STATEMENT OF ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
DATED SEPTEMBER 17, 2018
Liberty All-Star Growth® Fund, Inc.
1290 Broadway, Suite 1100
Denver, Colorado 80203
(800) 241-1850
Table of Contents
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This Statement of Additional Information is not a prospectus and is authorized for distribution to prospective investors only if preceded or accompanied by the prospectus of the Liberty All-Star Growth Fund, Inc. (the “Fund”) dated ______, 2018, as may be supplemented from time to time (the “Prospectus”), which is incorporated herein by reference. This Statement of Additional Information should be read in conjunction with the Prospectus, a copy of which may be obtained without charge by contacting your financial intermediary or calling the Fund at (800) 241-1850.
Capitalized terms used in this Statement of Additional Information and not otherwise defined have the meanings given them in the Prospectus.
Additional Investment Information and Restrictions
Primary investment strategies are described in the Prospectus. The following is a description of the various investment policies that may be engaged in, whether as a primary or secondary strategy, and a summary of certain attendant risks. ALPS Advisors, Inc. (“AAI” or the “Advisor”) may not buy any of the following instruments or use any of the following techniques unless it believes that doing so will help to achieve the Fund’s investment objective.
Investment Objective and Policies
The Fund’s investment objective is to seek long-term capital appreciation. Under normal market conditions, the Fund seeks to achieve its investment objective through investing at least 65% of its net assets in a diversified portfolio of equity securities.
Although under normal market conditions the Fund will remain substantially fully invested in equity securities, up to 35% of the value of the Fund’s total assets may generally be invested in obligations of the U.S. Government and its agencies and instrumentalities (“U.S. Government Securities”), repurchase agreements with respect to U.S. Government Securities, and, to an extent not greater than 10% of the market value of the Fund’s total assets, money market mutual funds that invest primarily in U.S. Government Securities. The Fund may temporarily invest without limit in U.S. Government Securities, repurchase agreements and money market mutual funds for defensive purposes when AAI or the Portfolio Managers deem that market conditions are such that a more conservative approach to investment is desirable.
The Fund’s investment objective of long-term capital appreciation, as well as certain of its investment restrictions referred to in this Statement of Additional Information, are fundamental and may not be changed without a majority vote of the Fund’s outstanding shares. Under the 1940 Act, a “majority vote” means the vote of the lesser of (a) 67% of the shares of All-Star represented at a meeting at which the holders of more than 50% of the outstanding shares of the Fund are present or represented, or (b) more than 50% of the outstanding shares of the Fund. Non-fundamental policies may be changed by vote of the Board of Directors.
Exchange-Traded Funds
The Fund may invest in exchange traded funds (“ETFs”). ETFs are ownership interests in unit investment trusts, depositary receipts, and other pooled investment vehicles that are traded on an exchange and that hold a portfolio of securities or stocks (the “Underlying Securities”).
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The Underlying Securities are typically selected to correspond to the stocks or other securities that comprise a particular broad based, sector or international index, or that are otherwise representative of a particular industry sector. An investment in an ETF involves risks similar to investing directly in each of the Underlying Securities, including the risk that the value of the Underlying Securities may fluctuate in accordance with changes in the financial condition of their issuers, the value of stocks and other securities generally, and other market factors.
The performance of an ETF will be reduced by transaction and other expenses, including fees paid by the ETF to service providers. Investors in ETFs are eligible to receive their portion of dividends, if any, accumulated on the securities held in the portfolio, less fees and expenses of the ETF. Typically, ETFs are investment companies. However, the term is used in the industry in a broad way to include securities issued by entities that are not investment companies. To the extent an ETF is an investment company, the limitations applicable to the Fund’s ability to purchase securities issued by other investment companies will apply.
Options and Futures Strategies
The Fund may seek to increase the current return of the Fund’s portfolio by writing covered call or put options with respect to the types of securities in which the Fund is permitted to invest. Call options written by the Fund give the purchaser the right for a stated period to buy the underlying securities from the Fund at a stated price; put options written by the Fund give the purchaser the right for a stated period to sell the underlying securities to the Fund at a stated price. By writing a call option, the Fund limits its opportunity to profit from any increase in the market value of the underlying security above the exercise price of the option; by writing a put option, the Fund assumes the risk that it may be required to purchase the underlying security at a price in excess of its current market value.
The Fund may purchase put options to protect its portfolio holdings in the underlying security against a decline in market value. It may purchase call options to hedge against an increase in the prices of portfolio securities that it plans to purchase. By purchasing put or call options, the Fund, for the premium paid, acquires the right (but not the obligation) to sell (in the case of a put option) or purchase (in the case of a call option) the underlying security at the option exercise price, regardless of the then current market price.
The Fund may also seek to hedge against declines in the value of securities owned by it or increases in the price of securities it plans to purchase, or to gain or maintain market exposure, through the purchase of stock index futures and related options. For example, the Fund may purchase stock index futures and related options to enable a newly appointed Portfolio Manager to gain immediate exposure to underlying securities markets pending the investment of the portion of the Fund’s portfolio assigned to it. A stock index future is an agreement in which one party agrees to deliver to the other an amount of cash equal to a specific dollar amount times the difference between the value of the specific stock index at the close of the last trading day of the contract and the price at which the agreement is made.
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Expenses and losses incurred as a result of the hedging strategies described above will reduce the Fund’s current return.
Transactions in options and futures contracts may not achieve the intended goals of protecting portfolio holdings against market declines or gaining or maintaining market exposure, as applicable, to the extent that there is an imperfect correlation between the price movements of the options and futures contracts and those of the securities to be hedged. In addition, if a Portfolio Manager’s prediction on stock market movements is inaccurate, the Fund may be worse off than if it had not engaged in such options or futures transactions.
Writing Covered Put and Call Options on Securities
The Fund may write covered call options and covered put options on optionable securities of the types in which it is permitted to invest from time-to-time as its respective Portfolio Managers determine is appropriate in seeking to attain its objectives. Call options written by the Fund give the holder the right to buy the underlying securities from the Fund at a stated exercise price; put options give the holder the right to sell the underlying security to the Fund at a stated price.
The Fund may write only covered options, which means that, so long as the Fund is obligated as the writer of a call option, it will own the underlying securities subject to the option (or comparable securities satisfying the cover requirements of securities exchanges). In the case of put options, the Fund will maintain in a separate account cash or short-term U.S. Government Securities with a value equal to or greater than the exercise price of the underlying securities. The Fund may also write combinations or covered puts and calls on the same underlying security.
The Fund will receive a premium from writing a put or call option, which increases the Fund’s return in the event the option expires unexercised or is closed out at a profit. The amount of the premium will reflect, among other things, the relationship of the market price of the underlying security to the exercise price of the option, the term of the option and the volatility of the market price of the underlying security. By writing a call option, the Fund limits its opportunity to profit from any increase in the market value of the underlying security above the exercise price of the option. By writing a put option, the Fund assumes the risk that it may be required to purchase the underlying security for an exercise price higher than its then current market value, resulting in a potential capital loss if the purchase price exceeds the market value plus the amount of the premium received, unless the security subsequently appreciates in value.
The Fund may terminate an option that it has written prior to its expiration by entering into a closing purchase transaction in which it purchases an option having the same terms as the option written. The Fund will realize a profit or loss from such transaction if the cost of such transaction is less or more than the premium received from the writing of the option. In the case of a put option, any loss so incurred may be partially or entirely offset by the premium received from a simultaneous or subsequent sale of a different put option. Because increases in the market price of a call option will generally reflect increases in the market price of the underlying security, any loss resulting from the repurchase of a call option is likely to be offset in whole or in part by unrealized appreciation of the underlying security owned by the Fund.
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Purchasing Put and Call Options on Securities
The Fund may purchase put options to protect its portfolio holdings in an underlying security against a decline in market value. Such hedge protection is provided during the use of the put options since the Fund, as holder of the put option, is able to sell the underlying security at the put exercise price regardless of any decline in the underlying security’s market price. In order for a put option to be profitable, the market price of the underlying security must decline sufficiently below the exercise price to cover the premium and transaction costs. By using put options in this manner, the Fund will reduce any profit it might otherwise have realized in its underlying security by the premium paid for the put option and by transaction costs.
The Fund may also purchase call options to hedge against an increase in prices of securities that it wants ultimately to buy. Such hedge protection is provided during the life of the call option since the Fund, as holder of the call option, is able to buy the underlying security at the exercise price regardless of any increase in the underlying security’s market price. In order for a call option to be profitable, the market price of the underlying security must rise sufficiently above the exercise price to cover the premium and transaction costs. By using call options in this manner, the Fund will reduce any profit it might have realized had it bought the underlying security at the time it purchased the call option by the premium paid for the call option and by transaction costs.
Purchase and Sale of Options and Futures on Stock Indices
The Fund may purchase and sell options on stock indices and stock index futures as a hedge against movements in the equity markets.
Options on stock indices are similar to options on specific securities except that, rather than the right to take or make delivery of the specific security at a specified price, an option on a stock index gives the holder the right to receive, upon exercise of the option, an amount of cash if the closing level of that stock index is greater than, in the case of a call, or less than, in the case of a put, the exercise price of the option. This amount of cash is equal to such difference between the closing price of the index and the exercise price of the option expressed in dollars times a specified multiple. The writer of the option is obligated, in return for the premium received, to make delivery of this amount. Unlike options on specific securities, all settlements of options on stock indices are in cash and gain or loss depends on general movements in the stocks included in the index rather than price movements in particular stocks.
A stock index futures contract is an agreement in which one party agrees to deliver to the other an amount of cash equal to a specific dollar amount times the difference between the value of a specific stock index at the close of the last trading day of the contract and the price at which the agreement is made. No physical delivery of securities is made.
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If a Portfolio Manager of the Fund expects general stock market prices to rise, it might purchase a call option on a stock index or a futures contract on that index as a hedge against an increase in prices of particular equity securities it wants ultimately to buy. If in fact the stock index does rise, the price of the particular equity securities intended to be purchased may also increase, but that increase would be offset in part by the increase in the value of the Fund’s index option or futures contract resulting from the increase in the index. If, on the other hand, the Portfolio Manager expects general stock market prices to decline, it might purchase a put option or sell a futures contract on the index. If that index does in fact decline, the value of some or all of the equity securities in the Fund’s portfolio may also be expected to decline, but that decrease would be offset in part by the increase in the value of the Fund’s position in such put option or future. The Fund may purchase call options on a stock index or a futures contracts on that index to enable a newly appointed Portfolio Manager to gain immediate exposure to the underlying securities market pending the investment in individual securities of the portion of the Fund’s portfolio assigned to it.
In connection with transactions in stock index options, futures and related options, the Fund will be required to deposit as “initial margin” an amount of cash and short-term U.S. Government Securities equal to 5% to 8% of the contract amount. Thereafter, subsequent payments (referred to as “variation margin”) are made to and from the broker to reflect changes in the value of the futures contract.
Options on Stock Index Futures Contracts
The Fund may purchase and write call and put options on stock index futures contracts. The Fund may use such options on futures contracts in connection with its hedging strategies in lieu of purchasing and writing options directly on the underlying securities or stock indices or purchasing and selling the underlying futures. For example, the Fund may purchase put options or write call options on stock index futures, rather than selling futures contracts, in anticipation of a decline in general stock market prices, or purchase call options or write put options on stock index futures, rather than purchasing such futures, to hedge against possible increases in the price of equity securities that the Fund intends to purchase.
Risk Factors in Options and Futures Transactions
The effective use of options and futures strategies is dependent, among other things, on the Fund’s ability to terminate options and futures positions at times when its respective Portfolio Managers deem it desirable to do so. Although the Fund will not enter into an option or futures position unless its Portfolio Managers believe that a liquid secondary market exists for such option or future, there is no assurance that the Fund will be able to effect closing transactions at any particular time or at an acceptable price. The Fund generally expects that its option and futures transactions will be conducted on recognized securities exchanges. In certain instances, however, the Fund may purchase and sell options in the over-the-counter market. The Fund’s ability to terminate option positions established in the over-the-counter market may be more limited than in the case of exchange-traded options and may also involve the risk that securities dealers participating in such transactions would fail to meet their obligations to the Fund.
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The use of options and futures involves the risk of imperfect correlation between movements in options and future prices and movements in the price of securities that are the subject of the hedge. Such correlation, particularly with respect to options on stock indices and stock index futures, is imperfect, and such risk increases as the composition of the Fund’s portfolio diverges from the composition of the relevant index. The successful use of these strategies also depends on the ability of the Portfolio Manager to correctly forecast interest rate or general stock market price movements.
Regulatory Matters
The Fund will conduct its purchases and sales of futures contracts and writing of related options transactions in accordance with the rules, regulations and any exemptions promulgated by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and the SEC with respect to such transactions.
Bank Obligations
Bank obligations in which the Fund may invest include certificates of deposit, bankers’ acceptances, and fixed time deposits. Certificates of deposit are negotiable certificates issued against funds deposited in a commercial bank for a definite period of time and earning a specified return. Bankers’ acceptances are negotiable drafts or bills of exchange, normally drawn by an importer or exporter to pay for specific merchandise, which are “accepted” by a bank, meaning, in effect, that the bank unconditionally agrees to pay the face value of the instrument on maturity. Fixed time deposits are bank obligations payable at a stated maturity date and bearing interest at a fixed rate. Fixed time deposits may be withdrawn on demand by the investor but may be subject to early withdrawal penalties, which vary depending upon market conditions and on the right to transfer a beneficial interest in a fixed time deposit to a third party, although there is no market for such deposits.
Bank obligations include foreign bank obligations, including Eurodollar and Yankee obligations. Eurodollar bank obligations are dollar certificates of deposits and time deposits issued outside the U.S. capital markets by foreign branches of U.S. banks and by foreign banks. Yankee obligations are dollar-denominated obligations issued in the U.S. capital markets by foreign banks. Foreign bank obligations are subject to the same risks that pertain to domestic issues, notably credit risk and interest rate risk. Additionally, foreign bank obligations are subject to many of the same risks as investments in foreign securities (see “Foreign Equity Securities” below). Obligations of foreign banks involve somewhat different investment risks than those affecting obligations of U.S. banks, including the possibilities that their liquidity could be impaired because of future political and economic developments of the foreign bank’s country; that their obligations may be less marketable than comparable obligations of U.S. banks; that a foreign jurisdiction might impose withholding taxes on interest income payable on those obligations; that foreign deposits may be seized or nationalized; that foreign governmental restrictions such as exchange controls may be adopted, which might adversely affect the payment of principal and interest on those obligations; and that the selection of those obligations may be more difficult because there may be less publicly available information concerning foreign banks or the accounting, auditing, and financial reporting standards, practices, and requirements applicable to foreign banks may differ from those applicable to U.S. banks. Foreign banks are not generally subject to examination by any U.S. Government agency or instrumentality.
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Commercial Paper
A1 and Prime 1 are the highest commercial paper ratings issued by Standard & Poor’s, a division of The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. (“S&P”), and Moody’s Investors Service, Inc. (“Moody’s”), respectively. Commercial paper rated A1 by S&P has the following characteristics: (1) liquidity ratios are adequate to meet cash requirements; (2) long-term senior debt is rated A or better; (3) the issuer has access to at least two additional channels of borrowing; (4) basic earnings and cash flow have an upward trend with an allowance made for unusual circumstances; (5) typically, the issuer’s industry is well established and the issuer has a strong position within the industry; and (6) the reliability and quality of management are unquestioned.
Among the factors considered by Moody’s in assigning ratings are the following: (1) evaluation of the management of the issuer; (2) economic evaluation of the issuer’s industry or industries and an appraisal of speculative-type risks that may be inherent in certain areas; (3) evaluation of the issuer’s products in relation to competition and customer acceptance; (4) liquidity; (5) amount and quality of long-term debt; (6) trend of earnings over a period of 10 years; (7) financial strength of a parent company and the relationships that exist with the issuer; and (8) recognition by the management of obligations that may be present or may arise as a result of public interest questions and preparation to meet such obligations.
Government Securities
Government securities may be either direct obligations of the U.S. Treasury or may be the obligations of an agency or instrumentality of the United States.
Treasury Obligations. The U.S. Treasury issues a variety of marketable securities that are direct obligations of the U.S. Government. These securities fall into three categories - bills, notes, and bonds - distinguished primarily by their maturity at time of issuance. Treasury bills have maturities of one year or less at the time of issuance, while Treasury notes currently have maturities of one to 10 years. Treasury bonds can be issued with any maturity of more than 10 years.
Obligations of Agencies and Instrumentalities. Agencies and instrumentalities of the U.S. Government are created to fill specific governmental roles. Their activities are primarily financed through securities whose issuance has been authorized by Congress. Agencies and instrumentalities include the Export Import Bank, Federal Housing Administration, Government National Mortgage Association, Tennessee Valley Authority, Banks for Cooperatives, Farmers Home Administration, Federal Home Loan Banks, Federal Intermediate Credit Banks, Federal Land Banks, Federal National Mortgage Association, Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp., U.S. Postal System, and Federal Finance Bank. Although obligations of “agencies” and “instrumentalities” are not direct obligations of the U.S. Treasury, payment of the interest or principal on these obligations is generally backed directly or indirectly by the U.S. Government. This support can range from backing by the full faith and credit of the United States or U.S. Treasury guarantees to the backing solely of the issuing instrumentality itself.
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Foreign Equity Securities
Foreign equity securities include common stock and preferred stock, including securities convertible into equity securities, issued by foreign companies, American Depositary Receipts (“ADRs”) and Global Depositary Receipts (“GDRs”). In determining whether a company is foreign, AAI will consider various factors, including where the company is headquartered, where the company’s principal operations are located, where the company’s revenues are derived, where the principal trading market is located and the country in which the company was legally organized. The weight given to each of these factors will vary depending upon the circumstances.
Foreign equity securities, which are generally denominated in foreign currencies, involve risks not typically associated with investing in domestic securities. Foreign securities may be subject to foreign taxes that would reduce their effective yield. Certain foreign governments levy withholding taxes against dividend and interest income. Although in some countries a portion of these taxes is recoverable, the unrecovered portion of any foreign withholding taxes would reduce the income the Fund receives from its foreign investments.
Foreign investments involve other risks, including possible political or economic instability of the country of the issuer, the difficulty of predicting international trade patterns, and the possibility of currency exchange controls. Foreign securities may also be subject to greater fluctuations in price than domestic securities. There may be less publicly available information about a foreign company than about a domestic company. Foreign companies generally are not subject to uniform accounting, auditing, and financial reporting standards comparable to those of domestic companies.
There is generally less government regulation of stock exchanges, brokers, and listed companies abroad than in the United States. In addition, with respect to certain foreign countries, there is a possibility of the adoption of a policy to withhold (or increase existing withholding) taxes on dividends at the source or of expropriation, nationalization, confiscatory taxation, or diplomatic developments that could affect investments in those countries. Finally, in the event of default on a foreign debt obligation, it may be more difficult for the Fund to obtain or enforce a judgment against the issuers of the obligation. The Fund will normally execute its portfolio securities transactions on the principal stock exchange on which the security is traded.
The considerations noted above regarding the risk of investing in foreign securities are generally more significant for investments in emerging or developing countries, such as countries in Eastern Europe, Latin America, South America or Southeast Asia. These countries may have relatively unstable governments and securities markets in which only a small number of securities trade. Markets of developing or emerging countries may generally be more volatile than markets of developed countries. Investment in these markets may involve significantly greater risks, as well as the potential for greater gains.
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ADRs in registered form are dollar-denominated securities designed for use in the U.S. securities markets. ADRs are sponsored and issued by domestic banks and may be converted into underlying foreign securities deposited with the domestic bank or a correspondent bank. ADRs do not eliminate the risks inherent in investing in the securities of foreign issuers. By investing in ADRs rather than directly in the foreign security, however, the Fund may avoid currency risks during the settlement period for either purchases or sales. Because ADRs are denominated in U.S. dollars and there is a large, liquid market in the United States for most ADRs, ADRs are not considered foreign securities for purposes of calculating the Fund’s foreign securities exposure.
GDRs are receipts representing an arrangement with a major foreign bank similar to that for ADRs. GDRs are not necessarily denominated in the currency of the underlying security. GDRs will generally be considered foreign securities for purposes of calculation of any investment limitation placed on the Fund’s exposure to foreign securities. However, these securities, along with the securities of foreign companies traded on the NASDAQ Stock Market, will not be subject to any of the restrictions placed on the Fund’s ability to invest in emerging market securities.
Additional costs may be incurred in connection with the Fund’s foreign investments. Foreign brokerage commissions are generally higher than those in the United States. Expenses may also be incurred on currency conversions when the Fund moves investments from one country to another. Increased custodian costs as well as administrative difficulties may be experienced in connection with maintaining assets in foreign jurisdictions.
Foreign Fixed Income Securities
Foreign fixed income securities include debt securities of foreign corporate issuers; certain foreign bank obligations (see “Bank Obligations”), obligations of foreign governments or their subdivisions, agencies and instrumentalities; and obligations of supranational entities such as the World Bank, the European Investment Bank, and the Asian Development Bank. Any of these securities may be denominated in foreign currency or U.S. dollars, or may be traded in U.S. dollars in the United States although the underlying security is usually denominated in a foreign currency.
The risk of investing in foreign fixed income securities is the same as the risks of investing in foreign equity securities. Additionally, investment in sovereign debt (debt issued by governments and their agencies and instrumentality) can involve a high degree of risk. The governmental entity that controls the repayment of sovereign debt may not be available or willing to repay the principal and/or interest when due in accordance with the terms of the debt. A governmental entity’s willingness or ability to repay principal and interest due in a timely manner may be affected by, among other factors, its cash flow situation, the extent of its foreign reserves, the availability of sufficient foreign exchange on the date a payment is due, the relative size of the debt service burden to the economy as a whole, the governmental entity’s policy toward the International Monetary Fund, and the political constraints to which a governmental entity may be subject. Governmental entities may also depend on expected disbursements from foreign governments, multilateral agencies and others to reduce principal and interest arrearages on their debt. The commitment on the part of these governments, agencies and others to make such disbursements may be conditioned on a governmental entity’s implementation of economic reforms and/or economic performance and the timely service of such debtor’s obligations. Failure to implement such reforms, achieve such levels of economic performance or repay principal or interest when due may result in the cancellation of such third parties’ commitments to lend funds to the governmental entity, which may further impair such debtor’s ability or willingness to service its debts in a timely manner. Consequently, governmental entities may default on their sovereign debt. Holders of sovereign debt (including the Fund) may be requested to participate in the rescheduling of such debt and to the extent further loans to governmental entities. There is no bankruptcy proceeding by which sovereign debt on which governmental entities have defaulted may be collected in whole or in part.
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Currency Contracts
The value of the Fund’s investments in foreign securities will fluctuate as a result of changes in the exchange rates between the U.S. dollar and the currencies in which the foreign securities or bank deposits held by the Fund are denominated. To reduce or limit exposure to changes in currency exchange rates (referred to as “hedging”), the Fund may enter into forward currency exchange contracts that, in effect, lock in a rate of exchange during the period of the forward contracts. Forward contracts are usually entered into with currency traders, are not traded on securities exchanges, and usually have a term of less than one year, but can be renewed. A default on a forward contract would deprive the Fund of unrealized profits or force the Fund to cover its commitments for purchase or sale of currency, if any, at the market price. The Fund will enter into forward contracts only for hedging purposes and not for speculation. If required by the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”), or the SEC, the Fund may “cover” its commitment under forward contracts by segregating cash or liquid securities with the Fund’s custodian in an amount not less than the current value of its total assets committed to the consummation of the contracts. Under normal market conditions, no more than 25% of the Fund’s assets may be committed to the consummation of currency exchange contracts.
The Fund may also purchase or sell foreign currencies on a “spot” (cash) basis or on a forward basis to lock in the U.S. dollar value of a transaction at the exchange rate or rates then prevailing. The Fund will use this hedging technique in an attempt to insulate itself against possible losses resulting from a change in the relationship between the U.S. dollar and the relevant foreign currency during the period between the date a security is purchased or sold and the date on which payment is made or received.
Hedging against adverse changes in exchange rates will not eliminate fluctuation in the prices of the Fund’s portfolio securities or prevent loss if the prices of those securities decline. In addition, the use of forward contracts may limit potential gains from an appreciation in the U.S. dollar value of a foreign currency. Forecasting short-term currency market movements is very difficult, and there is no assurance that short-term hedging strategies used by the Fund will be successful.
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Repurchase Agreements
The Fund may invest in repurchase agreements, which are agreements by which the Fund purchases a security and simultaneously commits to resell that security to the seller (a commercial bank or securities dealer) at a stated price within a number of days (usually not more than seven) from the date of purchase. The resale price reflects the purchase price plus a rate of interest that is unrelated to the coupon rate or maturity of the purchased security. Repurchase agreements may be considered loans by the Fund collateralized by the underlying security. The obligation of the seller to pay the stated price is in effect secured by the underlying security. The seller will be required to maintain the value of the collateral underlying any repurchase agreement at a level at least equal to the price of the repurchase agreement. In the case of default by the seller, the Fund could incur a loss. In the event of a bankruptcy proceeding commenced against the seller, the Fund may incur costs and delays in realizing upon the collateral. The Fund will enter into repurchase agreements only with those banks or securities dealers that are deemed creditworthy pursuant to criteria adopted by AAI. There is no limit on the portion of the Fund’s assets that may be invested in repurchase agreements with maturities of seven days or less. Not more than 10% of the Fund’s net assets will be invested in repurchase agreements maturing in more than seven days.
Borrowing
The Fund may borrow from banks for temporary administrative purposes. The Fund also may enter into certain transactions, including reverse repurchase agreements, mortgage dollar rolls, and sale-buybacks, that can be viewed as constituting a form of borrowing or financing transaction by the Fund. To the extent the Fund covers its commitment under such transactions (or economically similar transaction) by the segregation of assets determined in accordance with procedures adopted by the Fund’s Board of Directors (“Board of Directors” or “Board”)), equal in value to the amount of the Fund’s commitment to repurchase, such an agreement will not be considered a “senior security” by the Fund and therefore will not be subject to the 300% asset coverage requirement otherwise applicable to borrowings by the Fund. Borrowing will tend to exaggerate the effect on net asset value of any increase or decrease in the market value of the Fund’s portfolio. Money borrowed will be subject to interest costs that may or may not be recovered by appreciation of the securities purchased. The Fund also may be required to maintain minimum average balances in connection with such borrowing or to pay a commitment or other fee to maintain a line of credit; either of these requirements would increase the cost of borrowing over the stated interest rate.
Illiquid Securities
Illiquid securities are securities that may not be sold or disposed of in the ordinary course of business within seven days at approximately the price used to determine the Fund’s net asset value. Under current interpretations of the staff of the SEC, the following instruments in which the Fund may invest will be considered illiquid: (1) repurchase agreements maturing in more than seven days; (2) restricted securities (securities whose public resale is subject to legal restrictions, except as described in the following paragraph); (3) options, with respect to specific securities, not traded on a national securities exchange that are not readily marketable; and (4) any other securities in which the Fund may invest that are not readily marketable.
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The Fund may also purchase without limit certain restricted securities that can be resold to qualifying institutions pursuant to a regulatory exemption under Rule 144A (“Rule 144A securities”). If a dealer or institutional trading market exists for Rule 144A securities, such securities are deemed to be liquid.
Investments in Small and Unseasoned Companies
An unseasoned company is an entity with a limited operating history. Unseasoned and small companies may have unprofitable operating histories, limited financial resources, and inexperienced management. In addition, they often face competition from larger or more established firms that have greater resources. Securities of small and unseasoned companies are frequently traded in the over-the-counter market or on regional exchanges where low trading volumes may result in erratic or abrupt price movements. To dispose of these securities, the Fund may need to sell them over an extended period or below the original purchase price. Investments by the Fund in these small or unseasoned companies may be regarded as speculative.
Zero-Coupon and Pay-in-Kind Securities
A zero-coupon security has no cash coupon payments. Instead, the issuer sells the security at a substantial discount from its maturity value. The interest equivalent received by the investor from holding this security to maturity is the difference between the maturity value and the purchase price. Pay-in-kind securities are securities that pay interest in either cash or additional securities, at the issuer’s option, for a specified period. The price of pay-in-kind securities is expected to reflect the market value of the underlying accrued interest since the last payment. Zero-coupon and pay-in-kind securities are more volatile than cash pay securities. The Fund accrues income on these securities prior to the receipt of cash payments. The Fund intends to distribute substantially all of its income to its shareholders to qualify for pass-through treatment under the tax laws and may, therefore, need to use its cash reserves to satisfy distribution requirements.
Cyber Security
In connection with the increased use of technologies such as the Internet and the dependence on computer systems to perform necessary business functions, the Fund is susceptible to operational, information security, and related risks due to the possibility of cyber-attacks or other incidents. Cyber incidents may result from deliberate attacks or unintentional events. Cyber-attacks include, but are not limited to, infection by computer viruses or other malicious software code, gaining unauthorized access to systems, networks, or devices that are used to service the Fund’s operations through hacking or other means for the purpose of misappropriating assets or sensitive information, corrupting data, or causing operational disruption. Cyber-attacks may also be carried out in a manner that does not require gaining unauthorized access, such as causing denial-of-service attacks (which can make a website unavailable) on the Fund’s website. In addition, authorized persons could inadvertently or intentionally release confidential or proprietary information stored on the Fund’s systems.
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Cyber security failures or breaches by the Fund’s third party service providers (including, but not limited to, AAI, the custodian and transfer agent) or the New York Stock Exchange (the “NYSE”), may cause disruptions and impact the service providers’ and the Fund’s business operations, potentially resulting in financial losses, the inability of Fund shareholders to transact business or process transactions, inability to calculate the Fund’s net asset value, violations of applicable privacy and other laws, regulatory fines, penalties, reputational damage, reimbursement or other compensation costs, and/or additional compliance costs. The Fund and its shareholders could be negatively impacted as a result of successful cyber-attacks against, or security breakdowns of, the Fund or its third party service providers.
The Fund may incur substantial costs to prevent or address cyber incidents in the future. In addition, there is a possibility that certain risks have not been adequately identified or prepared for. Furthermore, the Fund cannot directly control any cyber security plans and systems put in place by third party service providers. Cyber security risks are also present for issuers of securities in which the Fund invests, which could result in material adverse consequences for such issuers, and may cause the Fund’s investment in such securities to lose value.
Except as indicated otherwise, the following investment restrictions have been adopted for the Fund as fundamental policies and may be changed only by a majority vote (as defined under “Investment Objective, Policies and Risks” in the Prospectus) of the Fund’s outstanding shares. Non-fundamental policies may be changed by the Board of Directors without shareholder approval.
The Fund may not:
(1) With respect to 75% of its total assets, invest in securities of any one issuer if immediately after and as a result of such investment more than 5% of the total assets of the Fund, taken at market value, would be invested in the securities of such issuer. This restriction does not apply to investments in U.S. Government Securities.
(2) Purchase more than 10% of the outstanding voting securities, or any class of securities, of any one issuer.
(3) Invest 25% or more of its total assets, taken at market value at the time of each investment, in the securities of issuers in any particular industry. This restriction does not apply to investments in U.S. Government Securities.
(4) Purchase securities of other investment companies; except in connection with a merger, consolidation, acquisition or reorganization, if more than 10% of the market value of the Fund’s total assets would be invested in securities of other investment companies, more than 5% of the market value of the Fund’s total assets would be invested in the securities of any one investment company or the Fund would own more than 3% of any other investment company’s securities.
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(5) Purchase or sell commodities or real estate; provided that the Fund may invest in securities secured by real estate or interests therein or issued by companies which invest in real estate or interests therein.
(6) Purchase any securities on margin or make short sales of securities, except that the Fund may obtain such short-term credit as may be necessary for the clearance of purchases and sales of portfolio securities.
(7) Make loans of money, except by the purchase of debt obligations in which the Fund may invest consistent with its investment objective and policies. Although there is no present intention of doing so in the foreseeable future, the Fund reserves the authority to make loans of its portfolio securities in an aggregate amount not exceeding 20% of its total assets. Any such loans will only be made upon approval of, and subject to any conditions imposed by, the Fund’s Board of Directors.
(8) Borrow money, except that the Fund may borrow from banks and other financial institutions on an unsecured basis to finance the repurchase of its shares. The Fund also may borrow money on a secured basis from banks as a temporary measure for extraordinary or emergency purposes. Such temporary borrowings may not exceed 5% of the value of the Fund’s total assets at the time the loan is made. The Fund may pledge up to 10% of the lesser of the cost or value of its total assets to secure temporary borrowings. The Fund will not borrow for investment purposes. Immediately after any borrowing, the Fund will maintain asset coverage of not less than 300% with respect to all borrowings. While the Fund’s borrowings exceed 5% of its total assets, the Fund will make no further purchases of securities, although this limitation will not apply to share repurchase transactions.
(9) Issue senior securities, as defined in the Investment Company Act of 1940 (the “Act”), or mortgage, pledge, hypothecate or in any manner transfer, as security for indebtedness, any securities owned or held by the Fund except as may be necessary in connection with borrowings mentioned in (8) above, and then such mortgaging, pledging or hypothecating may not exceed 10% of the Fund’s total assets, taken at the lesser of cost or market value.
(10) Underwrite securities of other issuers except insofar as the Fund may be deemed an underwriter under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, in selling portfolio securities.
(11) Invest more than 10% of the Fund’s total assets in securities that at the time of purchase have legal or contractual restrictions on resale (including unregistered securities that are eligible for resale pursuant to Rule 144A under the Securities Act of 1933).
Except for the 300% limitation referred to in Investment Restriction No. 8 above, if a percentage restriction on investment or utilization of assets as set forth above is adhered to at the time an investment is made, a later change in percentage resulting from a change in the market values of the Fund’s assets will not be considered a violation of the restriction.
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If a percentage restriction on investment or utilization of assets as set forth above is adhered to at the time an investment is made, a later change in percentage resulting from a change in the market values of the Fund’s assets will not be considered a violation of the restriction.
The names of the Directors and Officers of the Fund, 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.
Disinterested Directors
Name
(Year of Birth) |
Position
With the |
Principal
Occupation(s) |
Number
of |
Other Directorships Held |
John A. Benning (1934)
|
Director
since 2002; Term expires 2020 |
Retired since December, 1999 | 2 | Trustee, Liberty All-Star Equity Fund (since 2002) |
Thomas W. Brock (1947)
|
Director
since 2005; Chairman since 2015; Term expires 2018 |
Chief Executive Officer, Silver Bay Realty (June 2016 – May 2017); Acting Chief Executive Officer, Silver Bay Realty (January 2016 – June 2016); Director, Silver Bay Realty (December 2012 – May 2017); Adjunct Professor, Columbia University Graduate School of Business (since 1998) | 2 | Trustee, Liberty All-Star Equity Fund (since 2005); Trustee, Equitable AXA Annuity Trust (since January 2016), and 1290 Funds (since January 2016) |
George R. Gaspari (1940)
|
Director since 2006; Term expires 2019
|
Financial Services Consultant (1996-2012)
|
2 | Trustee, Liberty All-Star Equity Fund (since 2006); Trustee (since 1999) and Chairman — Audit Committee, The Select Sector SPDR Trust (since January 2015) |
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Name
(Year of Birth) |
Position
With the |
Principal
Occupation(s) |
Number
of |
Other Directorships Held |
John J. Neuhauser (1943)
|
Director
since 1998; Term expires 2018 |
President, St. Michael’s 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 Fund Funds Series Trust I (since 1985). |
Richard C. Rantzow (1938)
|
Director since 2006, Term expires 2020
|
Retired, Ernst & Young Partner (independent registered public accounting firm)(1993); Chief Financial Officer, Miller Sports (1993-1998) | 2 | Trustee, Liberty All-Star Equity Fund (since 2006). |
Maureen K. Usifer (1960)
|
Director
since 2018; Term expires 2020 |
Board Member Green Mountain Care Board (2017-Present), Board Advisor, Healthy Living Market (2017-Present), Board of Trustees, Saint Michael’s College (2015-Present), and Chief Financial Officer, Seventh Generation, Inc. (2012-2016) | 2 | Trustee, Liberty All-Star Equity Fund (since 2018); Director, BlackRock Capital Investment Corporation (since 2005) |
Interested Directors
Name
(Year of Birth) |
Position
With the |
Principal
Occupation(s) |
Number
of |
Other Directorships Held |
Edmund J. Burke (1961)**
|
Director since 2006, Term expires 2018
|
Chief Executive Officer and President of ALPS Holdings, Inc., and ALPS Advisors, Inc. (since 2001), and Director of ALPS Distributors, Inc. (since 2000), ALPS Fund Services, Inc., (since 2000) and ALPS Portfolio Solutions Distributor, Inc. (since 2013). Mr. Burke is also a Director of Boston Financial Data Services (since 2013) and is a Trustee and President of Clough Funds Trust. | 27 | Trustee, Liberty All-Star Equity Fund (since 2006); Trustee (since 2009) and President (since 2002), Financial Investors Trust, Trustee (since 2004) and President (since 2006), Clough Global Dividend and Income Fund, Trustee (since 2006) and President (since 2005), Clough Global Equity Fund, Trustee and President (since 2006), Clough Global Opportunities Fund, and Trustee and President of Clough Funds Trust. Mr. Burke is deemed an affiliate of the Funds as defined under the 1940 Act. |
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* | The address for all Directors 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 the CEO and President of ALPS Holdings, Inc. |
*** | The “Fund Complex” for the Fund includes the Fund, Liberty All-Star Equity Fund, and any registered investment company advised by AAI or any registered investment company sub-advised by Congress Asset Management Company, LLP, Sustainable Growth Advisers, L.P. and Weatherbie Capital, LLC. |
Officers
Name
(Year of Birth) |
Position with the Fund |
Year
First |
Principal
Occupation(s) |
William
R. (1952)
|
President | 1999 | Chief Investment Officer, ALPS Advisors, Inc. (since 2006); President of the Liberty All-Star Funds (since April 1999); Senior Vice President, Banc of America Investment Advisors, Inc. (2005-2006). Mr. Parmentier is deemed an affiliate of the Funds as defined under the 1940 Act. |
Mark T. Haley, CFA (1964)
|
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). Mr. Haley is deemed an affiliate of the Funds as defined under the 1940 Act. |
Edmund J. Burke (1961)
|
Vice President | 2006 | President and Director of ALPS Holdings, Inc., and ALPS Advisors, Inc. (since 2001), and Director of ALPS Distributors, Inc. (since 2000), ALPS Fund Services, Inc., (since 2000) and ALPS Portfolio Solutions Distributor, Inc. (since 2013). Mr. Burke is also a Director of Boston Financial Data Services (since 2013) and is a Trustee and President of Clough Funds Trust. Mr. Burke is also Vice President of the Liberty All-Star Equity Fund. Mr. Burke is deemed an affiliate of the Funds as defined under the 1940 Act. |
Kimberly R. Storms (1972)
|
Treasurer | 2013 | Director of Fund Administration (since 2004) and Senior Vice President of ALPS Fund Services, Inc. (since 2009). Ms. Storms is currently Treasurer of Liberty All-Star Equity Fund, Financial Investors Trust, ALPS Series Trust, and BPV Family of Funds; and Chief Financial Officer of Arbitrage Funds. Ms. Storms is also on the Board of Directors of the Denver Center for Crime Victims. Ms. Storms is deemed an affiliate of the Funds as defined under the 1940 Act. |
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Name
(Year of Birth) |
Position with the Fund |
Year
First |
Principal
Occupation(s) |
Erin D. Nelson (1977)
|
Chief Compliance Officer | 2015 | Ms. Nelson is Senior Vice President and Chief Compliance Officer of ALPS Advisors, Inc. Prior to 2015, Ms. Nelson was Vice-President and Assistant General Counsel of ALPS. Ms. Nelson is also Chief Compliance Officer of Liberty All-Star Equity Fund, Principal Real Estate Income Fund, ALPS Variable Investment Trust, ALPS ETF Trust and the RiverNorth Opportunities Fund, Inc. Ms. Nelson is deemed an affiliate of the Fund as defined under the 1940 Act. |
Sareena Khwaja-Dixon (1980)
|
Secretary | 2016 | Ms. Khwaja-Dixon joined ALPS in August 2015 and is currently Senior Counsel and Vice President of ALPS Fund Services, Inc. Prior to joining ALPS, Ms. Khwaja-Dixon served as a Senior Paralegal/Paralegal for Russell Investments (2011 – 2015). Ms. Khwaja-Dixon is also Secretary of Liberty All-Star Equity Fund and Assistant Secretary of Clough Dividend and Income Fund, Clough Global Opportunities Fund, Clough Global Equity Fund, Clough Funds Trust and Financial Investors Trust. Ms. Khwaja-Dixon is deemed an affiliate of the Funds as defined under the 1940 Act. |
Jennifer A. Craig (1973)
|
Assistant Secretary | 2017 | Ms. Craig joined ALPS in 2017 and is currently Assistant Vice President and Paralegal Manager of ALPS. Prior to joining ALPS, Ms. Craig was Legal Manager at Janus Capital Management LLC and served as Assistant Secretary of Janus Investment Fund, Janus Adviser Series and Janus Aspen Series. Ms. Craig is also Assistant Secretary of Liberty All-Star Equity Fund, Financial Investors Trust, ALPS Series Trust, Clough Dividend and Income Fund, Clough Global Opportunities Fund, Clough Global Equity Fund and Clough Funds Trust. |
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* | The address of each officer, other than Messrs. Parmentier and Haley is: c/o ALPS Fund Services, Inc., 1290 Broadway, Suite 1100, Denver, CO 80203. The address of Messrs. Parmentier and Haley is c/o ALPS Advisors, Inc., One Financial Center, 4th Floor, Boston, MA 02111. |
Role of the Board of Directors
The Board, which has overall responsibility for the oversight of the Fund’s investment programs and business affairs, believes that it has structured itself in a manner that allows it to effectively perform its oversight obligations. Mr. Brock, the Chairman of the Board (“Chairman”), is an Independent Director. The Directors also complete an annual self-assessment during which the Directors review their overall structure and consider where and how its structure remains appropriate in light of the Fund’s current circumstances. The Chairman’s role is to preside at all meetings of the Board and in between Board meetings to generally act as the liaison between the Board and the Fund’s officers, attorneys and various other service providers, including but not limited to, the Fund’s investment advisor, administrator and other such third parties servicing the Fund.
The Board has two standing committees, each of which enhances the leadership structure of the Board: the Audit Committee and the Nominating and Governance Committee. The Audit Committee and Nominating and Governance Committee are each chaired by, and composed of, members who are Independent Directors.
Audit Committee
Messrs. Benning, Brock, Gaspari, Neuhauser and Rantzow (Committee Chairman) and Ms. Usifer are members of the Audit Committee of the Fund. The Fund’s Audit Committee is comprised only of members who are “Independent Directors” (as defined in the NYSE Listing Standards for Directors/directors of closed-end investment companies) of the Fund and who are also not “interested persons” (as defined in the Investment Company Act) of the Fund. The Board of Directors has determined, in accordance with NYSE Listing Standards, that each member of the Audit Committee is financially literate and that one of its members has prior accounting experience or related financial management expertise.
The Audit Committee has adopted a written Audit Committee charter that sets forth the Audit Committee’s structure, duties and powers, and methods of operation. The principal functions of the Audit Committee are to assist the Board of Directors’ oversight of: (1) the integrity of the Fund’s financial statements; (2) the Fund’s compliance with legal and regulatory requirements; (3) the qualifications and independence of the independent registered public accounting firm (also referred to herein as the independent accountants); (4) the performance of AAI’s internal audit function; and (5) the performance of the independent accountants. The Audit Committee is directly responsible for the appointment, compensation, retention and oversight of the work of the independent accountants (including the resolution of disagreements between management and the independent accountants regarding financial reporting) for the purpose of preparing or issuing an audit report or performing other review or attest services for the Fund.
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Nominating and Governance Committee
The Fund’s Nominating and Governance Committee of the Board of Directors (“Committee”) is comprised of six independent Director namely Messrs. Benning (Chairman), Brock, Gaspari, Neuhauser and Rantzow and Ms. Usifer. The Committee operates pursuant to a Committee Charter (the “Charter”) that was most recently reviewed and approved by the Committee on March 23, 2018. The Committee met four times during the fiscal year ended December 31, 2017. The Charter states that meetings will be held on an as-needed basis, but no less than annually. The Committee is responsible for identifying and recommending to the Board of Directors individuals believed to be qualified to become Board members in the event that a position is vacated or created, and to evaluate the effectiveness of the Board in governing and overseeing the management of the Fund.
The Committee will consider Director candidates recommended by shareholders. In considering candidates submitted by shareholders, the Committee will take into consideration the needs of the Board of Directors, the qualifications of the candidate and the interests of shareholders. Shareholders wishing to recommend candidates to the Committee should submit such recommendations to the Secretary of the Fund at 1290 Broadway, Suite 1100, Denver, CO 80203, who will forward the recommendations to the Committee for consideration. Shareholders wishing to nominate a candidate to be considered at an annual or special meeting must provide timely notice to the Fund and be entitled to vote on the nominee at the time notice is given. All information packages regarding a candidate that are satisfactorily completed in accordance with the Committee’s Charter will be forwarded to the full Board for consideration. Recommendations for candidates will be evaluated in light of whether the number of Directors of the Fund is expected to be increased and in light of anticipated vacancies. The Committee has the sole discretion whether to seek corrections of a deficient submission or to exclude a nominee from consideration.
Shareholders may submit for the Committee’s consideration recommendations regarding potential independent Board member nominees. The Committee Charter (which is available at www.all-starfunds.com) includes Independent Director qualifications and criteria that the Committee will assess in determining whether it will consider a shareholder’s submission. In addition, the By-Laws of the Fund contain detailed requirements regarding qualifications for Independent Directors and information that must be included with any nomination for Independent Director or shareholder proposal.
The following are some of the requirements and criteria in the Committee Charter and By-Laws:
(a) | The nominee must satisfy all qualifications provided under the Committee Charter and in the Fund’s organizational documents, including qualification as a possible independent Board member. |
(b) | The nominee may not be the nominating shareholder, a member of the nominating shareholder group or a member of the immediate family of the nominating shareholder or any member of the nominating shareholder group. |
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(c) | Neither the nominee nor any member of the nominee’s immediate family may be currently employed or employed within the last year by any nominating shareholder entity or entity in a nominating shareholder group. |
(d) | Neither the nominee nor any immediate family member of the nominee is permitted to have accepted directly or indirectly, during the year of the election for which the nominee’s name was submitted, during the immediately preceding calendar year, or during the year when the nominee’s name was submitted, any consulting, advisory, or other compensatory fee from the nominating shareholder or any member of a nominating shareholder group. |
(e) | The nominee may not be an executive officer, Director (or person fulfilling similar functions) of the nominating shareholder or any member of the nominating shareholder group, or of an affiliate of the nominating shareholder or any such member of the nominating shareholder group. |
(f) | The nominee may not control (as that term is defined under the 1940 Act) the nominating shareholder or any member of the nominating shareholder group (or, in the case of a holder or member that is a fund, an interested person of such holder or member as defined by Section 2(a)(19) of the 1940 Act). |
(g) | A shareholder or shareholder group may not submit for consideration a nominee who has previously been considered by the Committee. |
The following is a summary of requirements in the Fund’s By-Laws that must be provided to the Fund regarding the shareholder or shareholder group submitting a proposed nominee and that will be considered by the Committee:
(a) | Information on the proposed nominee, including name, address, age and occupation |
(b) | Information on shares owned beneficially and of record. |
(c) | Descriptions of any agreements, arrangements, or understandings (including profit interest or options) involving the Proposed Nominee and any other shareholder of record or beneficially. |
(d) | A description of all commercial and business relationships and all transactions the Proposed Nominee has had with any other shareholder of record or beneficially. |
(e) | A representation that the Proposed Nominee will qualify as a non-interested Director under Section 2(a)(19) of the Investment Company Act of 1940 and rules thereunder. |
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(f) | A representation that the Proposed Nominee meets the Director Qualifications set forth on Article II of the Fund’s By-laws. |
(g) | Such other information requested by the Committee required to be disclosed in a proxy statement. |
(h) | Written consent of the Proposed Nominee to being named a nominee and to serving as a Director. |
(i) | A certificate that the Proposed Nominee will not become a party to any agreement, arrangement or understanding not disclosed to the Fund. |
The nominee must provide to the Committee all information requested by the Committee that is related to the requirements and criteria in the Committee Charter and By-Laws.
When considering prospective nominees, the Committee may consider, among other things, a prospective nominee’s general experience, qualifications, attributes and such other qualifications as the Committee may deem appropriate from time to time. These qualifications may include whether prospective nominees have distinguished records in their primary careers, unimpeachable integrity and substantive knowledge in areas important to the Board’s operations, such as background or education in finance, auditing, securities law, the workings of the securities markets or investment advice. For candidates to serve as Independent Directors, independence from the Fund’s investment advisor, its affiliates and other principal service providers is critical, as is an independent and questioning mind-set. In each case, the Committee will evaluate whether a candidate is an “interested person” under the 1940 Act. The Committee will also consider whether a prospective candidate’s workload should allow him or her to attend the vast majority of Board meetings, be available for service on Board committees and devote the additional time and effort necessary to stay apprised of Board matters and the rapidly changing regulatory environment in which the Fund operates. Different substantive areas may assume greater or lesser significance at particular times, in light of a Board’s present composition and its perceptions about future issues and needs. In considering nominees, the Committee will also consider the diversity of the Board with respect to professional experience, education, skill and viewpoint.
The Committee will initially evaluate prospective candidates on the basis of their resumes, considered in light of the criteria discussed above. Those prospective candidates that appear likely to be able to fill a significant need of the Board would be contacted by a Independent Director by telephone to discuss the position; if there appears to be sufficient interest, an in-person meeting with one or more Independent Directors will be arranged. If the Committee, based on the results of these contacts, believes it has identified a viable candidate, it will air the matter with the full Board for input. Any request by Fund management to meet with the prospective candidate would be given appropriate consideration. The Fund has not paid a fee to third parties to assist in finding nominees.
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Oversight of Risk Management
Consistent with their responsibility for oversight of the Fund, the Board oversees the management of risks relating to the administration and operation of the Fund. AAI, as part of its responsibilities for the day-to-day operations of the Fund, is responsible for day-to-day risk management for the Fund. The Board, in the exercise of its reasonable business judgment, also separately consider potential risks that may impact the Fund. The Board performs this risk management oversight directly and, as to certain matters, through the Audit Committee and through the Board members who are not Independent Directors. The following provides an overview of the principal, but not all, aspects of the Board’s oversight of risk management for the Fund.
In general, the Fund’s risks include, among others, investment performance and investment risk, credit risk, liquidity risk, valuation risk, compliance risk and operational risk. The Board has adopted, and periodically reviews, policies and procedures designed to address these and other risks to the Fund. In addition, under the general oversight of the Board, AAI and other service providers to the Fund have themselves adopted a variety of policies, procedures and controls designed to address particular risks to the Fund. Different processes, procedures and controls are employed with respect to different types of risks. Further, AAI, as the Fund’s investment manager, oversees and regularly monitors the investments, operations and compliance of the Fund’s Portfolio Managers.
The Board also oversees risk management of the Fund through review of regular reports, presentations and other information from officers of the Fund and other persons. Senior officers of the Fund, senior officers of AAI and the Fund’s CCO regularly report to the Board on a range of matters, including those relating to risk management. The Board also regularly receives reports from AAI with respect to the investments and securities trading activities of the Fund, as well as the premium or discount to net asset value at which the Fund’s shares are trading on the NYSE. In addition to regular reports from AAI, the Board receives reports regarding other service providers to the Fund, either directly or through AAI or the Fund’s CCO, on a periodic or regular basis. At least annually, the Board receives a report from the Fund’s CCO regarding the effectiveness of the Fund’s compliance program. Also, on an annual basis, the Board receives reports, presentations and other information from AAI in connection with the Board’s consideration of the renewal of the Fund’s agreements with AAI and the Portfolio Managers.
Senior officers of the Fund and senior officers of AAI also report regularly to the Fund’s Audit Committee on valuation matters and on the Fund’s internal controls and accounting and financial reporting policies and practices. In addition, the Audit Committee receives regular reports from the Fund’s auditors on internal control and financial reporting matters. On at least a quarterly basis, the Independent Directors meet with the Fund’s CCO to discuss matters relating to the Fund’s compliance programs. The Board’s oversight role does not make the Board a guarantor of the Fund’s investments or activities.
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Share Ownership
The following table shows the dollar range of equity securities beneficially owned by each Director in the Fund as of December 31, 2017 (i) in the Fund, and (ii) in all funds overseen by the Director in the Family of Investment Companies.
Name of Director | Dollar
Range of Equity Securities Owned in the Fund |
Aggregate
Dollar Range of Equity Securities Owned in All Funds Overseen by Director in Family of Investment Companies* |
Disinterested Directors | ||
John A. Benning | $10,001 - $50,000 | Over $100,000 |
Thomas W. Brock | Over $100,000 | Over $100,000 |
George R. Gaspari | $1 - $10,000 | $10,001 - $50,000 |
John J. Neuhauser | $1 - $10,000 | $1 - $10,000 |
Richard C. Rantzow | $10,001 - $50,000 | $10,001 - $50,000 |
Maureen K. Usifer** | None | None |
Interested Director | ||
Edmund J. Burke | None | None |
* | “Family of Investment Companies” includes the Fund and All-Star Equity Fund. |
** | Ms. Usifer was appointed to the Board of Directors on February 15, 2018. |
Independent Director Transactions/Relationships with Fund Affiliates
As of December 31, 2017, neither the Independent Directors nor members of their immediate families owned securities, beneficially or of record, of the Advisor, or an affiliate or person directly or indirectly controlling, controlled by, or under common control with the Advisor. In addition, over the past five years, neither Independent Directors nor members of their immediate families have had any direct or indirect interest, the value of which exceeds $120,000, in the Advisor or any of its affiliates. Further, during each of the last two fiscal years, neither Independent Directors nor members of their immediate families have conducted any transactions (or series or transactions) or maintained any direct or indirect relationship in which the amount involved exceeds $120,000 and to which the Advisor or any of its affiliates was a party.
Approving the Investment Advisory Contracts
A discussion of the factors considered by the Board of Directors in approving the current Fund Management Agreement and Portfolio Management Agreements will be included in the Fund’s semi-annual shareholder report for the year ended December 31, 2018.
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General
The Board of Directors is divided into three classes, each of which serves for three years. The term of office of one of the classes expires at the final adjournment of the annual meeting of shareholders (or special meeting in lieu thereof) each year or such later date as his successor shall have been elected and shall have qualified. The Fund holds annual meetings of shareholders to vote on, among other things, the election or re-election of the Directors whose terms are expiring with that meeting. Unless each is elected at that meeting, the term of office of Messrs. Benning and Rantzow and Ms. Usifer will expire upon the final adjournment of the 2020 annual meeting; the term of office of Mr. Gaspari will expire upon the final adjournment of the 2019 annual meeting; and the term of office of Messrs. Brock, Burke and Neuhauser will expire upon the final adjournment of the 2018 annual meeting. The Fund’s Directors are also Trustees of Liberty All-Star Equity Fund, another closed-end multi-managed fund managed by AAI.
Director Compensation
The following table shows, for the year ended December 31, 2017, the compensation received from the Fund by each Director, and the aggregate compensation paid to each Director for service on the Boards of funds within the Fund Complex. The Fund has no bonus, profit sharing or retirement plans.
Compensation Table
Aggregate
Compensation from the Fund |
Total
Compensation from the Fund Complex* | |
Disinterested Directors | ||
John A. Benning | $9,119 | $39,000 |
Thomas W. Brock | $12,390 | $53,000 |
George R. Gaspari | $8,887 | $38,000 |
John J. Neuhauser | $9,121 | $39,000 |
Richard C. Rantzow | $10,054 | $43,000 |
Maureen J. Usifer** | $0 | $0 |
Interested Director | ||
Edmund J. Burke | None | None |
* | The Fund Complex consists of the Fund and the Liberty All-Star Equity Fund. |
** | Ms. Usifer was appointed to the Boards on February 15, 2018; therefore no compensation was paid during the fiscal year ended December 31, 2017. |
AAI and the Fund have each adopted a code of ethics governing personal securities transactions. Under AAI’s code of ethics, AAI employees may purchase and sell securities (including securities held or eligible for purchase by the Fund), subject to certain pre-clearance and reporting requirements and other procedures. The Fund’s code of ethics permits personnel subject thereto to invest in securities, including securities that may be purchased or held by the Fund. However, the Fund’s code of ethics generally prohibits, among other things, persons subject thereto from purchasing or selling securities if they know at the time of such purchase or sale that the security is being considered for purchase or sale by the Fund or is being purchased or sold by the Fund.
25
The codes of ethics can be reviewed and copied at the SEC’s public reference room in Washington, DC (call 1-202-942-8090 for information on the operation of the public reference room); on the EDGAR Database on the SEC’s Internet site (http://www.sec.gov); or, upon payment of copying fees, by writing the SEC’s Public Reference Section, Washington, DC 20549-0102, or by electronic mail at info@sec.gov.
The Fund has delegated to AAI (and not the Portfolio Managers) the responsibility to vote proxies relating to portfolio securities held by the Fund. In deciding to delegate this responsibility, the Board of Directors reviewed and approved the policies and procedures adopted by AAI. These include the procedures that AAI follows when a vote presents a conflict between the interests of the Fund and its shareholders and AAI, its affiliates, its other clients, or other persons. AAI’s proxy voting guidelines and procedures applicable to the Fund are included in this Statement of Additional Information as Appendix A-1.
Investment Advisory and Other Services
As stated under “Management of The Fund” in the Prospectus, ALPS Advisors, Inc., 1290 Broadway, Suite 1100, Denver, CO 80203, is the Fund’s investment advisor. Pursuant to its Fund Management Agreement with the Fund, AAI implements and operates the Fund’s multi-manager methodology and has overall supervisory responsibility for the general management and investment of the Fund’s assets, subject to the Fund’s investment objectives and policies and any directions of the Board of Directors. AAI recommends to the Board of Directors the investment management firms (currently three) for appointment as Portfolio Managers of the Fund.
The names and addresses of the Fund’s current Portfolio Managers are as follows:
Congress Asset Management Company, LLP
2 Seaport Lane
Boston, MA 02210
Sustainable Growth Advisers, LP
301 Tresser Boulevard
Stamford, CT 06901
Weatherbie Capital, LLC
265 Franklin Street
Boston, MA 02110
26
AAI
As described under “Management of The Fund” in the Prospectus, the Fund pays AAI a fund management fee for its investment management services (from which AAI pays the Portfolio Managers’ fees).
For the years ended December 31, 2017, 2016 and 2015, the total fund management fees paid to AAI were $1,127,974, $959,280 and $1,095,505, respectively, of which an aggregate of $564,079, $479,756, and $547,752, respectively, was paid to the Portfolio Managers.
The Fund’s current Fund Management Agreement and each of the Fund’s Portfolio Management Agreements provide that they will continue in effect until May 31, 2020, except that the Portfolio Management Agreement with Sustainable Growth Advisors, LP will continue in effect until July 1, 2020. The Fund’s current Fund Management Agreement and each of the Fund’s Portfolio Management Agreements will continue in effect thereafter so long as such continuance is specifically approved annually by (a) the Board of Directors or (b) a vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities of the Fund (as defined in the Investment Company Act),, provided that, in either event, the continuance is also approved by a majority of the Directors who are not “interested persons” (as defined in the 1940 Act) of the Fund (the “Disinterested Directors”), AAI or the Portfolio Managers by a vote cast in person at a meeting called for the purpose of voting on such approval. The Fund’s Management Agreement may be terminated on 60 days written notice by either party, and the Portfolio Management Agreements may be terminated on 30 days’ notice by any party, and any such agreements will terminate automatically if assigned.
The Fund, AAI and the Portfolio Managers have adopted Codes of Ethics pursuant to the requirements of the 1940 Act. These Codes of Ethics permit personnel subject to the Codes to invest in securities, including securities that may be purchased or held by the Fund. Copies of the Codes of Ethics of the Fund and AAI can be reviewed and copied at the SEC’s Public Reference Room in Washington, D.C. Information on the operation of the Public Reference Room may be obtained by calling the SEC at 1-202-942-8090. The Codes of Ethics are also available on the EDGAR database on the SEC’s Internet site at www.sec.gov, or may be obtained, after paying a duplicating fee, by electronic request at publicinfo@sec.gov, or by writing the SEC’s Public Reference Section, Washington, D.C. 20549-0102.
Portfolio Managers
Congress Asset Management Company, LLP (“Congress”)
Management. The portion of the Fund allocated to Congress is managed by Todd Solomon, CFA, Senior Vice President and Daniel Lagan, CFA, Chief Executive Officer, Chief Investment Officer.
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Todd Solomon, CFA, Senior Vice President, Portfolio Manager
Todd
joined Congress Asset Management in 2001. He is a member of Congress Asset Management’s Investment Oversight Committee and
Chairs the Mid Cap Growth Committee, which was named the 2015 Small/Mid Cap SMA of the year by Investment Advisor Magazine and
Envestnet. He has 22 years of investment experience, spanning both equity research and portfolio management. Previously, he has
held positions at US Trust Company, Fidelity Management and Research Co, and the Pioneer Group, Inc. He is a CFA charterholder,
and member of the Boston Security Analysts Society (BSAS.)
Education: MBA; New York University; BA; Georgetown University
Daniel Lagan, CFA, CEO, Chief Investment Officer
Mr. Lagan joined Congress Asset Management in 1989. He is the firm’s Chief Investment Officer, a position he has held since 2005. He chairs both the firm’s Investment Oversight Committee and Large Cap Growth Investment Committees. As CEO, he is responsible for all business aspects of the company, with the senior managers of operations, sales, and investments reporting to him. Prior to being named as CEO in 2013, he was the firm’s President for 17 years. He is a CFA charterholder, and a member of the Boston Security Analysts Society (BSAS) and the CFA Institute. Education: MBA; Boston College BA; St. Michael’s College
Other Accounts. The table below provides information regarding the other accounts managed by Todd Solomon and Daniel Lagan as of December 31, 2017:
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 Advisory Fee is Performance-Based (in millions) |
Todd Solomon, CFA | ||||
Registered Investment Companies | 1 | $960,196,528 | 0 | N/A |
Other pooled investment vehicles | 0 | $0 | 0 | N/A |
Other accounts | 143 | $611,159,469 | 0 | N/A |
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 Advisory Fee is Performance-Based (in millions) |
Daniel Lagan, CFA | ||||
Registered Investment Companies | 1 | $287,261,170 | 0 | N/A |
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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 Advisory Fee is Performance-Based (in millions) |
Other pooled investment vehicles | 0 | $0 | 0 | N/A |
Other accounts | 192 | $309,496,182 | 0 | N/A |
Compensation Structure. Mr. Todd Solomon and Mr. Daniel Lagan’s compensation consists of the following:
Congress Asset Management Company, LLP has a core investment team in place and high employee retention due to a generous compensation structure, collaborative culture and career advancement opportunities.
Congress utilizes a team approach to the investment process. Because of this, the firm’s compensation plan is intended to reward all employees equitably based on the firm’s investment performance and financial profitability. Our compensation plan aims to accurately reflect our investment and financial success through three methods:
1. | Competitive base salary: This is the basis on which all other incentives are calculated. |
2. | Bonus plan up to 50% of base salary based on the following criteria: |
● | Investment performance for fixed income and equity products | |
● | Growth in firm assets under management | |
● | Growth in profitability | |
● | Management discretion based on individual performance |
3. | Equity Bonus Plan: Since 1990, Congress Asset Management Company, LLP has used an Equity Bonus Plan to allow all participating employees to directly benefit from the long term growth and profitability of the company. This deferred compensation plan is tied to the operating income of the company. |
Ownership by Portfolio Manager. None
Material Conflicts of Interest. None
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Sustainable Growth Advisers, LP (“SGA”)
Management. George P. Fraise - Principal, co-founder, portfolio manager and a member of the Investment Committee. He is also a member of the firm’s Advisory Board. Prior to founding Sustainable Growth Advisers, George was Executive Vice President, a member of the Board of Directors and a member of the Investment Policy Committee of Yeager, Wood & Marshall, Inc. George began his investment career in 1987 as an equity analyst at Drexel Burnham Lambert. In 1990 he joined Smith Barney as a senior analyst responsible for the coverage of electrical equipment companies. He also held a senior analyst position at Chancellor Capital Management, a private large cap growth money manager. In 1997 George joined Scudder Kemper Investments as a portfolio manager for two separate large cap growth funds.
Education:
Trinity College – BA in History – 1986
Stern School of Business at New York University – MBA in Finance and International Business – 1990
Gordon M. Marchand, CFA, CIC, CPA - Principal, co-founder, portfolio manager and a member of the Investment Committee. He is also a member of the firm’s Advisory Board and serves as the firm’s Chief Financial Officer. Prior to founding Sustainable Growth Advisers, Gordon was an executive officer, a member of the Board of Directors and Investment Policy Committee of Yeager, Wood & Marshall, Inc. which he joined in 1984. He also served as the firm’s Chief Financial and Operating Officer. Gordon began his career as a CPA for Grant Thornton Int’l and a management consultant for Price Waterhouse.
Education:
Georgetown University – BS; University of Massachusetts/Amherst – MBA
Oxford University Management Center – Graduate Study
Robert L. Rohn – Principal, co-founder, portfolio manager and chair of the firm’s Investment Committee. He is also a member of the firm’s Advisory Board. Prior to joining Sustainable Growth Advisers in November 2003, Rob managed over $1 billion of large capitalization, high quality growth stock portfolios at W.P Stewart & Co. During Rob’s twelve-year tenure with W.P. Stewart, he was an analyst and portfolio Manager, held the positions of Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of W.P. Stewart Inc., the company’s core U.S. investment business, and served as Chairman of the firm’s Management Committee. From 1988 through 1991, he was with Yeager, Wood & Marshall, a growth-oriented investment counseling firm, where he served as Vice President and a member of the Investment Policy Committee with responsibilities in equity analysis and portfolio management. Rob began his career in 1983 at JP Morgan, where he was an officer of the bank in Corporate Finance.
Education:
Dartmouth College – BA (Cum Laude);
Harvard Business School – MBA
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Other Accounts. The table below provides information about the other accounts managed by Messrs. Fraise, Rohn and Marchand, as of December 31, 2017:
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 Advisory Fee is Performance-Based (in millions) |
George P. Fraise | ||||
Registered Investment Companies | 13 | $4,820 | 0 | n/a |
Other Pooled Investment Vehicles | 18 | $3,110 | 0 | n/a |
Other Accounts | 61 | $3,620 | 1 | $56 |
Robert L. Rohn | ||||
Registered Investment Companies | 13 | $4,820 | 0 | n/a |
Other Pooled Investment Vehicles | 18 | $3,110 | 0 | n/a |
Other Accounts | 61 | $3,620 | 1 | $56 |
Gordon M. Marchand | ||||
Registered Investment Companies | 13 | $4,820 | 0 | n/a |
Other Pooled Investment Vehicles | 18 | $3,110 | 0 | n/a |
Other Accounts | 61 | $3,620 | 1 | $56 |
Compensation Structure. SGA has adopted a system of compensation for portfolio managers that seeks to align the financial interests of the investment professionals with those of SGA. The compensation of SGA’s three principals/portfolio managers is based solely upon SGA’s financial performance. SGA’s compensation arrangements with its investment professionals are not determined on the basis of specific funds or accounts managed by the investment professional. All investment professionals receive customary benefits that are offered generally to all salaried employees of SGA.
Ownership by Portfolio Manager. None
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Material Conflicts of Interest. None
Weatherbie Capital LLC (“Weatherbie”)
Management. Matthew A. Weatherbie, CFA – CEO and Co-Chief Investment Officer
Matt is a co-manager responsible for managing the portion of the Fund allocated to Weatherbie. The firm was founded by Matt in December 1995. Mr. Weatherbie’s 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. Matt is a CFA charterholder.
George Dai, Ph.D.- Senior Managing Director and Co-Chief Investment Officer
George is the lead co-manager responsible for managing the portion of the Fund allocated to Weatherbie. George’s prior experience as a portfolio manager began in 2006 as the co-lead manager of Weatherbie’s Long/Short Fund. George received his MBA from the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, (Director’s List), and his Ph.D. in chemistry from Johns Hopkins University. Previously, he earned a B.S. from the University of Science and Technology of China (Hefei, China) and then was a pharmaceutical research scientist at Procter & Gamble.
Joshua D. Bennett, CFA – Senior Managing Director, Director of Research
Josh is a co-manager responsible for managing the portion of the Fund allocated to Weatherbie. Josh’s prior experience as a portfolio manager began in 2007 as a co-manager of Weatherbie’s Long/Short Fund. Josh received his MBA from the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth (Edward Tuck Scholar with Distinction). Previously, he earned a B.A. in economics (Summa Cum Laude) from Wheaton College (IL). Josh is a CFA charterholder.
Other Accounts. As of December 31, 2017, this team was responsible for the portfolio management of the following types of accounts in addition to the Fund:
Number
of Accounts
|
Total Assets Managed |
Number
of which
Advisory Performance-
|
Assets
which
Advisory Performance-
(in millions) |
|
Weatherbie Capital, LLC | ||||
Registered Investment Companies | 4 | $265 | 0 | N/A |
Other pooled investment vehicles | 3 | $175 | 2 | $155 |
Other accounts | 18 | $762 | 1 | $115 |
Matthew A. Weatherbie | ||||
Registered Investment Companies | 2 | $214 | 0 | N/A |
Other pooled investment vehicles | 1 | $129 | 1 | $129 |
Other accounts* | 13 | $761 | 1 | $115 |
George Dai | ||||
Registered Investment Companies* | 4 | $265 | 0 | N/A |
Other pooled investment vehicles* | 2 | $46 | 1 | $26 |
Other accounts* | 13 | $761 | 1 | $115 |
Joshua D. Bennett | ||||
Registered Investment Companies* | 4 | $265 | 0 | N/A |
Other pooled investment vehicles* | 2 | $46 | 1 | $26 |
Other accounts* | 13 | $761 | 1 | $115 |
* | Accounts are managed on a team basis. |
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Compensation Structure. There are multiple components to the Weatherbie compensation plan, detailed as follows:
a. | Base salary: As determined by Matt Weatherbie, CFA, CEO of Weatherbie Capital, LLC with final approval by Alger CEO, Dan Chung, CFA |
b. | Bonus (Weatherbie Bonus Pool): An annual bonus pool equal to a specific percentage of the operating profits of Weatherbie Capital. Target amounts for employees for participation in the pool are established annually by Matt Weatherbie with final approval by Dan Chung. Weatherbie employees are eligible for inclusion in this pool based upon: |
i. | Their expected and actual contributions to the absolute and relative performance as analysts and portfolio managers. |
ii. | Subjective criteria, such as contributions to the overall organization. |
c. | Bonus (Sub Advisory Pool): A bonus pool tied to the fees earned from the Alger mutual funds sub-advised by Weatherbie Capital. Target amounts for employees for participation in the pool are established annually by Matt Weatherbie with final approval by Dan Chung. Weatherbie employees are eligible for inclusion in this pool based upon: |
i. | Their expected and actual contributions to the absolute and relative performance as analysts and portfolio managers. |
ii. | Subjective criteria, such as contributions to the overall organization. |
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d. | Bonus (Weatherbie Partners Pool) A bonus pool tied to allocation of a portion of the “earn-out” payments from Alger Associates, Inc. to Matt Weatherbie |
i. | Initial allocations have been made to George Dai, Ph.D. and Josh Bennett, CFA |
ii. | Future allocations and amounts determined by Matt Weatherbie in his sole discretion. |
e. | The Alger Profit Participation Plan: |
i. | The Plan gives key personnel the opportunity to have equity-like participation in the long-term growth and profitability of the firm. The awards are invested in Alger mutual funds and have a four-year vesting schedule. The total award earned can increase or decrease with Alger’s investment and Alger’s earnings results over the four-year period. |
ii. | Amounts determined by Matt Weatherbie, CFA with final approval by Dan Chung, CFA, CEO, and the Board of Directors of Alger Associates, Inc. |
Ownership by Portfolio Managers: None
Material Conflicts of Interest: None
Description of Certain Material Conflicts of Interest
Material conflicts of interest may arise when an individual with day-to-day management responsibilities for the Fund also manages other funds or accounts. (Information regarding other funds, pooled investment vehicles and accounts managed by the Portfolio Managers is set forth in tables above.) These potential material conflicts of interest include the following conflicts:
Allocation of Limited Investment Opportunities. From time to time an investment opportunity that is suitable for multiple funds and/or accounts may be limited. In such circumstances the opportunity will have to be allocated among the funds and/or accounts managed by a portfolio manager, decreasing the Fund’s ability to participate in the investment opportunity.
Time and Focus. A portfolio manager who manages several funds and/or accounts may not devote equal time and attention to all of these funds and/or accounts. This may adversely affect the portfolio manager’s performance with respect to the funds and/or accounts to which he or she devotes less time.
Broker-Dealer Selection. Some broker-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 higher brokerage fees. (See “Portfolio Security Transactions” below.) These services may benefit certain funds or accounts more than others. Although the payment of commissions is subject to the requirement that a portfolio manager determines 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 manager’s 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.
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Compensation Differences. To the extent a fund or account compensates a portfolio manager (either directly or indirectly by paying the portfolio manager’s firm) more than other funds or accounts, the portfolio manager might have an economic incentive for certain funds or accounts to succeed more than others. This may be the case where an advisory fee is greater, where a fund or account pays a performance-based fee or where the portfolio manager or his or her firm has an interest in the fund or account.
Additional Business. AAI, the Portfolio Managers or their affiliates may provide more service for some funds or accounts than for others. For example, an affiliate may provide distribution, recordkeeping or administration services for one fund but not for others. This may result in a portfolio manager benefiting, either directly or indirectly, from some funds over others.
Each of the Portfolio Managers has trade allocation and other policies and procedures that it believes are reasonably designed to address these and other conflicts of interest.
None of the Portfolio Managers’ own any equity securities issued by the Fund.
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). |
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● | 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 the 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 the Fund as well as other accounts, the advisor’s 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 the 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 the 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 the Fund and other accounts. For example, another account may have a shorter-term investment horizon or different investment objectives, policies or restrictions than the Fund. Depending on another account’s 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 the 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 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.
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A Portfolio Manager 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 Manager’s 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.
AAI 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 Portfolio Manager 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 the Fund and other accounts. In addition, a Fund’s 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 AAI, including each Portfolio Manager, are subject to restrictions on engaging in personal securities transactions pursuant to Codes of Ethics adopted by AAI.
Each Portfolio Manager has trade allocation and other policies and procedures that it believes are reasonably designed to address these and other potential conflicts of interest.
Administration, Bookkeeping and Pricing Services
ALPS Fund Services, Inc. (“ALPS”) serves as the administrator to the Fund and the Fund has agreed to pay expenses incurred in connection with this service. Pursuant to an Administrative, Bookkeeping and Pricing Services Agreement, ALPS provides operational services to the Fund including, but not limited to, fund accounting and fund administration and generally assists in the Fund’s operations. Officers of the Trust are employees of ALPS. The Fund’s administration fee is accrued on a daily basis and paid monthly. Administration, Pricing and Bookkeeping fees paid by the Fund for the year ended December 31, 2017 are disclosed in the Statement of Operations.
The Fund also reimburses ALPS for out-of-pocket expenses and charges, including fees payable to third parties for pricing the Fund’s portfolio securities and direct internal costs incurred by ALPS in connection with providing fund accounting oversight and monitoring and certain other services.
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Additional Information About Net Asset Value
For purposes of determining the net asset value of the Fund’s common shares, exchange-traded options are valued at the last reported sale price at the close of the principal exchange or board of trade on which such option or contract is traded, or in the absence of a sale, at the mean between the last reported bid and asked prices. Non-exchange traded options are also valued at the mean between the last reported bid and asked prices. Forward currency contracts are valued at the mean between reported bid and asked prices. Financial futures contracts listed on commodity exchanges and exchange-traded options are valued at closing settlement prices.
Generally, the Fund completes its trading in foreign securities (if any) each day at various times prior to the close of the NYSE. The values of these securities used in determining the net asset value of the Fund’s common shares generally are computed as of such times. Occasionally, events affecting the value of foreign securities may occur between such times and the close of the NYSE, which will not be reflected in the computation of the Fund’s net asset value (unless the Fund deems that such events would materially affect its net asset value, in which case an adjustment would be made and reflected in such computation). Foreign securities and currency held by the Fund will be valued in U.S. dollars; such values will be computed by the custodian based on foreign currency exchange rate quotations supplied by an independent quotation service.
Portfolio Security Transactions
Each Portfolio Manager has discretion to select brokers and dealers to execute portfolio transactions initiated by that Portfolio Manager for the portion of the Fund’s portfolio assets allocated to it, and to select the markets in which such transactions are to be executed. The Portfolio Management Agreements provide, in substance, that in executing portfolio transactions and selecting brokers or dealers, the primary responsibility of the Portfolio Manager is to seek to obtain best net price and execution for the Fund.
The Portfolio Managers are authorized to cause the Fund to pay a commission to a broker or dealer who provides research products and services to the Portfolio Manager for executing a portfolio transaction that is in excess of the amount of commission another broker or dealer would have charged for effecting the same transaction. The Portfolio Managers must determine in good faith, however, that such commission was reasonable in relation to the value of the research products and services provided to them, viewed in terms of that particular transaction or in terms of all the client accounts (including the Fund) over which the Portfolio Manager exercises investment discretion. It is possible that certain of the services received by a Portfolio Manager attributable to a particular transaction will primarily benefit one or more other accounts for which investment discretion is exercised by the Portfolio Manager.
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In addition, under their Portfolio Management Agreements with the Fund and AAI, the Portfolio Managers, in selecting brokers or dealers to execute portfolio transactions for the Fund, are authorized to consider (and AAI may request them to consider) brokers or dealers that provide to AAI, directly or through third parties, research products or services such as research reports; portfolio analyses; compilations of securities prices, earnings, dividends and other data; computer software, and services of one or more consultants. The commissions paid on such transactions may exceed the amount of commission another broker would have charged for effecting that transaction. Research products and services made available to AAI include performance and other qualitative and quantitative data relating to investment managers in general and the Portfolio Managers in particular; data relating to the historic performance of categories of securities associated with particular investment styles; mutual fund portfolio and performance data; data relating to portfolio manager changes by pension plan fiduciaries; and related computer software, all of which are used by AAI in connection with its selection and monitoring of Portfolio Managers, the assembly of an appropriate mix of investment styles, and the determination of overall portfolio strategies.
AAI from time to time reaches understandings with each of the Portfolio Managers as to the amounts of the Fund’s portfolio transactions initiated by such Portfolio Manager that are to be directed to brokers and dealers that provide or make available research products and services to AAI and the commissions to be charged to the Funds in connection therewith. These amounts may differ among the Portfolio Managers based on the nature of the market for the types of securities managed by them and other factors.
Although the Fund does not permit a Portfolio Manager to act or to have a broker-dealer affiliate act as broker for portfolio transactions initiated by it, the Portfolio Managers are permitted to place portfolio transactions initiated by them with another Portfolio Manager or its broker-dealer affiliate for execution on an agency basis, provided that the commission does not exceed the usual and customary broker’s commission being paid to other brokers for comparable transactions and is otherwise in accordance with the Fund’s procedures adopted pursuant to Rule 17e-1 under the 1940 Act.
During 2017, 2016 and 2015, the Fund paid total brokerage commissions of $62,655, $191,399 and $135,798, respectively. Approximately $21,052, $149,148 and $105,674, respectively, of the commissions paid in 2017, 2016 and 2015 on transactions aggregating approximately $34,703,426, $168,307,639 and $113,922,519, respectively, were paid to brokerage firms that provided or made available to the Portfolio Managers or to AAI research products and services as described above.
The following discussion, based on the advice of K&L Gates LLP, counsel to the Fund, is a brief general summary of certain material federal income tax considerations affecting the Fund and its shareholders with respect to the purchase, ownership, and disposition of Fund shares. It is based on the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (“Code”), the regulations thereunder, judicial authorities, published positions of the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”), and other applicable authorities, all as in effect on the date of this SAI and all of which are subject to change or differing interpretations (possibly with retroactive effect); no assurance can be given that future legislation, regulations, administrative pronouncements, and/or court decisions will not significantly change applicable law and materially affect the conclusions expressed herein, and any such change could be applied retroactively. This discussion does not purport to be complete or to deal with all aspects of federal income taxation that may be relevant to you in light of your particular circumstances or to shareholders who are subject to special rules, such as banks, thrift institutions and certain other financial institutions, real estate investment trusts, insurance companies, brokers and dealers in securities or currencies, certain securities traders, persons holding Fund shares as part of a straddle or other integrated transaction, tax-exempt organizations, qualified pension and profit-sharing plans, individual retirement accounts and plans, certain other tax-deferred accounts, U.S. expatriates, persons with a functional currency” other than the U.S. dollar, persons subject to the federal alternative minimum tax, and foreign investors.
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Unless otherwise noted, this discussion assumes that you are a U.S. shareholder and that you hold Fund shares as capital assets. For purposes hereof, a “U.S. shareholder” means a beneficial owner of Fund shares that, for federal income tax purposes, is a “United States person” (as defined in the Code), that is (1) an individual who is a citizen or resident of the United States, (2) a corporation or partnership (or other entity classified as such for federal tax purposes) created or organized in the United States or under the laws of the United States, any state thereof, or the District of Columbia, (3) an estate the income of which is subject to federal income tax regardless of its source, or (4) a trust if (A) a U.S. court is able to exercise primary supervision over the administration of the trust and one or more United States persons have the authority to control all substantial decisions of the trust or (B) the trust has a valid election in effect under applicable Treasury regulations to be treated as a United States person. If a partnership holds Fund shares, the federal income tax treatment of a partner in the partnership generally will depend on the partner’s status and the activities of the partnership. Partners of partnerships that hold Fund shares should consult their own tax advisors.
No ruling has been or will be sought from the IRS regarding any matter discussed in this SAI. Counsel to the Fund has not rendered any legal opinion regarding any tax consequences relating to the Fund or your investment therein. No assurance can be given that the IRS would not assert, or that a court would not sustain, a position contrary to any of the tax information discussed below.
Tax matters are complicated, and the tax consequences of an investment in and holding Fund shares will depend on the particular facts of each investor’s situation. You are advised to consult your own tax advisors with respect to the application to your own circumstances of the general federal income tax rules described below and with respect to other federal, state, local, or foreign tax consequences to you before making an investment in Fund shares.
The Fund has elected to be, and intends to continue to qualify each taxable year for treatment as, a “regulated investment company” under the Code (a “RIC”). Accordingly, the Fund intends to satisfy certain requirements relating to sources of its income and diversification of its assets and to distribute substantially all of its net income and net short-term and long-term capital gains (after reduction by any available capital loss carryovers) and foreign currency gains, if any, in accordance with the timing requirements imposed by the Code, so as to maintain its RIC status and to avoid paying any federal income or excise tax. To the extent it qualifies for treatment as a RIC, which includes satisfying the above-mentioned distribution requirement, the Fund will not be subject to federal income tax on net income and net realized gains it distributes to its shareholders.
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The Fund’s investments in options, futures contracts, hedging transactions, forward contracts (to the extent permitted), and certain other transactions will be subject to special tax rules (including mark-to-market, constructive sale, straddle, “wash sale,” short sale, and other rules), the effect of which may be to accelerate income to the Fund, defer losses, cause adjustments in the holding periods of securities it holds, convert capital gain to ordinary income, and convert short-term capital losses to long-term capital losses. These rules could therefore affect the amount, timing, and character of distributions to shareholders. The Fund may be required to limit its activities in options and futures contracts to enable it to maintain its RIC status.
Some futures contracts, foreign currency contracts, and “nonequity” options (i.e., certain listed options, such as those on a “broad-based” securities index) -- except any “securities futures contract” that is not a “dealer securities futures contract” (both as defined in the Code) and any interest rate swap, currency swap, basis swap, interest rate cap, interest rate floor, commodity swap, equity swap, equity index swap, credit default swap, or similar agreement -- in which the Fund invests may be subject to Code section 1256 (collectively, “section 1256 contracts”). Any section 1256 contracts the Fund holds at the end of its taxable year generally must be “marked-to-market” (that is, treated as having been sold at that time for their fair market value) for federal income tax purposes, with the result that unrealized gains or losses will be treated as though they were realized. Sixty percent of any net gain or loss recognized on these deemed sales, and 60% of any net realized gain or loss from any actual sales of section 1256 contracts, will be treated as long-term capital gain or loss, and the balance will be treated as short-term capital gain or loss. These rules may operate to increase the amount that the Fund must distribute to satisfy the distribution requirement applicable to RICs (i.e., with respect to the portion treated as short-term capital gain), which will be taxable to its shareholders as ordinary income, and to increase the net capital gain (the excess of net long-term capital gain over net short-term capital loss) the Fund recognizes, without in either case increasing the cash available to it. Section 1256 contracts also are marked-to-market for purposes of the 4% excise tax described in the Prospectus.
Dividends and interest the Fund receives, and gains it realizes, on foreign securities may be subject to income, withholding, or other taxes foreign countries and U.S. possessions impose that would reduce the yield and/or total return on its investments. Tax conventions between certain countries and the United States may reduce or eliminate these taxes, however, and many foreign countries do not impose taxes on capital gains in respect of investments by foreign investors.
The Fund may invest in the stock of “passive foreign investment companies” (“PFICs”). A PFIC is any foreign corporation (with certain exceptions) that, in general, meets either of the following tests for a taxable year: (1) at least 75% of its gross income is passive; or (2) an average of at least 50% of its assets produce, or are held for the production of, passive income. Under certain circumstances, the Fund will be subject to federal income tax on a portion of any “excess distribution” it receives on the stock of a PFIC or of any gain on its disposition of that stock (collectively, “PFIC income”), plus interest thereon, even if the Fund distributes the PFIC income as a dividend to its shareholders. The balance of the PFIC income will be included in the Fund’s investment company taxable income and, accordingly, will not be taxable to it to the extent it distributes that income to its shareholders. The Fund’s distributions thereof will not be eligible for the 15%/20% maximum federal income tax rates on “qualified dividend income” of individuals and certain other non-corporate shareholders (each, an “individual shareholder”) described in the Prospectus.
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If the Fund invests in a PFIC and elects to treat the PFIC as a “qualified electing fund” (“QEF”), then in lieu of the foregoing tax and interest obligation, the Fund would be required to include in income each taxable year its pro rata share of the QEF’s annual ordinary earnings and net capital gain -- which the Fund likely would have to distribute to satisfy the distribution requirement and avoid imposition of the 4% excise tax mentioned in the Prospectus -- even if the Fund did not receive those earnings and gain from the QEF. In most instances it will be very difficult, if not impossible, to make this election because some of the information required to make this election may not be easily obtainable.
The Fund may elect to “mark to market” any stock in a PFIC it owns at the end of its taxable year. “Marking-to-market,” in this context, means including in gross income each taxable year (and treating as ordinary income) the excess, if any, of the fair market value of the stock over the Fund’s adjusted basis therein (including mark-to-market gain for each prior taxable year for which an election was in effect) as of the end of that year. Pursuant to the election, the Fund also would be allowed to deduct (as an ordinary, not a capital, loss) the excess, if any, of its adjusted basis in PFIC stock over the fair market value thereof as of the taxable year-end, but only to the extent of any net mark-to-market gains with respect to that stock the Fund included in income for prior taxable years under the election. The Fund’s adjusted basis in each PFIC’s stock subject to the election would be adjusted to reflect the amounts of income included and deductions taken thereunder.
Investors should be aware that the Fund may not be able, at the time it acquires a foreign corporation’s shares, to ascertain whether the corporation is a PFIC and that a foreign corporation may become a PFIC after the Fund acquires shares therein. While the Fund generally will seek to minimize its investments in PFIC shares, and to make appropriate elections when they are available, to avoid the tax consequences detailed above, there are no guarantees that it will be able to do so and it reserves the right to make such investments as a matter of its investment policy.
Taxation of Shareholders
All or a portion of a loss realized on a disposition of the Fund shares may be disallowed under “wash sale” rules to the extent the shareholder acquires other Fund shares within the period beginning 30 days before the disposition of the loss shares and ending 30 days after such disposition. Any disallowed loss will result in an adjustment to the shareholder’s tax basis in some or all of the other shares acquired.
If the aggregate “qualified dividend income” (as defined in the Prospectus) the Fund receives during any taxable year is 95% or more of its gross income, then 100% of its dividends (other than properly designated capital gain dividends) will be eligible to be treated as qualified dividend income by its individual shareholders. For this purpose, the only gain included in the term “gross income” is the excess of net short-term capital gain over net long-term capital loss (i.e., net capital gain is excluded).
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If, as stated in the Prospectus, the Fund retains any net capital gain, it may designate all or part of the retained amount as undistributed capital gains in a notice to its shareholders. If it makes such a designation, it would be required to pay federal income tax at the rate of 21% on the undistributed gain (the “Fund tax”) and each shareholder subject to federal income tax (1) would be required to include in income, as long-term capital gain, the shareholder’s proportionate share of the designated gain (which, in the case of individual shareholders, would be taxed at the maximum federal income tax rate of 15%/20% mentioned in the Prospectus), (2) would be entitled to credit the shareholder’s proportionate share of the Fund tax against his, her or its federal income tax liability, if any, and to claim a refund to the extent the credit exceeds that liability, and (3) would increase the tax basis in the shareholder’s Fund shares by the difference between the included income and such share of the Fund tax.
As described in the Prospectus, an individual shareholder may be subject to 24% backup withholding if the shareholder fails to provide a correct taxpayer identification number (“TIN”) or certain required certifications. An individual’s TIN is generally his or her social security number. Backup withholding is not an additional tax. Any amounts withheld under the backup withholding rules from payments made to a shareholder may be refunded or credited against such shareholder’s federal income tax liability, if any, provided that the required information is furnished to the IRS.
The Fund is a corporation established under the Corporation Law of the State of Maryland.
The Articles of Incorporation provide that the Directors will not be liable for actions taken in good faith in the reasonable belief that such actions were in the best interests of the Fund; but nothing in the Articles of Incorporation protects a Director against any liability to the Fund or its shareholders to which he would otherwise be subject by reason of willful misfeasance, bad faith, gross negligence, or reckless disregard of the duties involved in the conduct of his office. Voting rights are not cumulative, which means that the holders of more than 50% of the shares voting for the election of Directors can elect 100% of the Directors and, in such event, the holders of the remaining less than 50% of the shares voting on the matter will not be able to elect any Directors.
The By-laws provide that no person shall serve as a Director if shareholders holding a majority of the outstanding shares entitled to vote on the election of such director have voted to remove him from that office.
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The Fund’s Prospectus and this Statement of Additional Information do not contain all of the information set forth in the Registration Statement that the Fund has filed with the SEC. The complete Registration Statement may be obtained from the SEC upon payment of the fee prescribed by its rules and regulations.
As of August 15, 2018, all officers and Directors of the Fund as a group owned less than 1% of the Fund’s outstanding shares.
As of August 15, 2018, the following persons were known to own of record more than 5% of the outstanding securities of the Fund:
Name and Address of Owner(b) | % of Shares Owned |
First Trust Portfolios L.P. 120 East Liberty Drive, Suite 400 Wheaton, Illinois 60187 |
15.37%(a) |
First Trust Advisors L.P. 120 East Liberty Drive, Suite 400 Wheaton, Illinois 60187 |
|
The Charger Corporation 120 East Liberty Drive, Suite 400 Wheaton, Illinois 60187 |
|
DST Systems, Inc. 333 W. 11th Street, 5th Fl. Kansas City, MO 64105 |
7.83% |
(a) | First Trust Portfolios L.P., First Trust Advisors L.P. and The Charger Corporation filed their schedule 13G jointly and did not differentiate holdings as to each entity. |
(b) | The table above shows 5% or greater shareholders’ ownership of Shares as of June 11, 2018. The information contained in this table is based on Schedule 13G/13D and Form 4 filings made on or before August 15, 2018. |
Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
Deloitte & Touche LLP is the Fund’s independent registered public accounting firm, providing audit and tax services to the Fund.
Custodian; Transfer Agent; Dividend Paying Agent and Registrar
State Street Bank and Trust Company (the “Custodian”), One Lincoln Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02111, is the custodian of the portfolio securities and cash of the Fund. As such, the Custodian holds the Fund’s portfolio securities and cash in separate accounts on the Fund’s behalf and receives and delivers portfolio securities and cash in connection with portfolio transactions initiated by the Fund’s Portfolio Managers, collects income due on the portfolio securities and disburses funds in connection with the payment of distributions and expenses.
Computershare Trust Company, N.A., P.O. Box 505000, Louisville, Kentucky 40233, serves as the Fund’s transfer agent, dividend paying agent, and registrar.
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Deloitte & Touche LLP (“Deloitte”) served as the Fund’s independent registered public accounting firm for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2017. (From September, 1999 through August 6, 2007, PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP served as the Fund’s independent registered public accountants. Prior to September, 1999, there were other independent auditors for the Fund). The annual audited financial statements incorporated by reference in this Statement of Additional Information have been so incorporated, and the financial highlights in the Prospectus have been so included, in reliance upon the report of Deloitte given on authority of said firm as experts in accounting. The audited financial statements contained in the Fund’s Annual Report for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2017 and the unaudited financial statements contained in the Fund’s unaudited Semi-Annual Report for the fiscal period ended June 30, 2018, are incorporated by reference in this Statement of Additional Information. A copy of the Fund’s Annual Report and unaudited Semi-Annual Report are available on the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov. Copies may also be obtained free of charge by writing to the Fund at its address at 1290 Broadway, Suite 1100, Denver, Colorado 80203 or by calling the Fund toll free at (800) 241-1850.
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ALPS Advisors, Inc.
Proxy Voting Policy, Procedures and Guidelines
1. | Policy Statement & General Background |
a. | Overview |
An investment adviser that exercises voting authority over clients’ proxies must adopt written policies and procedures that are reasonably designed to ensure that those proxies are voted in the best economic interests of clients. An adviser’s policies and procedures must address how the adviser resolves material conflicts of interest between its interests and those of its clients. An investment adviser must comply with certain record keeping and disclosure requirements with respect to its proxy voting responsibilities. In addition, an investment adviser to ERISA accounts has an affirmative obligation to vote proxies for an ERISA account, unless the client expressly retains proxy voting authority.
b. | Policy Summary |
With all advisory clients of AAI currently being investment companies registered under the 1940 Act, any assignment of voting authority over the Funds’ voting securities is typically delegated to AAI as the Funds’ investment adviser, or the Funds’ sub-adviser by the respective Funds’ Board of Trustees/Directors. If the Funds’ day-to-day investment decisions are performed by the Funds’ investment sub-adviser(s), Funds’ Board of Trustees/Directors may elect to delegate the responsibility of voting proxies to such sub-adviser to be voted in accordance to the sub-adviser’s proxy voting policies and procedures in conformance with Rule 206(4)-6 under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, as amended. For securities in the portfolio of a Fund that is managed by more than one sub-adviser, each sub-adviser shall make voting decisions pursuant to their own proxy voting policies and procedures, as adopted in conformance with the Advisers Act for their respective portions of the Fund’s portfolio, unless directed otherwise.
AAI has adopted and implemented the following policies and procedures, which it believes are reasonably designed to: (1) ensure that proxies are voted in the best economic interest of clients and (2) address material conflicts of interest that may arise. AAI will provide clients with a copy of its policies and procedures, as they may be updated from time to time, upon request. Information regarding AAI’s proxy voting decisions is confidential. Therefore, the information may be shared on a need to know basis only, including within AAI. Advisory clients may obtain information on how their proxies were voted by AAI. However, AAI will not selectively disclose its investment company clients’ proxy voting records to third parties; the investment company clients’ proxy records will be disclosed to shareholders by publicly-available annual filings or each investment company’s proxy voting record for 12-month periods ending June 30th.
c. | Policy |
All proxies regarding client securities for which AAI has authority to vote will, unless AAI determines in accordance with policies stated below to refrain from voting, be voted in a manner considered by AAI to be in the best interest of AAI’s clients. The best interest of clients is defined for this purpose as the interest of enhancing or protecting the economic value of client accounts, considered as a group rather than individually, as AAI determines in its sole and absolute discretion. There may also be instances where a fund relies upon Section 12(d)(1)(F), and by law, the fund may be required to vote proxies in the same proportion as the vote of all other shareholders of the acquired fund (i.e., “echo vote”). In the event a client believes that its other interests require a different vote, AAI will vote as the client clearly instructs, provided AAI receives such instructions in time to act accordingly.
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AAI endeavors to vote, in accordance with this Policy, all proxies of which it becomes aware, subject to the following general exceptions (unless otherwise agreed) when AAI expects to routinely refrain from voting:
i. | Proxies will usually not be voted in cases where the security has been loaned from the client’s account and subsequently, AAI determines that the type of proxy issue is not material to shareholders. AAI will utilize the below considerations to determine if a security then on loan should be recalled for voting purposes. Decisions will generally be made on a case-by-case basis depending on whether, in AAI’s judgment,: |
● | the matter to be voted on has critical significance to the potential value of the security in question; | |
● | the security represents a significant holding and whether the security is considered a long-term holding; and | |
● | AAI believes it can recall the security in time to cast the vote. |
ii. | Proxies will usually not be voted in cases where AAI deems the costs to the client and/or the administrative inconvenience of voting the security outweigh the benefit of doing so (e.g., international issuers who impose share blocking restrictions). |
AAI seeks to avoid the occurrence of actual or apparent material conflicts of interest in the proxy voting process by voting in accordance with predetermined voting guidelines and observing other procedures that are intended to guard against and manage conflicts of interest (refer to Section 2.b., Conflicts of Interest, below).
2. | Operating Procedures & Control Activities |
Where proxy voting is delegated to the sub-adviser, the sub-adviser will adopt proxy voting policies and procedures in accordance in conformance with Rule 206(4)-6 under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, as amended. AAI has adopted the following proxy voting procedures and controls for any client securities which AAI has authority to vote on:
a. | Proxy Committee |
AAI has established a Proxy Committee whose standing members are determined by AAI’s Chief Compliance Officer. These members participate as voting authorities on the Proxy Committee. Each standing member may designate a senior portfolio manager or a senior analyst officer to act as a substitute in a given matter on their behalf. Additionally, the Proxy Committee regularly involves other associates (e.g., Fund CCO or Legal representative) who participate as needed to enable effective execution of the Committee’s responsibilities.
The Proxy Committee’s functions include, in part,
i. | direction of the vote on proposals where there has been a recommendation to the Proxy Committee not to vote according to the predetermined Voting Guidelines (stated in 2.c.i) or on proposals which require special, individual consideration in accordance with Section 2.c.iii.; | |
ii. | review periodically this Proxy Voting Policy and Procedure to ensure consistency with internal policies, client disclosures and regulatory requirements; | |
iii. | development and modification of Voting Procedures, as stated in Section 2.d., as it deems appropriate or necessary. |
b. | Conflicts of Interest |
For purposes of this policy, a material conflict of interest is a relationship or activity engaged in by AAI, an AAI affiliate, or an AAI associate that creates an incentive (or appearance thereof) to favor the interests of AAI, the affiliate, or associate, rather than the clients’ interests. For example, AAI may have a conflict of interest if either AAI has a significant business relationship with a company that is soliciting a proxy, or if an AAI associate involved in the proxy voting decision-making process has a significant personal or family relationship with the particular company. A conflict of interest is considered to be “material” to the extent that a reasonable person could expect the conflict to influence AAI’s decision on the particular vote at issue. In all cases where there is deemed to be a material conflict of interest, AAI will seek to resolve it in the clients’ best interests.
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AAI follows the proxy guidelines and uses other research services provided by Institutional Shareholder Services, Inc. (“ISS”) or another independent third party. In providing proxy voting services to AAI, ISS provides vote recommendations on a pre-determined policy. Generally, AAI will vote proxies based on ISS’ pre-determined voting policy. In doing so, AAI demonstrates that its vote would not be a product of a conflict of interest as AAI would have little or no discretion on how the proxy was voted.
AAI has undertaken a review of ISS’ conflicts of interest procedures, and will continue to monitor them on an ongoing basis. In the event that AAI determines that it would be appropriate to use another third party, it will undertake a similar conflicts of interest assessment review.
c. | Proxy Voting Guidelines |
i. | AAI’s Proxy Voting Guidelines – General Practices |
The Proxy Committee has adopted the guidelines for voting proxies specified in Appendix A of this policy. AAI will use an independent, third-party vendor to implement its proxy voting process as AAI’s proxy voting agent. In general, whenever a vote is solicited, ISS or another independent third party will execute the vote according to AAI’s Voting Guidelines.
ii. | Ability to Vote Proxies Other than as Provided by Voting Guidelines |
A portfolio manager or other party involved with a client’s account may conclude that the best interest of the firm’s client, as defined above, requires that a proxy be voted in a manner that differs from the predetermined proxy Voting Guidelines. In this situation, he or she will request that the Proxy Committee consider voting the proxy other than according to such Guidelines. If any person, group, or entity requests the Proxy Committee (or any of its members) vote a proxy other than according to the predetermined Voting Guidelines, that person will furnish to the Proxy Committee a written explanation of the reasons for the request and a description of the person’s, group’s, or entity’s relationship, if any, with the parties proposing and/or opposing the matter’s adoption. The Proxy Committee may consider the matter including any potential conflicts of interest. A research analyst or portfolio manager must disclose in writing any inappropriate attempt to influence their recommendation or any other personal interest that they have with the issuer (see Conflicts of Interest Disclosure and Certification Form - Appendix B to this policy).
iii. | Other Proxy Proposals |
For the following categories of proposals either the Proxy Committee will determine how proxies related to all such proposals will be voted, or the proxies will be voted in accordance with ISS’ or a an individual client’s guidelines.
● | New Proposals. For each new type of proposal that is expected to be proposed to shareholders of multiple companies, the Proxy Committee will develop a Voting Guideline which will be incorporated into this Policy. | |
● | Accounts Adhering to Taft Hartley Principles. All proposals for these accounts will be voted according to the Taft Hartley Guidelines developed by ISS. | |
● | Accounts Adhering to Socially Responsible Principles. All proposals for these accounts will be voted according to the Socially Responsible Guidelines developed by ISS or as specified by the client. |
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● | Proxies of International Issuers which Block Securities Sales between the Time a Shareholder submits a Proxy and the Vote. In general, AAI will refrain from voting such securities. However, in the exceptional circumstances that AAI determines that it would be appropriate to vote such proxies, all proposals for these securities will be voted only on the specific instruction of the Proxy Committee and to the extent practicable in accordance with the Voting Guidelines set forth in this Policy. | |
● | Proxies of Investment Company Shares. Proposals on issues other than those provided in Section 2.c.i will be voted on the specific instruction of the Proxy Committee. | |
● | Executive/Director Compensation. Except as provided in Section 2.c.i, proposals relating to compensation of any executive or director will be voted as recommended by ISS or as otherwise directed by the Proxy Committee. | |
● | Preemptive Rights. Proposals to create or eliminate shareholder preemptive rights. In evaluating these proposals the Proxy Committee will consider the size of the company and the nature of its shareholder base. |
d. | Voting Procedures |
The Proxy Committee has developed the following procedures to aid the voting of proxies according to the Voting Guidelines. The Proxy Committee may revise these procedures from time to time, as it deems necessary or appropriate to affect the purposes of this Policy.
i. | AAI will use an independent, third-party vendor, to implement its proxy voting process as AAI’s proxy voting agent. This retention is subject to AAI continuously assessing the vendor’s independence from AAI and its affiliates, and the vendor’s ability to perform its responsibilities (and, especially, its responsibility to vote client proxies in accordance with AAI’s proxy voting guidelines) free of any actual, potential or apparent material conflicts of interests that may arise between the interests of the vendor, its affiliates, the vendor’s other clients and the owners, officers or employees of any such firm, on the one hand, and AAI’s clients, on the other hand. As means of performing this assessment, AAI will require various reports and notices from the vendor, as well as periodic audits of the vendor’s voting record and other due diligence. |
ii. | ISS will provide proxy analysis and record keeping services in addition to voting proxies on behalf of AAI in accordance with this Policy. |
iii. | On a daily basis, AAI or designee will send to ISS a holdings file detailing each equity holding held in all accounts over which AAI has voting authority. |
iv. | AAI will complete a Vote Authorization Registration with ISS for any new client, which will describe how ballots will be executed on behalf of the client. In addition, AAI will complete and provide the client’s custodian bank with a Letter of Authorization. The letter will serve as notice that AAI has retained ISS to act as the voting agent for the securities held in the client’s account and will instruct the custodian bank to forward all ballots, meeting notices, and other proxy materials to ISS. |
v. | ISS will receive proxy material information from Proxy Edge or the custodian bank for the account. This will include issues to be voted upon, together with a breakdown of holdings for AAI accounts. ISS will then reconcile information it receives from Proxy Edge and custodian banks. Any discrepancies will be promptly noted and resolved by ISS, with notice to AAI. |
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vi. | Whenever a vote is solicited, ISS will execute the vote according to AAI’s Voting Guidelines which will be delivered by AAI to ISS as set forth in Appendix A of these policies and procedures and anytime there is a material change to these guidelines. |
● | If ISS is unsure how to vote a particular proxy, ISS will issue a request for voting instructions to AAI over a secure website. AAI personnel will check this website regularly. The request will be accompanied by a recommended vote. The recommended vote will be based upon ISS’ understanding of the Voting Guidelines previously delivered to ISS. AAI will promptly provide ISS with any amendments or modifications to the Voting Guidelines if necessary. AAI will return a final instruction to vote to ISS, which ISS will record with Proxy Edge or the custodian bank as our agent. |
vii. | Each time that ISS will send AAI a request to vote, the request will be accompanied by the recommended vote determined in accordance with AAI’s Voting Guidelines. ISS will vote as indicated in the request unless the client has reserved discretion, the Proxy Committee determines that the best interest of clients requires another vote, or the proposal is a matter as to which the Proxy Committee affords special, individual consideration under Section IX.D.2.c.ii. In such situations, ISS will vote based on the direction of the client or the Proxy Committee, as the case may be. The interests of AAI’s Taft Hartley or Socially Responsible clients may impact a proposal that normally should be voted in a certain way. ISS will inform AAI of all proposals having impact on its Taft Hartley and or Socially Responsible clients. The Proxy Voting Committee will be consulted before a vote is placed in cases where Taft Hartley or Socially Responsible issues are presented. |
viii. | ISS will have procedures in place to ensure that a vote is cast on every security holding maintained by AAI on which a vote is solicited unless otherwise directed by the Proxy Committee. On a yearly basis, or as required by our clients AAI will receive a report from ISS detailing AAI’s voting for the previous period. |
e. | Securities Lending |
Each Fund advised by AAI, where authorized by its respective Board, may engage in securities lending transactions, to the extent permitted by the Fund’s investment policies and limitations. The Adviser will be required to monitor for scheduled or anticipated proxy votes relating to securities on loan and determine whether the securities should be recalled from loan on the relevant record date. There may be situations where the Adviser may not be able to recall the security in time to cast the vote.
f. | Supervision |
Managers and supervisory personnel are responsible for ensuring that their associates understand and follow this policy and any applicable procedures adopted by the business group to implement the policy. The Proxy Committee has ultimate responsibility for the implementation of this Policy.
g. | Escalation |
With the exception of conflicts of interest-related matters, issues arising under this policy should be escalated to AAI’s CCO, or designee. Issues involving potential or actual conflicts of interest should be promptly communicated to Compliance or Legal. Compliance will notify the Funds’ Chief Compliance Officer(s), if a material conflict of interest is deemed to have arisen.
h. | Monitoring |
AAI’s Compliance Department is primarily responsible for overseeing the day-to-day operations of the proxy voting process. The Compliance Department’s monitoring will take into account the following elements: (1) periodic review of ISS votes to ensure that ISS is accurately voting consistent with AAI’s Proxy Guidelines; and (2) review of the Funds’ N-PX report to ensure that it’s filed in a timely and accurate manner. Additionally, AAI will review ISS’ conflicts of interest policies.
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AAI’s Compliance Committee monitors proxy matters for its clients including monitoring material conflicts of interest identified.
i. | Availability of Proxy Policy and Voting Record |
A summary disclosure regarding the provisions of this Policy will be available in AAI’s Form ADV, to the extent AAI is required to prepare Part 2 to Form ADV. Upon receipt of a Client’s request for more information, AAI will provide to the Client a copy of this Policy and/or how AAI voted proxies for the Client pursuant to this Policy for up to a one-year period.
AAI will not selectively disclose its investment company clients’ proxy voting records; rather, AAI will disclose such information by publicly available annual filings. AAI will create and maintain records of each investment company’s proxy record for 12-month periods ended June 30th. AAI will compile the following information for each matter relating to a portfolio security considered at any shareholder meeting during the period covered by the annual report and which the company was entitled to vote:
● | The name of the issuer of the security; | |
● | The exchange ticker symbol of the portfolio security (if symbol is available through reasonably practicable means); | |
● | The Council on Uniform Securities Identification Procedures number for the portfolio security (if number is available through reasonably practicable means); | |
● | The shareholder meeting date; | |
● | A brief identification of the matter voted on; | |
● | Whether the matter was proposed by the issuer or by a security holder; | |
● | Whether the company cast its vote on the matter; | |
● | How the company cast its vote (e.g., for or against proposal, or abstain; for or withhold regarding the election of directors); and | |
● | Whether the company cast its vote for or against management. |
j. | Other Recordkeeping Requirements |
Business groups and support partners are responsible for maintaining all records necessary to evidence compliance with this policy. The records must be properly maintained and readily accessible in order to evidence compliance with this policy.
These records include:
● | Proxy Committee Meeting Minutes and Other Materials (routine oversight matters are discussed within AAI’s Compliance Committee meetings and will be documented within the Compliance Committee’s materials); | |
● | Analysis and Supporting Materials of Investment Management Personnel Concerning Proxy Decisions and Recommendations; | |
● | Conflicts of Interest Review Documentation, including Conflicts of Interest Forms; and | |
● | Client Communications Regarding Proxy Matters. |
Records should be retained for a period of not less than six years. Records must be retained in an appropriate office of AAI for the first three years.
Dated: November 29, 2006
Last Amended: December 1, 2017
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Appendix A
Summary of Proxy Voting Guidelines
AAI has adopted Institutional Shareholder Services, Inc.’s (“ISS”) standard benchmark policy which allows ISS to apply the most appropriate underlying guideline for each respective ballot. ISS has created multiple guidelines to cover various markets, including, but not limited to: U.S., Canada, Europe, United Kingdom, Asia, Africa and Australia. AAI retains the right to override any of ISS’ guidelines on a case-by-case basis. A concise summary of ISS’ current Proxy Voting Guidelines can be found at: http://www.issgovernance.com/policy.
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Conflicts of Interest Disclosure Form
PROXY VOTING CONFLICT OF INTEREST DISCLOSURE FORM
1. Company name:
2. Date of Meeting:
3. Referral Item(s):
4. Description of AAI’s Business Relationship with Issuer of Proxy which may give rise to a conflict of interest:
5. Describe procedures used to address any conflict of interest:_________________________________________
Compliance will consider information about AAI’s significant business relationships, as well as other relevant information. The information considered by Compliance may include information regarding: (1) AAI client and other business relationships; (2) any relevant personal conflicts; and (3) communications between investment professionals and parties outside the AAI investment division regarding the proxy matter. Compliance will consult with relevant experts, including legal counsel, as necessary.
If Compliance determines that it reasonably believes (1) AAI has a material conflict of interest, or (2) certain individuals should be recused from participating in the proxy vote at issue, Compliance will inform the Chair of the Proxy Committee. Where a material conflict of interest is determined to have arisen in the proxy voting process, AAI’s policy is to invoke one or more of the following conflict management procedures:
a. | Causing the proxies to be voted in accordance with the recommendations of an independent third party (which generally will be AAI’s proxy voting agent); |
b. | Causing the proxies to be delegated to a qualified, independent third party, which may include AAI’s proxy voting agent. |
c. | In unusual cases, with the Client’s consent and upon ample notice, forwarding the proxies to AAI’s clients so that they may vote the proxies directly. |
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Affiliate Investment Companies and Public Companies
AAI considers (1) proxies solicited by open-end and closed-end investment companies for which AAI or an affiliate serves as an investment adviser or principal underwriter to present a material conflict of interest for AAI. Consequently, the proxies of such affiliates will be voted following one of the conflict management procedures discussed above.
Management of Conflicts of Interest – Additional Procedures
AAI has various compliance policies and procedures in place in order to address any material conflicts of interest that might arise in this context.
a. | AAI’s Code of Ethics affirmatively requires that associates of AAI act in a manner whereby no actual or apparent conflict of interest may be seen as arising between the associate’s interests and those of AAI’s Clients. |
b. | By assuming his or her responsibilities pursuant to this Policy, each member of the Proxy Committee (including the chairperson) and any AAI or ALPS associate advising or acting under the supervision or oversight of the Proxy Committee undertakes: |
● | To disclose in writing to AAI’s Chief Compliance Officer any actual or apparent personal material conflicts of interest which he or she may have (e.g., by way of substantial ownership of securities, relationships with nominees for directorship, members of an issuer’s or dissident’s management or otherwise) in determining whether or how AAI will vote proxies. Additionally, each member must disclose any direct, indirect or perceived influence or attempt to influence such action which the member or associate views as being inconsistent with the purpose or provisions of this Policy or the Code of Ethics of AAI or ALPS. In the event any member of the Proxy Committee has a conflict of interest regarding a given matter, he or she will abstain from participating in the Committee’s determination of whether and/or how to vote in the matter; and |
● | To refrain from taking into consideration, in the decision as to whether or how AAI will vote proxies the existence of any current or prospective material business relationship between AAI, ALPS or any of their affiliates, on one hand, and any party (or its affiliates) that is soliciting or is otherwise interested in the proxies to be voted, on the other hand. |
c. | In certain circumstances, AAI follows the proxy guidelines and uses other research services provided by Institutional Shareholder Services, Inc. (“ISS”) or another independent third party. AAI has undertaken a review of ISS’ conflicts of interest procedures, and will continue to monitor them on an ongoing basis. In the event that AAI determines that it would be appropriate to use another third party, it will undertake a similar conflicts of interest assessment review. |
6. Describe any contacts from parties outside AAI (other than routine communications from proxy solicitors) with respect to the referral item not otherwise reported in an investment professional’s recommendation:
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CERTIFICATION
The undersigned personnel of AAI certifies that, to the best of his/her knowledge, any recommendation of an investment professional provided under circumstances where a conflict of interest exists was made solely on the investment merits and without regard to any other consideration.
Name:
Title:
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