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: 811-21553

 

Voya Global Equity Dividend and Premium Opportunity Fund

(Exact name of registrant as specified in charter)

 

7337 East Doubletree Ranch Road, Suite 100, Scottsdale, AZ 85258
(Address of principal executive offices) (Zip code)

 

The Corporation Trust Company, 1209 Orange Street, Wilmington, DE 19801

(Name and address of agent for service)

 

Registrant’s telephone number, including area code: 1-800-992-0180

 

Date of fiscal year end: February 28

 

Date of reporting period: February 28, 2018

 

 

 

   

 

  

Item 1. Reports to Stockholders.

 

The following is a copy of the report transmitted to stockholders pursuant to Rule 30e-1 under the Act (17 CFR 270.30e-1):

 



Annual Report

February 28, 2018

Voya Global Equity Dividend and Premium Opportunity Fund





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INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT
voyainvestments.com  

TABLE OF CONTENTS

President’s Letter
                  1    
Market Perspective
                  2    
Portfolio Managers’ Report
                  4    
Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
                  6    
Statement of Assets and Liabilities
                  7    
Statement of Operations
                  8    
Statements of Changes in Net Assets
                  9    
Financial Highlights
                  10    
Notes to Financial Statements
                  11    
Summary Portfolio of Investments (“Portfolio of Investments”)
                  20    
Tax Information
                  26    
Shareholder Meeting Information
                  27    
Trustee and Officer Information
                  28    
Advisory and Sub-Advisory Contract Approval Discussion
                  33    
Additional Information
                  37    







 
    
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PROXY VOTING INFORMATION

A description of the policies and procedures that the Fund uses to determine how to vote proxies related to portfolio securities is available: (1) without charge, upon request, by calling Shareholder Services toll-free at (800) 992-0180; (2) on the Fund’s website at www.voyainvestments.com; and (3) on the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s (“SEC’s”) website at www.sec.gov. Information regarding how the Fund voted proxies related to portfolio securities during the most recent 12-month period ended June 30 is available without charge on the Fund’s website at www.voyainvestments.com and on the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov.

QUARTERLY PORTFOLIO HOLDINGS

The Fund files its complete schedule of portfolio holdings with the SEC for the first and third quarters of each fiscal year on Form N-Q. This report contains a summary portfolio of investments for the Fund. The Fund’s Forms N-Q are available on the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov. The Fund’s Forms N-Q may be reviewed and copied at the SEC’s Public Reference Room in Washington, D.C., and information on the operation of the Public Reference Room may be obtained by calling (800) SEC-0330. The Fund’s Forms N-Q, as well as a complete portfolio of investments, are available without charge upon request from the Fund by calling Shareholder Services toll-free at (800) 992-0180.


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PRESIDENT’S LETTER


Dear Shareholder,

Voya Global Equity Dividend and Premium Opportunity Fund (the “Fund”) is a diversified, closed-end management investment company whose shares are traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “IGD.” The primary objective of the Fund is to provide a high level of income, with a secondary objective of capital appreciation.

The Fund seeks to achieve its objectives by investing in a portfolio of global common stocks that have a history of attractive dividend yields and employing an option strategy of writing call options on a portion of the equity portfolio.

For the year ended February 28, 2018, the Fund made monthly distributions totaling $0.73 per share, which were characterized as $0.43 per share return of capital and $0.30 per share of net investment income.*

Based on net asset value (“NAV”), the Fund provided a total return of 10.28% for the year ended February 28, 2018.(1)(2) This NAV return reflects an increase in the Fund’s NAV from $8.01 on February 28, 2017 to $8.03 on February 28, 2018, after taking into account monthly distributions noted above. Based on its share price, the Fund provided a total return of 14.08% for the year ended February 28, 2018.(2)(3) This share price return reflects an increase in the Fund’s share price from $7.29 on February 28, 2017 to $7.56 on February 28, 2018, after taking into account monthly distributions noted above.

The global equity markets have witnessed a challenging and turbulent period. Please read the Market Perspective and Portfolio Managers’ Report for more information on the markets and the Fund’s performance.

At Voya, our mission is to help you grow and protect your wealth, by offering you and your financial advisor a range of global investment solutions. We invite you to visit our website at www.voyainvestments.com. Here you will find current information on our investment products and services, including our open- and closed-end funds and our retirement portfolios. You will see that Voya offers a broad range of equity, fixed income and multi-asset strategies that aim to fulfill a variety of investor needs.

Thank you for trusting Voya with your investment assets. We look forward to serving you in the months and years ahead.

Sincerely,

Dina Santoro(4)
President
Voya Family of Funds
April 1, 2018

The views expressed in the President’s Letter reflect those of the President as of the date of the letter. Any such views are subject to change at any time based upon market or other conditions and the Voya mutual funds disclaim any responsibility to update such views. These views may not be relied on as investment advice and because investment decisions for a Voya mutual fund are based on numerous factors, may not be relied on as an indication of investment intent on behalf of any Voya mutual fund. Reference to specific company securities should not be construed as recommendations or investment advice. International investing does pose special risks including currency fluctuation, economic and political risks not found in investments that are solely domestic.

More complete information about the Fund, including the Fund’s daily New York Stock Exchange closing prices and NAV per share, is available at www.voyainvestments.com or by calling the Fund’s Shareholder Service Department at (800) 992-0180. To obtain a prospectus for any Voya mutual fund, please call your financial advisor or a fund’s Shareholder Service Department at (800) 992-0180 or log on to www.voyainvestments.com. A prospectus should be read carefully before investing. Consider a fund’s investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses carefully before investing. A prospectus contains this information and other information about a fund. Check with your financial advisor to determine which Voya mutual funds are available for sale within their firm. Not all funds are available for sale at all firms.

*
     The final tax composition of dividends and distributions will not be determined until after the Fund’s tax year-end.
(1)  
   Total investment return at NAV has been calculated assuming a purchase at NAV at the beginning of each period and a sale at NAV at the end of each period and assumes reinvestment of dividends, capital gain distributions, and return of capital distributions/allocations, if any, in accordance with the provisions of the Fund’s dividend reinvestment plan.
(2)  
   Total returns shown include, if applicable, the effect of fee waivers and/or expense reimbursements by the investment adviser. Had all fees and expenses been considered, the total returns would have been lower.
(3)  
   Total investment return at market value measures the change in the market value of your investment assuming reinvestment of dividends, capital gain distributions, and return of capital distributions/allocations, if any, in accordance with the provisions of the Fund’s dividend reinvestment plan.
(4)  
   Effective March 31, 2018, Mr. Shaun P. Mathews has retired as the president and chief executive officer to the Funds and is replaced with Dina Santoro as president to the Funds and Michael Bell as chief executive officer to the Funds.

1


MARKET PERSPECTIVE:  YEAR ENDED FEBRUARY 28, 2018

In our semi-annual report we described the backdrop as global equities, in the form of the MSCI World IndexSM (the “Index”) measured in local currencies, including net reinvested dividends, added 5.31% for the half-year. A buy in the dip mentality prevailed, in which any disappointment or setback was soon forgiven, leaving the Index to resume its advance. But in February the spell was broken, and the Index suffered its first monthly loss after 15 consecutive gains. Still, the Index was able to build on its first half increase, ending the fiscal year up 13.58%. (The Index returned 17.36% for the year ended February 28, 2018, measured in U.S. dollars.)

Expectations for the new Administration’s agenda of massive infrastructure spending, tax reductions, lighter financial regulation, and trade protectionism to drive the reflation trade soon faded in 2017. “Reflation trade” meant the positioning of portfolios to take advantage of an expected increase in demand, economic activity, inflation and interest rates. The agenda seemed to have stumbled in a tangle of unsuccessful attempts through July to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act.

However, by this point most commentators had largely discounted U.S. legislative initiatives as a major source of investor optimism. Now it was a narrative of improving global growth and corporate earnings, broadly based, albeit fitful at times, that was credited with keeping equity markets firm.

In the euro zone, the improvement in the economy accelerated. Fourth quarter growth in gross domestic product (“GDP”) was reported at 2.7% year-over-year, a little faster than in the U.S. Unemployment edged down to 8.7%, the lowest since January 2009.

China’s GDP growth was a healthy 6.8% year-over-year in the fourth quarter of 2017 and 6.9% for the whole year. Imports were continuing to grow at double-digit year-over-year rates, supporting global demand.

Even Japan contributed some good news with GDP growth reported for the seventh consecutive quarter.

In the U.S., unemployment continued to shrink during the period to 4.1%, a 17-year low. The October employment report showed a decline of 33,000 jobs, but this was obviously related to events in September. That month started with devastating hurricanes, rising geo-political tensions with North Korea and an apparently stalled legislative agenda. But by the end, the weather had improved, tensions eased and the outline of the long-awaited tax reform program announced.

By mid-December new unemployment claims were near a 44-year low. GDP recorded growth of 3.06% annualized in the second quarter of 2017 and 3.16% in the third. The progression of tax reform from outline to law took place in fits and starts, moving day by day to bring recalcitrant senators on board. The Senate version had to be reconciled with the House version and the final product was signed into law on December 22. For investors, the key feature of tax reform was the reduction in the corporate tax rate to 21%, which we believed would probably be used to increase share buy-backs and dividends. Nine days earlier the Federal Open Market Committee had raised the federal funds rate by 25bp (0.25%) for the third time in 2017 from 1.25% to 1.50%, with three more increases projected for 2018. As the year ended, however, some commentators wondered whether a tax cut stimulus costing $1 trillion to an already strong economy

near full employment, would require more than three increases, and how would markets react when this became evident. Investors soon found out.

In late January, Bloomberg reported that the Treasury would boost bond sales to cover mounting budget deficits. A deal was reached in Congress to raise federal spending by $300 billion and the deficit was now projected to reach $1.1 trillion by 2019. Another strong employment report in February revealed wages rising at 2.9%, the highest since 2009. This was followed in mid-February by stronger than expected inflation figures.

The Index peaked on January 26. In less than two weeks it fell nearly 9%. After a partial recovery, the Index was falling again as February ended.

In U.S. fixed income markets, the Bloomberg Barclays U.S. Aggregate Bond Index (“Barclays Aggregate”) rose 0.51% in the half-year. The Bloomberg Barclays U.S. Treasury Bond Index lost 0.56%, as the entire Treasury yield curve rose. Indices of riskier classes outperformed Treasuries. The Bloomberg Barclays U.S. Corporate Investment Grade Index rose 2.20%, the Bloomberg Barclays High-Yield Bond — 2% Issuer Constrained Composite Index (not a part of the Barclays Aggregate) rose 4.18%.

U.S. equities, represented by the S&P® 500 Index including dividends, climbed 17.10% in the twelve months. The earnings per share of its constituent companies were set to touch 15% growth year-over-year in the fourth quarter of 2017. The technology sector was the leader, up 36.26%. Real estate was the weakest sector, down 4.00%, under late pressure from rising interest rates.

In currencies, the dollar fell 13.46% against the euro, 10.34% against the pound and 5.09% against the yen. While the U.S. was far ahead of the other regions in terms of monetary tightening, the beginning of the period was near the peak of the euphoria surrounding the reflation trade that had driven the dollar higher.

In international markets, the MSCI Japan® Index gained 16.13% over the year, in an environment of improving corporate governance and profitability, with little competition from fixed income investments. The MSCI Europe ex UK® Index added 9.46%, fading somewhat in the second half as the stronger euro weighed on corporate earnings. The MSCI UK® Index rose just 3.11%. Sentiment was dampened by the lack of progress on the Brexit negotiations. An election called in June to give the ruling party a dominant majority, resulted in a hung parliament. The period ended with the UK angrily rejecting a European Union draft agreement.

Past performance does not guarantee future results. The performance quoted represents past performance. Investment return and principal value of an investment will fluctuate, and shares, when redeemed, may be worth more or less than their original cost. The Fund’s performance is subject to change since the period’s end and may be lower or higher than the performance data shown. Please call (800) 992-0180 or log on to www.voyainvestments.com to obtain performance data current to the most recent month end.

Market Perspective reflects the views of Voya Investment Management’s Chief Investment Risk Officer only through the end of the period, and is subject to change based on market and other conditions.


2


BENCHMARK DESCRIPTIONS

Index     Description
Bloomberg Barclays High Yield Bond — 2% Issuer Constrained Composite Index
        
An index that includes all fixed-income securities having a maximum quality rating of Ba1, a minimum amount outstanding of $150 million, and at least one year to maturity.
Bloomberg Barclays U.S. Aggregate Bond Index
        
An index of publicly issued investment grade U.S. Government, mortgage-backed, asset-backed and corporate debt securities.
Bloomberg Barclays U.S. Corporate Investment Grade Bond Index
        
An index consisting of publicly issued, fixed rate, nonconvertible, investment grade debt securities.
Bloomberg Barclays U.S. Treasury Bond Index
        
A market capitalization-weighted index that measures the performance of public obligations of the U.S. Treasury that have a remaining maturity of one year or more.
Chicago Board Options Exchange BuyWrite Monthly Index (“CBOE BuyWrite Monthly Index”)
        
A passive total return index based on selling the near-term, at-the-money S&P 500® Index call option against the S&P 500® stock index portfolio each month, on the day the current contract expires.
EuroStoxx 50 Index
        
Covers 50 stocks from 12 euro zone countries: Austria, Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal and Spain.
FTSE 100 Index
        
A share index of the 100 most highly capitalized U.K. companies listed on the London Stock Exchange.
MSCI Europe ex UK® Index
        
A free float-adjusted market capitalization index that is designed to measure developed market equity performance in Europe, excluding the UK.
MSCI Japan® Index
        
A free float-adjusted market capitalization index that is designed to measure developed market equity performance in Japan.
MSCI UK® Index
        
A free float-adjusted market capitalization index that is designed to measure developed market equity performance in the UK.
MSCI World IndexSM
        
An index that measures the performance of over 1,400 securities listed on exchanges in the U.S., Europe, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the Far East.
Nikkei All Stock Index
        
A price weighted index and made up of the top 225 industry leading companies which investors trade on the Tokyo Stock Exchange.
S&P 500® Index
        
An index that measures the performance of securities of approximately 500 large-capitalization companies whose securities are traded on major U.S. stock markets.

3


VOYA GLOBAL EQUITY DIVIDEND
AND PREMIUM OPPORTUNITY FUND		 PORTFOLIO MANAGERS’ REPORT
Geographic Diversification
as of February 28, 2018
(as a percentage of net assets)
 
                       
United States
                  44.9 %  
France
                  11.2 %  
United Kingdom
                  8.9 %  
Japan
                  7.5 %  
Switzerland
                  5.5 %  
Italy
                  3.9 %  
Netherlands
                  2.3 %  
Canada
                  2.3 %  
Spain
                  2.0 %  
Germany
                  1.6 %  
Countries between 0.9%–1.4%ˆ
                  3.5 %  
Assets in Excess of Other Liabilities*,*
                  6.4 %  
Net Assets
                  100.0 %  
*  Includes short-term investments.
*  Includes purchased options.
ˆ  Includes 3 countries, which each represents 0.9%–1.4% of net assets.
Portfolio holdings are subject to change daily.

Voya Global Equity Dividend and Premium Opportunity Fund (the “Fund”) is a diversified closed-end fund that seeks to provide investors with a high level of income from a portfolio of global common stocks with historically attractive dividend yields and premiums from call option writing. Under normal market conditions, the Fund will invest at least 80% of its managed assets in a portfolio of common stocks of dividend paying companies located throughout the world, including the U.S. The Fund’s secondary investment objective is capital appreciation.

Portfolio Management: The Fund is managed by Bruno Springael, Nicolas Simar, Willem van Dommelen and Moudy El Khodr, Portfolio Managers*, NNIP Advisors B.V. — the Sub-Adviser.

Equity Portfolio Construction: The stock selection process begins with constructing an eligible universe of global common stocks with market capitalizations typically over $1 billion that have a history of paying dividend yields. Through a multi-step screening process of various fundamental factors and fundamental analysis, the portfolio managers construct a portfolio generally consisting of 60-100 common stocks with a history of attractive dividend yields and a potential for stable or growing dividends that are supported by business fundamentals. The portfolio generally seeks to target a dividend yield higher than that of the MSCI World IndexSM dividend yield. Stocks that do not pay dividends may also be selected for portfolio construction and risk control purposes.

The Fund’s Integrated Option Strategy: The Fund’s option strategy is designed to seek gains and lower volatility of total returns over a market cycle by primarily selling call options on selected indices and/or on individual securities and/or exchange traded funds (“ETFs”).

The Fund’s call option writing is determined based on stock outlook, market opportunities and option price volatility. The Fund seeks to sell call options that are generally short-term (between 10 days and three months until expiration) and at-the-money, out-of-the-money, or near-the-money. The underlying value of such calls will generally represent 35% to 75% of the value of the Fund’s portfolio. The Fund typically maintains its call positions until expiration, but it retains the option to buy back the call options and sell new call options. Call options can be written both in exchange-listed option markets and over-the-counter markets with major international banks, broker-dealers and financial institutions.

The Fund may seek to, and during the reporting period sought to, partially hedge the foreign currency risk inherent in its international equity holdings. Such currency hedges are generally implemented by buying out-of-the-money puts on international currencies versus the U.S. dollar and financing them by writing out-of-the-money foreign exchange (“FX”) calls. The Fund may also hedge currency exposure by selling the international currencies forward.

Top Ten Holdings
as of February 28, 2018*
(as a percentage of net assets)
 
                       
Apple, Inc.
                  2.7 %  
Cisco Systems, Inc.
                  2.3 %  
Microsoft Corp.
                  2.1 %  
Cie de Saint-Gobain
                  2.0 %  
Citigroup, Inc.
                  2.0 %  
Vodafone Group PLC
                  1.9 %  
General Electric Co.
                  1.8 %  
International Business Machines Corp.
                  1.7 %  
Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group, Inc.
                  1.7 %  
Pfizer, Inc.
                  1.7 %  
*  Excludes short-term investments.
Portfolio holdings are subject to change daily.

The Fund may also invest in other derivative instruments, such as futures, for investment, hedging and risk-management purposes to gain or reduce exposure to securities, security markets, market indices consistent with its investment objectives and strategies. Such derivative instruments are acquired to enable the Fund to make market directional tactical decisions to enhance returns, to protect against a decline in its assets or as a substitute for the purchase or sale of equity securities.

Additionally, the Fund retains the ability to partially hedge against significant market declines by buying out-of-the-money put options on regional or country indices, such as the S&P 500® Index, the Financial Times Stock Exchange 100 Index (“FTSE 100”), the Nikkei All Stock Index (“Nikkei”), the Euro Stoxx 50 (Price) Index (“EuroStoxx 50”) or any other broad-based global or regional securities index with an active derivatives market.

Performance: Based on net asset value (“NAV”), the Fund provided a total return of 10.28% for the year ended February 28, 2018.(1)(2) This NAV return reflects an increase in the Fund’s NAV from $8.01 on February 28, 2017 to $8.03 on February 28, 2018, after taking into account monthly distributions. Based on its share price as of February 28, 2018, the Fund provided a total return of 14.08% for the year.(1)(3) This share price return reflects an increase in the Fund’s share price from $7.29 on February 28, 2017 to $7.56 on February 28, 2018, after taking into account monthly distributions. The reference indices, the MSCI World IndexSM and the Chicago Board Options Exchange (“CBOE”) BuyWrite Monthly Index (“BXM Index”), returned 17.36% and 8.52%, respectively, for the reporting period. During the year, the Fund made monthly distributions totaling $0.73 per share, which were characterized as $0.43 per share return of capital and $0.30 per share of net investment income.(4) As of February 28, 2018, the Fund had 97,077,421 shares outstanding.

4


PORTFOLIO MANAGERS’ REPORT VOYA GLOBAL EQUITY DIVIDEND
AND PREMIUM OPPORTUNITY FUND

Portfolio Specifics: Equity Portfolio: Strong global macro data, corporate earnings and market-friendly outcomes in European elections were generally positive factors for the underlying equity portfolio’s absolute performance over the reporting period. However, we lagged the MSCI World IndexSM due to stock-specific factors and the underperformance of the value style relative to growth. Energy, utility and telecommunication companies were the main laggards for value, while the market was led by popular technology growth stocks. The Fund was negatively impacted from our sector positioning, where our value philosophy resulted in an overweight in the energy, utilities and telecommunications sectors and an underweight in the technology sector. Our stock selection was mainly negative in the industrials, technology and consumer discretionary sectors. In the industrials sector, our weakest contributor was General Electric Co. after the firm cut its dividend and said it would take a $6.2 billion charge on its legacy insurance business. Our underweight position in Amazon.com, Inc. and our overweight positions in Macy’s and Mattel, Inc. were the largest negative contributors within the consumer discretionary sector. The main positive contribution in the period came from our stock picking within the financials sector, where the Fund benefitted from an overweight to European banks, which profited from rising bond yields and reduced political risk following Macron’s victory in the French presidential elections. Our stock selection was also positive within the utilities and energy sectors.

Option Portfolio: Over the reporting period, index call options were written on around 50% of the market value of the Fund. The calls were sold on the following indices: Nikkei 225, Eurostoxx 50, FTSE 100 and S&P 500®. During the reporting period, the strikes of the call options were written primarily at-the-money, with some portion slightly out-of-the-money. The Fund also uses derivative instruments such as futures to make market directional tactical decisions to seek to enhance returns and/or to protect against a decline in its assets.

During the reporting period all relevant markets were up in local currency term with the UK market being the only exception. As could be expected, in this generally rising market, the option portfolio had a negative contribution to overall return, which was partially offset by a positive contribution of the futures overlay strategy.

A significant part of the Fund’s return is directly exposed to currency risk, due to investments in global markets. We partially hedge this risk by purchasing foreign exchange (“FX”) options. We write FX options to finance these FX options purchases. In doing so, the Fund will give up part of its FX upside potential in return for cheaper downside protection. During the period, these FX option hedges detracted from the Fund’s return.

Outlook and Current Strategy: Although volatility is on the rise, we believe the macroeconomic outlook remains solid. Consumer confidence has reached levels not seen in the last decade. One element that is still missing is wage inflation despite the low levels of unemployment. While this is a puzzle for central bankers and economists, it has been a tailwind for corporate profitability. Yields have started to rise, which should be, in our opinion, positive for value stocks and a potential negative for long-duration growth stocks. We prefer domestically exposed sectors, which, in our opinion currently offer better earnings growth potential. We believe cyclical companies are not as attractively valued as previously, so we prefer to be selective in these sectors. That said, we continue to have a strong preference for financials. Though the segment is not as cheap as it was previously, banks are now well capitalized and showing improving loan book growth and profitability. At this stage in the cycle, we are especially focused on dividend growth within the sector. Rising yields and good macroeconomic data are also favorable for banks.

The underperformance of value versus growth remains at historically extreme levels. In our opinion, empirical evidence suggests that value outperforms growth over the long-term and the valuation differential is currently two standard deviations below the long-term average. Historically, this level has been seen as a strong indicator for a reversal. The large expansion of central bank balance sheets over the last 10 years is reaching a turning point, which we believe should offer further support.

*
   Effective December 1, 2017, Moudy El Khodr was added as a portfolio manager to the Fund.
(1)
   Total returns shown include, if applicable, the effect of fee waivers and/or expense reimbursements by the investment adviser. Had all fees and expenses been considered, the total returns would have been lower.
(2)
   Total investment return at NAV has been calculated assuming a purchase at NAV at the beginning of each period and a sale at NAV at the end of each period and assumes reinvestment of dividends, capital gain distributions, and return of capital distributions/allocations, if any, in accordance with the provisions of the Fund’s dividend reinvestment plan.
(3)
   Total investment return at market value measures the change in the market value of your investment assuming reinvestment of dividends, capital gain distributions, and return of capital distributions/allocations, if any, in accordance with the provisions of the Fund’s dividend reinvestment plan.
(4)
   The final tax composition of dividends and distributions will not be determined until after the Fund’s tax year-end.

Portfolio holdings and characteristics are subject to change and may not be representative of current holdings and characteristics. Fund holdings are subject to change daily. The outlook for this Fund may differ from that presented for other Voya mutual funds. The views expressed in this report reflect those of the portfolio managers, only through the end of the period as stated on the cover. The portfolio managers’ views are subject to change at any time based on market and other conditions. This report contains statements that may be “forward-looking” statements. Actual results may differ materially from those projected in the “forward-looking” statements. The Fund’s performance returns shown reflect applicable fee waivers and/or expense limits in effect during this period. Absent such fee waivers/expense limitations, if any, performance would have been lower. An index has no cash in its portfolio, imposes no sales charges and incurs no operating expenses. An investor cannot invest directly in an index.

5


REPORT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM

To the Shareholders and Board of Trustees
Voya Global Equity Dividend and Premium Opportunity Fund:

Opinion on the Financial Statements

We have audited the accompanying statement of assets and liabilities of Voya Global Equity Dividend and Premium Opportunity Fund (the “Fund”), including the summary portfolio of investments, as of February 28, 2018, the related statement of operations for the year then ended, the statements of changes in net assets for each of the years in the two-year period then ended, and the related notes (collectively, the “financial statements”) and the financial highlights for each of the years in the ten-year period then ended. In our opinion, the financial statements and financial highlights present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the Fund as of February 28, 2018, the results of its operations for the year then ended, the changes in its net assets for each of the years in the two-year period then ended, and the financial highlights for each of the years in the ten-year period then ended, in conformity with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles.

Basis for Opinion

These financial statements and financial highlights are the responsibility of the Fund’s management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on these financial statements and financial highlights based on our audits. We are a public accounting firm registered with the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) (“PCAOB”) and are required to be independent with respect to the Fund in accordance with the U.S. federal securities laws and the applicable rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the PCAOB.

We conducted our audits in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements and financial highlights are free of material misstatement, whether due to error or fraud. Our audits included performing procedures to assess the risks of material misstatement of the financial statements and financial highlights, whether due to error or fraud, and performing procedures that respond to those risks. Such procedures included examining, on a test basis, evidence regarding the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements and financial highlights. Such procedures also included confirmation of securities owned as of February 28, 2018, by correspondence with the custodian and brokers or by other appropriate auditing procedures when replies from brokers were not received. Our audits also included evaluating the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall presentation of the financial statements and financial highlights. We believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinion.



We have served as the auditor of one or more Voya investment companies since 1975.

Boston, Massachusetts
April 24, 2018

6


STATEMENT OF ASSETS AND LIABILITIES AS OF FEBRUARY 28, 2018

ASSETS:
                       
Investments in securities at fair value*
               $ 729,908,087   
Short-term investments at fair value**
                  40,306,912   
Cash collateral for futures
                  1,246,688   
Cash pledged as collateral for OTC derivatives (Note 2)
                  3,450,000   
Foreign currencies at value***
                  24,311   
Foreign cash collateral for futures****
                  3,370,145   
Receivables:
                        
Investment securities sold
                  4,420,746   
Dividends
                  1,938,908   
Foreign tax reclaims
                  267,179   
Prepaid expenses
                  1,919   
Reimbursement due from manager
                  12,142   
Other assets
                  44,135   
Total assets
                  784,991,172   
LIABILITIES:
                       
Payable for investment securities purchased
                  2,401,954   
Payable for investment management fees
                  692,122   
Payable to trustees under the deferred compensation plan (Note 6)
                  44,135   
Payable for trustee fees
                  3,969   
Other accrued expenses and liabilities
                  274,653   
Written options, at fair valueˆ
                  2,466,230   
Total liabilities
                  5,883,063   
NET ASSETS
               $ 779,108,109   
NET ASSETS WERE COMPRISED OF:
                       
Paid-in capital
               $ 788,487,282   
Undistributed net investment income
                  322,767   
Accumulated net realized loss
                  (2,558,622 )  
Net unrealized depreciation
                  (7,143,318 )  
NET ASSETS
               $ 779,108,109   
             
            
   * Cost of investments in securities
               $ 738,052,817   
  ** Cost of short-term investments
               $ 40,306,912   
 *** Cost of foreign currencies
               $ 68,965   
**** Cost of foreign cash collateral for futures
               $ 3,370,145   
    ˆ Premiums received on written options
               $ 5,089,089   
 
                        
Net assets
               $ 779,108,109   
Shares authorized
                  unlimited    
Par value
               $ 0.010   
Shares outstanding
                  97,077,421   
Net asset value
               $ 8.03   

See Accompanying Notes to Financial Statements

7


STATEMENT OF OPERATIONS FOR THE YEAR ENDED FEBRUARY 28, 2018

INVESTMENT INCOME:
                       
Dividends, net of foreign taxes withheld*
               $ 24,387,018   
Total investment income
                  24,387,018   
EXPENSES:
                       
Investment management fees
                  9,128,525   
Transfer agent fees
                  27,135   
Shareholder reporting expense
                  138,480   
Professional fees
                  69,715   
Custody and accounting expense
                  205,691   
Trustee fees
                  31,751   
Miscellaneous expense
                  136,140   
Total expenses
                  9,737,437   
Waived and reimbursed fees
                  (190,991 )  
Net expenses
                  9,546,446   
Net investment income
                  14,840,572   
REALIZED AND UNREALIZED GAIN (LOSS):
                       
Net realized gain (loss) on:
                        
Investments
                  31,114,090   
Forward foreign currency contracts
                  30,110   
Foreign currency related transactions
                  915,453   
Futures
                  8,028,742   
Written options
                  (23,956,702 )  
Net realized gain
                  16,131,693   
Net change in unrealized appreciation (depreciation) on:
                        
Investments
                  39,704,968   
Foreign currency related transactions
                  8,416   
Futures
                  (1,904,773 )  
Written options
                  4,098,881   
Net change in unrealized appreciation (depreciation)
                  41,907,492   
Net realized and unrealized gain
                  58,039,185   
Increase in net assets resulting from operations
               $ 72,879,757   
             

*Foreign taxes withheld
               $ 1,629,006   

See Accompanying Notes to Financial Statements

8


STATEMENTS OF CHANGES IN NET ASSETS

        Year Ended
February 28,
2018
     Year Ended
February 28,
2017
FROM OPERATIONS:
                                       
Net investment income
               $ 14,840,572          $ 18,196,237   
Net realized gain
                  16,131,693             30,677,630   
Net change in unrealized appreciation (depreciation)
                  41,907,492             83,946,417   
Increase in net assets resulting from operations
                  72,879,757             132,820,284   
FROM DISTRIBUTIONS TO SHAREHOLDERS:
                                      
Net investment income
                  (29,372,489 )            (60,524,406 )  
Return of capital
                  (41,688,183 )            (25,484,984 )  
Total distributions
                  (71,060,672 )            (86,009,390 )  
FROM CAPITAL SHARE TRANSACTIONS:
                                        
Cost of shares repurchased, net of commissions
                  —              (3,250,793 )  
Net decrease in net assets resulting from capital share transactions
                  —              (3,250,793 )  
Net increase in net assets
                  1,819,085             43,560,101   
NET ASSETS:
                                       
Beginning of year or period
                  777,289,024             733,728,923   
End of year or period
               $ 779,108,109          $ 777,289,024   
Undistributed (distributions in excess of) net investment income or accumulated net investment loss at end of year or period
               $ 322,767          $ (1,183,653 )  

See Accompanying Notes to Financial Statements

9


FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS

Selected data for a share of beneficial interest outstanding throughout each year or period.

  Per Share Operating Performance
     Ratios and Supplemental Data
      Income (loss)
from investment
operations
   
     Less distributions
   
                         Ratios to average
net assets
                                                             
  Net asset value, beginning
of year or period
   
 Net investment income
   
 Net realized and unrealized
gain (loss)
   
 Total
from investment
operations
   
 From net investment income
   
 From net realized gains
   
 From return of capital
   
 Total distributions
   
 Adjustment to paid-in
capital for offering costs
   
 Net asset value,
end of year or period
   
 Market value, end of year
or period
   
 Total investment return
at net asset value(1)
   
 Total investment return
at market value(2)
   
 Net assets, end of year
or period 000’s
   
 Gross
expenses
prior to
expense waiver/
recoupment(3)
   
 Net
expenses after
expense waiver/
recoupment(3),(4)
   
 Net investment income
(loss)(3),(4)
   
 Portfolio turnover
Year or period ended
($)
   
 ($)
   
 ($)
   
 ($)
   
 ($)
   
 ($)
   
 ($)
   
 ($)
   
 ($)
   
 ($)
   
 ($)
   
 (%)
   
 (%)
   
 ($000’s)
   
 (%)
   
 (%)
   
 (%)
   
 (%)
02-28-18
          8.01             0.15             0.60             0.75             0.30             —              0.43             0.73             —              8.03             7.56             10.28             14.08             779,108             1.23             1.20             1.87             33    
02-28-17
          7.52             0.19             1.18             1.37             0.62             —              0.26             0.88             —              8.01             7.29             20.78             26.97             777,289             1.23             1.20             2.39             31    
02-29-16
          9.31             0.18             (1.06 )            (0.88 )            0.77             —              0.14             0.91             —              7.52             6.51             (8.90 )(5)            (13.92 )            733,729             1.23             1.20             2.10             29    
02-28-15
          10.05             0.22             (0.05 )            0.17             0.91             —              —              0.91             —              9.31             8.53             2.47             3.92             908,601             1.22             1.20             2.23             31    
02-28-14
          9.82             0.27             0.92             1.19             0.69             —              0.27             0.96             —              10.05             9.08             13.65             9.95             979,929             1.22             1.20             2.70             48    
02-28-13
          10.01             0.27             0.61             0.88             0.25             —              0.82             1.07             —              9.82             9.17             10.34             7.88             958,153             1.23             1.18             2.78             75    
02-29-12
          11.39             0.36 •            (0.55 )            (0.19 )            0.26             —              0.93             1.19             —              10.01             9.56             (1.13 )            (3.28 )            976,685             1.24             1.14             3.45             90    
02-28-11
          11.58             0.35             0.76             1.11             0.82             —              0.48             1.30             —              11.39             11.12             10.44             0.29             1,108,699             1.22             1.07             3.16             58    
02-28-10
          9.81             0.38             3.17             3.55             0.30             —              1.48             1.78             —              11.58             12.45             38.12             78.96             1,117,910             1.23             1.03             3.34             72    
02-28-09
          17.39             0.68 •            (6.39 )            (5.71 )            0.95             —              0.92             1.87             —              9.81             8.14             (34.02 )            (45.09 )            947,889             1.22             1.02             4.76             84    

(1)
   Total investment return at net asset value has been calculated assuming a purchase at net asset value at the beginning of each period and a sale at net asset value at the end of each period and assumes reinvestment of dividends, capital gain distributions and return of capital distributions/allocations, if any, in accordance with the provisions of the dividend reinvestment plan. Total investment return at net asset value is not annualized for periods less than one year.
(2)
   Total investment return at market value measures the change in the market value of your investment assuming reinvestment of dividends, capital gain distributions and return of capital distributions/allocations, if any, in accordance with the provisions of the Fund’s dividend reinvestment plan. Total investment return at market value is not annualized for periods less than one year.
(3)
   Annualized for periods less than one year.
(4)
   The Investment Adviser has entered into a written expense limitation agreement with the Fund under which it will limit the expenses of the Fund (excluding interest, taxes, investment-related costs, leverage expenses, extraordinary expenses and acquired fund fees and expenses) subject to possible recoupment by the Investment Adviser within three years of being incurred.
(5)
   Excluding amounts related to a foreign currency settlement recorded in the fiscal year ended February 29, 2016, the Fund’s total return would have been (9.51)%.
•   Calculated using average number of shares outstanding throughout the year or period.

See Accompanying Notes to Financial Statements

10


NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AS OF FEBRUARY 28, 2018

NOTE 1 — ORGANIZATION

Voya Global Equity Dividend and Premium Opportunity Fund (the “Fund”) is a diversified, closed-end management investment company registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”). The Fund is organized as a Delaware statutory trust.

Voya Investments, LLC (“Voya Investments” or the “Investment Adviser”), an Arizona limited liability company, serves as the Investment Adviser to the Fund. The Investment Adviser has retained Voya Investment Management Co. LLC (“Voya IM”), a Delaware limited liability company, to provide certain consulting services for the Investment Adviser. The Investment Adviser has also engaged NNIP Advisors B.V. (“NNIP Advisors”), a subsidiary of NN Group N.V. (“NN Group”), domiciled in The Hague, The Netherlands, and Voya IM to serve as sub-advisers to the Fund.

NOTE 2 — SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES

The following significant accounting policies are consistently followed by the Fund in the preparation of its financial statements. The Fund is considered an investment company under U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”) and follows the accounting and reporting guidance applicable to investment companies.

A.  Security Valuation. The Fund is open for business every day the New York Stock Exchange (“NYSE”) opens for regular trading (each such day, a “Business Day”). The net asset value (“NAV”) per share of the Fund is determined each Business Day as of the close of the regular trading session (“Market Close”), as determined by the Consolidated Tape Association (“CTA”), the central distributor of transaction prices for exchange-traded securities (normally 4:00 p.m. Eastern time unless otherwise designated by the CTA). The data reflected on the consolidated tape provided by the CTA is generated by various market centers, including all securities exchanges, electronic communications networks, and third-market broker-dealers. The NAV per share of the Fund is calculated by taking the value of the Fund’s assets, subtracting the Fund’s liabilities, and dividing by the number of shares that are outstanding. On days when the Fund is closed for business, Fund shares will not be priced and the Fund does not transact purchase and redemption orders. To the extent the Fund’s assets are traded in other markets on days when the Fund does not price its shares, the value of the Fund’s assets will likely change and you will not be able to purchase or redeem shares of the Fund.

Assets for which market quotations are readily available are valued at market value. A security listed or traded on an exchange is valued at its last sales price or official closing price as of the close of the regular trading session on the exchange where the security is principally traded or, if such price is not available, at the last sale price as of the Market Close for such security provided by the CTA. Bank loans are valued at the average of the averages of the bid and ask prices provided to an independent loan pricing service by brokers. Futures contracts are valued at the final settlement price set by an exchange on which they are principally traded. Listed options are valued at the mean between the last bid and ask prices from the exchange on which they are principally traded. Investments in open-end registered investment companies that do not trade on an exchange are valued at the end of day NAV per share. Investments in registered investment companies that trade on an exchange are valued at the last sales price or official closing price as of the close of the regular trading session on the exchange where the security is principally traded.

When a market quotation is not readily available or is deemed unreliable, the Fund will determine a fair value for the relevant asset in accordance with procedures adopted by the Fund’s Board of Trustees (“Board”). Such procedures provide, for example, that: (a) Exchange-traded securities are valued at the mean of the closing bid and ask; (b) Debt obligations are valued using an evaluated price provided by an independent pricing service. Evaluated prices provided by the pricing service may be determined without exclusive reliance on quoted prices, and may reflect factors such as institution-size trading in similar groups of securities, developments related to specific securities, benchmark yield, quality, type of issue, coupon rate, maturity, individual trading characteristics and other market data; (c) Securities traded in the over-the-counter (“OTC”) market are valued based on prices provided by independent pricing services or market makers; (d) Options not listed on an exchange are valued by an independent source using an industry accepted model, such as Black-Scholes; (e) Centrally cleared swap agreements are valued using a price provided by the central counterparty clearinghouse; (f) OTC swap agreements are valued using a price provided by an independent pricing service; (g) Forward foreign currency exchange contracts are valued utilizing current and forward rates obtained from an independent pricing service. Such prices from the third party pricing service are for specific settlement periods and the Fund’s forward foreign currency exchange contracts are valued at an interpolated rate between the closest preceding and subsequent period reported by the independent pricing service; and (h) Securities for which market prices are not provided by any of the above methods may be valued based upon quotes furnished by brokers.

11


NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AS OF FEBRUARY 28, 2018 (CONTINUED)

NOTE 2 — SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES (continued)

Foreign securities’ (including forward foreign currency exchange contracts) prices are converted into U.S. dollar amounts using the applicable exchange rates as of Market Close. If market quotations are available and believed to be reliable for foreign exchange-traded equity securities, the securities will be valued at the market quotations. Because trading hours for certain foreign securities end before Market Close, closing market quotations may become unreliable. An independent pricing service determines the degree of certainty, based on historical data, that the closing price in the principal market where a foreign security trades is not the current value as of Market Close. Foreign securities’ prices meeting the approved degree of certainty that the price is not reflective of current value will be valued by the independent pricing service using pricing models designed to estimate likely changes in the values of those securities between the times in which the trading in those securities is substantially completed and Market Close. Multiple factors may be considered by the independent pricing service in determining the value of such securities and may include information relating to sector indices, American Depositary Receipts and domestic and foreign index futures.

All other assets for which market quotations are not readily available or became unreliable (or if the above fair valuation methods are unavailable or determined to be unreliable) are valued at fair value as determined in good faith by or under the supervision of the Board following procedures approved by the Board. The Board has delegated to the Investment Adviser responsibility for overseeing the implementation of the Fund’s valuation procedures; a “Pricing Committee” comprised of employees of the Investment Adviser or its affiliates has responsibility for applying the fair valuation methods set forth in the procedures and, if a fair valuation cannot be determined pursuant to the fair valuation methods, determining the fair value of assets held by the Fund. Issuer specific events, transaction price, position size, nature and duration of restrictions on disposition of the security, market trends, bid/ask quotes of brokers and other market data may be reviewed in the course of making a good faith determination of a security’s fair value. Valuations change in response to many factors including the historical and prospective earnings of the issuer, the value of the issuer’s assets, general economic conditions, interest rates, investor perceptions and market liquidity. Because of the inherent uncertainties of fair valuation, the values used to determine the Fund’s NAV may materially differ from the value received upon actual sale of those investments. Thus, fair valuation may have an unintended dilutive or accretive effect on the value of shareholders’ investments in the Fund.

Each investment asset or liability of the Fund is assigned a level at measurement date based on the significance and source of the inputs to its valuation. Quoted prices in active markets for identical securities are classified as “Level 1,” inputs other than quoted prices for an asset or liability that are observable are classified as “Level 2” and significant unobservable inputs, including each sub-adviser’s or Pricing Committee’s judgment about the assumptions that a market participant would use in pricing an asset or liability are classified as “Level 3.” The inputs used for valuing securities are not necessarily an indication of the risks associated with investing in those securities. Short-term securities of sufficient credit quality are generally considered to be Level 2 securities under applicable accounting rules. A table summarizing the Fund’s investments under these levels of classification is included following the Portfolio of Investments.

GAAP requires a reconciliation of the beginning to ending balances for reported fair values that presents changes attributable to total realized and unrealized gains or losses, purchases and sales, and transfers in or out of the Level 3 category during the period. The beginning of period timing recognition is used for the transfers between levels of the Fund’s assets and liabilities. A reconciliation of Level 3 investments is presented only when the Fund has a significant amount of Level 3 investments.

B.  Securities Transactions and Revenue Recognition. Securities transactions are recorded on the trade date. Realized gains or losses on sales of investments are calculated on the identified cost basis. Interest income is recorded on the accrual basis. Premium amortization and discount accretion are determined using the effective yield method. Dividend income is recorded on the ex-dividend date or in the case of certain foreign dividends, when the information becomes available to the Fund.

C.  Foreign Currency Translation. The books and records of the Fund are maintained in U.S. dollars. Any foreign currency amounts are translated into U.S. dollars on the following basis:

    (1)
   Market value of investment securities, other assets and liabilities — at the exchange rates prevailing at Market Close.

    (2)
   Purchases and sales of investment securities, income and expenses — at the rates of exchange prevailing on the respective dates of such transactions.

Although the net assets and the market values are presented at the foreign exchange rates at Market Close, the Fund does not isolate the portion of the results of operations resulting from changes in foreign exchange rates on investments from the fluctuations arising from

12


NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AS OF FEBRUARY 28, 2018 (CONTINUED)

NOTE 2 — SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES (continued)

changes in market prices of securities held. Such fluctuations are included with the net realized and unrealized gains or losses from investments. For securities, which are subject to foreign withholding tax upon disposition, liabilities are recorded on the Statement of Assets and Liabilities for the estimated tax withholding based on the securities’ current market value. Upon disposition, realized gains or losses on such securities are recorded net of foreign withholding tax.

Reported net realized foreign exchange gains or losses arise from sales of foreign currencies, currency gains or losses realized between the trade and settlement dates on securities transactions, the difference between the amounts of dividends, interest, and foreign withholding taxes recorded on the Fund’s books and the U.S. dollar equivalent of the amounts actually received or paid. Net unrealized foreign exchange gains and losses arise from changes in the value of assets and liabilities other than investments in securities, resulting from changes in the exchange rate. Foreign security and currency transactions may involve certain considerations and risks not typically associated with investing in U.S. companies and U.S. government securities. These risks include, but are not limited to, revaluation of currencies and future adverse political and economic developments which could cause securities and their markets to be less liquid and prices more volatile than those of comparable U.S. companies and U.S. government securities. The foregoing risks are even greater with respect to securities of issuers in emerging markets.

D.  Distributions to Shareholders. The Fund intends to make monthly distributions from its cash available for distribution, which consists of the Fund’s dividends and interest income after payment of Fund expenses, net option premiums and net realized and unrealized gains on investments. Such monthly distributions may also consist of return of capital. At least annually, the Fund intends to distribute all or substantially all of its net realized capital gains. Distributions are recorded on the ex-dividend date. Distributions are determined annually in accordance with federal tax regulations, which may differ from GAAP for investment companies.

The tax treatment and characterization of the Fund’s distributions may vary significantly from time to time depending on whether the Fund has gains or losses on the call options written on its portfolio versus gains or losses on the equity securities in the portfolio. Each month, the Fund will provide disclosures with distribution payments made that estimate the percentages of that distribution that represent net investment income, other income or capital gains, and return of capital, if any. The final composition of the tax characteristics of the distributions cannot be determined with certainty until after the end of the Fund’s tax year, and will be reported to shareholders at that time. A significant portion of the Fund’s distributions may constitute a return of capital. The amount of monthly distributions will vary, depending on a number of factors. As portfolio and market conditions change, the rate of dividends on the common shares will change. There can be no assurance that the Fund will be able to declare a dividend in each period.

E.  Federal Income Taxes. It is the policy of the Fund to comply with the requirements of subchapter M of the Internal Revenue Code that are applicable to regulated investment companies and to distribute substantially all of its net investment income and any net realized capital gains to its shareholders. Therefore, a federal income tax or excise tax provision is not required. Management has considered the sustainability of the Fund’s tax positions taken on federal income tax returns for all open tax years in making this determination. The Fund may utilize equalization accounting for tax purposes, whereby a portion of redemption payments are treated as distributions of income or gain.

F.  Use of Estimates. The preparation of financial statements in conformity with GAAP 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.

G.  Risk Exposures and the Use of Derivative Instruments. The Fund’s investment objectives permit the Fund to enter into various types of derivatives contracts, including, but not limited to, forward foreign currency exchange contracts and purchased and written options. In doing so, the Fund will employ strategies in differing combinations to permit it to increase or decrease the level of risk, or change the level or types of exposure to risk factors. This may allow the Fund to pursue its objectives more quickly and efficiently, than if it were to make direct purchases or sales of securities capable of affecting a similar response to market or credit factors.

In pursuit of its investment objectives, the Fund may seek to increase or decrease its exposure to the following market or credit risk factors:

Credit Risk. The price of a bond or other debt instrument is likely to fall if the issuer’s actual or perceived financial health deteriorates, whether because of broad economic or issuer-specific reasons. In certain cases, the issuer could

13


NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AS OF FEBRUARY 28, 2018 (CONTINUED)

NOTE 2 — SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES (continued)

be late in paying interest or principal, or could fail to pay its financial obligations altogether.

Equity Risk. Stock prices may be volatile or have reduced liquidity in response to real or perceived impacts of factors including, but not limited to, economic conditions, changes in market interest rates, and political events. Stock markets tend to be cyclical, with periods when stock prices generally rise and periods when stock prices generally decline. Any given stock market segment may remain out of favor with investors for a short or long period of time, and stocks as an asset class may underperform bonds or other asset classes during some periods. Additionally, legislative, regulatory or tax policies or developments in these areas may adversely impact the investment techniques available to a manager, add to costs and impair the ability of the Fund to achieve its investment objectives.

Foreign Exchange Rate Risk. To the extent that the Fund invests directly in foreign (non-U.S.) currencies or in securities denominated in, or that trade in, foreign (non-U.S.) currencies, it is subject to the risk that those foreign (non-U.S.) currencies will decline in value relative to the U.S. dollar or, in the case of hedging positions, that the U.S. dollar will decline in value relative to the currency being hedged by the Fund through foreign currency exchange transactions.

Currency rates may fluctuate significantly over short periods of time. Currency rates may be affected by changes in market interest rates, intervention (or the failure to intervene) by U.S. or foreign governments, central banks or supranational entities such as the International Monetary Fund, by the imposition of currency controls, or other political or economic developments in the United States or abroad.

Interest Rate Risk. Changes in short-term market interest rates will directly affect the yield on Common Shares. If short-term market interest rates fall, the yield on Common Shares will also fall. To the extent that the interest rate spreads on loans in the Fund’s portfolio experience a general decline, the yield on the Common Shares will fall and the value of the Fund’s assets may decrease, which will cause the Fund’s NAV to decrease. Conversely, when short-term market interest rates rise, because of the lag between changes in such short-term rates and the resetting of the floating rates on assets in the Fund’s portfolio, the impact of rising rates will be delayed to the extent of such lag. In the case of inverse securities, the interest rate paid by such securities generally will decrease when the market rate of interest to which the inverse security is indexed increases. With respect to investments in fixed rate instruments, a rise in market interest rates generally causes values of such instruments to fall. The values of fixed rate instruments with longer maturities or duration are more sensitive to changes in market interest rates.

As of the date of this report, market interest rates in the United States are at or near historic lows, which may increase the Fund’s exposure to risks associated with rising market interest rates. Rising market interest rates could have unpredictable effects on the markets and may expose fixed-income and related markets to heightened volatility which could reduce liquidity for certain investments, adversely affect values, and increase costs. If dealer capacity in fixed-income and related markets is insufficient for market conditions, it may further inhibit liquidity and increase volatility in the fixed-income and related markets. Further, recent and potential changes in government policy may affect interest rates.

Risks of Investing in Derivatives. The Fund’s use of derivatives can result in losses due to unanticipated changes in the market or credit risk factors and the overall market. In instances where the Fund is using derivatives to decrease, or hedge, exposures to market or credit risk factors for securities held by the Fund, there are also risks that those derivatives may not perform as expected resulting in losses for the combined or hedged positions.

Derivative instruments are subject to a number of risks, including the risk of changes in the market price of the underlying securities, credit risk with respect to the counterparty, risk of loss due to changes in market interest rates and liquidity and volatility risk. The amounts required to purchase certain derivatives may be small relative to the magnitude of exposure assumed by the Fund. Therefore, the purchase of certain derivatives may have an economic leveraging effect on the Fund and exaggerate any increase or decrease in the NAV. Derivatives may not perform as expected, so the Fund may not realize the intended benefits. When used for hedging purposes, the change in value of a derivative may not correlate as expected with the currency, security or other risk being hedged. When used as an alternative or substitute for direct cash investments, the return provided by the derivative may not provide the same return as direct cash investment. In addition, given their complexity, derivatives expose the Fund to the risk of improper valuation.

Generally, derivatives are sophisticated financial instruments whose performance is derived, at least in part, from the performance of an underlying asset or assets. Derivatives include, among other things, swap agreements, options, forwards and futures. Investments in derivatives are generally negotiated OTC with a single counterparty and as a result are subject to credit risks related to the counterparty’s ability or willingness to

14


NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AS OF FEBRUARY 28, 2018 (CONTINUED)

NOTE 2 — SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES (continued)

perform its obligations; any deterioration in the counterparty’s creditworthiness could adversely affect the value of the derivative. In addition, derivatives and their underlying securities may experience periods of illiquidity which could cause the Fund to hold a security it might otherwise sell, or to sell a security it otherwise might hold at inopportune times or at an unanticipated price. A manager might imperfectly judge the direction of the market. For instance, if a derivative is used as a hedge to offset investment risk in another security, the hedge might not correlate to the market’s movements and may have unexpected or undesired results such as a loss or a reduction in gains.

The U.S. government has enacted legislation that provides for new regulation of the derivatives market, including clearing, margin, reporting, and registration requirements. The European Union is (and other countries outside of the European Union are) implementing similar requirements, which will affect the Fund when it enters into a derivatives transaction with a counterparty organized in that country or otherwise subject to that country’s derivatives regulations. Because these requirements are new and evolving (and some of the rules are not yet final), their ultimate impact remains unclear. Central clearing is expected to reduce counterparty risk and increase liquidity, however, there is no assurance that it will achieve that result, and in the meantime, central clearing and related requirements expose the Fund to new kinds of costs and risks.

Counterparty Credit Risk and Credit Related Contingent Features. Certain derivative positions are subject to counterparty credit risk, which is the risk that the counterparty will not fulfill its obligation to the Fund. The Fund’s derivative counterparties are financial institutions who are subject to market conditions that may weaken their financial position. The Fund intends to enter into financial transactions with counterparties that it believes to be creditworthy at the time of the transaction. To reduce this risk, the Fund generally enters into master netting arrangements, established within the Fund’s International Swap and Derivatives Association, Inc. (“ISDA”) Master Agreements (“Master Agreements”). These agreements are with select counterparties and they govern transactions, including certain OTC derivative and forward foreign currency contracts, entered into by the Fund and the counterparty. The Master Agreements maintain provisions for general obligations, representations, agreements, collateral, and events of default or termination. The occurrence of a specified event of termination may give a counterparty the right to terminate all of its contracts and affect settlement of all outstanding transactions under the applicable Master Agreement.

The Fund may also enter into collateral agreements with certain counterparties to further mitigate counterparty credit risk associated with OTC derivative and forward foreign currency contracts. Subject to established minimum levels, collateral is generally determined based on the net aggregate unrealized gain or loss on contracts with a certain counterparty. Collateral pledged to the Fund is held in a segregated account by a third-party agent and can be in the form of cash or debt securities issued by the U.S. government or related agencies.

The Fund’s maximum risk of loss from counterparty credit risk on OTC derivatives is generally the aggregate unrealized gain in excess of any collateral pledged by the counterparty to the Fund. For purchased OTC options, the Fund bears the risk of loss in the amount of the premiums paid and the change in market value of the options should the counterparty not perform under the contracts. As of February 28, 2018, the total fair value of purchased OTC options subject to counterparty credit risk was $386,087. The counterparties did not post any collateral to the Fund at year end. There were no credit events during the year ended February 28, 2018 that triggered any credit related contingent features.

The Fund’s master agreements with derivative counterparties have credit related contingent features that if triggered would allow its derivatives counterparties to close out and demand payment or additional collateral to cover their exposure from the Fund. Credit related contingent features are established between the Fund and its derivatives counterparties to reduce the risk that the Fund will not fulfill its payment obligations to its counterparties. These triggering features include, but are not limited to, a percentage decrease in the Fund’s net assets and or a percentage decrease in the Fund’s NAV, which could cause the Fund to accelerate payment of any net liability owed to the counterparty. The contingent features are established within the Fund’s Master Agreements.

Written options by the Fund do not give rise to counterparty credit risk, as written options obligate the Fund to perform and not the counterparty. As of February 28, 2018, the total fair value of written OTC call options subject to Master Agreements in a liability position was $2,466,230. If a contingent feature had been triggered, the Fund could have been required to pay this amount in cash to its counterparties. At February 28, 2018, the Fund had pledged $3,450,000 in cash collateral for its open written OTC options at year end. There were no credit events during the year ended February 28, 2018 that triggered any credit related contingent features.

H. Forward Foreign Currency Contracts. The Fund may enter into forward foreign currency contracts primarily to

15


NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AS OF FEBRUARY 28, 2018 (CONTINUED)

NOTE 2 — SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES (continued)

hedge against foreign currency exchange rate risks on its non-U.S. dollar denominated investment securities. When entering into a forward foreign currency contract, the Fund agrees to receive or deliver a fixed quantity of foreign currency for an agreed-upon price on an agreed future date. These contracts are valued daily and the Fund’s net equity therein, representing unrealized gain or loss on the contracts as measured by the difference between the forward foreign exchange rates at the dates of entry into the contracts and the forward rates at the reporting date, is included in the statement of assets and liabilities. Realized and unrealized gains and losses on forward foreign currency contracts are included on the Statement of Operations. These instruments involve market and/or credit risk in excess of the amount recognized in the statement of assets and liabilities. Risks arise from the possible inability of counterparties to meet the terms of their contracts and from movement in currency and securities values and interest rates.

During the year ended February 28, 2018, the Fund used forward foreign currency contracts to hedge its investments in non-U.S. dollar denominated equity securities in an attempt to decrease the volatility of the Fund’s NAV.

During the year ended February 28, 2018, the Fund had an average contract amount on forward foreign currency contracts to sell of $907,709. There were no open forward foreign currency contracts at February 28, 2018.

I.  Futures Contracts. The Fund may enter into futures contracts involving foreign currency, interest rates, securities and securities indices. A futures contract obligates the seller of the contract to deliver and the purchaser of the contract to take delivery of the type of foreign currency, financial instrument or security called for in the contract at a specified future time for a specified price. Upon entering into such a contract, the Fund is required to deposit and maintain as collateral such initial margin as required by the exchange on which the contract is traded. Pursuant to the contract, the Fund agrees to receive from or pay to the broker an amount equal to the daily fluctuations in the value of the contract. Such receipts or payments are known as variation margin and are recorded as unrealized gains or losses by the Fund. When the contract is closed, the Fund records a realized gain or loss 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.

Futures contracts are exposed to the market risk factor of the underlying financial instrument. During the year ended February 28, 2018, the Fund had purchased and sold futures contracts on various equity indices to enable the Fund to make market directional tactical decisions to enhance returns, to protect against a decline in its assets or as a substitute for the purchase or sale of equity securities. Additional associated risks of entering into futures contracts include the possibility that there may be an illiquid market where the Fund is unable to liquidate the contract or enter into an offsetting position and, if used for hedging purposes, the risk that the price of the contract will correlate imperfectly with the prices of the Fund’s securities. With futures, there is minimal counterparty credit risk to the Fund since futures are exchange traded and the exchange’s clearinghouse, as counterparty to all exchange traded futures, guarantees the futures against default.

During the year ended February 28, 2018, the Fund had an average notional value on purchased and sold futures of $55,608,800 and $18,537,390, respectively. Please refer to the Portfolio of Investments for open futures contracts at February 28, 2018.

J. Options Contracts. The Fund may purchase put and call options and may write (sell) put options and covered call options. The premium received by the Fund upon the writing of a put or call option is included in the Statement of Assets and Liabilities as a liability which is subsequently marked-to-market until it is exercised or closed, or it expires. The Fund will realize a gain or loss upon the expiration or closing of the option contract. When an option is exercised, the proceeds on sales of the underlying security for a written call option or purchased put option or the purchase cost of the security for a written put option or a purchased call option is adjusted by the amount of premium received or paid. The risk in writing a call option is that the Fund gives up the opportunity for profit if the market price of the security increases and the option is exercised. The risk in buying an option is that the Fund pays a premium whether or not the option is exercised. Risks may also arise from an illiquid secondary market or from the inability of counterparties to meet the terms of the contract.

The Fund’s option strategy seeks to reduce volatility of total returns and to supplement distributions by selling call options and may also purchase put options on equity indices.

The Fund is also subject to foreign currency risk given its significant investments in foreign equities. In order to mitigate this risk, the Fund uses foreign-exchange option collars. Please refer to Note 7 for the volume of both purchased and written option activity during the year ended February 28, 2018.

K. Indemnifications. In the normal course of business, the Fund may enter into contracts that provide certain indemnifications. The Fund’s maximum exposure under

16


NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AS OF FEBRUARY 28, 2018 (CONTINUED)

NOTE 2 — SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES (continued)

these arrangements is dependent on future claims that may be made against the Fund and, therefore, cannot be estimated; however, based on experience, management considers risk of loss from such claims remote.

NOTE 3 — INVESTMENT TRANSACTIONS

The cost of purchases and the proceeds from sales of investments for the year ended February 28, 2018, excluding short-term securities, were $246,064,292 and $328,286,846, respectively.

NOTE 4 — INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT FEES

The Fund has entered into an investment management agreement (“Management Agreement”) with the Investment Adviser. The Investment Adviser has overall responsibility for the management of the Fund. The Investment Adviser oversees all investment management and portfolio management services for the Fund and assists in managing and supervising all aspects of the general day-to-day business activities and operations of the Fund, including custodial, transfer agency, dividend disbursing, accounting, auditing, compliance and related services. This Management Agreement compensates the Investment Adviser with a management fee, payable monthly, based on an annual rate of 1.15% of the Fund’s average daily managed assets. For purposes of the Management Agreement, managed assets are defined as the Fund’s average daily gross asset value, minus the sum of the Fund’s accrued and unpaid dividends on any outstanding preferred shares and accrued liabilities (other than liabilities for the principal amount of any borrowings incurred, commercial paper or notes issued by the Fund and the liquidation preference of any outstanding preferred shares). As of February 28, 2018, there were no preferred shares outstanding.

The Investment Adviser has entered into a consulting agreement with Voya IM (the “Consultant”). For its services, the Consultant will receive a consultancy fee from the Investment Adviser. No fee will be paid by the Fund directly to the Consultant. These services include, among other things, furnishing statistical and other factual information; providing advice with respect to potential investment strategies that may be employed for the Fund, including, but not limited to, potential options strategies; developing economic models of the anticipated investment performance and yield for the Fund; and providing advice to the Investment Adviser and/or sub-advisers with respect to the Fund’s level and/or managed distribution policy.

The Investment Adviser has entered into sub-advisory agreements with NNIP Advisors and Voya IM. Subject to policies as the Board or the Investment Adviser may determine, NNIP Advisors currently manages all of the Fund’s assets in accordance with the Fund’s investment objectives, policies and limitations. NNIP Advisors provides investment advice for the Fund and is paid by the Investment Adviser based on the average daily managed assets of the Fund. However, in the future, the Investment Adviser may allocate all or some of the Fund’s assets to Voya IM for management, and may change the allocation of the Fund’s assets among the two sub-advisers in its discretion, to pursue the Fund’s investment objective. Each sub-adviser would make investment decisions solely for the assets it is allocated to manage.

NOTE 5 — EXPENSE LIMITATION AGREEMENT

The Investment Adviser has entered into a written expense limitation agreement (“Expense Limitation Agreement”) with the Fund under which it will limit the expenses of the Fund, excluding interest, taxes, investment-related costs, leverage expenses, extraordinary expenses, and acquired fund fees and expenses to 1.20% of average daily managed assets.

The Investment Adviser may at a later date recoup from the Fund for fees waived and/or other expenses reimbursed by the Investment Adviser during the previous 36 months, but only if, after such recoupment, the Fund’s expense ratio does not exceed the percentage described above. Waived and reimbursed fees net of any recoupment by the Investment Adviser of such waived and reimbursed fees are reflected on the accompanying Statement of Operations. Amounts payable by the Investment Adviser are reflected on the accompanying Statement of Assets and Liabilities.

As of February 28, 2018, the amounts of waived and/or reimbursed fees that are subject to possible recoupment by the Investment Adviser, and the related expiration dates, are as follows:

February 28,
  
2019
         2020
     2021
     Total
$192,712
            
$185,123
    
$190,991
    
$568,826
 

The Expense Limitation Agreement is contractual through March 1, 2019 and shall renew automatically for one-year terms. Termination or modification of this obligation requires approval by the Board.

NOTE 6 — OTHER TRANSACTIONS WITH AFFILIATES AND RELATED PARTIES

The Fund has adopted a deferred compensation plan (the “DC Plan”), which allows eligible independent trustees, as described in the DC Plan, to defer the receipt of all or a portion of the trustees’ fees that they are entitled to receive

17


NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AS OF FEBRUARY 28, 2018 (CONTINUED)

NOTE 6 — OTHER TRANSACTIONS WITH AFFILIATES AND RELATED PARTIES (continued)

from the Fund. For purposes of determining the amount owed to the trustee under the DC Plan, the amounts deferred are invested in shares of the funds selected by the trustee (the “Notional Funds”). The Fund purchases shares of the Notional Funds, which are all advised by Voya Investments, in amounts equal to the trustees’ deferred fees, resulting in a Fund asset equal to the deferred compensation liability. Such assets, if applicable, are included as a component of “Other assets” on the accompanying Statement of Assets and Liabilities. Deferral of trustees’ fees under the DC Plan will not affect net assets of the Fund, and will not materially affect the Fund’s assets, liabilities or net investment income per share. Amounts will be deferred until distributed in accordance with the DC Plan.

NOTE 7 — PURCHASED AND WRITTEN OPTIONS

Transactions in OTC purchased foreign currency options were as follows:

        Notional
Amount
     Cost
Balance at 02/28/2017
               $ 219,000,000          $ 1,097,708   
Options Purchased
                  512,200,000             2,546,973   
Options Expired
                  (601,700,000 )            (3,053,173 )  
Options Terminated in Closing Sell Transactions
                  10,500,000             75,492   
Balance at 02/28/2018
               $ 140,000,000          $ 667,000   

Transactions in OTC written foreign currency options were as follows:

        Notional
Amount
     Premiums
Received
Balance at 02/28/2017
               $ 219,000,000          $ 1,042,523   
Options Written
                  488,200,000             2,376,952   
Options Expired
                  (409,500,000 )            (1,836,633 )  
Options Terminated in Closing Purchase Transactions
                  (157,700,000 )            (915,842 )  
Balance at 02/28/2018
               $ 140,000,000          $ 667,000   

Transactions in OTC written equity options were as follows:

        Number of
Contracts
     Premiums
Received
Balance at 02/28/2017
                  445,200          $ 4,335,995   
Options Written
                  2,667,400             27,422,657   
Options Expired
                  (1,063,700 )            (9,637,795 )  
Options Terminated in Closing Purchase Transactions
                  (1,770,200 )            (17,698,768 )  
Balance at 02/28/2018
                  278,700          $ 4,422,089   

NOTE 8 — CAPITAL SHARES

Transactions in capital shares and dollars were as follows:

        Shares
repurchased
     Net increase
(decrease)
in shares
outstanding
     Shares
repurchased,
net of
commissions
     Net
increase
(decrease)
Year or period ended
         #
     #
     ($)
     ($)
2/28/2018
                  —              —              —              —    
2/28/2017
                  (471,504 )            (471,504 )            (3,250,793 )            (3,250,793 )  

Share Repurchase Program

Effective March 14, 2017, pursuant to an open-market share repurchase program, the Fund may purchase, over the period ending March 31, 2018, up to 10% of its stock in open-market transactions. Previously, pursuant to an open-market share repurchase program effective April 1, 2016, the Fund may have purchased, over the period ended March 31, 2017, up to 10% of its stock in open-market transactions. The amount and timing of the repurchases will be at the discretion of the Fund’s management, subject to market conditions and investment considerations. There is no assurance that the Fund will purchase shares at any particular discount level or in any particular amounts. Any repurchases made under this program would be made on a national securities exchange at the prevailing market price, subject to exchange requirements and volume, timing and other limitations under federal securities laws. The share repurchase program seeks to enhance shareholder value by purchasing shares trading at a discount from their NAV per share.

For the year ended February 28, 2018, the Fund had no repurchases.

For the year ended February 28, 2017, the Fund repurchased 471,504 shares, representing approximately 0.5% of the Fund’s outstanding shares for a net purchase price of $3,250,793 (including commissions of $11,788). Shares were repurchased at a weighted-average discount from NAV per share of 12.76% and a weighted-average price per share of $6.87. Any future purchases will be updated in the next shareholder report.

NOTE 9 — FEDERAL INCOME TAXES

The amount of distributions from net investment income and net realized capital gains are determined in accordance with federal income tax regulations, which may differ from GAAP for investment companies. These book/tax differences may be either temporary or permanent. Permanent differences are reclassified within the capital accounts based on their federal tax-basis treatment; temporary differences are not reclassified. Key differences include the treatment of short-term capital gains, foreign

18


NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AS OF FEBRUARY 28, 2018 (CONTINUED)

NOTE 9 — FEDERAL INCOME TAXES (continued)

currency transactions, wash sale deferrals and the expiration of capital loss carryforwards. Distributions in excess of net investment income and/or net realized capital gains for tax purposes are reported as return of capital.

The following permanent tax differences have been reclassified as of the Fund’s tax year ended December 31, 2017(1)(2):

Paid-in
Capital
   Undistributed
Net Investment Income
     Accumulated
Net Realized
Gains/(Losses)
$ (258,500,015)
     $16,038,337   
$242,461,678
 

(1)  
   $241,793,115 relates to the expiration of capital loss carryforwards.
(2)  
   $16,706,900 relates to distributions in excess of net investment income taxed as ordinary income due to current year earnings and profits.

Dividends paid by the Fund from net investment income and distributions of net realized short-term capital gains are, for federal income tax purposes, taxable as ordinary income to shareholders.

The tax composition of dividends and distributions in the current period will not be determined until after the Fund’s tax year-end of December 31, 2018. The tax composition of dividends and distributions as of the Fund’s most recent tax year-ends was as follows:

Tax Year Ended
December 31, 2017
  Tax Year Ended
December 31, 2016
Ordinary
Income
     Return
of Capital
     Ordinary
Income
   Return
of Capital
$ 31,698,016
    
$ 39,362,656
    
$ 61,635,335
  
$ 25,866,051

The tax-basis components of distributable earnings as of December 31, 2017 were:

Unrealized
Appreciation/
(Depreciation)
$ 5,599,297

At December 31, 2017, the Fund did not have any capital loss carryovers for U.S. federal income tax purposes.

The Fund’s major tax jurisdictions are U.S. federal and Arizona state.

As of February 28, 2018, no provision for income tax is required in the Fund’s financial statements as a result of tax positions taken on federal and state income tax returns for open tax years. The Fund’s federal and state income and federal excise tax returns for tax years for which the applicable statutes of limitations have not expired are subject to examination by the Internal Revenue Service and state department of revenue. The earliest tax year that remains subject to examination by these jurisdictions is 2013.

NOTE 10 — SUBSEQUENT EVENTS

Dividends: Subsequent to February 28, 2018, the Fund made distributions of:

Per Share
Amount
         Declaration
Date
     Payable
Date
     Record
Date
$0.061                  2/15/2018             3/15/2018             3/2/2018   
$0.061                  3/15/2018             4/16/2018             4/3/2018   
$0.061                  4/16/2018             5/15/2018             5/2/2018   

Each month, the Fund will provide disclosures with distribution payments made that estimate the percentages of that distribution that represent net investment income, capital gains, and return of capital, if any. A significant portion of the monthly distribution payments made by the Fund may constitute a return of capital.

Share Repurchase Program: On March 15, 2018, the Board authorized an open-market share repurchase program pursuant to which the Fund may purchase, over the period ending March 31, 2019, up to 10% of its stock in open market transactions. The amount and timing of the repurchases will be at the discretion of the Fund’s management, subject to market conditions and investment considerations. There is no assurance that the Fund will purchase shares at any particular discount level or in any particular amounts. Any repurchases made under this program would be made on a national securities exchange at the prevailing market price, subject to exchange requirements and volume, timing and other limitations under federal securities laws. The share repurchase program seeks to enhance shareholder value by purchasing shares trading at a discount from their NAV per share.

The Fund has evaluated events occurring after the Statement of Assets and Liabilities date (“subsequent events”) to determine whether any subsequent events necessitated adjustment to or disclosure in the financial statements. Other than the above, no such subsequent events were identified.

19


VOYA GLOBAL EQUITY DIVIDEND AND
PREMIUM OPPORTUNITY FUND		 SUMMARY PORTFOLIO OF INVESTMENTS
AS OF FEBRUARY 28, 2018

Shares
  
  
  
 Value
   
 Percentage
of Net
Assets
 
COMMON STOCK: 93.6%
 
Canada: 2.3%
425,114
            
 
    
Shaw Communications, Inc. — Class B
       $   8,229,295             1.1   
138,128
            
 
    
Other Securities
          9,510,563             1.2   
 
            
 
    
 
          17,739,858             2.3   
 
 
France: 11.2%
156,793
            
 
    
BNP Paribas
          12,397,737             1.6   
170,194
            
 
    
Casino Guichard Perrachon S.A.
          9,219,446             1.2   
281,231
            
 
    
Cie de Saint-Gobain
          15,917,386             2.0   
773,190
            
 
    
Engie SA
          12,058,981             1.5   
110,797
            
 
    
Sanofi
          8,747,433             1.1   
221,100
            
 
    
Total SA
          12,575,929             1.6   
98,825
            
 
    
Vinci SA
          9,758,030             1.3   
400,300
            
 
    
Other Securities
          6,772,350             0.9   
 
            
 
    
 
          87,447,292             11.2   
 
 
Germany: 1.6%
462,167
            
 
    
Other Securities
          12,700,620             1.6   
 
 
Ireland: 1.2%
118,800
            
 
    
Medtronic PLC
          9,490,932             1.2   
 
 
Italy: 3.9%
658,561
            
 
    
Assicurazioni Generali S.p.A.
          12,319,948             1.6   
581,887
            
(1)
    
UniCredit SpA
          12,271,848             1.6   
362,887
            
 
    
Other Securities
          6,025,708             0.7   
 
            
 
    
 
          30,617,504             3.9   
 
 
Japan: 7.5%
1,773,000
            
 
    
Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Inc.
          12,488,384             1.6   
968,800
            
 
    
Nissan Motor Co., Ltd.
          10,153,749             1.3   
300,300
            
 
    
Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group, Inc.
          12,979,464             1.7   
521,300
            
 
    
Other Securities
          22,639,214             2.9   
 
            
 
    
 
          58,260,811             7.5   
 
 
Netherlands: 2.3%
376,867
            
 
    
Royal Dutch Shell PLC
          11,956,852             1.5   
179,444
            
(2)
    
Other Securities
          6,093,003             0.8   
 
            
 
    
 
          18,049,855             2.3   
 
 
Singapore: 1.4%
2,638,000
            
 
    
Other Securities
          10,731,162             1.4   
 
 
Spain: 2.0%
977,843
            
 
    
Telefonica S.A.
          9,490,892             1.2   
181,600
            
 
    
Other Securities
          6,225,050             0.8   
 
            
 
    
 
          15,715,942             2.0   
 
 
Sweden: 0.9%
1,005,300
            
 
    
Other Securities
          6,725,079             0.9   
 
 
Switzerland: 5.5%
409,268
            
 
    
Credit Suisse Group AG
          7,531,424             1.0   
1,707,200
            
 
    
Glencore PLC
          8,977,634             1.2   
 
COMMON STOCK: (continued)
 
Switzerland: (continued)
121,587
            
 
    
Novartis AG
       $  10,143,011             1.3   
41,281
            
 
    
Roche Holding AG
          9,535,086             1.2   
19,911
            
 
    
Other Securities
          6,546,644             0.8   
 
            
 
    
 
          42,733,799             5.5   
 
 
United Kingdom: 8.9%
1,980,700
            
 
    
Kingfisher PLC
          9,748,661             1.2   
108,200
            
 
    
Reckitt Benckiser Group PLC
          8,588,584             1.1   
1,099,700
            
(1)
    
Standard Chartered PLC
          12,192,478             1.6   
5,276,054
            
 
    
Vodafone Group PLC
          14,749,795             1.9   
4,635,013
            
 
    
Other Securities
          24,369,271             3.1   
 
            
 
    
 
          69,648,789             8.9   
 
 
United States: 44.9%
54,300
            
 
    
Allergan plc
          8,374,146             1.1   
56,206
            
 
    
Amgen, Inc.
          10,328,977             1.3   
116,551
            
 
    
Apple, Inc.
          20,760,064             2.7   
140,238
            
 
    
Bristol-Myers Squibb Co.
          9,283,756             1.2   
139,100
            
 
    
Carnival Corp.
          9,307,181             1.2   
397,339
            
 
    
Cisco Systems, Inc.
          17,792,840             2.3   
205,600
            
 
    
Citigroup, Inc.
          15,520,744             2.0   
220,700
            
 
    
ConocoPhillips
          11,986,217             1.5   
118,925
            
 
    
Eli Lilly & Co.
          9,159,603             1.2   
114,348
            
 
    
Exxon Mobil Corp.
          8,660,717             1.1   
1,009,831
            
 
    
General Electric Co.
          14,248,715             1.8   
115,900
            
 
    
Gilead Sciences, Inc.
          9,124,807             1.2   
86,031
            
 
    
International Business Machines Corp.
          13,406,211             1.7   
97,900
            
 
    
Las Vegas Sands Corp.
          7,128,099             0.9   
508,244
            
 
    
Mattel, Inc.
          8,081,080             1.0   
76,775
            
 
    
McDonald’s Corp.
          12,110,488             1.6   
252,147
            
 
    
Metlife, Inc.
          11,646,670             1.5   
171,676
            
 
    
Microsoft Corp.
          16,098,059             2.1   
455,300
            
 
    
Mosaic Co.
          11,983,496             1.5   
190,400
            
 
    
Oracle Corp.
          9,647,568             1.2   
353,987
            
 
    
Pfizer, Inc.
          12,853,268             1.7   
121,300
            
 
    
Philip Morris International, Inc.
          12,560,615             1.6   
65,504
            
 
    
PNC Financial Services Group, Inc.
          10,327,361             1.3   
109,182
            
 
    
Procter & Gamble Co.
          8,572,971             1.1   
193,700
            
 
    
Qualcomm, Inc.
          12,590,500             1.6   
128,700
            
 
    
Schlumberger Ltd.
          8,447,868             1.1   
993,460
            
 
    
Other Securities
          49,658,336             6.4   
 
            
 
    
 
          349,660,357             44.9   
 
            
 
    
Total Common Stock
(Cost $737,385,817)
          729,522,000             93.6   

See Accompanying Notes to Financial Statements

20


VOYA GLOBAL EQUITY DIVIDEND AND
PREMIUM OPPORTUNITY FUND		 SUMMARY PORTFOLIO OF INVESTMENTS
AS OF FEBRUARY 28, 2018 (CONTINUED)

Shares
  
  
  
 Value
   
 Percentage
of Net
Assets
 
PURCHASED OPTIONS(3): 0.1%
 
            
 
    
Total Purchased Options
(Cost $667,000)
     $ 386,087             0.1   
 
 
            
 
    
Total Long-Term
Investments
(Cost $738,052,817)
          729,908,087             93.7   
 
SHORT-TERM INVESTMENTS: 5.2%
 
Mutual Funds: 5.2%
40,306,912
            
(4)
    
BlackRock Liquidity Funds, FedFund, Institutional
Class, 1.290%
(Cost $40,306,912)
          40,306,912             5.2   
 
 
            
 
    
Total Short-Term Investments
(Cost $40,306,912)
          40,306,912             5.2   
 
 
            
 
    
Total Investments
in Securities
(Cost $778,359,729)
     $ 770,214,999             98.9   
 
            
 
    
Assets in Excess of Other Liabilities
          8,893,110             1.1   
 
            
 
    
Net Assets
     $ 779,108,109             100.0   

“Other Securities” represents issues not identified as the top 50 holdings in terms of market value and issues or issuers not exceeding 1% of net assets individually or in aggregate respectively as of February 28, 2018.
The following footnotes apply to either the individual securities noted or one or more of the securities aggregated and listed as a single line item.
(1)
   Non-income producing security.
(2)
   The grouping contains non-income producing securities.
(3)
   The tables below the Portfolio of Investments detail open purchased options which are non-income producing securities.
(4)
   Rate shown is the 7-day yield as of February 28, 2018.

Sector Diversification
         Percentage
of Net Assets
Financials
                  19.5 %  
Information Technology
                  14.4   
Health Care
                  13.8   
Consumer Discretionary
                  10.4   
Consumer Staples
                  8.1   
Energy
                  7.8   
Industrials
                  6.8   
Telecommunication Services
                  5.7   
Utilities
                  3.6   
Materials
                  3.5   
Purchased Options
                  0.1   
Short-Term Investments
                  5.2   
Assets in Excess of Other Liabilities
                      1.1   
Net Assets
                  100.0 %  
 

Fair Value Measurementsˆ

The following is a summary of the fair valuations according to the inputs used as of February 28, 2018 in valuing the assets and liabilities:

        Quoted Prices
in Active Markets
for Identical
Investments
(Level 1)
     Significant
Other
Observable
Inputs#
(Level 2)
     Significant
Unobservable
Inputs
(Level 3)
     Fair Value
at
February 28, 2018
Asset Table
                                                                    
Investments, at fair value
                                                                    
Common Stock
                                                                    
Canada
             $ 17,739,858        $ —         $ —         $ 17,739,858   
France
                  —              87,447,292             —              87,447,292   
Germany
                  —              12,700,620             —              12,700,620   
Ireland
                  9,490,932             —              —              9,490,932   
Italy
                  —              30,617,504             —              30,617,504   
Japan
                  —              58,260,811             —              58,260,811   
Netherlands
                  —              18,049,855             —              18,049,855   
Singapore
                  —              10,731,162             —              10,731,162   
Spain
                  —              15,715,942             —              15,715,942   
Sweden
                  —              6,725,079             —              6,725,079   
Switzerland
                  —              42,733,799             —              42,733,799   
United Kingdom
                  —              69,648,789             —              69,648,789   
United States
                  349,660,357             —              —              349,660,357   
Total Common Stock
                  376,891,147             352,630,853             —              729,522,000   
Purchased Options
                  —              386,087             —              386,087   
Short-Term Investments
                  40,306,912             —              —              40,306,912   
Total Investments, at fair value
             $ 417,198,059        $ 353,016,940        $ —         $ 770,214,999   
Other Financial Instruments+
                                                                       
Futures
                  91,113             —              —              91,113   
Total Assets
             $ 417,289,172        $ 353,016,940        $ —         $ 770,306,112   

See Accompanying Notes to Financial Statements

21


VOYA GLOBAL EQUITY DIVIDEND AND
PREMIUM OPPORTUNITY FUND		 SUMMARY PORTFOLIO OF INVESTMENTS
AS OF FEBRUARY 28, 2018 (CONTINUED)

        Quoted Prices
in Active Markets
for Identical
Investments
(Level 1)
     Significant
Other
Observable
Inputs#
(Level 2)
     Significant
Unobservable
Inputs
(Level 3)
     Fair Value
at
February 28, 2018
Liabilities Table
                                                                       
Other Financial Instruments+
                                                                       
Futures
             $ (1,686,882 )       $ —         $ —         $ (1,686,882 )  
Written Options
                  —              (2,466,230 )            —              (2,466,230 )  
Total Liabilities
             $ (1,686,882 )       $ (2,466,230 )       $ —         $ (4,153,112 )  

ˆ
   See Note 2, “Significant Accounting Policies” in the Notes to Financial Statements for additional information.
+
   Other Financial Instruments may include open forward foreign currency contracts, futures, centrally cleared swaps, OTC swaps and written options. Forward foreign currency contracts, futures and centrally cleared swaps are valued at the unrealized gain (loss) on the instrument. OTC swaps and written options are valued at the fair value of the instrument.
#
   The earlier close of the foreign markets gives rise to the possibility that significant events, including broad market moves, may have occurred in the interim and may materially affect the value of those securities. To account for this, the Fund may frequently value many of its foreign equity securities using fair value prices based on third party vendor modeling tools to the extent available. Accordingly, a portion of the Fund’s investments are categorized as Level 2 investments.

At February 28, 2018, the following futures contracts were outstanding for Voya Global Equity Dividend and Premium Opportunity Fund:

Contract Description
         Number
of Contracts
     Expiration
Date
     Notional
Value
     Unrealized
Appreciation/
(Depreciation)
Long Contracts
                                                                    
EURO STOXX 50® Index
                  580              03/16/18        $ 24,327,351        $ (989,239 )  
FTSE 100 Index
                  59              03/16/18             5,869,378             (29,681 )  
Nikkei 225 Index
                  186              03/08/18             19,267,679             (667,962 )  
 
                                           $ 49,464,408        $ (1,686,882 )  
Short Contracts
                                                                        
S&P 500 E-Mini
                  (134 )            03/16/18             (18,186,480 )            91,113   
 
                                           $ (18,186,480 )       $ 91,113   
 

At February 28, 2018, the following over-the-counter purchased foreign currency options were outstanding for Voya Global Equity Dividend and Premium Opportunity Fund:

Description
   Counterparty
     Expiration
Date
     Exercise
Price
       Notional
Amount
       Cost
       Fair Value
  
Call USD vs. Put EUR
    
BNP Paribas S.A.
    
03/20/18
     1.157  USD        15,000,000    $ 65,250    $ 2,186   
Call USD vs. Put EUR
    
BNP Paribas S.A.
    
04/20/18
     1.194  USD        10,000,000         45,000         31,277   
Call USD vs. Put EUR
    
BNP Paribas S.A.
    
05/21/18
     1.202  USD        15,000,000         66,000         89,825   
Call USD vs. Put GBP
    
Societe Generale
    
03/20/18
     1.303  USD        25,000,000         112,500         3,823   
Call USD vs. Put GBP
    
Societe Generale
    
04/20/18
     1.345  USD        25,000,000         122,500         116,567   
Call USD vs. Put GBP
    
Morgan Stanley & Co. International PLC
    
05/21/18
     1.346  USD        15,000,000         98,250         112,122   
Call USD vs. Put JPY
    
Morgan Stanley & Co. International PLC
    
03/20/18
     116.050  USD        10,000,000         43,000         64    
Call USD vs. Put JPY
    
Societe Generale
    
04/20/18
     113.740  USD        15,000,000         64,500         3,386   
Call USD vs. Put JPY
    
Morgan Stanley & Co. International PLC
    
05/21/18
     110.420  USD        10,000,000         50,000         26,837   
 
    
 
    
 
                      $ 667,000    $ 386,087   

At February 28, 2018, the following OTC written foreign currency options were outstanding for Voya Global Equity Dividend and Premium Opportunity Fund:

Description
   Counterparty
     Expiration
Date
     Exercise
Price
       Notional
Amount
       Premiums
Received
       Fair Value
  
Put USD vs. Call EUR
    
BNP Paribas S.A.
    
03/20/18
     1.227  USD        15,000,000    $ 65,250    $ (92,273 )  
Put USD vs. Call EUR
    
BNP Paribas S.A.
    
04/20/18
     1.273  USD        10,000,000         45,000         (13,635 )  
Put USD vs. Call EUR
    
BNP Paribas S.A.
    
05/21/18
     1.284  USD        15,000,000         66,000         (28,910 )  
Put USD vs. Call GBP
    
Societe Generale
    
03/20/18
     1.381  USD        25,000,000         112,500         (173,915 )  
Put USD vs. Call GBP
    
Societe Generale
    
04/20/18
     1.436  USD        25,000,000         122,500         (47,637 )  
Put USD vs. Call GBP
    
Morgan Stanley & Co. International PLC
    
05/21/18
     1.449  USD        15,000,000         98,250         (39,998 )  
Put USD vs. Call JPY
    
Morgan Stanley & Co. International PLC
    
03/20/18
     108.850  USD        10,000,000         43,000         (228,409 )  
Put USD vs. Call JPY
    
Societe Generale
    
04/20/18
     105.580  USD        15,000,000         64,500         (140,002 )  
Put USD vs. Call JPY
    
Morgan Stanley & Co. International PLC
    
05/21/18
     101.400  USD        10,000,000         50,000         (37,580 )  
 
    
 
    
 
                      $ 667,000    $ (802,359 )  

See Accompanying Notes to Financial Statements

22


VOYA GLOBAL EQUITY DIVIDEND AND
PREMIUM OPPORTUNITY FUND		 SUMMARY PORTFOLIO OF INVESTMENTS
AS OF FEBRUARY 28, 2018 (CONTINUED)

At February 28, 2018, the following OTC written equity options were outstanding for Voya Global Equity Dividend and Premium Opportunity Fund:

Description
   Counterparty
     Put/Call
     Expiration
Date
   Exercise
Price
       Number of
Contracts
     Notional
Amount
       Premiums
Received
       Fair Value
  
EURO STOXX 50® Index
    
Societe Generale
    
Call
    
03/02/18
      3,673.370  EUR       2,700    9,285,192    $ 118,783    $ (4 )  
EURO STOXX 50® Index
    
BNP Paribas S.A.
    
Call
    
03/16/18
      3,564.284  EUR       2,700    9,285,192         164,281         (29,276 )  
EURO STOXX 50® Index
    
Societe Generale
    
Call
    
04/06/18
      3,456.675  EUR       3,200    11,004,672         188,400         (215,308 )  
FTSE 100 Index
    
Societe Generale
    
Call
    
03/02/18
      7,739.670  GBP       2,300    16,633,393         185,926         —    
FTSE 100 Index
    
Societe Generale
    
Call
    
03/16/18
      7,458.042  GBP       2,300    16,633,393         247,019         (26,089 )  
FTSE 100 Index
    
Societe Generale
    
Call
    
04/06/18
      7,308.660  GBP       2,000    14,463,820         241,868         (156,270 )  
Nikkei 225 Index
    
Morgan Stanley & Co.
International PLC
    
Call
    
03/02/18
      24,133.200  JPY       56,900    1,255,682,856         152,812         —    
Nikkei 225 Index
    
BNP Paribas S.A.
    
Call
    
03/16/18
      23,573.375  JPY       57,200    1,262,303,328         177,708         (8,283 )  
Nikkei 225 Index
    
BNP Paribas S.A.
    
Call
    
04/06/18
      22,046.420  JPY       55,700    1,229,200,968         200,877         (231,930 )  
S&P 500® Index
    
Societe Generale
    
Call
    
03/02/18
      2,829.000  USD       31,300    84,942,879         760,590         (27 )  
S&P 500® Index
    
Societe Generale
    
Call
    
03/16/18
      2,788.610  USD       31,000    84,128,730         890,165         (218,162 )  
S&P 500® Index
    
Societe Generale
    
Call
    
04/06/18
      2,769.995  USD       31,400    85,214,262         1,093,660         (778,522 )  
 
    
 
    
 
    
 
                            $ 4,422,089    $ (1,663,871 )  
 

Currency Abbreviations

EUR    —    EU Euro
GBP    —    British Pound
JPY     —    Japanese Yen
USD    —    United States Dollar

A summary of derivative instruments by primary risk exposure is outlined in the following tables.

The fair value of derivative instruments as of February 28, 2018 was as follows:

Derivatives not accounted for as
hedging instruments
         Location on Statement
of Assets and Liabilities
     Fair Value
  
Asset Derivatives
            
 
               
Foreign exchange contracts
            
Investments in securities at value*
     $ 386,087   
Equity contracts
            
Net Assets — Unrealized appreciation**
          91,113   
Total Asset Derivatives
            
 
     $ 477,200   
Liability Derivatives
            
 
                
Equity contracts
            
Net Assets — Unrealized depreciation**
     $ 1,686,882   
Equity Contracts
            
Written options, at fair value
          1,663,871   
Foreign exchange contracts
            
Written options, at fair value
          802,359   
Total Liability Derivatives
            
 
     $ 4,153,112   

*
   Includes purchased options.
**
   Includes cumulative appreciation/depreciation of futures contracts as reported in the table following the Portfolio of Investments.

The effect of derivative instruments on the Fund’s Statement of Operations for the year ended February 28, 2018 was as follows:

        Amount of Realized Gain or (Loss) on
Derivatives Recognized in Income
  
Derivatives not accounted for as
hedging instruments
       Investments*
     Forward foreign
currency
contracts
     Futures
     Written options
   Total
  
Equity contracts
             $ —         $ —         $ 8,028,742        $ (23,204,449 )    
(15,175,707)
    
Foreign exchange contracts
                  (3,218,473 )            30,110             —              (752,253 )    
(3,940,616)
    
Total
             $ (3,218,473 )       $ 30,110        $ 8,028,742        $ (23,956,702 )   $
(19,116,323)
    
 

See Accompanying Notes to Financial Statements

23


VOYA GLOBAL EQUITY DIVIDEND AND
PREMIUM OPPORTUNITY FUND		 SUMMARY PORTFOLIO OF INVESTMENTS
AS OF FEBRUARY 28, 2018 (CONTINUED)

        Change in Unrealized Appreciation or (Depreciation)
on Derivatives Recognized in Income
  
Derivatives not accounted for as
hedging instruments		       Investments*
     Futures
   Written options
   Total
  
Equity contracts
             $ —         $ (1,904,773 )       $ 4,450,249        $ 2,545,476   
Foreign exchange contracts
             $ 137,431             —              (351,368 )            (213,937 )  
Total
             $ 137,431        $ (1,904,773 )       $ 4,098,881        $ 2,331,539   

*
   Amounts recognized for purchased options are included in net realized gain (loss) on investments and net change in unrealized appreciation or depreciation on investments.

The following is a summary by counterparty of the fair value of OTC derivative instruments subject to Master Netting Agreements and collateral pledged (received), if any, at February 28, 2018:

      BNP
Paribas S.A.
   Morgan Stanley &
Co. International PLC
   Societe Generale
   Totals
Assets:
                                                                          
Purchased options
             $ 123,288          $ 139,023          $ 123,776          $ 386,087   
Total Assets
             $ 123,288          $ 139,023          $ 123,776          $ 386,087   
Liabilities:
                                                                          
Written options
             $ 404,307          $ 305,987          $ 1,755,936          $ 2,466,230   
Total Liabilities
             $ 404,307          $ 305,987          $ 1,755,936          $ 2,466,230   
Net OTC derivative instruments by counterparty, at fair value
             $ (281,019 )         $ (166,964 )         $ (1,632,160 )         $ (2,080,143 )  
Total collateral pledged by the Fund/(Received from counterparty)
             $ 281,019          $ 166,964          $ 1,632,160          $ 2,080,143   
Net Exposure(1)(2)
             $ —           $ —           $ —           $ —    

(1)
   Positive net exposure represents amounts due from each respective counterparty. Negative exposure represents amounts due from the Fund. Please refer to Note 2 for additional details regarding counterparty credit risk and credit related contingent features.

(2)
   At February 28, 2018, the Fund had pledged $410,000, $410,000 and $2,630,000 to BNP Paribas S.A., Morgan Stanley & Co. International PLC and Societe Generale, respectively. Excess cash collateral is not shown for financial reporting purposes.

At February 28, 2018, the aggregate cost of securities and other investments and the composition of unrealized appreciation and depreciation of securities and other investments at year end were:

Cost for federal income tax purposes was $776,856,986.            
Net unrealized depreciation consisted of:
                        
Gross Unrealized Appreciation
             $ 86,205,839   
Gross Unrealized Depreciation
                  (93,496,393 )  
Net Unrealized Depreciation
             $ (7,290,554 )  

Supplemental Option Information (Unaudited)

Supplemental Call Option Statistics as of February 28, 2018:

Indices
                        
% of Total Net Assets against which calls written
                  50.04 %  
Average Days to Expiration at time written
                  44 days  
Average Call Moneyness* at time written
                  OTM/ATM    
Premiums received for calls
               $ 4,422,089   
Value of calls
               $ (1,663,871 )  
 
Currencies
                        
% of Total Net Assets against which calls/puts written
                  17.42 %  
Average Days to Expiration at time written
                  90 days  
Average Call Moneyness* at time written
                  OTM    
Premiums received for calls
               $ 667,000   
Value of calls
               $ (802,359 )  

See Accompanying Notes to Financial Statements

24


VOYA GLOBAL EQUITY DIVIDEND AND
PREMIUM OPPORTUNITY FUND		 SUMMARY PORTFOLIO OF INVESTMENTS
AS OF FEBRUARY 28, 2018 (CONTINUED)

 
Supplemental Put Option Statistics as of February 28, 2018:
                        
 
Currency
                        
% of Total Net Assets against which Currency calls/puts purchased
                  17.42 %  
Average Days to Expiration at time purchased
                  90 days  
Average Currency Put Moneyness* at time purchased
                  OTM    
Premiums Paid for puts
               $ 667,000   
Value of puts
               $ (386,087 )  

*
   “Moneyness” is the term used to describe the relationship between the price of the underlying asset and the option’s exercise or strike price. For example, a call (buy) option is considered “in-the-money” when the value of the underlying asset exceeds the strike price. Conversely, a put (sell) option is considered “in-the-money” when its strike price exceeds the value of the underlying asset. Options are characterized for the purpose of Moneyness as, “in-the-money” (“ITM”), “out-of-the-money” (“OTM”) or “at-the-money” (“ATM”), where the underlying asset value equals the strike price.

See Accompanying Notes to Financial Statements

25


TAX INFORMATION (UNAUDITED)

Dividends and distributions paid during the tax year ended December 31, 2017 were as follows:

Fund Name
       Type
     Per Share Amount
Voya Global Equity Dividend and Premium Opportunity Fund
        
NII
        $0.3240   
 
        
ROC
        $0.4080   

NII — Net investment income
ROC — Return of capital

Of the ordinary distributions made during the tax year ended December 31, 2017, 60.66% qualifies for the dividends received deduction (DRD) available to corporate shareholders.

For the tax year ended December 31, 2017, 100% of ordinary income dividends paid by the Fund (including creditable foreign taxes paid) are designated as qualifying dividend income (QDI) subject to reduced income tax rates for individuals.

Pursuant to Section 853 of the Internal Revenue Code, the Fund designates the following amounts as foreign taxes paid for the tax year ended December 31, 2017:

Creditable Foreign
Taxes Paid
         Per Share
Amount
     Portion of Ordinary
Income Distribution
Derived from Foreign
Sourced Income*
$ 807,818
            
$ 0.0083
    
63.11%
 

*
   None of the Fund’s income was derived from ineligible foreign sources as defined under Section 901(j) of the Internal Revenue Code.

Foreign taxes paid or withheld should be included in taxable income with an offsetting deduction from gross income or as a credit for taxes paid to foreign governments. Shareholders are strongly advised to consult their own tax advisors regarding the appropriate treatment of foreign taxes paid.

Above figures may differ from those cited elsewhere in this report due to differences in the calculation of income and gains under U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (book) purposes and Internal Revenue Service (tax) purposes.

Shareholders are strongly advised to consult their own tax advisers with respect to the tax consequences of their investments in the Fund. In January, shareholders, excluding corporate shareholders, receive an IRS 1099-DIV regarding the federal tax status of the dividends and distributions they received in the calendar year.

26


SHAREHOLDER MEETING INFORMATION (UNAUDITED)

Proposal:

1    
   At this meeting, a proposal was submitted to elect four members of the Board of Trustees to represent the interests of the holders of the Fund, with all four individuals to serve as Class III Trustees, for a term of three-years, and until the election and qualification of their successors.

An annual shareholder meeting of Voya Global Equity Dividend and Premium Opportunity Fund was held July 6, 2017, at the offices of Voya Investment Management, 7337 East Doubletree Ranch Road, Suite 100, Scottsdale, AZ 85258.

      Proposal
     Shares voted for
     Shares voted
against or
withheld
     Shares
abstained
   Broker
non-vote
   Total Shares
Voted
  
Class III Trustees
    
Voya Global Equity Dividend and Premium Opportunity Fund
                                                  
 
    
Martin J. Gavin
     1*    80,315,055.111    3,225,436.720    0.000    0.000      83,540,491.831   
 
    
Patrick W. Kenny
     1*    65,007,129.111    18,533,362.720    0.000    0.000      83,540,491.831   
 
    
Shaun P. Mathews
     1*    65,209,608.111    18,330,883.720    0.000    0.000      83,540,491.831   
 
    
Roger B. Vincent
     1*    80,259,717.111    3,280,774.720    0.000    0.000      83,540,491.831   

*
   Proposal Passed

After the July 6, 2017 annual shareholder meeting, the following Trustees continued on as Trustees of the Trust: Colleen D. Baldwin, John V. Boyer, Patricia W. Chadwick, Peter S. Drotch**, Russell H. Jones, Joseph E. Obermeyer, Sheryl K. Pressler and Christopher P. Sullivan.

**
   Effective December 31, 2017, Peter S. Drotch retired as a Trustee of the Board.

27


TRUSTEE AND OFFICER INFORMATION (UNAUDITED)

The business and affairs of the Trust are managed under the direction of the Board. A Trustee, who is not an interested person of the Trust, as defined in the 1940 Act, is an independent trustee (“Independent Trustee”). The Trustees and Officers of the Trust are listed below. The Statement of Additional Information includes additional information about trustees of the Trust and is available, without charge, upon request at (800) 992-0180.

Name, Address and Age
         Position(s)
Held with
the Trust
     Term of Office
and Length of
Time Served(1)
     Principal
Occupation(s) —
During the Past 5 Years
     Number
of funds
in Fund
Complex
Overseen by
Trustee(2)
     Other Board
Positions
Held by Trustee
 
Independent Trustees:
            
 
                                                                
 
Colleen D. Baldwin
7337 East Doubletree Ranch Rd.
Suite 100
Scottsdale, Arizona 85258
Age: 57
            
Trustee
    
October
2007–Present
    
President, Glantuam Partners, LLC, a business consulting firm (January 2009–Present).
    
151
    
DSM/Dentaquest, Boston, MA (February 2014–Present).
 
John V. Boyer
7337 East Doubletree Ranch Rd.
Suite 100
Scottsdale, Arizona 85258
Age: 64
            
Chairperson
Trustee
    
January
2014–Present
February
2005–Present
    
President and Chief Executive Officer, Bechtler Arts Foundation, an arts and education foundation (January 2008–Present).
    
151
    
None.
 
Patricia W. Chadwick
7337 East Doubletree Ranch Rd.
Suite 100
Scottsdale, Arizona 85258
Age: 69
            
Trustee
    
January
2006–Present
    
Consultant and President, Ravengate Partners LLC, a consulting firm that provides advice regarding financial markets and the global economy (January 2000–Present).
    
151
    
Wisconsin Energy Corporation (June 2006–Present); The Royce Funds (23 funds) (December 2009–Present); and AMICA Mutual Insurance Company (1992–Present).
 
Martin J. Gavin
7337 East Doubletree Ranch Rd.
Suite 100
Scottsdale, AZ 85258
Age: 68
            
Trustee
    
August
2015–Present
    
Retired. Formerly, President and Chief Executive Officer, Connecticut Children’s Medical Center (May 2006–November 2015).
    
151
    
None.
 
Russell H. Jones
7337 East Doubletree Ranch Rd.
Suite 100
Scottsdale, Arizona 85258
Age: 73
            
Trustee
    
May
2013–Present
    
Retired.
    
151
    
None.
 
Patrick W. Kenny
7337 East Doubletree Ranch Rd.
Suite 100
Scottsdale, Arizona 85258
Age: 75
            
Trustee
    
February
2005–Present
    
Retired.
    
151
    
Assured Guaranty Ltd. (April 2004–Present).
 
Joseph E. Obermeyer
7337 East Doubletree Ranch Rd.
Suite 100
Scottsdale, Arizona 85258
Age: 60
            
Trustee
    
May
2013–Present
    
President, Obermeyer & Associates, Inc., a provider of financial and economic consulting services (November
1999–Present).
    
151
    
None.
 
Sheryl K. Pressler
7337 East Doubletree Ranch Rd.
Suite 100
Scottsdale, Arizona 85258
Age: 67
            
Trustee
    
January
2006–Present
    
Consultant (May
2001–Present).
    
151
    
None.
 
Christopher P. Sullivan
7337 East Doubletree Ranch Rd.
Suite 100
Scottsdale, Arizona 85258
Age: 64
            
Trustee
    
October
2015–Present
    
Retired.
    
151
    
None.
 
Roger B. Vincent
7337 East Doubletree Ranch Rd.
Suite 100
Scottsdale, Arizona 85258
Age: 72
            
Trustee
    
February
2005–Present
    
Retired.
    
151
    
None.

28


TRUSTEE AND OFFICER INFORMATION (UNAUDITED) (continued)

Name, Address and Age
         Position(s)
Held with
the Trust
     Term of Office
and Length of
Time Served(1)
     Principal
Occupation(s) —
During the Past 5 Years
     Number
of funds
in Fund
Complex
Overseen by
Trustee(2)
     Other Board
Positions
Held by Trustee
 
Trustee who is an “interested person”:
                                                                                        
Shaun P. Mathews (3)
7337 East Doubletree Ranch Rd.
Suite 100
Scottsdale, Arizona 85258
Age: 62
            
Trustee
    
June
2006–Present
    
Senior Managing Director, Head of the Client Group, Voya Investment Management (March 2006–April 2018). President and Chief Executive Officer, Voya Investments, LLC (December 2006–March 2018).
    
151
    
None.

(1)
   Trustees serve until their successors are duly elected and qualified. The tenure of each Trustee who is not an “interested person” as defined in the 1940 Act, of each Fund (“Independent Trustee”) is subject to the Board’s retirement policy which states that each duly elected or appointed Independent Trustee shall retire from and cease to be a member of the Board of Trustees at the close of business on December 31 of the calendar year in which the Independent Trustee attains the age of 75. A majority vote of the Board’s other Independent Trustees may extend the retirement date of an Independent Trustee if the retirement would trigger a requirement to hold a meeting of shareholders of the Trust under applicable law, whether for the purposes of appointing a successor to the Independent Trustee or otherwise comply under applicable law, in which case the extension would apply until such time as the shareholder meeting can be held or is no longer required (as determined by a vote of a majority of the other Independent Trustees).

(2)
   For the purposes of this table, “Fund Complex” means the Voya family of funds including the following investment companies: Voya Asia Pacific High Dividend Equity Income Fund; Voya Balanced Portfolio, Inc.; Voya Emerging Markets High Dividend Equity Fund; Voya Equity Trust; Voya Funds Trust; Voya Global Advantage and Premium Opportunity Fund; Voya Global Equity Dividend and Premium Opportunity Fund; Voya Government Money Market Portfolio; Voya Infrastructure, Industrials and Materials Fund; Voya Intermediate Bond Portfolio; Voya International High Dividend Equity Income Fund; Voya Investors Trust; Voya Mutual Funds; Voya Natural Resources Equity Income Fund; Voya Partners, Inc.; Voya Prime Rate Trust; Voya Senior Income Fund; Voya Separate Portfolios Trust; Voya Series Fund, Inc.; Voya Strategic Allocation Portfolios, Inc.; Voya Variable Funds; Voya Variable Insurance Trust; Voya Variable Portfolios, Inc.; and Voya Variable Products Trust. The number of funds in the Fund Complex is as of March 31, 2018.

(2)
   Mr. Mathews is deemed to be an “interested person” of the Trust as defined in the 1940 Act, because of his current affiliation with the Voya funds, Voya Financial, Inc. or Voya Financial, Inc.’s affiliates.

29


TRUSTEE AND OFFICER INFORMATION (UNAUDITED) (continued)

Name, Address and Age
         Position(s) Held
With the Trust
     Term of Office
and Length of
Time Served(1)
     Principal Occupation(s) —
During the Past 5 Years
Michael Bell
One Orange Way
Windsor, Connecticut 06095
Age: 49
            
Chief Executive Officer
    
March 2018–Present
    
Chief Executive Officer, Voya Investments, LLC (March 2018–Present); Chief Financial Officer, Voya Investment Management (September 2014–Present). Formerly, Senior Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer, Voya Investments, LLC (November 2015–March 2018); Chief Financial Officer and Chief Accounting Officer, Hartford Investment Management (September 2003–September 2014).
 
Dina Santoro
230 Park Avenue
New York, New York 10169
Age: 44
            
President
    
March 2018–Present
    
President, Voya Investments, LLC (March 2018–Present); Managing Director, Head of Product and Marketing Strategy, Voya Investment Management (September 2017–Present). Formerly, Managing Director, Quantitative Management Associates, LLC (January 2004–August 2017).
 
Stanley D. Vyner
230 Park Avenue
New York, New York 10169
Age: 67
            
Executive Vice President
Chief Investment Risk Officer
    
January 2005–Present
September 2009–Present
    
Executive Vice President, Voya Investments, LLC (July 2000–Present) and Chief Investment Risk Officer, Voya Investments, LLC (January 2003–Present).
 
Jim Fink
5780 Powers Ferry Road NW
Atlanta, Georgia 30327
Age: 60
            
Executive Vice President
    
March 2018–Present
    
Managing Director, Voya Investments, LLC (March 2018–Present); Chief Administrative Officer, Voya Investment Management (September 2017–Present). Formerly, Managing Director, Operations, Voya Investment Management (March 1999–September 2017).
 
Kevin M. Gleason
7337 East Doubletree Ranch Rd.
Suite 100
Scottsdale, Arizona 85258
Age: 51
            
Chief Compliance Officer
    
February 2012–Present
    
Senior Vice President, Voya Investment Management and Chief Compliance Officer, Voya Family of Funds (February 2012–Present).
 
Todd Modic
7337 East Doubletree Ranch Rd.
Suite 100
Scottsdale, Arizona 85258
Age: 50
            
Senior Vice President, Chief/Principal Financial Officer and Assistant Secretary
    
May 2005–Present
    
Senior Vice President, Voya Investments, LLC and Voya Funds Services, LLC (April 2005–Present).
 
Kimberly A. Anderson
7337 East Doubletree Ranch Rd.
Suite 100
Scottsdale, Arizona 85258
Age: 53
            
Senior Vice President
    
January 2005–Present
    
Senior Vice President, Voya Investments, LLC (September 2003–Present).
 
Robert Terris
5780 Powers Ferry Road NW
Atlanta, Georgia 30327
Age: 47
            
Senior Vice President
    
May 2006–Present
    
Senior Vice President, Head of Division Operations, Voya Investments, LLC (October 2015–Present) and Voya Funds Services, LLC (March 2006–Present).
 
Fred Bedoya
7337 East Doubletree Ranch Rd.
Suite 100
Scottsdale, Arizona 85258
Age: 45
            
Vice President and Treasurer
    
September 2012–Present
    
Vice President, Voya Investments, LLC (October 2015–Present) and Voya Funds Services, LLC (July 2012–Present).
 
Maria M. Anderson
7337 East Doubletree Ranch Rd.
Suite 100
Scottsdale, Arizona 85258
Age: 59
            
Vice President
    
January 2005–Present
    
Vice President, Voya Investments, LLC (October 2015–Present) and Voya Funds Services, LLC (September 2004–Present).

30


TRUSTEE AND OFFICER INFORMATION (UNAUDITED) (continued)

Name, Address and Age
         Position(s) Held
With the Trust
     Term of Office
and Length of
Time Served(1)
     Principal Occupation(s) —
During the Past 5 Years
 
Lauren D. Bensinger
7337 East Doubletree Ranch Rd.
Suite 100
Scottsdale, Arizona 85258
Age: 64
            
Vice President
    
January 2005–Present
    
Vice President, Voya Funds Services, LLC (February 1996–Present) and Voya Investments, LLC (October 2004–Present); Vice President and Anti-Money Laundering Officer, Voya Investments Distributor, LLC (April 2010–Present). Anti-Money Laundering Compliance Officer, Voya Financial, Inc. (January 2013– Present); and Anti-Money Laundering Officer, Voya Investment Management Trust Co. (October 2012–Present).
 
Sara M. Donaldson
7337 East Doubletree Ranch Rd.
Suite 100
Scottsdale, Arizona 85258
Age: 58
            
Vice President
    
September 2014–Present
    
Vice President, Voya Investments, LLC (October 2015–Present). Formerly, Vice President, Voya Funds Services, LLC (April 2014–October 2015). Formerly, Director, Compliance, AXA Rosenberg Global Services, LLC (September 1997–March 2014).
 
Micheline S. Faver
7337 East Doubletree Ranch Rd.
Suite 100
Scottsdale, Arizona 85258
Age: 40
            
Vice President
    
September 2016–Present
    
Vice President, Head of Fund Compliance and Chief Compliance Officer, Voya Investments, LLC (June 2016–Present). Formerly, Chief Compliance Officer, Directed Services LLC (June 2016–December 2017); Vice President, Mutual Fund Compliance (March 2014–June 2016); Assistant Vice President, Mutual Fund Compliance (May 2013–March 2014); Assistant Vice President, Senior Project Manager (May 2008–May 2013).
 
Robyn L. Ichilov
7337 East Doubletree Ranch Rd.
Suite 100
Scottsdale, Arizona 85258
Age: 50
            
Vice President
    
January 2005–Present
    
Vice President, Voya Funds Services, LLC (November 1995–Present) and Voya Investments, LLC (August 1997–Present).
 
Jason Kadavy
7337 East Doubletree Ranch Rd.
Suite 100
Scottsdale, Arizona 85258
Age: 42
            
Vice President
    
September 2012–Present
    
Vice President, Voya Investments, LLC (October 2015–Present) and Voya Funds Services, LLC (July 2007–Present).
 
Andrew K. Schlueter
7337 East Doubletree Ranch Rd.
Suite 100
Scottsdale, Arizona 85258
Age: 42
            
Vice President
    
March 2018–Present
    
Vice President, Voya Investments, LLC (March 2018-Present); Vice President, Head of Mutual Fund Operations, Voya Investment Management (February 2018–Present). Formerly, Vice President, Voya Investment Management (March 2014–February 2018); Assistant Vice President, Voya Investment Management (March 2011–March 2014).
 
Kimberly K. Springer
7337 East Doubletree Ranch Rd.
Suite 100
Scottsdale, Arizona 85258
Age: 60
            
Vice President
    
May 2008–Present
    
Vice President–Mutual Fund Product Development, Voya Investments, LLC
(July 2012–Present); Vice President, Voya Family of Funds (March 2010–Present) and Vice President, Voya Funds Services, LLC (March 2006–Present).
 
Craig Wheeler
7337 East Doubletree Ranch Rd.
Suite 100
Scottsdale, Arizona 85258
Age: 49
            
Vice President
    
May 2013–Present
    
Vice President–Director of Tax, Voya Investments, LLC (October 2015–Present). Formerly, Vice President–Director of Tax, Voya Funds Services, LLC (March 2013–October 2015). Formerly, Assistant Vice President–Director of Tax, Voya Funds Services, LLC (March 2008–February 2013).
 
Huey P. Falgout, Jr.
7337 East Doubletree Ranch Rd.
Suite 100
Scottsdale, Arizona 85258
Age: 54
            
Secretary
    
January 2005–Present
    
Senior Vice President and Chief Counsel, Voya Investment Management–Mutual Fund Legal Department (March 2010–Present).

31


TRUSTEE AND OFFICER INFORMATION (UNAUDITED) (continued)

Name, Address and Age
         Position(s) Held
With the Trust
     Term of Office
and Length of
Time Served(1)
     Principal Occupation(s) —
During the Past 5 Years
 
Paul A. Caldarelli
7337 East Doubletree Ranch Rd.
Suite 100
Scottsdale, Arizona 85258
Age: 66
            
Assistant Secretary
    
June 2010–Present
    
Vice President and Senior Counsel, Voya Investment Management–Mutual Fund Legal Department (March 2010–Present).
 
Theresa K. Kelety
7337 East Doubletree Ranch Rd.
Suite 100
Scottsdale, Arizona 85258
Age: 55
            
Assistant Secretary
    
January 2005–Present
    
Vice President and Senior Counsel, Voya Investment Management–Mutual Fund Legal Department (March 2010–Present).

(1)    
   The Officers hold office until the next annual meeting of the Board of Trustees and until their successors shall have been elected and qualified.

32


ADVISORY AND SUB-ADVISORY CONTRACT APPROVAL DISCUSSION (UNAUDITED)

BOARD CONSIDERATION AND APPROVAL OF INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT CONTRACT AND SUB-ADVISORY CONTRACTS

At a meeting held on November 16, 2017, the Board, including a majority of the Independent Trustees, considered and approved the renewal of the investment management contract (the “Management Contract”) between Voya Investments, LLC (the “Manager”) and Voya Global Equity Dividend and Premium Opportunity Fund (the “Fund”), and the sub-advisory contracts (the “Sub-Advisory Contracts”) with Voya Investment Management Co. LLC (“Voya IM”) and NNIP Advisors B.V. (“NNIP”), each a sub-adviser to the Fund (together, the “Sub-Advisers”), for an additional one year period ending November 30, 2018. In determining to renew such contracts, the Board took into account information furnished to it throughout the year at meetings of the Board and its committees, including regarding performance, expenses, and other matters.

To pursue the Fund’s investment objective, the Manager may, at its discretion, allocate all or a portion of the Fund’s assets to either NNIP or Voya IM to manage, and may change the allocation of the Fund’s assets between the Sub-Advisers. At the time that the Board made the determination to renew the Sub-Advisory Contracts, the Manager had not allocated any assets of the Fund to Voya IM. However, it noted that the Manager may, in the future, allocate a portion of the Fund’s assets to Voya IM and may change the allocation of the Fund’s assets between the Sub-Advisers. NNIP and Voya IM would each make investment decisions for the assets allocated to it and would be paid a sub-advisory fee rate based on the portion of the Fund’s managed assets.

In addition to the Board meeting on November 16, 2017, the Independent Trustees also held meetings outside the presence of personnel representing the Manager or Sub-Advisers (collectively, such persons are referred to herein as “Management”) on October 12, 2017, and November 14, 2017, specifically to review and consider materials related to the proposed continuance of each Management Contract and Sub-Advisory Contract that they believed to be relevant to the renewal of the Management Contract and Sub-Advisory Contracts in light of the legal advice furnished to them by K&L Gates LLP, their independent legal counsel, and their own business judgment. Subsequent references herein to factors considered and determinations made by the Independent Trustees and/or the Board include, as applicable, factors considered and determinations made at those meetings by the Independent Trustees. While the Board considered the renewal of the management contracts and sub-advisory contracts for all of the applicable investment companies in the Voya family of funds at the same meetings, the Board considered each Voya fund’s investment management and sub-advisory relationships separately.

The Board follows a structured process pursuant to which it seeks and considers relevant information when it evaluates whether to renew existing investment management and sub-advisory contracts for the Voya funds. The Board has established a Contracts Committee and three Investment Review Committees (the “IRCs”), each of which includes only Independent Trustees as members. The Contracts Committee provides oversight with respect to the management and sub-advisory contracts approval and renewal process, and each IRC provides oversight throughout the year regarding the investment performance of the sub-advisers, as well as the Manager’s role in monitoring the sub-advisers, with respect to each Voya fund that is assigned to that IRC.

The Contracts Committee oversees, and annually recommends Board approval of updates to, a methodology guide for the Voya funds (“Methodology Guide”). The Methodology Guide sets out a framework pursuant to which the Independent Trustees request, and Management provides, certain information that the Independent Trustees deem to be important or potentially relevant. The Independent Trustees retain the services of an independent consultant with experience in the mutual fund industry to assist the Contracts Committee in developing and recommending to the Board: (1) a selected peer group of investment companies for the Fund (“Selected Peer Group”) based on the Fund’s particular attributes, such as fund type and size, fund category (as determined by Morningstar, Inc., an independent provider of mutual fund data (“Morningstar”)), sales channels and structure; and (2) updates to the Methodology Guide with respect to the content and format of various data including, but not limited to, investment performance, fee structure, and expense information prepared in connection with the renewal process.

Provided below is an overview of certain material factors that the Board considered at its meetings regarding the renewal of the Management Contract and Sub-Advisory Contracts and the compensation to be paid thereunder. Board members did not identify any particular information or factor that was overarching, and each Board member may have accorded different weight to the various factors in reaching his or her conclusions with respect to the Fund’s investment management and sub-advisory arrangements.

Nature, Extent and Quality of Services

The Manager oversees, subject to the authority of the Board, the provision of all investment advisory and portfolio management services for the Fund, but may delegate certain of these responsibilities to one or more sub-advisers. In addition, the Manager provides administrative

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ADVISORY AND SUB-ADVISORY CONTRACT APPROVAL DISCUSSION (UNAUDITED) (CONTINUED)


services reasonably necessary for the operation of the Fund as set forth in the Management Contract, including oversight of the Fund’s operations and risk management and the oversight of its various other service providers.

The Board considered the “manager-of-managers” platform of the Voya funds that has been developed by the Manager pursuant to which the Manager selects, subject to the Board’s approval, experienced sub-advisers to provide day-to-day management services to all or a portion of each Voya fund. The Board recognized that the Manager is responsible for monitoring the investment program, performance, developments, ongoing operations, and regulatory compliance of the Sub-Advisers with respect to the Fund under this manager-of-managers arrangement. The Board also considered the techniques and resources that the Manager has developed to provide this ongoing oversight and due diligence with respect to the sub-advisers and to advocate or recommend, when it believes appropriate, changes in investment strategies or investment sub-advisers designed to assist in improving a Voya fund’s performance. The Board was advised that, in connection with the Manager’s performance of these duties, the Manager has developed an oversight process formulated by its Manager Research & Selection Group which reviews, among other matters, performance data, each Sub-Adviser’s management team, portfolio data and attribution analysis related to each Sub-Adviser through various means, including, but not limited to, in-person meetings, on-site visits, and telephonic meetings with the Sub-Adviser.

Further, the Board considered periodic compliance reports it receives from the Fund’s Chief Compliance Officer evaluating whether the regulatory compliance systems and procedures of the Manager and the Sub-Advisers are reasonably designed to ensure compliance with the federal securities laws and whether the investment policies and restrictions for the Fund are consistently complied with, and other periodic reports covering related matters.

The Board considered the portfolio management team assigned by the Sub-Advisers to the Fund and the level of resources committed to the Fund (and other relevant funds in the Voya funds) by the Manager and the Sub-Advisers, and whether those resources are sufficient to provide high-quality services to the Fund.

Based on their deliberations and the materials presented to them, the Board concluded that the nature, extent and quality of the overall services provided by the Manager and each Sub-Adviser under the Management Contract and respective Sub-Advisory Contract were appropriate.

Fund Performance

In assessing investment management and sub-advisory relationships, the Board placed emphasis on the investment returns of the Fund, including its investment performance over certain time periods compared to Fund’s Morningstar category, Selected Peer Group and primary benchmark, a broad-based securities market index that appears in the Fund’s prospectus, as well as the theoretical model performance of the Fund’s option overlay strategy applied to the Fund’s primary benchmark during different market conditions. The Board also considered information from the Manager Research & Selection Group and received reports summarizing a separate analysis of the Fund’s performance and risk, including risk-adjusted investment return information, by the Fund’s Chief Investment Risk Officer.

Economies of Scale

When evaluating the reasonableness of the management fee schedule, the Board considered whether economies of scale have been or likely will be realized by the Manager and the Sub-Advisers as the Fund grows larger and the extent to which any such economies are reflected in contractual fee schedules. The Board noted that the Fund, as a closed-end fund, generally does not issue new shares and is less likely to realize economies of scale from additional share purchases. The Board also considered that, while the Fund does not have management fee breakpoints, it does have fee waiver and expense reimbursement arrangements. The Board considered the extent to which economies of scale realized by the Manager could be shared with the Fund through such fee waivers, expense reimbursements or other expense reductions. In evaluating these matters, the Independent Trustees also considered periodic management reports, Selected Peer Group comparisons, and industry information regarding economies of scale.

Information Regarding Services to Other Clients

The Board considered information regarding the nature of services, performance, and fee schedules offered by the Manager and the Sub-Advisers to other clients with similar investment objectives, if applicable, including other registered investment companies and relevant institutional accounts. When the fee schedules offered to or the performance of other clients differed materially from the Fund, the Board took into account the underlying rationale provided by the Manager or the Sub-Advisers, as applicable, for these differences. For the non-Voya-affiliated Sub-Adviser, NNIP, the Board viewed the information related to any material differences in the fee schedules as not being a key factor in its deliberations because of the arm’s-length nature of negotiations between the Manager and non-Voya-affiliated Sub-

34


ADVISORY AND SUB-ADVISORY CONTRACT APPROVAL DISCUSSION (UNAUDITED) (CONTINUED)


Adviser with respect to sub-advisory fee schedules. The Board also considered that the fee schedules charged to the Fund and other institutional clients of the Manager or the Sub-Advisers (including other investment companies) and the performance of the Fund and the other accounts, as applicable, may differ materially due to, among other reasons: differences in services; different regulatory requirements associated with registered investment companies; market differences in fee schedules that existed when the Fund first was organized; investment capacity constraints that existed when certain contracts were first agreed upon or that might exist at present; and different pricing structures that are necessary to be competitive in different marketing channels.

Fee Schedules, Profitability, and Fall-out Benefits

The Board reviewed and considered the contractual management fee schedule payable by the Fund to the Manager compared to the Fund’s Selected Peer Group. The Board also considered the contractual sub-advisory fee schedule payable by the Manager to each Sub-Adviser for sub-advisory services for the Fund, including the portion of the contractual management fee rates that are paid to each Sub-Adviser, as compared to the portion retained by the Manager. In addition, the Board considered the fee waivers, expense limitations, and recoupment arrangements that apply to the fees payable by the Fund, including whether the Manager intends to propose any changes thereto. The Board separately determined that the fees payable to the Manager and the fee schedule payable to each Sub-Adviser are reasonable for the services that each performs, which were considered in light of the nature, extent and quality of the services that each has performed and is expected to perform.

The Board considered information on revenues, costs and profits or losses realized by the Manager and the Voya-affiliated Sub-Adviser, Voya IM. In analyzing the profitability of the Manager and its affiliated service providers in connection with services they render to the Fund, the Board took into account the sub-advisory fee rate payable by the Manager to each Sub-Adviser. The Board also considered the profitability of the Manager and its affiliated Sub-Adviser attributable to servicing the Fund both with and without taking into account the profitability of the distributor of the Fund. The Board did not request profitability data from the non-Voya-affiliated Sub-Adviser because the Board did not view this data as being a key factor to its deliberations given the arm’s-length nature of the relationship between the Manager and the non-Voya-affiliated Sub-Adviser with respect to the negotiation of sub-advisory fee schedules. In addition, the Board noted that non-Voya-affiliated sub-advisers may not account for their profits on an account-by-account basis and those that do typically employ different methodologies in connection with these calculations.

Although the Methodology Guide establishes a framework for profit calculation, the Board recognized that there is no uniform methodology within the asset management industry for determining profitability for this purpose. The Board also recognized that the use of different reasonable methodologies can give rise to dramatically different reported profit and loss results with respect to the Manager and the Voya-affiliated Sub-Adviser, as well as other industry participants with whom the profits of the Manager and its affiliated Sub-Adviser could be compared. In addition, the Board recognized that Management’s calculations regarding its costs incurred in establishing the infrastructure necessary for the Fund’s operations may not be fully reflected in the expenses allocated to the Fund in determining profitability, and that the information presented may not portray all of the costs borne by the Manager or reflect all risks, including entrepreneurial, regulatory, legal and operational risks, associated with offering and managing a mutual fund complex in the current regulatory and market environment.

The Board also considered that the Manager is entitled to earn a reasonable level of profits for the services that it provides to the Fund. The Board also received information regarding the potential fall-out benefits to the Manager and Sub-Advisers and their respective affiliates from their association with the Fund, including their ability to engage in soft-dollar transactions on behalf of the Fund. Following its reviews, the Board determined that the Manager’s and the Voya-affiliated Sub-Adviser’s profitability with respect to their services to the Fund and the Manager and Sub-Advisers’ potential fall-out benefits were not unreasonable.

Fund Analysis

Set forth below are certain of the specific factors that the Board considered, and the conclusions reached, at its October 12, 2017, November 14, 2017, and/or November 16, 2017 meetings in relation to approving the Fund’s Management Contract and Sub-Advisory Contracts. These specific factors are in addition to those considerations discussed above. The Fund’s performance was compared to the theoretical model performance of the Fund’s option overlay strategy applied to the Fund’s primary benchmark under different market conditions and to the Fund’s Morningstar category, as well as its primary benchmark. With respect to Morningstar quintile rankings, the first quintile represents the highest (best) performance and the fifth quintile represents the lowest performance. The performance data provided to the Board primarily was for various periods ended March 31, 2017. In addition, the Board also considered at its October 12, 2017, November 14, 2017, and November 16, 2017 meetings certain additional data regarding performance and Fund

35


ADVISORY AND SUB-ADVISORY CONTRACT APPROVAL DISCUSSION (UNAUDITED) (CONTINUED)


asset levels as of August 31, 2017 and September 30, 2017. The Fund’s management fee rate and expense ratio were compared to the fees and expense ratios of the funds in its Selected Peer Group.

In considering whether to approve the renewal of the Management and Sub-Advisory Contracts for the Fund, the Board was provided with information showing that the Fund seeks to construct a diversified portfolio with an options overlay that is intended to enhance returns over a full market cycle, but may lag the broader markets during upswings, and reviewed the difference between the Fund’s performance and the theoretical model performance of the Fund’s option overlay strategy applied to the Fund’s primary benchmark during different market conditions. The Board also considered that, based on performance data for the periods ended March 31, 2017: (1) the Fund underperformed its Morningstar category average for all periods presented, with the exception of the three-year period, during which it outperformed; (2) the Fund underperformed its primary benchmark for all periods presented, with the exception of the one-year period, during which it outperformed; and (3) the Fund is ranked in the second quintile of its Morningstar category for the one-year period, the third quintile for the three-year and five-year periods, the fourth quintile for the ten-year period, and the fifth (lowest) quintile for the year-to-date period.

In considering the fees payable under the Management and Sub-Advisory Contracts for the Fund, the Board took into account the factors described above and also considered: (1) the fairness of the compensation under a Management Contract with a level fee rate that does not include breakpoints; and (2) the pricing structure (including the net expense ratio to be borne by shareholders) of the Fund, as compared to its Selected Peer Group, including that: (a) the contractual management fee rate for the Fund is below the median and the average management fee rates of the funds in its Selected Peer Group; and (b) the net expense ratio for the Fund is below the median and the average net expense ratios of the funds in its Selected Peer Group.

After its deliberation, the Board reached the following conclusions: (1) the Fund’s management fee rate is reasonable in the context of all factors considered by the Board; (2) the Fund’s net expense ratio is reasonable in the context of all factors considered by the Board; (3) the Fund’s performance is reasonable in the context of all factors considered by the Board; and (4) the sub-advisory fee rate payable by the Manager to each Sub-Adviser is reasonable in the context of all factors considered by the Board. Based on these conclusions and other factors, the Board voted to renew the Management and Sub-Advisory Contracts for the Fund for the year ending November 30, 2018. During this renewal process, different Board members may have given different weight to different individual factors and related conclusions.

36


ADDITIONAL INFORMATION (UNAUDITED)

During the period, there were no material changes in the Fund’s investment objective or policies or in the principal risk factors associated with investment in the Fund other than that listed below. Effective February 28, 2018, under normal market conditions, the Fund will generally hold approximately 60-100 equity securities in its portfolio. Effective on December 1, 2017, Moudy El Khodr has been added as an individual responsible for the day-to-day management of the Fund.

The Fund may lend portfolio securities in an amount equal to up to 33 1/3% of its managed assets to broker dealers or other institutional borrowers, in exchange for cash collateral and fees. The Fund may use the cash collateral in connection with the Fund’s investment program as approved by the Investment Adviser, including generating cash to cover collateral posting requirements. Although the Fund has no current intention to do so, it may use the cash collateral to generate additional income. The use of cash collateral in connection with the Fund’s investment program may have a leveraging effect on the Fund, which would increase the volatility of the Fund and could reduce its returns and/or cause a loss.

The Fund intends to engage in lending portfolio securities only when such lending is secured by cash or other permissible collateral in an amount at least equal to the market value of the securities loaned. The Fund will maintain cash, cash equivalents or liquid securities holdings in an amount sufficient to cover its repayment obligation with respect to the collateral, marked to market on a daily basis.

Securities lending involves the risks of delay in recovery or even loss of rights in the securities loaned if the borrower of the securities fails financially. Loans will be made only to organizations whose credit quality or claims paying ability is considered by the sub-advisers to be at least investment grade. The financial condition of the borrower will be monitored by the Investment Adviser on an ongoing basis. The Fund will not lend portfolio securities subject to a written American style covered call option contract. The Fund may lend portfolio securities subject to a written European style covered call option contract as long as the lending period is less than or equal to the term of the covered call option contract.

The Fund was granted exemptive relief by the SEC (the “Order”) which, under the 1940 Act, would permit the Fund, subject to Board approval, to include realized long-term capital gains as a part of its regular distributions to Common Shareholders more frequently than would otherwise be permitted by the 1940 Act (generally once per taxable year) (“Managed Distribution Policy”). The Fund may in the future adopt a Managed Distribution Policy.

Dividend Reinvestment Plan

Unless the registered owner of Common Shares elects to receive cash by contacting Computershare Shareowner Services LLC (the “Plan Agent”), all dividends declared on Common Shares of the Fund will be automatically reinvested by the Plan Agent for shareholders in additional Common Shares of the Fund through the Fund’s Dividend Reinvestment Plan (the “Plan”). Shareholders who elect not to participate in the Plan will receive all dividends and other distributions in cash paid by check mailed directly to the shareholder of record (or, if the Common Shares are held in street or other nominee name, then to such nominee) by the Plan Agent. Participation in the Plan is completely voluntary and may be terminated or resumed at any time without penalty by notice if received and processed by the Plan Agent prior to the dividend record date; otherwise such termination or resumption will be effective with respect to any subsequently declared dividend or other distribution. Some brokers may automatically elect to receive cash on your behalf and may re-invest that cash in additional Common Shares of the Fund for you. If you wish for all dividends declared on your Common Shares of the Fund to be automatically reinvested pursuant to the Plan, please contact your broker.

The Plan Agent will open an account for each Common Shareholder under the Plan in the same name in which such Common Shareholder’s Common Shares are registered. Whenever the Fund declares a dividend or other distribution (together, a “Dividend”) payable in cash, non-participants in the Plan will receive cash and participants in the Plan will receive the equivalent in Common Shares. The Common Shares will be acquired by the Plan Agent for the participants’ accounts, depending upon the circumstances described below, either (i) through receipt of additional unissued but authorized Common Shares from the Fund (“Newly Issued Common Shares”) or (ii) by purchase of outstanding Common Shares on the open market (“Open-Market Purchases”) on the NYSE or elsewhere. Open-market purchases and sales are usually made through a broker affiliated with the Plan Agent.

If, on the payment date for any Dividend, the closing market price plus estimated brokerage commissions per Common Share is equal to or greater than the NAV per Common Share, the Plan Agent will invest the Dividend amount in Newly Issued Common Shares on behalf of the participants. The number of Newly Issued Common Shares to be credited to each participant’s account will be determined by dividing the dollar amount of the Dividend by the NAV per Common Share on the payment date; provided that, if the NAV is less than or equal to 95% of the closing market value on the payment date, the dollar amount of the Dividend will be divided by 95% of the closing

37


ADDITIONAL INFORMATION (UNAUDITED) (CONTINUED)


market price per Common Share on the payment date. If, on the payment date for any Dividend, the NAV per Common Share is greater than the closing market value plus estimated brokerage commissions, the Plan Agent will invest the Dividend amount in Common Shares acquired on behalf of the participants in Open-Market Purchases. In the event of a market discount on the payment date for any Dividend, the Plan Agent will have until the last business day before the next date on which the Common Shares trade on an “ex-dividend” basis or 30 days after the payment date for such Dividend, whichever is sooner (the “Last Purchase Date”), to invest the Dividend amount in Common Shares acquired in Open-Market Purchases.

The Fund pays monthly Dividends. Therefore, the period during which Open-Market Purchases can be made will exist only from the payment date of each Dividend through the date before the next “ex-dividend” date, which typically will be approximately ten days.

If, before the Plan Agent has completed its Open-Market Purchases, the market price per common share exceeds the NAV per Common Share, the average per Common Share purchase price paid by the Plan Administrator may exceed the NAV of the Common Shares, resulting in the acquisition of fewer Common Shares than if the Dividend had been paid in Newly Issued Common Shares on the Dividend payment date. Because of the foregoing difficulty with respect to Open-Market Purchases, the Plan provides that if the Plan Agent is unable to invest the full Dividend amount in Open-Market Purchases during the purchase period or if the market discount shifts to a market premium during the purchase period, the Plan Agent will cease making Open-Market Purchases and will invest the un-invested portion of the Dividend amount in Newly Issued Common Shares at the NAV per common share at the close of business on the Last Purchase Date provided that, if the NAV is less than or equal to 95% of the then current market price per Common Share, the dollar amount of the Dividend will be divided by 95% of the market price on the payment date.

The Plan Agent maintains all shareholders’ accounts in the Plan and furnishes written confirmation of all transactions in the accounts, including information needed by shareholders for tax records. Common Shares in the account of each Plan participant will be held by the Plan Agent on behalf of the Plan participant, and each shareholder proxy will include those shares purchased or received pursuant to the Plan. The Plan Agent will forward all proxy solicitation materials to participants and vote proxies for shares held under the Plan in accordance with the instructions of the participants.

In the case of shareholders such as banks, brokers or nominees which hold shares for others who are the beneficial owners, the Plan Agent will administer the Plan on the basis of the number of Common Shares certified from time to time by the record shareholder’s name and held for the account of beneficial owners who participate in the Plan.

There will be no brokerage charges with respect to Common Shares issued directly by the Fund. However, each participant will pay a pro rata share of brokerage commissions incurred in connection with Open-Market Purchases. The automatic reinvestment of Dividends will not relieve participants of any federal, state or local income tax that may be payable (or required to be withheld) on such Dividends. Participants that request a partial or full sale of shares through the Plan Agent are subject to a $15.00 sales fee and a $0.10 per share brokerage commission on purchases or sales, and may be subject to certain other service charges.

The Fund reserves the right to amend or terminate the Plan. There is no direct service charge to participants with regard to purchases in the Plan; however, the Fund reserves the right to amend the Plan to include a service charge payable by the participants.

All questions concerning the Plan or a request to terminate participation should be directed to the Fund’s Shareholder Service Department at (800) 992-0180.

Key Financial Dates — Calendar 2018 Distributions:

Declaration Date
         Ex Date
     Record Date
     Payable Date
16-Jan-18                  1-Feb-18              2-Feb-18              15-Feb-18    
15-Feb-18                  1-Mar-18              2-Mar-18              15-Mar-18    
15-Mar-18                  2-Apr-18              3-Apr-18              16-Apr-18    
16-Apr-18                  1-May-18              2-May-18              15-May-18    
15-May-18                  1-Jun-18              4-Jun-18              15-Jun-18    
15-Jun-18                  2-Jul-18              3-Jul-18              16-Jul-18    
16-Jul-18                  1-Aug-18              2-Aug-18              15-Aug-18    
15-Aug-18                  4-Sep-18              5-Sep-18              17-Sep-18    
17-Sep-18                  1-Oct-18              2-Oct-18              15-Oct-18    
15-Oct-18                  1-Nov-18              2-Nov-18              15-Nov-18    
15-Nov-18                  3-Dec-18              4-Dec-18              17-Dec-18    
17-Dec-18                  28-Dec-18              31-Dec-18              15-Jan-19    

Record date will be two business days after each Ex-Dividend Date. These dates are subject to change.

Stock Data

The Fund’s common shares are traded on the NYSE (Symbol: IGD).

Repurchase of Securities by Closed-End Companies

In accordance with Section 23(c) of the 1940 Act, and Rule 23c-1 under the 1940 Act the Fund may from time to time purchase shares of beneficial interest of the Fund in the open market, in privately negotiated transactions and/or purchase shares to correct erroneous transactions.

38


ADDITIONAL INFORMATION (UNAUDITED) (CONTINUED)

Number of Shareholders

The number of record holders of common stock as of February 28, 2018, was 84, which does not include approximately 40,040 beneficial owners of shares held in the name of brokers of other nominees.

Certifications

In accordance with Section 303A.12 (a) of the New York Stock Exchange Listed Company Manual, the Fund’s CEO submitted the Annual CEO Certification on July 28, 2017 certifying that he was not aware, as of that date, of any violation by the Fund of the NYSE’s Corporate governance listing standards. In addition, as required by Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 and related SEC rules, the Fund’s principal executive and financial officers have made quarterly certifications, included in filings with the SEC on Forms N-CSR and N-Q, relating to, among other things, the Fund’s disclosure controls and procedures and internal controls over financial reporting.

39


Investment Adviser
Voya Investments, LLC
7337 East Doubletree Ranch Road, Suite 100
Scottsdale, Arizona 85258

 

Transfer Agent
Computershare, Inc.
480 Washington Boulevard
Jersey City, New Jersey 07310-1900

 

Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
KPMG LLP
Two Financial Center
60 South Street
Boston, Massachusetts 02111

 

Custodian
The Bank of New York Mellon
225 Liberty Street
New York, New York 10286

 

Legal Counsel
Ropes & Gray LLP
Prudential Tower
800 Boylston Street
Boston, Massachusetts 02199

 

Toll-Free Shareholder Information
Call us from 9:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. Eastern time on any business day for account or other information at (800) 992-0180.




RETIREMENT | INVESTMENTS | INSURANCE
voyainvestments.com
163065     (0218-042318)

 

   

 

  

Item 2. Code of Ethics.

 

As of the end of the period covered by this report, Registrant had adopted a code of ethics, as defined in Item 2 of Form N-CSR, that applies to the Registrant’s principal executive officer and principal financial officer. There were no amendments to the Code during the period covered by the report. The Registrant did not grant any waivers, including implicit waivers, from any provisions of the Code during the period covered by this report. The code of ethics is filed herewith pursuant to Item 10(a)(1), Ex-99.CODE ETH.

 

Item 3. Audit Committee Financial Expert.

 

The Board of Trustees has determined that Colleen D. Baldwin, Martin J. Gavin, Patrick W. Kenny, Joseph E. Obermeyer, and Roger B. Vincent are audit committee financial experts, as defined in Item 3 of Form N-CSR. Ms. Baldwin, Mr. Gavin, Mr. Kenny, Mr. Obermeyer and Mr. Vincent are “independent” for purposes of Item 3 of Form N-CSR.

 

Item 4. Principal Accountant Fees and Services.

 

(a)Audit Fees: The aggregate fees billed for each of the last two fiscal years for professional services rendered by KPMG LLP (“KPMG”), the principal accountant for the audit of the registrant’s annual financial statements or services that are normally provided by the accountant in connection with statutory and regulatory filings or engagements for those fiscal years were $29,565 for the year ended February 28, 2018 and $29,565 for the year ended February 28, 2017.

 

(b)Audit-Related Fees: The aggregate fees billed in each of the last two fiscal years for assurance and related services by KPMG that are reasonably related to the performance of the audit of the registrant’s financial statements and are not reported under paragraph (a) of this Item were $2,700 for the year ended February 28, 2018 and $2,525 for the year ended February 28, 2017.

 

(c)Tax Fees: The aggregate fees billed in each of the last two fiscal years for professional services rendered by KPMG for tax compliance, tax advice, and tax planning were $12,445 for the year ended February 28, 2018 and $11,660 for the year ended February 28, 2017. Such services included review of excise distribution calculations (if applicable), preparation of the Funds’ federal, state, and excise tax returns, tax services related to mergers and routine consulting.

 

(d)All Other Fees: The aggregate fees billed in each of the last two fiscal years for products and services provided by KPMG, other than the services reported in paragraphs (a) through (c) of this Item were $0 for the year ended February 28, 2018 and $0 for the year ended February 28, 2017.

 

(e)(1)Audit Committee Pre-Approval Policies and Procedures

 

 

 

 

 

AUDIT AND NON-AUDIT SERVICES
PRE-APPROVAL POLICY

 

I.       Statement of Principles

 

Under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (the “Act”), the Audit Committee of the Board of Directors or Trustees (the “Committee”) of the Voya funds (each a “Fund,” collectively, the “Funds”) set out on Exhibit A to this Audit and Non-Audit Services Pre-Approval Policy (“Policy”) is responsible for the oversight of the work of the Funds’ independent auditors. As part of its responsibilities, the Committee must pre-approve the audit and non-audit services performed by the auditors in order to assure that the provision of these services does not impair the auditors’ independence from the Funds. The Committee has adopted, and the Board has ratified, this Policy, which sets out the procedures and conditions under which the services of the independent auditors may be pre-approved.

 

Under Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) rules promulgated in accordance with the Act, the Funds may establish two different approaches to pre-approving audit and non-audit services. The Committee may approve services without consideration of specific case-by-case services (“general pre-approval”) or it may pre-approve specific services (“specific pre-approval”). The Committee believes that the combination of these approaches contemplated in this Policy results in an effective and efficient method for pre-approving audit and non-audit services to be performed by the Funds’ independent auditors. Under this Policy, services that are not of a type that may receive general pre-approval require specific pre-approval by the Committee. Any proposed services that exceed pre-approved cost levels or budgeted amounts will also require the Committee’s specific pre-approval.

 

For both types of approval, the Committee considers whether the subject services are consistent with the SEC’s rules on auditor independence and that such services are compatible with maintaining the auditors independence. The Committee also considers whether a particular audit firm is in the best position to provide effective and efficient services to the Funds. Reasons that the auditors are in the best position include the auditors’ familiarity with the Funds’ business, personnel, culture, accounting systems, risk profile, and other factors, and whether the services will enhance the Funds’ ability to manage and control risk or improve audit quality. Such factors will be considered as a whole, with no one factor being determinative.

 

The appendices attached to this Policy describe the audit, audit-related, tax-related, and other services that have the Committee’s general pre-approval. For any service that has been approved through general pre-approval, the general pre-approval will remain in place for a period 12 months from the date of pre-approval, unless the Committee determines that a different period is appropriate. The Committee will annually review and pre-approve the services that may be provided by the independent auditors without specific pre-approval. The Committee will revise the list of services subject to general pre-approval as appropriate. This Policy does not serve as a delegation to Fund management of the Committee’s duty to pre-approve services performed by the Funds’ independent auditors.

 

 

 

 

II.       Audit Services

 

The annual audit services engagement terms and fees are subject to the Committee’s specific pre-approval. Audit services are those services that are normally provided by auditors in connection with statutory and regulatory filings or engagements or those that generally only independent auditors can reasonably provide. They include the Funds’ annual financial statement audit and procedures that the independent auditors must perform in order to form an opinion on the Funds’ financial statements (e.g., information systems and procedural reviews and testing). The Committee will monitor the audit services engagement and approve any changes in terms, conditions or fees deemed by the Committee to be necessary or appropriate.

 

The Committee may grant general pre-approval to other audit services, such as statutory audits and services associated with SEC registration statements, periodic reports and other documents filed with the SEC or issued in connection with securities offerings.

 

The Committee has pre-approved the audit services listed on Appendix A. The Committee must specifically approve all audit services not listed on Appendix A.

 

III.       Audit-related Services

 

Audit-related services are assurance and related services that are reasonably related to the performance of the audit or the review of the Funds’ financial statements or are traditionally performed by the independent auditors. The Committee believes that the provision of audit-related services will not impair the independent auditors’ independence, and therefore may grant pre-approval to audit-related services. Audit-related services include accounting consultations related to accounting, financial reporting or disclosure matters not classified as “audit services;” assistance with understanding and implementing new accounting and financial reporting guidance from rulemaking authorities; agreed-upon or expanded audit procedures relating to accounting and/or billing records required to respond to or comply with financial, accounting or regulatory reporting matters; and assistance with internal control reporting requirements under Form N-SAR or Form N-CSR.

 

The Committee has pre-approved the audit-related services listed on Appendix B. The Committee must specifically approve all audit-related services not listed on Appendix B.

 

IV.       Tax Services

 

The Committee believes the independent auditors can provide tax services to the Funds, including tax compliance, tax planning, and tax advice, without compromising the auditors’ independence. Therefore, the Committee may grant general pre-approval with respect to tax services historically provided by the Funds’ independent auditors that do not, in the Committee’s view, impair auditor independence and that are consistent with the SEC’s rules on auditor independence.

 

 

 

 

 

The Committee will not grant pre-approval if the independent auditors initially recommends a transaction the sole business purpose of which is tax avoidance and the tax treatment of which may not be supported in the Internal Revenue Code and related regulations. The Committee may consult outside counsel to determine that tax planning and reporting positions are consistent with this Policy.

 

The Committee has pre-approved the tax-related services listed on Appendix C. The Committee must specifically approve all tax-related services not listed on Appendix C.

 

V.       Other Services

 

The Committee believes it may grant approval of non-audit services that are permissible services for independent auditors to a Fund. The Committee has determined to grant general pre-approval to other services that it believes are routine and recurring, do not impair auditor independence, and are consistent with SEC rules on auditor independence.

 

The Committee has pre-approved the non-audit services listed on Appendix D. The Committee must specifically approve all non-audit services not listed on Appendix D.

 

A list of the SEC’s prohibited non-audit services is attached to this Policy as Appendix E. The SEC’s rules and relevant guidance should be consulted to determine the precise definitions of these impermissible services and the applicability of exceptions to certain of the SEC’s prohibitions.

 

VI.       Pre-approval of Fee levels and Budgeted Amounts

 

The Committee will annually establish pre-approval fee levels or budgeted amounts for audit, audit-related, tax and non-audit services to be provided to the Funds by the independent auditors. Any proposed services exceeding these levels or amounts require the Committee’s specific pre-approval. The Committee considers fees for audit and non-audit services when deciding whether to pre-approve services. The Committee may determine, for a pre-approval period of 12 months, the appropriate ratio between the total amount of fees for the Fund’s audit, audit-related, and tax services (including fees for services provided to Fund affiliates that are subject to pre-approval), and the total amount of fees for certain permissible non-audit services for the Fund classified as other services (including any such services provided to Fund affiliates that are subject to pre-approval).

 

VII. Procedures

 

Requests or applications for services to be provided by the independent auditors will be submitted to management. If management determines that the services do not fall within those services generally pre-approved by the Committee and set out in the appendices to these procedures, management will submit the services to the Committee or its delagee. Any such submission will include a detailed description of the services to be rendered. Notwithstanding this paragraph, the Committee will, on a quarterly basis, receive from the independent auditors a list of services provided for the previous calendar quarter on a cumulative basis by the auditors during the Pre-Approval Period.

 

 

 

 

VIII.       Delegation

 

The Committee may delegate pre-approval authority to one or more of the Committee’s members. Any member or members to whom such pre-approval authority is delegated must report any pre-approval decisions, including any pre-approved services, to the Committee at its next scheduled meeting. The Committee will identify any member to whom pre-approval authority is delegated in writing. The member will retain such authority for a period of 12 months from the date of pre-approval unless the Committee determines that a different period is appropriate. The period of delegated authority may be terminated by the Committee or at the option of the member.

 

IX.       Additional Requirements

 

The Committee will take any measures the Committee deems necessary or appropriate to oversee the work of the independent auditors and to assure the auditors’ independence from the Funds. This may include reviewing a formal written statement from the independent auditors delineating all relationships between the auditors and the Funds, consistent with Independence Standards Board No. 1, and discussing with the auditors their methods and procedures for ensuring independence.

 

 

Part of KPMG’s performance of an audit in accordance with standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (US) includes their responsibility to maintain and monitor auditor independence with respect to the Voya funds. Using a proprietary system called Sentinel, the audit team is able to identify and manage potential conflicts of interest across the member firms of the KPMG International Network and prevent the provision of prohibited services to the Voya entities that would impair KPMG independence with the respect to the Voya funds. KPMG requests pre-approval from the Voya funds Audit Committee for services provided to the Voya funds and for services to affiliated entities that relate to the financial reporting or nature of operations of the Voya Funds. Additionally, KPMG provides an annual summary of the fees for services that have commenced for Voya funds and Affiliates.

 

 

 

Last Approved: November 16, 2017

 

 

 

 

Appendix A
Pre-Approved Audit Services for the Pre-Approval Period January 1, 2018 through December 31, 2018

 

Service
  The Fund(s) Fee Range
Statutory audits or financial audits (including tax services associated with audit services) √ As presented to Audit Committee1
Services associated with SEC registration statements, periodic reports and other documents filed with the SEC or other documents issued in connection with securities offerings (e.g., consents), and assistance in responding to SEC comment letters. √ Not to exceed $9,750 per filing
Consultations by Fund management with respect to accounting or disclosure treatment of transactions or events and/or the actual or potential effect of final or proposed rules, standards or interpretations by the SEC, Financial Accounting Standards Board, or other regulatory or standard setting bodies. √ Not to exceed $8,000 during the Pre-Approval Period
Seed capital audit and related review and issuance of consent on the N-2 registration statement √ Not to exceed $14,750 per audit
Audit of summary portfolio of investments √ Not to exceed $565 per fund

 

 

 

1For new Funds launched during the Pre-Approval Period, the fee ranges pre-approved will be the same as those for existing Funds, pro-rated in accordance with inception dates as provided in the auditors’ Proposal or any Engagement Letter covering the period at issue. Fees in the Engagement Letter will be controlling.

 

 

 

 

 

Appendix B
Pre-Approved Audit-Related Services for the Pre-Approval Period January 1, 2018 through December 31, 2018

 

Service
  The Fund(s) Fund Affiliates Fee Range
Services related to Fund mergers (Excludes tax services  - See Appendix C for tax services associated with Fund mergers) √ √ Not to exceed $10,000 per merger
Consultations by Fund management with respect to accounting or disclosure treatment of transactions or events and/or the actual or potential effect of final or proposed rules, standards or interpretations by the SEC, Financial Accounting Standards Board, or other regulatory or standard setting bodies.  [Note:  Under SEC rules some consultations may be “audit” services and others may be “audit-related” services.] √   Not to exceed $5,000 per occurrence during the Pre-Approval Period
Review of the Funds’ semi-annual and quarterly financial statements √   Not to exceed $2,700 per set of financial statements per fund
Reports to regulatory or government agencies related to the annual engagement √   Up to $5,000 per occurrence during the Pre-Approval Period
Regulatory compliance assistance √ √ Not to exceed $5,000 per quarter
Training courses   √ Not to exceed $5,000 per course
For Prime Rate Trust, agreed upon procedures for quarterly reports to rating agencies √   Not to exceed $9,450 per quarter

 

 

 

 

Appendix C
Pre-Approved Tax Services for the Pre-Approval Period January 1, 2018 through December 31, 2018

 

Service
  The Fund(s) Fund Affiliates Fee Range
Preparation of federal and state income tax returns and federal excise tax returns for the Funds including assistance and review with excise tax distributions √   As presented to Audit Committee2
Review of IRC Sections 851(b) and 817(h) diversification testing on a real-time basis √   As presented to Audit Committee2
Tax assistance and advice regarding statutory, regulatory or administrative developments √ √ Not to exceed $5,000 for the Funds or for the Funds’ investment adviser during the Pre-Approval Period

 

 

 

Appendix C, continued

 

 

2For new Funds launched during the Pre-Approval Period, the fee ranges pre-approved will be the same as those for existing Funds, pro-rated in accordance with inception dates as provided in the auditors’ Proposal or any Engagement Letter covering the period at issue. Fees in the Engagement Letter will be controlling.

 

 

 

 

Pre-Approved Tax Services for the Pre-Approval Period January 1, 2018 through December 31, 2018

 

Service
  The Fund(s) Fund Affiliates Fee Range
Tax training courses   √ Not to exceed $5,000 per course during the Pre-Approval Period
Tax services associated with Fund mergers √ √ Not to exceed $4,000 per fund per merger during the Pre-Approval Period
Other tax-related assistance and consultation, including, without limitation, assistance in evaluating derivative financial instruments and international tax issues, qualification and distribution issues, year-end reporting for 1099’s and similar routine tax consultations as requested. √   Not to exceed $120,000 during the Pre-Approval Period



 

 

 

Appendix D

Pre-Approved Other Services for the Pre-Approval Period January 1, 2018 through December 31, 2018

 

Service
  The Fund(s) Fund Affiliates Fee Range
Agreed-upon procedures for Class B share 12b-1 programs   √ Not to exceed $60,000 during the Pre-Approval Period

Security counts performed pursuant to Rule 17f-2 of the 1940 Act (i.e., counts for Funds holding securities with affiliated sub-custodians)

 

Cost to be borne 50% by the Funds and 50% by Voya Investments, LLC.

 

√

 

 

 

√

 

 

 

 Not to exceed $5,700 per Fund during the Pre-Approval Period
Agreed upon procedures for 15 (c) FACT Books √   Not to exceed $50,000 during the Pre-Approval Period

 

 

 

 

 

Appendix E

Prohibited Non-Audit Services
Dated: January 1, 2018 to December 31, 2018

 

·Bookkeeping or other services related to the accounting records or financial statements of the Funds

 

·Financial information systems design and implementation

 

·Appraisal or valuation services, fairness opinions, or contribution-in-kind reports

 

·Actuarial services

 

·Internal audit outsourcing services

 

·Management functions

 

·Human resources

 

·Broker-dealer, investment adviser, or investment banking services

 

·Legal services

 

·Expert services unrelated to the audit

 

·Any other service that the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board determines, by regulation, is impermissible

 

 

 

 

EXHIBIT A

 

 

VOYA ASIA PACIFIC HIGH DIVIDEND EQUITY INCOME FUND

VOYA BALANCED PORTFOLIO, INC.

VOYA EMERGING MARKETS HIGH DIVIDEND EQUITY FUND

VOYA EQUITY TRUST

VOYA FUNDS TRUST

VOYA GLOBAL ADVANTAGE AND PREMIUM OPPORTUNITY FUND

VOYA GLOBAL EQUITY DIVIDEND AND PREMIUM OPPORTUNITY FUND

VOYA GOVERNMENT MONEY MARKET PORTFOLIO

VOYA INFRASTRUCTURE, INDUSTRIALS, AND MATERIALS FUND

VOYA INTERMEDIATE BOND PORTFOLIO

VOYA INTERNATIONAL HIGH DIVIDEND EQUITY INCOME FUND

VOYA INVESTORS TRUST

VOYA MUTUAL FUNDS

VOYA PARTNERS, INC.

VOYA PRIME RATE TRUST

VOYA NATURAL RESOURCES EQUITY INCOME FUND

VOYA SENIOR INCOME FUND

VOYA SEPARATE PORTFOLIOS TRUST

VOYA SERIES FUND, INC.

VOYA STRATEGIC ALLOCATIONS PORTFOLIOS, INC.
VOYA VARIABLE FUNDS

VOYA VARIABLE INSURANCE TRUST

VOYA VARIABLE PORTFOLIOS INC,

VOYA VARIABLE PRODUCTS TRUST

 

   

 

  

(e)(2)Percentage of services referred to in 4(b) – (4)(d) that were approved by the audit committee

 

100% of the services were approved by the audit committee.

 

(f)Percentage of hours expended attributable to work performed by other than full time employees of KPMG if greater than 50%

 

Not applicable.

 

(g)Non-Audit Fees: The following table presents (i) the aggregate non-audit fees (i.e., fees for audit-related, tax, and other services) billed to each Registrant by the independent registered public accounting firm for each Registrant’s fiscal years ended, February 28, 2018 and February 28, 2017; and (ii) the aggregate non-audit fees billed to the investment adviser, or any of its affiliates that provide ongoing services to the registrant, by the independent registered public accounting firm for the same time periods.

 

Registrant/Investment Adviser  2018   2017 
Voya Global Equity Dividend and Premium Opportunity Fund  $15,145   $14,185 
Voya Investments, LLC (1)  $136,700   $101,050 

 

 

(1)Each Registrant’s investment adviser and any of its affiliates, which are subsidiaries of Voya Financial, Inc.

 

(h)Principal Accountants Independence: The Registrant’s Audit committee has considered whether the provision of non-audit services that were rendered to the registrant’s investment adviser and any entity controlling, controlled by, or under common control with the investment adviser that provides ongoing services to the registrant that were not pre-approved pursuant to Rule 2-01(c)(7)(ii) of Regulation S-X is compatible with maintaining KPMG’s independence.

 

Item 5. Audit Committee of Listed Registrants.

 

a.The registrant has a separately-designated standing audit committee. The members are Colleen D. Baldwin, Martin J. Gavin, Patrick W. Kenny, Joseph E. Obermeyer, and Roger B. Vincent.
b.Not applicable.

 

Item 6. Schedule of Investments.

 

Complete schedule of investments filed herein.

 

   

 

  

Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm

 

To the Shareholders and Board of Trustees

Voya Global Equity Dividend and Premium Opportunity Fund

 

Opinion on the Financial Statements

 

We have audited the accompanying statement of assets and liabilities of Voya Global Equity Dividend and Premium Opportunity Fund (the “Fund”), including the summary portfolio of investments, as of February 28, 2018, the related statement of operations for the year then ended, the statements of changes in net assets for each of the years in the two-year period then ended and the related notes (collectively, the "financial statements"), the financial highlights for each of the years in the ten-year period then ended (the financial statements and financial highlights are included in Item 1 of this Form N-CSR), and the portfolio of investments as of February 28, 2018 (included in Item 6 of this Form N-CSR). In our opinion, the financial statements, financial highlights, and portfolio of investments referred to above present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the Fund as of February 28, 2018, the results of its operations for the year then ended, the changes in its net assets for each of the years in the two-year period then ended, and the financial highlights for each of the years in the ten-year period then ended, in conformity with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles.

 

Basis for Opinion

 

These financial statements, financial highlights, and portfolio of investments are the responsibility of the Fund’s management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on these financial statements, financial highlights, and portfolio of investments based on our audits. We are a public accounting firm registered with the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) (“PCAOB”) and are required to be independent with respect to the Fund in accordance with the U.S. federal securities laws and the applicable rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the PCAOB.

 

We conducted our audits in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements, financial highlights, and portfolio of investments are free of material misstatement, whether due to error or fraud. Our audits included performing procedures to assess the risks of material misstatement of the financial statements, financial highlights, and portfolio of investments, whether due to error or fraud, and performing procedures that respond to those risks. Such procedures included examining, on a test basis, evidence regarding the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements, financial highlights, and portfolio of investments. Such procedures also included confirmation of securities owned as of February 28, 2018, by correspondence with the custodian and brokers or by other appropriate auditing procedures when replies from brokers were not received. Our audits also included evaluating the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall financial statement presentation. We believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinion.

 

 

 

We have served as the auditor of one or more Voya investment companies since 1975.

 

Boston, Massachusetts

April 24, 2018

 

 

 

 

 

Voya Global Equity Dividend and Premium Opportunity Fund PORTFOLIO OF INVESTMENTS
as of February 28, 2018

 

Shares         Value   Percentage
of Net
Assets		 
COMMON STOCK: 93.6%       
        Canada: 2.3%          
 73,547      Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce - XTSE   6,717,354    0.9 
 425,114      Shaw Communications, Inc. - Class B   8,229,295    1.0 
 64,581      TransCanada Corp.   2,793,209    0.4 
            17,739,858    2.3 
                   
        France: 11.2%          
 156,793      BNP Paribas   12,397,737    1.6 
 170,194      Casino Guichard Perrachon S.A.   9,219,446    1.2 
 281,231      Cie de Saint-Gobain   15,917,386    2.0 
 773,190      Engie SA   12,058,981    1.5 
 400,300      Orange SA   6,772,350    0.9 
 110,797      Sanofi   8,747,433    1.1 
 221,100      Total SA   12,575,929    1.6 
 98,825      Vinci SA   9,758,030    1.3 
            87,447,292    11.2 
                   
        Germany: 1.6%          
 76,800      Daimler AG   6,557,711    0.8 
 385,367      Deutsche Bank AG   6,142,909    0.8 
            12,700,620    1.6 
                   
        Ireland: 1.2%          
 118,800      Medtronic PLC   9,490,932    1.2 
                   
        Italy: 3.9%          
 658,561      Assicurazioni Generali S.p.A.   12,319,948    1.6 
 362,887      ENI S.p.A.   6,025,708    0.7 
 581,887   (1)  UniCredit SpA   12,271,848    1.6 
            30,617,504    3.9 
                   
        Japan: 7.5%          
 103,700      Canon, Inc.   3,951,885    0.5 
 173,700      Japan Airlines Co. Ltd.   6,620,085    0.9 
 197,500      Japan Tobacco, Inc.   5,604,482    0.7 
 1,773,000      Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Inc.   12,488,384    1.6 
 46,400      Murata Manufacturing Co., Ltd.   6,462,762    0.8 
 968,800      Nissan Motor Co., Ltd.   10,153,749    1.3 
 300,300      Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group, Inc.   12,979,464    1.7 
            58,260,811    7.5 
                   
        Netherlands: 2.3%          
 179,444   (1)  ArcelorMittal   6,093,003    0.8 
 376,867      Royal Dutch Shell PLC   11,956,852    1.5 
            18,049,855    2.3 
                   
        Singapore: 1.4%          
 2,418,800      Singapore Telecommunications Ltd.   6,139,596    0.8 
 219,200      United Overseas Bank Ltd.   4,591,566    0.6 
            10,731,162    1.4