Investment Company Act file number:  811-04809

(Exact name of registrant as specified in charter)

(Address of principal executive offices) (Zip code)

Alex J. Marks

ALPS Fund Services, Inc.

1290 Broadway, Suite 1100

(Name and address of agent for service)

Registrant’s telephone number, including area code: (303) 623-2577

Date of fiscal year end:  December 31

Date of reporting period: January 1, 2016 – March 31, 2016

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Liberty All-Star^® Equity Fund

Schedule of Investments

As of March 31, 2016 (unaudited)

 

 

 

See Notes to Schedule of Investments

Liberty All-Star^® Equity Fund

Notes to Schedule of Investments

As of March 31, 2016 (unaudited)

Security Valuation

Equity securities are valued at the last sale price at the close of the principal exchange on which they trade, except for securities listed on the NASDAQ Stock Market LLC (“NASDAQ”), which are valued at the NASDAQ official closing price. Unlisted securities or listed securities for which there were no sales during the day are valued at the closing bid price on such exchanges or over-the-counter markets.

Cash collateral from securities lending activity is reinvested in the State Street Navigator Securities Lending Prime Portfolio, a registered investment company under the Investment Company Act of 1940 (the “1940 Act”), which operates as a money market fund in compliance with Rule 2a-7 under the 1940 Act. Shares of registered investment companies are valued daily at that investment company’s net asset value per share. Repurchase agreements are valued at cost, which approximates fair value.

The Fund’s investments are valued at market value or, in the absence of market value with respect to any portfolio securities, at fair value according to procedures adopted by the Fund's Board of Trustees (the "Board"). When market quotations are not readily available, or in management’s judgment they do not accurately reflect fair value of a security, or an event occurs after the market close but before the Fund is priced that materially affects the value of a security, the security will be valued by the Advisor, ALPS Advisors, Inc. (the “Advisor”), using fair valuation procedures established by the Board. Examples of potentially significant events that could materially impact a Fund’s net asset value include, but are not limited to: single issuer events such as corporate actions, reorganizations, mergers, spin-offs, liquidations, acquisitions and buyouts; corporate announcements on earnings or product offerings; regulatory news; and litigation and multiple issuer events such as governmental actions; natural disasters or armed conflicts that affect a country or a region; or significant market fluctuations. Potential significant events are monitored by the Advisor, Sub-Advisers and/or the Valuation Committee through independent reviews of market indicators, general news sources and communications from the Fund’s custodian. As of March 31, 2016, the Fund held no securities that were fair valued.

Security Transactions

Security transactions are recorded on trade date. Cost is determined and gains/(losses) are based upon the specific identification method for both financial statement and federal income tax purposes.

Income Recognition

Interest income is recorded on the accrual basis. Corporate actions and dividend income are recorded on the ex-date.

 

The Fund estimates components of distributions from real estate investment trusts (“REITs”). Distributions received in excess of income are recorded as a reduction of the cost of the related investments. Once the REIT reports annually the tax character of its distributions, the Fund revises its estimates. If the Fund no longer owns the applicable securities, any distributions received in excess of income are recorded as realized gains.

Repurchase Agreements

The Fund engages in repurchase agreement transactions with institutions that the Fund’s investment advisor has determined are creditworthy. The Fund, through its custodian, receives delivery of underlying securities collateralizing a repurchase agreement. Collateral is at least equal, at all times, to the value of the repurchase obligation, including interest. A repurchase agreement transaction involves certain risks in the event of default or insolvency of the counterparty. These risks include possible delays or restrictions upon a Fund’s ability to dispose of the underlying securities and a possible decline in the value of the underlying securities during the period while the Fund seeks to assert its rights.

Repurchase agreements are entered into by the Fund under a Master Repurchase Agreement (“MRA”) which permits the Fund, under certain circumstances, including an event of default (such as bankruptcy or insolvency), to offset payables and/or receivables under the MRA with collateral held and/or posted to the counterparty and create one single net payment due or from the Fund.

Lending of Portfolio Securities

The Fund may lend its portfolio securities only to borrowers that are approved by the Fund’s securities lending agent, State Street Bank & Trust Co. (“SSB”). The Fund will limit such lending to not more than 30% of the value of its total assets. The borrower pledges and maintains with the Fund collateral consisting of cash (U.S. Dollar only), securities issued or guaranteed by the U.S. government or its agencies or instrumentalities, or by irrevocable bank letters of credit issued by a person other than the borrower or an affiliate of the borrower. The initial collateral received by the Fund is required to have a value of no less than 102% of the market value of the loaned securities for securities traded on U.S. exchanges and a value of no less than 105% of the market value for all other securities. The collateral is maintained thereafter, at a market value equal to no less than 100% of the current value of the securities on loan. The market value of the loaned securities is determined at the close of each business day and any additional required collateral is delivered to the Fund on the next business day. During the term of the loan, the Fund is entitled to all distributions made on or in respect of the loaned securities. Loans of securities are terminable at any time and the borrower, after notice, is required to return borrowed securities within the standard time period for settlement of securities transactions.

Any cash collateral received is reinvested in a money market fund managed by SSB as disclosed in the Fund’s Schedule of Investments. Non-cash collateral, in the form of securities issued or guaranteed by the U.S. government or its agencies or instrumentalities, is not disclosed in the Fund’s Schedule of Investments as it is held by the lending agent on behalf of the Fund, and the Fund does not have the ability to re-hypothecate these securities. As of March 31, 2016, the market value of securities on loan was $24,665,539, and the total cash collateral and non-cash collateral received was $24,597,929 and $911,603, respectively.

The risks of securities lending include the risk that the borrower may not provide additional collateral when required or may not return the securities when due. To mitigate these risks, the Fund benefits from a borrower default indemnity provided by SSB. SSB’s indemnity allows for full replacement of securities lent wherein SSB will purchase the unreturned loaned securities on the open market by applying the proceeds of the collateral, or to the extent such proceeds are insufficient or the collateral is unavailable, SSB will purchase the unreturned loan securities at SSB’s expense. However, the Fund could suffer a loss if the value of the investments purchased with cash collateral falls below the value of the cash collateral received.

Fair Value Measurements

The Fund discloses the classification of its fair value measurements following a three-tier hierarchy based on the inputs used to measure fair value. Inputs refer broadly to the assumptions that market participants would use in pricing the asset or liability, including assumptions about risk. Inputs may be observable or unobservable. Observable inputs reflect the assumptions market participants would use in pricing the asset or liability that are developed based on market data obtained from sources independent of the reporting entity. Unobservable inputs reflect the reporting entity’s own assumptions about the assumptions market participants would use in pricing the asset or liability that are developed based on the best information available.

Valuation techniques used to value the Fund’s investments by major category are as follows:

Equity securities that are valued based on unadjusted quoted prices in active markets are categorized as Level 1 in the hierarchy. In the event there were no sales during the day or closing prices are not available, securities are valued at the mean of quoted bid and ask prices on such day and are generally categorized as Level 2 in the hierarchy. Repurchase agreements are valued at cost, which approximates fair value, and are categorized as Level 2 in the hierarchy.

Various inputs are used in determining the value of the Fund’s investments as of the end of the reporting period. When inputs used fall into different levels of the fair value hierarchy, the level in the hierarchy within which the fair value measurement falls is determined based on the lowest level input that is significant to the fair value measurement in its entirety. The designated input levels are not necessarily an indication of the risk or liquidity associated with these investments.

These inputs are categorized in the following hierarchy under applicable financial accounting standards:

The following is a summary of the inputs used to value the Fund’s investments as of March 31, 2016:

 

The Fund recognizes transfers between levels as of the end of the period. For the period ended March 31, 2016, the Fund did not have any transfers between Level 1 and Level 2 securities. The Fund did not have any securities which used significant unobservable inputs (Level 3) in determining fair value during the period.

Indemnification

In the normal course of business, the Fund enters into contracts that contain a variety of representations and warranties and which provide general indemnities. The Fund’s maximum exposure under these arrangements is unknown, as this would involve future claims against the Fund. Also, under the Fund’s organizational documents and by contract, the Trustees and Officers of the Fund are indemnified against certain liabilities that may arise out of their duties to the Fund. However, based on experience, the Fund expects the risk of loss due to these warranties and indemnities to be minimal.

 

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