N-CSRS 1 d447336dncsrs.htm MFS SERIES TRUST XIII N-CSRS MFS SERIES TRUST XIII N-CSRS
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UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM N-CSR

CERTIFIED SHAREHOLDER REPORT OF

REGISTERED MANAGEMENT INVESTMENT COMPANIES

Investment Company Act file number 811-3327

MFS SERIES TRUST XIII

(Exact name of registrant as specified in charter)

111 Huntington Avenue, Boston, Massachusetts 02199

(Address of principal executive offices) (Zip code)

Christopher R. Bohane

Massachusetts Financial Services Company

111 Huntington Avenue

Boston, Massachusetts 02199

(Name and address of agents for service)

Registrant’s telephone number, including area code: (617) 954-5000

Date of fiscal year end: February 28*

Date of reporting period: August 31, 2017

 

* This Form N-CSR pertains only to the following series of the Registrant: MFS Diversified Income Fund, MFS Government Securities Fund and MFS New Discovery Value Fund. The remaining series of the Registrant has a fiscal year end other than February 28.


Table of Contents
ITEM 1. REPORTS TO STOCKHOLDERS.


Table of Contents

SEMIANNUAL REPORT

August 31, 2017

 

LOGO

 

MFS® DIVERSIFIED INCOME FUND

 

LOGO

 

DIF-SEM

 


Table of Contents

MFS® DIVERSIFIED INCOME FUND

 

CONTENTS

 

Letter from the Executive Chairman     1  
Portfolio composition     2  
Expense table     5  
Portfolio of investments     7  
Statement of assets and liabilities     26  
Statement of operations     27  
Statements of changes in net assets     28  
Financial highlights     29  
Notes to financial statements     38  
Results of shareholder meeting     57  
Board review of investment advisory agreement     58  
Proxy voting policies and information     62  
Quarterly portfolio disclosure     62  
Further information     62  
Information about fund contracts and legal claims     63  
Provision of financial reports and summary prospectuses     63  
Contact information    back cover  

 

 

The report is prepared for the general information of shareholders.

It is authorized for distribution to prospective investors only when preceded or accompanied by a current prospectus.

 

NOT FDIC INSURED MAY LOSE VALUE NO BANK GUARANTEE



Table of Contents

LOGO

 

LETTER FROM THE EXECUTIVE CHAIRMAN

 

Dear Shareholders:

Despite policy uncertainty accompanying a new presidential administration in the United States and unease over ongoing Brexit negotiations, most markets have proved

resilient. U.S. share prices have reached new highs in recent months although the U.S. Federal Reserve has continued to gradually hike interest rates. However, rates in most developed markets remain very low, with major non-U.S. central banks just beginning to contemplate curbing accommodative monetary policies.

Globally, we’ve experienced a year-long synchronized upturn in economic growth. Despite better growth, there are few immediate signs of worrisome inflation amid muted wage gains around the world. Europe has benefited from diminishing event risks as populist challengers fell short of upsetting establishment

candidates in both the Dutch and French elections. Emerging market economies have been boosted in part by a weaker U.S. dollar and are recovering despite lingering concerns over the potential for restrictive U.S. trade policies that could hamper global trade growth. Looking ahead, markets will have to contend with issues involving geopolitical hot spots on the Korean peninsula and in the Middle East.

At MFS®, we believe time is an asset. A patient, long-term approach to investing can have a powerful impact on decision making and outcomes. Time arbitrage, as we call it, comes down to having the conviction and discipline to allow enough time for good investment ideas to play out. In our view, such an approach, along with the professional guidance of a financial advisor, will help you reach your investment objectives.

Respectfully,

 

LOGO

Robert J. Manning

Executive Chairman

MFS Investment Management

October 17, 2017

The opinions expressed in this letter are subject to change and may not be relied upon for investment advice. No forecasts can be guaranteed.

 

1


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PORTFOLIO COMPOSITION

 

Portfolio structure (i)

 

LOGO

 

Top ten holdings (i)  
Fannie Mae, 3.5%, 30 Years     1.9%  
Fannie Mae, 4%, 30 Years     1.8%  
Simon Property Group, Inc., REIT     1.8%  
Public Storage, Inc., REIT     1.6%  
U.S. Treasury Notes, 2.75%, 2/15/2019     1.2%  
U.S. Treasury Notes, 1.75%, 11/30/2021     1.2%  
Medical Properties Trust, Inc., REIT     1.1%  
AvalonBay Communities, Inc., REIT     1.1%  
Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Inc., REIT     1.1%  
Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc., REIT     1.0%  
Equity sectors (i)  
Financial Services     22.7%  
Utilities & Communications     3.4%  
Consumer Staples     3.2%  
Health Care     2.7%  
Technology     2.0%  
Industrial Goods & Services     1.1%  
Energy     1.1%  
Basic Materials     0.9%  
Autos & Housing     0.7%  
Leisure     0.7%  
Retailing     0.4%  
Special Products & Services     0.4%  
Transportation     0.3%  
Fixed income sectors (i)  
High Yield Corporates     20.6%  
Emerging Markets Bonds     14.7%  
Mortgage-Backed Securities     10.1%  
U.S. Treasury Securities     7.3%  
Investment Grade Corporates     1.2%  
U.S. Government Agencies     1.0%  
Collateralized Debt Obligations     0.5%  
Floating Rate Loans     0.5%  
Commercial Mortgage-Backed Securities     0.4%  
Municipal Bonds     0.1%  
Asset-Backed Securities (o)     0.0%  
Non-U.S. Government Bonds (o)     0.0%  
 

 

2


Table of Contents

Portfolio Composition – continued

 

Composition including fixed income credit quality (a)(i)  
AAA     1.0%  
AA     0.1%  
A     1.4%  
BBB     5.7%  
BB     14.0%  
B     13.2%  
CCC     2.4%  
CC     0.1%  
C (o)     0.0%  
U.S. Government     7.4%  
Federal Agencies     11.1%  
Not Rated (o)     0.0%  
Non-Fixed Income     39.6%  
Cash & Cash Equivalents     3.5%  
Other     0.5%  
Issuer country weightings (i)(x)  
United States     71.0%  
Canada     2.2%  
United Kingdom     1.8%  
Switzerland     1.6%  
France     1.4%  
China     1.0%  
Germany     1.0%  
Peru     1.0%  
Indonesia     1.0%  
Other Countries     18.0%  
 
(a) For all securities other than those specifically described below, ratings are assigned to underlying securities utilizing ratings from Moody’s, Fitch, and Standard & Poor’s rating agencies and applying the following hierarchy: If all three agencies provide a rating, the middle rating (after dropping the highest and lowest ratings) is assigned; if two of the three agencies rate a security, the lower of the two is assigned. Ratings are shown in the S&P and Fitch scale (e.g., AAA). Securities rated BBB or higher are considered investment grade. All ratings are subject to change. U.S. Government includes securities issued by the U.S. Department of the Treasury. Federal Agencies includes rated and unrated U.S. Agency fixed-income securities, U.S. Agency mortgage-backed securities, and collateralized mortgage obligations of U.S. Agency mortgage-backed securities. Not Rated includes fixed income securities, including fixed income futures contracts, which have not been rated by any rating agency. Non-Fixed Income includes equity securities (including convertible bonds and equity derivatives) and/or commodity-linked derivatives. The fund may or may not have held all of these instruments on this date. The fund is not rated by these agencies.
(i) For purposes of this presentation, the components include the value of securities, and reflect the impact of the equivalent exposure of derivative positions, if any. These amounts may be negative from time to time. Equivalent exposure is a calculated amount that translates the derivative position into a reasonable approximation of the amount of the underlying asset that the portfolio would have to hold at a given point in time to have the same price sensitivity that results from the portfolio’s ownership of the derivative contract. When dealing with derivatives, equivalent exposure is a more representative measure of the potential impact of a position on portfolio performance than value. The bond component will include any accrued interest amounts.
(o) Less than 0.1%.

 

3


Table of Contents

Portfolio Composition – continued

 

(x) Represents the portfolio’s exposure to issuer countries as a percentage of the portfolio’s net assets. For purposes of this presentation, United States includes Cash & Cash Equivalents and Other.

Where the fund holds convertible bonds, these are treated as part of the equity portion of the portfolio.

The fund invests a portion of its assets in the MFS High Yield Pooled Portfolio. Percentages reflect exposure to the underlying holdings, including Cash & Cash Equivalents and Other, of the MFS High Yield Pooled Portfolio and not to the exposure from investing directly in the MFS High Yield Pooled Portfolio itself.

Cash & Cash Equivalents includes any cash, investments in money market funds, short-term securities, and other assets less liabilities. Please see the Statement of Assets and Liabilities for additional information related to the fund’s cash position and other assets and liabilities.

Other includes equivalent exposure from currency derivatives and/or any offsets to derivative positions.

Percentages are based on net assets as of August 31, 2017.

The portfolio is actively managed and current holdings may be different.

 

4


Table of Contents

EXPENSE TABLE

Fund expenses borne by the shareholders during the period, March 1, 2017 through August 31, 2017

As a shareholder of the fund, you incur two types of costs: (1) transaction costs, including sales charges (loads) on certain purchase or redemption payments, and (2) ongoing costs, including management fees; distribution and service (12b-1) fees; and other fund expenses. This example is intended to help you understand your ongoing costs (in dollars) of investing in the fund and to compare these costs with the ongoing costs of investing in other mutual funds.

In addition to the fees and expenses which the fund bears directly, the fund indirectly bears a pro rata share of the fees and expenses of the underlying MFS Pooled Portfolio in which the fund invests. MFS Pooled Portfolios are mutual funds advised by MFS that do not pay management fees to MFS but do incur investment and operating costs. If these transactional and indirect costs were included, your costs would have been higher.

The example is based on an investment of $1,000 invested at the beginning of the period and held for the entire period March 1, 2017 through August 31, 2017.

Actual Expenses

The first line for each share class in the following table provides information about actual account values and actual expenses. You may use the information in this line, together with the amount you invested, to estimate the expenses that you paid over the period. Simply divide your account value by $1,000 (for example, an $8,600 account value divided by $1,000 = 8.6), then multiply the result by the number in the first line under the heading entitled “Expenses Paid During Period” to estimate the expenses you paid on your account during this period.

Hypothetical Example for Comparison Purposes

The second line for each share class in the following table provides information about hypothetical account values and hypothetical expenses based on the fund’s actual expense ratio and an assumed rate of return of 5% per year before expenses, which is not the fund’s actual return. The hypothetical account values and expenses may not be used to estimate the actual ending account balance or expenses you paid for the period. You may use this information to compare the ongoing costs of investing in the fund and other funds. To do so, compare this 5% hypothetical example with the 5% hypothetical examples that appear in the shareholder reports of the other funds.

Please note that the expenses shown in the table are meant to highlight your ongoing costs only and do not reflect any transactional costs, such as sales charges (loads). Therefore, the second line for each share class in the table is useful in comparing ongoing costs only, and will not help you determine the relative total costs of owning different funds. In addition, if these transactional costs were included, your costs would have been higher.

 

5


Table of Contents

Expense Table – continued

 

 

Share
Class
       Annualized
Expense
Ratio
    Beginning
Account Value
3/01/17
    Ending
Account Value
8/31/17
    Expenses
Paid During
Period (p)
3/01/17-8/31/17
 
A   Actual     0.98%       $1,000.00       $1,036.11       $5.03  
  Hypothetical (h)     0.98%       $1,000.00       $1,020.27       $4.99  
C   Actual     1.74%       $1,000.00       $1,031.43       $8.91  
  Hypothetical (h)     1.74%       $1,000.00       $1,016.43       $8.84  
I   Actual     0.73%       $1,000.00       $1,037.39       $3.75  
  Hypothetical (h)     0.73%       $1,000.00       $1,021.53       $3.72  
R1   Actual     1.74%       $1,000.00       $1,032.30       $8.91  
  Hypothetical (h)     1.74%       $1,000.00       $1,016.43       $8.84  
R2   Actual     1.24%       $1,000.00       $1,033.99       $6.36  
  Hypothetical (h)     1.24%       $1,000.00       $1,018.95       $6.31  
R3   Actual     0.99%       $1,000.00       $1,036.11       $5.08  
  Hypothetical (h)     0.99%       $1,000.00       $1,020.21       $5.04  
R4   Actual     0.73%       $1,000.00       $1,036.55       $3.75  
  Hypothetical (h)     0.73%       $1,000.00       $1,021.53       $3.72  
R6   Actual     0.64%       $1,000.00       $1,037.88       $3.29  
  Hypothetical (h)     0.64%       $1,000.00       $1,021.98       $3.26  

 

(h) 5% class return per year before expenses.
(p) “Expenses Paid During Period” are equal to each class’s annualized expense ratio, as shown above, multiplied by the average account value over the period, multiplied by 184/365 (to reflect the one-half year period). Expenses paid do not include any applicable sales charges (loads). If these transaction costs had been included, your costs would have been higher. In addition to the fees and expenses which the fund bears directly, the fund indirectly bears a pro rata share of the fees and expenses of the underlying funds in which the fund invests. If these indirect costs were included, your costs would have been higher.

 

6


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PORTFOLIO OF INVESTMENTS

8/31/17 (unaudited)

The Portfolio of Investments is a complete list of all securities owned by your fund. It is categorized by broad-based asset classes.

 

Bonds - 33.9%  
Issuer    Shares/Par     Value ($)  
Agency - Other - 0.1%  
Financing Corp., 9.4%, 2/08/2018    $ 965,000     $ 1,000,386  
Financing Corp., 10.35%, 8/03/2018      715,000       773,580  
Financing Corp., STRIPS, 0%, 11/30/2017      860,000       857,614  
    

 

 

 
      $ 2,631,580  
Asset-Backed & Securitized - 0.9%  
A Voce CLO Ltd., 2014-1A, “A1R”, FLR, 2.464% (U.S. LIBOR-3mo. + 1.16%), 7/15/2026 (n)    $ 3,316,000     $ 3,308,770  
ALM Loan Funding CLO, 2014-14A, “A1R”, FLR, 2.464% (U.S. LIBOR-3mo. + 1.15%), 7/28/2026 (n)      1,952,226       1,957,449  
Atrium CDO Corp., 2011-A, “A1R”, FLR, 2.452% (U.S. LIBOR-3mo. + 1.14%), 10/23/2025 (n)      3,358,000       3,370,818  
Cent CLO LP, 2014-21A, “A1”, FLR, 2.527% (U.S. LIBOR-3mo. + 1.21%), 7/27/2026 (n)      3,552,111       3,557,197  
Citigroup Commercial Mortgage Trust, 2015-GC27, “A5”, 3.137%, 2/10/2048      2,850,000       2,909,269  
Citigroup Commercial Mortgage Trust, 5.913%, 12/10/2049      198,555       12,410  
Commercial Mortgage Trust, 2015-DC1, “A5”, 3.35%, 2/10/2048      2,574,000       2,665,085  
Commercial Mortgage Trust, 2015-PC1, “A5”, 3.902%, 7/10/2050      1,800,000       1,926,609  
CSAIL Commercial Mortgage Trust, 2015-C2, “A4”, 3.504%, 6/15/2057      58,835       61,342  
Dryden Senior Loan Fund, 2014-34A, “AR”, FLR, 2.464% (LIBOR-3mo. + 1.16%), 10/15/2026 (n)      2,267,245       2,274,550  
Ford Credit Floorplan Master Owner Trust, 2015-4, “A2”, FLR, 1.827% (LIBOR-1mo. + 0.6%), 8/15/2020      691,000       693,901  
Fortress Credit BSL Ltd., 2013-1A, “A”, FLR, 2.486% (U.S. LIBOR-3mo. + 1.18%), 1/19/2025 (n)      686,027       687,081  
GS Mortgage Securities Trust, 2015-GC30, “A4”, 3.382%, 5/10/2050      1,750,000       1,820,620  
JPMBB Commercial Mortgage Securities Trust, 2014-C26, 3.494%, 1/15/2048      1,888,516       1,980,858  
Morgan Stanley Capital I Trust, “AM”, 5.924%, 4/15/2049      1,938       1,968  
TICP CLO Ltd., FLR, 2.487% (U.S. LIBOR-3mo. + 1.18%), 1/20/2027 (n)      3,317,451       3,317,786  
Wells Fargo Commercial Mortgage Trust, 2015-C28, “A4”, 3.54%, 5/15/2048      1,516,848       1,593,692  

 

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Portfolio of Investments (unaudited) – continued

 

Issuer    Shares/Par     Value ($)  
Bonds - continued  
Asset-Backed & Securitized - continued  
Wells Fargo Commercial Mortgage Trust, 2015-NXS1, “A5”, 3.148%, 5/15/2048    $ 1,258,254     $ 1,288,639  
Wells Fargo Commercial Mortgage Trust, 2016-LC25, “A4”, 3.64%, 12/15/2059      2,500,000       2,641,918  
West CLO Ltd. 2013-1A, “A1AR”, FLR, 2.472% (U.S. LIBOR-3mo. + 1.16%), 11/07/2025 (n)      2,060,000       2,062,106  
    

 

 

 
      $ 38,132,068  
Automotive - 0.0%  
Ford Motor Credit Co. LLC, 2.551%, 10/05/2018    $ 748,000     $ 753,079  
Hyundai Capital America, 2%, 3/19/2018 (n)      810,000       810,596  
Hyundai Capital America, 2.4%, 10/30/2018 (n)      182,000       182,303  
    

 

 

 
      $ 1,745,978  
Building - 0.3%  
Elementia S.A. de C.V., 5.5%, 1/15/2025 (n)    $ 4,284,000     $ 4,476,780  
Union Andina de Cementos S.A.A., 5.875%, 10/30/2021 (n)      6,819,000       7,127,219  
    

 

 

 
      $ 11,603,999  
Business Services - 0.0%  
Cisco Systems, Inc., 2.6%, 2/28/2023    $ 1,052,000     $ 1,069,436  
Cable TV - 0.1%  
VTR Finance B.V., 6.875%, 1/15/2024 (n)    $ 4,248,000     $ 4,513,500  
Chemicals - 0.1%  
Consolidated Energy Finance S.A., 6.75%, 10/15/2019 (n)    $ 898,000     $ 914,837  
Consolidated Energy Finance S.A., 6.875%, 6/15/2025 (n)      680,000       707,200  
Sherwin Williams Co., 2.75%, 6/01/2022      1,564,000       1,575,874  
    

 

 

 
             $ 3,197,911  
Computer Software - 0.0%                 
Microsoft Corp., 3.125%, 11/03/2025    $ 476,000     $ 492,414  
Computer Software - Systems - 0.0%  
Apple, Inc., 3.25%, 2/23/2026    $ 1,404,000     $ 1,451,845  
Conglomerates - 0.1%  
Grupo KUO S.A.B. de C.V., 5.75%, 7/07/2027 (n)    $ 5,300,000     $ 5,527,900  
Construction - 0.0%  
Empresas ICA S.A.B. de C.V., 8.375%, 7/24/2018 (a)(d)(n)    $ 1,409,000     $ 343,444  
Empresas ICA S.A.B. de C.V., 8.875%, 5/29/2024 (a)(d)      2,102,000       509,735  

 

8


Table of Contents

Portfolio of Investments (unaudited) – continued

 

Issuer    Shares/Par     Value ($)  
Bonds - continued  
Construction - continued  
Empresas ICA S.A.B. de C.V., 8.875%, 5/29/2024 (a)(d)(n)    $ 3,072,000     $ 744,960  
    

 

 

 
             $ 1,598,139  
Consumer Products - 0.1%                 
Controladora Mabe S.A. de C.V., 7.875%, 10/28/2019    $ 1,424,000     $ 1,561,060  
Newell Rubbermaid, Inc., 3.15%, 4/01/2021      998,000       1,026,447  
Reckitt Benckiser Treasury Services PLC, 2.75%, 6/26/2024 (n)      1,734,000       1,741,495  
    

 

 

 
             $ 4,329,002  
Consumer Services - 0.1%                 
Grupo Posadas S.A.B. de C.V., 7.875%, 6/30/2022 (n)    $ 2,656,000     $ 2,807,392  
Emerging Market Quasi-Sovereign - 3.1%  
Autoridad del Canal de Panama, 4.95%, 7/29/2035 (n)    $ 281,000     $ 311,910  
Banco Nacional de Comercio Exterior, S.N.C., 3.8% to 8/11/2021, FLR to 8/11/2026 (n)      2,508,000       2,508,000  
Development Bank of Kazakhstan, 4.125%, 12/10/2022      4,894,000       4,968,633  
Empresa Nacional del Petroleo, 4.75%, 12/06/2021      1,721,000       1,834,506  
Empresa Nacional del Petroleo, 4.375%, 10/30/2024 (n)      2,469,000       2,594,816  
Equate Petrochemical B.V., 4.25%, 11/03/2026      1,500,000       1,548,750  
Export-Import Bank of India, 3.375%, 8/05/2026 (n)      316,000       311,482  
Gaz Capital S.A., 4.95%, 2/06/2028 (n)      3,726,000       3,784,722  
Gaz Capital S.A., 7.288%, 8/16/2037      9,788,000       11,810,122  
Hrvatska Elektroprivreda, 5.875%, 10/23/2022 (n)      3,146,000       3,457,429  
KazMunayGas National Co., 4.75%, 4/19/2027 (n)      8,170,000       8,415,100  
KazMunayGas National Co., 5.75%, 4/19/2047 (n)      528,000       537,240  
Lima Metro Line 2 Finance Ltd., 5.875%, 7/05/2034      4,620,000       5,109,720  
Magyar Export-Import Bank PLC, 4%, 1/30/2020      2,518,000       2,605,239  
Majapahit Holding B.V., 7.875%, 6/29/2037      2,000,000       2,660,000  
NTPC Ltd., 7.375%, 8/10/2021    INR 120,000,000       1,919,116  
NTPC Ltd., 7.25%, 5/03/2022    INR 90,000,000       1,427,152  
NTPC Ltd., 4.375%, 11/26/2024    $ 5,157,000       5,506,526  
Office Cherifien des Phosphates S.A., 4.5%, 10/22/2025 (n)      2,898,000       2,926,006  
Office Cherifien des Phosphates S.A., 6.875%, 4/25/2044 (n)      2,519,000       2,842,893  
Petrobras Global Finance B.V., 8.375%, 5/23/2021      3,558,000       4,040,109  
Petrobras Global Finance B.V., 7.375%, 1/17/2027      7,607,000       8,407,561  
Petroleos del Peru S.A., 4.75%, 6/19/2032 (n)      4,117,000       4,326,885  
Petroleos del Peru S.A., 5.625%, 6/19/2047 (n)      379,000       403,358  
Petroleos Mexicanos, 6.5%, 3/13/2027 (n)      314,000       351,044  
Petroleos Mexicanos, 6.5%, 3/13/2027      2,281,000       2,554,720  
Sinopec Capital (2013) Ltd., 4.25%, 4/24/2043 (n)      2,765,000       2,861,532  

 

9


Table of Contents

Portfolio of Investments (unaudited) – continued

 

Issuer    Shares/Par     Value ($)  
Bonds - continued  
Emerging Market Quasi-Sovereign - continued  
Sinopec Group Overseas Development (2014) Ltd., 4.375%, 4/10/2024 (n)    $ 1,301,000     $ 1,408,642  
Sinopec Group Overseas Development (2017) Ltd., 3.625%, 4/12/2027 (n)      652,000       672,382  
Southern Gas Corridor CJSC, 6.875%, 3/24/2026 (n)      8,595,000       9,610,070  
State Grid Overseas Investment (2016) Ltd., 3.5%, 5/04/2027 (n)      3,774,000       3,882,093  
State Grid Overseas Investment (2016) Ltd., 3.5%, 5/04/2027      9,526,000       9,798,838  
State Oil Company of the Azerbaijan Republic, 4.75%, 3/13/2023      3,933,000       3,952,665  
State Oil Company of the Azerbaijan Republic, 6.95%, 3/18/2030      2,926,000       3,189,925  
Trade & Development Bank of Mongolia LLC, 9.375%, 5/19/2020      3,000,000       3,243,930  
    

 

 

 
      $ 125,783,116  
Emerging Market Sovereign - 7.3%  
Arab Republic of Egypt , 7.5%, 1/31/2027    $ 1,900,000     $ 2,095,700  
Arab Republic of Egypt, 6.125%, 1/31/2022 (n)      2,754,000       2,866,919  
Arab Republic of Egypt, 6.125%, 1/31/2022      1,473,000       1,533,396  
Dominican Republic, 5.5%, 1/27/2025 (n)      1,211,000       1,283,660  
Dominican Republic, 6.875%, 1/29/2026      5,450,000       6,267,500  
Dominican Republic, 5.95%, 1/25/2027      3,057,000       3,316,845  
Dominican Republic, 8.625%, 4/20/2027      5,665,000       6,925,462  
Gabonese Republic, 6.375%, 12/12/2024      2,600,000       2,561,416  
Government of Jamaica, 7.875%, 7/28/2045      432,000       529,200  
Government of Ukraine, 7.75%, 9/01/2020      7,991,000       8,331,576  
Government of Ukraine, 7.75%, 9/01/2021      8,591,000       8,956,633  
Government of Ukraine, 7.75%, 9/01/2022      4,009,000       4,175,373  
Government of Ukraine, 7.75%, 9/01/2024 (n)      2,600,000       2,677,672  
Government of Ukraine, 7.75%, 9/01/2024      2,000,000       2,059,748  
Government of Ukraine, 7.75%, 9/01/2025 (n)      2,600,000       2,671,500  
Government of Ukraine, 7.75%, 9/01/2025      5,470,000       5,620,425  
Oriental Republic of Uruguay, 4.375%, 12/15/2028    UYU 51,523,989       1,992,150  
Republic of Angola, 9.5%, 11/12/2025    $ 1,565,000       1,684,096  
Republic of Argentina, 6.875%, 4/22/2021      4,987,000       5,420,869  
Republic of Argentina, 7.5%, 4/22/2026      2,928,000       3,273,504  
Republic of Argentina, 6.875%, 1/26/2027      1,400,000       1,508,500  
Republic of Argentina, 2.5% to 3/31/2019, 3.75% to 3/31/2029, 5.25% to 12/31/2038      3,066,000       2,143,134  
Republic of Argentina, 7.125%, 6/28/2117 (n)      5,000,000       4,932,500  
Republic of Belarus, 7.625%, 6/29/2027 (n)      3,404,000       3,748,485  
Republic of Chile, 3.86%, 6/21/2047      424,000       439,900  

 

10


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Portfolio of Investments (unaudited) – continued

 

Issuer    Shares/Par     Value ($)  
Bonds - continued  
Emerging Market Sovereign - continued  
Republic of Colombia, 6.125%, 1/18/2041    $ 2,582,000     $ 3,062,897  
Republic of Cote d’Ivoire, 6.125%, 6/15/2033 (n)      4,200,000       4,190,340  
Republic of Croatia, 5.5%, 4/04/2023 (n)      1,410,000       1,566,126  
Republic of Ecuador, 7.95%, 6/20/2024      5,425,000       5,309,719  
Republic of Ecuador, 9.625%, 6/02/2027      1,300,000       1,360,125  
Republic of El Salvador, 7.65%, 6/15/2035      5,490,000       5,476,275  
Republic of Ghana, 10.75%, 10/14/2030      3,700,000       4,791,796  
Republic of Guatemala, 4.5%, 5/03/2026      1,785,000       1,816,237  
Republic of Guatemala, 4.375%, 6/05/2027 (n)      3,202,000       3,169,980  
Republic of Hungary, 6.25%, 1/29/2020      2,470,000       2,698,475  
Republic of Hungary, 5.375%, 2/21/2023      3,522,000       3,993,420  
Republic of Hungary, 5.75%, 11/22/2023      4,366,000       5,100,117  
Republic of Hungary, 5.375%, 3/25/2024      13,646,000       15,741,343  
Republic of Indonesia, 7%, 5/15/2022    IDR 248,036,000,000       19,148,335  
Republic of Indonesia, 5.375%, 10/17/2023 (n)    $ 3,600,000       4,046,148  
Republic of Indonesia, 5.875%, 1/15/2024 (n)      2,730,000       3,154,422  
Republic of Indonesia, 4.125%, 1/15/2025 (n)      2,232,000       2,347,394  
Republic of Indonesia, 4.75%, 1/08/2026 (n)      4,918,000       5,374,725  
Republic of Indonesia, 6.75%, 1/15/2044 (n)      1,060,000       1,409,928  
Republic of Kazakhstan, 5.125%, 7/21/2025 (n)      2,952,000       3,302,255  
Republic of Kazakhstan, 6.5%, 7/21/2045 (n)      711,000       877,732  
Republic of Panama, 3.875%, 3/17/2028      4,293,000       4,539,848  
Republic of Paraguay, 6.1%, 8/11/2044 (n)      2,621,000       3,007,598  
Republic of Paraguay, 6.1%, 8/11/2044      7,922,000       9,090,495  
Republic of Peru, 8.2%, 8/12/2026    PEN 26,351,000       9,861,375  
Republic of Peru, 6.9%, 8/12/2037    PEN 4,703,000       1,594,713  
Republic of Poland, 3.25%, 4/06/2026    $ 1,910,000       1,973,603  
Republic of South Africa, 7.75%, 2/28/2023    ZAR 50,501,000       3,865,153  
Republic of Sri Lanka, 6.125%, 6/03/2025    $ 7,062,000       7,442,550  
Republic of Sri Lanka, 6.85%, 11/03/2025      4,040,000       4,435,253  
Republic of Sri Lanka, 6.825%, 7/18/2026      6,686,000       7,339,222  
Republic of Sri Lanka, 6.2%, 5/11/2027      1,300,000       1,366,923  
Republic of Sri Lanka, 6.2%, 5/11/2027 (n)      4,628,000       4,866,245  
Republic of Turkey, 3.25%, 3/23/2023      2,486,000       2,383,497  
Republic of Turkey, 5.75%, 3/22/2024      3,383,000       3,651,346  
Republic of Turkey, 7.375%, 2/05/2025      1,983,000       2,341,923  
Republic of Turkey, 4.875%, 10/09/2026      3,189,000       3,239,833  
Republic of Turkey, 6%, 3/25/2027      12,100,000       13,249,500  
Republic of Turkey, 6.875%, 3/17/2036      1,403,000       1,630,903  
Republic of Uruguay, 4.125%, 11/20/2045      1,312,000       1,279,200  
Republic of Venezuela, 7.65%, 4/21/2025      2,870,000       1,004,500  
Republic of Zambia, 8.97%, 7/30/2027      1,216,000       1,340,835  
Russian Federation, 4.75%, 5/27/2026      5,400,000       5,742,252  

 

11


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Portfolio of Investments (unaudited) – continued

 

Issuer    Shares/Par     Value ($)  
Bonds - continued  
Emerging Market Sovereign - continued  
Russian Federation, 5.25%, 6/23/2047 (n)    $ 800,000     $ 832,486  
United Mexican States, 6.5%, 6/09/2022    MXN 43,290,000       2,399,064  
United Mexican States, 4.15%, 3/28/2027    $ 456,000       482,676  
United Mexican States, 7.5%, 6/03/2027    MXN 196,300,000       11,514,883  
    

 

 

 
      $ 295,429,828  
Energy - Independent - 0.1%  
Afren PLC, 11.5%, 2/01/2018 (a)(d)(n)    $ 200,000     $ 40  
Tengizchevroil Finance Co. International Ltd., 4%, 8/15/2026 (n)      2,119,000       2,118,390  
    

 

 

 
      $ 2,118,430  
Energy - Integrated - 0.2%  
Inkia Energy Ltd., 8.375%, 4/04/2021    $ 3,013,000     $ 3,096,159  
Reliance Industries Ltd., 4.125%, 1/28/2025 (n)      4,120,000       4,323,503  
    

 

 

 
      $ 7,419,662  
Financial Institutions - 0.0%  
Gruposura Finance S.A., 5.5%, 4/29/2026 (n)    $ 724,000     $ 791,332  
Food & Beverages - 0.1%  
Central American Bottling Corp., 5.75%, 1/31/2027 (n)    $ 800,000     $ 846,784  
Corporacion Lindley S.A., 6.75%, 11/23/2021 (n)      1,145,000       1,273,812  
Corporacion Lindley S.A., 6.75%, 11/23/2021      1,010,000       1,123,625  
    

 

 

 
      $ 3,244,221  
Local Authorities - 0.5%  
Buenos Aires Province, 7.5%, 6/01/2027 (n)    $ 1,989,000     $ 2,187,303  
Philadelphia, PA, School District Rev., “A”, AGM, 5.995%, 9/01/2030      1,210,000       1,456,961  
Province of Santa Fe, 6.9%, 11/01/2027      4,461,000       4,534,606  
Provincia de Cordoba, 7.125%, 6/10/2021      7,306,000       7,806,461  
State of California (Build America Bonds), 7.6%, 11/01/2040      2,320,000       3,694,484  
University of California Rev. (Build America Bonds), 5.77%, 5/15/2043      60,000       78,545  
    

 

 

 
      $ 19,758,360  
Major Banks - 0.1%  
Bank of America Corp., 3.124% to 1/20/2022,
FLR to 1/20/2023
   $ 2,175,000     $ 2,218,026  
UBS Group Funding (Switzerland) AG, 3.491%, 5/23/2023 (n)      829,000       853,040  
    

 

 

 
      $ 3,071,066  

 

12


Table of Contents

Portfolio of Investments (unaudited) – continued

 

Issuer    Shares/Par     Value ($)  
Bonds - continued  
Metals & Mining - 0.2%  
First Quantum Minerals Ltd., 7.25%, 5/15/2022    $ 7,402,000     $ 7,605,555  
Petra Diamonds U.S. Treasury PLC, 7.25%, 5/01/2022 (n)      682,000       707,575  
    

 

 

 
      $ 8,313,130  
Mortgage-Backed - 10.1%  
Fannie Mae, 3.5%, 4/01/2047    $ 3,813,033     $ 3,953,412  
Fannie Mae, 5.5%, 9/01/2017 - 4/01/2040      7,110,409       7,966,013  
Fannie Mae, 2.986%, 12/01/2017      68,489       68,442  
Fannie Mae, 6%, 12/01/2017 - 6/01/2038      488,289       550,359  
Fannie Mae, 3.8%, 2/01/2018      191,724       191,533  
Fannie Mae, 4%, 3/01/2018 - 7/01/2047      69,494,476       73,850,221  
Fannie Mae, 3.99%, 4/01/2018 - 7/01/2021      956,216       1,013,898  
Fannie Mae, 5.286%, 6/01/2018      152,794       155,526  
Fannie Mae, 3.746%, 7/01/2018      146,722       148,835  
Fannie Mae, 5%, 9/01/2018 - 3/01/2042      9,307,842       10,190,677  
Fannie Mae, 2.578%, 9/25/2018      1,030,809       1,033,075  
Fannie Mae, 5.1%, 3/01/2019      105,430       108,833  
Fannie Mae, 5.51%, 3/01/2019      106,448       110,318  
Fannie Mae, 5.08%, 4/01/2019      21,917       22,992  
Fannie Mae, 4.5%, 6/01/2019 - 2/01/2046      29,897,770       32,391,358  
Fannie Mae, 4.829%, 8/01/2019      70,397       74,099  
Fannie Mae, 4.83%, 8/01/2019 - 9/01/2019      66,130       69,850  
Fannie Mae, 5.05%, 8/01/2019      22,201       23,479  
Fannie Mae, 4.6%, 9/01/2019      120,398       126,640  
Fannie Mae, 4.67%, 9/01/2019      26,958       28,435  
Fannie Mae, 4.45%, 10/01/2019      83,548       87,944  
Fannie Mae, 4.88%, 3/01/2020      312,527       323,976  
Fannie Mae, 4.14%, 8/01/2020      39,300       41,583  
Fannie Mae, 5.19%, 9/01/2020      89,572       94,868  
Fannie Mae, 3.416%, 10/01/2020      788,419       820,623  
Fannie Mae, 4.448%, 1/01/2021      604,096       637,914  
Fannie Mae, 3.87%, 7/01/2022      929,188       991,382  
Fannie Mae, 2.152%, 1/25/2023      1,298,000       1,295,356  
Fannie Mae, 2.41%, 5/01/2023      232,863       237,086  
Fannie Mae, 2.55%, 5/01/2023      201,012       206,076  
Fannie Mae, 2.62%, 5/01/2023      276,380       284,319  
Fannie Mae, 3.65%, 9/01/2023      809,401       869,372  
Fannie Mae, 3.78%, 10/01/2023      474,052       509,215  
Fannie Mae, 3.92%, 10/01/2023      987,000       1,077,640  
Fannie Mae, 4.5%, 5/01/2025      18,306       19,304  
Fannie Mae, 2.7%, 7/01/2025      680,000       692,256  
Fannie Mae, 3.96%, 11/01/2025      547,112       598,182  
Fannie Mae, 3.59%, 9/01/2026      372,689       399,569  

 

13


Table of Contents

Portfolio of Investments (unaudited) – continued

 

Issuer    Shares/Par     Value ($)  
Bonds - continued  
Mortgage-Backed - continued  
Fannie Mae, 3%, 3/01/2027 - 11/01/2046    $ 19,184,178     $ 19,591,424  
Fannie Mae, 4.01%, 1/01/2029      711,128       784,603  
Fannie Mae, 4.96%, 6/01/2030      1,197,410       1,360,926  
Fannie Mae, 6.5%, 1/01/2033 - 10/01/2037      119,522       135,619  
Fannie Mae, 3.5%, 1/01/2042 - 1/01/2047      69,210,152       71,883,351  
Fannie Mae, FLR, 1.584% (LIBOR-1mo. + 0.35%), 5/25/2018      548,204       548,566  
Fannie Mae, 2.684%, 12/25/2026      3,827,000       3,812,608  
Freddie Mac, 4.5%, 9/01/2046      4,922,589       5,285,882  
Freddie Mac, 5%, 10/01/2017 - 6/01/2040      246,621       262,721  
Freddie Mac, 3.154%, 2/25/2018      592,600       595,229  
Freddie Mac, 2.699%, 5/25/2018      2,398,600       2,411,179  
Freddie Mac, 2.412%, 8/25/2018      2,869,235       2,881,501  
Freddie Mac, 2.303%, 9/25/2018      1,515,000       1,523,511  
Freddie Mac, 2.323%, 10/25/2018      1,735,099       1,745,727  
Freddie Mac, 1.72%, 1/25/2019      1,284,950       1,286,452  
Freddie Mac, 2.13%, 1/25/2019      1,712,601       1,723,373  
Freddie Mac, 2.086%, 3/25/2019      1,400,000       1,408,135  
Freddie Mac, 5.085%, 3/25/2019      2,160,000       2,249,791  
Freddie Mac, 1.883%, 5/25/2019      1,000,000       1,003,603  
Freddie Mac, 2.456%, 8/25/2019      2,109,000       2,134,511  
Freddie Mac, 4.186%, 8/25/2019      1,484,668       1,549,057  
Freddie Mac, 4.251%, 1/25/2020      400,000       421,234  
Freddie Mac, 4.224%, 3/25/2020      320,000       337,840  
Freddie Mac, 3.808%, 8/25/2020      806,000       849,030  
Freddie Mac, 3.034%, 10/25/2020      505,000       521,325  
Freddie Mac, 2.856%, 1/25/2021      1,434,000       1,478,648  
Freddie Mac, 6%, 5/01/2021 - 10/01/2038      585,125       663,267  
Freddie Mac, 2.791%, 1/25/2022      2,010,000       2,077,437  
Freddie Mac, 2.716%, 6/25/2022      1,295,920       1,335,885  
Freddie Mac, 2.682%, 10/25/2022      1,626,000       1,671,431  
Freddie Mac, 2.51%, 11/25/2022      1,821,000       1,857,117  
Freddie Mac, 3.32%, 2/25/2023      677,000       717,358  
Freddie Mac, 3.25%, 4/25/2023      1,700,000       1,796,066  
Freddie Mac, 3.3%, 4/25/2023 - 10/25/2026      3,285,940       3,478,433  
Freddie Mac, 3.06%, 7/25/2023      886,000       927,333  
Freddie Mac, 2.454%, 8/25/2023      7,333,000       7,440,401  
Freddie Mac, 3.458%, 8/25/2023      675,000       721,226  
Freddie Mac, 4.5%, 9/01/2024 - 5/01/2042      3,360,888       3,623,087  
Freddie Mac, 2.67%, 12/25/2024      2,555,000       2,608,129  
Freddie Mac, 2.811%, 1/25/2025      2,125,000       2,185,858  
Freddie Mac, 3.023%, 1/25/2025      1,000,000       1,042,813  
Freddie Mac, 3.329%, 5/25/2025      5,166,000       5,493,997  

 

14


Table of Contents

Portfolio of Investments (unaudited) – continued

 

Issuer    Shares/Par     Value ($)  
Bonds - continued  
Mortgage-Backed - continued  
Freddie Mac, 3.284%, 6/25/2025    $ 5,000,000     $ 5,295,133  
Freddie Mac, 4%, 7/01/2025 - 9/01/2044      3,211,704       3,398,854  
Freddie Mac, 3.01%, 7/25/2025      1,675,000       1,742,221  
Freddie Mac, 2.745%, 1/25/2026      3,263,000       3,318,357  
Freddie Mac, 2.673%, 3/25/2026      2,368,000       2,396,150  
Freddie Mac, 3.243%, 4/25/2027      2,861,000       3,013,214  
Freddie Mac, 3.117%, 6/25/2027      2,090,000       2,177,250  
Freddie Mac, 5.5%, 6/01/2030 - 6/01/2041      994,853       1,106,467  
Freddie Mac, 6.5%, 5/01/2037      27,183       30,598  
Freddie Mac, 3.5%, 12/01/2041 - 1/01/2047      28,962,206       30,057,859  
Freddie Mac, 3%, 4/01/2043 - 11/01/2046      25,991,004       26,368,129  
Freddie Mac, 1.018%, 4/25/2024 (i)      21,420,550       1,041,887  
Freddie Mac, 3.224%, 3/25/2027      3,227,000       3,387,632  
Ginnie Mae, 5.5%, 5/15/2033 - 1/20/2042      397,314       443,252  
Ginnie Mae, 4.5%, 7/20/2033 - 9/20/2041      6,597,226       7,084,850  
Ginnie Mae, 4%, 10/15/2039 - 4/20/2041      307,410       325,737  
Ginnie Mae, 3.5%, 12/15/2041 - 7/20/2043      9,117,364       9,547,457  
Ginnie Mae, 6.158%, 4/20/2058      3,197       3,510  
Ginnie Mae, 0.658%, 2/16/2059 (i)      3,272,417       223,081  
    

 

 

 
      $ 407,651,982  
Natural Gas - Distribution - 0.1%  
GNL Quintero S.A., 4.634%, 7/31/2029 (n)    $ 4,778,000     $ 4,998,983  
Network & Telecom - 0.3%  
AT&T, Inc., 3.4%, 8/14/2024    $ 1,670,000     $ 1,685,736  
Columbus International, Inc., 7.375%, 3/30/2021 (n)      1,242,000       1,328,692  
Empresa Nacional de Telecomunicaciones S.A., 4.75%, 8/01/2026      5,020,000       5,224,499  
Telefonica Celular del Paraguay S.A., 6.75%, 12/13/2022 (n)      3,437,000       3,563,241  
    

 

 

 
      $ 11,802,168  
Oil Services - 0.0%  
Odebrecht Offshore Drilling Finance Ltd., 6.75%, 10/01/2022 (a)(d)(n)    $ 3,476,288     $ 1,294,917  
Other Banks & Diversified Financials - 0.3%  
Banque Federative du Credit Mutuel S.A., 2.5%, 4/13/2021 (n)    $ 1,152,000     $ 1,162,335  
ING Groep N.V., 3.15%, 3/29/2022      1,585,000       1,623,594  
Kazkommertsbank JSC, 5.5%, 12/21/2022      8,000,000       7,822,560  
    

 

 

 
      $ 10,608,489  

 

15


Table of Contents

Portfolio of Investments (unaudited) – continued

 

Issuer    Shares/Par     Value ($)  
Bonds - continued  
Railroad & Shipping - 0.1%  
Rumo Luxembourg Sarl, 7.375%, 2/09/2024    $ 2,508,000     $ 2,684,814  
Rumo Luxembourg Sarl, “A”, 7.375%, 2/09/2024 (n)      632,000       676,556  
    

 

 

 
      $ 3,361,370  
Restaurants - 0.0%  
McDonald’s Corp., 2.75%, 12/09/2020    $ 453,000     $ 464,014  
Supranational - 0.0%  
Banque Ouest Africaine de Developpement, 5%, 7/27/2027 (n)    $ 657,000     $ 678,352  
Inter-American Development Bank, 4.375%, 1/24/2044      511,000       626,432  
    

 

 

 
      $ 1,304,784  
Telecommunications - Wireless - 0.3%  
Digicel Group Ltd., 6%, 4/15/2021 (n)    $ 2,253,000     $ 2,185,410  
Digicel Group Ltd., 7.125%, 4/01/2022      4,997,000       4,441,084  
Digicel Group Ltd., 6.75%, 3/01/2023      2,373,000       2,275,114  
VimpelCom Holdings B.V., 3.95%, 6/16/2021 (n)      732,000       737,124  
VimpelCom Holdings B.V., 4.95%, 6/16/2024 (n)      647,000       660,205  
    

 

 

 
      $ 10,298,937  
Tobacco - 0.0%  
BAT Capital Corp., 2.764%, 8/15/2022 (z)    $ 1,508,000     $ 1,520,996  
Transportation - 0.1%  
Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Ltd., 4%, 7/30/2027 (n)    $ 5,300,000     $ 5,326,436  
Transportation - Services - 0.0%  
Delhi International Airport, 6.125%, 10/31/2026 (n)    $ 1,078,000     $ 1,161,545  
U.S. Government Agencies and Equivalents - 1.0%  
AID-Tunisia, 2.452%, 7/24/2021    $ 728,000     $ 742,411  
AID-Ukraine, 1.844%, 5/16/2019      3,674,000       3,705,872  
AID-Ukraine, 1.847%, 5/29/2020      8,820,000       8,870,406  
Fannie Mae, 0.875%, 5/21/2018      4,000,000       3,990,152  
Fannie Mae, 1.75%, 11/26/2019      4,750,000       4,785,022  
Fannie Mae, 1.625%, 1/21/2020      7,500,000       7,530,247  
Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, 1.945%, 6/23/2019      987,000       995,165  
Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, 2.503%, 10/30/2020      1,108,000       1,139,616  
Private Export Funding Corp., 2.25%, 3/15/2020      419,000       425,628  
Private Export Funding Corp., 2.3%, 9/15/2020      2,000,000       2,040,618  
Private Export Funding Corp., 1.875%, 7/15/2018      850,000       854,170  
Small Business Administration, 6.34%, 5/01/2021      20,130       21,097  

 

16


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Portfolio of Investments (unaudited) – continued

 

Issuer    Shares/Par     Value ($)  
Bonds - continued  
U.S. Government Agencies and Equivalents - continued  
Small Business Administration, 6.07%, 3/01/2022    $ 21,214     $ 22,376  
Small Business Administration, 5.16%, 2/01/2028      84,699       92,088  
Small Business Administration, 2.21%, 2/01/2033      271,154       268,344  
Small Business Administration, 2.22%, 3/01/2033      501,651       499,441  
Small Business Administration, 3.15%, 7/01/2033      587,018       610,737  
Small Business Administration, 3.16%, 8/01/2033      667,561       695,172  
Small Business Administration, 3.62%, 9/01/2033      554,236       588,747  
Tennessee Valley Authority, 1.75%, 10/15/2018      863,000       867,229  
    

 

 

 
      $ 38,744,538  
U.S. Treasury Obligations - 7.4%  
U.S. Treasury Bonds, 6.375%, 8/15/2027    $ 106,000     $ 146,686  
U.S. Treasury Bonds, 5.25%, 2/15/2029      2,965,000       3,887,393  
U.S. Treasury Bonds, 4.5%, 2/15/2036      3,629,000       4,776,246  
U.S. Treasury Bonds, 4.375%, 2/15/2038      1,349,000       1,754,701  
U.S. Treasury Bonds, 4.5%, 8/15/2039      8,140,000       10,775,325  
U.S. Treasury Bonds, 3.125%, 2/15/2043      9,137,900       9,883,924  
U.S. Treasury Bonds, 2.875%, 5/15/2043      17,378,300       17,970,248  
U.S. Treasury Bonds, 2.5%, 2/15/2045      29,457,000       28,206,228  
U.S. Treasury Notes, 1.75%, 11/30/2021      46,700,000       46,907,961  
U.S. Treasury Notes, 2.625%, 4/30/2018      1,752,000       1,768,151  
U.S. Treasury Notes, 2.75%, 2/15/2019      46,949,000       47,922,825  
U.S. Treasury Notes, 3.125%, 5/15/2019      1,116,000       1,149,872  
U.S. Treasury Notes, 1%, 6/30/2019      12,606,000       12,535,584  
U.S. Treasury Notes, 1.625%, 6/30/2019 (f)      18,038,000       18,134,531  
U.S. Treasury Notes, 2.625%, 8/15/2020      6,082,000       6,290,356  
U.S. Treasury Notes, 2%, 11/30/2020      22,044,000       22,397,048  
U.S. Treasury Notes, 3.125%, 5/15/2021      3,748,000       3,959,118  
U.S. Treasury Notes, 1.75%, 5/15/2022      3,949,000       3,960,569  
U.S. Treasury Notes, 2.5%, 8/15/2023      20,725,000       21,499,759  
U.S. Treasury Notes, 2.75%, 2/15/2024      7,855,000       8,261,558  
U.S. Treasury Notes, 2.5%, 5/15/2024      12,602,000       13,060,299  
U.S. Treasury Notes, 2%, 8/15/2025      11,808,000       11,781,248  
U.S. Treasury Notes, 2%, 11/15/2026      2,031,000       2,012,277  
    

 

 

 
      $ 299,041,907  
Utilities - Electric Power - 0.7%  
Adani Transmission Ltd., 4%, 8/03/2026 (n)    $ 260,000     $ 263,470  
Azure Power Energy Ltd., 5.5%, 11/03/2022 (n)      3,114,000       3,135,798  
Cerro del Aguila S.A., 4.125%, 8/16/2027 (n)      1,409,000       1,412,522  
Enel Americas S.A., 4%, 10/25/2026      635,000       644,061  
Enel Finance International N.V., 2.875%, 5/25/2022 (n)      2,073,000       2,094,895  
Energuate Trust, 5.875%, 5/03/2027 (n)      762,000       786,765  
Engie Energia Chile S.A., 5.625%, 1/15/2021      2,177,000       2,380,074  

 

17


Table of Contents

Portfolio of Investments (unaudited) – continued

 

Issuer    Shares/Par     Value ($)  
Bonds - continued  
Utilities - Electric Power - continued  
Engie Energia Chile S.A., 4.5%, 1/29/2025 (n)    $ 2,824,000     $ 2,956,331  
Greenko Dutch B.V., 5.25%, 7/24/2024 (n)      7,661,000       7,699,305  
NextEra Energy Capital Holdings, Inc., 2.056%, 9/01/2017      950,000       950,000  
Transelec S.A., 4.25%, 1/14/2025 (n)      2,631,000       2,737,175  
Transelec S.A., 3.875%, 1/12/2029 (n)      3,854,000       3,844,365  
Virginia Electric & Power Co., 3.5%, 3/15/2027      813,000       852,221  
    

 

 

 
      $ 29,756,982  
Utilities - Gas - 0.1%  
Transport de Gas Peru, 4.25%, 4/30/2028 (n)    $ 3,039,000     $ 3,160,560  
Total Bonds (Identified Cost, $1,352,047,070)     $ 1,375,528,917  
Common Stocks - 39.7%  
Airlines - 0.3%  
Air Canada (a)      570,125     $ 10,656,030  
Automotive - 0.5%  
General Motors Co.      260,939     $ 9,534,711  
Hyundai Motor Co.      19,343       2,410,156  
Magna International, Inc.      193,897       9,330,347  
    

 

 

 
      $ 21,275,214  
Biotechnology - 0.2%  
Celgene Corp. (a)      63,642     $ 8,841,783  
Business Services - 0.4%  
DXC Technology Co.      188,273     $ 16,003,205  
Cable TV - 0.5%  
Charter Communications, Inc., “A” (a)      46,308     $ 18,455,590  
Chemicals - 0.1%  
LyondellBasell Industries N.V., “A”      31,693     $ 2,871,069  
Computer Software - 0.3%  
Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. (a)      101,078     $ 11,307,596  
Computer Software - Systems - 0.3%  
Hitachi Ltd.      377,000     $ 2,595,979  
Hon Hai Precision Industry Co. Ltd.      2,500,900       9,737,094  
    

 

 

 
      $ 12,333,073  
Construction - 0.1%  
Owens Corning      71,381     $ 5,291,474  

 

18


Table of Contents

Portfolio of Investments (unaudited) – continued

 

Issuer    Shares/Par     Value ($)  
Common Stocks - continued  
Consumer Products - 0.6%  
Essity AB (a)      200,484     $ 5,566,091  
Procter & Gamble Co.      178,627       16,481,913  
Reckitt Benckiser Group PLC      17,856       1,692,929  
    

 

 

 
      $ 23,740,933  
Electrical Equipment - 0.8%  
Schneider Electric S.A.      253,520     $ 20,441,109  
Siemens AG      82,333       10,761,862  
    

 

 

 
      $ 31,202,971  
Electronics - 1.2%  
Intel Corp.      236,268     $ 8,285,919  
Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.      6,627       13,611,327  
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. Ltd., ADR      708,427       26,190,546  
    

 

 

 
      $ 48,087,792  
Energy - Independent - 0.2%  
Frontera Energy Corp. (a)      36,341     $ 1,011,733  
Valero Energy Corp.      113,836       7,752,232  
    

 

 

 
      $ 8,763,965  
Energy - Integrated - 0.9%  
BP PLC      1,701,374     $ 9,793,508  
China Petroleum & Chemical Corp.      4,586,000       3,510,225  
Exxon Mobil Corp.      94,928       7,245,854  
Galp Energia SGPS S.A.      445,469       7,376,592  
LUKOIL PJSC, ADR      137,772       6,923,043  
    

 

 

 
      $ 34,849,222  
Engineering - Construction - 0.3%  
Bouygues      145,520     $ 6,599,360  
VINCI S.A.      81,804       7,532,619  
    

 

 

 
      $ 14,131,979  
Food & Beverages - 0.8%  
Marine Harvest A.S.A.      652,439     $ 12,959,719  
Nestle S.A.      51,170       4,340,872  
P/f Bakkafrost      47,239       2,205,475  
Tyson Foods, Inc., “A”      183,034       11,586,052  
    

 

 

 
      $ 31,092,118  
Food & Drug Stores - 0.2%  
Wesfarmers Ltd.      213,926     $ 7,247,977  

 

19


Table of Contents

Portfolio of Investments (unaudited) – continued

 

Issuer    Shares/Par     Value ($)  
Common Stocks - continued  
Gaming & Lodging - 0.1%  
Sands China Ltd.      1,307,200     $ 5,854,692  
Insurance - 1.3%  
Athene Holding Ltd. (a)      127,847     $ 6,841,093  
Legal & General Group PLC      1,092,855       3,677,070  
MetLife, Inc.      167,817       7,858,870  
Prudential Financial, Inc.      83,032       8,475,907  
Swiss Re Ltd.      40,068       3,628,871  
Zurich Insurance Group AG      75,179       22,492,158  
    

 

 

 
      $ 52,973,969  
Major Banks - 1.0%  
BNP Paribas      103,257     $ 7,855,964  
Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce      43,748       3,675,357  
China Construction Bank      18,412,000       16,139,836  
Royal Bank of Canada      113,961       8,439,952  
Toronto-Dominion Bank      96,988       5,208,421  
    

 

 

 
      $ 41,319,530  
Medical & Health Technology & Services - 0.2%  
HCA Healthcare, Inc. (a)      119,305     $ 9,384,531  
Metals & Mining - 0.5%  
Rio Tinto PLC      458,654     $ 22,219,947  
Natural Gas - Distribution - 0.3%  
Engie      727,995     $ 12,150,316  
Natural Gas - Pipeline - 0.2%  
Williams Partners LP      178,655     $ 7,039,007  
Network & Telecom - 0.2%  
Cisco Systems, Inc.      245,372     $ 7,903,432  
Other Banks & Diversified Financials - 0.2%  
Agricultural Bank of China      5,329,000     $ 2,505,922  
DBS Group Holdings Ltd.      381,400       5,799,969  
    

 

 

 
      $ 8,305,891  
Pharmaceuticals - 2.3%  
Bayer AG      107,640     $ 13,775,054  
Eli Lilly & Co.      215,535       17,520,840  
Merck & Co., Inc.      331,368       21,161,160  
Novartis AG      241,982       20,414,353  

 

20


Table of Contents

Portfolio of Investments (unaudited) – continued

 

Issuer    Shares/Par     Value ($)  
Common Stocks - continued  
Pharmaceuticals - continued  
Pfizer, Inc.      351,418     $ 11,920,099  
Roche Holding AG      30,373       7,712,420  
    

 

 

 
      $ 92,503,926  
Real Estate - 20.5%  
Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Inc., REIT      360,890     $ 43,779,566  
American Homes 4 Rent, “A”, REIT      1,146,466       25,405,687  
AvalonBay Communities, Inc., REIT      243,528       45,717,511  
Boardwalk, REIT      568,139       18,371,534  
Brixmor Property Group Inc., REIT      939,275       17,583,228  
Cheung Kong Property Holdings Ltd.      952,000       8,357,333  
Equity Commonwealth, REIT (a)      180,711       5,591,198  
Equity Lifestyle Properties, Inc., REIT      454,837       40,548,719  
Gramercy Property Trust, REIT      1,209,495       36,841,218  
Life Storage, Inc., REIT      474,394       34,910,654  
Medical Properties Trust, Inc., REIT      3,487,245       45,892,144  
Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc., REIT      387,383       41,240,794  
OUTFRONT Media, Inc., REIT      1,202,857       26,462,854  
Parkway, Inc., REIT      406,693       9,337,671  
Public Storage, Inc., REIT      313,512       64,376,554  
Ramco-Gershenson Properties Trust, REIT      1,251,277       16,454,293  
Realogy Holdings Corp.      115,437       3,913,314  
Rexford Industrial Realty, Inc., REIT      517,169       15,540,928  
Simon Property Group, Inc., REIT      463,649       72,723,346  
STAG Industrial, Inc., REIT      1,198,718       33,552,117  
Starwood Property Trust, Inc., REIT      1,177,140       26,144,279  
Store Capital Corp., REIT      1,544,507       39,199,588  
Sun Communities, Inc., REIT      435,210       39,303,815  
Urban Edge Properties, REIT      935,492       23,527,624  
Washington Prime Group, Inc., REIT      4,009,427       33,478,715  
Welltower, Inc., REIT      532,715       39,005,392  
Weyerhaeuser Co., REIT      698,228       22,769,215  
    

 

 

 
      $ 830,029,291  
Restaurants - 0.0%  
Greggs PLC      109,733     $ 1,707,006  
Specialty Chemicals - 0.3%  
PTT Global Chemical PLC      4,590,600     $ 10,576,145  
Specialty Stores - 0.2%  
Gap, Inc.      373,688     $ 8,826,511  

 

21


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Portfolio of Investments (unaudited) – continued

 

Issuer    Shares/Par     Value ($)  
Common Stocks - continued  
Telecommunications - Wireless - 1.1%  
American Tower Corp., REIT      237,172     $ 35,113,315  
SK Telecom Co. Ltd.      13,593       3,055,893  
Vodafone Group PLC      1,754,896       5,024,133  
    

 

 

 
      $ 43,193,341  
Telephone Services - 0.4%                 
AT&T, Inc.      73,916     $ 2,768,893  
Nippon Telegraph & Telephone Corp.      129,700       6,451,081  
TDC A.S.      951,447       5,668,461  
Telefonica S.A.      280,121       3,020,905  
    

 

 

 
             $ 17,909,340  
Tobacco - 1.9%                 
Altria Group, Inc.      444,775     $ 28,198,735  
Imperial Brands PLC      67,384       2,788,732  
Japan Tobacco, Inc.      488,800       16,735,737  
Philip Morris International, Inc.      243,037       28,418,316  
    

 

 

 
             $ 76,141,520  
Utilities - Electric Power - 1.3%                 
American Electric Power Co., Inc.      198,232     $ 14,595,822  
Energias de Portugal S.A.      912,923       3,504,895  
Exelon Corp.      462,421       17,511,883  
SSE PLC      624,024       11,498,687  
Xcel Energy, Inc.      129,237       6,397,231  
    

 

 

 
             $ 53,508,518  
Total Common Stocks (Identified Cost, $1,406,677,822)            $ 1,607,698,904  
Convertible Preferred Stocks - 0.1%                 
Utilities - Electric Power - 0.1%                 
NextEra Energy, Inc., 6.123%    $ 27,684     $ 1,539,230  
NextEra Energy, Inc., 6.371%      34,435       2,335,726  
Total Convertible Preferred Stocks
(Identified Cost, $3,885,563)
           $ 3,874,956  
Preferred Stocks - 0.1%                 
Automotive - 0.1%                 
Hyundai Motor Co.      27,354     $ 2,474,377  
Other Banks & Diversified Financials - 0.0%                 
Itau Unibanco Holding S.A.      162,800     $ 2,086,815  
Total Preferred Stocks
(Identified Cost, $4,199,116)
           $ 4,561,192  

 

22


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Portfolio of Investments (unaudited) – continued

 

 

Purchased Options - 0.0%  
Underlying/Expiration
Date/Exercise Price
   Put/Call     Counterparty     Notional
Amount
    Number
of
Contracts
    Value ($)  
Index Options - 0.0%  
iShares Dow Jones U.S. Real Estate ETF - January 2018 @ $66      Put       Exchange traded     $ 38,570,000       4,750     $ 109,250  
iShares Dow Jones U.S. Real Estate ETF - January 2018 @ $68      Put       Exchange traded       40,194,000       4,950       153,450  
iShares Dow Jones U.S. Real Estate ETF - March 2018 @ $71      Put       Exchange traded       42,224,000       5,200       405,600  
iShares Dow Jones U.S. Real Estate ETF - September 2017 @ $73      Put       Exchange traded       40,194,000       4,950       19,800  
iShares Dow Jones U.S. Real Estate ETF - September 2017 @ $76      Put       Exchange traded       40,194,000       4,950       39,600  
Total Purchased Options
(Premiums Paid, $2,275,596)
    $ 727,700  
Issuer    Shares/Par         
Investment Companies (h) - 25.7%                 
Money Market Funds - 2.8%                 
MFS Institutional Money Market Portfolio, 1.11% (v)      111,369,613     $ 111,369,613  
Specialty Funds - 22.9%                 
MFS High Yield Pooled Portfolio (v)      98,963,118     $ 928,274,051  
Total Investment Companies
(Identified Cost, $1,021,060,929)
           $ 1,039,643,664  
Other Assets, Less Liabilities - 0.5%              20,948,749  
Net Assets - 100.0%            $ 4,052,984,082  

 

(a) Non-income producing security.
(d) In default.
(f) All or a portion of the security has been segregated as collateral for open futures contracts.
(h) An affiliated issuer may be considered one in which the fund owns 5% or more of the outstanding voting securities, or a company which is under common control. At period end, the aggregate values of the fund’s investments in affiliated issuers and in unaffiliated issuers were $1,039,643,664 and $2,992,391,669, respectively.
(i) Interest only security for which the fund receives interest on notional principal (Par amount). Par amount shown is the notional principal and does not reflect the cost of the security.
(n) Securities exempt from registration under Rule 144A of the Securities Act of 1933. These securities may be sold in the ordinary course of business in transactions exempt from registration, normally to qualified institutional buyers. At period end, the aggregate value of these securities was $222,931,863, representing 5.5% of net assets.

 

23


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Portfolio of Investments (unaudited) – continued

 

(v) Affiliated fund that is available only to investment companies managed by MFS. The rate quoted for the MFS Institutional Money Market Portfolio is the annualized seven-day yield of the fund at period end.
(z) Restricted securities are not registered under the Securities Act of 1933 and are subject to legal restrictions on resale. These securities generally may be resold in transactions exempt from registration or to the public if the securities are subsequently registered. Disposal of these securities may involve time-consuming negotiations and prompt sale at an acceptable price may be difficult. The fund holds the following restricted securities:

 

Restricted Securities    Acquisition
Date
   Cost      Value  
BAT Capital Corp., 2.764%, 8/15/2022    8/08/17      $1,508,000        $1,520,996  
% of Net assets            0.0%  

The following abbreviations are used in this report and are defined:

 

ADR   American Depositary Receipt
CDO   Collateralized Debt Obligation
CLO   Collateralized Loan Obligation
ETF   Exchange-Traded Fund
FLR   Floating Rate Note. Interest rate resets periodically and the current rate may not be the rate reported at period end.
PJSC   Public Joint Stock Company
PLC   Public Limited Company
REIT   Real Estate Investment Trust
STRIPS   Separate Trading of Registered Interest and Principal of Securities

 

Insurers      
AGM    Assured Guaranty Municipal      

Abbreviations indicate amounts shown in currencies other than the U.S. dollar. All amounts are stated in U.S. dollars unless otherwise indicated. A list of abbreviations is shown below:

 

IDR   Indonesian Rupiah
INR   Indian Rupee
MXN   Mexican Peso
PEN   Peruvian Nuevo Sol
PLN   Polish Zloty
TRY   Turkish Lira
UYU   Uruguayan Peso
ZAR   South African Rand

Derivative Contracts at 8/31/17

Forward Foreign Currency Exchange Contracts at 8/31/17

 

Currency
Purchased
  Currency Sold     Counterparty   Settlement
Date
  Unrealized
Appreciation
 
Asset Derivitives            
INR   753,793,000   USD     11,665,552     JPMorgan Chase Bank   9/5/2017     $126,051  
PLN   5,227,000   USD     1,451,102     JPMorgan Chase Bank   10/13/2017     14,432  
TRY   13,939,000   USD     3,876,898     JPMorgan Chase Bank   10/13/2017     114,942  
           

 

 

 
              $255,425  
           

 

 

 

 

24


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Portfolio of Investments (unaudited) – continued

 

Forward Foreign Currency Exchange Contracts at 8/31/17 – continued

 

Currency
Purchased
  Currency Sold     Counterparty   Settlement
Date
    Unrealized
Appreciation
 
Liability Derivatives              
INR   753,793,000   USD     11,718,508     Barclays Bank PLC     11/1/2017       $(8,518
USD   11,778,016   INR     753,793,000     Barclays Bank PLC     9/5/2017       (13,588
USD   7,508,629   MXN     135,313,000     BNP Paribas S.A.     10/13/2017       (12,816
USD   1,449,154   PLN     5,227,000     Deutsche Bank AG     10/13/2017       (16,380
           

 

 

 
              $(51,302
           

 

 

 

Futures Contracts at 8/31/17

 

Description   Long/
Short
    Currency     Contracts  

Notional

Value

    Expiration
Date
   

Value/

Unrealized
Appreciation
(Depreciation)

 
Asset Derivatives      
Interest Rate Futures      
U.S. Treasury Note 5 yr     Long       USD     138     $16,353,000       December - 2017       $(13,425
           

 

 

 

At August 31, 2017, the fund had liquid securities with an aggregate value of $93,498 to cover any collateral or margin obligations for certain derivative contracts.

See Notes to Financial Statements

 

25


Table of Contents

Financial Statements

 

STATEMENT OF ASSETS AND LIABILITIES

At 8/31/17 (unaudited)

This statement represents your fund’s balance sheet, which details the assets and liabilities comprising the total value of the fund.

 

Assets         

Investments in unaffiliated issuers, at value (identified cost, $2,769,085,167)

     $2,992,391,669  

Investments in affiliated issuers, at value (identified cost, $1,021,060,929)

     1,039,643,664  

Cash

     5,492,361  

Foreign currency, at value (identified cost, $280)

     281  

Receivables for

  

Forward foreign currency exchange contracts

     255,425  

Daily variation margin on open futures contracts

     9,709  

Investments sold

     6,300,869  

Fund shares sold

     9,182,661  

Interest and dividends

     16,172,356  

Other assets

     3,804  

Total assets

     $4,069,452,799  
Liabilities         

Payables for

  

Distributions

     $1,020,320  

Forward foreign currency exchange contracts

     51,302  

Investments purchased

     6,763,040  

Fund shares reacquired

     7,190,520  

Payable to affiliates

  

Investment adviser

     132,811  

Shareholder servicing costs

     926,932  

Distribution and service fees

     74,000  

Payable for independent Trustees’ compensation

     1,227  

Deferred country tax expense payable

     196,280  

Accrued expenses and other liabilities

     112,285  

Total liabilities

     $16,468,717  

Net assets

     $4,052,984,082  
Net assets consist of         

Paid-in capital

     $3,837,758,083  

Unrealized appreciation (depreciation) (net of $196,280 deferred country tax)

     241,924,320  

Accumulated net realized gain (loss)

     (32,379,891

Undistributed net investment income

     5,681,570  

Net assets

     $4,052,984,082  

Shares of beneficial interest outstanding

     323,242,804  

 

     Net assets      Shares
outstanding
     Net asset value
per share (a)
 

Class A

     $1,394,158,959        111,163,838        $12.54  

Class C

     1,011,211,477        80,680,975        12.53  

Class I

     1,423,738,482        113,548,379        12.54  

Class R1

     620,155        49,527        12.52  

Class R2

     4,381,317        349,549        12.53  

Class R3

     20,253,243        1,614,740        12.54  

Class R4

     8,896,302        709,261        12.54  

Class R6

     189,724,147        15,126,535        12.54  

 

(a) Maximum offering price per share was equal to the net asset value per share for all share classes, except for Class A, for which the maximum offering price per share was $13.10 [100 / 95.75 x $12.54]. On sales of $100,000 or more, the maximum offering price of Class A shares is reduced. A contingent deferred sales charge may be imposed on redemptions of Class A, and Class C shares. Redemption price per share was equal to the net asset value per share for Classes I, R1, R2, R3, R4, and R6.

See Notes to Financial Statements

 

26


Table of Contents

Financial Statements

 

STATEMENT OF OPERATIONS

Six months ended 8/31/17 (unaudited)

This statement describes how much your fund earned in investment income and accrued in expenses. It also describes any gains and/or losses generated by fund operations.

 

Net investment income (loss)         

Income

  

Dividends

     $34,983,870  

Dividends from affiliated issuers

     28,943,924  

Interest

     24,796,261  

Income on securities loaned

     40,288  

Foreign taxes withheld

     (1,498,369

Total investment income

     $87,265,974  

Expenses

  

Management fee

     $11,812,431  

Distribution and service fees

     6,916,589  

Shareholder servicing costs

     2,003,301  

Administrative services fee

     329,902  

Independent Trustees’ compensation

     23,885  

Custodian fee

     179,546  

Shareholder communications

     106,352  

Audit and tax fees

     35,223  

Legal fees

     24,884  

Miscellaneous

     213,724  

Total expenses

     $21,645,837  

Fees paid indirectly

     (3,480

Reduction of expenses by investment adviser and distributor

     (158,619

Net expenses

     $21,483,738  

Net investment income (loss)

     $65,782,236  
Realized and unrealized gain (loss)         

Realized gain (loss) (identified cost basis)

  

Unaffiliated issuers (net of $3,368 country tax)

     $18,066,551  

Affiliated issuers

     (8,279,304

Futures contracts

     317,073  

Forward foreign currency exchange contracts

     627,340  

Foreign currency

     20,545  

Net realized gain (loss)

     $10,752,205  

Change in unrealized appreciation (depreciation)

  

Unaffiliated issuers (net of $99,821 increase in deferred country tax)

     $53,796,043  

Affiliated issuers

     7,991,159  

Futures contracts

     3,393  

Forward foreign currency exchange contracts

     180,277  

Translation of assets and liabilities in foreign currencies

     52,091  

Net unrealized gain (loss)

     $62,022,963  

Net realized and unrealized gain (loss)

     $72,775,168  

Change in net assets from operations

     $138,557,404  

See Notes to Financial Statements

 

27


Table of Contents

Financial Statements

 

STATEMENTS OF CHANGES IN NET ASSETS

These statements describe the increases and/or decreases in net assets resulting from operations, any distributions, and any shareholder transactions.

 

Change in net assets   

Six months ended

8/31/17

(unaudited)

    

Year ended

2/28/17

 
From operations                  

Net investment income (loss)

     $65,782,236        $108,377,097  

Net realized gain (loss)

     10,752,205        (16,982,712

Net unrealized gain (loss)

     62,022,963        322,451,889  

Change in net assets from operations

     $138,557,404        $413,846,274  
Distributions declared to shareholders                  

From net investment income

     $(55,553,242      $(114,441,132

From net realized gain

            (918,231

Total distributions declared to shareholders

     $(55,553,242      $(115,359,363

Change in net assets from fund share transactions

     $121,969,174        $472,281,792  

Total change in net assets

     $204,973,336        $770,768,703  
Net assets                  

At beginning of period

     3,848,010,746        3,077,242,043  

At end of period (including undistributed net investment income of $5,681,570 and accumulated distributions in excess of net investment income of $4,547,424, respectively)

     $4,052,984,082        $3,848,010,746  

See Notes to Financial Statements

 

28


Table of Contents

Financial Statements

 

FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS

The financial highlights table is intended to help you understand the fund’s financial performance for the semiannual period and the past 5 fiscal years (or life of a particular share class, if shorter). Certain information reflects financial results for a single fund share. The total returns in the table represent the rate that an investor would have earned (or lost) on an investment in the fund share class (assuming reinvestment of all distributions) held for the entire period.

 

   

Six months
ended
8/31/17

(unaudited)

    Year ended  
Class A     2/28/17     2/29/16     2/28/15     2/28/14     2/28/13  
                                 

Net asset value, beginning of
period

    $12.28       $11.22       $12.70       $12.21       $11.82       $11.05  
Income (loss) from investment operations                          

Net investment income
(loss) (d)

    $0.21       $0.39       $0.38       $0.34       $0.34       $0.33  

Net realized and unrealized
gain (loss)

    0.23       1.08       (1.06     0.75       0.57       0.82  

Total from investment
operations

    $0.44       $1.47       $(0.68     $1.09       $0.91       $1.15  
Less distributions declared to shareholders                                  

From net investment income

    $(0.18     $(0.41     $(0.39     $(0.36     $(0.35     $(0.37

From net realized gain

          (0.00 )(w)      (0.41     (0.24     (0.17     (0.01

Total distributions declared to
shareholders

    $(0.18     $(0.41     $(0.80     $(0.60     $(0.52     $(0.38

Net asset value, end of
period (x)

    $12.54       $12.28       $11.22       $12.70       $12.21       $11.82  

Total return (%) (r)(s)(t)(x)

    3.61 (n)      13.26       (5.53     9.09       7.87       10.56  
Ratios (%) (to average net assets)
and Supplemental data:
                         

Expenses before expense
reductions (f)

    0.99 (a)(h)      1.02 (h)      1.06 (h)      1.06 (h)      1.07 (h)      1.08  

Expenses after expense
reductions (f)

    0.98 (a)(h)      1.00 (h)      1.01 (h)      1.03 (h)      1.06 (h)      1.08  

Net investment income (loss)

    3.40 (a)      3.25       3.17       2.70       2.83       2.86  

Portfolio turnover

    26 (n)      46       62       48       63       64  

Net assets at end of period
(000 omitted)

    $1,394,159       $1,321,135       $1,408,719       $1,334,418       $1,071,400       $797,338  

See Notes to Financial Statements

 

29


Table of Contents

Financial Highlights – continued

 

   

Six months
ended
8/31/17

(unaudited)

    Year ended  
Class C     2/28/17     2/29/16     2/28/15     2/28/14     2/28/13  
                                 

Net asset value, beginning of
period

    $12.28       $11.22       $12.70       $12.20       $11.82       $11.04  
Income (loss) from investment operations                          

Net investment income
(loss) (d)

    $0.17       $0.30       $0.29       $0.24       $0.25       $0.24  

Net realized and unrealized
gain (loss)

    0.21       1.08       (1.06     0.77       0.56       0.83  

Total from investment
operations

    $0.38       $1.38       $(0.77     $1.01       $0.81       $1.07  
Less distributions declared to shareholders                                          

From net investment income

    $(0.13     $(0.32     $(0.30     $(0.27     $(0.26     $(0.28

From net realized gain

          (0.00 )(w)      (0.41     (0.24     (0.17     (0.01

Total distributions declared to
shareholders

    $(0.13     $(0.32     $(0.71     $(0.51     $(0.43     $(0.29

Net asset value, end of
period (x)

    $12.53       $12.28       $11.22       $12.70       $12.20       $11.82  

Total return (%) (r)(s)(t)(x)

    3.14 (n)      12.43       (6.24     8.36       6.97       9.84  
Ratios (%) (to average net assets)
and Supplemental data:
                         

Expenses before expense
reductions (f)

    1.74 (a)(h)      1.77 (h)      1.81 (h)      1.81 (h)      1.82 (h)      1.83  

Expenses after expense
reductions (f)

    1.74 (a)(h)      1.75 (h)      1.76 (h)      1.78 (h)      1.81 (h)      1.83  

Net investment income (loss)

    2.67 (a)      2.50       2.42       1.96       2.08       2.11  

Portfolio turnover

    26 (n)      46       62       48       63       64  

Net assets at end of period
(000 omitted)

    $1,011,211       $1,046,946       $939,801       $859,969       $630,810       $466,361  

See Notes to Financial Statements

 

30


Table of Contents

Financial Highlights – continued

 

   

Six months
ended
8/31/17

(unaudited)

    Year ended  
Class I     2/28/17     2/29/16     2/28/15     2/28/14     2/28/13  
                                 

Net asset value, beginning of
period

    $12.28       $11.22       $12.70       $12.21       $11.82       $11.05  
Income (loss) from investment operations                          

Net investment income
(loss) (d)

    $0.23       $0.41       $0.41       $0.37       $0.37       $0.35  

Net realized and unrealized
gain (loss)

    0.23       1.09       (1.06     0.75       0.57       0.83  

Total from investment
operations

    $0.46       $1.50       $(0.65     $1.12       $0.94       $1.18  
Less distributions declared to shareholders                                          

From net investment income

    $(0.20     $(0.44     $(0.42     $(0.39     $(0.38     $(0.40

From net realized gain

          (0.00 )(w)      (0.41     (0.24     (0.17     (0.01

Total distributions declared to shareholders

    $(0.20     $(0.44     $(0.83     $(0.63     $(0.55     $(0.41

Net asset value, end of
period (x)

    $12.54       $12.28       $11.22       $12.70       $12.21       $11.82  

Total return (%) (r)(s)(t)(x)

    3.74 (n)      13.54       (5.29     9.36       8.14       10.83  
Ratios (%) (to average net assets)
and Supplemental data:
                         

Expenses before expense
reductions (f)

    0.74 (a)(h)      0.77 (h)      0.81 (h)      0.81 (h)      0.82 (h)      0.83  

Expenses after expense
reductions (f)

    0.73 (a)(h)      0.75 (h)      0.76 (h)      0.78 (h)      0.81 (h)      0.83  

Net investment income (loss)

    3.67 (a)      3.44       3.42       2.97       3.08       3.09  

Portfolio turnover

    26 (n)      46       62       48       63       64  

Net assets at end of period
(000 omitted)

    $1,423,738       $1,434,280       $692,677       $721,242       $371,274       $280,443  

See Notes to Financial Statements

 

31


Table of Contents

Financial Highlights – continued

 

   

Six months
ended
8/31/17

(unaudited)

    Year ended  
Class R1     2/28/17     2/29/16     2/28/15     2/28/14     2/28/13  
                                 

Net asset value, beginning of
period

    $12.26       $11.21       $12.68       $12.20       $11.81       $11.04  
Income (loss) from investment operations                          

Net investment income
(loss) (d)

    $0.17       $0.31       $0.29       $0.24       $0.25       $0.23  

Net realized and unrealized
gain (loss)

    0.22       1.06       (1.05     0.75       0.57       0.83  

Total from investment
operations

    $0.39       $1.37       $(0.76     $0.99       $0.82       $1.06  
Less distributions declared to shareholders                          

From net investment income

    $(0.13     $(0.32     $(0.30     $(0.27     $(0.26     $(0.28

From net realized gain

          (0.00 )(w)      (0.41     (0.24     (0.17     (0.01

Total distributions declared to
shareholders

    $(0.13     $(0.32     $(0.71     $(0.51     $(0.43     $(0.29

Net asset value, end of
period (x)

    $12.52       $12.26       $11.21       $12.68       $12.20       $11.81  

Total return (%) (r)(s)(t)(x)

    3.23 (n)      12.35       (6.17     8.20       7.06       9.75  
Ratios (%) (to average net assets)
and Supplemental data:
                         

Expenses before expense
reductions (f)

    1.75 (a)(h)      1.77 (h)      1.81 (h)      1.81 (h)      1.82 (h)      1.84  

Expenses after expense
reductions (f)

    1.74 (a)(h)      1.75 (h)      1.76 (h)      1.78 (h)      1.81 (h)      1.84  

Net investment income (loss)

    2.74 (a)      2.55       2.43       1.95       2.11       2.04  

Portfolio turnover

    26 (n)      46       62       48       63       64  

Net assets at end of period
(000 omitted)

    $620       $938       $1,268       $918       $775       $375  

See Notes to Financial Statements

 

32


Table of Contents

Financial Highlights – continued

 

   

Six months
ended
8/31/17

(unaudited)

    Year ended  
Class R2     2/28/17     2/29/16     2/28/15     2/28/14     2/28/13  
                                 

Net asset value, beginning of
period

    $12.28       $11.22       $12.70       $12.20       $11.82       $11.04  
Income (loss) from investment operations                          

Net investment income
(loss) (d)

    $0.20       $0.36       $0.35       $0.31       $0.31       $0.30  

Net realized and unrealized
gain (loss)

    0.21       1.08       (1.06     0.76       0.56       0.83  

Total from investment
operations

    $0.41       $1.44       $(0.71     $1.07       $0.87       $1.13  
Less distributions declared to shareholders                  

From net investment income

    $(0.16     $(0.38     $(0.36     $(0.33     $(0.32     $(0.34

From net realized gain

          (0.00 )(w)      (0.41     (0.24     (0.17     (0.01

Total distributions declared to
shareholders

    $(0.16     $(0.38     $(0.77     $(0.57     $(0.49     $(0.35

Net asset value, end of
period (x)

    $12.53       $12.28       $11.22       $12.70       $12.20       $11.82  

Total return (%) (r)(s)(t)(x)

    3.40 (n)      12.98       (5.77     8.90       7.51       10.39  
Ratios (%) (to average net assets)
and Supplemental data:
                         

Expenses before expense
reductions (f)

    1.24 (a)(h)      1.27 (h)      1.31 (h)      1.31 (h)      1.32 (h)      1.34  

Expenses after expense
reductions (f)

    1.24 (a)(h)      1.25 (h)      1.26 (h)      1.28 (h)      1.31 (h)      1.34  

Net investment income (loss)

    3.17 (a)      2.99       2.94       2.47       2.59       2.59  

Portfolio turnover

    26 (n)      46       62       48       63       64  

Net assets at end of period
(000 omitted)

    $4,381       $4,223       $3,139       $2,113       $1,180       $702  

See Notes to Financial Statements

 

33


Table of Contents

Financial Highlights – continued

 

   

Six months
ended
8/31/17

(unaudited)

    Year ended  
Class R3     2/28/17     2/29/16     2/28/15     2/28/14     2/28/13  
                                 

Net asset value, beginning of
period

    $12.28       $11.23       $12.71       $12.21       $11.83       $11.05  
Income (loss) from investment operations                          

Net investment income
(loss) (d)

    $0.21       $0.39       $0.38       $0.34       $0.34       $0.31  

Net realized and unrealized
gain (loss)

    0.23       1.07       (1.06     0.76       0.56       0.85  

Total from investment
operations

    $0.44       $1.46       $(0.68     $1.10       $0.90       $1.16  
Less distributions declared to shareholders          

From net investment income

    $(0.18     $(0.41     $(0.39     $(0.36     $(0.35     $(0.37

From net realized gain

          (0.00 )(w)      (0.41     (0.24     (0.17     (0.01

Total distributions declared to
shareholders

    $(0.18     $(0.41     $(0.80     $(0.60     $(0.52     $(0.38

Net asset value, end of
period (x)

    $12.54       $12.28       $11.23       $12.71       $12.21       $11.83  

Total return (%) (r)(s)(t)(x)

    3.61 (n)      13.16       (5.52     9.17       7.77       10.65  
Ratios (%) (to average net assets)
and Supplemental data:
                         

Expenses before expense
reductions (f)

    0.99 (a)(h)      1.02 (h)      1.07 (h)      1.06 (h)      1.07 (h)      1.10  

Expenses after expense
reductions (f)

    0.99 (a)(h)      1.00 (h)      1.02 (h)      1.03 (h)      1.06 (h)      1.10  

Net investment income (loss)

    3.41 (a)      3.24       3.19       2.70       2.84       2.70  

Portfolio turnover

    26 (n)      46       62       48       63       64  

Net assets at end of period
(000 omitted)

    $20,253       $19,274       $15,393       $7,995       $5,256       $2,783  

See Notes to Financial Statements

 

34


Table of Contents

Financial Highlights – continued

 

   

Six months
ended
8/31/17

(unaudited)

    Year ended  
Class R4     2/28/17     2/29/16     2/28/15     2/28/14     2/28/13  
                                 

Net asset value, beginning of
period

    $12.29       $11.23       $12.71       $12.21       $11.82       $11.05  
Income (loss) from investment operations                          

Net investment income
(loss) (d)

    $0.23       $0.42       $0.41       $0.37       $0.37       $0.36  

Net realized and unrealized
gain (loss)

    0.22       1.08       (1.06     0.76       0.57       0.82  

Total from investment
operations

    $0.45       $1.50       $(0.65     $1.13       $0.94       $1.18  
Less distributions declared to shareholders                  

From net investment income

    $(0.20     $(0.44     $(0.42     $(0.39     $(0.38     $(0.40

From net realized gain

          (0.00 )(w)      (0.41     (0.24     (0.17     (0.01

Total distributions declared to
shareholders

    $(0.20     $(0.44     $(0.83     $(0.63     $(0.55     $(0.41

Net asset value, end of
period (x)

    $12.54       $12.29       $11.23       $12.71       $12.21       $11.82  

Total return (%) (r)(s)(t)(x)

    3.65 (n)      13.53       (5.29     9.44       8.13       10.83  
Ratios (%) (to average net assets)
and Supplemental data:
                         

Expenses before expense
reductions (f)

    0.74 (a)(h)      0.77 (h)      0.81 (h)      0.81 (h)      0.82 (h)      0.84  

Expenses after expense
reductions (f)

    0.73 (a)(h)      0.75 (h)      0.76 (h)      0.78 (h)      0.81 (h)      0.84  

Net investment income (loss)

    3.63 (a)      3.50       3.42       2.96       3.08       3.12  

Portfolio turnover

    26 (n)      46       62       48       63       64  

Net assets at end of period
(000 omitted)

    $8,896       $6,179       $5,173       $4,936       $2,834       $1,159  

See Notes to Financial Statements

 

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Financial Highlights – continued

 

   

Six months
ended
8/31/17

(unaudited)

    Year ended  
Class R6     2/28/17     2/29/16     2/28/15     2/28/14     2/28/13 (i)  
                                 

Net asset value, beginning of
period

    $12.28       $11.22       $12.70       $12.21       $11.82       $11.16  
Income (loss) from investment operations                          

Net investment income
(loss) (d)

    $0.20       $0.43       $0.42       $0.38       $0.38       $0.19  

Net realized and unrealized
gain (loss)

    0.26       1.08       (1.06     0.75       0.57       0.75  

Total from investment
operations

    $0.46       $1.51       $(0.64     $1.13       $0.95       $0.94  
Less distributions declared to shareholders                  

From net investment income

    $(0.20     $(0.45     $(0.43     $(0.40     $(0.39     $(0.27

From net realized gain

          (0.00 )(w)      (0.41     (0.24     (0.17     (0.01

Total distributions declared to
shareholders

    $(0.20     $(0.45     $(0.84     $(0.64     $(0.56     $(0.28

Net asset value, end of
period (x)

    $12.54       $12.28       $11.22       $12.70       $12.21       $11.82  

Total return (%) (r)(s)(t)(x)

    3.79 (n)      13.65       (5.20     9.46       8.23       8.47 (n) 
Ratios (%) (to average net assets)
and Supplemental data:
                         

Expenses before expense
reductions (f)

    0.65 (a)(h)      0.67 (h)      0.70 (h)      0.72 (h)      0.73 (h)      0.79 (a) 

Expenses after expense
reductions (f)

    0.64 (a)(h)      0.65 (h)      0.65 (h)      0.69 (h)      0.72 (h)      0.79 (a) 

Net investment income (loss)

    3.22 (a)      3.57       3.55       3.05       3.18       2.48 (a) 

Portfolio turnover

    26 (n)      46       62       48       63       64  

Net assets at end of period
(000 omitted)

    $189,724       $15,036       $11,073       $2,569       $2,101       $1,393  

See Notes to Financial Statements

 

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(a) Annualized.
(d) Per share data is based on average shares outstanding.
(f) Ratios do not reflect reductions from fees paid indirectly, if applicable.
(h) In addition to the fees and expenses which the fund bears directly, the fund indirectly bears a pro rata share of the fees and expenses of the underlying affiliated funds in which the fund invests. Accordingly, the expense ratio for the fund reflects only those fees and expenses borne directly by the fund. Because the underlying affiliated funds have varied expense and fee levels and the fund may own different proportions of the underlying affiliated funds at different times, the amount of fees and expenses incurred indirectly by the fund will vary.
(i) For the period from the class’s inception, July 2, 2012, through the stated period end.
(n) Not annualized.
(r) Certain expenses have been reduced without which performance would have been lower.
(s) From time to time the fund may receive proceeds from litigation settlements, without which performance would be lower.
(t) Total returns do not include any applicable sales charges.
(w) Per share amount was less than $0.01.
(x) The net asset values and total returns have been calculated on net assets which include adjustments made in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles required at period end for financial reporting purposes

See Notes to Financial Statements

 

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NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

(unaudited)

(1) Business and Organization

MFS Diversified Income Fund (the fund) is a diversified series of MFS Series Trust XIII (the trust). The trust is organized as a Massachusetts business trust and is registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, as an open-end management investment company.

The fund is an investment company and accordingly follows the investment company accounting and reporting guidance of the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) Accounting Standards Codification Topic 946 Financial Services – Investment Companies.

(2) Significant Accounting Policies

General – The preparation of financial statements in conformity with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities, and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of increases and decreases in net assets from operations during the reporting period. Actual results could differ from those estimates. In the preparation of these financial statements, management has evaluated subsequent events occurring after the date of the fund’s Statement of Assets and Liabilities through the date that the financial statements were issued. The fund invests in the MFS High Yield Pooled Portfolio (“High Yield Pooled Portfolio”). MFS does not receive a management fee from the High Yield Pooled Portfolio. The High Yield Pooled Portfolio’s investment objective is to seek total return with an emphasis on high current income, but also considering capital appreciation. The accounting policies of the High Yield Pooled Portfolio are outlined in its shareholder report, which is available without charge by calling 1-800-225-2606 and on the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) web site at http://www.sec.gov or at the SEC’s public reference room in Washington, D.C. The accounting policies detailed in the Significant Accounting Policies note cover both the fund and the High Yield Pooled Portfolio. For purposes of this policy disclosure, “fund” refers to both the fund and the High Yield Pooled Portfolio in which the fund invests. The High Yield Pooled Portfolio’s shareholder report is not covered by this report. The fund and the High Yield Pooled Portfolio invest in high-yield securities rated below investment grade. Investments in high-yield securities involve greater degrees of credit and market risk than investments in higher-rated securities and tend to be more sensitive to economic conditions. The fund and the High Yield Pooled Portfolio invest in foreign securities. Investments in foreign securities are vulnerable to the effects of changes in the relative values of the local currency and the U.S. dollar and to the effects of changes in each country’s legal, political, and economic environment. The fund invests a significant amount of its net assets in U.S. and foreign real estate related investments and as a result is subject to certain risks associated with the direct ownership of real estate and the real estate industry in general. These include risks related to general, regional and local economic conditions; fluctuations in interest rates; property tax rates, zoning laws, environmental regulations and other

 

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Notes to Financial Statements (unaudited) – continued

 

governmental action; cash flow dependency; increased operating expenses; lack of availability of mortgage funds; losses due to natural disasters; changes in property values and rental rates; and other factors.

In October 2016, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) released its Final Rule on Investment Company Reporting Modernization (the “Rule”). The Rule, which introduces two new regulatory reporting forms for investment companies – Form N-PORT and Form N-CEN – also contains amendments to Regulation S-X which impact financial statement presentation, particularly the presentation of derivative investments, for all reporting periods ended after August 1, 2017. The fund has adopted the Rule’s Regulation S-X amendments and believes that the fund’s financial statements are in compliance with those amendments.

In March 2017, the FASB issued Accounting Standards Update 2017-08, Receivables – Nonrefundable Fees and Other Costs (Subtopic 310-20) – Premium Amortization on Purchased Callable Debt Securities (“ASU 2017-08”). For entities that hold callable debt securities at a premium, ASU 2017-08 requires that the premium be amortized to the earliest call date. ASU 2017-08 will be effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2018, and interim periods within those fiscal years. Management is still evaluating the potential impacts of ASU 2017-08 but believes that adoption of ASU 2017-08 will not have a material effect on the fund’s overall financial position or its overall results of operations.

Balance Sheet Offsetting – The fund’s accounting policy with respect to balance sheet offsetting is that, absent an event of default by the counterparty or a termination of the agreement, the International Swaps and Derivatives Association (ISDA) Master Agreement does not result in an offset of reported amounts of financial assets and financial liabilities in the Statement of Assets and Liabilities across transactions between the fund and the applicable counterparty. The fund’s right to setoff may be restricted or prohibited by the bankruptcy or insolvency laws of the particular jurisdiction to which a specific master netting agreement counterparty is subject. Balance sheet offsetting disclosures, to the extent applicable to the fund, have been included in the fund’s Significant Accounting Policies note under the captions for each of the fund’s in-scope financial instruments and transactions.

Investment Valuations – The investments of the fund and the High Yield Pooled Portfolio are valued as described below.

Equity securities, including restricted equity securities, are generally valued at the last sale or official closing price on their primary market or exchange as provided by a third-party pricing service. Equity securities, for which there were no sales reported that day, are generally valued at the last quoted daily bid quotation on their primary market or exchange as provided by a third-party pricing service. Debt instruments and floating rate loans, including restricted debt instruments, are generally valued at an evaluated or composite bid as provided by a third-party pricing service. Short-term instruments with a maturity at issuance of 60 days or less may be valued at amortized cost, which approximates market value. Exchange-traded options are generally valued at the last sale or official closing price on their primary exchange as provided by a third-party pricing service. Exchange-traded options for which there were no sales reported that day are generally valued at the last daily bid quotation on their primary exchange as

 

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Notes to Financial Statements (unaudited) – continued

 

provided by a third-party pricing service. Options not traded on an exchange are generally valued at a broker/dealer bid quotation. Foreign currency options are generally valued at valuations provided by a third-party pricing service. Futures contracts are generally valued at last posted settlement price on their primary exchange as provided by a third-party pricing service. Futures contracts for which there were no trades that day for a particular position are generally valued at the closing bid quotation on their primary exchange as provided by a third-party pricing service. Forward foreign currency exchange contracts are generally valued at the mean of bid and asked prices for the time period interpolated from rates provided by a third-party pricing service for proximate time periods. Open-end investment companies are generally valued at net asset value per share. Securities and other assets generally valued on the basis of information from a third-party pricing service may also be valued at a broker/dealer bid quotation. Values obtained from third-party pricing services can utilize both transaction data and market information such as yield, quality, coupon rate, maturity, type of issue, trading characteristics, and other market data. The values of foreign securities and other assets and liabilities expressed in foreign currencies are converted to U.S. dollars using the mean of bid and asked prices for rates provided by a third-party pricing service.

The Board of Trustees has delegated primary responsibility for determining or causing to be determined the value of the fund’s investments (including any fair valuation) to the adviser pursuant to valuation policies and procedures approved by the Board. If the adviser determines that reliable market quotations are not readily available, investments are valued at fair value as determined in good faith by the adviser in accordance with such procedures under the oversight of the Board of Trustees. Under the fund’s valuation policies and procedures, market quotations are not considered to be readily available for most types of debt instruments and floating rate loans and many types of derivatives. These investments are generally valued at fair value based on information from third-party pricing services. In addition, investments may be valued at fair value if the adviser determines that an investment’s value has been materially affected by events occurring after the close of the exchange or market on which the investment is principally traded (such as foreign exchange or market) and prior to the determination of the fund’s net asset value, or after the halting of trading of a specific security where trading does not resume prior to the close of the exchange or market on which the security is principally traded. Events that occur on a frequent basis after foreign markets close (such as developments in foreign markets and significant movements in the U.S. markets) and prior to the determination of the fund’s net asset value may be deemed to have a material effect on the value of securities traded in foreign markets. Accordingly, the fund’s foreign equity securities may often be valued at fair value. The adviser generally relies on third-party pricing services or other information (such as the correlation with price movements of similar securities in the same or other markets; the type, cost and investment characteristics of the security; the business and financial condition of the issuer; and trading and other market data) to assist in determining whether to fair value and at what value to fair value an investment. The value of an investment for purposes of calculating the fund’s net asset value can differ depending on the source and method used to determine value. When fair valuation is used, the value of an investment used to determine the fund’s net asset value may differ from

 

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Notes to Financial Statements (unaudited) – continued

 

quoted or published prices for the same investment. There can be no assurance that the fund could obtain the fair value assigned to an investment if it were to sell the investment at the same time at which the fund determines its net asset value per share.

Various inputs are used in determining the value of the fund’s assets or liabilities. These inputs are categorized into three broad levels. In certain cases, the inputs used to measure fair value may fall into different levels of the fair value hierarchy. In such cases, an investment’s level within the fair value hierarchy is based on the lowest level of input that is significant to the fair value measurement. The fund’s assessment of the significance of a particular input to the fair value measurement in its entirety requires judgment, and considers factors specific to the investment. Level 1 includes unadjusted quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities. Level 2 includes other significant observable market-based inputs (including quoted prices for similar securities, interest rates, prepayment speed, and credit risk). Level 3 includes unobservable inputs, which may include the adviser’s own assumptions in determining the fair value of investments. Other financial instruments are derivative instruments not reflected in total investments, such as futures contracts and forward foreign currency exchange contracts. The following is a summary of the levels used as of August 31, 2017 in valuing the fund’s assets or liabilities:

 

Financial Instruments   Level 1     Level 2     Level 3     Total  
Equity Securities:        

United States

    $1,157,184,504       $3,004,026       $—       $1,160,188,530  

Switzerland

    58,588,675                   58,588,675  

United Kingdom

    58,402,012                   58,402,012  

Canada

    55,681,641                   55,681,641  

France

    54,579,368                   54,579,368  

Taiwan

    35,927,640                   35,927,640  

Japan

    25,782,797                   25,782,797  

Germany

    24,536,916                   24,536,916  

China

    22,155,983                   22,155,983  

Other Countries

    110,443,050       10,576,145             121,019,195  
U.S. Treasury Bonds & U.S. Government Agency & Equivalents           340,418,026             340,418,026  
Non-U.S. Sovereign Debt           422,517,733             422,517,733  
Municipal Bonds           5,229,990             5,229,990  
U.S. Corporate Bonds           12,539,091             12,539,091  
Residential Mortgage-Backed Securities           407,651,970             407,651,970  
Commercial Mortgage-Backed Securities           16,902,410             16,902,410  
Asset-Backed Securities (including CDOs)           21,229,659             21,229,659  
Foreign Bonds           149,040,033             149,040,033  
Mutual Funds     1,039,643,664                   1,039,643,664  
Total     $2,642,926,250       $1,389,109,083       $—       $4,032,035,333  
Other Financial Instruments                    
Futures Contracts – Liabilities     $(13,425     $—       $—       $(13,425
Forward Foreign Currency Exchange Contracts – Assets           255,425             255,425  
Forward Foreign Currency Exchange Contracts – Liabilities           (51,302           (51,302

 

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For further information regarding security characteristics, see the Portfolio of Investments. Please refer to the High Yield Pooled Portfolio’s shareholder report for further information regarding the levels used in valuing its assets or liabilities.

Foreign Currency Translation – Purchases and sales of foreign investments, income, and expenses are converted into U.S. dollars based upon currency exchange rates prevailing on the respective dates of such transactions or on the reporting date for foreign denominated receivables and payables. Gains and losses attributable to foreign currency exchange rates on sales of securities are recorded for financial statement purposes as net realized gains and losses on investments. Gains and losses attributable to foreign exchange rate movements on receivables, payables, income and expenses are recorded for financial statement purposes as foreign currency transaction gains and losses. That portion of both realized and unrealized gains and losses on investments that results from fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates is not separately disclosed.

Derivatives – The fund uses derivatives for different purposes, primarily to increase or decrease exposure to a particular market or segment of the market, or security, to increase or decrease interest rate or currency exposure, or as alternatives to direct investments. Derivatives are used for hedging or non-hedging purposes. While hedging can reduce or eliminate losses, it can also reduce or eliminate gains. When the fund uses derivatives as an investment to increase market exposure, or for hedging purposes, gains and losses from derivative instruments may be substantially greater than the derivative’s original cost.

The derivative instruments used by the fund were purchased options, futures contracts, and forward foreign currency exchange contracts. Depending on the type of derivative, the fund may exit a derivative position by entering into an offsetting transaction with a counterparty or exchange, negotiating an agreement with the derivative counterparty, or novating the position to a third party. The fund may be unable to promptly close out a futures position in instances where the daily fluctuation in the price for that type of future exceeds the daily limit set by the exchange. The fund’s period end derivatives, as presented in the Portfolio of Investments and the associated Derivative Contract tables, generally are indicative of the volume of its derivative activity during the period.

The following table presents, by major type of derivative contract, the fair value, on a gross basis, of the asset and liability components of derivatives held by the fund at August 31, 2017 as reported in the Statement of Assets and Liabilities:

 

        Fair Value (a)  
Risk   Derivative Contracts   Asset Derivatives     Liability Derivatives  
Interest Rate   Interest Rate Futures     $—     $ (13,425
Foreign Exchange   Forward Foreign Currency Exchange     255,425       (51,302
Equity   Purchased Equity Options     727,700        
Total       $983,125     $ (64,727

 

(a)

The value of purchased options outstanding is included in investments in unaffiliated issuers, at value, within the fund’s Statement of Assets and Liabilities. The value of futures contracts includes cumulative appreciation (depreciation) as reported in the fund’s Portfolio of

 

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  Investments. Only the current day net variation margin for futures contracts is separately reported within the fund’s Statement of Assets and Liabilities.

The following table presents, by major type of derivative contract, the realized gain (loss) on derivatives held by the fund for the six months ended August 31, 2017 as reported in the Statement of Operations:

 

Risk    Futures
Contracts
    

Forward

Foreign

Currency

Exchange

Contracts

     Investments
(Purchased
Options)
 
Interest Rate      $317,073        $—        $—  
Foreign Exchange             627,340         
Equity                    (4,908,807
Total      $317,073        $627,340        $(4,908,807

The following table presents, by major type of derivative contract, the change in unrealized appreciation (depreciation) on derivatives held by the fund for the six months ended August 31, 2017 as reported in the Statement of Operations:

 

Risk    Futures
Contracts
    

Forward

Foreign

Currency

Exchange

Contracts

     Investments
(Purchased
Options)
 
Interest Rate      $3,393        $—        $—  
Foreign Exchange             180,277         
Equity                    1,939,731  
Total      $3,393        $180,277        $1,939,731  

Derivative counterparty credit risk is managed through formal evaluation of the creditworthiness of all potential counterparties. On certain, but not all, uncleared derivatives, the fund attempts to reduce its exposure to counterparty credit risk whenever possible by entering into an ISDA Master Agreement on a bilateral basis. The ISDA Master Agreement gives each party to the agreement the right to terminate all transactions traded under such agreement if there is a certain deterioration in the credit quality of the other party. Upon an event of default or a termination of the ISDA Master Agreement, the non-defaulting party has the right to close out all transactions traded under such agreement and to net amounts owed under each agreement to one net amount payable by one party to the other. This right to close out and net payments across all transactions traded under the ISDA Master Agreement could result in a reduction of the fund’s credit risk to such counterparty equal to any amounts payable by the fund under the applicable transactions, if any.

Collateral and margin requirements differ by type of derivative. For cleared derivatives (e.g., futures contracts, cleared swaps, and exchange-traded options), margin requirements are set by the clearing broker and the clearing house and collateral, in the form of cash or securities, is posted by the fund directly with the clearing broker. Collateral terms are counterparty agreement specific for uncleared derivatives (e.g., forward foreign currency exchange contracts, uncleared swap agreements, and uncleared options) and collateral, in the form of cash and securities, is held in

 

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segregated accounts with the fund’s custodian in connection with these agreements. For derivatives traded under an ISDA Master Agreement, which contains a collateral support annex, the collateral requirements are netted across all transactions traded under such counterparty-specific agreement and one amount is posted from one party to the other to collateralize such obligations. Cash that has been segregated or delivered to cover the fund’s collateral or margin obligations under derivative contracts, if any, will be reported separately in the Statement of Assets and Liabilities as restricted cash for uncleared derivatives or deposits with brokers for cleared derivatives, respectively. Securities pledged as collateral or margin for the same purpose, if any, are noted in the Portfolio of Investments. The fund may be required to make payments of interest on uncovered collateral or margin obligations with the broker. Any such payments are included in “Miscellaneous” expense in the Statement of Operations.

Purchased Options – The fund purchased put options for a premium. Purchased put options entitle the holder to sell a specified number of shares or units of a particular security, currency or index at a specified price at a specified date or within a specified period of time. Purchasing put options may hedge against an anticipated decline in the value of portfolio securities or currency or decrease the fund’s exposure to an underlying instrument.

The premium paid is initially recorded as an investment in the Statement of Assets and Liabilities. That investment is subsequently marked-to-market daily with the difference between the premium paid and the market value of the purchased option being recorded as unrealized appreciation or depreciation. Premiums paid for purchased put options which have expired are treated as realized losses on investments in the Statement of Operations. Upon the exercise or closing of a purchased put option, the premium paid is offset against the proceeds on the sale of the underlying security or financial instrument in order to determine the realized gain or loss on investments.

Whether or not the option is exercised, the fund’s maximum risk of loss from purchasing an option is the amount of premium paid. All option contracts involve credit risk if the counterparty to the option contract fails to perform. For uncleared options, this risk is mitigated in cases where there is an ISDA Master Agreement between the fund and the counterparty providing for netting as described above and, where applicable, by the posting of collateral by the counterparty to the fund to cover the fund’s exposure to the counterparty under such ISDA Master Agreement.

Futures Contracts – The fund entered into futures contracts which may be used to hedge against or obtain broad market exposure, interest rate exposure, currency exposure, or to manage duration. A futures contract represents a commitment for the future purchase or sale of an asset at a specified price on a specified date.

Upon entering into a futures contract, the fund is required to deposit with the broker, either in cash or securities, an initial margin in an amount equal to a certain percentage of the notional amount of the contract. Subsequent payments (variation margin) are made or received by the fund each day, depending on the daily fluctuations in the value of the contract, and are recorded for financial statement purposes as unrealized gain or loss by the fund until the contract is closed or expires at which point the gain or loss on futures contracts is realized.

 

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The fund bears the risk of interest rates, exchange rates or securities prices moving unexpectedly, in which case, the fund may not achieve the anticipated benefits of the futures contracts and may realize a loss. While futures contracts may present less counterparty risk to the fund since the contracts are exchange traded and the exchange’s clearinghouse guarantees payments to the broker, there is still counterparty credit risk due to the insolvency of the broker. The fund’s maximum risk of loss due to counterparty credit risk is equal to the margin posted by the fund to the broker plus any gains or minus any losses on the outstanding futures contracts.

Forward Foreign Currency Exchange Contracts – The fund entered into forward foreign currency exchange contracts for the purchase or sale of a specific foreign currency at a fixed price on a future date. These contracts may be used to hedge the fund’s currency risk or for non-hedging purposes. For hedging purposes, the fund may enter into contracts to deliver or receive foreign currency that the fund will receive from or use in its normal investment activities. The fund may also use contracts to hedge against declines in the value of foreign currency denominated securities due to unfavorable exchange rate movements. For non-hedging purposes, the fund may enter into contracts with the intent of changing the relative exposure of the fund’s portfolio of securities to different currencies to take advantage of anticipated exchange rate changes.

Forward foreign currency exchange contracts are adjusted by the daily exchange rate of the underlying currency and any unrealized gains or losses are recorded as a receivable or payable for forward foreign currency exchange contracts until the contract settlement date. On contract settlement date, any gain or loss on the contract is recorded as realized gains or losses on forward foreign currency exchange contracts.

Risks may arise upon entering into these contracts from unanticipated movements in the value of the contract and from the potential inability of counterparties to meet the terms of their contracts. Generally, the fund’s maximum risk due to counterparty credit risk is the unrealized gain on the contract due to the use of Continuous Linked Settlement, a multicurrency cash settlement system for the centralized settlement of foreign transactions. This risk is mitigated in cases where there is an ISDA Master Agreement between the fund and the counterparty providing for netting as described above and, where applicable, by the posting of collateral by the counterparty to the fund to cover the fund’s exposure to the counterparty under such ISDA Master Agreement.

Security Loans – Under its Securities Lending Agency Agreement with the fund, JPMorgan Chase and Co. (“Chase”), as lending agent, loans the securities of the fund to certain qualified institutions (the “Borrowers”) approved by the fund. Security loans can be terminated at the discretion of either the lending agent or the fund and the related securities must be returned within the earlier of the standard trade settlement period for such securities or within three business days. The loans are collateralized by cash and/or U.S. Treasury and federal agency obligations in an amount typically at least equal to the market value of the securities loaned. On loans collateralized by cash, the cash collateral is invested in a money market fund. The market value of the loaned securities is determined at the close of business of the fund and any additional required collateral is delivered to the fund on the next business day. Chase provides the fund

 

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with indemnification against Borrower default. In the event of Borrower default, Chase will, for the benefit of the fund, either purchase securities identical to those loaned or, when such purchase is commercially impracticable, pay the fund the market value of the loaned securities. In return, Chase assumes the fund’s rights to the related collateral. If the collateral value is less than the cost to purchase identical securities, Chase is responsible for the shortfall, but only to the extent that such shortfall is not due to a decline in collateral value resulting from collateral reinvestment for which the fund bears the risk of loss. A portion of the income generated upon investment of the collateral is remitted to the Borrowers, and the remainder is allocated between the fund and the lending agent. On loans collateralized by U.S. Treasury and/or federal agency obligations, a fee is received from the Borrower, and is allocated between the fund and the lending agent. Income from securities lending is separately reported in the Statement of Operations. The dividend and interest income earned on the securities loaned is accounted for in the same manner as other dividend and interest income. At August 31, 2017, there were no securities on loan or collateral outstanding.

Dollar Roll Transactions – The fund enters into dollar roll transactions, with respect to mortgage-backed securities issued by Ginnie Mae, Fannie Mae, and Freddie Mac, in which the fund sells mortgage-backed securities to financial institutions and simultaneously agrees to purchase similar (same issuer, type and coupon) securities at a later date at an agreed-upon price. During the period between the sale and repurchase in a dollar roll transaction the fund will not be entitled to receive interest and principal payments on the securities sold but is compensated by interest earned on the proceeds of the initial sale and by a lower purchase price on the securities to be repurchased which enhances the fund’s total return. The fund accounts for dollar roll transactions as purchases and sales and realizes gains and losses on these transactions.

Loans and Other Direct Debt Instruments – The fund invests in loans and loan participations or other receivables. These investments may include standby financing commitments, including revolving credit facilities, which contractually obligate the fund to supply additional cash to the borrower on demand. The fund generally provides this financial support in order to preserve its existing investment or to obtain a more senior secured interest in the assets of the borrower. Loan participations involve a risk of insolvency of the lending bank or other financial intermediary.

Indemnifications – Under the fund’s organizational documents, its officers and Trustees may be indemnified against certain liabilities and expenses arising out of the performance of their duties to the fund. Additionally, in the normal course of business, the fund enters into agreements with service providers that may contain indemnification clauses. The fund’s maximum exposure under these agreements is unknown as this would involve future claims that may be made against the fund that have not yet occurred.

Investment Transactions and Income – Investment transactions are recorded on the trade date. Interest income is recorded on the accrual basis. All premium and discount is amortized or accreted for financial statement purposes in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles. Dividends received in cash are recorded on the ex-dividend date. Certain dividends from foreign securities will be recorded when the fund is informed of the dividend if such information is obtained subsequent to the

 

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ex-dividend date. Dividend and interest payments received in additional securities are recorded on the ex-dividend or ex-interest date in an amount equal to the value of the security on such date. Debt obligations may be placed on non-accrual status or set to accrue at a rate of interest less than the contractual coupon when the collection of all or a portion of interest has become doubtful. Interest income for those debt obligations may be further reduced by the write-off of the related interest receivables when deemed uncollectible.

The fund may receive proceeds from litigation settlements. Any proceeds received from litigation involving portfolio holdings are reflected in the Statement of Operations in realized gain/loss if the security has been disposed of by the fund or in unrealized gain/loss if the security is still held by the fund. Any other proceeds from litigation not related to portfolio holdings are reflected as other income in the Statement of Operations.

The fund invests a significant portion of its assets in asset-backed and/or mortgage-backed securities. The value of these securities may depend, in part, on the issuer’s or borrower’s credit quality or ability to pay principal and interest when due and that value may fall if an issuer or borrower defaults on its obligation to pay principal or interest or if the instrument’s credit rating is downgraded by a credit rating agency. U.S. Government securities not supported as to the payment of principal or interest by the U.S. Treasury, such as those issued by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and the Federal Home Loan Banks, are subject to greater credit risk than are U.S. Government securities supported by the U.S. Treasury, such as those issued by Ginnie Mae.

The fund purchased or sold debt securities on a when-issued or delayed delivery basis, or in a “To Be Announced” (TBA) or “forward commitment” transaction with delivery or payment to occur at a later date beyond the normal settlement period. At the time a fund enters into a commitment to purchase or sell a security, the transaction is recorded and the value of the security acquired is reflected in the fund’s net asset value. The price of such security and the date that the security will be delivered and paid for are fixed at the time the transaction is negotiated. The value of the security may vary with market fluctuations. No interest accrues to the fund until payment takes place. At the time that a fund enters into this type of transaction, the fund is required to have sufficient cash and/or liquid securities to cover its commitments. Losses may arise due to changes in the value of the underlying securities or if the counterparty does not perform under the contract’s terms, or if the issuer does not issue the securities due to political, economic or other factors. Additionally, losses may arise due to declines in the value of the securities prior to settlement date.

To mitigate this risk of loss on TBA securities and other types of forward settling mortgage-backed securities, the fund whenever possible enters into a Master Securities Forward Transaction Agreement (“MSFTA”) on a bilateral basis with each of the counterparties with whom it undertakes a significant volume of transactions. The MSFTA gives each party to the agreement the right to terminate all transactions traded under such agreement if there is a certain deterioration in the credit quality of the other party. Upon an event of default or a termination of the MSFTA, the non-defaulting party has the right to close out all transactions traded under such agreement and to net amounts owed under each transaction to one net amount

 

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payable by one party to the other. This right to close out and net payments across all transactions traded under the MSFTA could result in a reduction of the fund’s credit risk to such counterparty equal to any amounts payable by the fund under the applicable transactions, if any.

For mortgage-backed securities traded under a MSFTA, the collateral and margining requirements are contract specific. Collateral amounts across all transactions traded under such agreement are netted and one amount is posted from one party to the other to collateralize such obligations. Cash that has been pledged to cover the fund’s collateral or margin obligations under a MSFTA, if any, will be reported separately on the Statement of Assets and Liabilities as restricted cash. Securities pledged as collateral or margin for the same purpose, if any, are noted in the Portfolio of Investments.

Fees Paid Indirectly – The fund’s custody fee may be reduced by a credit earned under an arrangement that measures the value of U.S. dollars deposited with the custodian by the fund. The amount of the credit, for the six months ended August 31, 2017, is shown as a reduction of total expenses in the Statement of Operations.

Tax Matters and Distributions – The fund intends to qualify as a regulated investment company, as defined under Subchapter M of the Internal Revenue Code, and to distribute all of its taxable income, including realized capital gains. As a result, no provision for federal income tax is required. The fund’s federal tax returns, when filed, will remain subject to examination by the Internal Revenue Service for a three year period. Management has analyzed the fund’s tax positions taken on federal and state tax returns for all open tax years and does not believe that there are any uncertain tax positions that require recognition of a tax liability. Foreign taxes, if any, have been accrued by the fund in the accompanying financial statements in accordance with the applicable foreign tax law. Foreign income taxes may be withheld by certain countries in which the fund invests. Additionally, capital gains realized by the fund on securities issued in or by certain foreign countries may be subject to capital gains tax imposed by those countries.

Distributions to shareholders are recorded on the ex-dividend date. Income and capital gain distributions are determined in accordance with income tax regulations, which may differ from U.S. generally accepted accounting principles. Certain capital accounts in the financial statements are periodically adjusted for permanent differences in order to reflect their tax character. These adjustments have no impact on net assets or net asset value per share. Temporary differences which arise from recognizing certain items of income, expense, gain or loss in different periods for financial statement and tax purposes will reverse at some time in the future. Distributions in excess of net investment income or net realized gains are temporary overdistributions for financial statement purposes resulting from differences in the recognition or classification of income or distributions for financial statement and tax purposes.

Book/tax differences primarily relate to amortization and accretion of debt securities and wash sale loss deferrals.

 

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The tax character of distributions made during the current period will be determined at fiscal year end. The tax character of distributions declared to shareholders for the last fiscal year is as follows:

 

     Year ended
2/28/17
 
Ordinary income (including any
short-term capital gains)
     $114,442,050  
Long-term capital gains      917,313  
Total distributions      $115,359,363  

The federal tax cost and the tax basis components of distributable earnings were as follows:

 

As of 8/31/17       
Cost of investments      $3,830,731,953  
Gross appreciation      245,055,039  
Gross depreciation      (43,751,659
Net unrealized appreciation (depreciation)      $201,303,380  
As of 2/28/17       
Undistributed ordinary income      5,447,763  
Capital loss carryforwards      (5,079,916
Other temporary differences      (10,383,238
Net unrealized appreciation (depreciation)      142,237,228  

The aggregate cost above includes prior fiscal year end tax adjustments, if applicable.

As of February 28, 2017, the fund had capital loss carryforwards available to offset future realized gains. These net capital losses may be carried forward indefinitely and their character is retained as short-term and/or long-term losses. Such losses are characterized as follows:

 

Short-Term      $(5,079,916

Multiple Classes of Shares of Beneficial Interest – The fund offers multiple classes of shares, which differ in their respective distribution and service fees. The fund’s income and common expenses are allocated to shareholders based on the value of settled shares outstanding of each class. The fund’s realized and unrealized gain (loss) are allocated to shareholders based on the daily net assets of each class. Dividends are declared separately for each class. Differences in per share dividend rates are generally

 

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due to differences in separate class expenses. The fund’s distributions declared to shareholders as reported in the Statements of Changes in Net Assets are presented by class as follows:

 

     From net investment
income
     From net realized gain on
investments
 
     Six months
ended
8/31/17
     Year
ended
2/28/17
     Six months
ended
8/31/17
     Year
ended
2/28/17
 
Class A      $19,768,141        $52,461,798        $—        $411,975  
Class C      11,115,347        27,338,665               270,190  
Class I      23,239,341        33,156,646               224,907  
Class R1      8,466        35,699               399  
Class R2      59,436        124,331               1,074  
Class R3      286,764        600,645               4,579  
Class R4      114,136        210,970               1,532  
Class R6      961,611        512,378               3,575  
Total      $55,553,242        $114,441,132        $—        $918,231  

(3) Transactions with Affiliates

Investment Adviser – The fund has an investment advisory agreement with MFS to provide overall investment management and related administrative services and facilities to the fund. The management fee is computed daily and paid monthly at the following annual rates:

 

First $1 billion of average daily net assets     0.65
Average daily net assets in excess of $1 billion up to $2.5 billion     0.60
Average daily net assets in excess of $2.5 billion up to $5 billion     0.55
Average daily net assets in excess of $5 billion     0.50

MFS has agreed in writing to reduce its management fee by a specified amount if certain MFS mutual fund assets exceed thresholds agreed to by MFS and the fund’s Board of Trustees. For the six months ended August 31, 2017, this management fee reduction amounted to $155,646, which is included in the reduction of total expenses in the Statement of Operations. The management fee incurred for the six months ended August 31, 2017 was equivalent to an annual effective rate of 0.59% of the fund’s average daily net assets.

The investment adviser has agreed in writing to pay a portion of the fund’s total annual operating expenses, excluding interest, taxes, extraordinary expenses, brokerage and transaction costs, and investment-related expenses (such as fees and expenses associated with investments in investment companies and other similar investment vehicles), such that total fund operating expenses do not exceed the following rates annually of each class’s average daily net assets:

 

Class A     Class C     Class I     Class R1     Class R2     Class R3     Class R4     Class R6  
  1.10%       1.85     0.85     1.85     1.35     1.10     0.85     0.79

 

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This written agreement will continue until modified by the fund’s Board of Trustees, but such agreement will continue at least until June 30, 2019. For the six months ended August 31, 2017, the fund’s actual operating expenses did not exceed the limit and therefore, the investment adviser did not pay any portion of the fund’s expenses related to this agreement.

Distributor – MFS Fund Distributors, Inc. (MFD), a wholly-owned subsidiary of MFS, as distributor, received $111,801 for the six months ended August 31, 2017, as its portion of the initial sales charge on sales of Class A shares of the fund.

The Board of Trustees has adopted a distribution plan for certain share classes pursuant to Rule 12b-1 of the Investment Company Act of 1940.

The fund’s distribution plan provides that the fund will pay MFD for services provided by MFD and financial intermediaries in connection with the distribution and servicing of certain share classes. One component of the plan is a distribution fee paid to MFD and another component of the plan is a service fee paid to MFD. MFD may subsequently pay all, or a portion, of the distribution and/or service fees to financial intermediaries.

Distribution Plan Fee Table:

 

     Distribution
Fee Rate (d)
     Service
Fee Rate (d)
     Total
Distribution
Plan (d)
     Annual
Effective
Rate (e)
     Distribution
and Service
Fee
 
Class A             0.25%        0.25%        0.25%        $1,710,170  
Class C      0.75%        0.25%        1.00%        1.00%        5,166,484  
Class R1      0.75%        0.25%        1.00%        1.00%        3,915  
Class R2      0.25%        0.25%        0.50%        0.50%        11,236  
Class R3             0.25%        0.25%        0.25%        24,784  
Total Distribution and Service Fees        $6,916,589  

 

(d) In accordance with the distribution plan for certain classes, the fund pays distribution and/or service fees equal to these annual percentage rates of each class’s average daily net assets. The distribution and service fee rates disclosed by class represent the current rates in effect at the end of the reporting period. Any rate changes, if applicable, are detailed below.
(e) The annual effective rates represent actual fees incurred under the distribution plan for the six months ended August 31, 2017 based on each class’s average daily net assets. MFD has voluntarily agreed to rebate a portion of each class’s 0.25% service fee attributable to accounts for which MFD retains the 0.25% service fee except for accounts attributable to MFS or its affiliates’ seed money. For six months ended August 31, 2017, this rebate amounted to $2,906, $55, and $12 for Class A, Class C, and Class R3, respectively, and is included in the reduction of total expenses in the Statement of Operations.

Certain Class A shares are subject to a contingent deferred sales charge (CDSC) in the event of a shareholder redemption within 18 months of purchase. Class C shares are subject to a CDSC in the event of a shareholder redemption within 12 months of purchase. All contingent deferred sales charges are paid to MFD and during the six months ended August 31, 2017, were as follows:

 

     Amount  
Class A      $21,016  
Class C      74,501  

 

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Shareholder Servicing Agent – MFS Service Center, Inc. (MFSC), a wholly-owned subsidiary of MFS, receives a fee from the fund for its services as shareholder servicing agent calculated as a percentage of the average daily net assets of the fund as determined periodically under the supervision of the fund’s Board of Trustees. For the six months ended August 31, 2017, the fee was $130,445, which equated to 0.0066% annually of the fund’s average daily net assets. MFSC also receives payment from the fund for out-of-pocket expenses, sub-accounting and other shareholder servicing costs which may be paid to affiliated and unaffiliated service providers. Class R6 shares do not incur sub-accounting fees. For the six months ended August 31, 2017, these out-of-pocket expenses, sub-accounting and other shareholder servicing costs amounted to $1,872,856.

Administrator – MFS provides certain financial, legal, shareholder communications, compliance, and other administrative services to the fund. Under an administrative services agreement, the fund reimburses MFS the costs incurred to provide these services. The fund is charged an annual fixed amount of $17,500 plus a fee based on average daily net assets. The administrative services fee incurred for the six months ended August 31, 2017 was equivalent to an annual effective rate of 0.0166% of the fund’s average daily net assets.

Trustees’ and Officers’ Compensation – The fund pays compensation to independent Trustees in the form of a retainer, attendance fees, and additional compensation to Board and Committee chairpersons. The fund does not pay compensation directly to Trustees or officers of the fund who are also officers of the investment adviser, all of whom receive remuneration for their services to the fund from MFS. Certain officers and Trustees of the fund are officers or directors of MFS, MFD, and MFSC.

Other – This fund and certain other funds managed by MFS (the funds) have entered into a service agreement (the ISO Agreement) which provides for payment of fees solely by the funds to Tarantino LLC in return for the provision of services of an Independent Senior Officer (ISO) for the funds. Frank L. Tarantino serves as the ISO and is an officer of the funds and the sole member of Tarantino LLC. The funds can terminate the ISO Agreement with Tarantino LLC at any time under the terms of the ISO Agreement. For the six months ended August 31, 2017, the fee paid by the fund under this agreement was $3,546 and is included in “Miscellaneous” expense in the Statement of Operations. MFS has agreed to bear all expenses associated with office space, other administrative support, and supplies provided to the ISO.

The fund invests in the MFS Institutional Money Market Portfolio which is managed by MFS and seeks current income consistent with preservation of capital and liquidity. This money market fund does not pay a management fee to MFS.

The fund invests in the High Yield Pooled Portfolio, which is a mutual fund advised by MFS that does not pay management fees to MFS but does incur investment and operating costs. The fund invests in the High Yield Pooled Portfolio to gain exposure to high income debt instruments, rather than investing in high income debt instruments directly. The High Yield Pooled Portfolio does not pay a management fee to MFS or distribution and/or service fee to MFD.

 

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On March 16, 2016, MFS redeemed 117,729 shares of Class I for an aggregate amount of $1,365,651.

On March 16, 2017, MFS redeemed 38,332 shares of Class I for an aggregate amount of $466,496.

The fund is permitted to engage in purchase and sale transactions with funds and accounts for which MFS serves as investment adviser or sub-adviser (“cross-trades”) pursuant to a policy adopted by the Board of Trustees. This policy has been designed to ensure that cross-trades conducted by the fund comply with Rule 17a-7 under the Investment Company Act of 1940. Under this policy, cross-trades are effected at current market prices with no remuneration paid in connection with the transaction. During the six months ended August 31, 2017, the fund engaged in purchase and sale transactions pursuant to this policy, which amounted to $2,166,650 and $127,614, respectively. The sales transactions resulted in net realized gains (losses) of $(8,133).

(4) Portfolio Securities

For the six months ended August 31, 2017, purchases and sales of investments, other than purchased option transactions and short-term obligations, were as follows:

 

     Purchases      Sales  
U.S. Government securities      $190,302,621        $270,433,033  
Investments (non-U.S. Government securities)      $834,856,706        $707,872,109  

(5) Shares of Beneficial Interest

The fund’s Declaration of Trust permits the Trustees to issue an unlimited number of full and fractional shares of beneficial interest. Transactions in fund shares were as follows:

 

     Six months ended
8/31/17
     Year ended
2/28/17
 
     Shares      Amount      Shares      Amount  
Shares sold            

Class A

     19,368,583        $238,708,745        41,350,523        $496,539,781  

Class C

     5,974,685        73,599,483        20,261,667        243,583,864  

Class I

     25,022,788        308,364,290        79,362,295        958,782,670  

Class R1

     6,756        83,042        21,357        250,824  

Class R2

     87,856        1,075,584        129,398        1,547,887  

Class R3

     145,710        1,797,513        455,616        5,447,509  

Class R4

     222,503        2,753,505        182,758        2,198,683  

Class R6

     14,380,971        178,142,237        557,181        6,708,893  
     65,209,852        $804,524,399        142,320,795        $1,715,060,111  

 

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     Six months ended
8/31/17
     Year ended
2/28/17
 
     Shares      Amount      Shares      Amount  
Shares issued to shareholders in
reinvestment of distributions
          

Class A

     1,531,744        $18,968,546        4,249,168        $51,151,692  

Class C

     777,913        9,625,208        1,914,222        23,033,487  

Class I

     1,581,402        19,572,807        2,202,332        26,546,711  

Class R1

     672        8,302        2,967        35,647  

Class R2

     3,514        43,467        9,310        112,046  

Class R3

     23,151        286,686        50,161        604,178  

Class R4

     9,208        114,133        17,640        212,496  

Class R6

     63,405        792,966        12,577        151,528  
     3,991,009        $49,412,115        8,458,377        $101,847,785  
Shares reacquired            

Class A

     (17,286,566      $(213,225,943      (63,554,253      $(767,824,667

Class C

     (11,355,246      (140,036,474      (20,665,375      (247,829,597

Class I

     (29,840,701      (368,654,222      (26,493,533      (317,775,430

Class R1

     (34,387      (423,299      (61,001      (737,857

Class R2

     (85,842      (1,056,660      (74,466      (895,224

Class R3

     (123,038      (1,521,418      (308,056      (3,678,785

Class R4

     (25,390      (313,796      (158,202      (1,895,968

Class R6

     (542,176      (6,735,528      (332,117      (3,988,576
     (59,293,346      $(731,967,340      (111,647,003      $(1,344,626,104
Net change            

Class A

     3,613,761        $44,451,348        (17,954,562      $(220,133,194

Class C

     (4,602,648      (56,811,783      1,510,514        18,787,754  

Class I

     (3,236,511      (40,717,125      55,071,094        667,553,951  

Class R1

     (26,959      (331,955      (36,677      (451,386

Class R2

     5,528        62,391        64,242        764,709  

Class R3

     45,823        562,781        197,721        2,372,902  

Class R4

     206,321        2,553,842        42,196        515,211  

Class R6

     13,902,200        172,199,675        237,641        2,871,845  
     9,907,515        $121,969,174        39,132,169        $472,281,792  

Class T shares were not publicly available for sale during the period. Please see the fund’s prospectus for details.

(6) Line of Credit

The fund and certain other funds managed by MFS participate in a $1.25 billion unsecured committed line of credit, subject to a $1 billion sublimit, provided by a syndication of banks under a credit agreement. Borrowings may be made for temporary financing needs. Interest is charged to each fund, based on its borrowings, generally at a rate equal to the higher of the Overnight Federal Reserve funds rate or daily one month LIBOR plus an agreed upon spread. A commitment fee, based on the average daily, unused portion of the committed line of credit, is allocated among the

 

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participating funds at the end of each calendar quarter. In addition, the fund and other funds managed by MFS have established unsecured uncommitted borrowing arrangements with certain banks for temporary financing needs. Interest is charged to each fund, based on its borrowings, at a rate equal to the Overnight Federal Reserve funds rate plus an agreed upon spread. For the six months ended August 31, 2017, the fund’s commitment fee and interest expense were $13,306 and $0, respectively, and are included in “Miscellaneous” expense in the Statement of Operations.

(7) Transactions in Underlying Affiliated Funds-Affiliated Issuers

An affiliated issuer may be considered one in which the fund owns 5% or more of the outstanding voting securities, or a company which is under common control. For the purposes of this report, the fund assumes the following to be affiliated issuers:

 

Underlying Affiliated
Funds
         Beginning
Shares/Par
Amount
    Acquisitions
Shares/Par
Amount
    Dispositions
Shares/Par
Amount
    Ending
Shares/Par
Amount
 
MFS High Yield Pooled Portfolio       110,654,801       7,430,940       (19,122,623     98,963,118  
MFS Institutional Money
Market Portfolio
      101,605,564       526,992,591       (517,228,542     111,369,613  
Underlying Affiliated
Funds
  Realized
Gain (Loss)
    Change in
Unrealized
Appreciation
Depreciation
    Capital Gain
Distributions
    Dividend
Income
    Ending
Value
 
MFS High Yield Pooled Portfolio     $(8,274,736     $7,985,042       $—       $28,410,121       $928,274,051  
MFS Institutional Money
Market Portfolio
    (4,568     6,117             533,803       111,369,613  
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 
    $(8,279,304     $7,991,159       $—       $28,943,924       $1,039,643,664  
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

(8) Legal Proceedings

In May 2015, the Motors Liquidation Company Avoidance Action Trust (hereafter, “AAT”) served upon the fund a complaint in an adversary proceeding in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York, captioned Motors Liquidation Company Avoidance Action Trust v. JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., et al. (No. 09-00504 (REG)). The complaint, which was originally filed in 2009 but not served on the fund until 2015, names as defendants over 500 entities (including the fund) that held an interest in a $1.5 billion General Motors (GM) term loan in 2009, when GM filed for bankruptcy. The AAT alleges that the fund and the other term loan lenders were improperly treated as secured lenders with respect to the term loan shortly before and immediately after GM’s bankruptcy, receiving full principal and interest payments under the loan. The AAT alleges that the fund and other term loan lenders should have been treated as unsecured (or partially unsecured) creditors because the main lien securing the collateral was allegedly not perfected at the time of GM’s bankruptcy due to an erroneous filing in October 2008 that terminated the financing statement perfecting the lien. The AAT seeks to claw back payments made to the fund and the other term loan lenders after, and during the 90 days before, GM’s June 2009 bankruptcy petition. During that time period, the fund received term loan payments of

 

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Notes to Financial Statements (unaudited) – continued

 

approximately $380,000. The fund cannot predict the outcome of this proceeding. Among other things, it is unclear whether the AAT’s claims will succeed; what the fund would be entitled to as an unsecured (or partially unsecured) creditor, given the existence of other collateral not impacted by the erroneous October 2008 filing; whether third parties responsible for the erroneous October 2008 filing would bear some or all of any liability; and the degree to which the fund may be entitled to indemnification from a third party for any amount required to be disgorged. The fund has and will continue to incur legal expenses associated with the defense of this action and in related claims against third parties.

 

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RESULTS OF SHAREHOLDER MEETING

(unaudited)

At a special meeting of shareholders of MFS Series Trust XIII, which was held on March 23, 2017, the following action was taken:

Item 1: To elect the following individuals as Trustees:

 

     Number of Dollars  

Nominee

   For     

Withheld Authority

 
Steven E. Buller      6,319,562,684.104        89,124,503.447  
John A. Caroselli      6,318,192,703.761        90,494,483.789  
Maureen R. Goldfarb      6,319,721,154.200        88,966,033.351  
David H. Gunning      6,301,684,555.225        107,002,632.326  
Michael Hegarty      6,305,161,229.843        103,525,957.708  
John P. Kavanaugh      6,314,942,342.172        93,744,845.379  
Robert J. Manning      6,319,224,905.610        89,462,281.941  
Clarence Otis, Jr.      6,310,274,693.701        98,412,493.850  
Maryanne L. Roepke      6,324,334,769.976        84,352,417.575  
Robin A. Stelmach      6,318,962,082.183        89,725,105.368  
Laurie J. Thomsen      6,319,280,321.146        89,406,866.405  

 

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BOARD REVIEW OF INVESTMENT ADVISORY AGREEMENT

The Investment Company Act of 1940 requires that both the full Board of Trustees and a majority of the non-interested (“independent”) Trustees, voting separately, annually approve the continuation of the Fund’s investment advisory agreement with MFS. The Trustees consider matters bearing on the Fund and its advisory arrangements at their meetings throughout the year, including a review of performance data at each regular meeting. In addition, the independent Trustees met several times over the course of three months beginning in May and ending in July, 2017 (“contract review meetings”) for the specific purpose of considering whether to approve the continuation of the investment advisory agreement for the Fund and the other investment companies that the Board oversees (the “MFS Funds”). The independent Trustees were assisted in their evaluation of the Fund’s investment advisory agreement by independent legal counsel, from whom they received separate legal advice and with whom they met separately from MFS during various contract review meetings. The independent Trustees were also assisted in this process by the MFS Funds’ Independent Senior Officer, a senior officer appointed by and reporting to the independent Trustees.

In connection with their deliberations regarding the continuation of the investment advisory agreement, the Trustees, including the independent Trustees, considered such information and factors as they believed, in light of the legal advice furnished to them and their own business judgment, to be relevant. The investment advisory agreement for the Fund was considered separately, although the Trustees also took into account the common interests of all MFS Funds in their review. As described below, the Trustees considered the nature, quality, and extent of the various investment advisory, administrative, and shareholder services performed by MFS under the existing investment advisory agreement and other arrangements with the Fund.

In connection with their contract review meetings, the Trustees received and relied upon materials that included, among other items: (i) information provided by Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. (“Broadridge”), an independent third party, on the investment performance of the Fund for various time periods ended December 31, 2016 and the investment performance of a group of funds with substantially similar investment classifications/objectives (the “Lipper performance universe”), (ii) information provided by Broadridge on the Fund’s advisory fees and other expenses and the advisory fees and other expenses of comparable funds identified by Broadridge (the “Broadridge expense group”), (iii) information provided by MFS on the advisory fees of portfolios of other clients of MFS, including institutional separate accounts and other clients, (iv) information as to whether and to what extent applicable expense waivers, reimbursements or fee “breakpoints” are observed for the Fund, (v) information regarding MFS’ financial results and financial condition, including MFS’ and certain of its affiliates’ estimated profitability from services performed for the Fund and the MFS Funds as a whole, and compared to MFS’ institutional business, (vi) MFS’ views regarding the outlook for the mutual fund industry and the strategic business plans of MFS, (vii) descriptions of various functions performed by MFS for the Funds, such as compliance monitoring and portfolio trading practices, and (viii) information regarding the overall organization of MFS, including information about MFS’ senior management and other personnel providing investment advisory,

 

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Board Review of Investment Advisory Agreement – continued

 

administrative and other services to the Fund and the other MFS Funds. The comparative performance, fee and expense information prepared and provided by Broadridge was not independently verified and the independent Trustees did not independently verify any information provided to them by MFS.

The Trustees’ conclusion as to the continuation of the investment advisory agreement was based on a comprehensive consideration of all information provided to the Trustees and not the result of any single factor. Some of the factors that figured particularly in the Trustees’ deliberations are described below, although individual Trustees may have evaluated the information presented differently from one another, giving different weights to various factors. It is also important to recognize that the fee arrangements for the Fund and other MFS Funds are the result of years of review and discussion between the independent Trustees and MFS, that certain aspects of such arrangements may receive greater scrutiny in some years than in others, and that the Trustees’ conclusions may be based, in part, on their consideration of these same arrangements during the course of the year and in prior years.

Based on information provided by Broadridge and MFS, the Trustees reviewed the Fund’s total return investment performance as well as the performance of peer groups of funds over various time periods. The Trustees placed particular emphasis on the total return performance of the Fund’s Class A shares in comparison to the performance of funds in its Lipper performance universe over the three-year period ended December 31, 2016, which the Trustees believed was a long enough period to reflect differing market conditions. The total return performance of the Fund’s Class A shares was in the 1st quintile relative to the other funds in the universe for this three-year period (the 1st quintile being the best performers and the 5th quintile being the worst performers). The total return performance of the Fund’s Class A shares was in the 1st quintile for each of the one- and five-year periods ended December 31, 2016 relative to the Lipper performance universe. Because of the passage of time, these performance results may differ from the performance results for more recent periods, including those shown elsewhere in this report.

In the course of their deliberations, the Trustees took into account information provided by MFS in connection with the contract review meetings, as well as during investment review meetings conducted with portfolio management personnel during the course of the year regarding the Fund’s performance. After reviewing these and related factors, the Trustees concluded, within the context of their overall conclusions regarding the investment advisory agreement, that they were satisfied with MFS’ responses and efforts relating to investment performance.

In assessing the reasonableness of the Fund’s advisory fee, the Trustees considered, among other information, the Fund’s advisory fee and the total expense ratio of the Fund’s Class A shares as a percentage of average daily net assets and the advisory fee and total expense ratios of peer groups of funds based on information provided by Broadridge. The Trustees considered that MFS currently observes an expense limitation for the Fund, which may not be changed without the Trustees’ approval. The Trustees also considered that, according to the data provided by Broadridge (which takes into account any fee reductions or expense limitations that were in effect during the Fund’s

 

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Board Review of Investment Advisory Agreement – continued

 

last fiscal year), the Fund’s effective advisory fee rate was higher than the Broadridge expense group median and the Fund’s total expense ratio was approximately at the Broadridge expense group median.

The Trustees also considered the advisory fees charged by MFS to any institutional separate accounts advised by MFS (“separate accounts”) and unaffiliated investment companies for which MFS serves as subadviser (“subadvised funds”) that have comparable investment strategies to the Fund, if any. In comparing these fees, the Trustees considered information provided by MFS as to the generally broader scope of services provided by MFS to the Fund, as well as the more extensive regulatory burdens imposed on MFS in managing the Fund, in comparison to separate accounts and subadvised funds. The Trustees also considered the higher demands placed on MFS’ investment personnel and trading infrastructure as a result of the daily cash in-flows and out-flows of the Fund in comparison to separate accounts.

The Trustees also considered whether the Fund may benefit from any economies of scale in the management of the Fund in the event of growth in assets of the Fund and/or growth in assets of the MFS Funds as a whole. They noted that the Fund’s advisory fee rate schedule is subject to contractual breakpoints that reduce the Fund’s advisory fee rate on average daily net assets over $1 billion, $2.5 billion and $5 billion. The Trustees also noted that MFS has agreed in writing to waive a portion of the management fees of certain MFS Funds, including the Fund, if the total combined assets of certain funds within the MFS Funds’ complex increase above agreed upon thresholds (the “group fee waiver”), enabling the Fund’s shareholders to share in the benefits from any economies of scale at the complex level. The group fee waiver is reviewed and renewed annually between the Board and MFS. The Trustees concluded that the breakpoints and the group fee waiver were sufficient to allow the Fund to benefit from economies of scale as its assets and overall complex assets grow.

The Trustees also considered information prepared by MFS relating to MFS’ costs and profits with respect to the Fund, the MFS Funds considered as a group, and other investment companies and accounts advised by MFS, as well as MFS’ methodologies used to determine and allocate its costs to the MFS Funds, the Fund and other accounts and products for purposes of estimating profitability.

After reviewing these and other factors described herein, the Trustees concluded, within the context of their overall conclusions regarding the investment advisory agreement, that the advisory fees charged to the Fund represent reasonable compensation in light of the services being provided by MFS to the Fund.

In addition, the Trustees considered MFS’ resources and related efforts to continue to retain, attract and motivate capable personnel to serve the Fund. The Trustees also considered current and developing conditions in the financial services industry, including the presence of large and well-capitalized companies which are spending, and appear to be prepared to continue to spend, substantial sums to engage personnel and to provide services to competing investment companies. In this regard, the Trustees also considered the financial resources of MFS and its ultimate parent, Sun Life Financial Inc. The Trustees also considered the advantages and possible disadvantages to the Fund of having an adviser that also serves other investment companies as well as other accounts.

 

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Board Review of Investment Advisory Agreement – continued

 

The Trustees also considered the nature, quality, cost, and extent of administrative, transfer agency, and distribution services provided to the Fund by MFS and its affiliates under agreements and plans other than the investment advisory agreement, including any 12b-1 fees the Fund pays to MFS Fund Distributors, Inc., an affiliate of MFS. The Trustees also considered the nature, extent and quality of certain other services MFS performs or arranges for on the Fund’s behalf, which may include securities lending programs, directed expense payment programs, class action recovery programs, and MFS’ interaction with third-party service providers, principally custodians and sub-custodians. The Trustees concluded that the various non-advisory services provided by MFS and its affiliates on behalf of the Fund were satisfactory.

The Trustees also considered benefits to MFS from the use of the Fund’s portfolio brokerage commissions, if applicable, to pay for investment research and various other factors. Additionally, the Trustees considered so-called “fall-out benefits” to MFS such as reputational value derived from serving as investment manager to the Fund.

Based on their evaluation of factors that they deemed to be material, including those factors described above, the Board of Trustees, including the independent Trustees, concluded that the Fund’s investment advisory agreement with MFS should be continued for an additional one-year period, commencing August 1, 2017.

 

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PROXY VOTING POLICIES AND INFORMATION

MFS votes proxies on behalf of the fund pursuant to proxy voting policies and procedures that are available without charge, upon request, by calling 1-800-225-2606, by visiting mfs.com (once you have selected “Individual Investor” as your role, click on “Individual Investor Home” in the top navigation and then select “Learn More About Proxy Voting” under the “I want to…” header on the left hand column of the page), or by visiting the SEC’s Web site at http://www.sec.gov.

Information regarding how the fund voted proxies relating to portfolio securities during the most recent twelve-month period ended June 30 is available by August 31 of each year without charge by visiting mfs.com (once you have selected “Individual Investor” as your role, click on “Individual Investor Home” in the top navigation and then select “Learn More About Proxy Voting” under the “I want to…” header on the left hand column of the page), or by visiting the SEC’s Web site at http://www.sec.gov.

QUARTERLY PORTFOLIO DISCLOSURE

The fund will file a complete schedule of portfolio holdings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the Commission) for the first and third quarters of each fiscal year on Form N-Q. A shareholder can obtain the quarterly portfolio holdings report at mfs.com. The fund’s Form N-Q is also available on the EDGAR database on the Commission’s Internet Web site at http://www.sec.gov, and may be reviewed and copied at the:

Public Reference Room

Securities and Exchange Commission

100 F Street, NE, Room 1580

Washington, D.C. 20549

Information on the operation of the Public Reference Room may be obtained by calling the Commission at 1-800-SEC-0330. Copies of the fund’s Form N-Q also may be obtained, upon payment of a duplicating fee, by electronic request at the following e-mail address: publicinfo@sec.gov or by writing the Public Reference Section at the above address.

FURTHER INFORMATION

From time to time, MFS may post important information about the fund or the MFS funds on the MFS web site (mfs.com). This information is available on mfs.com by following these steps once you have selected “Individual Investor” as your role: (1) Click on the “Individual Investor Home” in the top navigation and then select the “Announcements” option within the “Market Outlooks” drop down, or (2) Click on “Products & Services” and “Mutual Funds” and then choose the fund’s name in the “Select a fund” menu.

 

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INFORMATION ABOUT FUND CONTRACTS AND LEGAL CLAIMS

The fund has entered into contractual arrangements with an investment adviser, administrator, distributor, shareholder servicing agent, 529 program manager (if applicable), and custodian who each provide services to the fund. Unless expressly stated otherwise, shareholders are not parties to, or intended beneficiaries of these contractual arrangements, and these contractual arrangements are not intended to create any shareholder right to enforce them against the service providers or to seek any remedy under them against the service providers, either directly or on behalf of the fund.

Under the Trust’s By-Laws and Declaration of Trust, any claims asserted against or on behalf of the MFS Funds, including claims against Trustees and Officers, must be brought in state and federal courts located within the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

PROVISION OF FINANCIAL REPORTS AND SUMMARY PROSPECTUSES

The fund produces financial reports every six months and updates its summary prospectus and prospectus annually. To avoid sending duplicate copies of materials to households, only one copy of the fund’s annual and semiannual report and summary prospectus may be mailed to shareholders having the same last name and residential address on the fund’s records. However, any shareholder may contact MFSC (please see back cover for address and telephone number) to request that copies of these reports and summary prospectuses be sent personally to that shareholder.

 

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LOGO

 

Save paper with eDelivery.

 

LOGO

MFS® will send you prospectuses,

reports, and proxies directly via e-mail so you will get information faster with less mailbox clutter.

To sign up:

1. Go to mfs.com.

2. Log in via MFS® Access.

3. Select eDelivery.

If you own your MFS fund shares through a financial institution or a retirement plan, MFS® TALK, MFS® Access, or eDelivery may not be available to you.

 

CONTACT

WEB SITE

mfs.com

MFS TALK

1-800-637-8255

24 hours a day

ACCOUNT SERVICE AND LITERATURE

Shareholders

1-800-225-2606

Financial advisors

1-800-343-2829

Retirement plan services

1-800-637-1255

MAILING ADDRESS

MFS Service Center, Inc.

P.O. Box 55824

Boston, MA 02205-5824

OVERNIGHT MAIL

MFS Service Center, Inc.

c/o Boston Financial Data Services

30 Dan Road

Canton, MA 02021-2809

 


Table of Contents

SEMIANNUAL REPORT

August 31, 2017

 

LOGO

 

MFS® GOVERNMENT SECURITIES FUND

 

LOGO

 

MFG-SEM

 


Table of Contents

MFS® GOVERNMENT SECURITIES FUND

 

CONTENTS

 

Letter from the Executive Chairman     1  
Portfolio composition     2  
Expense table     4  
Portfolio of investments     6  
Statement of assets and liabilities     13  
Statement of operations     15  
Statements of changes in net assets     16  
Financial highlights     17  
Notes to financial statements     26  
Results of shareholder meeting     40  
Board review of investment advisory agreement     41  
Proxy voting policies and information     45  
Quarterly portfolio disclosure     45  
Further information     45  
Information about fund contracts and legal claims     46  
Provision of financial reports and summary prospectuses     46  
Contact information    back cover  

 

The report is prepared for the general information of shareholders.

It is authorized for distribution to prospective investors only when preceded or accompanied by a current prospectus.

 

NOT FDIC INSURED MAY LOSE VALUE NO BANK GUARANTEE



Table of Contents

LOGO

 

LETTER FROM THE EXECUTIVE CHAIRMAN

 

Dear Shareholders:

Despite policy uncertainty accompanying a new presidential administration in the United States and unease over ongoing Brexit negotiations, most markets have proved

resilient. U.S. share prices have reached new highs in recent months although the U.S. Federal Reserve has continued to gradually hike interest rates. However, rates in most developed markets remain very low, with major non-U.S. central banks just beginning to contemplate curbing accommodative monetary policies.

Globally, we’ve experienced a year-long synchronized upturn in economic growth. Despite better growth, there are few immediate signs of worrisome inflation amid muted wage gains around the world. Europe has benefited from diminishing event risks as populist challengers fell short of upsetting establishment

candidates in both the Dutch and French elections. Emerging market economies have been boosted in part by a weaker U.S. dollar and are recovering despite lingering concerns over the potential for restrictive U.S. trade policies that could hamper global trade growth. Looking ahead, markets will have to contend with issues involving geopolitical hot spots on the Korean peninsula and in the Middle East.

At MFS®, we believe time is an asset. A patient, long-term approach to investing can have a powerful impact on decision making and outcomes. Time arbitrage, as we call it, comes down to having the conviction and discipline to allow enough time for good investment ideas to play out. In our view, such an approach, along with the professional guidance of a financial advisor, will help you reach your investment objectives.

Respectfully,

 

LOGO

Robert J. Manning

Executive Chairman

MFS Investment Management

October 17, 2017

The opinions expressed in this letter are subject to change and may not be relied upon for investment advice. No forecasts can be guaranteed.

 

1


Table of Contents

PORTFOLIO COMPOSITION

 

Portfolio structure (i)

 

LOGO

 

Fixed income sectors (i)  
Mortgage-Backed Securities     50.0%  
U.S. Treasury Securities     35.0%  
U.S. Government Agencies     6.7%  
Investment Grade Corporates     2.9%  
Collateralized Debt Obligations     2.4%  
Commercial Mortgage-Backed Securities     1.7%  
Municipal Bonds     0.7%  
Emerging Markets Bonds     0.2%  
Non-U.S. Government Bonds     0.2%  
Asset-Backed Securities     0.1%  
Composition including fixed income credit quality (a)(i)  
AAA     4.5%  
AA     0.7%  
A     1.2%  
BBB     1.8%  
BB (o)     0.0%  
U.S. Government     33.9%  
Federal Agencies     56.7%  
Not Rated     1.1%  
Cash & Cash Equivalents     1.2%  
Other     (1.1)%  
Portfolio facts (i)  
Average Duration (d)     5.3  
Average Effective Maturity (m)     6.9 yrs.  
 

 

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Table of Contents

Portfolio Composition – continued

 

 

(a) For all securities other than those specifically described below, ratings are assigned to underlying securities utilizing ratings from Moody’s, Fitch, and Standard & Poor’s rating agencies and applying the following hierarchy: If all three agencies provide a rating, the middle rating (after dropping the highest and lowest ratings) is assigned; if two of the three agencies rate a security, the lower of the two is assigned. Ratings are shown in the S&P and Fitch scale (e.g., AAA). Securities rated BBB or higher are considered investment grade. All ratings are subject to change. U.S. Government includes securities issued by the U.S. Department of the Treasury. Federal Agencies includes rated and unrated U.S. Agency fixed-income securities, U.S. Agency mortgage-backed securities, and collateralized mortgage obligations of U.S. Agency mortgage-backed securities. Not Rated includes fixed income securities, including fixed income futures contracts, which have not been rated by any rating agency. The fund may or may not have held all of these instruments on this date. The fund is not rated by these agencies.
(d) Duration is a measure of how much a bond’s price is likely to fluctuate with general changes in interest rates, e.g., if rates rise 1.00%, a bond with a 5-year duration is likely to lose about 5.00% of its value due to the interest rate move.
(i) For purposes of this presentation, the components include the value of securities, and reflect the impact of the equivalent exposure of derivative positions, if any. These amounts may be negative from time to time. Equivalent exposure is a calculated amount that translates the derivative position into a reasonable approximation of the amount of the underlying asset that the portfolio would have to hold at a given point in time to have the same price sensitivity that results from the portfolio’s ownership of the derivative contract. When dealing with derivatives, equivalent exposure is a more representative measure of the potential impact of a position on portfolio performance than value. The bond component will include any accrued interest amounts.
(m) In determining an instrument’s effective maturity for purposes of calculating the fund’s dollar-weighted average effective maturity, MFS uses the instrument’s stated maturity or, if applicable, an earlier date on which MFS believes it is probable that a maturity-shortening device (such as a put, pre-refunding or prepayment) will cause the instrument to be repaid. Such an earlier date can be substantially shorter than the instrument’s stated maturity.
(o) Less than 0.1%.

Where the fund holds convertible bonds, these are treated as part of the equity portion of the portfolio.

Cash & Cash Equivalents includes any cash, investments in money market funds, short-term securities, and other assets less liabilities. Please see the Statement of Assets and Liabilities for additional information related to the fund’s cash position and other assets and liabilities.

Other includes equivalent exposure from currency derivatives and/or any offsets to derivative positions and may be negative.

Percentages are based on net assets as of August 31, 2017.

The portfolio is actively managed and current holdings may be different.

 

3


Table of Contents

EXPENSE TABLE

Fund expenses borne by the shareholders during the period, March 1, 2017 through August 31, 2017

As a shareholder of the fund, you incur two types of costs: (1) transaction costs, including sales charges (loads) on certain purchase or redemption payments, and (2) ongoing costs, including management fees; distribution and service (12b-1) fees; and other fund expenses. This example is intended to help you understand your ongoing costs (in dollars) of investing in the fund and to compare these costs with the ongoing costs of investing in other mutual funds.

The example is based on an investment of $1,000 invested at the beginning of the period and held for the entire period March 1, 2017 through August 31, 2017.

The expenses include the payment of a portion of the transfer-agent-related expenses of MFS funds that invest in the fund. For further information, please see the Notes to the Financial Statements.

Actual Expenses

The first line for each share class in the following table provides information about actual account values and actual expenses. You may use the information in this line, together with the amount you invested, to estimate the expenses that you paid over the period. Simply divide your account value by $1,000 (for example, an $8,600 account value divided by $1,000 = 8.6), then multiply the result by the number in the first line under the heading entitled “Expenses Paid During Period” to estimate the expenses you paid on your account during this period.

Hypothetical Example for Comparison Purposes

The second line for each share class in the following table provides information about hypothetical account values and hypothetical expenses based on the fund’s actual expense ratio and an assumed rate of return of 5% per year before expenses, which is not the fund’s actual return. The hypothetical account values and expenses may not be used to estimate the actual ending account balance or expenses you paid for the period. You may use this information to compare the ongoing costs of investing in the fund and other funds. To do so, compare this 5% hypothetical example with the 5% hypothetical examples that appear in the shareholder reports of the other funds.

Please note that the expenses shown in the table are meant to highlight your ongoing costs only and do not reflect any transactional costs, such as sales charges (loads). Therefore, the second line for each share class in the table is useful in comparing ongoing costs only, and will not help you determine the relative total costs of owning different funds. In addition, if these transactional costs were included, your costs would have been higher.

 

4


Table of Contents

Expense Table – continued

 

 

Share
Class
      

Annualized

Expense

Ratio

 

Beginning

Account Value
3/01/17

 

Ending

Account Value

8/31/17

 

Expenses

Paid During

Period (p)

3/01/17-8/31/17

 
A   Actual   0.86%   $1,000.00   $1,019.34     $4.38  
  Hypothetical (h)   0.86%   $1,000.00   $1,020.87     $4.38  
B   Actual   1.62%   $1,000.00   $1,016.58     $8.23  
  Hypothetical (h)   1.62%   $1,000.00   $1,017.04     $8.24  
C   Actual   1.62%   $1,000.00   $1,015.52     $8.23  
  Hypothetical (h)   1.62%   $1,000.00   $1,017.04     $8.24  
I   Actual   0.62%   $1,000.00   $1,020.61     $3.16  
  Hypothetical (h)   0.62%   $1,000.00   $1,022.08     $3.16  
R1   Actual   1.62%   $1,000.00   $1,015.54     $8.23  
  Hypothetical (h)   1.62%   $1,000.00   $1,017.04     $8.24  
R2   Actual   1.12%   $1,000.00   $1,018.08     $5.70  
  Hypothetical (h)   1.12%   $1,000.00   $1,019.56     $5.70  
R3   Actual   0.87%   $1,000.00   $1,019.34     $4.43  
  Hypothetical (h)   0.87%   $1,000.00   $1,020.82     $4.43  
R4   Actual   0.62%   $1,000.00   $1,020.61     $3.16  
  Hypothetical (h)   0.62%   $1,000.00   $1,022.08     $3.16  
R6   Actual   0.50%   $1,000.00   $1,021.22     $2.55  
  Hypothetical (h)   0.50%   $1,000.00   $1,022.68     $2.55  

 

(h) 5% class return per year before expenses.
(p) “Expenses Paid During Period” are equal to each class’s annualized expense ratio, as shown above, multiplied by the average account value over the period, multiplied by 184/365 (to reflect the one-half year period). Expenses paid do not include any applicable sales charges (loads). If these transaction costs had been included, your costs would have been higher.

Notes to Expense Table

Each class with a Rule 12b-1 service fee is subject to a rebate of a portion of such fee. Such rebates are included in the expense ratios above. For Class A shares, this rebate reduced the expense ratio above by 0.01%. See Note 3 in the Notes to Financial Statements for additional information.

 

5


Table of Contents

PORTFOLIO OF INVESTMENTS

8/31/17 (unaudited)

The Portfolio of Investments is a complete list of all securities owned by your fund. It is categorized by broad-based asset classes.

 

Bonds - 98.4%                 
Issuer    Shares/Par     Value ($)  
Agency - Other - 3.7%  
Financing Corp., 10.7%, 10/06/2017    $ 14,360,000     $ 14,497,666  
Financing Corp., 9.4%, 2/08/2018      11,750,000       12,180,861  
Financing Corp., 9.8%, 4/06/2018      14,975,000       15,748,294  
Financing Corp., 10.35%, 8/03/2018      15,165,000       16,407,468  
Financing Corp., STRIPS, 0%, 11/30/2017      18,780,000       18,727,898  
    

 

 

 
      $ 77,562,187  
Asset-Backed & Securitized - 4.3%  
A Voce CLO Ltd., 2014-1A, “A1R”, FLR,
2.464% (U.S. LIBOR-3mo. + 1.16%), 7/15/2026 (n)
   $ 7,682,000     $ 7,665,250  
ALM Loan Funding CLO, 2014-14A, “A1R”, FLR,
2.464%, (U.S. LIBOR-3mo. + 1.15%) 7/28/2026 (n)
     5,290,566       5,304,721  
Atrium CDO Corp., 2011-A, “A1R”, FLR,
2.452%, (U.S. LIBOR-3mo. + 1.14%) 10/23/2025 (n)
     7,779,000       7,808,695  
Cent CLO LP, 2014-21A, “A1”, FLR,
2.527%, (U.S. LIBOR-3mo. + 1.21%) 7/27/2026 (n)
     8,305,747       8,317,640  
Citigroup Commercial Mortgage Trust, 2015-GC27, “A5”, 3.137%, 2/10/2048      1,000,000       1,020,796  
Commercial Mortgage Trust, 2014-CR19, “A5”, 3.796%, 8/10/2047      1,000,000       1,066,337  
Commercial Mortgage Trust, 2015-DC1, “A5”, 3.35%, 2/10/2048      4,990,000       5,166,579  
Commercial Mortgage Trust, 2015-LC21, “A4”, 3.708%, 7/10/2048      3,135,000       3,332,014  
Commercial Mortgage Trust, 2015-PC1, “A5”, 3.902%, 7/10/2050      5,300,000       5,672,795  
CSAIL Commercial Mortgage Trust, 2015-C2, “A4”, 3.504%, 6/15/2057      5,341,994       5,569,592  
Dryden Senior Loan Fund, 2014-34A, “AR”, FLR, 2.464%, (LIBOR-3mo. + 1.16%) 10/15/2026 (n)      6,145,237       6,165,037  
Ford Credit Floorplan Master Owner Trust, 2015-4, “A2”, FLR, 1.827%, (LIBOR-1mo. + 0.6%) 8/15/2020      2,875,000       2,887,070  
Fortress Credit BSL Ltd., 2013-1A, “A”, FLR,
2.486%, (U.S. LIBOR-3mo. + 1.18%) 1/19/2025 (n)
     2,619,378       2,623,406  
GS Mortgage Securities Trust, 2015-GC30, “A4”, 3.382%, 5/10/2050      5,951,000       6,191,148  
Morgan Stanley Capital I Trust, “AM”, 5.928%, 4/15/2049      10,946       11,112  
TICP CLO Ltd., FLR,
2.487%, (U.S. LIBOR-3mo. + 1.18%) 1/20/2027 (n)
     7,683,921       7,684,697  
Wells Fargo Commercial Mortgage Trust, 2015-C28, “A4”, 3.54%, 5/15/2048      5,531,348       5,811,569  

 

6


Table of Contents

Portfolio of Investments (unaudited) – continued

 

Issuer    Shares/Par     Value ($)  
Bonds - continued                 
Asset-Backed & Securitized - continued  
Wells Fargo Commercial Mortgage Trust, 2015-NXS1, “A5”, 3.148%, 5/15/2048    $ 2,177,277     $ 2,229,855  
West CLO Ltd. 2013-1A, “A1AR”, FLR,
2.472%, (U.S. LIBOR-3mo. + 1.16%) 11/07/2025 (n)
     5,215,000       5,220,330  
    

 

 

 
      $ 89,748,643  
Automotive - 0.3%  
Ford Motor Credit Co. LLC, 2.551%, 10/05/2018    $ 2,611,000     $ 2,628,729  
Hyundai Capital America, 2%, 3/19/2018 (n)      3,122,000       3,124,297  
Hyundai Capital America, 2.4%, 10/30/2018 (n)      654,000       655,088  
    

 

 

 
      $ 6,408,114  
Business Services - 0.2%  
Cisco Systems, Inc., 2.6%, 2/28/2023    $ 4,048,000     $ 4,115,092  
Chemicals - 0.2%  
Sherwin Williams Co., 2.75%, 6/01/2022    $ 5,063,000     $ 5,101,437  
Computer Software - 0.1%  
Microsoft Corp., 3.125%, 11/03/2025    $ 1,640,000     $ 1,696,551  
Computer Software - Systems - 0.3%  
Apple, Inc., 3.25%, 2/23/2026    $ 5,398,000     $ 5,581,951  
Consumer Products - 0.4%  
Newell Rubbermaid, Inc., 3.15%, 4/01/2021    $ 3,719,000     $ 3,825,007  
Reckitt Benckiser Treasury Services PLC, 2.75%, 6/26/2024 (n)      4,386,000       4,404,957  
    

 

 

 
      $ 8,229,964  
Local Authorities - 0.7%  
Philadelphia, PA, School District Rev., “A”, AGM, 5.995%, 9/01/2030    $ 3,280,000     $ 3,949,448  
State of California (Build America Bonds), 7.6%, 11/01/2040      4,220,000       6,720,139  
University of California Rev. (Build America Bonds), 5.77%, 5/15/2043      2,750,000       3,599,998  
    

 

 

 
      $ 14,269,585  
Major Banks - 0.3%  
Bank of America Corp., 3.124% to 1/20/2022, FLR to 1/20/2023    $ 3,275,000     $ 3,339,786  
UBS Group Funding (Switzerland) AG, 3.491%, 5/23/2023 (n)      2,120,000       2,181,477  
    

 

 

 
      $ 5,521,263  

 

7


Table of Contents

Portfolio of Investments (unaudited) – continued

 

Issuer    Shares/Par     Value ($)  
Bonds - continued  
Mortgage-Backed - 49.8%  
Fannie Mae, 2.28%, 11/01/2026    $ 938,706     $ 922,935  
Fannie Mae, 3.5%, 4/01/2047      7,259,429       7,526,689  
Fannie Mae, 2.986%, 12/01/2017      684,887       684,419  
Fannie Mae, 3.8%, 2/01/2018      1,574,297       1,572,728  
Fannie Mae, 4%, 3/01/2018 - 7/01/2047      164,025,307       173,997,936  
Fannie Mae, 3.99%, 4/01/2018      1,600,000       1,605,119  
Fannie Mae, 5.37%, 5/01/2018      1,780,999       1,794,539  
Fannie Mae, 2.578%, 9/25/2018      6,629,229       6,643,801  
Fannie Mae, 5.6%, 1/01/2019      868,299       904,941  
Fannie Mae, 5.47%, 2/01/2019      352,104       364,376  
Fannie Mae, 5.1%, 3/01/2019      356,395       367,900  
Fannie Mae, 5%, 4/01/2019 - 3/01/2042      25,118,601       27,468,929  
Fannie Mae, 5.08%, 4/01/2019      723,670       759,141  
Fannie Mae, 5.28%, 4/01/2019      613,687       645,218  
Fannie Mae, 4.84%, 5/01/2019      610,133       639,321  
Fannie Mae, 5.5%, 5/01/2019 - 12/01/2038      23,321,603       26,023,276  
Fannie Mae, 4.5%, 6/01/2019 - 6/01/2044      74,276,543       80,444,144  
Fannie Mae, 4.829%, 8/01/2019      3,253,945       3,425,069  
Fannie Mae, 4.83%, 8/01/2019 - 9/01/2019      1,456,656       1,538,107  
Fannie Mae, 5.05%, 8/01/2019      668,703       707,192  
Fannie Mae, 4.67%, 9/01/2019      1,136,097       1,198,328  
Fannie Mae, 4.94%, 9/01/2019      387,705       410,122  
Fannie Mae, 4.88%, 3/01/2020      390,600       404,909  
Fannie Mae, 4.14%, 8/01/2020      1,319,292       1,395,916  
Fannie Mae, 5.19%, 9/01/2020      1,617,127       1,712,739  
Fannie Mae, 6%, 2/01/2021 - 12/01/2037      6,202,343       7,007,263  
Fannie Mae, 2.152%, 1/25/2023      4,740,000       4,730,346  
Fannie Mae, 2.41%, 5/01/2023      1,506,219       1,533,532  
Fannie Mae, 2.55%, 5/01/2023      1,298,277       1,330,989  
Fannie Mae, 2.59%, 5/01/2023      823,575       846,012  
Fannie Mae, 3.78%, 10/01/2023      909,232       976,675  
Fannie Mae, 4.5%, 5/01/2025      312,020       329,029  
Fannie Mae, 3.59%, 9/01/2026      1,043,337       1,118,588  
Fannie Mae, 3%, 3/01/2027 - 11/01/2046      54,752,176       55,983,714  
Fannie Mae, 6.5%, 1/01/2032 - 10/01/2037      2,535,202       2,885,521  
Fannie Mae, 3.5%, 1/01/2042 - 1/01/2047      122,981,084       127,721,134  
Fannie Mae, FLR, 1.584% (LIBOR-1mo. + 0.35%), 5/25/2018      2,114,451       2,115,846  
Fannie Mae, 2.684%, 12/25/2026      10,346,000       10,307,092  
Freddie Mac, 4.5%, 9/01/2046      15,355,586       16,488,845  
Freddie Mac, 3.154%, 2/25/2018      4,833,019       4,854,465  
Freddie Mac, 2.412%, 8/25/2018      7,052,565       7,082,714  
Freddie Mac, 5%, 9/01/2018 - 7/01/2041      9,761,483       10,684,298  
Freddie Mac, 2.303%, 9/25/2018      2,438,882       2,452,583  

 

8


Table of Contents

Portfolio of Investments (unaudited) – continued

 

Issuer    Shares/Par     Value ($)  
Bonds - continued  
Mortgage-Backed - continued  
Freddie Mac, 2.323%, 10/25/2018    $ 4,701,971     $ 4,730,773  
Freddie Mac, 2.13%, 1/25/2019      10,177,744       10,241,762  
Freddie Mac, 5.085%, 3/25/2019      6,865,000       7,150,377  
Freddie Mac, 1.883%, 5/25/2019      1,100,000       1,103,963  
Freddie Mac, 6%, 8/01/2019 - 10/01/2038      4,763,525       5,340,266  
Freddie Mac, 2.456%, 8/25/2019      4,923,000       4,982,550  
Freddie Mac, 4.186%, 8/25/2019      2,800,000       2,921,434  
Freddie Mac, 4.251%, 1/25/2020      3,106,000       3,270,878  
Freddie Mac, 2.313%, 3/25/2020      6,978,000       7,065,681  
Freddie Mac, 4.224%, 3/25/2020      4,281,146       4,519,816  
Freddie Mac, 3.808%, 8/25/2020      2,877,000       3,030,594  
Freddie Mac, 3.034%, 10/25/2020      5,417,000       5,592,119  
Freddie Mac, 2.856%, 1/25/2021      4,724,000       4,871,082  
Freddie Mac, 5.5%, 4/01/2021 - 1/01/2038      6,625,821       7,357,605  
Freddie Mac, 2.791%, 1/25/2022      6,917,000       7,149,070  
Freddie Mac, 2.716%, 6/25/2022      4,738,552       4,884,684  
Freddie Mac, 2.682%, 10/25/2022      2,394,000       2,460,889  
Freddie Mac, 4.5%, 11/01/2022 - 5/01/2042      12,583,028       13,539,526  
Freddie Mac, 2.51%, 11/25/2022      6,640,000       6,771,694  
Freddie Mac, 3.32%, 2/25/2023      4,605,000       4,879,521  
Freddie Mac, 3.25%, 4/25/2023      9,000,000       9,508,583  
Freddie Mac, 3.3%, 4/25/2023 - 10/25/2026      12,522,861       13,257,412  
Freddie Mac, 3.06%, 7/25/2023      3,476,000       3,638,159  
Freddie Mac, 3.531%, 7/25/2023      240,000       257,323  
Freddie Mac, 2.454%, 8/25/2023      4,795,000       4,865,229  
Freddie Mac, 3.458%, 8/25/2023      4,600,000       4,915,020  
Freddie Mac, 2.67%, 12/25/2024      10,788,000       11,012,327  
Freddie Mac, 2.811%, 1/25/2025      9,000,000       9,257,751  
Freddie Mac, 3.329%, 5/25/2025      9,024,000       9,596,946  
Freddie Mac, 4%, 7/01/2025 - 9/01/2044      9,797,215       10,355,514  
Freddie Mac, 3.01%, 7/25/2025      2,651,000       2,757,389  
Freddie Mac, 2.745%, 1/25/2026      8,567,000       8,712,340  
Freddie Mac, 2.673%, 3/25/2026      7,802,000       7,894,748  
Freddie Mac, 3.243%, 4/25/2027      7,213,000       7,596,754  
Freddie Mac, 3.117%, 6/25/2027      5,250,000       5,469,169  
Freddie Mac, 6.5%, 5/01/2037      592,365       666,781  
Freddie Mac, 3.5%, 12/01/2041 - 1/01/2047      97,066,438       100,837,471  
Freddie Mac, 3%, 4/01/2043 - 11/01/2046      59,473,082       60,389,524  
Freddie Mac, 1.018%, 7/25/2049 (i)      55,303,854       2,689,957  
Freddie Mac, 3.224%, 3/25/2027      8,182,000       8,589,279  
Ginnie Mae, 5.5%, 3/15/2033 - 1/20/2042      5,272,832       5,872,592  
Ginnie Mae, 4.5%, 7/20/2033 - 9/20/2041      13,314,354       14,393,897  
Ginnie Mae, 4%, 10/15/2039 - 4/20/2041      2,667,039       2,825,036  
Ginnie Mae, 3.5%, 12/15/2041 - 5/20/2046      25,208,553       26,406,160  

 

9


Table of Contents

Portfolio of Investments (unaudited) – continued

 

Issuer    Shares/Par     Value ($)  
Bonds - continued  
Mortgage-Backed - continued  
Ginnie Mae, 6.158%, 4/20/2058    $ 75,734     $ 83,152  
Ginnie Mae, 0.658%, 2/16/2059 (i)      8,250,880       562,463  
    

 

 

 
      $ 1,045,881,700  
Network & Telecom - 0.2%  
AT&T, Inc., 3.4%, 8/14/2024    $ 4,198,000     $ 4,237,557  
Other Banks & Diversified Financials - 0.4%  
Banque Federative du Credit Mutuel S.A., 2.5%, 4/13/2021 (n)    $ 4,294,000     $ 4,332,523  
ING Groep N.V., 3.15%, 3/29/2022      5,120,000       5,244,671  
    

 

 

 
      $ 9,577,194  
Restaurants - 0.1%  
McDonald’s Corp., 2.75%, 12/09/2020    $ 1,587,000     $ 1,625,586  
Supranational - 0.2%  
Inter-American Development Bank, 4.375%, 1/24/2044    $ 2,796,000     $ 3,427,602  
Tobacco - 0.2%  
BAT Capital Corp., 2.764%, 8/15/2022 (z)    $ 4,264,000     $ 4,300,746  
U.S. Government Agencies and Equivalents - 2.8%  
AID-Tunisia, 2.452%, 7/24/2021    $ 4,063,000     $ 4,143,431  
AID-Ukraine, 1.844%, 5/16/2019      7,271,000       7,334,076  
AID-Ukraine, 1.847%, 5/29/2020      3,250,000       3,268,574  
Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, 1.945%, 6/23/2019      5,532,000       5,577,764  
Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, 2.503%, 10/30/2020      6,688,000       6,878,835  
Private Export Funding Corp., 2.25%, 3/15/2020      1,681,000       1,707,592  
Private Export Funding Corp., 2.3%, 9/15/2020      4,100,000       4,183,267  
Private Export Funding Corp., 1.875%, 7/15/2018      5,330,000       5,356,149  
Small Business Administration, 6.35%, 4/01/2021      99,646       104,472  
Small Business Administration, 6.34%, 5/01/2021      130,844       137,128  
Small Business Administration, 6.44%, 6/01/2021      145,475       152,513  
Small Business Administration, 6.625%, 7/01/2021      138,374       145,443  
Small Business Administration, 6.07%, 3/01/2022      153,954       162,386  
Small Business Administration, 4.98%, 11/01/2023      249,470       264,686  
Small Business Administration, 4.89%, 12/01/2023      568,236       599,888  
Small Business Administration, 4.77%, 4/01/2024      628,200       659,839  
Small Business Administration, 5.52%, 6/01/2024      296,810       314,910  
Small Business Administration, 4.99%, 9/01/2024      502,090       529,829  
Small Business Administration, 4.86%, 10/01/2024      336,359       354,072  
Small Business Administration, 4.86%, 1/01/2025      669,267       706,104  
Small Business Administration, 5.11%, 4/01/2025      518,329       549,688  
Small Business Administration, 2.21%, 2/01/2033      2,157,829       2,135,467  

 

10


Table of Contents

Portfolio of Investments (unaudited) – continued

 

Issuer    Shares/Par     Value ($)  
Bonds - continued  
U.S. Government Agencies and Equivalents - continued  
Small Business Administration, 2.22%, 3/01/2033    $ 3,825,483     $ 3,808,632  
Small Business Administration, 3.15%, 7/01/2033      3,675,931       3,824,462  
Small Business Administration, 3.16%, 8/01/2033      1,335,122       1,390,345  
Small Business Administration, 3.62%, 9/01/2033      1,385,589       1,471,866  
Tennessee Valley Authority, 1.75%, 10/15/2018      4,231,000       4,251,732  
    

 

 

 
      $ 60,013,150  
U.S. Treasury Obligations - 33.8%  
U.S. Treasury Bonds, 6.25%, 8/15/2023    $ 1,445,000     $ 1,805,855  
U.S. Treasury Bonds, 6%, 2/15/2026      5,933,000       7,770,144  
U.S. Treasury Bonds, 6.75%, 8/15/2026      981,000       1,358,915  
U.S. Treasury Bonds, 6.375%, 8/15/2027      2,309,000       3,195,259  
U.S. Treasury Bonds, 4.375%, 2/15/2038      4,497,000       5,849,438  
U.S. Treasury Bonds, 4.5%, 8/15/2039      19,926,300       26,377,440  
U.S. Treasury Bonds, 3.125%, 2/15/2043      28,535,600       30,865,264  
U.S. Treasury Bonds, 2.875%, 5/15/2043      27,528,200       28,465,879  
U.S. Treasury Bonds, 2.5%, 2/15/2045      97,983,000       93,822,550  
U.S. Treasury Notes, 2.625%, 4/30/2018      11,085,000       11,187,190  
U.S. Treasury Notes, 2.75%, 2/15/2019      19,471,600       19,875,484  
U.S. Treasury Notes, 1%, 6/30/2019      97,559,000       97,014,041  
U.S. Treasury Notes, 1.625%, 6/30/2019      57,876,000       58,185,727  
U.S. Treasury Notes, 2.625%, 8/15/2020      32,222,000       33,325,855  
U.S. Treasury Notes, 2%, 11/30/2020      6,679,000       6,785,968  
U.S. Treasury Notes, 3.125%, 5/15/2021 (f)      34,834,000       36,796,134  
U.S. Treasury Notes, 1.75%, 5/15/2022      24,023,000       24,093,380  
U.S. Treasury Notes, 2.5%, 8/15/2023      136,673,000       141,782,221  
U.S. Treasury Notes, 2.75%, 2/15/2024      8,033,000       8,448,770  
U.S. Treasury Notes, 2.5%, 5/15/2024      63,269,000       65,569,916  
U.S. Treasury Notes, 2%, 11/15/2026      6,400,000       6,341,000  
    

 

 

 
      $ 708,916,430  
Utilities - Electric Power - 0.4%  
Enel Finance International N.V., 2.875%, 5/25/2022 (n)    $ 5,254,000     $ 5,309,494  
NextEra Energy Capital Holdings, Inc., 2.056%, 9/01/2017      3,358,000       3,358,000  
    

 

 

 
      $ 8,667,494  
Total Bonds (Identified Cost, $2,025,433,066)     $ 2,064,882,246  
Investment Companies (h) - 1.3%  
Mutual Funds - 1.3%  
MFS Institutional Money Market Portfolio, 1.11% (v)
(Identified Cost, $26,339,396)
     26,341,070     $ 26,341,070  
Other Assets, Less Liabilities - 0.3%       7,052,794  
Net Assets - 100.0%     $ 2,098,276,110  

 

11


Table of Contents

Portfolio of Investments (unaudited) – continued

 

 

(f) All or a portion of the security has been segregated as collateral for open futures contracts.
(h) An affiliated issuer may be considered one in which the fund owns 5% or more of the outstanding voting securities, or a company which is under common control. At period end, the aggregate values of the fund’s investments in affiliated issuers and in unaffiliated issuers were $26,341,070 and $2,064,882,246, respectively.
(i) Interest only security for which the fund receives interest on notional principal (Par amount). Par amount shown is the notional principal and does not reflect the cost of the security.
(n) Securities exempt from registration under Rule 144A of the Securities Act of 1933. These securities may be sold in the ordinary course of business in transactions exempt from registration, normally to qualified institutional buyers. At period end, the aggregate value of these securities was $70,797,612, representing 3.4% of net assets.
(v) Affiliated issuer that is available only to investment companies managed by MFS. The rate quoted for the MFS Institutional Money Market Portfolio is the annualized seven-day yield of the fund at period end.
(z) Restricted securities are not registered under the Securities Act of 1933 and are subject to legal restrictions on resale. These securities generally may be resold in transactions exempt from registration or to the public if the securities are subsequently registered. Disposal of these securities may involve time-consuming negotiations and prompt sale at an acceptable price may be difficult. The fund holds the following restricted securities:

 

Restricted Securities    Acquisition
Date
   Cost      Value  
BAT Capital Corp., 2.764%, 8/15/2022    8/8/17      $4,264,000        $4,300,746  
% of Net assets            0.2%  

The following abbreviations are used in this report and are defined:

 

CDO   Collateralized Debt Obligation
CLO   Collateralized Loan Obligation
FLR   Floating rate. Interest rate resets periodically based on the parenthetically disclosed reference rate plus a spread (if any). The period-end rate reported may not be the current rate.
PLC   Public Limited Company
STRIPS   Separate Trading of Registered Interest and Principal of Securities

 

Insurers      
AGM    Assured Guaranty Municipal      

Derivative Contracts at 8/31/17

Futures Contracts at 8/31/17

 

Description  

Long/

Short

    Currency     Contracts   Notional
Amount
    Expiration
Date
    Value/
Unrealized
Appreciation
(Depreciation)
 
Asset Derivatives      
Interest Rate Futures          
U.S. Treasury Bond 30 yr     Long       USD     15     $2,341,406       December - 2017       $8,936  
           

 

 

 
Liability Derivatives      
Interest Rate Futures          
U.S. Treasury Note 5 yr     Long       USD     176     $20,856,000       December - 2017       $(17,122
           

 

 

 

At August 31, 2017, the fund had liquid securities with an aggregate value of $170,069 to cover any commitments for certain derivative contracts.

See Notes to Financial Statements

 

12


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Financial Statements

 

STATEMENT OF ASSETS AND LIABILITIES

At 8/31/17 (unaudited)

This statement represents your fund’s balance sheet, which details the assets and liabilities comprising the total value of the fund.

 

Assets         

Investments in unaffiliated issuers, at value (identified cost, $2,025,433,066)

     $2,064,882,246  

Investments in affiliated issuers, at value (identified cost, $26,339,396)

     26,341,070  

Receivables for

 

Daily variation margin on open futures contracts

     18,946  

Investments sold

     508,349  

Fund shares sold

     13,668,610  

Interest

     8,002,498  

Other assets

     2,363  

Total assets

     $2,113,424,082  
Liabilities         

Payable to custodian

     $7,905  

Payables for

 

Distributions

     459,102  

Investments purchased

     469,741  

Fund shares reacquired

     13,426,638  

Payable to affiliates

  

Investment adviser

     46,861  

Shareholder servicing costs

     563,850  

Distribution and service fees

     12,537  

Payable for independent Trustees’ compensation

     22,037  

Accrued expenses and other liabilities

     139,301  

Total liabilities

     $15,147,972  

Net assets

     $2,098,276,110  
Net assets consist of         

Paid-in capital

     $2,136,365,946  

Unrealized appreciation (depreciation)

     39,442,668  

Accumulated net realized gain (loss)

     (77,244,865

Accumulated distributions in excess of net investment income

     (287,639

Net assets

     $2,098,276,110  

Shares of beneficial interest outstanding

     211,885,001  

 

13


Table of Contents

Statement of Assets and Liabilities (unaudited) – continued

 

 

     Net assets      Shares
outstanding
     Net asset value
per share (a)
 

Class A

     $678,396,009        68,468,061        $9.91  

Class B

     15,536,947        1,570,017        9.90  

Class C

     35,582,527        3,585,345        9.92  

Class I

     31,204,808        3,151,230        9.90  

Class R1

     2,761,487        279,019        9.90  

Class R2

     105,303,462        10,639,292        9.90  

Class R3

     88,859,242        8,972,050        9.90  

Class R4

     69,613,206        7,025,941        9.91  

Class R6

     1,071,018,422        108,194,046        9.90  

 

(a) Maximum offering price per share was equal to the net asset value per share for all share classes, except for Class A, for which the maximum offering price per share was $10.35 [100 / 95.75 x $9.91]. On sales of $100,000 or more, the maximum offering price of Class A shares is reduced. A contingent deferred sales charge may be imposed on redemptions of Class A, Class B, and Class C shares. Redemption price per share was equal to the net asset value per share for Classes I, R1, R2, R3, R4, and R6.

See Notes to Financial Statements

 

14


Table of Contents

Financial Statements

 

STATEMENT OF OPERATIONS

Six months ended 8/31/17 (unaudited)

This statement describes how much your fund earned in investment income and accrued in expenses. It also describes any gains and/or losses generated by fund operations.

 

Net investment income (loss)  

Income

 

Interest

     $30,596,599  

Dividends from affiliated issuers

     142,732  

Total investment income

     $30,739,331  

Expenses

 

Management fee

     $4,220,531  

Distribution and service fees

     1,542,889  

Shareholder servicing costs

     1,218,455  

Administrative services fee

     177,581  

Independent Trustees’ compensation

     23,996  

Custodian fee

     107,698  

Shareholder communications

     77,909  

Audit and tax fees

     31,043  

Legal fees

     13,007  

Miscellaneous

     126,327  

Total expenses

     $7,539,436  

Fees paid indirectly

     (714

Reduction of expenses by investment adviser and distributor

     (105,031

Net expenses

     $7,433,691  

Net investment income (loss)

     $23,305,640  
Realized and unrealized gain (loss)  

Realized gain (loss) (identified cost basis)

 

Unaffiliated issuers

     $(5,660,326

Affiliated issuers

     1,469  

Futures contracts

     399,197  

Net realized gain (loss)

     $(5,259,660

Change in unrealized appreciation (depreciation)

 

Unaffiliated issuers

     $24,136,486  

Affiliated issuers

     1,653  

Futures contracts

     (5,568

Net unrealized gain (loss)

     $24,132,571  

Net realized and unrealized gain (loss)

     $18,872,911  

Change in net assets from operations

     $42,178,551  

See Notes to Financial Statements

 

15


Table of Contents

Financial Statements

 

STATEMENTS OF CHANGES IN NET ASSETS

These statements describe the increases and/or decreases in net assets resulting from operations, any distributions, and any shareholder transactions.

 

Change in net assets

   Six months ended
8/31/17
     Year ended
2/28/17
 
   (unaudited)         
From operations                  

Net investment income (loss)

     $23,305,640        $45,759,260  

Net realized gain (loss)

     (5,259,660      (7,050,344

Net unrealized gain (loss)

     24,132,571        (57,302,563

Change in net assets from operations

     $42,178,551        $(18,593,647
Distributions declared to shareholders                  

From net investment income

     $(26,998,772      $(54,285,439

Change in net assets from fund share transactions

     $(11,445,935      $(9,494,486

Total change in net assets

     $3,733,844        $(82,373,572
Net assets                  

At beginning of period

     2,094,542,266        2,176,915,838  

At end of period (including accumulated distributions in excess of net investment income of $287,639 and undistributed net investment income of $3,405,493, respectively)

     $2,098,276,110        $2,094,542,266  

See Notes to Financial Statements

 

16


Table of Contents

Financial Statements

 

FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS

The financial highlights table is intended to help you understand the fund’s financial performance for the semiannual period and the past 5 fiscal years (or life of a particular share class, if shorter). Certain information reflects financial results for a single fund share. The total returns in the table represent the rate that an investor would have earned (or lost) on an investment in the fund share class (assuming reinvestment of all distributions) held for the entire period.

 

   

Six months
ended
8/31/17

(unaudited)

    Year ended  
Class A     2/28/17     2/29/16     2/28/15     2/28/14     2/28/13  
                                 

Net asset value, beginning of
period

    $9.84       $10.17       $10.20       $10.05       $10.41       $10.54  
Income (loss) from investment operations                                  

Net investment income
(loss) (d)

    $0.10       $0.19 (c)      $0.18       $0.16       $0.18       $0.20  

Net realized and unrealized
gain (loss)

    0.09       (0.29     (0.01     0.20       (0.29     (0.02

Total from investment
operations

    $0.19       $(0.10     $0.17       $0.36       $(0.11     $0.18  
Less distributions declared to shareholders                                  

From net investment income

    $(0.12     $(0.23     $(0.20     $(0.21     $(0.22     $(0.26

From net realized gain

                            (0.03     (0.05

Total distributions declared to
shareholders

    $(0.12     $(0.23     $(0.20     $(0.21     $(0.25     $(0.31

Net asset value, end of
period (x)

    $9.91       $9.84       $10.17       $10.20       $10.05       $10.41  

Total return (%) (r)(s)(t)(x)

    1.93 (n)      (0.97 )(c)      1.69       3.59       (1.00     1.74  
Ratios (%) (to average net assets)
and Supplemental data:
                         

Expenses before expense
reductions (f)

    0.88 (a)      0.88 (c)      0.88       0.88       0.88       0.87  

Expenses after expense
reductions (f)

    0.86 (a)      0.86 (c)      0.87       0.87       0.87       0.87  

Net investment income (loss)

    2.05 (a)      1.93 (c)      1.74       1.58       1.76       1.88  

Portfolio turnover

    15 (n)      48       88       67       112       81  

Net assets at end of period
(000 omitted)

    $678,396       $685,256       $719,585       $692,680       $698,251       $847,276  

See Notes to Financial Statements

 

17


Table of Contents

Financial Highlights – continued

 

 

   

Six months
ended
8/31/17

(unaudited)

    Year ended  
Class B     2/28/17     2/29/16     2/28/15     2/28/14     2/28/13  
                                 

Net asset value, beginning of
period

    $9.82       $10.16       $10.19       $10.04       $10.39       $10.53  
Income (loss) from investment operations                                  

Net investment income
(loss) (d)

    $0.06       $0.12 (c)      $0.10       $0.08       $0.10       $0.12  

Net realized and unrealized
gain (loss)

    0.10       (0.30     (0.01     0.20       (0.27     (0.03

Total from investment
operations

    $0.16       $(0.18     $0.09       $0.28       $(0.17     $0.09  
Less distributions declared to shareholders                                  

From net investment income

    $(0.08     $(0.16     $(0.12     $(0.13     $(0.15     $(0.18

From net realized gain

                            (0.03     (0.05

Total distributions declared to
shareholders

    $(0.08     $(0.16     $(0.12     $(0.13     $(0.18     $(0.23

Net asset value, end of
period (x)

    $9.90       $9.82       $10.16       $10.19       $10.04       $10.39  

Total return (%) (r)(s)(t)(x)

    1.66 (n)      (1.82 )(c)      0.93       2.82       (1.65     0.88  
Ratios (%) (to average net assets)
and Supplemental data:
                         

Expenses before expense
reductions (f)

    1.63 (a)      1.63 (c)      1.63       1.63       1.63       1.62  

Expenses after expense
reductions (f)

    1.62 (a)      1.62 (c)      1.62       1.62       1.63       1.62  

Net investment income (loss)

    1.30 (a)      1.18 (c)      0.99       0.83       1.00       1.13  

Portfolio turnover

    15 (n)      48       88       67       112       81  

Net assets at end of period
(000 omitted)

    $15,537       $18,013       $22,289       $23,857       $28,208       $44,012  

See Notes to Financial Statements

 

18


Table of Contents

Financial Highlights – continued

 

   

Six months
ended
8/31/17

(unaudited)

    Year ended  
Class C     2/28/17     2/29/16     2/28/15     2/28/14     2/28/13  
                                 

Net asset value, beginning of
period

    $9.85       $10.19       $10.22       $10.07       $10.43       $10.57  
Income (loss) from investment operations                                  

Net investment income
(loss) (d)

    $0.06       $0.12 (c)      $0.10       $0.08       $0.10       $0.12  

Net realized and unrealized
gain (loss)

    0.09       (0.30     (0.01     0.20       (0.28     (0.02

Total from investment
operations

    $0.15       $(0.18     $0.09       $0.28       $(0.18     $0.10  
Less distributions declared to shareholders                                  

From net investment income

    $(0.08     $(0.16     $(0.12     $(0.13     $(0.15     $(0.19

From net realized gain

                            (0.03     (0.05

Total distributions declared to
shareholders

    $(0.08     $(0.16     $(0.12     $(0.13     $(0.18     $(0.24

Net asset value, end of
period (x)

    $9.92       $9.85       $10.19       $10.22       $10.07       $10.43  

Total return (%) (r)(s)(t)(x)

    1.55 (n)      (1.81 )(c)      0.93       2.81       (1.73     0.88  
Ratios (%) (to average net assets)
and Supplemental data:
                         

Expenses before expense
reductions (f)

    1.63 (a)      1.63 (c)      1.63       1.63       1.63       1.62  

Expenses after expense
reductions (f)

    1.62 (a)      1.62 (c)      1.62       1.62       1.63       1.62  

Net investment income (loss)

    1.29 (a)      1.17 (c)      0.98       0.82       0.99       1.13  

Portfolio turnover

    15 (n)      48       88       67       112       81  

Net assets at end of period
(000 omitted)

    $35,583       $41,824       $49,104       $51,361       $58,229       $101,229  

See Notes to Financial Statements

 

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Table of Contents

Financial Highlights – continued

 

   

Six months
ended
8/31/17

(unaudited)

    Year ended  
Class I     2/28/17     2/29/16     2/28/15     2/28/14      2/28/13  
                                  

Net asset value, beginning of
period

    $9.83       $10.16       $10.20       $10.05       $10.41        $10.54  
Income (loss) from investment operations                                   

Net investment income
(loss) (d)

    $0.11       $0.22 (c)      $0.20       $0.18       $0.20        $0.25  

Net realized and unrealized
gain (loss)

    0.09       (0.29     (0.02     0.20       (0.28      (0.04

Total from investment
operations

    $0.20       $(0.07     $0.18       $0.38       $(0.08      $0.21  
Less distributions declared to shareholders                                   

From net investment income

    $(0.13     $(0.26     $(0.22     $(0.23     $(0.25      $(0.29

From net realized gain

                            (0.03      (0.05

Total distributions declared to
shareholders

    $(0.13     $(0.26     $(0.22     $(0.23     $(0.28      $(0.34

Net asset value, end of
period (x)

    $9.90       $9.83       $10.16       $10.20       $10.05        $10.41  

Total return (%) (r)(s)(t)(x)

    2.06 (n)      (0.73 )(c)      1.85       3.85       (0.75      1.99  
Ratios (%) (to average net assets)
and Supplemental data:
                          

Expenses before expense
reductions (f)

    0.63 (a)      0.63 (c)      0.63       0.63       0.63        0.59  

Expenses after expense
reductions (f)

    0.62 (a)      0.62 (c)      0.62       0.63       0.63        0.59  

Net investment income (loss)

    2.28 (a)      2.17 (c)      1.98       1.80       1.98        2.33  

Portfolio turnover

    15 (n)      48       88       67       112        81  

Net assets at end of period
(000 omitted)

    $31,205       $43,439       $42,563       $22,984       $20,974        $40,628  

See Notes to Financial Statements

 

20


Table of Contents

Financial Highlights – continued

 

   

Six months
ended
8/31/17

(unaudited)

    Year ended  
Class R1     2/28/17     2/29/16     2/28/15     2/28/14     2/28/13  
                                 

Net asset value, beginning of
period

    $9.83       $10.16       $10.19       $10.04       $10.40       $10.53  
Income (loss) from investment operations                                  

Net investment income
(loss) (d)

    $0.06       $0.12 (c)      $0.10       $0.08       $0.10       $0.12  

Net realized and unrealized
gain (loss)

    0.09       (0.29     (0.01     0.20       (0.28     (0.02

Total from investment
operations

    $0.15       $(0.17     $0.09       $0.28       $(0.18     $0.10  
Less distributions declared to shareholders                                  

From net investment income

    $(0.08     $(0.16     $(0.12     $(0.13     $(0.15     $(0.18

From net realized gain

                            (0.03     (0.05

Total distributions declared to
shareholders

    $(0.08     $(0.16     $(0.12     $(0.13     $(0.18     $(0.23

Net asset value, end of
period (x)

    $9.90       $9.83       $10.16       $10.19       $10.04       $10.40  

Total return (%) (r)(s)(t)(x)

    1.55 (n)      (1.72 )(c)      0.93       2.82       (1.74     0.98  
Ratios (%) (to average net assets)
and Supplemental data:
                         

Expenses before expense
reductions (f)

    1.63 (a)      1.63 (c)      1.63       1.63       1.63       1.62  

Expenses after expense
reductions (f)

    1.62 (a)      1.62 (c)      1.62       1.63       1.63       1.62  

Net investment income (loss)

    1.30 (a)      1.18 (c)      0.99       0.82       1.00       1.14  

Portfolio turnover

    15 (n)      48       88       67       112       81  

Net assets at end of period
(000 omitted)

    $2,761       $3,265       $4,671       $5,128       $5,345       $6,647  

See Notes to Financial Statements

 

21


Table of Contents

Financial Highlights – continued

 

   

Six months
ended
8/31/17

(unaudited)

    Year ended  
Class R2     2/28/17     2/29/16     2/28/15     2/28/14     2/28/13  
                                 

Net asset value, beginning of
period

    $9.83       $10.16       $10.19       $10.04       $10.40       $10.53  
Income (loss) from investment operations                                  

Net investment income
(loss) (d)

    $0.09       $0.17 (c)      $0.15       $0.13       $0.15       $0.17  

Net realized and unrealized
gain (loss)

    0.09       (0.29     (0.01     0.20       (0.28     (0.01

Total from investment
operations

    $0.18       $(0.12     $0.14       $0.33       $(0.13     $0.16  
Less distributions declared to shareholders                                  

From net investment income

    $(0.11     $(0.21     $(0.17     $(0.18     $(0.20     $(0.24

From net realized gain

                            (0.03     (0.05

Total distributions declared to
shareholders

    $(0.11     $(0.21     $(0.17     $(0.18     $(0.23     $(0.29

Net asset value, end of
period (x)

    $9.90       $9.83       $10.16       $10.19       $10.04       $10.40  

Total return (%) (r)(s)(t)(x)

    1.81 (n)      (1.22 )(c)      1.44       3.33       (1.25     1.48  
Ratios (%) (to average net assets)
and Supplemental data:
                         

Expenses before expense
reductions (f)

    1.13 (a)      1.13 (c)      1.13       1.13       1.13       1.12  

Expenses after expense
reductions (f)

    1.12 (a)      1.12 (c)      1.12       1.13       1.13       1.12  

Net investment income (loss)

    1.80 (a)      1.68 (c)      1.49       1.33       1.51       1.63  

Portfolio turnover

    15 (n)      48       88       67       112       81  

Net assets at end of period
(000 omitted)

    $105,303       $111,123       $122,117       $139,048       $142,396       $165,865  

See Notes to Financial Statements

 

22


Table of Contents

Financial Highlights – continued

 

   

Six months
ended
8/31/17

(unaudited)

    Year ended  
Class R3     2/28/17     2/29/16     2/28/15     2/28/14      2/28/13  
                                  

Net asset value, beginning of
period

    $9.83       $10.17       $10.20       $10.05       $10.40        $10.54  
Income (loss) from investment operations                                   

Net investment income
(loss) (d)

    $0.10       $0.19 (c)      $0.18       $0.16       $0.18        $0.20  

Net realized and unrealized
gain (loss)

    0.09       (0.30     (0.01     0.20       (0.28      (0.03

Total from investment
operations

    $0.19       $(0.11     $0.17       $0.36       $(0.10      $0.17  
Less distributions declared to shareholders                                   

From net investment income

    $(0.12     $(0.23     $(0.20     $(0.21     $(0.22      $(0.26

From net realized gain

                            (0.03      (0.05

Total distributions declared to
shareholders

    $(0.12     $(0.23     $(0.20     $(0.21     $(0.25      $(0.31

Net asset value, end of
period (x)

    $9.90       $9.83       $10.17       $10.20       $10.05        $10.40  

Total return (%) (r)(s)(x)

    1.93 (n)      (1.07 )(c)      1.69       3.59       (0.90      1.64  
Ratios (%) (to average net assets)
and Supplemental data:
                          

Expenses before expense
reductions (f)

    0.88 (a)      0.88 (c)      0.88       0.88       0.88        0.87  

Expenses after expense
reductions (f)

    0.87 (a)      0.87 (c)      0.87       0.88       0.87        0.87  

Net investment income (loss)

    2.05 (a)      1.93 (c)      1.74       1.57       1.76        1.88  

Portfolio turnover

    15 (n)      48       88       67       112        81  

Net assets at end of period
(000 omitted)

    $88,859       $88,434       $109,531       $105,929       $98,701        $104,515  

See Notes to Financial Statements

 

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Financial Highlights – continued

 

   

Six months
ended
8/31/17

(unaudited)

    Year ended  
Class R4     2/28/17     2/29/16     2/28/15     2/28/14      2/28/13  
                                  

Net asset value, beginning of
period

    $9.84       $10.17       $10.21       $10.06       $10.41        $10.55  
Income (loss) from investment operations                                   

Net investment income
(loss) (d)

    $0.11       $0.22 (c)      $0.20       $0.18       $0.20        $0.22  

Net realized and unrealized
gain (loss)

    0.09       (0.29     (0.02     0.20       (0.27      (0.02

Total from investment
operations

    $0.20       $(0.07     $0.18       $0.38       $(0.07      $0.20  
Less distributions declared to shareholders                                   

From net investment income

    $(0.13     $(0.26     $(0.22     $(0.23     $(0.25      $(0.29

From net realized gain

                            (0.03      (0.05

Total distributions declared to
shareholders

    $(0.13     $(0.26     $(0.22     $(0.23     $(0.28      $(0.34

Net asset value, end of
period (x)

    $9.91       $9.84       $10.17       $10.21       $10.06        $10.41  

Total return (%) (r)(s)(x)

    2.06 (n)      (0.72 )(c)      1.85       3.84       (0.65      1.89  
Ratios (%) (to average net assets)
and Supplemental data:
                          

Expenses before expense
reductions (f)

    0.63 (a)      0.63 (c)      0.63       0.63       0.63        0.62  

Expenses after expense
reductions (f)

    0.62 (a)      0.62 (c)      0.62       0.63       0.62        0.62  

Net investment income (loss)

    2.30 (a)      2.18 (c)      1.99       1.82       2.01        2.10  

Portfolio turnover

    15 (n)      48       88       67       112        81  

Net assets at end of period
(000 omitted)

    $69,613       $64,371       $86,552       $77,065       $70,549        $70,662  

See Notes to Financial Statements

 

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Financial Highlights – continued

 

   

Six months
ended
8/31/17

(unaudited)

    Year ended  
Class R6     2/28/17     2/29/16     2/28/15     2/28/14     2/28/13(i)  
                                 

Net asset value, beginning of
period

    $9.83       $10.16       $10.20       $10.05       $10.40       $10.53  
Income (loss) from investment operations                                  

Net investment income
(loss) (d)

    $0.12       $0.23 (c)      $0.21       $0.20       $0.21       $0.13  

Net realized and unrealized
gain (loss)

    0.09       (0.29     (0.01     0.19       (0.27     (0.06

Total from investment
operations

    $0.21       $(0.06     $0.20       $0.39       $(0.06     $0.07  
Less distributions declared to shareholders                                  

From net investment income

    $(0.14     $(0.27     $(0.24     $(0.24     $(0.26     $(0.20

From net realized gain

                            (0.03      

Total distributions declared to
shareholders

    $(0.14     $(0.27     $(0.24     $(0.24     $(0.29     $(0.20

Net asset value, end of
period (x)

    $9.90       $9.83       $10.16       $10.20       $10.05       $10.40  

Total return (%) (r)(s)(x)

    2.12 (n)      (0.61 )(c)      1.96       3.96       (0.54     0.62 (n) 
Ratios (%) (to average net assets)
and Supplemental data:
                         

Expenses before expense
reductions (f)

    0.51 (a)      0.51 (c)   

 

0.52

 

    0.52       0.51       0.54 (a) 

Expenses after expense
reductions (f)

    0.50 (a)      0.50 (c)      0.51       0.51       0.51       0.54 (a) 

Net investment income (loss)

    2.41 (a)      2.30 (c)      2.10       1.94       2.13       1.81 (a) 

Portfolio turnover

    15 (n)      48       88       67       112       81  

Net assets at end of period
(000 omitted)

    $1,071,018       $1,038,818       $1,020,504       $1,038,851       $943,761       $721,119  

 

(a) Annualized.
(c) Amount reflects a one-time reimbursement of expenses by the custodian (or former custodian) without which net investment income and performance would be lower and expenses would be higher.
(d) Per share data is based on average shares outstanding.
(f) Ratios do not reflect reductions from fees paid indirectly, if applicable.
(i) For the period from the class inception, July 2, 2012, through the stated period end.
(n) Not annualized.
(r) Certain expenses have been reduced without which performance would have been lower.
(s) From time to time the fund may receive proceeds from litigation settlements, without which performance would be lower.
(t) Total returns do not include any applicable sales charges.
(x) The net asset values and total returns have been calculated on net assets which include adjustments made in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles required at period end for financial reporting purposes.

See Notes to Financial Statements

 

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NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

(unaudited)

(1) Business and Organization

MFS Government Securities Fund (the fund) is a diversified series of MFS Series Trust XIII (the trust). The trust is organized as a Massachusetts business trust and is registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, as an open-end management investment company.

The fund is an investment company and accordingly follows the investment company accounting and reporting guidance of the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) Accounting Standards Codification Topic 946 Financial Services – Investment Companies.

(2) Significant Accounting Policies

General – The preparation of financial statements in conformity with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities, and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of increases and decreases in net assets from operations during the reporting period. Actual results could differ from those estimates. In the preparation of these financial statements, management has evaluated subsequent events occurring after the date of the fund’s Statement of Assets and Liabilities through the date that the financial statements were issued.

In October 2016, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) released its Final Rule on Investment Company Reporting Modernization (the “Rule”). The Rule, which introduced two new regulatory reporting forms for investment companies – Form N-PORT and Form N-CEN – also contained amendments to Regulation S-X which impact financial statement presentation, particularly the presentation of derivative investments, for all reporting periods ended after August 1, 2017. The fund has adopted the Rule’s Regulation S-X amendments and believes that the fund’s financial statements are in compliance with those amendments.

In March 2017, the FASB issued Accounting Standards Update 2017-08, Receivables – Nonrefundable Fees and Other Costs (Subtopic 310-20) – Premium Amortization on Purchased Callable Debt Securities (“ASU 2017-08”). For entities that hold callable debt securities at a premium, ASU 2017-08 requires that the premium be amortized to the earliest call date. ASU 2017-08 will be effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2018, and interim periods within those fiscal years. Management is still evaluating the potential impacts of ASU 2017-08 but believes that adoption of ASU 2017-08 will not have a material effect on the fund’s overall financial position or its overall results of operations.

Balance Sheet Offsetting – The fund’s accounting policy with respect to balance sheet offsetting is that, absent an event of default by the counterparty or a termination of the agreement, the International Swaps and Derivatives Association (ISDA) Master Agreement does not result in an offset of reported amounts of financial assets and financial liabilities in the Statement of Assets and Liabilities across transactions between the fund and the applicable counterparty. The fund’s right to setoff may be restricted or prohibited by the bankruptcy or insolvency laws of the particular jurisdiction to

 

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Notes to Financial Statements (unaudited) – continued

 

which a specific master netting agreement counterparty is subject. Balance sheet offsetting disclosures, to the extent applicable to the fund, have been included in the fund’s Significant Accounting Policies note under the captions for each of the fund’s in-scope financial instruments and transactions.

Investment Valuations – Debt instruments and floating rate loans, including restricted debt instruments, are generally valued at an evaluated or composite bid as provided by a third-party pricing service. Short-term instruments with a maturity at issuance of 60 days or less may be valued at amortized cost, which approximates market value. Futures contracts are generally valued at last posted settlement price on their primary exchange as provided by a third-party pricing service. Futures contracts for which there were no trades that day for a particular position are generally valued at the closing bid quotation on their primary exchange as provided by a third-party pricing service. Open-end investment companies are generally valued at net asset value per share. Securities and other assets generally valued on the basis of information from a third-party pricing service may also be valued at a broker/dealer bid quotation. Values obtained from third-party pricing services can utilize both transaction data and market information such as yield, quality, coupon rate, maturity, type of issue, trading characteristics, and other market data. The values of foreign securities and other assets and liabilities expressed in foreign currencies are converted to U.S. dollars using the mean of bid and asked prices for rates provided by a third-party pricing service.

The Board of Trustees has delegated primary responsibility for determining or causing to be determined the value of the fund’s investments (including any fair valuation) to the adviser pursuant to valuation policies and procedures approved by the Board. If the adviser determines that reliable market quotations are not readily available, investments are valued at fair value as determined in good faith by the adviser in accordance with such procedures under the oversight of the Board of Trustees. Under the fund’s valuation policies and procedures, market quotations are not considered to be readily available for most types of debt instruments and floating rate loans and many types of derivatives. These investments are generally valued at fair value based on information from third-party pricing services. In addition, investments may be valued at fair value if the adviser determines that an investment’s value has been materially affected by events occurring after the close of the exchange or market on which the investment is principally traded (such as foreign exchange or market) and prior to the determination of the fund’s net asset value, or after the halting of trading of a specific security where trading does not resume prior to the close of the exchange or market on which the security is principally traded. The adviser generally relies on third-party pricing services or other information (such as the correlation with price movements of similar securities in the same or other markets; the type, cost and investment characteristics of the security; the business and financial condition of the issuer; and trading and other market data) to assist in determining whether to fair value and at what value to fair value an investment. The value of an investment for purposes of calculating the fund’s net asset value can differ depending on the source and method used to determine value. When fair valuation is used, the value of an investment used to determine the fund’s net asset value may differ from quoted or published prices for the same investment. There can be no assurance that the fund could obtain the fair value assigned to an investment if it were to sell the investment at the same time at which the fund determines its net asset value per share.

 

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Notes to Financial Statements (unaudited) – continued

 

Various inputs are used in determining the value of the fund’s assets or liabilities. These inputs are categorized into three broad levels. In certain cases, the inputs used to measure fair value may fall into different levels of the fair value hierarchy. In such cases, an investment’s level within the fair value hierarchy is based on the lowest level of input that is significant to the fair value measurement. The fund’s assessment of the significance of a particular input to the fair value measurement in its entirety requires judgment, and considers factors specific to the investment. Level 1 includes unadjusted quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities. Level 2 includes other significant observable market-based inputs (including quoted prices for similar securities, interest rates, prepayment speed, and credit risk). Level 3 includes unobservable inputs, which may include the adviser’s own assumptions in determining the fair value of investments. Other financial instruments are derivative instruments not reflected in total investments, such as futures contracts. The following is a summary of the levels used as of August 31, 2017 in valuing the fund’s assets or liabilities:

 

Financial Instruments    Level 1      Level 2      Level 3      Total  
U.S. Treasury Bonds & U.S. Government Agency & Equivalents      $—        $846,491,767        $—        $846,491,767  
Non-U.S. Sovereign Debt             3,427,602               3,427,602  
Municipal Bonds             14,269,585               14,269,585  
U.S. Corporate Bonds             35,509,697               35,509,697  
Residential Mortgage-Backed Securities             1,045,881,699               1,045,881,699  
Commercial Mortgage-Backed Securities             36,071,796               36,071,796  
Asset-Backed Securities (including CDOs)             53,676,847               53,676,847  
Foreign Bonds             29,553,253               29,553,253  
Mutual Funds      26,341,070                      26,341,070  
Total      $26,341,070        $2,064,882,246        $—        $2,091,223,316  
Other Financial Instruments                       
Futures Contracts – Assets      $8,936        $—        $—        $8,936  
Futures Contracts – Liabilities      (17,121                    (17,121

For further information regarding security characteristics, see the Portfolio of Investments.

Derivatives – The fund uses derivatives for different purposes, primarily to increase or decrease exposure to a particular market or segment of the market, or security, to increase or decrease interest rate exposure, or as alternatives to direct investments. Derivatives are used for hedging or non-hedging purposes. While hedging can reduce or eliminate losses, it can also reduce or eliminate gains. When the fund uses derivatives as an investment to increase market exposure, or for hedging purposes, gains and losses from derivative instruments may be substantially greater than the derivative’s original cost.

The derivative instruments used by the fund were futures contracts. Depending on the type of derivative, the fund may exit a derivative position by entering into an offsetting

 

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Notes to Financial Statements (unaudited) – continued

 

transaction with a counterparty or exchange, negotiating an agreement with the derivative counterparty, or novating the position to a third party. The fund may be unable to promptly close out a futures position in instances where the daily fluctuation in the price for that type of future exceeds the daily limit set by the exchange. The fund may be unable to promptly close out a futures position in instances where the daily fluctuation in the price for that type of future exceeds the daily limit set by the exchange. The fund’s period end derivatives, as presented in the Portfolio of Investments and the associated Derivative Contract tables, generally are indicative of the volume of its derivative activity during the period.

The following table presents, by major type of derivative contract, the fair value, on a gross basis, of the asset and liability components of derivatives held by the fund at August 31, 2017 as reported in the Statement of Assets and Liabilities:

 

        Fair Value (a)  
Risk   Derivative Contracts   Asset Derivatives     Liability Derivatives  
Interest Rate   Interest Rate Futures     $8,936       $(17,121)  

 

(a) The value of futures contracts includes cumulative appreciation (depreciation) as reported in the fund’s Portfolio of Investments. Only the current day net variation margin for futures contracts is separately reported within the fund’s Statement of Assets and Liabilities.

The following table presents, by major type of derivative contract, the realized gain (loss) on derivatives held by the fund for the six months ended August 31, 2017 as reported in the Statement of Operations:

 

Risk    Futures Contracts  
Interest Rate      $399,197  

The following table presents, by major type of derivative contract, the change in unrealized appreciation (depreciation) on derivatives held by the fund for the six months ended August 31, 2017 as reported in the Statement of Operations:

 

Risk    Futures Contracts  
Interest Rate      $(5,568

Derivative counterparty credit risk is managed through formal evaluation of the creditworthiness of all potential counterparties. On certain, but not all, uncleared derivatives, the fund attempts to reduce its exposure to counterparty credit risk whenever possible by entering into an ISDA Master Agreement on a bilateral basis. The ISDA Master Agreement gives each party to the agreement the right to terminate all transactions traded under such agreement if there is a certain deterioration in the credit quality of the other party. Upon an event of default or a termination of the ISDA Master Agreement, the non-defaulting party has the right to close out all transactions traded under such agreement and to net amounts owed under each agreement to one net amount payable by one party to the other. This right to close out and net payments across all transactions traded under the ISDA Master Agreement could result in a reduction of the fund’s credit risk to such counterparty equal to any amounts payable by the fund under the applicable transactions, if any.

Collateral and margin requirements differ by type of derivative. For cleared derivatives (e.g., futures contracts, cleared swaps, and exchange-traded options), margin

 

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Notes to Financial Statements (unaudited) – continued

 

requirements are set by the clearing broker and the clearing house and collateral, in the form of cash or securities, is posted by the fund directly with the clearing broker. Collateral terms are counterparty agreement specific for uncleared derivatives (e.g., forward foreign currency exchange contracts, uncleared swap agreements, and uncleared options) and collateral, in the form of cash and securities, is held in segregated accounts with the fund’s custodian in connection with these agreements. For derivatives traded under an ISDA Master Agreement, which contains a collateral support annex, the collateral requirements are netted across all transactions traded under such counterparty-specific agreement and one amount is posted from one party to the other to collateralize such obligations. Cash that has been segregated or delivered to cover the fund’s collateral or margin obligations under derivative contracts, if any, will be reported separately in the Statement of Assets and Liabilities as restricted cash for uncleared derivatives or deposits with brokers for cleared derivatives, respectively. Securities pledged as collateral or margin for the same purpose, if any, are noted in the Portfolio of Investments. The fund may be required to make payments of interest on uncovered collateral or margin obligations with the broker. Any such payments are included in “Miscellaneous” expense in the Statement of Operations.

Futures Contracts – The fund entered into futures contracts which may be used to hedge against or obtain broad market exposure, interest rate exposure, or to manage duration. A futures contract represents a commitment for the future purchase or sale of an asset at a specified price on a specified date.

Upon entering into a futures contract, the fund is required to deposit with the broker, either in cash or securities, an initial margin in an amount equal to a certain percentage of the notional amount of the contract. Subsequent payments (variation margin) are made or received by the fund each day, depending on the daily fluctuations in the value of the contract, and are recorded for financial statement purposes as unrealized gain or loss by the fund until the contract is closed or expires at which point the gain or loss on futures contracts is realized.

The fund bears the risk of interest rates or securities prices moving unexpectedly, in which case, the fund may not achieve the anticipated benefits of the futures contracts and may realize a loss. While futures contracts may present less counterparty risk to the fund since the contracts are exchange traded and the exchange’s clearinghouse guarantees payments to the broker, there is still counterparty credit risk due to the insolvency of the broker. The fund’s maximum risk of loss due to counterparty credit risk is equal to the margin posted by the fund to the broker plus any gains or minus any losses on the outstanding futures contracts.

Dollar Roll Transactions – The fund enters into dollar roll transactions, with respect to mortgage-backed securities issued by Ginnie Mae, Fannie Mae, and Freddie Mac, in which the fund sells mortgage-backed securities to financial institutions and simultaneously agrees to purchase similar (same issuer, type and coupon) securities at a later date at an agreed-upon price. During the period between the sale and repurchase in a dollar roll transaction the fund will not be entitled to receive interest and principal payments on the securities sold but is compensated by interest earned on the proceeds of the initial sale and by a lower purchase price on the securities to be repurchased which enhances the fund’s total return. The fund accounts for dollar roll transactions as purchases and sales and realizes gains and losses on these transactions.

 

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Indemnifications – Under the fund’s organizational documents, its officers and Trustees may be indemnified against certain liabilities and expenses arising out of the performance of their duties to the fund. Additionally, in the normal course of business, the fund enters into agreements with service providers that may contain indemnification clauses. The fund’s maximum exposure under these agreements is unknown as this would involve future claims that may be made against the fund that have not yet occurred.

Investment Transactions and Income – Investment transactions are recorded on the trade date. Interest income is recorded on the accrual basis. All premium and discount is amortized or accreted for financial statement purposes in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles. Interest payments received in additional securities are recorded on the ex-interest date in an amount equal to the value of the security on such date.

The fund may receive proceeds from litigation settlements. Any proceeds received from litigation involving portfolio holdings are reflected in the Statement of Operations in realized gain/loss if the security has been disposed of by the fund or in unrealized gain/loss if the security is still held by the fund. Any other proceeds from litigation not related to portfolio holdings are reflected as other income in the Statement of Operations.

The fund invests a significant portion of its assets in asset-backed and/or mortgage-backed securities. The value of these securities may depend, in part, on the issuer’s or borrower’s credit quality or ability to pay principal and interest when due and that value may fall if an issuer or borrower defaults on its obligation to pay principal or interest or if the instrument’s credit rating is downgraded by a credit rating agency. U.S. Government securities not supported as to the payment of principal or interest by the U.S. Treasury, such as those issued by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and the Federal Home Loan Banks, are subject to greater credit risk than are U.S. Government securities supported by the U.S. Treasury, such as those issued by Ginnie Mae.

The fund purchased or sold debt securities on a when-issued or delayed delivery basis, or in a “To Be Announced” (TBA) or “forward commitment” transaction with delivery or payment to occur at a later date beyond the normal settlement period. At the time a fund enters into a commitment to purchase or sell a security, the transaction is recorded and the value of the security acquired is reflected in the fund’s net asset value. The price of such security and the date that the security will be delivered and paid for are fixed at the time the transaction is negotiated. The value of the security may vary with market fluctuations. No interest accrues to the fund until payment takes place. At the time that a fund enters into this type of transaction, the fund is required to have sufficient cash and/or liquid securities to cover its commitments. Losses may arise due to changes in the value of the underlying securities or if the counterparty does not perform under the contract’s terms, or if the issuer does not issue the securities due to political, economic or other factors. Additionally, losses may arise due to declines in the value of the securities prior to settlement date.

To mitigate this risk of loss on TBA securities and other types of forward settling mortgage-backed securities, the fund whenever possible enters into a Master Securities Forward Transaction Agreement (“MSFTA”) on a bilateral basis with each of the

 

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counterparties with whom it undertakes a significant volume of transactions. The MSFTA gives each party to the agreement the right to terminate all transactions traded under such agreement if there is a certain deterioration in the credit quality of the other party. Upon an event of default or a termination of the MSFTA, the non-defaulting party has the right to close out all transactions traded under such agreement and to net amounts owed under each transaction to one net amount payable by one party to the other. This right to close out and net payments across all transactions traded under the MSFTA could result in a reduction of the fund’s credit risk to such counterparty equal to any amounts payable by the fund under the applicable transactions, if any.

For mortgage-backed securities traded under a MSFTA, the collateral and margining requirements are contract specific. Collateral amounts across all transactions traded under such agreement are netted and one amount is posted from one party to the other to collateralize such obligations. Cash that has been pledged to cover the fund’s collateral or margin obligations under a MSFTA, if any, will be reported separately on the Statement of Assets and Liabilities as restricted cash. Securities pledged as collateral or margin for the same purpose, if any, are noted in the Portfolio of Investments.

Fees Paid Indirectly – The fund’s custody fee may be reduced by a credit earned under an arrangement that measures the value of U.S. dollars deposited with the custodian by the fund. The amount of the credit, for the six months ended August 31, 2017, is shown as a reduction of total expenses in the Statement of Operations.

Tax Matters and Distributions – The fund intends to qualify as a regulated investment company, as defined under Subchapter M of the Internal Revenue Code, and to distribute all of its taxable income, including realized capital gains. As a result, no provision for federal income tax is required. The fund’s federal tax returns, when filed, will remain subject to examination by the Internal Revenue Service for a three year period. Management has analyzed the fund’s tax positions taken on federal and state tax returns for all open tax years and does not believe that there are any uncertain tax positions that require recognition of a tax liability.

Distributions to shareholders are recorded on the ex-dividend date. Income and capital gain distributions are determined in accordance with income tax regulations, which may differ from U.S. generally accepted accounting principles. Certain capital accounts in the financial statements are periodically adjusted for permanent differences in order to reflect their tax character. These adjustments have no impact on net assets or net asset value per share. Temporary differences which arise from recognizing certain items of income, expense, gain or loss in different periods for financial statement and tax purposes will reverse at some time in the future. Distributions in excess of net investment income or net realized gains are temporary overdistributions for financial statement purposes resulting from differences in the recognition or classification of income or distributions for financial statement and tax purposes.

Book/tax differences primarily relate to amortization and accretion of debt securities and straddle loss deferrals.

 

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The tax character of distributions made during the current period will be determined at fiscal year end. The tax character of distributions declared to shareholders for the last fiscal year is as follows:

 

     Year ended
2/28/17
 
Ordinary income (including any
short-term capital gains)
     $54,285,439  

The federal tax cost and the tax basis components of distributable earnings were as follows:

 

As of 8/31/17       
Cost of investments      $2,052,029,448  
Gross appreciation      42,160,469  
Gross depreciation      (2,966,601
Net unrealized appreciation (depreciation)      $39,193,868  
As of 2/28/17       
Undistributed ordinary income      8,183,818  
Capital loss carryforwards      (36,175,329
Other temporary differences      (6,245,168
Net unrealized appreciation (depreciation)      (19,032,936

The aggregate cost above includes prior fiscal year end tax adjustments, if applicable.

As of February 28, 2017, the fund had capital loss carryforwards available to offset future realized gains. These net capital losses may be carried forward indefinitely and their character is retained as short-term and/or long-term losses. Such losses are characterized as follows:

 

Short-Term      $(10,409,971
Long-Term      (25,765,358
Total      $(36,175,329

Multiple Classes of Shares of Beneficial Interest – The fund offers multiple classes of shares, which differ in their respective distribution and service fees. The fund’s income and common expenses are allocated to shareholders based on the value of settled shares outstanding of each class. The fund’s realized and unrealized gain (loss) are allocated to shareholders based on the daily net assets of each class. Dividends are declared separately for each class. Differences in per share dividend rates are generally due to differences in separate class expenses. Class B shares will convert to Class A

 

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shares approximately eight years after purchase. The fund’s distributions declared to shareholders as reported in the Statements of Changes in Net Assets are presented by class as follows:

 

     From net investment
income
 
     Six months
ended

8/31/17
     Year
ended
2/28/17
 
Class A      $8,312,099        $16,911,235  
Class B      138,524        337,034  
Class C      318,753        751,462  
Class I      560,413        1,267,576  
Class R1      26,128        62,281  
Class R2      1,175,750        2,447,287  
Class R3      1,062,350        2,437,496  
Class R4      853,103        1,849,270  
Class R6      14,551,652        28,221,798  
Total      $26,998,772        $54,285,439  

(3) Transactions with Affiliates

Investment Adviser – The fund has an investment advisory agreement with MFS to provide overall investment management and related administrative services and facilities to the fund. The management fee is computed daily and paid monthly at the following annual rates:

 

First $2.5 billion of average daily net assets      0.40
Average daily net assets in excess of $2.5 billion      0.35

MFS has agreed in writing to reduce its management fee by a specified amount if certain MFS mutual fund assets exceed thresholds agreed to by MFS and the fund’s Board of Trustees. For the six months ended August 31, 2017, this management fee reduction amounted to $82,619, which is included in the reduction of total expenses in the Statement of Operations. The management fee incurred for the six months ended August 31, 2017 was equivalent to an annual effective rate of 0.39% of the fund’s average daily net assets.

Distributor – MFS Fund Distributors, Inc. (MFD), a wholly-owned subsidiary of MFS, as distributor, received $23,870 for the six months ended August 31, 2017, as its portion of the initial sales charge on sales of Class A shares of the fund.

The Board of Trustees has adopted a distribution plan for certain share classes pursuant to Rule 12b-1 of the Investment Company Act of 1940.

The fund’s distribution plan provides that the fund will pay MFD for services provided by MFD and financial intermediaries in connection with the distribution and servicing of certain share classes. One component of the plan is a distribution fee paid to MFD and another component of the plan is a service fee paid to MFD. MFD may subsequently pay all, or a portion, of the distribution and/or service fees to financial intermediaries.

 

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Distribution Plan Fee Table:

 

     Distribution
Fee Rate (d)
     Service
Fee Rate (d)
     Total
Distribution
Plan (d)
     Annual
Effective
Rate (e)
     Distribution
and Service
Fee
 
Class A             0.25%        0.25%        0.24%        $867,470  
Class B      0.75%        0.25%        1.00%        1.00%        83,507  
Class C      0.75%        0.25%        1.00%        1.00%        192,200  
Class R1      0.75%        0.25%        1.00%        1.00%        15,780  
Class R2      0.25%        0.25%        0.50%        0.50%        273,188  
Class R3             0.25%        0.25%        0.25%        110,744  
Total Distribution and Service Fees        $1,542,889  

 

(d) In accordance with the distribution plan for certain classes, the fund pays distribution and/or service fees equal to these annual percentage rates of each class’s average daily net assets. The distribution and service fee rates disclosed by class represent the current rates in effect at the end of the reporting period. Any rate changes, if applicable, are detailed below.
(e) The annual effective rates represent actual fees incurred under the distribution plan for the six months ended August 31, 2017 based on each class’s average daily net assets. MFD has voluntarily agreed to rebate a portion of each class’s 0.25% service fee attributable to accounts for which MFD retains the 0.25% service fee except for accounts attributable to MFS or its affiliates’ seed money. For the six months ended August 31, 2017, this rebate amounted to $22,205, $148, $57, and $2 for Class A, Class B, Class C, and Class R3, respectively, and is included in the reduction of total expenses in the Statement of Operations.

Certain Class A shares are subject to a contingent deferred sales charge (CDSC) in the event of a shareholder redemption within 18 months of purchase. Class C shares are subject to a CDSC in the event of a shareholder redemption within 12 months of purchase. Class B shares are subject to a CDSC in the event of a shareholder redemption within six years of purchase. All contingent deferred sales charges are paid to MFD and during the six months ended August 31, 2017, were as follows:

 

     Amount  
Class A      $22,601  
Class B      14,527  
Class C      3,089  

Shareholder Servicing Agent – MFS Service Center, Inc. (MFSC), a wholly-owned subsidiary of MFS, receives a fee from the fund for its services as shareholder servicing agent calculated as a percentage of the average daily net assets of the fund as determined periodically under the supervision of the fund’s Board of Trustees. For the six months ended August 31, 2017, the fee was $138,179, which equated to 0.0131% annually of the fund’s average daily net assets. MFSC also receives payment from the fund for out-of-pocket expenses, sub-accounting and other shareholder servicing costs which may be paid to affiliated and unaffiliated service providers. Class R6 shares do not incur sub-accounting fees. For the six months ended August 31, 2017, these out-of-pocket expenses, sub-accounting and other shareholder servicing costs amounted to $695,842.

Under a Special Servicing Agreement among MFS, certain MFS funds which invest in other MFS funds (“MFS fund-of-funds”) and certain underlying funds in which a MFS fund-of-funds invests (“underlying funds”), each underlying fund may pay a portion of

 

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each MFS fund-of-funds’ transfer agent-related expenses, including sub-accounting fees payable to financial intermediaries, to the extent such payments do not exceed the benefits realized or expected to be realized by the underlying fund from the investment in the underlying fund by the MFS fund-of-funds. For the six months ended August 31, 2017, these costs for the fund amounted to $384,434 and are included in “Shareholder servicing costs” in the Statement of Operations.

Administrator – MFS provides certain financial, legal, shareholder communications, compliance, and other administrative services to the fund. Under an administrative services agreement, the fund reimburses MFS the costs incurred to provide these services. The fund is charged an annual fixed amount of $17,500 plus a fee based on average daily net assets. The administrative services fee incurred for the six months ended August 31, 2017 was equivalent to an annual effective rate of 0.0168% of the fund’s average daily net assets.

Trustees’ and Officers’ Compensation – The fund pays compensation to independent Trustees in the form of a retainer, attendance fees, and additional compensation to Board and Committee chairpersons. The fund does not pay compensation directly to Trustees or officers of the fund who are also officers of the investment adviser, all of whom receive remuneration for their services to the fund from MFS. Certain officers and Trustees of the fund are officers or directors of MFS, MFD, and MFSC.

Prior to December 31, 2001, the fund had an unfunded defined benefit plan (“DB plan”) for independent Trustees. As of December 31, 2001, the Board took action to terminate the DB plan with respect to then-current and any future independent Trustees, such that the DB plan covers only certain of those former independent Trustees who retired on or before December 31, 2001. Effective January 1, 2002, accrued benefits under the DB plan for then-current independent Trustees who continued were credited to an unfunded retirement deferral plan (the “Retirement Deferral plan”), which was established for and exists solely with respect to these credited amounts, and is not available for other deferrals by these or other independent Trustees. Although the Retirement Deferral plan is unfunded, amounts deferred under the plan are periodically adjusted for investment experience as if they had been invested in shares of the fund. The DB plan resulted in a pension expense of $2,144 and the Retirement Deferral plan resulted in an expense of $149. Both amounts are included in “Independent Trustees’ compensation” in the Statement of Operations for the six months ended August 31, 2017. The liability for deferred retirement benefits payable to certain independent Trustees under both plans amounted to $20,939 at August 31, 2017, and is included in “Payable for independent Trustees’ compensation” in the Statement of Assets and Liabilities.

Other – This fund and certain other funds managed by MFS (the funds) have entered into a service agreement (the ISO Agreement) which provides for payment of fees solely by the funds to Tarantino LLC in return for the provision of services of an Independent Senior Officer (ISO) for the funds. Frank L. Tarantino serves as the ISO and is an officer of the funds and the sole member of Tarantino LLC. The funds can terminate the ISO Agreement with Tarantino LLC at any time under the terms of the ISO Agreement. For the six months ended August 31, 2017, the fee paid by the fund

 

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under this agreement was $1,923 and is included in “Miscellaneous” expense in the Statement of Operations. MFS has agreed to bear all expenses associated with office space, other administrative support, and supplies provided to the ISO.

The fund invests in the MFS Institutional Money Market Portfolio which is managed by MFS and seeks current income consistent with preservation of capital and liquidity. This money market fund does not pay a management fee to MFS.

On March 16, 2017, MFS redeemed 11,849 shares of Class I for an aggregate amount of $115,526. On March 16, 2016, MFS purchased 20,790 shares of Class I for an aggregate amount of $210,185.

(4) Portfolio Securities

For the six months ended August 31, 2017, purchases and sales of investments, other than short-term obligations, were as follows:

 

     Purchases      Sales  
U.S. Government securities      $236,398,260        $316,464,002  
Investments (non-U.S. Government securities)      $81,107,820        $31,426,779  

(5) Shares of Beneficial Interest

The fund’s Declaration of Trust permits the Trustees to issue an unlimited number of full and fractional shares of beneficial interest. Transactions in fund shares were as follows:

 

     Six months ended
8/31/17
     Year ended
2/28/17
 
     Shares      Amount      Shares      Amount  
Shares sold            

Class A

     11,724,415        $115,488,205        21,865,280        $219,895,829  

Class B

     50,817        499,363        420,030        4,253,002  

Class C

     181,113        1,786,594        1,077,678        10,957,005  

Class I

     2,439,266        24,012,339        6,012,855        60,589,197  

Class R1

     23,126        227,142        80,749        815,556  

Class R2

     821,739        8,075,907        2,176,967        21,922,218  

Class R3

     1,153,196        11,350,254        3,393,322        34,228,923  

Class R4

     1,636,729        16,167,100        3,191,983        32,364,425  

Class R6

     5,656,522        55,523,188        8,278,653        83,505,749  
     23,686,923        $233,130,092        46,497,517        $468,531,904  
Shares issued to shareholders in
reinvestment of distributions
          

Class A

     623,530        $6,144,366        1,249,684        $12,588,044  

Class B

     13,621        134,019        32,377        325,899  

Class C

     28,166        277,948        63,065        636,300  

Class I

     47,902        471,538        102,357        1,028,811  

Class R1

     2,648        26,057        6,159        62,042  

Class R2

     111,966        1,101,954        227,461        2,288,142  

Class R3

     107,745        1,061,180        241,415        2,432,790  

Class R4

     47,040        463,452        111,549        1,125,153  

Class R6

     1,471,964        14,493,134        2,794,221        28,113,069  
     2,454,582        $24,173,648        4,828,288        $48,600,250  

 

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Notes to Financial Statements (unaudited) – continued

 

     Six months ended
8/31/17
     Year ended
2/28/17
 
     Shares      Amount      Shares      Amount  
Shares reacquired            

Class A

     (13,545,591      $(133,444,490      (24,205,675      $(242,520,585

Class B

     (327,923      (3,223,162      (813,330      (8,148,616

Class C

     (868,769      (8,563,950      (1,715,816      (17,248,140

Class I

     (3,756,129      (36,836,593      (5,883,278      (58,779,959

Class R1

     (79,005      (778,510      (214,448      (2,168,845

Class R2

     (1,603,629      (15,757,647      (3,115,804      (31,298,077

Class R3

     (1,283,155      (12,628,289      (5,414,439      (54,397,251

Class R4

     (1,202,131      (11,859,384      (5,268,733      (53,525,290

Class R6

     (4,642,570      (45,657,650      (5,798,590      (58,539,877
     (27,308,902      $(268,749,675      (52,430,113      $(526,626,640
Net change            

Class A

     (1,197,646      $(11,811,919      (1,090,711      $(10,036,712

Class B

     (263,485      (2,589,780      (360,923      (3,569,715

Class C

     (659,490      (6,499,408      (575,073      (5,654,835

Class I

     (1,268,961      (12,352,716      231,934        2,838,049  

Class R1

     (53,231      (525,311      (127,540      (1,291,247

Class R2

     (669,924      (6,579,786      (711,376      (7,087,717

Class R3

     (22,214      (216,855      (1,779,702      (17,735,538

Class R4

     481,638        4,771,168        (1,965,201      (20,035,712

Class R6

     2,485,916        24,358,672        5,274,284        53,078,941  
     (1,167,397      $(11,445,935      (1,104,308      $(9,494,486

Class T shares were not publicly available for sale during the period. Please see the fund’s prospectus for details.

The fund is one of several mutual funds in which certain MFS funds may invest. The MFS funds do not invest in the underlying funds for the purpose of exercising management or control. At the end of the period, the MFS Moderate Allocation Fund, the MFS Conservative Allocation Fund, the MFS Lifetime Income Fund, the MFS Lifetime 2020 Fund, the MFS Lifetime 2025 Fund, and the MFS Lifetime 2030 Fund were the owners of record of approximately 28%, 14%, 3%, 2%, 1%, and 1%, respectively, of the value of outstanding voting shares of the fund.

(6) Line of Credit

The fund and certain other funds managed by MFS participate in a $1.25 billion unsecured committed line of credit, subject to a $1 billion sublimit, provided by a syndication of banks under a credit agreement. Borrowings may be made for temporary financing needs. Interest is charged to each fund, based on its borrowings, generally at a rate equal to the higher of the Overnight Federal Reserve funds rate or daily one month LIBOR plus an agreed upon spread. A commitment fee, based on the average daily, unused portion of the committed line of credit, is allocated among the participating funds at the end of each calendar quarter. In addition, the fund and other funds managed by MFS have established unsecured uncommitted borrowing arrangements with certain banks for temporary financing needs. Interest is charged to

 

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each fund, based on its borrowings, at a rate equal to the Overnight Federal Reserve funds rate plus an agreed upon spread. For the six months ended August 31, 2017, the fund’s commitment fee and interest expense were $7,420 and $0, respectively, and are included in “Miscellaneous” expense in the Statement of Operations.

(7) Transactions in Underlying Affiliated Funds-Affiliated Issuers

An affiliated issuer may be considered one in which the fund owns 5% or more of the outstanding voting securities, or a company which is under common control. For the purposes of this report, the fund assumes the following to be an affiliated issuer:

 

Underlying Affiliated
Fund
         Beginning
Shares/Par
Amount
    Acquisitions
Shares/Par
Amount
    Dispositions
Shares/Par
Amount
    Ending
Shares/Par
Amount
 
MFS Institutional Money
Market Portfolio
      29,765,172       233,035,354       (236,459,456     26,341,070  
Underlying Affiliated
Fund
  Realized
Gain (Loss)
    Change in
Unrealized
Appreciation
(Depreciation)
    Capital Gain
Distributions
    Dividend
Income
   

Ending

Value

 
MFS Institutional Money
Market Portfolio
    $1,469       $1,653       $—       $142,732       $26,341,070  

 

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RESULTS OF SHAREHOLDER MEETING

(unaudited)

At a special meeting of shareholders of MFS Series Trust XIII, which was held on March 23, 2017, the following action was taken:

Item 1: To elect the following individuals as Trustees:

 

     Number of Dollars  

Nominee

   For      Withheld Authority  
Steven E. Buller      6,319,562,684.104        89,124,503.447  
John A. Caroselli      6,318,192,703.761        90,494,483.789  
Maureen R. Goldfarb      6,319,721,154.200        88,966,033.351  
David H. Gunning      6,301,684,555.225        107,002,632.326  
Michael Hegarty      6,305,161,229.843        103,525,957.708  
John P. Kavanaugh      6,314,942,342.172        93,744,845.379  
Robert J. Manning      6,319,224,905.610        89,462,281.941  
Clarence Otis, Jr.      6,310,274,693.701        98,412,493.850  
Maryanne L. Roepke      6,324,334,769.976        84,352,417.575  
Robin A. Stelmach      6,318,962,082.183        89,725,105.368  
Laurie J. Thomsen      6,319,280,321.146        89,406,866.405  

 

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BOARD REVIEW OF INVESTMENT ADVISORY AGREEMENT

The Investment Company Act of 1940 requires that both the full Board of Trustees and a majority of the non-interested (“independent”) Trustees, voting separately, annually approve the continuation of the Fund’s investment advisory agreement with MFS. The Trustees consider matters bearing on the Fund and its advisory arrangements at their meetings throughout the year, including a review of performance data at each regular meeting. In addition, the independent Trustees met several times over the course of three months beginning in May and ending in July, 2017 (“contract review meetings”) for the specific purpose of considering whether to approve the continuation of the investment advisory agreement for the Fund and the other investment companies that the Board oversees (the “MFS Funds”). The independent Trustees were assisted in their evaluation of the Fund’s investment advisory agreement by independent legal counsel, from whom they received separate legal advice and with whom they met separately from MFS during various contract review meetings. The independent Trustees were also assisted in this process by the MFS Funds’ Independent Senior Officer, a senior officer appointed by and reporting to the independent Trustees.

In connection with their deliberations regarding the continuation of the investment advisory agreement, the Trustees, including the independent Trustees, considered such information and factors as they believed, in light of the legal advice furnished to them and their own business judgment, to be relevant. The investment advisory agreement for the Fund was considered separately, although the Trustees also took into account the common interests of all MFS Funds in their review. As described below, the Trustees considered the nature, quality, and extent of the various investment advisory, administrative, and shareholder services performed by MFS under the existing investment advisory agreement and other arrangements with the Fund.

In connection with their contract review meetings, the Trustees received and relied upon materials that included, among other items: (i) information provided by Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. (“Broadridge”), an independent third party, on the investment performance of the Fund for various time periods ended December 31, 2016 and the investment performance of a group of funds with substantially similar investment classifications/objectives (the “Lipper performance universe”), (ii) information provided by Broadridge on the Fund’s advisory fees and other expenses and the advisory fees and other expenses of comparable funds identified by Broadridge (the “Broadridge expense group”), (iii) information provided by MFS on the advisory fees of portfolios of other clients of MFS, including institutional separate accounts and other clients, (iv) information as to whether and to what extent applicable expense waivers, reimbursements or fee “breakpoints” are observed for the Fund, (v) information regarding MFS’ financial results and financial condition, including MFS’ and certain of its affiliates’ estimated profitability from services performed for the Fund and the MFS Funds as a whole, and compared to MFS’ institutional business, (vi) MFS’ views regarding the outlook for the mutual fund industry and the strategic business plans of MFS, (vii) descriptions of various functions performed by MFS for the Funds, such as compliance monitoring and portfolio trading practices, and (viii) information regarding the overall organization of MFS, including information about MFS’ senior management and other personnel providing investment advisory,

 

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administrative and other services to the Fund and the other MFS Funds. The comparative performance, fee and expense information prepared and provided by Broadridge was not independently verified and the independent Trustees did not independently verify any information provided to them by MFS.

The Trustees’ conclusion as to the continuation of the investment advisory agreement was based on a comprehensive consideration of all information provided to the Trustees and not the result of any single factor. Some of the factors that figured particularly in the Trustees’ deliberations are described below, although individual Trustees may have evaluated the information presented differently from one another, giving different weights to various factors. It is also important to recognize that the fee arrangements for the Fund and other MFS Funds are the result of years of review and discussion between the independent Trustees and MFS, that certain aspects of such arrangements may receive greater scrutiny in some years than in others, and that the Trustees’ conclusions may be based, in part, on their consideration of these same arrangements during the course of the year and in prior years.

Based on information provided by Broadridge and MFS, the Trustees reviewed the Fund’s total return investment performance as well as the performance of peer groups of funds over various time periods. The Trustees placed particular emphasis on the total return performance of the Fund’s Class A shares in comparison to the performance of funds in its Lipper performance universe over the three-year period ended December 31, 2016, which the Trustees believed was a long enough period to reflect differing market conditions. The total return performance of the Fund’s Class A shares was in the 3rd quintile relative to the other funds in the universe for this three-year period (the 1st quintile being the best performers and the 5th quintile being the worst performers). The total return performance of the Fund’s Class A shares was in the 3rd quintile for each of the one- and five-year periods ended December 31, 2016 relative to the Lipper performance universe. Because of the passage of time, these performance results may differ from the performance results for more recent periods, including those shown elsewhere in this report.

In the course of their deliberations, the Trustees took into account information provided by MFS in connection with the contract review meetings, as well as during investment review meetings conducted with portfolio management personnel during the course of the year regarding the Fund’s performance. After reviewing these and related factors, the Trustees concluded, within the context of their overall conclusions regarding the investment advisory agreement, that they were satisfied with MFS’ responses and efforts relating to investment performance.

In assessing the reasonableness of the Fund’s advisory fee, the Trustees considered, among other information, the Fund’s advisory fee and the total expense ratio of the Fund’s Class A shares as a percentage of average daily net assets and the advisory fee and total expense ratios of peer groups of funds based on information provided by Broadridge. The Trustees considered that, according to the data provided by Broadridge (which takes into account any fee reductions or expense limitations that were in effect during the Fund’s last fiscal year), the Fund’s effective advisory fee rate was lower than the Broadridge expense group median and the Fund’s total expense ratio was approximately at the Broadridge expense group median.

 

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The Trustees also considered the advisory fees charged by MFS to any institutional separate accounts advised by MFS (“separate accounts”) and unaffiliated investment companies for which MFS serves as subadviser (“subadvised funds”) that have comparable investment strategies to the Fund, if any. In comparing these fees, the Trustees considered information provided by MFS as to the generally broader scope of services provided by MFS to the Fund, as well as the more extensive regulatory burdens imposed on MFS in managing the Fund, in comparison to separate accounts and subadvised funds. The Trustees also considered the higher demands placed on MFS’ investment personnel and trading infrastructure as a result of the daily cash in-flows and out-flows of the Fund in comparison to separate accounts.

The Trustees also considered whether the Fund may benefit from any economies of scale in the management of the Fund in the event of growth in assets of the Fund and/or growth in assets of the MFS Funds as a whole. They noted that the Fund’s advisory fee rate schedule is subject to a contractual breakpoint that reduces the Fund’s advisory fee rate on average daily net assets over $2.5 billion. The Trustees also noted that MFS has agreed in writing to waive a portion of the management fees of certain MFS Funds, including the Fund, if the total combined assets of certain funds within the MFS Funds’ complex increase above agreed upon thresholds (the “group fee waiver”), enabling the Fund’s shareholders to share in the benefits from any economies of scale at the complex level. The group fee waiver is reviewed and renewed annually between the Board and MFS. The Trustees concluded that the breakpoint and the group fee waiver were sufficient to allow the Fund to benefit from economies of scale as its assets and overall complex assets grow.

The Trustees also considered information prepared by MFS relating to MFS’ costs and profits with respect to the Fund, the MFS Funds considered as a group, and other investment companies and accounts advised by MFS, as well as MFS’ methodologies used to determine and allocate its costs to the MFS Funds, the Fund and other accounts and products for purposes of estimating profitability.

After reviewing these and other factors described herein, the Trustees concluded, within the context of their overall conclusions regarding the investment advisory agreement, that the advisory fees charged to the Fund represent reasonable compensation in light of the services being provided by MFS to the Fund.

In addition, the Trustees considered MFS’ resources and related efforts to continue to retain, attract and motivate capable personnel to serve the Fund. The Trustees also considered current and developing conditions in the financial services industry, including the presence of large and well-capitalized companies which are spending, and appear to be prepared to continue to spend, substantial sums to engage personnel and to provide services to competing investment companies. In this regard, the Trustees also considered the financial resources of MFS and its ultimate parent, Sun Life Financial Inc. The Trustees also considered the advantages and possible disadvantages to the Fund of having an adviser that also serves other investment companies as well as other accounts.

The Trustees also considered the nature, quality, cost, and extent of administrative, transfer agency, and distribution services provided to the Fund by MFS and its affiliates under agreements and plans other than the investment advisory agreement, including

 

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Board Review of Investment Advisory Agreement – continued

 

any 12b-1 fees the Fund pays to MFS Fund Distributors, Inc., an affiliate of MFS. The Trustees also considered the nature, extent and quality of certain other services MFS performs or arranges for on the Fund’s behalf, which may include securities lending programs, directed expense payment programs, class action recovery programs, and MFS’ interaction with third-party service providers, principally custodians and sub-custodians. The Trustees concluded that the various non-advisory services provided by MFS and its affiliates on behalf of the Fund were satisfactory.

The Trustees also considered benefits to MFS from the use of the Fund’s portfolio brokerage commissions, if applicable, to pay for investment research and various other factors. Additionally, the Trustees considered so-called “fall-out benefits” to MFS such as reputational value derived from serving as investment manager to the Fund.

Based on their evaluation of factors that they deemed to be material, including those factors described above, the Board of Trustees, including the independent Trustees, concluded that the Fund’s investment advisory agreement with MFS should be continued for an additional one-year period, commencing August 1, 2017.

 

44


Table of Contents

PROXY VOTING POLICIES AND INFORMATION

MFS votes proxies on behalf of the fund pursuant to proxy voting policies and procedures that are available without charge, upon request, by calling 1-800-225-2606, by visiting mfs.com (once you have selected “Individual Investor” as your role, click on “Individual Investor Home” in the top navigation and then select “Learn More About Proxy Voting” under the “I want to…” header on the left hand column of the page), or by visiting the SEC’s Web site at http://www.sec.gov.

Information regarding how the fund voted proxies relating to portfolio securities during the most recent twelve-month period ended June 30 is available by August 31 of each year without charge by visiting mfs.com (once you have selected “Individual Investor” as your role, click on “Individual Investor Home” in the top navigation and then select “Learn More About Proxy Voting” under the “I want to…” header on the left hand column of the page), or by visiting the SEC’s Web site at http://www.sec.gov.

QUARTERLY PORTFOLIO DISCLOSURE

The fund will file a complete schedule of portfolio holdings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the Commission) for the first and third quarters of each fiscal year on Form N-Q. A shareholder can obtain the quarterly portfolio holdings report at mfs.com. The fund’s Form N-Q is also available on the EDGAR database on the Commission’s Internet Web site at http://www.sec.gov, and may be reviewed and copied at the:

Public Reference Room

Securities and Exchange Commission

100 F Street, NE, Room 1580

Washington, D.C. 20549

Information on the operation of the Public Reference Room may be obtained by calling the Commission at 1-800-SEC-0330. Copies of the fund’s Form N-Q also may be obtained, upon payment of a duplicating fee, by electronic request at the following e-mail address: publicinfo@sec.gov or by writing the Public Reference Section at the above address.

FURTHER INFORMATION

From time to time, MFS may post important information about the fund or the MFS funds on the MFS web site (mfs.com). This information is available on mfs.com by following these steps once you have selected “Individual Investor” as your role: (1) Click on the “Individual Investor Home” in the top navigation and then select the “Announcements” option within the “Market Outlooks” drop down, or (2) Click on “Products & Services” and “Mutual Funds” and then choose the fund’s name in the “Select a fund” menu.

 

45


Table of Contents

INFORMATION ABOUT FUND CONTRACTS AND LEGAL CLAIMS

The fund has entered into contractual arrangements with an investment adviser, administrator, distributor, shareholder servicing agent, 529 program manager (if applicable), and custodian who each provide services to the fund. Unless expressly stated otherwise, shareholders are not parties to, or intended beneficiaries of these contractual arrangements, and these contractual arrangements are not intended to create any shareholder right to enforce them against the service providers or to seek any remedy under them against the service providers, either directly or on behalf of the fund.

Under the Trust’s By-Laws and Declaration of Trust, any claims asserted against or on behalf of the MFS Funds, including claims against Trustees and Officers, must be brought in state and federal courts located within the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

PROVISION OF FINANCIAL REPORTS AND SUMMARY PROSPECTUSES

The fund produces financial reports every six months and updates its summary prospectus and prospectus annually. To avoid sending duplicate copies of materials to households, only one copy of the fund’s annual and semiannual report and summary prospectus may be mailed to shareholders having the same last name and residential address on the fund’s records. However, any shareholder may contact MFSC (please see back cover for address and telephone number) to request that copies of these reports and summary prospectuses be sent personally to that shareholder.

 

46


Table of Contents

LOGO

 

Save paper with eDelivery.

 

LOGO

MFS® will send you prospectuses,

reports, and proxies directly via e-mail so you will get information faster with less mailbox clutter.

To sign up:

1. Go to mfs.com.

2. Log in via MFS® Access.

3. Select eDelivery.

If you own your MFS fund shares through a financial institution or a retirement plan, MFS® TALK, MFS® Access, or eDelivery may not be available to you.

 

CONTACT

WEB SITE

mfs.com

MFS TALK

1-800-637-8255

24 hours a day

ACCOUNT SERVICE AND LITERATURE

Shareholders

1-800-225-2606

Financial advisors

1-800-343-2829

Retirement plan services

1-800-637-1255

MAILING ADDRESS

MFS Service Center, Inc.

P.O. Box 55824

Boston, MA 02205-5824

OVERNIGHT MAIL

MFS Service Center, Inc.

c/o Boston Financial Data Services

30 Dan Road

Canton, MA 02021-2809

 


Table of Contents

SEMIANNUAL REPORT

August 31, 2017

 

LOGO

 

MFS® NEW DISCOVERY

VALUE FUND

 

LOGO

 

NDV-SEM

 


Table of Contents

MFS® NEW DISCOVERY VALUE FUND

 

CONTENTS

 

Letter from the Executive Chairman     1  
Portfolio composition     2  
Expense table     3  
Portfolio of investments     5  
Statement of assets and liabilities     10  
Statement of operations     12  
Statements of changes in net assets     13  
Financial highlights     14  
Notes to financial statements     23  
Results of shareholder meeting     34  
Board review of investment advisory agreement     35  
Proxy voting policies and information     39  
Quarterly portfolio disclosure     39  
Further information     39  
Information about fund contracts and legal claims     40  
Provision of financial reports and summary prospectuses     40  
Contact information    back cover  

The report is prepared for the general information of shareholders.

It is authorized for distribution to prospective investors only when preceded or accompanied by a current prospectus.

 

NOT FDIC INSURED MAY LOSE VALUE NO BANK GUARANTEE



Table of Contents

LOGO

 

LETTER FROM THE EXECUTIVE CHAIRMAN

 

Dear Shareholders:

Despite policy uncertainty accompanying a new presidential administration in the United States and unease over ongoing Brexit negotiations, most markets have proved

resilient. U.S. share prices have reached new highs in recent months although the U.S. Federal Reserve has continued to gradually hike interest rates. However, rates in most developed markets remain very low, with major non-U.S. central banks just beginning to contemplate curbing accommodative monetary policies.

Globally, we’ve experienced a year-long synchronized upturn in economic growth. Despite better growth, there are few immediate signs of worrisome inflation amid muted wage gains around the world. Europe has benefited from diminishing event risks as populist challengers fell short of upsetting establishment

candidates in both the Dutch and French elections. Emerging market economies have been boosted in part by a weaker U.S. dollar and are recovering despite lingering concerns over the potential for restrictive U.S. trade policies that could hamper global trade growth. Looking ahead, markets will have to contend with issues involving geopolitical hot spots on the Korean peninsula and in the Middle East.

At MFS®, we believe time is an asset. A patient, long-term approach to investing can have a powerful impact on decision making and outcomes. Time arbitrage, as we call it, comes down to having the conviction and discipline to allow enough time for good investment ideas to play out. In our view, such an approach, along with the professional guidance of a financial advisor, will help you reach your investment objectives.

Respectfully,

 

LOGO

Robert J. Manning

Executive Chairman

MFS Investment Management

October 17, 2017

The opinions expressed in this letter are subject to change and may not be relied upon for investment advice. No forecasts can be guaranteed.

 

1


Table of Contents

PORTFOLIO COMPOSITION

 

Portfolio structure

LOGO

 

Top ten holdings  
El Paso Electric Co.     2.2%  
PNM Resources, Inc.     2.0%  
Portland General Electric Co.     1.8%  
Plexus Corp.     1.5%  
Medical Properties Trust, Inc., REIT     1.5%  
Store Capital Corp., REIT     1.5%  
Select Income, REIT     1.4%  
Owens Corning     1.4%  
Everest Re Group Ltd.     1.4%  
Berry Global Group, Inc.     1.3%  
Equity sectors  
Financial Services     33.6%  
Industrial Goods & Services     13.8%  
Technology     7.4%  
Basic Materials     7.0%  
Utilities & Communications     7.0%  
Autos & Housing     5.6%  
Health Care     4.9%  
Energy     3.5%  
Special Products & Services     3.4%  
Consumer Staples     3.2%  
Transportation     3.0%  
Retailing     2.9%  
Leisure     2.9%  
 

 

Cash & Cash Equivalents includes any cash, investments in money market funds, short-term securities, and other assets less liabilities. Please see the Statement of Assets and Liabilities for additional information related to the fund’s cash position and other assets and liabilities.

Percentages are based on net assets as of August 31, 2017.

The portfolio is actively managed and current holdings may be different.

 

2


Table of Contents

EXPENSE TABLE

Fund expenses borne by the shareholders during the period, March 1, 2017 through August 31, 2017

As a shareholder of the fund, you incur two types of costs: (1) transaction costs, including sales charges (loads) on certain purchase or redemption payments, and (2) ongoing costs, including management fees; distribution and service (12b-1) fees; and other fund expenses. This example is intended to help you understand your ongoing costs (in dollars) of investing in the fund and to compare these costs with the ongoing costs of investing in other mutual funds.

The example is based on an investment of $1,000 invested at the beginning of the period and held for the entire period March 1, 2017 through August 31, 2017.

Actual Expenses

The first line for each share class in the following table provides information about actual account values and actual expenses. You may use the information in this line, together with the amount you invested, to estimate the expenses that you paid over the period. Simply divide your account value by $1,000 (for example, an $8,600 account value divided by $1,000 = 8.6), then multiply the result by the number in the first line under the heading entitled “Expenses Paid During Period” to estimate the expenses you paid on your account during this period.

Hypothetical Example for Comparison Purposes

The second line for each share class in the following table provides information about hypothetical account values and hypothetical expenses based on the fund’s actual expense ratio and an assumed rate of return of 5% per year before expenses, which is not the fund’s actual return. The hypothetical account values and expenses may not be used to estimate the actual ending account balance or expenses you paid for the period. You may use this information to compare the ongoing costs of investing in the fund and other funds. To do so, compare this 5% hypothetical example with the 5% hypothetical examples that appear in the shareholder reports of the other funds.

Please note that the expenses shown in the table are meant to highlight your ongoing costs only and do not reflect any transactional costs, such as sales charges (loads). Therefore, the second line for each share class in the table is useful in comparing ongoing costs only, and will not help you determine the relative total costs of owning different funds. In addition, if these transactional costs were included, your costs would have been higher.

 

3


Table of Contents

Expense Table – continued

 

Share
Class
       Annualized
Expense
Ratio
    Beginning
Account Value
3/01/17
    Ending
Account Value
8/31/17
    Expenses
Paid During
Period (p)
3/01/17-8/31/17
 
A   Actual     1.31%       $1,000.00       $990.34       $6.57  
  Hypothetical (h)     1.31%       $1,000.00       $1,018.60       $6.67  
B   Actual     2.06%       $1,000.00       $986.63       $10.32  
  Hypothetical (h)     2.06%       $1,000.00       $1,014.82       $10.46  
C   Actual     2.06%       $1,000.00       $985.87       $10.31  
  Hypothetical (h)     2.06%       $1,000.00       $1,014.82       $10.46  
I   Actual     1.06%       $1,000.00       $991.71       $5.32  
  Hypothetical (h)     1.06%       $1,000.00       $1,019.86       $5.40  
R1   Actual     2.06%       $1,000.00       $986.64       $10.32  
  Hypothetical (h)     2.06%       $1,000.00       $1,014.82       $10.46  
R2   Actual     1.56%       $1,000.00       $988.98       $7.82  
  Hypothetical (h)     1.56%       $1,000.00       $1,017.34       $7.93  
R3   Actual     1.31%       $1,000.00       $990.35       $6.57  
  Hypothetical (h)     1.31%       $1,000.00       $1,018.60       $6.67  
R4   Actual     1.06%       $1,000.00       $991.73       $5.32  
  Hypothetical (h)     1.06%       $1,000.00       $1,019.86       $5.40  
R6   Actual     0.96%       $1,000.00       $991.71       $4.82  
  Hypothetical (h)     0.96%       $1,000.00       $1,020.37       $4.89  

 

(h) 5% class return per year before expenses.
(p) “Expenses Paid During Period” are equal to each class’s annualized expense ratio, as shown above, multiplied by the average account value over the period, multiplied by 184/365 (to reflect the one-half year period). Expenses paid do not include any applicable sales charges (loads). If these transaction costs had been included, your costs would have been higher.

 

4


Table of Contents

PORTFOLIO OF INVESTMENTS

8/31/17 (unaudited)

The Portfolio of Investments is a complete list of all securities owned by your fund. It is categorized by broad-based asset classes.

 

Common Stocks - 98.2%                 
Issuer    Shares/Par     Value ($)  
Aerospace - 2.0%                 
Leidos Holdings, Inc.      144,779     $ 8,443,511  
ManTech International Corp., “A”      300,885       12,101,595  
    

 

 

 
             $ 20,545,106  
Automotive - 0.1%                 
Fenix Parts, Inc. (a)      987,676     $ 826,685  
Brokerage & Asset Managers - 2.3%                 
Apollo Global Management LLC, “A”      360,816     $ 10,654,897  
NASDAQ, Inc.      97,809       7,372,842  
Raymond James Financial, Inc.      62,181       4,870,016  
    

 

 

 
             $ 22,897,755  
Business Services - 3.0%                 
Conduent, Inc. (a)      322,494     $ 5,324,376  
Forrester Research, Inc.      119,755       4,880,016  
PRA Group, Inc. (a)      225,522       6,517,586  
Travelport Worldwide Ltd.      887,905       13,442,882  
    

 

 

 
             $ 30,164,860  
Chemicals - 0.6%                 
Ingevity Corp. (a)      99,404     $ 6,259,470  
Computer Software - Systems - 4.0%                 
Electronics For Imaging, Inc. (a)      106,595     $ 3,790,518  
Model N, Inc. (a)      554,174       7,509,058  
NICE Systems Ltd., ADR      122,934       9,615,897  
Presidio, Inc. (a)      497,115       6,914,870  
Verint Systems, Inc. (a)      311,512       12,367,026  
    

 

 

 
             $ 40,197,369  
Construction - 5.5%                 
Armstrong World Industries, Inc. (a)      151,773     $ 7,209,218  
GMS, Inc. (a)      177,334       5,706,608  
Owens Corning      186,270       13,808,195  
Siteone Landscape Supply, Inc. (a)      175,785       8,831,439  
Toll Brothers, Inc.      312,442       12,172,740  
TopBuild Corp. (a)      127,632       7,574,959  
    

 

 

 
             $ 55,303,159  

 

5


Table of Contents

Portfolio of Investments (unaudited) – continued

 

Issuer    Shares/Par     Value ($)  
Common Stocks - continued                 
Consumer Products - 1.0%                 
Sensient Technologies Corp.      136,666     $ 9,860,452  
Consumer Services - 0.4%                 
ServiceMaster Global Holdings, Inc. (a)      93,488     $ 4,405,155  
Containers - 2.6%                 
Berry Global Group, Inc. (a)      240,089     $ 13,502,605  
Graphic Packaging Holding Co.      964,399       12,585,407  
    

 

 

 
             $ 26,088,012  
Electrical Equipment - 3.7%                 
HD Supply Holdings, Inc. (a)      294,082     $ 9,792,930  
MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc., “A”      141,750       9,763,740  
TriMas Corp. (a)      486,130       11,764,346  
WESCO International, Inc. (a)      114,757       5,789,491  
    

 

 

 
             $ 37,110,507  
Electronics - 3.4%                 
Integrated Device Technology, Inc. (a)      322,187     $ 7,961,241  
OSI Systems, Inc. (a)      129,374       10,745,804  
Plexus Corp. (a)      297,336       15,485,259  
    

 

 

 
             $ 34,192,304  
Energy - Independent - 0.8%                 
Energen Corp. (a)      147,816     $ 7,580,004  
Engineering - Construction - 1.4%                 
KBR, Inc.      640,127     $ 10,414,866  
Team, Inc. (a)      288,022       3,557,072  
    

 

 

 
             $ 13,971,938  
Entertainment - 1.8%                 
Madison Square Garden Co., “A” (a)      47,781     $ 10,153,940  
Parques Reunidos Servicios Centrales S.A.U.      411,929       7,505,284  
    

 

 

 
             $ 17,659,224  
Food & Beverages - 2.2%                 
Cal-Maine Foods, Inc. (a)(l)      229,122     $ 8,351,497  
Hostess Brands, Inc. (a)      564,514       7,530,617  
TreeHouse Foods, Inc. (a)      93,134       6,239,046  
    

 

 

 
             $ 22,121,160  
Insurance - 5.4%                 
Aspen Insurance Holdings Ltd.      241,746     $ 10,926,919  
Everest Re Group Ltd.      54,108       13,661,188  

 

6


Table of Contents

Portfolio of Investments (unaudited) – continued

 

Issuer    Shares/Par     Value ($)  
Common Stocks - continued                 
Insurance - continued                 
Hanover Insurance Group, Inc.      128,108     $ 12,577,643  
Safety Insurance Group, Inc.      127,064       9,072,370  
Third Point Reinsurance Ltd. (a)      598,328       8,406,508  
    

 

 

 
             $ 54,644,628  
Leisure & Toys - 1.1%                 
Brunswick Corp.      217,534     $ 11,416,184  
Machinery & Tools - 4.9%                 
Gardner Denver Holdings, Inc. (a)      389,134     $ 9,140,758  
Herman Miller, Inc.      274,751       9,245,371  
ITT, Inc.      259,074       10,456,226  
Regal Beloit Corp.      130,118       9,810,897  
SPX FLOW, Inc. (a)      318,723       10,667,659  
    

 

 

 
             $ 49,320,911  
Major Banks - 0.9%                 
Huntington Bancshares, Inc.      710,450     $ 8,944,566  
Medical & Health Technology & Services - 3.8%                 
Community Health Systems, Inc. (a)      366,465     $ 2,799,793  
HMS Holdings Corp. (a)      493,927       8,752,386  
LifePoint Hospitals, Inc. (a)      147,801       8,565,068  
MEDNAX, Inc. (a)      135,758       6,088,746  
Premier, Inc., “A” (a)      360,919       12,090,787  
    

 

 

 
             $ 38,296,780  
Medical Equipment - 1.1%                 
Steris PLC      131,167     $ 11,432,516  
Natural Gas - Pipeline - 0.9%                 
Boardwalk Pipeline Partners LP      605,984     $ 9,156,418  
Oil Services - 2.7%                 
Forum Energy Technologies, Inc. (a)      261,610     $ 3,034,676  
Frank’s International N.V. (l)      1,312,248       8,240,918  
Keane Group, Inc. (a)(l)      438,603       5,679,909  
Superior Energy Services, Inc. (a)      412,131       3,395,959  
U.S. Silica Holdings, Inc.      263,815       7,178,406  
    

 

 

 
             $ 27,529,868  
Other Banks & Diversified Financials - 17.1%                 
Air Lease Corp.      327,479     $ 13,308,747  
Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc.      283,427       9,579,833  
Brookline Bancorp, Inc.      558,341       8,012,193  

 

7


Table of Contents

Portfolio of Investments (unaudited) – continued

 

Issuer    Shares/Par     Value ($)  
Common Stocks - continued                 
Other Banks & Diversified Financials - continued                 
Cathay General Bancorp, Inc.      217,541     $ 7,672,671  
Element Fleet Management Corp.      1,693,395       12,692,835  
Encore Capital Group, Inc. (a)      120,181       4,849,303  
First Hawaiian, Inc.      376,874       10,209,517  
First Interstate BancSystem, Inc.      365,854       12,878,061  
Glacier Bancorp, Inc.      368,286       12,230,778  
Hanmi Financial Corp.      272,115       7,265,471  
Lakeland Financial Corp.      216,988       9,430,298  
Sandy Spring Bancorp, Inc.      231,227       8,918,425  
Santander Consumer USA Holdings, Inc. (a)      431,666       6,164,190  
TCF Financial Corp.      850,005       13,200,578  
Texas Capital Bancshares, Inc. (a)      99,546       7,391,290  
UMB Financial Corp.      185,039       12,419,818  
Valley National Bancorp      268,269       3,001,930  
Wintrust Financial Corp.      175,749       12,796,285  
    

 

 

 
             $ 172,022,223  
Pollution Control - 1.8%                 
Advanced Disposal Services, Inc. (a)      303,605     $ 7,237,943  
Clean Harbors, Inc. (a)      192,557       10,415,408  
    

 

 

 
             $ 17,653,351  
Real Estate - 7.9%                 
Corporate Office Properties Trust, REIT      294,764     $ 9,833,327  
Life Storage, Inc., REIT      171,247       12,602,067  
Medical Properties Trust, Inc., REIT      1,154,755       15,196,576  
Select Income, REIT      609,485       14,146,147  
STAG Industrial, Inc., REIT      464,172       12,992,174  
Store Capital Corp., REIT      575,749       14,612,509  
    

 

 

 
             $ 79,382,800  
Specialty Chemicals - 3.8%                 
Ferro Corp. (a)      587,764     $ 11,326,212  
Ferroglobe PLC      798,650       10,773,789  
Orion Engineered Carbons S.A.      423,427       9,103,681  
Univar, Inc. (a)      245,011       6,911,760  
    

 

 

 
             $ 38,115,442  
Specialty Stores - 2.9%                 
Express, Inc. (a)      624,266     $ 3,976,574  
Michaels Co., Inc. (a)      331,261       7,436,810  
Tuesday Morning Corp. (a)(l)      695,147       1,564,081  
Urban Outfitters, Inc. (a)      432,611       8,842,569  
Zumiez, Inc. (a)      591,858       7,368,632  
    

 

 

 
             $ 29,188,666  

 

8


Table of Contents

Portfolio of Investments (unaudited) – continued

 

Issuer    Shares/Par     Value ($)  
Common Stocks - continued                 
Trucking - 3.0%                 
Knight Transportation, Inc.      249,311     $ 9,735,595  
Marten Transport Ltd.      469,575       8,053,211  
Werner Enterprises, Inc.      389,600       12,895,760  
    

 

 

 
             $ 30,684,566  
Utilities - Electric Power - 6.1%                 
El Paso Electric Co.      405,655     $ 22,534,135  
PNM Resources, Inc.      478,476       20,287,383  
Portland General Electric Co.      384,079       18,247,593  
    

 

 

 
             $ 61,069,111  
Total Common Stocks (Identified Cost, $872,932,595)            $ 988,041,190  
Investment Companies (h) - 1.5%                 
Money Market Funds - 1.5%                 
MFS Institutional Money Market Portfolio, 1.11% (v)
(Identified Cost, $14,948,778)
     14,949,782     $ 14,949,782  
Collateral for Securities Loaned - 0.6%                 
State Street Navigator Securities Lending Government Money Market Portfolio, 1.01% (j) (Identified Cost, $6,664,396)      6,664,396     $ 6,664,396  
Other Assets, Less Liabilities - (0.3)%              (3,494,908
Net Assets - 100.0%            $ 1,006,160,460  

 

(a) Non-income producing security.
(h) An affiliated issuer may be considered one in which the fund owns 5% or more of the outstanding voting securities, or a company which is under common control. At period end, the aggregate values of the fund’s investments in affiliated issuers and in unaffiliated issuers were $14,949,782 and $994,705,586, respectively.
(j) The rate quoted is the annualized seven-day yield of the fund at period end.
(l) A portion of this security is on loan.
(v) Affiliated issuer that is available only to investment companies managed by MFS. The rate quoted for the MFS Institutional Money Market Portfolio is the annualized seven-day yield of the fund at period end.

The following abbreviations are used in this report and are defined:

 

ADR   American Depositary Receipt
PLC   Public Limited Company
REIT   Real Estate Investment Trust

See Notes to Financial Statements

 

9


Table of Contents

Financial Statements

 

STATEMENT OF ASSETS AND LIABILITIES

At 8/31/17 (unaudited)

This statement represents your fund’s balance sheet, which details the assets and liabilities comprising the total value of the fund.

 

Assets         

Investments in unaffiliated issuers, at value, including $6,535,120 of securities on loan (identified cost, $879,596,991)

     $994,705,586  

Investments in affiliated issuers, at value (identified cost, $14,948,778)

     14,949,782  

Cash

     54,339  

Receivables for

  

Fund shares sold

     3,933,077  

Interest and dividends

     620,993  

Other assets

     88,121  

Total assets

     $1,014,351,898  
Liabilities         

Payables for fund shares reacquired

     $1,323,287  

Collateral for securities loaned, at value

     6,664,396  

Payable to affiliates

  

Investment adviser

     49,562  

Shareholder servicing costs

     90,497  

Distribution and service fees

     6,961  

Accrued expenses and other liabilities

     56,735  

Total liabilities

     $8,191,438  

Net assets

     $1,006,160,460  
Net assets consist of         

Paid-in capital

     $881,782,575  

Unrealized appreciation (depreciation)

     115,109,599  

Accumulated net realized gain (loss)

     7,581,691  

Undistributed net investment income

     1,686,595  

Net assets

     $1,006,160,460  

Shares of beneficial interest outstanding

     69,215,225  

 

10


Table of Contents

Statement of Assets and Liabilities (unaudited) – continued

 

     Net assets      Shares
outstanding
     Net asset value
per share (a)
 

Class A

     $217,532,348        15,006,010        $14.50  

Class B

     6,065,781        431,499        14.06  

Class C

     63,012,154        4,502,601        13.99  

Class I

     200,529,977        13,747,530        14.59  

Class R1

     933,618        66,377        14.07  

Class R2

     1,323,999        91,541        14.46  

Class R3

     18,714,075        1,286,997        14.54  

Class R4

     3,284,344        224,826        14.61  

Class R6

     494,764,164        33,857,844        14.61  

 

(a) Maximum offering price per share was equal to the net asset value per share for all share classes, except for Class A, for which the maximum offering price per share was $15.38 [100 / 94.25 x $14.50]. On sales of $50,000 or more, the maximum offering price of Class A shares is reduced. A contingent deferred sales charge may be imposed on redemptions of Class A, Class B, and Class C shares. Redemption price per share was equal to the net asset value per share for Classes I, R1, R2, R3, R4, and R6.

See Notes to Financial Statements

 

11


Table of Contents

Financial Statements

 

STATEMENT OF OPERATIONS

Six months ended 8/31/17 (unaudited)

This statement describes how much your fund earned in investment income and accrued in expenses. It also describes any gains and/or losses generated by fund operations.

 

Net investment income (loss)         

Income

  

Dividends

     $7,091,293  

Dividends from affiliated issuers

     69,021  

Income on securities loaned

     64,631  

Interest

     212  

Foreign taxes withheld

     (71,370

Total investment income

     $7,153,787  

Expenses

  

Management fee

     $4,282,406  

Distribution and service fees

     644,511  

Shareholder servicing costs

     295,835  

Administrative services fee

     82,630  

Independent Trustees’ compensation

     8,166  

Custodian fee

     18,866  

Shareholder communications

     32,662  

Audit and tax fees

     27,608  

Legal fees

     4,726  

Miscellaneous

     116,285  

Total expenses

     $5,513,695  

Reduction of expenses by investment adviser and distributor

     (37,693

Net expenses

     $5,476,002  

Net investment income (loss)

     $1,677,785  
Realized and unrealized gain (loss)         

Realized gain (loss) (identified cost basis)

  

Unaffiliated issuers

     $12,482,901  

Affiliated issuers

     (2,030

Foreign currency

     2,454  

Net realized gain (loss)

     $12,483,325  

Change in unrealized appreciation (depreciation)

  

Unaffiliated issuers

     $(21,627,541

Affiliated issuers

     795  

Translation of assets and liabilities in foreign currencies

     18  

Net unrealized gain (loss)

     $(21,626,728

Net realized and unrealized gain (loss)

     $(9,143,403

Change in net assets from operations

     $(7,465,618

See Notes to Financial Statements

 

12


Table of Contents

Financial Statements

 

STATEMENTS OF CHANGES IN NET ASSETS

These statements describe the increases and/or decreases in net assets resulting from operations, any distributions, and any shareholder transactions.

 

Change in net assets    Six months ended
8/31/17
(unaudited)
    

Year ended
2/28/17

 
From operations                  

Net investment income (loss)

     $1,677,785        $2,679,286  

Net realized gain (loss)

     12,483,325        46,500,198  

Net unrealized gain (loss)

     (21,626,728      128,542,846  

Change in net assets from operations

     $(7,465,618      $177,722,330  
Distributions declared to shareholders                  

From net investment income

     $—        $(3,324,236

From net realized gain

     (23,233,864      (25,045,933

Total distributions declared to shareholders

     $(23,233,864      $(28,370,169

Change in net assets from fund share transactions

     $170,919,989        $302,281,941  

Total change in net assets

     $140,220,507        $451,634,102  
Net assets                  

At beginning of period

     865,939,953        414,305,851  

At end of period (including undistributed net investment income of $1,686,595 and $8,810, respectively)

     $1,006,160,460        $865,939,953  

See Notes to Financial Statements

 

13


Table of Contents

Financial Statements

 

FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS

The financial highlights table is intended to help you understand the fund’s financial performance for the semiannual period and the past 5 fiscal years (or life of a particular share class, if shorter). Certain information reflects financial results for a single fund share. The total returns in the table represent the rate that an investor would have earned (or lost) on an investment in the fund share class (assuming reinvestment of all distributions) held for the entire period.

 

   

Six months

ended

8/31/17

    Year ended  
Class A     2/28/17     2/29/16     2/28/15     2/28/14     2/28/13  
    (unaudited)                                

Net asset value, beginning of
period

    $14.99       $11.40       $12.98       $13.24       $11.37       $10.27  
Income (loss) from investment operations                                  

Net investment income (loss) (d)

    $0.01       $0.03 (c)      $0.05       $0.01       $0.02       $0.06  

Net realized and unrealized gain
(loss)

    (0.15     4.18       (1.26     0.55       3.02       1.69  

Total from investment operations

    $(0.14     $4.21       $(1.21     $0.56       $3.04       $1.75  
Less distributions declared to shareholders                                  

From net investment income

    $—       $(0.06     $(0.05     $(0.01     $(0.03     $(0.07

From net realized gain

    (0.35     (0.56     (0.32     (0.81     (1.14     (0.58

Total distributions declared to
shareholders

    $(0.35     $(0.62     $(0.37     $(0.82     $(1.17     $(0.65

Net asset value, end of period (x)

    $14.50       $14.99       $11.40       $12.98       $13.24       $11.37  

Total return (%) (r)(s)(t)(x)

    (0.97 )(n)      37.22 (c)      (9.38     4.60       27.39       18.04  
Ratios (%) (to average net assets)
and Supplemental data:
                                 

Expenses before expense
reductions (f)

    1.31 (a)      1.43 (c)      1.55       1.58       1.59       1.39  

Expenses after expense
reductions (f)

    1.31 (a)      1.39 (c)      1.39       1.45       1.45       1.34  

Net investment income (loss)

    0.20 (a)      0.22 (c)      0.38       0.10       0.14       0.53  

Portfolio turnover

    21 (n)      60       60       53       55       67  

Net assets at end of period
(000 omitted)

    $217,532       $189,746       $52,645       $18,215       $19,101       $4,596  

See Notes to Financial Statements

 

14


Table of Contents

Financial Highlights – continued

 

    Six months
ended
8/31/17
    Year ended  
Class B     2/28/17     2/29/16     2/28/15     2/28/14     2/28/13  
    (unaudited)                                

Net asset value, beginning of
period

    $14.60       $11.16       $12.76       $13.11       $11.33       $10.24  
Income (loss) from investment operations                                  

Net investment income (loss) (d)

    $(0.04     $(0.07 )(c)      $(0.05     $(0.08     $(0.08     $(0.02

Net realized and unrealized gain
(loss)

    (0.15     4.08       (1.23     0.54       3.00       1.69  

Total from investment operations

    $(0.19     $4.01       $(1.28     $0.46       $2.92       $1.67  
Less distributions declared to shareholders                                  

From net investment income

    $—       $(0.01     $—       $—       $—       $—  

From net realized gain

    (0.35     (0.56     (0.32     (0.81     (1.14     (0.58

Total distributions declared to
shareholders

    $(0.35     $(0.57     $(0.32     $(0.81     $(1.14     $(0.58

Net asset value, end of period (x)

    $14.06       $14.60       $11.16       $12.76       $13.11       $11.33  

Total return (%) (r)(s)(t)(x)

    (1.34 )(n)      36.17 (c)      (10.10     3.90       26.40       17.24  
Ratios (%) (to average net assets)
and Supplemental data:
                                 

Expenses before expense
reductions (f)

    2.06 (a)      2.18 (c)      2.28       2.34       2.33       2.14  

Expenses after expense
reductions (f)

    2.06 (a)      2.14 (c)      2.14       2.20       2.20       2.08  

Net investment income (loss)

    (0.55 )(a)      (0.54 )(c)      (0.38     (0.65     (0.60     (0.17

Portfolio turnover

    21(n     60       60       53       55       67  

Net assets at end of period
(000 omitted)

    $6,066       $5,872       $1,545       $1,503       $954       $353  

See Notes to Financial Statements

 

15


Table of Contents

Financial Highlights – continued

 

    Six months
ended
8/31/17
    Year ended  
Class C     2/28/17     2/29/16     2/28/15     2/28/14     2/28/13  
    (unaudited)                                

Net asset value, beginning of
period

    $14.54       $11.11       $12.73       $13.09       $11.31       $10.24  
Income (loss) from investment operations                                  

Net investment income (loss) (d)

    $(0.04     $(0.06 )(c)      $(0.04     $(0.08     $(0.08     $(0.02

Net realized and unrealized gain
(loss)

    (0.16     4.05       (1.23     0.53       3.00       1.69  

Total from investment operations

    $(0.20     $3.99       $(1.27     $0.45       $2.92       $1.67  
Less distributions declared to shareholders                                  

From net investment income

    $—       $—       $(0.03     $—       $—       $(0.02

From net realized gain

    (0.35     (0.56     (0.32     (0.81     (1.14     (0.58

Total distributions declared to
shareholders

    $(0.35     $(0.56     $(0.35     $(0.81     $(1.14     $(0.60

Net asset value, end of period (x)

    $13.99       $14.54       $11.11       $12.73       $13.09       $11.31  

Total return (%) (r)(s)(t)(x)

    (1.41 )(n)      36.17 (c)      (10.08     3.83       26.46       17.22  
Ratios (%) (to average net assets)
and Supplemental data:
                                 

Expenses before expense
reductions (f)

    2.06 (a)      2.18 (c)      2.30       2.33       2.34       2.15  

Expenses after expense
reductions (f)

    2.06 (a)      2.14 (c)      2.14       2.19       2.20       2.09  

Net investment income (loss)

    (0.55 )(a)      (0.46 )(c)      (0.37     (0.64     (0.61     (0.22

Portfolio turnover

    21(n     60       60       53       55       67  

Net assets at end of period
(000 omitted)

    $63,012       $63,140       $35,227       $4,144       $3,043       $691  

See Notes to Financial Statements

 

16


Table of Contents

Financial Highlights – continued

 

    Six months
ended
8/31/17
    Year ended  
Class I     2/28/17     2/29/16     2/28/15     2/28/14     2/28/13  
    (unaudited)                                

Net asset value, beginning of
period

    $15.06       $11.44       $13.01       $13.28       $11.39       $10.28  
Income (loss) from investment operations                                  

Net investment income (loss) (d)

    $0.04       $0.06 (c)      $0.08       $0.04       $0.05       $0.11  

Net realized and unrealized gain
(loss)

    (0.16     4.20       (1.26     0.54       3.03       1.67  

Total from investment operations

    $(0.12     $4.26       $(1.18     $0.58       $3.08       $1.78  
Less distributions declared to shareholders                                  

From net investment income

    $—       $(0.08     $(0.07     $(0.04     $(0.05     $(0.09

From net realized gain

    (0.35     (0.56     (0.32     (0.81     (1.14     (0.58

Total distributions declared to
shareholders

    $(0.35     $(0.64     $(0.39     $(0.85     $(1.19     $(0.67

Net asset value, end of period (x)

    $14.59       $15.06       $11.44       $13.01       $13.28       $11.39  

Total return (%) (r)(s)(t)(x)

    (0.83 )(n)      37.54 (c)      (9.15     4.84       27.71       18.35  
Ratios (%) (to average net assets)
and Supplemental data:
                                 

Expenses before expense
reductions (f)

    1.06 (a)      1.18 (c)      1.29       1.34       1.33       1.02  

Expenses after expense
reductions (f)

    1.06 (a)      1.14 (c)      1.14       1.20       1.20       1.02  

Net investment income (loss)

    0.47 (a)      0.42 (c)      0.62       0.34       0.41       1.04  

Portfolio turnover

    21 (n)      60       60       53       55       67  

Net assets at end of period
(000 omitted)

    $200,530       $242,154       $31,278       $13,567       $7,464       $1,633  

See Notes to Financial Statements

 

17


Table of Contents

Financial Highlights – continued

 

    Six months
ended
8/31/17
    Year ended  
Class R1     2/28/17     2/29/16     2/28/15     2/28/14     2/28/13  
    (unaudited)                                

Net asset value, beginning of
period

    $14.61       $11.16       $12.76       $13.12       $11.34       $10.25  
Income (loss) from investment operations                                  

Net investment income (loss) (d)

    $(0.04     $(0.06 )(c)      $(0.05     $(0.08     $(0.07     $(0.01

Net realized and unrealized gain
(loss)

    (0.15     4.07       (1.23     0.53       2.99       1.68  

Total from investment operations

    $(0.19     $4.01       $(1.28     $0.45       $2.92       $1.67  
Less distributions declared to shareholders                                  

From net investment income

    $—       $—       $—       $—       $—       $(0.00 )(w) 

From net realized gain

    (0.35     (0.56     (0.32     (0.81     (1.14     (0.58

Total distributions declared to
shareholders

    $(0.35     $(0.56     $(0.32     $(0.81     $(1.14     $(0.58

Net asset value, end of period (x)

    $14.07       $14.61       $11.16       $12.76       $13.12       $11.34  

Total return (%) (r)(s)(t)(x)

    (1.34 )(n)      36.19 (c)      (10.10     3.82       26.39       17.25  
Ratios (%) (to average net assets)
and Supplemental data:
                                 

Expenses before expense
reductions (f)

    2.07 (a)      2.18 (c)      2.28       2.33       2.32       2.13  

Expenses after expense
reductions (f)

    2.06 (a)      2.14 (c)      2.14       2.20       2.20       2.08  

Net investment income (loss)

    (0.59 )(a)      (0.45 )(c)      (0.37     (0.64     (0.59     (0.14

Portfolio turnover

    21 (n)      60       60       53       55       67  

Net assets at end of period
(000 omitted)

    $934       $210       $200       $302       $288       $148  

See Notes to Financial Statements

 

18


Table of Contents

Financial Highlights – continued

 

    Six months
ended
8/31/17
    Year ended  
Class R2     2/28/17     2/29/16     2/28/15     2/28/14     2/28/13  
    (unaudited)                                

Net asset value, beginning of
period

    $14.97       $11.40       $12.96       $13.25       $11.39       $10.27  
Income (loss) from investment operations                                  

Net investment income (loss) (d)

    $(0.00     (0.00 )(c)(w)      $0.02       $(0.02     $(0.01     $0.04  

Net realized and unrealized gain
(loss)

    (0.16     4.17       (1.25     0.54       3.01       1.70  

Total from investment operations

    $(0.16     $4.17       $(1.23     $0.52       $3.00       $1.74  
Less distributions declared to shareholders                                  

From net investment income

    $—       $(0.04     $(0.01     $—       $(0.00 )(w)      $(0.04

From net realized gain

    (0.35     (0.56     (0.32     (0.81     (1.14     (0.58

Total distributions declared to
shareholders

    $(0.35     $(0.60     $(0.33     $(0.81     $(1.14     $(0.62

Net asset value, end of period (x)

    $14.46       $14.97       $11.40       $12.96       $13.25       $11.39  

Total return (%) (r)(s)(t)(x)

    (1.10 )(n)      36.81 (c)      (9.58     4.32       27.01       17.92  
Ratios (%) (to average net assets)
and Supplemental data:
                                 

Expenses before expense
reductions (f)

    1.57 (a)      1.68 (c)      1.78       1.83       1.83       1.63  

Expenses after expense
reductions (f)

    1.56 (a)      1.64 (c)      1.64       1.70       1.70       1.58  

Net investment income (loss)

    (0.06 )(a)      (0.02 )(c)      0.14       (0.15     (0.09     0.34  

Portfolio turnover

    21 (n)      60       60       53       55       67  

Net assets at end of period
(000 omitted)

    $1,324       $1,216       $528       $567       $488       $137  

See Notes to Financial Statements

 

19


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Financial Highlights – continued

 

 

    Six months
ended
8/31/17
    Year ended  
Class R3     2/28/17     2/29/16     2/28/15     2/28/14     2/28/13  
    (unaudited)                                

Net asset value, beginning of
period

    $15.03       $11.43       $13.00       $13.27       $11.39       $10.28  
Income (loss) from investment operations                                  

Net investment income (loss) (d)

    $0.01       $0.01 (c)      $0.04       $0.01       $0.02       $0.05  

Net realized and unrealized gain
(loss)

    (0.15     4.20       (1.24     0.54       3.02       1.70  

Total from investment operations

    $(0.14     $4.21       $(1.20     $0.55       $3.04       $1.75  
Less distributions declared to shareholders                                  

From net investment income

    $—       $(0.05     $(0.05     $(0.01     $(0.02     $(0.06

From net realized gain

    (0.35     (0.56     (0.32     (0.81     (1.14     (0.58

Total distributions declared to
shareholders

    $(0.35     $(0.61     $(0.37     $(0.82     $(1.16     $(0.64

Net asset value, end of period (x)

    $14.54       $15.03       $11.43       $13.00       $13.27       $11.39  

Total return (%) (r)(s)(t)(x)

    (0.96 )(n)      37.11 (c)      (9.30     4.57       27.38       18.08  
Ratios (%) (to average net assets)
and Supplemental data:
                                 

Expenses before expense
reductions (f)

    1.32 (a)      1.46 (c)      1.55       1.59       1.58       1.40  

Expenses after expense
reductions (f)

    1.31 (a)      1.39 (c)      1.39       1.45       1.45       1.34  

Net investment income (loss)

    0.19 (a)      0.08 (c)      0.36       0.10       0.15       0.47  

Portfolio turnover

    21(n     60       60       53       55       67  

Net assets at end of period
(000 omitted)

    $18,714       $14,208       $2,095       $739       $513       $215  

See Notes to Financial Statements

 

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Financial Highlights – continued

 

 

    Six months
ended
8/31/17
    Year ended  
Class R4     2/28/17     2/29/16     2/28/15     2/28/14     2/28/13  
    (unaudited)                                

Net asset value, beginning of
period

    $15.08       $11.46       $13.03       $13.29       $11.40       $10.28  
Income (loss) from investment operations                                  

Net investment income (loss) (d)

    $0.03       $0.06 (c)      $0.08       $0.05       $0.05       $0.09  

Net realized and unrealized gain
(loss)

    (0.15     4.20       (1.26     0.54       3.03       1.70  

Total from investment operations

    $(0.12     $4.26       $(1.18     $0.59       $3.08       $1.79  
Less distributions declared to shareholders                                  

From net investment income

    $—       $(0.08     $(0.07     $(0.04     $(0.05     $(0.09

From net realized gain

    (0.35     (0.56     (0.32     (0.81     (1.14     (0.58

Total distributions declared to
shareholders

    $(0.35     $(0.64     $(0.39     $(0.85     $(1.19     $(0.67

Net asset value, end of period (x)

    $14.61       $15.08       $11.46       $13.03       $13.29       $11.40  

Total return (%) (r)(s)(t)(x)

    (0.83 )(n)      37.46 (c)      (9.12     4.89       27.66       18.46  
Ratios (%) (to average net assets)
and Supplemental data:
                                 

Expenses before expense
reductions (f)

    1.06 (a)      1.20 (c)      1.29       1.33       1.32       1.12  

Expenses after expense
reductions (f)

    1.06 (a)      1.14 (c)      1.14       1.20       1.20       1.08  

Net investment income (loss)

    0.43 (a)      0.45 (c)      0.65       0.35       0.42       0.85  

Portfolio turnover

    21 (n)      60       60       53       55       67  

Net assets at end of period
(000 omitted)

    $3,284       $2,440       $584       $178       $156       $122  

See Notes to Financial Statements

 

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Financial Highlights – continued

 

    Six months
ended
8/31/17
    Year ended  
Class R6     2/28/17     2/29/16     2/28/15     2/28/14     2/28/13 (i)  
    (unaudited)                                

Net asset value, beginning of
period

    $15.08       $11.45       $13.02       $13.28       $11.40       $10.10  
Income (loss) from investment operations                                  

Net investment income (loss) (d)

    $0.04       $0.10 (c)      $0.09       $0.06       $0.06       $0.05  

Net realized and unrealized gain
(loss)

    (0.16     4.18       (1.26     0.55       3.01       1.71  

Total from investment operations

    $(0.12     $4.28       $(1.17     $0.61       $3.07       $1.76  
Less distributions declared to shareholders                                  

From net investment income

    $—       $(0.09     $(0.08     $(0.06     $(0.05     $(0.09

From net realized gain

    (0.35     (0.56     (0.32     (0.81     (1.14     (0.37

Total distributions declared to
shareholders

    $(0.35     $(0.65     $(0.40     $(0.87     $(1.19     $(0.46

Net asset value, end of period (x)

    $14.61       $15.08       $11.45       $13.02       $13.28       $11.40  

Total return (%) (r)(s)(t)(x)

    (0.83 )(n)      37.68 (c)      (9.09     5.00       27.66       18.05 (n) 
Ratios (%) (to average net assets)
and Supplemental data:
                                 

Expenses before expense
reductions (f)

    0.97 (a)      1.07 (c)      1.21       1.23       1.26       1.12 (a) 

Expenses after expense
reductions (f)

    0.96 (a)      1.02 (c)      1.06       1.10       1.15       1.09 (a) 

Net investment income (loss)

    0.53 (a)      0.73 (c)      0.71       0.45       0.48       0.76 (a) 

Portfolio turnover

    21 (n)      60       60       53       55       67  

Net assets at end of period
(000 omitted)

    $494,764       $346,955       $290,204       $312,860       $278,450       $205,301  

 

(a) Annualized.
(c) Amount reflects a one-time reimbursement of expenses by the custodian (or former custodian) without which net investment income and performance would be lower and expenses would be higher.
(d) Per share data is based on average shares outstanding.
(f) Ratios do not reflect reductions from fees paid indirectly, if applicable.
(i) For the period from the class inception, July 2, 2012, through the stated period end.
(n) Not annualized.
(r) Certain expenses have been reduced without which performance would have been lower.
(s) From time to time the fund may receive proceeds from litigation settlements, without which performance would be lower.
(t) Total returns do not include any applicable sales charges.
(w) Per share amount was less than $0.01.
(x) The net asset values and total returns have been calculated on net assets which include adjustments made in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles required at period end for financial reporting purposes.

See Notes to Financial Statements

 

22


Table of Contents

NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

(unaudited)

(1) Business and Organization

MFS New Discovery Value Fund (the fund) is a diversified series of MFS Series Trust XIII (the trust). The trust is organized as a Massachusetts business trust and is registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, as an open-end management investment company.

The fund is an investment company and accordingly follows the investment company accounting and reporting guidance of the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) Accounting Standards Codification Topic 946 Financial Services – Investment Companies.

(2) Significant Accounting Policies

General – The preparation of financial statements in conformity with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities, and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of increases and decreases in net assets from operations during the reporting period. Actual results could differ from those estimates. In the preparation of these financial statements, management has evaluated subsequent events occurring after the date of the fund’s Statement of Assets and Liabilities through the date that the financial statements were issued. The fund will generally focus on securities of small size companies which may be more volatile than those of larger companies.

In October 2016, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) released its Final Rule on Investment Company Reporting Modernization (the “Rule”). The Rule, which introduced two new regulatory reporting forms for investment companies – Form N-PORT and Form N-CEN – also contained amendments to Regulation S-X which impact financial statement presentation, particularly the presentation of derivative investments, for all reporting periods ending after August 1, 2017. The fund has adopted the Rule’s Regulation S-X amendments and believes that the fund’s financial statements are in compliance with those amendments.

Balance Sheet Offsetting – The fund’s accounting policy with respect to balance sheet offsetting is that, absent an event of default by the counterparty or a termination of the agreement, the International Swaps and Derivatives Association (ISDA) Master Agreement does not result in an offset of reported amounts of financial assets and financial liabilities in the Statement of Assets and Liabilities across transactions between the fund and the applicable counterparty. The fund’s right to setoff may be restricted or prohibited by the bankruptcy or insolvency laws of the particular jurisdiction to which a specific master netting agreement counterparty is subject. Balance sheet offsetting disclosures, to the extent applicable to the fund, have been included in the fund’s Significant Accounting Policies note under the captions for each of the fund’s in-scope financial instruments and transactions.

Investment Valuations – Equity securities, including restricted equity securities, are generally valued at the last sale or official closing price on their primary market or exchange as provided by a third-party pricing service. Equity securities, for which there were no sales reported that day, are generally valued at the last quoted daily bid

 

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Notes to Financial Statements (unaudited) – continued

 

quotation on their primary market or exchange as provided by a third-party pricing service. Short-term instruments with a maturity at issuance of 60 days or less may be valued at amortized cost, which approximates market value. Open-end investment companies are generally valued at net asset value per share. Securities and other assets generally valued on the basis of information from a third-party pricing service may also be valued at a broker/dealer bid quotation. Values obtained from third-party pricing services can utilize both transaction data and market information such as yield, quality, coupon rate, maturity, type of issue, trading characteristics, and other market data. The values of foreign securities and other assets and liabilities expressed in foreign currencies are converted to U.S. dollars using the mean of bid and asked prices for rates provided by a third-party pricing service.

The Board of Trustees has delegated primary responsibility for determining or causing to be determined the value of the fund’s investments (including any fair valuation) to the adviser pursuant to valuation policies and procedures approved by the Board. If the adviser determines that reliable market quotations are not readily available, investments are valued at fair value as determined in good faith by the adviser in accordance with such procedures under the oversight of the Board of Trustees. Under the fund’s valuation policies and procedures, market quotations are not considered to be readily available for most types of debt instruments and floating rate loans and many types of derivatives. These investments are generally valued at fair value based on information from third-party pricing services. In addition, investments may be valued at fair value if the adviser determines that an investment’s value has been materially affected by events occurring after the close of the exchange or market on which the investment is principally traded (such as foreign exchange or market) and prior to the determination of the fund’s net asset value, or after the halting of trading of a specific security where trading does not resume prior to the close of the exchange or market on which the security is principally traded. Events that occur on a frequent basis after foreign markets close (such as developments in foreign markets and significant movements in the U.S. markets) and prior to the determination of the fund’s net asset value may be deemed to have a material effect on the value of securities traded in foreign markets. Accordingly, the fund’s foreign equity securities may often be valued at fair value. The adviser generally relies on third-party pricing services or other information (such as the correlation with price movements of similar securities in the same or other markets; the type, cost and investment characteristics of the security; the business and financial condition of the issuer; and trading and other market data) to assist in determining whether to fair value and at what value to fair value an investment. The value of an investment for purposes of calculating the fund’s net asset value can differ depending on the source and method used to determine value. When fair valuation is used, the value of an investment used to determine the fund’s net asset value may differ from quoted or published prices for the same investment. There can be no assurance that the fund could obtain the fair value assigned to an investment if it were to sell the investment at the same time at which the fund determines its net asset value per share.

Various inputs are used in determining the value of the fund’s assets or liabilities. These inputs are categorized into three broad levels. In certain cases, the inputs used to measure fair value may fall into different levels of the fair value hierarchy. In such cases, an investment’s level within the fair value hierarchy is based on the lowest level of

 

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Notes to Financial Statements (unaudited) – continued

 

input that is significant to the fair value measurement. The fund’s assessment of the

significance of a particular input to the fair value measurement in its entirety requires judgment, and considers factors specific to the investment. Level 1 includes unadjusted quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities. Level 2 includes other significant observable market-based inputs (including quoted prices for similar securities, interest rates, prepayment speed, and credit risk). Level 3 includes unobservable inputs, which may include the adviser’s own assumptions in determining the fair value of investments. The following is a summary of the levels used as of August 31, 2017 in valuing the fund’s assets or liabilities:

 

Financial Instruments

   Level 1      Level 2      Level 3      Total  
Equity Securities      $988,041,190        $—        $—        $988,041,190  
Mutual Funds      21,614,178                      21,614,178  
Total      $1,009,655,368        $—        $—        $1,009,655,368  

For further information regarding security characteristics, see the Portfolio of Investments. The fund held worthless level 3 securities at the beginning of the period which were disposed of during the period for $0 and no realized gain or loss.

Foreign Currency Translation – Purchases and sales of foreign investments, income, and expenses are converted into U.S. dollars based upon currency exchange rates prevailing on the respective dates of such transactions or on the reporting date for foreign denominated receivables and payables. Gains and losses attributable to foreign currency exchange rates on sales of securities are recorded for financial statement purposes as net realized gains and losses on investments. Gains and losses attributable to foreign exchange rate movements on receivables, payables, income and expenses are recorded for financial statement purposes as foreign currency transaction gains and losses. That portion of both realized and unrealized gains and losses on investments that results from fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates is not separately disclosed.

Security Loans – Under its Securities Lending Agency Agreement with the fund, State Street Bank and Trust Company (“State Street”), as lending agent, loans the securities of the fund to certain qualified institutions (the “Borrowers”) approved by the fund. Security loans can be terminated at the discretion of either the lending agent or the fund and the related securities must be returned within the earlier of the standard trade settlement period for such securities or within three business days. The loans are collateralized by cash and/or U.S. Treasury and federal agency obligations in an amount typically at least equal to the market value of the securities loaned. On loans collateralized by cash, the cash collateral is invested in a money market fund. The market value of the loaned securities is determined at the close of business of the fund and any additional required collateral is delivered to the fund on the next business day. State Street provides the fund with indemnification against Borrower default. In the event of Borrower default, State Street will, for the benefit of the fund, either purchase securities identical to those loaned or, when such purchase is commercially impracticable, pay the fund the market value of the loaned securities. In return, State Street assumes the fund’s rights to the related collateral. If the collateral value is less than the cost to purchase identical securities, State Street is responsible for the shortfall, but only to the extent that such shortfall is not due to a decline in collateral

 

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Notes to Financial Statements (unaudited) – continued

 

value resulting from collateral reinvestment for which the fund bears the risk of loss. At period end, the fund had investment securities on loan, all of which were classified as equity securities in the fund’s Portfolio of Investments, with a fair value of $6,535,120. The fair value of the fund’s investment securities on loan and a related liability of $6,664,396 for cash collateral received on securities loaned are both presented gross in the Statement of Assets and Liabilities. The collateral on securities loaned exceeded the value of securities on loan at period end. The liability for cash collateral for securities loaned is carried at fair value, which is categorized as level 2 within the fair value hierarchy. A portion of the income generated upon investment of the collateral is remitted to the Borrowers, and the remainder is allocated between the fund and the lending agent. On loans collateralized by U.S. Treasury and/or federal agency obligations, a fee is received from the Borrower, and is allocated between the fund and the lending agent. Income from securities lending is separately reported in the Statement of Operations. The dividend and interest income earned on the securities loaned is accounted for in the same manner as other dividend and interest income.

Indemnifications – Under the fund’s organizational documents, its officers and Trustees may be indemnified against certain liabilities and expenses arising out of the performance of their duties to the fund. Additionally, in the normal course of business, the fund enters into agreements with service providers that may contain indemnification clauses. The fund’s maximum exposure under these agreements is unknown as this would involve future claims that may be made against the fund that have not yet occurred.

Investment Transactions and Income – Investment transactions are recorded on the trade date. Interest income is recorded on the accrual basis. Dividends received in cash are recorded on the ex-dividend date. Certain dividends from foreign securities will be recorded when the fund is informed of the dividend if such information is obtained subsequent to the ex-dividend date. Dividend and interest payments received in additional securities are recorded on the ex-dividend or ex-interest date in an amount equal to the value of the security on such date.

The fund may receive proceeds from litigation settlements. Any proceeds received from litigation involving portfolio holdings are reflected in the Statement of Operations in realized gain/loss if the security has been disposed of by the fund or in unrealized gain/loss if the security is still held by the fund. Any other proceeds from litigation not related to portfolio holdings are reflected as other income in the Statement of Operations.

Tax Matters and Distributions – The fund intends to qualify as a regulated investment company, as defined under Subchapter M of the Internal Revenue Code, and to distribute all of its taxable income, including realized capital gains. As a result, no provision for federal income tax is required. The fund’s federal tax returns, when filed, will remain subject to examination by the Internal Revenue Service for a three year period. Management has analyzed the fund’s tax positions taken on federal and state tax returns for all open tax years and does not believe that there are any uncertain tax positions that require recognition of a tax liability. Foreign taxes, if any, have been accrued by the fund in the accompanying financial statements in accordance with the applicable foreign tax law. Foreign income taxes may be withheld by certain countries

 

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Notes to Financial Statements (unaudited) – continued

 

in which the fund invests. Additionally, capital gains realized by the fund on securities issued in or by certain foreign countries may be subject to capital gains tax imposed by those countries.

Distributions to shareholders are recorded on the ex-dividend date. Income and capital gain distributions are determined in accordance with income tax regulations, which may differ from U.S. generally accepted accounting principles. Certain capital accounts in the financial statements are periodically adjusted for permanent differences in order to reflect their tax character. These adjustments have no impact on net assets or net asset value per share. Temporary differences which arise from recognizing certain items of income, expense, gain or loss in different periods for financial statement and tax purposes will reverse at some time in the future. Distributions in excess of net investment income or net realized gains are temporary overdistributions for financial statement purposes resulting from differences in the recognition or classification of income or distributions for financial statement and tax purposes.

Book/tax differences primarily relate to wash sale loss deferrals and treating a portion of the proceeds from redemptions as a distribution for tax purposes.

The tax character of distributions made during the current period will be determined at fiscal year end. The tax character of distributions declared to shareholders for the last fiscal year is as follows:

 

     Year ended
2/28/17
 
Ordinary income (including any
short-term capital gains)
     $11,381,210  
Long-term capital gains      16,988,959  
Total distributions      $28,370,169  

The federal tax cost and the tax basis components of distributable earnings were as follows:

 

As of 8/31/17       
Cost of investments      $899,397,041  
Gross appreciation      150,283,563  
Gross depreciation      (40,025,236
Net unrealized appreciation (depreciation)      $110,258,327  
As of 2/28/17       
Undistributed ordinary income      10,252,318  
Undistributed long-term capital gain      12,930,241  
Other temporary differences      9,736  
Net unrealized appreciation (depreciation)      131,885,072  

The aggregate cost above includes prior fiscal year end tax adjustments, if applicable.

Multiple Classes of Shares of Beneficial Interest – The fund offers multiple classes of shares, which differ in their respective distribution and service fees. The fund’s income, realized and unrealized gain (loss), and common expenses are allocated to shareholders based on the daily net assets of each class. Dividends are declared separately for each class. Differences in per share dividend rates are generally due to

 

27


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Notes to Financial Statements (unaudited) – continued

 

differences in separate class expenses. Class B shares will convert to Class A shares approximately eight years after purchase. The fund’s distributions declared to shareholders as reported in the Statements of Changes in Net Assets are presented by class as follows:

 

     From net investment
income
     From net realized gain on
investments
 
     Six months
ended
8/31/17
     Year
ended
2/28/17
     Six months
ended
8/31/17
     Year
ended
2/28/17
 
Class A      $—        $642,448        $5,097,100        $5,610,928  
Class B             2,362        147,747        160,295  
Class C                    1,566,239        2,161,325  
Class I             851,123        4,474,035        5,495,450  
Class R1                    23,630        10,479  
Class R2             2,442        38,314        36,223  
Class R3             13,145        427,027        143,669  
Class R4             7,727        80,693        51,233  
Class R6             1,804,989        11,379,079        11,376,331  
Total      $—        $3,324,236        $23,233,864        $25,045,933  

(3) Transactions with Affiliates

Investment Adviser – The fund has an investment advisory agreement with MFS to provide overall investment management and related administrative services and facilities to the fund. The management fee is computed daily and paid monthly at the following annual rates:

 

First $1 billion of average daily net assets      0.90
Next $1.5 billion of average daily net assets      0.80
Average daily net assets in excess of $2.5 billion      0.75

MFS has agreed in writing to reduce its management fee by a specified amount if certain MFS mutual fund assets exceed thresholds agreed to by MFS and the fund’s Board of Trustees. For the six months ended August 31, 2017, this management fee reduction amounted to $37,292, which is included in the reduction of total expenses in the Statement of Operations. The management fee incurred for the six months ended August 31, 2017 was equivalent to an annual effective rate of 0.89% of the fund’s average daily net assets.

The investment adviser has agreed in writing to pay a portion of the fund’s total annual operating expenses, excluding interest, taxes, extraordinary expenses, brokerage and transaction costs, and investment-related expenses, such that total fund operating expenses do not exceed the following rates annually of each class’s average daily net assets:

 

Classes  
A   B     C     I     R1     R2     R3     R4     R6  
1.39%     2.14%       2.14%       1.14%       2.14%       1.64%       1.39%       1.14%       1.10%  

This written agreement will continue until modified by the fund’s Board of Trustees, but such agreement will continue at least until June 30, 2019. For the six months

 

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Notes to Financial Statements (unaudited) – continued

 

ended August 31, 2017, the fund’s actual operating expenses did not exceed the limit and therefore, the investment adviser did not pay any portion of the fund’s expenses related to this agreement.

Distributor – MFS Fund Distributors, Inc. (MFD), a wholly-owned subsidiary of MFS, as distributor, received $136,248 for the six months ended August 31, 2017, as its portion of the initial sales charge on sales of Class A shares of the fund.

The Board of Trustees has adopted a distribution plan for certain share classes pursuant to Rule 12b-1 of the Investment Company Act of 1940.

The fund’s distribution plan provides that the fund will pay MFD for services provided by MFD and financial intermediaries in connection with the distribution and servicing of certain share classes. One component of the plan is a distribution fee paid to MFD and another component of the plan is a service fee paid to MFD. MFD may subsequently pay all, or a portion, of the distribution and/or service fees to financial intermediaries.

Distribution Plan Fee Table:

 

     Distribution
Fee Rate (d)
     Service Fee
Rate (d)
     Total
Distribution
Plan (d)
     Annual
Effective
Rate (e)
     Distribution
and Service
Fee
 
Class A             0.25%        0.25%        0.25%        $262,244  
Class B      0.75%        0.25%        1.00%        1.00%        30,913  
Class C      0.75%        0.25%        1.00%        1.00%        323,207  
Class R1      0.75%        0.25%        1.00%        1.00%        3,065  
Class R2      0.25%        0.25%        0.50%        0.50%        3,528  
Class R3             0.25%        0.25%        0.25%        21,554  
Total Distribution and Service Fees                 $644,511  

 

(d) In accordance with the distribution plan for certain classes, the fund pays distribution and/or service fees equal to these annual percentage rates of each class’s average daily net assets. The distribution and service fee rates disclosed by class represent the current rates in effect at the end of the reporting period. Any rate changes, if applicable, are detailed below.
(e) The annual effective rates represent actual fees incurred under the distribution plan for the six months ended August 31, 2017 based on each class’s average daily net assets. MFD has voluntarily agreed to rebate a portion of each class’s 0.25% service fee attributable to accounts for which MFD retains the 0.25% service fee except for accounts attributable to MFS or its affiliates’ seed money. For the six months ended August 31, 2017, this rebate amounted to $380, $7, and $14 for Class A, Class B, and Class C, respectively, and is included in the reduction of total expenses in the Statement of Operations.

Certain Class A shares are subject to a contingent deferred sales charge (CDSC) in the event of a shareholder redemption within 18 months of purchase. Class C shares are subject to a CDSC in the event of a shareholder redemption within 12 months of purchase. Class B shares are subject to a CDSC in the event of a shareholder redemption within six years of purchase. All contingent deferred sales charges are paid to MFD and during the six months ended August 31, 2017, were as follows:

 

     Amount  
Class A      $6,838  
Class B      3,923  
Class C      4,800  

 

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Notes to Financial Statements (unaudited) – continued

 

Shareholder Servicing Agent – MFS Service Center, Inc. (MFSC), a wholly-owned subsidiary of MFS, receives a fee from the fund for its services as shareholder servicing agent calculated as a percentage of the average daily net assets of the fund as determined periodically under the supervision of the fund’s Board of Trustees. For the six months ended August 31, 2017, the fee was $21,859, which equated to 0.0046% annually of the fund’s average daily net assets. MFSC also receives payment from the fund for out-of-pocket expenses, sub-accounting and other shareholder servicing costs which may be paid to affiliated and unaffiliated service providers. Class R6 shares do not incur sub-accounting fees. For the six months ended August 31, 2017, these out-of-pocket expenses, sub-accounting and other shareholder servicing costs amounted to $273,976.

Administrator – MFS provides certain financial, legal, shareholder communications, compliance, and other administrative services to the fund. Under an administrative services agreement, the fund reimburses MFS the costs incurred to provide these services. The fund is charged an annual fixed amount of $17,500 plus a fee based on average daily net assets. The administrative services fee incurred for the six months ended August 31, 2017 was equivalent to an annual effective rate of 0.0174% of the fund’s average daily net assets.

Trustees’ and Officers’ Compensation – The fund pays compensation to independent Trustees in the form of a retainer, attendance fees, and additional compensation to Board and Committee chairpersons. The fund does not pay compensation directly to Trustees or officers of the fund who are also officers of the investment adviser, all of whom receive remuneration for their services to the fund from MFS. Certain officers and Trustees of the fund are officers or directors of MFS, MFD, and MFSC.

Other – This fund and certain other funds managed by MFS (the funds) have entered into a service agreement (the ISO Agreement) which provides for payment of fees solely by the funds to Tarantino LLC in return for the provision of services of an Independent Senior Officer (ISO) for the funds. Frank L. Tarantino serves as the ISO and is an officer of the funds and the sole member of Tarantino LLC. The funds can terminate the ISO Agreement with Tarantino LLC at any time under the terms of the ISO Agreement. For the six months ended August 31, 2017, the fee paid by the fund under this agreement was $806 and is included in “Miscellaneous” expense in the Statement of Operations. MFS has agreed to bear all expenses associated with office space, other administrative support, and supplies provided to the ISO.

The fund invests in the MFS Institutional Money Market Portfolio which is managed by MFS and seeks current income consistent with preservation of capital and liquidity. This money market fund does not pay a management fee to MFS.

On March 16, 2016, MFS redeemed 10,616 shares of Class I for an aggregate amount of $128,342. On June 29, 2016, MFS redeemed 4,082 shares of Class R3 for an aggregate amount of $51,760. On August 15, 2017, MFS redeemed 821, 4,360, and 4,359 shares of Class R1, Class R2, and Class R4, respectively, for an aggregate amount of $136,534.

The fund is permitted to engage in purchase and sale transactions with funds and accounts for which MFS serves as investment adviser or sub-adviser (“cross-trades”)

 

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Notes to Financial Statements (unaudited) – continued

 

pursuant to a policy adopted by the Board of Trustees. This policy has been designed to ensure that cross-trades conducted by the fund comply with Rule 17a-7 under the Investment Company Act of 1940. Under this policy, cross-trades are effected at current market prices with no remuneration paid in connection with the transaction. During the six months ended August 31, 2017, the fund engaged in purchase transactions pursuant to this policy, which amounted to $449,263.

(4) Portfolio Securities

For the six months ended August 31, 2017, purchases and sales of investments, other than short-term obligations, aggregated $337,699,466 and $195,788,091, respectively.

(5) Shares of Beneficial Interest

The fund’s Declaration of Trust permits the Trustees to issue an unlimited number of full and fractional shares of beneficial interest. Transactions in fund shares were as follows:

 

     Six months ended
8/31/17
     Year ended
2/28/17
 
     Shares      Amount      Shares      Amount  
Shares sold            

Class A

     3,753,787        $55,398,528        10,572,308        $146,078,659  

Class B

     73,723        1,053,587        278,540        3,808,776  

Class C

     527,877        7,552,366        1,342,515        18,024,707  

Class I

     6,870,945        101,903,049        15,118,518        212,258,680  

Class R1

     80,400        1,163,496        9,576        133,936  

Class R2

     42,616        629,648        49,281        690,710  

Class R3

     422,617        6,273,581        832,454        11,966,668  

Class R4

     101,361        1,513,351        144,231        2,088,076  

Class R6

     11,380,652        169,187,791        4,627,016        68,409,141  
     23,253,978        $344,675,397        32,974,439        $463,459,353  

Shares issued to shareholders in

reinvestment of distributions

 

 

        

Class A

     348,185        $5,090,466        434,140        $6,244,914  

Class B

     10,297        146,120        11,476        160,970  

Class C

     110,826        1,565,972        155,133        2,160,472  

Class I

     280,269        4,122,761        393,274        5,692,541  

Class R1

     1,664        23,630        749        10,479  

Class R2

     2,626        38,314        2,692        38,665  

Class R3

     29,109        427,027        10,904        156,814  

Class R4

     5,478        80,693        4,074        58,960  

Class R6

     749,368        11,045,677        897,854        12,913,008  
     1,537,822        $22,540,660        1,910,296        $27,436,823  

 

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Notes to Financial Statements (unaudited) – continued

 

     Six months ended
8/31/17
     Year ended
2/28/17
 
     Shares      Amount      Shares      Amount  
Shares reacquired            

Class A

     (1,755,414      $(25,911,271      (2,964,975      $(42,244,629

Class B

     (54,681      (780,280      (26,302      (356,871

Class C

     (479,724      (6,825,813      (325,354      (4,401,666

Class I

     (9,481,947      (140,650,067      (2,167,786      (30,202,526

Class R1

     (30,073      (436,977      (13,827      (189,877

Class R2

     (34,905      (504,159      (17,073      (241,744

Class R3

     (109,777      (1,629,112      (81,649      (1,151,799

Class R4

     (43,781      (650,935      (37,512      (533,842

Class R6

     (1,278,494      (18,907,454      (7,865,928      (109,291,281
     (13,268,796      $(196,296,068      (13,500,406      $(188,614,235
Net change            

Class A

     2,346,558        $34,577,723        8,041,473        $110,078,944  

Class B

     29,339        419,427        263,714        3,612,875  

Class C

     158,979        2,292,525        1,172,294        15,783,513  

Class I

     (2,330,733      (34,624,257      13,344,006        187,748,695  

Class R1

     51,991        750,149        (3,502      (45,462

Class R2

     10,337        163,803        34,900        487,631  

Class R3

     341,949        5,071,496        761,709        10,971,683  

Class R4

     63,058        943,109        110,793        1,613,194  

Class R6

     10,851,526        161,326,014        (2,341,058      (27,969,132
     11,523,004        $170,919,989        21,384,329        $302,281,941  

Class T shares were not publicly available for sale during the period. Please see the fund’s prospectus for details.

The fund is one of several mutual funds in which certain MFS funds may invest. The MFS funds do not invest in the underlying funds for the purpose of exercising management or control. At the end of the period, the MFS Growth Allocation Fund, the MFS Moderate Allocation Fund, the MFS Aggressive Growth Allocation Fund, the MFS Conservative Allocation Fund, the MFS Lifetime 2040 Fund, and the MFS Lifetime 2030 Fund were the owners of record of approximately 10%, 9%, 4%, 3%, 1%, and 1%, respectively, of the value of outstanding voting shares of the fund. In addition, the MFS Lifetime 2020 Fund, the MFS Lifetime 2025 Fund, the MFS Lifetime 2035 Fund, the MFS Lifetime 2045 Fund, the MFS Lifetime 2050 Fund, the MFS Lifetime 2055 Fund, the MFS Lifetime 2060 Fund, and the MFS Lifetime Income Fund were each the owners of record of less than 1% of the value of outstanding voting shares of the fund.

(6) Line of Credit

The fund and certain other funds managed by MFS participate in a $1.25 billion unsecured committed line of credit, subject to a $1 billion sublimit, provided by a syndication of banks under a credit agreement. Borrowings may be made for temporary financing needs. Interest is charged to each fund, based on its borrowings, generally at a rate equal to the higher of the Overnight Federal Reserve funds rate or

 

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Notes to Financial Statements (unaudited) – continued

 

daily one month LIBOR plus an agreed upon spread. A commitment fee, based on the average daily, unused portion of the committed line of credit, is allocated among the participating funds at the end of each calendar quarter. In addition, the fund and other funds managed by MFS have established unsecured uncommitted borrowing arrangements with certain banks for temporary financing needs. Interest is charged to each fund, based on its borrowings, at a rate equal to the Overnight Federal Reserve funds rate plus an agreed upon spread. For the six months ended August 31, 2017, the fund’s commitment fee and interest expense were $2,709 and $0, respectively, and are included in “Miscellaneous” expense in the Statement of Operations.

(7) Investments in Affiliated Issuers

An affiliated issuer may be considered one in which the fund owns 5% or more of the outstanding voting securities, or a company which is under common control. For the purposes of this report, the fund assumes the following to be an affiliated issuer:

 

Affiliated Issuer          Beginning
Shares/Par
Amount
    Acquisitions
Shares/Par
Amount
    Dispositions
Shares/Par
Amount
    Ending
Shares/Par
Amount
 
MFS Institutional Money
Market Portfolio
      58,893,027       190,737,196       (234,680,441     14,949,782  
Affiliated Issuer   Realized
Gain (Loss)
    Change in
Unrealized
Appreciation
(Depreciation)
    Capital Gain
Distributions
    Dividend
Income
    Ending
Value
 
MFS Institutional Money
Market Portfolio
    $(2,030     $795       $—       $69,021       $14,949,782  

 

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RESULTS OF SHAREHOLDER MEETING

(unaudited)

At a special meeting of shareholders of MFS Series Trust XIII, which was held on March 23, 2017, the following action was taken:

Item 1: To elect the following individuals as Trustees:

 

     Number of Dollars  

Nominee

   For     

Withheld Authority

 
Steven E. Buller      6,319,562,684.104        89,124,503.447  
John A. Caroselli      6,318,192,703.761        90,494,483.789  
Maureen R. Goldfarb      6,319,721,154.200        88,966,033.351  
David H. Gunning      6,301,684,555.225        107,002,632.326  
Michael Hegarty      6,305,161,229.843        103,525,957.708  
John P. Kavanaugh      6,314,942,342.172        93,744,845.379  
Robert J. Manning      6,319,224,905.610        89,462,281.941  
Clarence Otis, Jr.      6,310,274,693.701        98,412,493.850  
Maryanne L. Roepke      6,324,334,769.976        84,352,417.575  
Robin A. Stelmach      6,318,962,082.183        89,725,105.368  
Laurie J. Thomsen      6,319,280,321.146        89,406,866.405  

 

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BOARD REVIEW OF INVESTMENT ADVISORY AGREEMENT

The Investment Company Act of 1940 requires that both the full Board of Trustees and a majority of the non-interested (“independent”) Trustees, voting separately, annually approve the continuation of the Fund’s investment advisory agreement with MFS. The Trustees consider matters bearing on the Fund and its advisory arrangements at their meetings throughout the year, including a review of performance data at each regular meeting. In addition, the independent Trustees met several times over the course of three months beginning in May and ending in July, 2017 (“contract review meetings”) for the specific purpose of considering whether to approve the continuation of the investment advisory agreement for the Fund and the other investment companies that the Board oversees (the “MFS Funds”). The independent Trustees were assisted in their evaluation of the Fund’s investment advisory agreement by independent legal counsel, from whom they received separate legal advice and with whom they met separately from MFS during various contract review meetings. The independent Trustees were also assisted in this process by the MFS Funds’ Independent Senior Officer, a senior officer appointed by and reporting to the independent Trustees.

In connection with their deliberations regarding the continuation of the investment advisory agreement, the Trustees, including the independent Trustees, considered such information and factors as they believed, in light of the legal advice furnished to them and their own business judgment, to be relevant. The investment advisory agreement for the Fund was considered separately, although the Trustees also took into account the common interests of all MFS Funds in their review. As described below, the Trustees considered the nature, quality, and extent of the various investment advisory, administrative, and shareholder services performed by MFS under the existing investment advisory agreement and other arrangements with the Fund.

In connection with their contract review meetings, the Trustees received and relied upon materials that included, among other items: (i) information provided by Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. (“Broadridge”), an independent third party, on the investment performance of the Fund for the various time periods ended December 31, 2016 and the investment performance of a group of funds with substantially similar investment classifications/objectives (the “Lipper performance universe”), (ii) information provided by Broadridge on the Fund’s advisory fees and other expenses and the advisory fees and other expenses of comparable funds identified by Broadridge (the “Broadridge expense group”), (iii) information provided by MFS on the advisory fees of portfolios of other clients of MFS, including institutional separate accounts and other clients, (iv) information as to whether and to what extent applicable expense waivers, reimbursements or fee “breakpoints” are observed for the Fund, (v) information regarding MFS’ financial results and financial condition, including MFS’ and certain of its affiliates’ estimated profitability from services performed for the Fund and the MFS Funds as a whole, and compared to MFS’ institutional business, (vi) MFS’ views regarding the outlook for the mutual fund industry and the strategic business plans of MFS, (vii) descriptions of various functions performed by MFS for the Funds, such as compliance monitoring and portfolio trading practices, and (viii) information regarding the overall organization of MFS, including information about MFS’ senior management and other personnel providing investment advisory, administrative and other services to

 

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Board Review of Investment Advisory Agreement – continued

 

the Fund and the other MFS Funds. The comparative performance, fee and expense information prepared and provided by Broadridge was not independently verified and the independent Trustees did not independently verify any information provided to them by MFS.

The Trustees’ conclusion as to the continuation of the investment advisory agreement was based on a comprehensive consideration of all information provided to the Trustees and not the result of any single factor. Some of the factors that figured particularly in the Trustees’ deliberations are described below, although individual Trustees may have evaluated the information presented differently from one another, giving different weights to various factors. It is also important to recognize that the fee arrangements for the Fund and other MFS Funds are the result of years of review and discussion between the independent Trustees and MFS, that certain aspects of such arrangements may receive greater scrutiny in some years than in others, and that the Trustees’ conclusions may be based, in part, on their consideration of these same arrangements during the course of the year and in prior years.

Based on information provided by Broadridge and MFS, the Trustees reviewed the Fund’s total return investment performance as well as the performance of peer groups of funds over various time periods. The Trustees placed particular emphasis on the total return performance of the Fund’s Class A shares in comparison to the performance of funds in its Lipper performance universe over the three-year period ended December 31, 2016, which the Trustees believed was a long enough period to reflect differing market conditions. The total return performance of the Fund’s Class A shares was in the 2nd quintile relative to the other funds in the universe for this three-year period (the 1st quintile being the best performers and the 5th quintile being the worst performers). The total return performance of the Fund’s Class A shares was in the 3rd quintile for the one-year period and the 1st quintile for the five-year period ended December 31, 2016 relative to the Lipper performance universe. Because of the passage of time, these performance results may differ from the performance results for more recent periods, including those shown elsewhere in this report.

In the course of their deliberations, the Trustees took into account information provided by MFS in connection with the contract review meetings, as well as during investment review meetings conducted with portfolio management personnel during the course of the year regarding the Fund’s performance. After reviewing these and related factors, the Trustees concluded, within the context of their overall conclusions regarding the investment advisory agreement, that they were satisfied with MFS’ responses and efforts relating to investment performance.

In assessing the reasonableness of the Fund’s advisory fee, the Trustees considered, among other information, the Fund’s advisory fee and the total expense ratio of the Fund’s Class A shares as a percentage of average daily net assets and the advisory fee and total expense ratios of peer groups of funds based on information provided by Broadridge. The Trustees considered that MFS currently observes an expense limitation for the Fund, which may not be changed without the Trustees’ approval. The Trustees also considered that, according to the data provided by Broadridge (which takes into account any fee reductions or expense limitations that were in effect during the Fund’s last fiscal year), the Fund’s effective advisory fee rate was approximately at the

 

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Board Review of Investment Advisory Agreement – continued

 

Broadridge expense group median and the Fund’s total expense ratio was higher than the Broadridge expense group median.

The Trustees also considered the advisory fees charged by MFS to any institutional separate accounts advised by MFS (“separate accounts”) and unaffiliated investment companies for which MFS serves as subadviser (“subadvised funds”) that have comparable investment strategies to the Fund, if any. In comparing these fees, the Trustees considered information provided by MFS as to the generally broader scope of services provided by MFS to the Fund, as well as the more extensive regulatory burdens imposed on MFS in managing the Fund, in comparison to separate accounts and subadvised funds. The Trustees also considered the higher demands placed on MFS’ investment personnel and trading infrastructure as a result of the daily cash in-flows and out-flows of the Fund in comparison to separate accounts.

The Trustees also considered whether the Fund may benefit from any economies of scale in the management of the Fund in the event of growth in assets of the Fund and/or growth in assets of the MFS Funds as a whole. They noted that the Fund’s advisory fee rate schedule is subject to contractual breakpoints that reduce the Fund’s advisory fee rate on average daily net assets over $1 billion and $2.5 billion. The Trustees also noted that MFS has agreed in writing to waive a portion of the management fees of certain MFS Funds, including the Fund, if the total combined assets of certain funds within the MFS Funds’ complex increase above agreed upon thresholds (the “group fee waiver”), enabling the Fund’s shareholders to share in the benefits from any economies of scale at the complex level. The group fee waiver is reviewed and renewed annually between the Board and MFS. The Trustees concluded that the breakpoints and the group fee waiver were sufficient to allow the Fund to benefit from economies of scale as its assets and overall complex assets grow.

The Trustees also considered information prepared by MFS relating to MFS’ costs and profits with respect to the Fund, the MFS Funds considered as a group, and other investment companies and accounts advised by MFS, as well as MFS’ methodologies used to determine and allocate its costs to the MFS Funds, the Fund and other accounts and products for purposes of estimating profitability.

After reviewing these and other factors described herein, the Trustees concluded, within the context of their overall conclusions regarding the investment advisory agreement, that the advisory fees charged to the Fund represent reasonable compensation in light of the services being provided by MFS to the Fund.

In addition, the Trustees considered MFS’ resources and related efforts to continue to retain, attract and motivate capable personnel to serve the Fund. The Trustees also considered current and developing conditions in the financial services industry, including the presence of large and well-capitalized companies which are spending, and appear to be prepared to continue to spend, substantial sums to engage personnel and to provide services to competing investment companies. In this regard, the Trustees also considered the financial resources of MFS and its ultimate parent, Sun Life Financial Inc. The Trustees also considered the advantages and possible disadvantages to the Fund of having an adviser that also serves other investment companies as well as other accounts.

 

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Board Review of Investment Advisory Agreement – continued

 

The Trustees also considered the nature, quality, cost, and extent of administrative, transfer agency, and distribution services provided to the Fund by MFS and its affiliates under agreements and plans other than the investment advisory agreement, including any 12b-1 fees the Fund pays to MFS Fund Distributors, Inc., an affiliate of MFS. The Trustees also considered the nature, extent and quality of certain other services MFS performs or arranges for on the Fund’s behalf, which may include securities lending programs, directed expense payment programs, class action recovery programs, and MFS’ interaction with third-party service providers, principally custodians and sub-custodians. The Trustees concluded that the various non-advisory services provided by MFS and its affiliates on behalf of the Fund were satisfactory.

The Trustees also considered benefits to MFS from the use of the Fund’s portfolio brokerage commissions, if applicable, to pay for investment research and various other factors. Additionally, the Trustees considered so-called “fall-out benefits” to MFS such as reputational value derived from serving as investment manager to the Fund.

Based on their evaluation of factors that they deemed to be material, including those factors described above, the Board of Trustees, including the independent Trustees, concluded that the Fund’s investment advisory agreement with MFS should be continued for an additional one-year period, commencing August 1, 2017.

 

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PROXY VOTING POLICIES AND INFORMATION

MFS votes proxies on behalf of the fund pursuant to proxy voting policies and procedures that are available without charge, upon request, by calling 1-800-225-2606, by visiting mfs.com (once you have selected “Individual Investor” as your role, click on “Individual Investor Home” in the top navigation and then select “Learn More About Proxy Voting” under the “I want to…” header on the left hand column of the page), or by visiting the SEC’s Web site at http://www.sec.gov.

Information regarding how the fund voted proxies relating to portfolio securities during the most recent twelve-month period ended June 30 is available by August 31 of each year without charge by visiting mfs.com (once you have selected “Individual Investor” as your role, click on “Individual Investor Home” in the top navigation and then select “Learn More About Proxy Voting” under the “I want to…” header on the left hand column of the page), or by visiting the SEC’s Web site at http://www.sec.gov.

QUARTERLY PORTFOLIO DISCLOSURE

The fund will file a complete schedule of portfolio holdings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the Commission) for the first and third quarters of each fiscal year on Form N-Q. A shareholder can obtain the quarterly portfolio holdings report at mfs.com. The fund’s Form N-Q is also available on the EDGAR database on the Commission’s Internet Web site at http://www.sec.gov, and may be reviewed and copied at the:

Public Reference Room

Securities and Exchange Commission

100 F Street, NE, Room 1580

Washington, D.C. 20549

Information on the operation of the Public Reference Room may be obtained by calling the Commission at 1-800-SEC-0330. Copies of the fund’s Form N-Q also may be obtained, upon payment of a duplicating fee, by electronic request at the following e-mail address: publicinfo@sec.gov or by writing the Public Reference Section at the above address.

FURTHER INFORMATION

From time to time, MFS may post important information about the fund or the MFS funds on the MFS web site (mfs.com). This information is available on mfs.com by following these steps once you have selected “Individual Investor” as your role: (1) Click on the “Individual Investor Home” in the top navigation and then select the “Announcements” option within the “Market Outlooks” drop down, or (2) Click on “Products & Services” and “Mutual Funds” and then choose the fund’s name in the “Select a fund” menu.

 

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INFORMATION ABOUT FUND CONTRACTS AND LEGAL CLAIMS

The fund has entered into contractual arrangements with an investment adviser, administrator, distributor, shareholder servicing agent, 529 program manager (if applicable), and custodian who each provide services to the fund. Unless expressly stated otherwise, shareholders are not parties to, or intended beneficiaries of these contractual arrangements, and these contractual arrangements are not intended to create any shareholder right to enforce them against the service providers or to seek any remedy under them against the service providers, either directly or on behalf of the fund.

Under the Trust’s By-Laws and Declaration of Trust, any claims asserted against or on behalf of the MFS Funds, including claims against Trustees and Officers, must be brought in state and federal courts located within the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

PROVISION OF FINANCIAL REPORTS AND SUMMARY PROSPECTUSES

The fund produces financial reports every six months and updates its summary prospectus and prospectus annually. To avoid sending duplicate copies of materials to households, only one copy of the fund’s annual and semiannual report and summary prospectus may be mailed to shareholders having the same last name and residential address on the fund’s records. However, any shareholder may contact MFSC (please see back cover for address and telephone number) to request that copies of these reports and summary prospectuses be sent personally to that shareholder.

 

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Table of Contents

LOGO

 

Save paper with eDelivery.

 

LOGO

MFS® will send you prospectuses,

reports, and proxies directly via e-mail so you will get information faster with less mailbox clutter.

To sign up:

1. Go to mfs.com.

2. Log in via MFS® Access.

3. Select eDelivery.

If you own your MFS fund shares through a financial institution or a retirement plan, MFS® TALK, MFS® Access, or eDelivery may not be available to you.

 

CONTACT

WEB SITE

mfs.com

MFS TALK

1-800-637-8255

24 hours a day

ACCOUNT SERVICE AND LITERATURE

Shareholders

1-800-225-2606

Financial advisors

1-800-343-2829

Retirement plan services

1-800-637-1255

MAILING ADDRESS

MFS Service Center, Inc.

P.O. Box 55824

Boston, MA 02205-5824

OVERNIGHT MAIL

MFS Service Center, Inc.

c/o Boston Financial Data Services

30 Dan Road

Canton, MA 02021-2809

 


Table of Contents
ITEM 2. CODE OF ETHICS.

During the period covered by this report, the Registrant has not amended any provision in its Code of Ethics (the “Code”) that relates to an element of the Code’s definition enumerated in paragraph (b) of Item 2 of this Form N-CSR. During the period covered by this report, the Registrant did not grant a waiver, including an implicit waiver, from any provision of the Code.

 

ITEM 3. AUDIT COMMITTEE FINANCIAL EXPERT.

Not applicable for semi-annual reports.

 

ITEM 4. PRINCIPAL ACCOUNTANT FEES AND SERVICES.

Not applicable for semi-annual reports.

 

ITEM 5. AUDIT COMMITTEE OF LISTED REGISTRANTS.

Not applicable to the Registrant.

 

ITEM 6. INVESTMENTS

A schedule of investments for each series of the Registrant is included as part of the report to shareholders of such series under Item 1 of this Form N-CSR.

 

ITEM 7. DISCLOSURE OF PROXY VOTING POLICIES AND PROCEDURES FOR CLOSED-END MANAGEMENT INVESTMENT COMPANIES.

Not applicable to the Registrant.

 

ITEM 8. PORTFOLIO MANAGERS OF CLOSED-END MANAGEMENT INVESTMENT COMPANIES.

Not applicable to the Registrant.

 

ITEM 9. PURCHASES OF EQUITY SECURITIES BY CLOSED-END MANAGEMENT INVESTMENT COMPANY AND AFFILIATED PURCHASERS.

Not applicable to the Registrant.

 

ITEM 10. SUBMISSION OF MATTERS TO A VOTE OF SECURITY HOLDERS.

There were no material changes to the procedures by which shareholders may send recommendations to the Board for nominees to the Registrant’s Board since the Registrant last provided disclosure as to such procedures in response to the requirements of Item 407 (c)(2)(iv) of Regulation S-K or this Item.


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ITEM 11. CONTROLS AND PROCEDURES.

 

(a) Based upon their evaluation of the effectiveness of the registrant’s disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Rule 30a-3(c) under the Investment Company Act of 1940 (the “Act”)) as conducted within 90 days of the filing date of this report on Form N-CSR, the registrant’s principal financial officer and principal executive officer have concluded that those disclosure controls and procedures provide reasonable assurance that the material information required to be disclosed by the registrant on this report is recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time periods specified in the Securities and Exchange Commission’s rules and forms.

 

(b) There were no changes in the registrant’s internal controls over financial reporting (as defined in Rule 30a-3(d) under the Act) that occurred during the second fiscal quarter of the period covered by the report that have materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, the registrant’s internal control over financial reporting.

 

ITEM 12. DISCLOSURE OF SECURITIES LENDING ACTIVITIES FOR CLOSED-END MANAGEMENT INVESTMENT COMPANIES.

Not applicable to the Registrant.

 

ITEM 13. EXHIBITS.

 

(a) File the exhibits listed below as part of this form. Letter or number the exhibits in the sequence indicated.

 

  (1) Any code of ethics, or amendment thereto, that is the subject of the disclosure required by Item 2, to the extent that the registrant intends to satisfy the Item 2 requirements through filing of an exhibit.

 

  (2) A separate certification for each principal executive officer and principal financial officer of the registrant as required by Rule 30a-2 under the Act (17 CFR 270.30a-2): Attached hereto.

 

(b) If the report is filed under Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Exchange Act, provide the certifications required by Rule 30a-2(b) under the Act (17 CFR 270.30a-2(b)), Rule 13a-14(b) or Rule 15d-14(b) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.13a-14(b) or 240.15d-14(b)) and Section 1350 of Chapter 63 of Title 18 of the United States Code (18 U.S.C. 1350) as an exhibit. A certification furnished pursuant to this paragraph will not be deemed “filed” for the purposes of Section 18 of the Exchange Act (15 U.S.C. 78r), or otherwise subject to the liability of that section. Such certification will not be deemed to be incorporated by reference into any filing under the Securities Act of 1933 or the Exchange Act, except to the extent that the registrant specifically incorporates it by reference: Attached hereto.


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Notice

A copy of the Amended and Restated Declaration of Trust, as amended, of the Registrant is on file with the Secretary of State of The Commonwealth of Massachusetts and notice is hereby given that this instrument is executed on behalf of the Registrant by an officer of the Registrant as an officer and not individually and the obligations of or arising out of this instrument are not binding upon any of the Trustees or shareholders individually, but are binding only upon the assets and property of the respective constituent series of the Registrant.


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SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and the Investment Company Act of 1940, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.

(Registrant) MFS SERIES TRUST XIII            

 

By (Signature and Title)*    DAVID L. DILORENZO
  David L. DiLorenzo, President

Date: October 17, 2017

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and the Investment Company Act of 1940, this report has been signed below by the following persons on behalf of the registrant and in the capacities and on the dates indicated.

 

By (Signature and Title)*    DAVID L. DILORENZO
  David L. DiLorenzo, President (Principal Executive Officer)

Date: October 17, 2017

 

By (Signature and Title)*    JAMES O. YOST
  James O. Yost, Treasurer (Principal Financial Officer and Accounting Officer)

Date: October 17, 2017

 

* Print name and title of each signing officer under his or her signature.