PORTFOLIO OF INVESTMENTS as of September 30, 2019 (Unaudited)
ASG Tactical U.S. Market Fund
Shares | Description |
Value () | ||||||
Common Stocks 38.9% of Net Assets |
||||||||
Aerospace & Defense 1.1% |
| |||||||
4,601 | Boeing Co. (The) |
$ | 1,750,542 | |||||
809 | Lockheed Martin Corp. |
315,559 | ||||||
1,103 | Northrop Grumman Corp. |
413,393 | ||||||
1,375 | United Technologies Corp. |
187,715 | ||||||
|
|
|||||||
2,667,209 | ||||||||
|
|
|||||||
Air Freight & Logistics 0.2% |
| |||||||
729 | FedEx Corp. |
106,121 | ||||||
2,364 | United Parcel Service, Inc., Class B |
283,254 | ||||||
|
|
|||||||
389,375 | ||||||||
|
|
|||||||
Automobiles 0.0% |
| |||||||
2,560 | General Motors Co. |
95,949 | ||||||
|
|
|||||||
Banks 1.6% |
| |||||||
62,599 | Bank of America Corp. |
1,826,013 | ||||||
8,377 | Citigroup, Inc. |
578,683 | ||||||
9,530 | JPMorgan Chase & Co. |
1,121,586 | ||||||
6,031 | Wells Fargo & Co. |
304,203 | ||||||
|
|
|||||||
3,830,485 | ||||||||
|
|
|||||||
Beverages 0.6% |
| |||||||
16,590 | Coca-Cola Co. (The) |
903,160 | ||||||
4,465 | PepsiCo, Inc. |
612,151 | ||||||
|
|
|||||||
1,515,311 | ||||||||
|
|
|||||||
Biotechnology 0.3% |
| |||||||
3,256 | Amgen, Inc. |
630,069 | ||||||
|
|
|||||||
Capital Markets 1.2% |
| |||||||
1,620 | BlackRock, Inc. |
721,937 | ||||||
4,308 | CME Group, Inc. |
910,452 | ||||||
1,629 | Moodys Corp. |
333,668 | ||||||
2,069 | MSCI, Inc. |
450,525 | ||||||
1,764 | S&P Global, Inc. |
432,145 | ||||||
|
|
|||||||
2,848,727 | ||||||||
|
|
|||||||
Chemicals 0.9% |
| |||||||
1,652 | Air Products & Chemicals, Inc. |
366,513 | ||||||
4,320 | CF Industries Holdings, Inc. |
212,544 | ||||||
2 | Dow, Inc. |
95 | ||||||
2,258 | DuPont de Nemours, Inc. |
161,018 | ||||||
1,961 | Ecolab, Inc. |
388,356 | ||||||
2,638 | Linde PLC |
511,033 | ||||||
1,333 | PPG Industries, Inc. |
157,974 | ||||||
418 | Sherwin-Williams Co. (The) |
229,846 | ||||||
|
|
|||||||
2,027,379 | ||||||||
|
|
Shares | Description |
Value () | ||||||
Common Stocks continued |
||||||||
Commercial Services & Supplies 0.7% |
| |||||||
2,517 | Cintas Corp. |
$ | 674,808 | |||||
7,957 | Waste Management, Inc. |
915,055 | ||||||
|
|
|||||||
1,589,863 | ||||||||
|
|
|||||||
Communications Equipment 0.4% |
| |||||||
19,453 | Cisco Systems, Inc. |
961,173 | ||||||
|
|
|||||||
Construction Materials 0.1% |
| |||||||
1,041 | Vulcan Materials Co. |
157,441 | ||||||
|
|
|||||||
Containers & Packaging 0.1% |
| |||||||
3,265 | Ball Corp. |
237,725 | ||||||
|
|
|||||||
Diversified Financial Services 0.9% |
| |||||||
9,913 | Berkshire Hathaway, Inc., Class B(a) |
2,062,102 | ||||||
|
|
|||||||
Diversified Telecommunication Services 0.9% |
| |||||||
13,412 | AT&T, Inc. |
507,510 | ||||||
27,126 | Verizon Communications, Inc. |
1,637,325 | ||||||
|
|
|||||||
2,144,835 | ||||||||
|
|
|||||||
Electric Utilities 0.8% |
| |||||||
3,056 | Alliant Energy Corp. |
164,810 | ||||||
2,699 | American Electric Power Co., Inc. |
252,869 | ||||||
3,845 | Duke Energy Corp. |
368,582 | ||||||
5,881 | Exelon Corp. |
284,111 | ||||||
2,354 | NextEra Energy, Inc. |
548,458 | ||||||
8,299 | PPL Corp. |
261,336 | ||||||
|
|
|||||||
1,880,166 | ||||||||
|
|
|||||||
Electrical Equipment 0.2% |
| |||||||
4,506 | Eaton Corp. PLC |
374,674 | ||||||
|
|
|||||||
Energy Equipment & Services 0.1% |
| |||||||
4,893 | Schlumberger Ltd. |
167,194 | ||||||
|
|
|||||||
Entertainment 1.1% |
| |||||||
1,567 | Netflix, Inc.(a) |
419,361 | ||||||
15,695 | Walt Disney Co. (The) |
2,045,372 | ||||||
|
|
|||||||
2,464,733 | ||||||||
|
|
|||||||
Food & Staples Retailing 1.4% |
| |||||||
5,413 | Costco Wholesale Corp. |
1,559,539 | ||||||
10,320 | Sysco Corp. |
819,408 | ||||||
7,485 | Walmart, Inc. |
888,320 | ||||||
|
|
|||||||
3,267,267 | ||||||||
|
|
|||||||
Food Products 0.3% |
| |||||||
1,494 | McCormick & Co., Inc. |
233,512 | ||||||
8,150 | Mondelez International, Inc., Class A |
450,858 | ||||||
|
|
|||||||
684,370 | ||||||||
|
|
Shares | Description |
Value () | ||||||
Common Stocks continued |
||||||||
Health Care Equipment & Supplies 1.2% |
| |||||||
1,894 | Abbott Laboratories |
$ | 158,471 | |||||
2,297 | Becton Dickinson and Co. |
581,049 | ||||||
1,382 | Cooper Cos., Inc. (The) |
410,454 | ||||||
7,263 | Danaher Corp. |
1,048,995 | ||||||
3,271 | Stryker Corp. |
707,517 | ||||||
|
|
|||||||
2,906,486 | ||||||||
|
|
|||||||
Health Care Providers & Services 0.9% |
| |||||||
2,234 | Centene Corp.(a) |
96,643 | ||||||
4,048 | Quest Diagnostics, Inc. |
433,257 | ||||||
6,762 | UnitedHealth Group, Inc. |
1,469,518 | ||||||
|
|
|||||||
1,999,418 | ||||||||
|
|
|||||||
Hotels, Restaurants & Leisure 0.7% |
| |||||||
261 | Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc.(a) |
219,363 | ||||||
2,241 | Marriott International, Inc., Class A |
278,713 | ||||||
3,316 | McDonalds Corp. |
711,978 | ||||||
1,894 | Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. |
205,177 | ||||||
1,443 | Starbucks Corp. |
127,590 | ||||||
|
|
|||||||
1,542,821 | ||||||||
|
|
|||||||
Household Durables 0.2% |
| |||||||
1,851 | Garmin Ltd. |
156,761 | ||||||
6,190 | PulteGroup, Inc. |
226,245 | ||||||
|
|
|||||||
383,006 | ||||||||
|
|
|||||||
Household Products 0.8% |
| |||||||
2,242 | Church & Dwight Co., Inc. |
168,688 | ||||||
2,184 | Kimberly-Clark Corp. |
310,237 | ||||||
11,547 | Procter & Gamble Co. (The) |
1,436,216 | ||||||
|
|
|||||||
1,915,141 | ||||||||
|
|
|||||||
Industrial Conglomerates 0.3% |
| |||||||
43,179 | General Electric Co. |
386,020 | ||||||
2,565 | Honeywell International, Inc. |
433,998 | ||||||
|
|
|||||||
820,018 | ||||||||
|
|
|||||||
Insurance 1.3% |
| |||||||
4,030 | Aon PLC |
780,087 | ||||||
3,465 | Assurant, Inc. |
435,966 | ||||||
5,042 | Chubb Ltd. |
813,980 | ||||||
2,017 | Globe Life, Inc. |
193,148 | ||||||
2,487 | Lincoln National Corp. |
150,016 | ||||||
2,881 | Willis Towers Watson PLC |
555,947 | ||||||
|
|
|||||||
2,929,144 | ||||||||
|
|
|||||||
Interactive Media & Services 1.6% |
| |||||||
979 | Alphabet, Inc., Class A(a) |
1,195,496 | ||||||
1,004 | Alphabet, Inc., Class C(a) |
1,223,876 | ||||||
7,731 | Facebook, Inc., Class A(a) |
1,376,737 | ||||||
|
|
|||||||
3,796,109 | ||||||||
|
|
Shares | Description |
Value () | ||||||
Common Stocks continued |
||||||||
Internet & Direct Marketing Retail 1.5% |
| |||||||
1,904 | Amazon.com, Inc.(a) |
$ | 3,305,173 | |||||
127 | Booking Holdings, Inc.(a) |
249,251 | ||||||
|
|
|||||||
3,554,424 | ||||||||
|
|
|||||||
IT Services 1.9% |
| |||||||
3,160 | Accenture PLC, Class A |
607,826 | ||||||
2,064 | Akamai Technologies, Inc.(a) |
188,608 | ||||||
3,057 | Automatic Data Processing, Inc. |
493,461 | ||||||
1,173 | Global Payments, Inc. |
186,507 | ||||||
2,903 | MasterCard, Inc., Class A |
788,368 | ||||||
3,853 | Paychex, Inc. |
318,913 | ||||||
4,577 | PayPal Holdings, Inc.(a) |
474,131 | ||||||
7,471 | Visa, Inc., Class A |
1,285,087 | ||||||
|
|
|||||||
4,342,901 | ||||||||
|
|
|||||||
Life Sciences Tools & Services 0.8% |
| |||||||
5,015 | Agilent Technologies, Inc. |
384,300 | ||||||
4,031 | Thermo Fisher Scientific, Inc. |
1,174,109 | ||||||
1,865 | Waters Corp.(a) |
416,324 | ||||||
|
|
|||||||
1,974,733 | ||||||||
|
|
|||||||
Machinery 0.7% |
| |||||||
1,305 | Caterpillar, Inc. |
164,834 | ||||||
2,367 | Deere & Co. |
399,265 | ||||||
4,003 | Fortive Corp. |
274,446 | ||||||
2,761 | Illinois Tool Works, Inc. |
432,069 | ||||||
1,527 | Snap-on, Inc. |
239,037 | ||||||
231 | Wabtec Corp. |
16,600 | ||||||
|
|
|||||||
1,526,251 | ||||||||
|
|
|||||||
Media 0.4% |
| |||||||
17,988 | Comcast Corp., Class A |
810,899 | ||||||
3,388 | Fox Corp., Class A |
106,841 | ||||||
|
|
|||||||
917,740 | ||||||||
|
|
|||||||
Multi-Utilities 0.6% |
| |||||||
3,336 | CMS Energy Corp. |
213,337 | ||||||
7,422 | Consolidated Edison, Inc. |
701,157 | ||||||
2,882 | Sempra Energy |
425,412 | ||||||
|
|
|||||||
1,339,906 | ||||||||
|
|
|||||||
Multiline Retail 0.2% |
| |||||||
1,921 | Dollar General Corp. |
305,324 | ||||||
2,460 | Target Corp. |
262,998 | ||||||
|
|
|||||||
568,322 | ||||||||
|
|
|||||||
Oil, Gas & Consumable Fuels 1.7% |
| |||||||
15,664 | Chevron Corp. |
1,857,750 | ||||||
8,392 | Exxon Mobil Corp. |
592,559 | ||||||
7,341 | Hess Corp. |
443,984 | ||||||
5,106 | ONEOK, Inc. |
376,261 |
Shares | Description |
Value () | ||||||
Common Stocks continued |
||||||||
Oil, Gas & Consumable Fuels continued |
| |||||||
2,959 | Phillips 66 |
$ | 303,002 | |||||
3,420 | Valero Energy Corp. |
291,521 | ||||||
|
|
|||||||
3,865,077 | ||||||||
|
|
|||||||
Pharmaceuticals 2.0% |
| |||||||
5,582 | Eli Lilly & Co. |
624,235 | ||||||
12,858 | Johnson & Johnson |
1,663,568 | ||||||
20,965 | Merck & Co., Inc. |
1,764,834 | ||||||
3,251 | Pfizer, Inc. |
116,808 | ||||||
4,958 | Zoetis, Inc. |
617,717 | ||||||
|
|
|||||||
4,787,162 | ||||||||
|
|
|||||||
Professional Services 0.2% |
| |||||||
849 | Equifax, Inc. |
119,429 | ||||||
1,529 | Verisk Analytics, Inc. |
241,796 | ||||||
|
|
|||||||
361,225 | ||||||||
|
|
|||||||
REITs - Apartments 0.2% |
| |||||||
2,278 | AvalonBay Communities, Inc. |
490,522 | ||||||
|
|
|||||||
REITs - Diversified 0.7% |
| |||||||
4,568 | American Tower Corp. |
1,010,122 | ||||||
1,003 | Crown Castle International Corp. |
139,427 | ||||||
4,191 | Duke Realty Corp. |
142,368 | ||||||
842 | SBA Communications Corp. |
203,049 | ||||||
5,773 | Weyerhaeuser Co. |
159,912 | ||||||
|
|
|||||||
1,654,878 | ||||||||
|
|
|||||||
REITs - Health Care 0.1% |
| |||||||
2,314 | Welltower, Inc. |
209,764 | ||||||
|
|
|||||||
REITs - Regional Malls 0.0% |
| |||||||
359 | Simon Property Group, Inc. |
55,878 | ||||||
|
|
|||||||
REITs - Shopping Centers 0.0% |
| |||||||
965 | Regency Centers Corp. |
67,058 | ||||||
|
|
|||||||
REITs - Storage 0.2% |
| |||||||
1,563 | Public Storage |
383,357 | ||||||
|
|
|||||||
Road & Rail 0.2% |
| |||||||
3,588 | Union Pacific Corp. |
581,184 | ||||||
|
|
|||||||
Semiconductors & Semiconductor Equipment 1.5% |
| |||||||
2,568 | Analog Devices, Inc. |
286,923 | ||||||
2,335 | Broadcom, Inc. |
644,623 | ||||||
19,741 | Intel Corp. |
1,017,254 | ||||||
1,827 | Lam Research Corp. |
422,238 | ||||||
2,583 | NVIDIA Corp. |
449,623 | ||||||
8,569 | QUALCOMM, Inc. |
653,643 | ||||||
|
|
|||||||
3,474,304 | ||||||||
|
|
Shares | Description |
Value () | ||||||
Common Stocks continued |
||||||||
Software 3.4% |
| |||||||
6,202 | Adobe, Inc.(a) |
$ | 1,713,302 | |||||
1,652 | ANSYS, Inc.(a) |
365,687 | ||||||
32,382 | Microsoft Corp. |
4,502,069 | ||||||
9,722 | salesforce.com, inc.(a) |
1,443,134 | ||||||
|
|
|||||||
8,024,192 | ||||||||
|
|
|||||||
Specialty Retail 1.0% |
| |||||||
234 | AutoZone, Inc.(a) |
253,801 | ||||||
4,422 | Home Depot, Inc. (The) |
1,025,992 | ||||||
4,409 | Lowes Cos., Inc. |
484,814 | ||||||
601 | OReilly Automotive, Inc.(a) |
239,504 | ||||||
6,020 | TJX Cos., Inc. (The) |
335,555 | ||||||
|
|
|||||||
2,339,666 | ||||||||
|
|
|||||||
Technology Hardware, Storage & Peripherals 1.3% |
| |||||||
13,769 | Apple, Inc. |
3,083,843 | ||||||
|
|
|||||||
Textiles, Apparel & Luxury Goods 0.3% |
| |||||||
5,717 | NIKE, Inc., Class B |
536,941 | ||||||
2,073 | VF Corp. |
184,476 | ||||||
|
|
|||||||
721,417 | ||||||||
|
|
|||||||
Trading Companies & Distributors 0.1% |
| |||||||
1,104 | United Rentals, Inc.(a) |
137,603 | ||||||
|
|
|||||||
Total Common Stocks |
90,749,597 | |||||||
|
|
|||||||
Exchange-Traded Funds 10.0% |
||||||||
78,939 | SPDR® S&P 500® ETF Trust |
23,426,727 | ||||||
|
|
|||||||
Principal Amount |
||||||||
Short-Term Investments 49.0% |
||||||||
Certificates of Deposit 36.3% |
| |||||||
$ | 4,000,000 | National Bank of Kuwait (NY), |
4,000,014 | |||||
4,000,000 | Bank of Montreal (IL), |
4,000,022 | ||||||
2,000,000 | Commonwealth Bank of Australia (NY), |
2,000,050 | ||||||
2,000,000 | State Street Bank & Trust, |
1,999,988 | ||||||
3,000,000 | National Bank of Canada (NY), |
2,999,984 | ||||||
2,000,000 | Svenska Handelsbanken (NY), |
2,000,133 | ||||||
8,700,000 | Landesbank Hessen (NY), |
8,701,004 | ||||||
10,000,000 | KBC Bank NV (NY), |
10,000,077 |
Principal Amount |
Description |
Value () | ||||||
Certificates of Deposit continued | ||||||||
$ | 3,000,000 | Credit Industriel et Commercial (NY), |
$ | 3,000,100 | ||||
2,000,000 | Norinchukin Bank (NY), |
2,001,044 | ||||||
1,000,000 | Svenska Handelsbanken (NY), |
999,823 | ||||||
1,000,000 | Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank (NY), |
1,000,033 | ||||||
1,500,000 | Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp. Ltd. (NY), |
1,499,802 | ||||||
6,500,000 | DG Bank (NY), |
6,498,960 | ||||||
6,000,000 | Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp. Ltd. (NY), |
5,999,335 | ||||||
2,000,000 | Nordea Bank ABP (NY), |
2,000,787 | ||||||
2,000,000 | Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp. Ltd. (NY), |
2,000,444 | ||||||
9,000,000 | Mizuho Bank Ltd. (NY), |
9,000,509 | ||||||
5,000,000 | Bank of Nova Scotia (TX), |
4,999,058 | ||||||
2,000,000 | National Australia Bank, |
1,998,523 | ||||||
1,000,000 | Royal Bank of Canada (NY), |
999,307 | ||||||
3,000,000 | Royal Bank of Canada (NY), |
2,998,161 | ||||||
4,000,000 | Toronto-Dominion Bank (NY), |
3,998,737 | ||||||
|
|
|||||||
84,695,895 | ||||||||
|
|
|||||||
Time Deposits 7.3% |
| |||||||
7,000,000 | Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken (NY), |
7,000,000 | ||||||
10,000,000 | Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, |
10,000,000 | ||||||
|
|
|||||||
17,000,000 | ||||||||
|
|
|||||||
Commercial Paper 3.0% |
| |||||||
1,000,000 | Santander UK PLC, |
996,831 | ||||||
4,000,000 | Cofco Capital Corp., (Credit Support: Australian & New Zealand Banking Group Ltd.),
|
3,996,304 | ||||||
2,000,000 | Santander UK PLC, |
1,992,623 | ||||||
|
|
|||||||
6,985,758 | ||||||||
|
|
|||||||
Treasuries 1.5% |
| |||||||
400,000 | U.S. Treasury Bills, |
399,293 | ||||||
3,200,000 | U.S. Treasury Bills, |
3,199,709 | ||||||
|
|
|||||||
3,599,002 | ||||||||
|
|
Principal Amount |
Description |
Value () | ||||||
Other Notes 0.9% |
| |||||||
$ | 2,000,000 | Bank of America NA, |
$ | 2,000,384 | ||||
|
|
|||||||
Total Short-Term Investments |
114,281,039 | |||||||
|
|
|||||||
Total Investments 97.9% |
228,457,363 | |||||||
Other assets less liabilities 2.1% |
4,897,932 | |||||||
|
|
|||||||
Net Assets 100.0% |
$ | 233,355,295 | ||||||
|
|
() | Fund securities and other investments are valued at market value based on market quotations obtained or determined by independent pricing services recommended by the adviser or subadvisers and approved by the Board of Trustees. Fund securities and other investments for which market quotations are not readily available are valued at fair value as determined in good faith by the adviser or subadviser pursuant to procedures approved by the Board of Trustees, as described below. Market value is determined as follows:
Listed equity securities (including shares of closed-end investment companies and exchange-traded funds) are valued at the last sale price quoted on the exchange where they are traded most extensively or, if there is no reported sale during the day, the closing bid quotation as reported by an independent pricing service. Securities traded on the NASDAQ Global Select Market, NASDAQ Global Market and NASDAQ Capital Market are valued at the NASDAQ Official Closing Price (NOCP), or if lacking an NOCP, at the most recent bid quotations on the applicable NASDAQ Market. Unlisted equity securities (except unlisted preferred equity securities) are valued at the last sale price quoted in the market where they are traded most extensively or, if there is no reported sale during the day, the closing bid quotation as reported by an independent pricing service. If there is no last sale price or closing bid quotation available, unlisted equity securities will be valued using evaluated bids furnished by an independent pricing service, if available.
Debt securities and unlisted preferred equity securities are valued based on evaluated bids furnished to the Fund by an independent pricing service or bid prices obtained from broker-dealers.
Broker-dealer bid prices may be used to value debt and unlisted equity securities where an independent pricing service is unable to price a security or where an independent pricing service does not provide a reliable price for the security.
Futures contracts are valued at the most recent settlement price on the exchange on which the adviser or subadviser believes that, over time, they are traded most extensively.
Fund securities and other investments for which market quotations are not readily available are valued at fair value as determined in good faith by the adviser or subadviser pursuant to procedures approved by the Board of Trustees. The Fund may also value securities and other investments at fair value in other circumstances such as when extraordinary events occur after the close of a foreign market but prior to the close of the New York Stock Exchange. This may include situations relating to a single issuer (such as a declaration of bankruptcy or a delisting of the issuers security from the primary market on which it has traded) as well as events affecting the securities markets in general (such as market disruptions or closings and significant fluctuations in U.S. and/or foreign markets). When fair valuing its securities or other investments, the Fund may, among other things, use modeling tools or other processes that may take into account factors such as securities or other market activity and/or significant events that occur after the close of the foreign market and before the time the Funds net asset value (NAV) is calculated. Fair value pricing may require subjective determinations about the value of a security, and fair values used to determine the Funds NAV may differ from quoted or published prices, or from prices that are used by others, for the same securities. In addition, the use of fair value pricing may not always result in adjustments to the prices of securities held by the Fund.
The books and records of the Fund are maintained in U.S. dollars. The values of securities, currencies and other assets and liabilities denominated in currencies other than U.S. dollars are translated into U.S. dollars based upon foreign exchange rates prevailing at the end of the period. | |
(a) | Non-income producing security. | |
(b) | Variable rate security. Rate as of September 30, 2019 is disclosed. | |
(c) | Security (or a portion thereof) has been designated to cover the Funds obligations under open derivative contracts. | |
(d) | Variable rate security. The interest rate adjusts periodically based on changes in current interest rates. Rate as of September 30, 2019 is disclosed. | |
(e) | Interest rate represents discount rate at time of purchase; not a coupon rate. | |
(f) | Security (or a portion thereof) has been pledged as collateral for open derivative contracts. | |
ETF | Exchange-Traded Fund | |
LIBOR | London Interbank Offered Rate | |
REITs | Real Estate Investment Trusts |
Futures Contracts
The Fund may enter into futures contracts. Futures contracts are agreements between two parties to buy and sell a particular instrument or index for a specified price on a specified future date.
When the Fund enters into a futures contract, it is required to deposit with (or for the benefit of) its broker an amount of cash or short-term high-quality securities as initial margin. As the value of the contract changes, the value of the futures contract position increases or declines. Subsequent payments, known as variation margin, are made or received by the Fund depending on the price fluctuations in the fair value of the contract and the value of cash or securities on deposit with the broker. Realized gain or loss on a futures position is equal to the difference between the value of the contract at the time it was opened and the value at the time it was closed, minus brokerage commissions. When the Fund enters into a futures contract certain risks may arise, such as illiquidity in the futures market, which may limit the Funds ability to close out a futures contract prior to settlement date, and unanticipated movements in the value of securities or interest rates.
Futures contracts are exchange-traded. Exchange-traded futures contracts are standardized and are settled through a clearing house with fulfillment supported by the credit of the exchange. Therefore, counterparty credit risks to the Fund are reduced; however, in the event that a counterparty enters into bankruptcy, the Funds claim against initial/variation margin on deposit with the counterparty may be subject to terms of a final settlement in bankruptcy court.
At September 30, 2019, open long futures contracts were as follows:
Financial Futures |
Expiration Date |
Contracts | Notional Amount |
Value | Unrealized Appreciation (Depreciation) |
|||||||||||||||
E-mini S&P 500® |
12/20/2019 | 946 | $ | 142,082,105 | $ | 140,883,050 | $ | (1,199,055 | ) | |||||||||||
|
|
Fair Value Measurements
In accordance with accounting standards related to fair value measurements and disclosures, the Fund has categorized the inputs utilized in determining the value of the Funds assets or liabilities. These inputs are summarized in the three broad levels listed below:
| Level 1 quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities; |
| Level 2 prices determined using other significant inputs that are observable either directly, or indirectly through corroboration with observable market data (which could include quoted prices for similar assets or liabilities, interest rates, credit risk, etc.); and |
| Level 3 prices determined using significant unobservable inputs when quoted prices or observable inputs are unavailable such as when there is little or no market activity for an asset or liability (unobservable inputs reflect the Funds own assumptions in determining the fair value of assets or liabilities and would be based on the best information available). |
The inputs or methodology used for valuing securities are not necessarily an indication of the risk associated with investing in those securities.
The following is a summary of the inputs used to value the Funds investments as of September 30, 2019, at value:
Asset Valuation Inputs
Description |
Level 1 | Level 2 | Level 3 | Total | ||||||||||||
Common Stocks* |
$ | 90,749,597 | $ | | $ | | $ | 90,749,597 | ||||||||
Exchange-Traded Funds |
23,426,727 | | | 23,426,727 | ||||||||||||
Short-Term Investments |
| 114,281,039 | | 114,281,039 | ||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||||
Total |
$ | 114,176,324 | $ | 114,281,039 | $ | | $ | 228,457,363 | ||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Liability Valuation Inputs
Description |
Level 1 | Level 2 | Level 3 | Total | ||||||||||||
Futures Contracts (unrealized depreciation) |
$ | (1,199,055 | ) | $ | | $ | | $ | (1,199,055 | ) | ||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
* | Details of the major categories of the Funds investments are reflected within the Portfolio of Investments. |
For the period ended September 30, 2019, there were no transfers among Levels 1, 2 and 3.
Derivatives
Derivative instruments are defined as financial instruments whose value and performance are based on the value and performance of an underlying asset, reference rate or index. Derivative instruments that the Fund used during the period include futures contracts.
The Fund seeks long-term capital appreciation, with emphasis on the protection of capital during unfavorable market conditions. The Fund uses long futures contracts on U.S. equity indices to increase exposure to the U.S. equity market to up to 130% of the Funds total assets and short futures on U.S. equity indices to decrease exposure to the U.S. equity market to as low as 0% of the Funds total assets (to limit the effects of extreme market drawdowns). During the period ended September 30, 2019, the Fund used long contracts on U.S. equity market indices to increase exposure to the U.S. equity market and short contracts on U.S. equity market indices to decrease exposure to the U.S. equity market.
The following is a summary of derivative instruments for the Fund, as of September 30, 2019:
Unrealized depreciation on futures contracts |
||||
Liabilities |
||||
Exchange-traded liability derivatives Equity contracts |
$ | (1,199,055 | ) |
The Funds derivatives do not qualify for hedge accounting under authoritative guidance for derivative instruments. The Funds investments in derivatives may represent an economic hedge; however, they are considered to be non-hedge transactions for the purpose of this disclosure.
Counterparty risk is managed based on policies and procedures established by the Funds adviser. Such policies and procedures may include, but are not limited to, minimum counterparty credit rating requirements, monitoring of counterparty credit default swap spreads and posting of collateral. The Funds risk of loss from counterparty credit risk on OTC derivatives is generally limited to the Funds aggregated unrealized gains and the amount of any collateral pledged to the counterparty, which may be offset by any collateral posted to the Fund by the counterparty. ISDA master agreements can help to manage counterparty risk by specifying collateral posting arrangements at pre-arranged exposure levels. Under these ISDA agreements, collateral is routinely transferred if the total net exposure in respect of certain transactions, net of existing collateral already in place, exceeds a specified amount (typically $250,000, depending on the counterparty). With exchange-traded derivatives, there is minimal counterparty credit risk to the Fund because the exchanges clearinghouse, as counterparty to these instruments, stands between the buyer and the seller of the contract. Credit risk still exists in exchange-traded derivatives with respect to initial and variation margin that is held in a brokers customer accounts. While brokers are required to segregate customer margin from their own assets, in the event that a broker becomes insolvent or goes into bankruptcy and at that time there is a shortfall in the aggregate amount of margin held by the broker for all its clients, U.S. bankruptcy laws will typically allocate that shortfall on a pro rata basis across all of the brokers customers, potentially resulting in losses to the Fund. The following table shows (i) the maximum amount of loss due to credit risk that, based on the gross fair value of the financial instrument, the Fund would incur if parties (including OTC derivative counterparties and brokers holding margin for exchange-traded derivatives) to the relevant financial instruments failed completely to perform according to the terms of the contracts and the collateral or other security, if any, for the amount due proved to be of no value to the Fund, and (ii) the amount of loss that the Fund would incur after taking into account master netting provisions pursuant to ISDA agreements, as of September 30, 2019:
Maximum Amount of Loss - Gross |
Maximum Amount of Loss - Net |
|||||||
Exchange-traded counterparty credit risk Margin with brokers |
$ | 8,630,297 | $ | 8,630,297 |
Industry Summary at September 30, 2019 (Unaudited)
Software |
3.4 | % | ||
Pharmaceuticals |
2.0 | |||
Other Investments, less than 2% each |
33.5 | |||
Short-Term Investments |
49.0 | |||
Exchange-Traded Funds |
10.0 | |||
|
|
|||
Total Investments |
97.9 | |||
Other assets less liabilities (including futures contracts) |
2.1 | |||
|
|
|||
Net Assets |
100.0 | % | ||
|
|