerly, President Reaves Utility Income Fund and Financial Investors Variable Insurance Trust. | ||||
OFFICERS | ||||||||
NAME AND ADDRESS*
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POSITION WITH GROWTH FUND
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YEAR FIRST ELECTED OR APPOINTED TO OFFICE
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PRINCIPAL OCCUPATION(S) DURING PAST FIVE YEARS
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William R. Parmentier, Jr. (Age 57) |
President | 1999 | Chief Investment Officer, ALPS Advisors, Inc. (since 2006); President and Chief Executive Officer of the Liberty All-Star Funds (since April, 1999); Senior Vice President (2005-2006), Banc of America Investment Advisors, Inc.
| |||||
Mark T. Haley, CFA (Age 46) |
Senior Vice President | 1999 | Senior Vice President of the Liberty All-Star Funds (since January, 1999). Vice President, ALPS Advisors, Inc. (since 2006); Vice President, Banc of America Investment Advisors (1999-2006).
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Edmund J. Burke (Age 50) |
Vice President | 2006 | Director of ALPS (since 2005), Director of ALPS Advisors (since 2001), President and a Director of ALPS Financial Services, Inc. (1991-2005). See above for other Directorships held.
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* | The address for all Directors and Officers is: c/o ALPS Fund Services, Inc., 1290 Broadway, Suite 1100; Denver, CO 80203. |
** | Mr. Burke is an interested person of the Fund as defined in the Investment Company Act, because he is an officer of ALPS and ALPS Advisors. |
ANNUAL REPORT DECEMBER 31, 2010 |
LIBERTY ALL-STAR® GROWTH FUND | 33 | |||||
DIRECTORS AND OFFICERS (UNAUDITED) |
OFFICERS (continued)
NAME AND ADDRESS*
|
POSITION WITH GROWTH FUND
|
YEAR FIRST ELECTED OR APPOINTED TO OFFICE
|
PRINCIPAL OCCUPATION(S) DURING PAST FIVE YEARS
| |||
Jeremy O. May (Age 40) |
Treasurer |
2006 |
Mr. May is a President and Director of ALPS. Mr. May joined ALPS in 1995. Because of his position with ALPS, Mr. May is deemed an affiliate of the Fund as defined under the 1940 Act. Mr. May is currently the Treasurer of Liberty All-Star Equity Fund, Reaves Utility Income Fund, Clough Global Equity Fund, Clough Global Allocation Fund, Clough Global Opportunities Fund, Financial Investors Trust, and Financial Investors Variable Insurance Trust. Mr. May is also on the Board of Directors of the University of Colorado Foundation.
| |||
Kimberly R. Storms (Age 38) |
Assistant Treasurer |
2006 |
Ms. Storms is Director of Fund Administration and Vice- President of ALPS. Ms. Storms joined ALPS in 1998. Because of her position with ALPS, Ms. Storms is deemed an affiliate of the Fund as defined under the 1940 Act. Ms. Storms is also Assistant Treasurer of the Liberty All-Star Equity Fund, and Financial Investors Trust and Assistant Secretary of Ameristock Mutual Fund, Inc.She is Treasurer of ALPS ETF Trust and ALPS Variable Insurance Trust. Ms. Storms was previously Assistant Treasurer of the Clough Global Equity, Clough Global Allocation, Clough Global Opportunities and Reaves Utility Income Funds.
| |||
Melanie H. Zimdars (Age 34) |
Chief Compliance Officer |
2009 |
Deputy Chief Compliance Officer with ALPS Fund Services, Inc. since September 2009. Principal Financial Officer, Treasurer and Secretary, Wasatch Funds, February 2007 to December 2008. Assistant Treasurer, Wasatch Funds, November 2006 to February 2007. Senior Compliance Officer, Wasatch Advisors, Inc., 2005 to 2008. Ms. Zimdars is currently the CCO for Liberty All- Star Equity Fund, Financial Investors Variable Insurance Trust, ALPS ETF Trust, Grail Advisors ETF Trust, EGA Emerging Global Shares Trust and ALPS Variable Insurance Trust.
| |||
Stephanie Barres (Age 44) |
Secretary |
2008 |
Ms. Barres is Senior Paralegal with ALPS, since 2005. Secretary, Liberty All-Star Growth Fund, Inc. since December 2008. Director, Broker Dealer Compliance, INVESCO Funds Group, Inc., 1997-2004. |
* | The address for all Officers is: c/o ALPS Fund Services, Inc., 1290 Broadway, Suite 1100; Denver, CO 80203. |
www.all-starfunds.com |
ASG |
34 | LIBERTY ALL-STAR® GROWTH FUND | |||||
PRIVACY POLICY (UNAUDITED) |
ANNUAL REPORT DECEMBER 31, 2010 |
LIBERTY ALL-STAR® GROWTH FUND | 35 | |||||
DESCRIPTION OF LIPPER BENCHMARK AND MARKET INDICES (UNAUDITED) ) |
www.all-starfunds.com |
ASG |
36 | LIBERTY ALL-STAR® GROWTH FUND | |||||
NOTES |
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ANNUAL REPORT DECEMBER 31, 2010 |
Item 2. Code of Ethics.
(a) | The registrant has, as of the end of the period covered by this report, adopted a code of ethics that applies to the registrants principal executive officer, principal financial officer, principal accounting officer or controller, or persons performing similar functions, regardless of whether these individuals are employed by the registrant or a third party. |
(b) | The registrants Board adopted, effective December 10, 2007, a revised code of ethics described in 2(a) above. There have been no revisions to the code since that date. |
(c) | During the period covered by this report, there were not any waivers or implicit waivers to a provision of the code of ethics adopted in 2(a) above. |
Item 3. Audit Committee Financial Expert.
The registrants Audit Committee is composed of six of the registrants independent directors who are not affiliated with the registrants investment advisor. The Board has determined that each of the audit committee members is financially literate and that at least one member has accounting or related financial management expertise as used in the New York Stock Exchange definitions of the terms.
Under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, if the Board has not determined that a financial expert, a term based on criteria contained in the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, is serving on the audit committee, it must disclose this fact and explain why the committee does not have such an expert. The Board has determined that none of the members of its audit committee meets the technical requirements of the definition. Moreover, it believes that for the following reasons it is not necessary for a registered investment company such as the registrant, with an audit committee that meets the New York Stock Exchange requirements of financial literacy, to have a financial expert as a member of the committee.
1. | The financial statements of and accounting principles applying to the registrant are relatively straightforward and transparent compared to those of operating companies. The significant accounting issues are valuation of securities and other assets (regulated under the Investment Company Act of 1940 (the 1940 Act) and computed daily), accrual of expenses, allocation of joint expenses shared with other entities, such as insurance premiums, and disclosures of all related party transactions. Equally important is knowledge of the tax laws applying to registered investment companies. None of the accounting issues involving corporate America that have received recent publicity, such as sophisticated derivative transactions and special purpose entities, are present in financial reporting for this registered investment company. |
2. | During the years that the registrant has been filing financial reports under the 1940 Act since its inception in 1986 there has never been a requirement for a financial report or statement to be restated. |
3. | The current members of the audit committee have many years of aggregate experience serving on this audit committee and/or in the Boards judgment, through this experience and experience with other public corporations financial affairs, they have an understanding of the relevant generally accepted accounting principles governing the registrants financial statements, tax laws applying to the registrant, the registrants internal accounting controls and audit committee functions necessary to satisfy the objectives of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act with respect to the financial statements, auditing process and internal controls of the registrant. |
4. | The audit committee has the capability of employing a consultant who satisfies the technical definition of a financial expert and will do so from time to time if circumstances warrant. |
Item 4. Principal Accountant Fees and Services.
(a) Audit Fees. Aggregate Audit Fees billed by the principal accountant for professional services rendered during the fiscal years ended December 31, 2009 and December 31, 2010 are approximately $24,000 and $24,700, respectively.
Audit Fees include amounts related to the audit of the registrants annual financial statements or services that are normally provided by the accountant in connection with statutory and regulatory filings or engagements for those fiscal years.
(b) Audit-Related Fees. Aggregate Audit-Related Fees billed to the registrant by the principal accountant for professional services rendered during the fiscal years ended December 31, 2009 and December 31, 2008 are approximately $200 and $0, respectively.
Audit-Related Fees include amounts for assurance and related services by the principal accountant that are reasonably related to the performance of the audit of the registrants financial statements and are not reported in Audit Fees above
(c) Tax Fees. Aggregate Tax Fees billed by the principal accountant to the registrant for professional services rendered during the fiscal years ended December 31, 2009 and December 31, 2010 are approximately $3,460 and $3,560, respectively.
(d) All Other Fees. Aggregate All Other Fees billed by the principal accountant to the registrant for professional services rendered during the fiscal years ended December 31, 2009and December 31, 2010 are $0 and $0, respectively.
All Other Fees include amounts for products and services provided by the principal accountant, other than the services reported in paragraphs (a) through (c) above.
None of the amounts described in paragraphs (a) through (d) above were approved pursuant to the de minimis exception under paragraph (c)(7)(i)(C) of Rule 2-01 of Regulation S-X. During the fiscal years ended December 31, 2009 and December 31, 2010, there were no Audit-Related Fees, Tax Fees and All Other Fees that were approved for services related directly to the operations and financial reporting of the registrant to the investment advisor (not including any sub-advisor whose role is primarily portfolio management and is subcontracted with or overseen by another investment advisor) and any entity controlling, controlled by, or under common control with such investment advisor that provides ongoing services to the registrant under paragraph (c)(7)(ii) of Rule 2-01 of Regulation S-X.
(e)(1) Audit Committee Pre-Approval Policies and Procedures
The registrants Audit Committee is required to pre-approve the engagement of the registrants independent accountants to provide audit and non-audit services to the registrant and non-audit services to its investment advisor (not including any sub-advisor whose role is primarily portfolio management and is subcontracted with or overseen by another investment advisor) or any entity controlling, controlled by or under common control with such investment advisor that provides ongoing services to the registrant (Advisor Affiliates), if the engagement relates directly to the operations or financial reporting of the registrant, including the fees and other compensation to be paid to the independent accountants.
The Audit Committee has adopted a Policy for Engagement of Independent Accountants for Audit and Non-Audit Services (Policy). The Policy sets forth the understanding of the Audit Committees regarding the engagement of the registrants independent accountants to provide (i) audit and permissible audit-related, tax and other services to the registrant; (ii) non-audit services to the registrants investment advisor (not including any sub-advisor whose role is primarily portfolio management and is subcontracted with or overseen by another investment advisor) and Advisor Affiliates, if the engagement relates directly to the operations or financial reporting of a Fund; and (iii) other audit and non-audit services to the registrants investment advisor (not including any sub-advisor whose role is primarily portfolio management and is subcontracted with or overseen by another investment advisor) and Advisor Affiliates. Unless a type of service receives general pre-approval under the Policy, it requires specific pre-approval by the Audit Committee if it is to be provided by the independent accountants. Pre-approval of non-audit services to the registrant, the registrants investment advisor (not including any sub-advisor whose role is primarily portfolio management and is subcontracted with or overseen by another investment advisor) and Advisor Affiliates may be waived provided that the de minimis requirements set forth in the SECs rules relating to pre-approval of non-audit services are met.
Under the Policy, the Audit Committee may delegate pre-approval authority to any pre-designated member or members who are Independent Directors. The member(s) to whom such authority is delegated must report, for informational purposes only, any pre-approval decisions to the Audit Committee at its next regular meeting. The Audit Committees responsibilities with respect to the pre-approval of services performed by the independent accountants may not be delegated to management.
The Policy requires the Fund Treasurer and/or Director of Board Administration to submit to the Audit Committee, on an annual basis, a schedule of the types of services that are subject to general pre-approval. The schedule(s) provide a description of each type of service that is subject to general pre-approval and, where possible, will provide estimated fee caps for each instance of providing each service. The Audit Committees will review and approve the types of services and review the projected fees for the next fiscal year and may add to, or subtract from, the list of general pre-approved services from time to time based on subsequent determinations. That approval acknowledges that each Audit Committee is in agreement with the specific types of services that the independent accountants will be permitted to perform.
(e)(2) The percentage of services described in paragraphs (b) through (d) of this Item approved pursuant to the de minimis exception under paragraph (c)(7)(i)(C) of Rule 2-01 of Regulation S-X during both fiscal years ended December 31, 2009 and December 31, 2010 was zero.
(f) Not applicable.
(g) The aggregate non-audit fees billed by the registrants accountant in each of the last two fiscal years of the Registrant were $176,460 in 2009 and $198,560 in 2010. These fees consisted of non-audit fees billed to (i) the Registrant of $3,460 in 2009 and $3,560 in 2010 as described in response to paragraph (c) above and (ii) to ALPS Fund Services, Inc., (AFS), an entity under common control with the ALPS Advisors, Inc., the Registrants investment advisor, $173,000 in 2009 and $195,000 in 2010. The non-audit fees billed to AFS related to SAS 70 services and other compliance related matters.
(h) The registrants Audit Committee has considered whether the provision of non-audit services that were rendered to the registrants advisor (not including any sub-advisor whose role is primarily portfolio management and is subcontracted with or overseen by another investment advisor), and any entity controlling, controlled by, or under common control with the investment advisor that provides ongoing services to the registrant that were not pre-approved pursuant to paragraph (c)(7)(ii) of Rule 2-01 of Regulation S-X, is compatible with maintaining the principal accountants independence. The Audit Committee determined that the provision of such services is compatible with maintaining the principal accountants independence.
Item 5. Audit Committee of Listed Registrants.
The registrant has a separately-designated standing audit committee established in accordance with Section 3(a)(58)(A) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (15 U.S.C. 78c(a)(58)(A)).
As of December 31, 2010, John A. Benning, Thomas W. Brock, George R. Gaspari Richard W. Lowry, John J. Neuhauser, and Richard C. Rantzow are each an independent director and collectively constitute the entire Audit Committee.
Item 6. Schedule.
The registrants Schedule I Investments in securities of unaffiliated issuers (as set forth in 17 CFR 210.12-12) is included in Item 1 of this Form N-CSR.
Item 7. Disclosure of Proxy Voting Policies and Procedures for Closed-End Management Investment Companies.
The Fund has delegated to ALPS Advisors, Inc. (the Advisor) the responsibility to vote proxies relating to portfolio securities held by the Fund. In deciding to delegate this responsibility to the Advisor, the Funds Board reviewed and approved the policies and procedures adopted by the Advisor. These included the procedures that the Advisor follows when a vote presents a conflict between the interests of the Fund and its shareholders and the Advisor, its affiliates, its other clients or other persons.
The Advisors policy is to vote all proxies for Fund securities in a manner considered by the Advisor to be in the best interest of the Fund and its shareholders without regard to any benefit to the Advisor, its affiliates, its other clients or other persons. The Advisor or an affiliate examines each proposal and votes against the proposal, if, in its judgment,
approval or adoption of the proposal would be expected to impact adversely the current or potential market value of the issuers securities. The Advisor or an affiliate also examines each proposal and votes the proxies against the proposal, if, in its judgment, the proposal would be expected to affect adversely the best interest of the Fund. The Advisor or an affiliate determines the best interest of the Fund in light of the potential economic return on the Funds investment.
The Advisor addresses potential material conflicts of interest by having predetermined voting guidelines. For those proposals that require special consideration or in instances where special circumstances may require varying from the predetermined guideline, a Proxy Committee determines the vote in the best interest of the Fund, without consideration of any benefit to the Advisor, its affiliates, its other clients or other persons. The Proxy Committee is composed of representatives of equity investments, equity research, compliance, legal and fund administration functions. In addition to the responsibilities described above, the Proxy Committee has the responsibility to review, on a semi-annual basis, the Advisors proxy voting policies to ensure consistency with internal and regulatory agency policies and to develop additional predetermined voting guidelines to assist in the review of proxy proposals.
The Proxy Committee may vary from a predetermined guideline if it determines that voting on the proposal according to the predetermined guideline would be expected to impact adversely the current or potential market value of the issuers securities or to affect adversely the best interest of the client. References to the best interest of a client refer to the interest of the client in terms of the potential economic return on the clients investment. In determining the vote on any proposal, the Proxy Committee does not consider any benefit other than benefits to the owner of the securities to be voted. A member of the Proxy Committee is prohibited from voting on any proposal for which he or she has a conflict of interest by reason of a direct relationship with the issuer or other party affected by a given proposal. Persons making recommendations to the Proxy Committee or its members are required to disclose to the Committee any relationship with a party making a proposal or other matter known to the person that would create a potential conflict of interest.
The Advisor has retained Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS), a third party vendor, to implement its proxy voting process. ISS provides proxy analysis, record keeping services and vote disclosure services.
Item 8. Portfolio Managers of Closed-End Management Investment Companies.
M.A. Weatherbie & Co., Inc. (M.A. Weatherbie)
MANAGEMENT. Matthew A. Weatherbie, CFA is the person responsible for managing the portion of the Fund allocated to M.A. Weatherbie. Mr. Weatherbie is the Chief Investment Officer, President and Portfolio Manager of M.A. Weatherbie, which he founded in December 1995. Mr. Weatherbies prior experience as a portfolio manager was at Putnam Investments from 1983-1995 where he managed the Putnam Voyager Fund. Between 1973 and 1983, he was a securities analyst and then a portfolio manager of MFS (Massachusetts Financial Services) Emerging Growth Trust. He has earned the right to use the CFA Institute Chartered Financial Analyst designation.
OTHER ACCOUNTS. The table below provides information regarding the other accounts managed by Matthew A. Weatherbie as of December 31, 2010:
Type of Account |
Number of Accounts Managed |
Total Assets Managed (in millions) |
Number of Accounts Managed For which Advisory Fee is Performance Based |
Assets Managed for (in millions) | ||||||||
Matthew A.Weatherbie |
||||||||||||
Registered Investment Companies |
1 | $48.7 | 0 | N/A | ||||||||
Other Pooled Investment Vehicles |
2 | $113.2 | 2 | $113.2 | ||||||||
Other Accounts |
26 | $845.2 | 0 | N/a |
COMPENSATION STRUCTURE. As the sole owner of M.A. Weatherbie, Matthew A. Weatherbies compensation is directly related to the overall profitability of M.A. Weatherbie. Mr. Weatherbie receives a fixed base salary, profit sharing (pre-tax/deferred compensation) and earnings from the company, if any, at year end under the rules of Sub-Chapter S of the Internal Revenue Code. All compensation is pre-tax. There is no difference between the method used to determine compensation with respect to the Fund and the other accounts managed by Mr. Weatherbie, except that a performance allocation may be payable by the other pooled investment vehicles managed by M.A. Weatherbie.
OWNERSHIP BY PORTFOLIO MANAGER. Mr. Weatherbie does not own any shares of the Fund.
CONFLICTS OF INTEREST: None
TCW Investment Management Company (TCW)
MANAGEMENT. The first portion of the Fund allocated to TCW is managed by Brendt Stallings and Husam Nazer.
R. Brendt Stallings, CFA, Group Managing Director, U.S. Equities Mr. Stallings is the Senior Portfolio Manager of TCWs Growth Equities strategy and co-head of TCWs Small and Mid-Cap Growth Equities team. Mr. Stallings co-founded Growth Equities in 1999 and has been its lead manager since January 2003. He came to TCW in 1996, joining the U.S. Equity Research Department as an Analyst, and in 1998 joined the Small and Mid-Cap Growth Equities team. On the team, his analytic responsibilities have included many of the groups investments in the business services, retail, financial services and technology industries. Prior to TCW, he worked for Chancellor LGT Asset Management (GT Global) and Andersen Consultings Strategic Services Division. He is a Director of Inglewood Park Cemetery, a Director of the Roosevelt Memorial Park Association (where he chairs its Investment Committee), and is a Trustee of the Laurence School. Mr. Stallings holds a BA in Decision Analysis and Political Science from Stanford University (1990) and an MBA from the Amos Tuck School at Dartmouth College (1995). He is a CFA charterholder.
Husam H. Nazer, Group Managing Director, U.S. Equities Mr. Nazer is the Senior Portfolio Manager of the Small Cap Growth and SMID Cap Growth strategies. Mr. Nazer founded the SMID Cap Growth strategy in 2003 and in January 2005 began leading the Small Cap Growth strategy. Mr. Nazer has been a member of the Small and Mid-Cap Growth Equities team since 2000. He joined TCWs U.S. Equity Research Department in 1995 where he made substantial contributions analyzing the health care, retail and technology industries. Mr. Nazer graduated with a BS in Biomedical Engineering from Boston University in 1994 and earned an MBA at the University of Southern California in 1997.
The second portion of the Fund allocated to TCW is managed by Craig C. Blum, CFA, Portfolio Manager, Group Managing Director, U.S. Equities Mr. Blum is portfolio manager of the TCW Concentrated Core strategy and the TCW Select Equities Fund. He joined TCW in 1999 as a research analyst in the U.S. Equity Research group covering data networking, communications equipment, and enterprise technology companies. In 2002, Mr. Blum became a member of the Concentrated Core/Select Equities group and was subsequently named portfolio manager in 2004. Prior to TCW, Mr. Blum was a commercial mortgage-backed securities analyst at FMAC Capital Markets and PaineWebber. Mr. Blum began his investment career in 1994 as a financial advisor for Merrill Lynch. He received his BS in Applied Mathematics and Computer Science from the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA), and his MBA from the UCLA Anderson Graduate School of Management. Mr. Blum is a CFA charterholder.
OTHER ACCOUNTS. The table below provides information about the other accounts managed by Messrs. Stallings and Nazer and Blum, as of December 31, 2010:
Type of Account | Number of
Accounts Managed |
Total Assets (in millions) |
Number of Accounts
Managed for which Advisory Fee is Performance Based |
Assets Managed for which (in millions) | ||||
R. Brendt Stallings |
||||||||
Registered Investment Companies |
4 | $375.5 | 0 | 0 | ||||
Other Pooled Investment Vehicles |
8 | $215.5 | 1 | $60.8 | ||||
Other Accounts |
18 | $1,954.4 | 1 | $623.4 | ||||
Husan Nazer |
||||||||
Registered Investment Companies |
5 | $1,154.7 | 0 | 0 | ||||
Other Pooled Investment Vehicles |
3 | $244.5 | 0 | 0 | ||||
Other Accounts |
19 | $1,600.2 | 1 | $623.4 | ||||
Craig C. Blum |
||||||||
Registered Investment Companies |
3 | $788.4 | 0 | 0 | ||||
Other Pooled Investment Vehicles |
6 | $421.6 | 2 | $43.2 | ||||
Other Accounts |
52 | $2,713.5 | 2 | $330.1 |
Portfolio Managers Compensation
The overall objective of the compensation program for portfolio managers is for the Advisor to attract what it considers competent and expert investment professionals and to retain them over the long-term. Compensation is comprised of several components which, in the aggregate are designed to achieve these objectives and to reward the portfolio managers for their contribution to the success of their clients and the Advisor and its affiliates within The TCW Group (collectively, TCW). Portfolio managers are compensated through a combination of base salary, profit sharing based compensation (profit sharing), bonus and equity incentive participation in the Advisors immediate parent, The TCW Group, Inc. and/or ultimate parent, Société Générale (equity incentives). Profit sharing and equity incentives generally represent most of the portfolio managers compensation. In some cases, portfolio managers are eligible for discretionary bonuses.
Salary. Salary is agreed to with managers at time of employment and is reviewed from time to time. It does not change significantly and often does not constitute a significant part of the portfolio managers compensation.
Profit Sharing. Profit sharing is linked quantitatively to a fixed percentage of income relating to accounts in the investment strategy area for which the portfolio managers are responsible and is paid quarterly. Profit sharing may be determined on a gross basis, without the deduction of expenses; in other cases, revenues are allocated to a pool and profit sharing compensation is paid out after the deduction of group expenses. The profit sharing percentage used to compensate a portfolio manager for management of the Fund is generally the same as that used to compensate them for all other client accounts they manage in the same strategy for TCW, with limited exceptions involving grandfathered accounts (accounts that become clients of TCW before or after a specified date or former clients of a manager that joined TCW from another firm), firm capital of TCW or accounts sourced through a distinct distribution channel. Income included in a profit sharing pool will relate to the products managed by the portfolio manager. In some cases, the pool includes revenues related to more than one equity or fixed income product where the portfolio managers work together as a team, in which case each participant in the pool is entitled to profit sharing derived from all the included products. In certain cases, a portfolio manager may also participate in a profit sharing pool that includes revenues from products besides the strategy offered in the Fund, including alternative investment products (as described below); the portfolio manager would be entitled to participate in such pool where he or she supervises, is involved in the management of, or is associated with a group, other members of which manage, such products. Profit sharing arrangements are generally the result of agreement between the portfolio manager and TCW, although in some cases they may be discretionary based on supervisor allocation.
In some cases, the profit sharing percentage is subject to increase based on the relative pre-tax performance of the investment strategy composite returns, net of fees and expenses, to that of the benchmark. The measurement of performance relative to the benchmark can be based on single year or multiple year metrics, or a combination thereof. The benchmark used is the one associated with the Fund managed by the portfolio manager as disclosed in the prospectus. Benchmarks vary from strategy to strategy but, within a given strategy, the same benchmark applies to all accounts, including the Fund.
Certain accounts of TCW (but not the Fund) have a performance (or incentive) fee in addition to or in lieu of an asset-based fee. For these accounts, the profit sharing pool from which the portfolio managers profit sharing compensation is paid will include the performance fees. For investment strategies investing in marketable securities such as those employed in the Fund, the performance fee normally consists of an increased asset-based fee, the increased percentage of which is tied to the performance of the account relative to a benchmark (usually the benchmark associated with the strategy). In these marketable securities strategies, the profit sharing percentage applied relative to performance fees is generally the same as it is for the asset-based fees chargeable to the Fund. In the case of alternative investment strategies, performance fees are based on the account achieving net gains over a specified rate of return to the account or to a class of securities in the account. Profit sharing for alternative investment strategies may also include structuring or transaction fees. Alternative investment strategies include (a) mezzanine or other forms of privately placed financing, distressed investing, private equity, project finance, real estate investments, leveraged strategies (including short sales) and other similar strategies not employed by the Fund or (b) strategies employed by the Funds that are offered in structured vehicles, such as collateralized loan obligations or collateralized debt obligations or in private funds (sometimes referred to as hedge funds). In the case of certain alternative investment products in which a portfolio manager may be entitled to profit sharing compensation, the profit sharing percentage for performance fees may be lower or higher than the percentage applicable to the asset-based fees.
Discretionary Bonus/Guaranteed Minimums. In general, portfolio managers do not receive discretionary bonuses. However, in some cases bonuses may be paid on a discretionary bonus out of a departmental profit sharing pool, as determined by the supervisor(s) in the department. In other cases, where portfolio managers do not receive profit sharing or where the company has determined the combination of salary and profit sharing does not adequately compensate the portfolio manager, discretionary
bonuses may be paid by TCW. Also, pursuant to contractual arrangements, some portfolio managers may be entitled to a mandatory bonus if the sum of their salary and profit sharing does not meet certain minimum thresholds.
Equity Incentives. Many portfolio managers participate in equity incentives based on overall firm performance of TCW and its affiliates, through stock ownership or participation in stock option or stock appreciation plans of TCW and/or Société Générale. The TCW 2005 TCW Stock Option Plan provides eligible portfolio managers the opportunity to participate in an effective economic interest in TCW, the value of which is tied to TCWs annual financial performance as a whole. Participation is generally determined in the discretion of TCW, taking into account factors relevant to the portfolio managers contribution to the success of TCW. Portfolio managers participating in the TCW 2005 TCW Stock Option Plan also generally participate in Société Générales Stock Option Plan which grants options on its common stock, the value of which may be realized after certain vesting requirements are met. The TCW 2005 Stock Option Plan has been closed for new issuances and TCW is in the process of establishing a new equity-based plan in which portfolio managers will have an opportunity to participate. In connection with TCWs acquisition of Metropolitan West Asset Management LLC (the MW Acquisition) in 2010, a Retention Award Plan was established pursuant to which certain portfolio managers in the fixed income area will be entitled to awards in the form of cash and/or TCW stock, either on a contractually-determined basis or on a discretionary basis. Also, in connection with the MW Acquisition, certain portfolio managers will receive TCW stock as part of a contingent deferred purchase price. Some portfolio managers are direct stockholders of Société Générale, as well.
Other Plans and Compensation Vehicles. Portfolio managers may also participate in a deferred compensation plan that is generally available to a wide-range of officers of TCW, the purpose of which is to allow the participant to defer portions of income to a later date while accruing earnings on a tax-deferred basis based on performance of TCW-managed products selected by the participant. Portfolio managers may also elect to participate in TCWs 401(k) plan, to which they may contribute a portion of their pre- and post-tax compensation to the plan for investment on a tax-deferred basis.
Potential conflicts of interest in managing multiple accounts
Like other investment professionals with multiple clients, a portfolio manager for a Fund may face certain potential conflicts of interest in connection with managing both the Fund and other accounts at the same time. The paragraphs below describe some of these potential conflicts, which may be faced by investment professionals at most major financial firms. ALPS Advisors, Inc. and the Fund have adopted compliance policies and procedures that attempt to address certain of these potential conflicts.
The management of accounts with different advisory fee rates and/or fee structures, including accounts that pay advisory fees based on account performance (performance fee accounts), may raise potential conflicts of interest by creating an incentive to favor higher-fee accounts. These potential conflicts may include, among others:
| The most attractive investments could be allocated to higher-fee accounts or performance fee accounts. |
| The trading of higher-fee accounts could be favored as to timing and/or execution price. For example, higher-fee accounts could be permitted to sell securities earlier than other accounts when a prompt sale is desirable or to buy securities at an earlier and more opportune time. |
| The trading of other accounts could be used to benefit higher-fee accounts (front- running). |
| The investment management team could focus their time and efforts primarily on higher-fee accounts due to a personal stake in compensation. |
Potential conflicts of interest may also arise when the portfolio managers have personal investments in other accounts that may create an incentive to favor those accounts.
A potential conflict of interest may arise when a Fund and other accounts purchase or sell the same securities. On occasions when a portfolio manager considers the purchase or sale of a security to be in the best interests of a Fund as well as other accounts, the advisers trading desk may, to the extent permitted by applicable laws and regulations, aggregate the securities to be sold or purchased in order to obtain the best execution and lower brokerage commissions, if any. Aggregation of trades may create the potential for unfairness to a Fund or another account if one account is favored over another in allocating the securities purchased or sold for example, by allocating a disproportionate amount of a security that is likely to increase in value to a favored account.
Cross trades, in which one account sells a particular security to another account (potentially saving transaction costs for both accounts), may also pose a potential conflict of interest. Cross trades may be seen to involve a potential conflict of interest if, for example, one account is permitted to sell a security to another account at a higher price than an independent third party would pay. The Fund has adopted compliance procedures that provide that any transactions between a Fund and another advised account are to be made at an independent current market price, as required by law.
Another potential conflict of interest may arise based on the different investment objectives and strategies of a Fund and other accounts. For example, another account may have a shorter-term investment horizon or different investment objectives, policies or restrictions than a Fund. Depending on another accounts objectives or other factors, a portfolio manager may give advice and make decisions that may differ from advice given, or the timing or nature of decisions made, with respect to a Fund. In addition, investment decisions are the product of many factors in addition to basic suitability for the particular account involved. Thus, a particular security may be bought or sold for certain accounts even though it could have been bought or sold for other accounts at the same time. More rarely, a particular security may be bought for one or more accounts managed by a portfolio manager when one or more other accounts are selling the security (including short sales). There may be circumstances when purchases or sales of portfolio securities for one or more accounts may have an adverse effect on other accounts.
A Funds portfolio manager who is responsible for managing multiple funds and/or accounts may devote unequal time and attention to the management of those funds and/or accounts. As a result, the portfolio manager may not be able to formulate as complete a strategy or identify equally attractive investment opportunities for each of those accounts as might be the case if he or she were to devote substantially more attention to the management of a single fund. The effects of this potential conflict may be more pronounced where funds and/or accounts overseen by a particular portfolio manager have different investment strategies.
A Funds portfolio managers may be able to select or influence the selection of the brokers and dealers that are used to execute securities transactions for the Fund. In addition to executing trades, some brokers and dealers provide portfolio managers with brokerage and research services (as those terms are defined in Section 28(e) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934), which may result in the payment of higher brokerage fees than might have otherwise be available. These services may be more beneficial to certain funds or accounts than to others. Although the payment of brokerage commissions is subject to the requirement that the portfolio manager determine in good faith that the commissions are reasonable in relation to the value of the brokerage and research services provided to the fund, a portfolio managers decision as to the selection of brokers and dealers could yield disproportionate costs and benefits among the funds and/or accounts that he or she manages.
The adviser or an affiliate may provide more services (such as distribution or recordkeeping) for some types of funds or accounts than for others. In such cases, a portfolio manager may benefit, either directly or indirectly, by devoting disproportionate attention to the management of fund and/or accounts that provide greater overall returns to the investment manager and its affiliates.
A Funds portfolio manager(s) may also face other potential conflicts of interest in managing the Fund, and the description above is not a complete description of every conflict that could be deemed to exist in managing both a Fund and other accounts. In addition, a Funds portfolio manager may also manage other accounts (including their personal assets or the assets of family members) in their personal capacity. The management of these accounts may also involve certain of the potential conflicts described above. Investment personnel at the advisers, including each Funds portfolio manager, are subject to restrictions on engaging in personal securities transactions pursuant to Codes of Ethics adopted by the adviser.
Each of the Funds sub-advisers has trade allocation and other policies and procedures that it believes are reasonably designed to address these and other potential conflicts of interest.
Item 9. Purchases of Equity Securities by Closed-End Management Investment Company and Affiliated Purchasers.
During the fiscal year ended December 31, 2010, there were no purchases made by or on behalf of the registrant or any affiliated purchaser, as defined in Rule 10b-18(a)(3) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (Exchange Act), of shares or other units of any class of the registrants equity securities that are registered by the registrant pursuant to Section 12 of the Exchange Act.
Item 10. Submission of Matters to a Vote of Security Holders.
There have not been any material changes to the procedures by which shareholders may recommend nominees to the registrants board of directors, since those procedures were last disclosed in response to the requirements of Item 7(d)(2)(ii)(G) of Schedule 14A or this Item.
Item 11. Controls and Procedures.
(a) | The registrants principal executive officer and principal financial officers, based on their evaluation of the registrants disclosure controls and procedures as of a date within 90 days of the filing of this report, have concluded that such controls and procedures are adequately designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed by the registrant in Form N-CSR is accumulated and communicated to the registrants management, including the principal executive officer and principal financial officer, or persons performing similar functions, as appropriate to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure. |
(b) | There were no changes in the registrants internal control over financial reporting that occurred during the registrants second fiscal quarter of the period covered by this report that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, the registrants internal control over financial reporting. |
Item 12. Exhibits.
(a)(1) The registrants Code of Ethics for Principal Executive and Senior Financial Officers that applies to the registrants principal executive officer and principal financial officer and as described in Item 2 hereof is incorporated by reference to Exhibit-99-12(a)(1) to the registrants Form N-CSR for its fiscal year ended December 31, 2007, filed electronically with the Securities and Exchange Commission on March 7, 2008.
(a)(2) Certifications pursuant to Rule 30a-2(a) under the Investment Company Act of 1940 (17 CFR 270.30a-2(a)) attached hereto as Exhibit 99.CERT.
(a)(3) Not applicable.
(b) Certification pursuant to Rule 30a-2(b) under the Investment Company Act of 1940 (17 CFR 270.30a-2(b)) attached hereto as Exhibit 99.906CERT.
SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and the Investment Company Act of 1940, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.
LIBERTY ALL-STAR GROWTH FUND, INC. | ||||
By: | /s/ William R. Parmentier, Jr. |
|||
William R. Parmentier, Jr. (Principal Executive Officer) | ||||
President | ||||
Date: | March 7, 2011 |
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and the Investment Company Act of 1940, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.
LIBERTY ALL-STAR GROWTH FUND, INC. | ||||
By: | /s/William R. Parmentier, Jr. |
|||
William R. Parmentier, Jr. (Principal Executive Officer) | ||||
President | ||||
Date: | March 7, 2011 | |||
By: | /s/ Jeremy O. May |
|||
Jeremy O. May (Principal Financial Officer) | ||||
Treasurer | ||||
Date: | March 7, 2011 |