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Schedule of Investments

 

as of December 31, 2016 (unaudited) (continued)

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Schedule of Investments

 

as of December 31, 2016 (unaudited) (concluded)

 

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Notes to Schedule of Investments (unaudited)

Securities Valuation:

The Fund holds securities and other assets that are fair valued at the close of each day (generally, 4:00 PM Eastern time) the New York Stock Exchange (“NYSE”) is open for trading. Fair value is the price that would be received to sell an asset or paid to transfer a liability in an orderly transaction between market participants on the measurement date. The Board of Directors (the “Board”) has adopted Valuation Procedures for security valuation under which fair valuation responsibilities have been delegated to the Investment Manager, Value Partners Hong Kong Limited. Under the current Valuation Procedures, the established Valuation Committee is responsible for supervising the valuation of portfolio securities and other assets. The Valuation Procedures permit the Fund to utilize independent pricing vendor services, quotations from market makers and alternative valuation methods when market quotations are either not readily available or not deemed representative of fair value. A record of the Valuation Committee’s actions is subject to the Board’s review, approval, and ratification at its next regularly-scheduled quarterly meeting.

Various inputs determine how the Fund’s investments are valued, all of which are categorized according to the three broad levels (Level 1, 2, or 3) detailed in the table in the Fair Value section of the Notes to Schedule of Investments.

Common stocks and preference shares, exchange-traded funds, and derivative instruments such as futures or options that are traded on a national securities exchange are valued at the last sale price as of the close of trading on the applicable exchange where the security principally trades. Securities traded via NASDAQ are valued at the NASDAQ official closing price. To the extent these securities are valued at the last sale price or NASDAQ official closing price, they are classified as Level 1 in the fair value hierarchy.

In the event that no sale or official closing price on valuation date exists, these securities are generally valued at the mean between the last reported bid and ask prices, or at the last bid price in the absence of an ask price. These securities are classified as Level 2 in the fair value hierarchy.

Common stocks and preference shares traded on foreign securities exchanges are valued using pricing vendor services that provide model prices derived using adjustment factors based on information such as local closing price, relevant general and sector indices, currency fluctuations, depositary receipts, and futures, as applicable. Securities valued using such model prices are classified as Level 2 in the fair value hierarchy. The models generate an evaluated adjustment factor for each security, which can be applied to the local closing price to adjust it for post closing market movements. Utilizing that evaluated adjustment factor, the vendor provides an evaluated price to the extent that the valuation meets the established confidence level for each security. Such confidence level is a measure of the probability of a relationship between a given equity security and the factors used in the models. If the confidence level is not met or the vendor does not provide an evaluated price, securities are valued in accordance with exchange-traded common stocks and preference shares discussed above.

Investments in open end, non-exchange-traded mutual funds are valued at their net asset values as of the close of the NYSE on the date of valuation. These securities are classified as Level 1 in the fair value hierarchy since they may be purchased or sold at their net asset values on the date of valuation.

Securities and other assets that cannot be priced according to the methods described above are valued based on pricing methodologies approved by the Board. In the event that unobservable inputs are used when determining such valuations, the securities will be classified as Level 3 in the fair value hierarchy.

When determining the fair value of securities, some of the factors influencing the valuation include: the nature of any restrictions on disposition of the securities; assessment of the general liquidity of the securities; the issuer’s financial condition and the markets in which it does business; the cost of the investment; the size of the holding and the capitalization of the issuer; the prices of any recent transactions or bids/offers for such securities or any comparable securities; any available analyst media or other reports or information deemed reliable by the investment manager regarding the issuer or the markets or industry in which it operates. Using fair value to price securities may result in a value that is different from a security’s most recent closing price and from the price used by other mutual funds to calculate their net asset values.

Market values of investments traded in foreign currency are translated into U.S. dollars at the current rates of exchange.

Fair Value:

Various inputs are used in determining the value of the Fund's investments. These inputs are summarized in the three broad levels listed below.

Level 1--quoted prices generally in active markets for identical securities.

Level 2--quoted prices for similar securities, interest rates and yield curves, prepayment speeds, foreign currency exchange rates and other observable inputs.

Level 3--unobservable inputs for securities valued in accordance with Board approved fair valuation procedures.

The following is a summary of the inputs used as of December 31, 2016 in valuing such portfolio securities:

 

The following is a reconciliation of assets in which unobservable inputs (Level 3) were used in determining fair value:

 

Level 3 securities as presented in the table above are being fair valued using pricing methodologies approved by Board, which contain unobservable inputs as follows:

It is the Fund’s policy to recognize transfers in and transfers out at the fair value as of the beginning of period. At the reporting period end, there were no securities transferred between levels.

 

New Accounting Pronouncements:

 

In May 2015, the FASB issued ASU No. 2015-07 “Disclosure for Investments in Certain Entities that Calculate Net Asset Value (“NAV”) per Share (or Its Equivalent).” The amendments in ASU No. 2015-07 remove the requirement to categorize within the fair value hierarchy investments measured using the NAV practical expedient. The ASU also removes certain disclosure requirements for investments that qualify, but do not utilize, the NAV practical expedient. The amendments in the ASU are effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2015, and interim periods within those fiscal years. Management has evaluated the implications of ASU No. 2015-07 and has determined that there is no impact on the financial statement disclosures.

In January 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-01, Financial Instruments — Overall (Subtopic 825-10): Recognition and Measurement of Financial Assets and Financial Liabilities (“ASU 2016-01”). ASU 2016-01 affects accounting for equity investments and financial liabilities where the fair value option has been elected. ASU 2016-01 requires an entity to measure equity investments at fair value through net income. ASU 2016-01 is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2017. The Fund is currently evaluating the impact on its financial statements.

 

On October 13, 2016, the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) adopted new rules and forms and amended existing rules and forms which are intended to modernize and enhance the reporting and disclosure of information by registered investment companies and to improve the quality of information that funds provide to investors, including modifications to Regulation S-X which would require standardized, enhanced disclosure about derivatives in investment company financial statements. In an effort to enhance monitoring and regulation, the new rules and forms will allow the SEC to more effectively collect and use data reported by funds. The compliance dates of the modifications to Regulation S-X are August 1, 2017 and other amendments and rules are generally June 1, 2018 and December 1, 2018. Management is currently evaluating the impacts to the financial statement disclosures, if any.

 

Other information regarding the Fund is available in the Fund’s most recent Report to Shareholders. This information is available on the Securities and Exchange Commission’s website (www.sec.gov).