as of June 30, 2017 (unaudited) (continued)

 

 

as of June 30, 2017 (unaudited) (concluded)

 

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 and is in compliance with FASB ASC 820-10-50. 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 following the 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.

 

For common stocks and preference shares traded on foreign securities exchanges, certain valuation adjustments will be applied when events occur after the close of the security's foreign market and before the Fund's normal pricing time. These securities are valued using pricing vendor services that provide 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.

 

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 June 30, 2017 in valuing such portfolio securities:

 

During the period, there were no transfers between Level 1, Level 2 and Level 3.

The Fund did not have any assets or liabilities that were measured at fair value on a recurring basis using significant unobservable inputs (Level 3) at June 30, 2017.

New Accounting Pronouncements:

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.

In October 2016, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission adopted new rules and amended existing rules (together, final rules) intended to modernize the reporting and disclosure of information by registered investment companies. In part, the final rules amend Regulation S-X and require standardized, enhanced disclosures about derivatives in investment company financial statements, as well as other amendments. The compliance date for the amendments to Regulation S-X is August 1, 2017. Management has evaluated the impact to the financial statement disclosures and does not expect these changes to have a material impact on such disclosures.

 

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