USA Liberty All Star Equity Fund

Fund Statistics

Performance returns for the Fund are total returns, which include dividends. Returns are net of management fees and other Fund expenses.

The returns shown for the Lipper Large-Cap Core Mutual Fund Average are based on open-end mutual funds’ total returns, which include dividends, and are net of fund expenses. Returns for the unmanaged Dow Jones Industrial Average, NASDAQ Composite Index and the S&P 500^® Index are total returns, including dividends. A description of the Lipper benchmark and the market indices can be found on page 19.

Past performance cannot predict future results. Performance will fluctuate with market conditions. Current performance may be lower or higher than the performance data shown. Performance information does not reflect the deduction of taxes that shareholders would pay on Fund distributions or the sale of Fund shares. An investment in the Fund involves risk, including loss of principal.

Closed-end funds raise money in an initial public offering and shares are listed and traded on an exchange. Open-end mutual funds continuously issue and redeem shares at net asset value. Shares of closed-end funds frequently trade at a discount to net asset value. The price of the Fund’s shares is determined by a number of factors, several of which are beyond the control of the Fund. Therefore, the Fund cannot predict whether its shares will trade at, below or above net asset value.

(Unaudited)

Despite giving up ground in September, equity markets consolidated exceptional second quarter returns with further gains in the third quarter. The S&P 500^® Index returned 8.93 percent for the quarter, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) returned 8.22 percent and the NASDAQ Composite Index advanced 11.24 percent.

Through nine months, the S&P 500^® returned 5.57 percent, the DJIA returned -0.91 percent and the NASDAQ Composite returned 25.33 percent.

The third quarter got off to a strong start, with investors believing that economic damage owing to the pandemic would not be as severe as once feared. This was due to government stimulus programs and a report that employers added 4.8 million jobs in June for the second straight month of growth. Investors anticipated a sharp contraction in the economy and in latter July the Commerce Department confirmed their fears with a report that U.S. GDP fell 9.5 percent in the second quarter, the steepest quarterly decline on record.

Nevertheless, August saw the market’s momentum hold, as the S&P 500^® posted six straight days of gains to begin the month. August also saw the S&P 500^® log its first record close in six months, an event that marked the fastest recovery in history following a bear market. From its February 19 high, the S&P 500^® dropped 34 percent by March 23 only to reach a new record high on August 18.  A typical peak-to-peak recovery takes 1,542 trading days on average, according to Dow Jones Market Data.

August ended with stocks closing out their best month since April, a gain of 7.19 percent. But just days later, on September 3, the S&P 500^® posted its worst day since mid-June. September would go on to see the S&P 500^® encounter its first four-week losing streak in more than a year and that same index came close to a 10 percent decline, which would have marked correction territory. Among concerns weighing on investors were the rich valuations of certain technology stocks, tensions between the U.S. and China, election uncertainties and the outlook for the economy in the pandemic age. The inability of the House and the Senate to come to any agreement on extra unemployment benefits and other economic aid also caused concern. A rebound in the last few trading days recouped some of the losses, but the S&P 500^® still declined -3.80 percent for the month.

Liberty All-Star^® Equity Fund

Fund performance in the third quarter trailed key market benchmarks. The Fund returned 7.30 percent with shares valued at net asset value (NAV) with dividends reinvested and 7.85 percent with shares valued at market price with dividends reinvested. (Fund returns are net of expenses.) The Fund’s primary benchmark, the Lipper Large-Cap Core Mutual Fund Average, returned 8.45 percent. As noted earlier, respective returns for the S&P 500^®, the DJIA and the NASDAQ Composite were 8.93 percent, 8.22 percent and 11.24 percent.

(Unaudited)

Through nine months, the Fund returned 1.04 percent with shares valued at NAV with dividends reinvested and -4.19 percent with shares valued at market price with dividends reinvested. The Lipper Large-Cap Core benchmark returned 3.94 percent for the same period. The nine-month return for the S&P 500^® was 5.57 percent, while the DJIA returned -0.91 percent and the NASDAQ Composite returned 25.33 percent. The Fund had a strong second quarter, but results year to date continue to lag owing to a difficult first quarter.

Throughout the year, the market has been dominated by a handful of mega-cap technology stocks. To illustrate, the S&P 500^® Index is capitalization-weighted, meaning that stocks with large capitalizations receive a heavier weighting than those with lesser capitalizations. The cap-weighted S&P 500^® returned 5.57 percent through September. But an equal-weighted S&P 500^®—removing the effect of size and treating the performance of each stock equally—returned -4.75 percent. Another indicator of the market’s concentration is the fact that just three S&P sectors out of 11 have outperformed the index year to date: information technology, consumer discretionary and communication services.

This data would indicate that growth style stocks have continued to outperform value style issues and, indeed, that is the case. In the third quarter, the Russell 1000^® Growth Index returned 13.22 percent, while its Value counterpart returned less than half that, just 5.59 percent. The outperformance of growth stocks year to date has been even more pronounced—the Russell 1000^® Growth Index returned 24.33 percent compared to its Value counterpart, which declined -11.58 percent.

In the third quarter Fund shares traded in a discount range relative to their underlying NAV that was little changed relative to the second quarter. For the most recent quarter, the discount ranged from -6.2 percent to -9.0 percent, whereas during the previous quarter the range went from -3.4 percent to -10.2 percent.

In accordance with the Fund’s distribution policy, the Fund paid a distribution of $0.16 per share in the third quarter. The Fund’s distribution policy has been in place since 1988 and is a major component of the Fund’s total return. The Fund has paid distributions of $28.02 per share for a total of more than $3.1 billion since 1987 (the Fund’s first full calendar year of operations). We continue to emphasize that shareholders should include these distributions when determining the total return on their investment in the Fund.

In Fund news, the annual meeting of shareholders was held (by telephone, owing to the coronavirus) on October 6. The key outcome was a vote to approve Fiduciary Management, Inc. as one of the Fund’s investment managers. It was necessary to reach out to some shareholders multiple times to obtain the necessary votes and we wish to thank shareholders for their support throughout this lengthy process.

(Unaudited)

Recently, ongoing market characteristics—high valuations, the dominance of a few mega-cap stocks and growth stocks’ outperformance over value stocks—have been challenges for the Fund. Nevertheless, the Fund’s five investment managers—three value managers and two growth managers—continue to perform as expected, adhering to their specific investment style and strategy and making sound, well-reasoned stock selections. The Fund’s long-term performance reflects this, and we at ALPS Advisors continue our commitment to the Fund’s core attributes: institutional-quality investment management, rigorous review of the managers’ performance, diversification by style and strategy, a long-term perspective, and alignment with shareholders’ best interests.

Sincerely,

William R. Parmentier, Jr.

President and Chief Executive Officer

Liberty All-Star^® Equity Fund

The views expressed in the President’s letter reflect the views of the President as of October 2020 and may not reflect his views on the date this report is first published or anytime thereafter. These views are not guarantees of future performance and involve certain risks, uncertainties and assumptions that are difficult to predict so actual outcomes and results may differ significantly from the views expressed. These views are subject to change at any time based upon economic, market or other conditions and the Fund disclaims any responsibility to update such views. These views may not be relied on as investment advice and, because investment decisions for the Fund are based on numerous factors, may not be relied on as an indication of trading intent.

DISTRIBUTION POLICY

The current policy is to pay distributions on its shares totaling approximately 10 percent of its net asset value per year, payable in four quarterly installments of 2.5 percent of the Fund’s net asset value at the close of the New York Stock Exchange on the Friday prior to each quarterly declaration date. Sources of distributions to shareholders may include ordinary dividends, long-term capital gains and return of capital. The final determination of the source of all distributions in 2020 for tax reporting purposes will be made after year end. The actual amounts and sources of the amounts for tax reporting purposes will depend upon the Fund’s investment experience during the remainder of its fiscal year and may be subject to changes based on tax regulations. If a distribution includes anything other than net investment income, the Fund provides a Section 19(a) notice of the best estimate of its distribution sources at that time. These estimates may not match the final tax characterization (for the full year’s distributions) contained in shareholder 1099-DIV forms after the end of the year. If the Fund’s ordinary dividends and long-term capital gains for any year exceed the amount distributed under the distribution policy, the Fund may, in its discretion, retain and not distribute capital gains and pay income tax thereon to the extent of such excess.

September 30, 2020 (Unaudited)

THE FUND’S ASSETS ARE APPROXIMATELY EQUALLY DISTRIBUTED AMONG THREE VALUE MANAGERS AND TWO GROWTH MANAGERS:

ALPS Advisors, Inc., the investment advisor to the Fund, has the ultimate authority (subject to oversight by the Board of Trustees) to oversee the investment managers and recommend their hiring, termination and replacement.

MANAGERS’ DIFFERING INVESTMENT STRATEGIES ARE REFLECTED IN PORTFOLIO CHARACTERISTICS

The portfolio characteristics table below is a regular feature of the Fund’s shareholder reports. It serves as a useful tool for understanding the value of a multi-managed portfolio. The characteristics are different for each of the Fund’s five investment managers. These differences are a reflection of the fact that each pursues a different investment style. The shaded column highlights the characteristics of the Fund as a whole, while the final column shows portfolio characteristics for the S&P 500^® Index.

PORTFOLIO CHARACTERISTICS As of September 30, 2020 (Unaudited)

 

		Investment Style Spectrum
	Value				Growth
	PZENA	FIDUCIARY	ARISTOTLE	SUSTAINABLE	TCW	TOTAL FUND	S&P 500®  INDEX
Number of Holdings	38	30	46	29	32	151*	505
Percent of Holdings in Top 10	40%	46%	37%	44%	55%	21%	28%
Weighted Average Market Capitalization (billions)	$39	$114	$155	$335	$340	$203	$452
Average Five-Year Earnings Per Share Growth	-8%	9%	10%	17%	31%	12%	12%
Dividend Yield	2.5%	1.5%	1.7%	0.7%	0.4%	1.3%	1.7%
Price/Earnings Ratio**	14x	21x	22x	43x	48x	27x	27x
Price/Book Value Ratio	0.9x	3.2x	2.4x	8.9x	9.6x	2.5x	3.8x

See Notes to Schedule of Investments.

See Notes to Schedule of Investments.

See Notes to Schedule of Investments.

See Notes to Schedule of Investments.

See Notes to Schedule of Investments.

See Notes to Schedule of Investments.

September 30, 2020 (Unaudited)

 

		SHARES				MARKET VALUE
COMMON STOCKS (continued)
Equity Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) (continued)
Sun Communities, Inc.			23,800			$	3,346,518
							36,836,626
UTILITIES (0.53%)
Electric Utilities (0.53%)
NRG Energy, Inc.			237,861				7,311,847
TOTAL COMMON STOCKS
(COST OF $1,138,634,732)							1,357,500,870
SHORT TERM INVESTMENTS (2.59%)
MONEY MARKET FUND (2.38%)
State Street Institutional US Government Money Market Fund, 0.024%(d)
(COST OF $33,046,968)			33,046,968				33,046,968
INVESTMENTS PURCHASED WITH COLLATERAL FROM SECURITIES LOANED (0.21%)
State Street Navigator Securities Lending Government Money Market Portfolio, 0.09%
(COST OF $2,871,000)			2,871,000				2,871,000
TOTAL SHORT TERM INVESTMENTS
(COST OF $35,917,968)							35,917,968
TOTAL INVESTMENTS (100.26%)
(COST OF $1,174,552,700)							1,393,418,838
LIABILITIES IN EXCESS OF OTHER ASSETS (-0.26%)							(3,580,153	)
NET ASSETS (100.00%)						$	1,389,838,685
NET ASSET VALUE PER SHARE
(215,084,612 SHARES OUTSTANDING)						$	6.46

 

(a)

Non-income producing security.

(b)

Security, or a portion of the security position, is currently on loan. The total market value of securities on loan is $2,712,760.

(c)

American Depositary Receipt.

(d)

Rate reflects seven-day effective yield on September 30, 2020.

 

See Notes to Schedule of Investments.

 

14	www.all-starfunds.com

 

 

 

 

Liberty All-Star® Equity Fund

Notes to Schedule of Investments

 

September 30, 2020 (Unaudited)

 

Security Valuation

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

 

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

 

The Fund’s investments are valued at market value or, in the absence of market value with respect to any portfolio securities, at fair value according to procedures adopted by the Fund’s Board of Trustees (the “Board”). When market quotations are not readily available, or in management’s judgment they do not accurately reflect fair value of a security, or an event occurs after the market close but before the Fund is priced that materially affects the value of a security, the security will be valued by the Fund’s Valuation Committee using fair valuation procedures established by the Board. Examples of potentially significant events that could materially impact a Fund’s net asset value include, but are not limited to: single issuer events such as corporate actions, reorganizations, mergers, spin-offs, liquidations, acquisitions and buyouts; corporate announcements on earnings or product offerings; regulatory news; and litigation and multiple issuer events such as governmental actions; natural disasters or armed conflicts that affect a country or a region; or significant market fluctuations. Potential significant events are monitored by the Advisor, ALPS Advisors, Inc. (the “Advisor”), Sub-Advisers and/or the Valuation Committee through independent reviews of market indicators, general news sources and communications from the Fund’s custodian. As of September 30, 2020, the Fund held no securities that were fair valued.

 

Security Transactions

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

 

Income Recognition

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

 

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

 

 

Third Quarter Report (Unaudited) | September 30, 2020

15

 

 

 

 

Liberty All-Star® Equity Fund

Notes to Schedule of Investments

 

September 30, 2020 (Unaudited)

 

Lending of Portfolio Securities

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

 

Any cash collateral received is reinvested in State Street Navigator. Non-cash collateral, in the form of securities issued or guaranteed by the U.S. government or its agencies or instrumentalities, is not disclosed in the Fund’s Schedule of Investments as it is held by the lending agent on behalf of the Fund, and the Fund does not have the ability to re-hypothecate these securities.

 

The following is a summary of the Fund’s securities lending positions and related cash and non-cash collateral received as of September 30, 2020:

 

Market Value of Securities on Loan				Cash Collateral Received				Non-Cash Collateral Received				Total Collateral Received
$	2,712,760			$	2,871,000			$	0			$	2,871,000

 

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

 

Fair Value Measurements

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

 

 

16	www.all-starfunds.com

 

 

 

 

Liberty All-Star® Equity Fund

Notes to Schedule of Investments

 

September 30, 2020 (Unaudited)

 

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

 

Equity securities that are valued based on unadjusted quoted prices in active markets are categorized as Level 1 in the hierarchy. In the event there were no sales during the day or closing prices are not available, securities are valued at the mean of the most recent quoted bid and ask prices on such day and are generally categorized as Level 2 in the hierarchy. Investments in shares of registered investment companies are valued at their closing NAV each business day and are categorized as Level 1 in the hierarchy.

 

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

 

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

 

Level 1 –

Unadjusted quoted prices in active markets for identical investments, unrestricted assets or liabilities that a Fund has the ability to access at the measurement date;

 

Level 2 –

Quoted prices which are not active, quoted prices for similar assets or liabilities in active markets or inputs other than quoted prices that are observable (either directly or indirectly) for substantially the full term of the asset or liability; and

 

Level 3 –

Significant unobservable prices or inputs (including the Fund’s own assumptions in determining the fair value of investments) where there is little or no market activity for the asset or liability at the measurement date.

 

The following is a summary of the inputs used to value the Fund’s investments as of September 30, 2020:

 

		Valuation Inputs
Investments in Securities at Value			Level 1				Level 2				Level 3				Total
Common Stocks*		$	1,357,500,870			$	—			$	—			$	1,357,500,870
Short Term Investments			35,917,968				—				—				35,917,968
Total		$	1,393,418,838			$	—			$	—			$	1,393,418,838

 

*	See Schedule of Investments for industry classifications.

 

The Fund did not have any securities which used significant unobservable inputs (Level 3) in determining fair value during the period.

 

 

Third Quarter Report (Unaudited) | September 30, 2020

17

 

 

 

 

Liberty All-Star® Equity Fund

Notes to Schedule of Investments

 

September 30, 2020 (Unaudited)

 

Indemnification

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

 

 

18	www.all-starfunds.com

 

 

 

 

Liberty All-Star® Equity Fund	Description of Lipper Benchmark
	and Market Indices

 

September 30, 2020 (Unaudited)

 

Dow Jones Industrial Average

A price-weighted measure of 30 U.S. blue-chip companies.

 

Lipper Large-Cap Core Mutual Fund Average

The average of funds that, by portfolio practice, invest at least 75% of their equity assets in companies with market capitalizations (on a three-year weighted basis) above Lipper’s U.S. domestic equity large-cap floor. These funds typically have average characteristics compared to the S&P 500^® Index.

 

NASDAQ Composite Index

Measures all NASDAQ domestic and international based common type stocks listed on the NASDAQ Stock Market.

 

Russell 1000^® Growth Index

Measures the performance of those Russell 1000^® companies with lower book-to-price ratios and higher growth values. The Russell 1000^® Index measures the performance of the 1,000 largest companies in the Russell 3000^® Index.

 

Russell 1000^® Value Index

Measures the performance of those Russell 1000^® companies with higher book-to-price ratios and lower growth values. The Russell 1000^® Index measures the performance of the 1,000 largest companies in the Russell 3000^® Index.

 

S&P 500^® Index

A large-cap U.S. equities index that includes 500 leading companies and captures approximately 80% coverage of available market capitalization.

 

An investor cannot invest directly in an index.

 

 

Third Quarter Report (Unaudited) | September 30, 2020

19

 

 

 

 

Intentionally Left Blank

 

 

 

 

INVESTMENT ADVISOR	LEGAL COUNSEL
ALPS Advisors, Inc.	K&L Gates LLP
1290 Broadway, Suite 1000	1601 K Street, NW
Denver, Colorado 80203	Washington, DC 20006
303-623-2577
www.all-starfunds.com	TRUSTEES
	Thomas W. Brock*, Chairman
INDEPENDENT REGISTERED	Edmund J. Burke
PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM	George R. Gaspari*
Deloitte & Touche LLP	Milton M. Irvin*
1601 Wewatta Street, Suite 400	Dr. John J. Neuhauser*
Denver, Colorado 80202	Maureen K. Usifer*
CUSTODIAN	OFFICERS
State Street Bank & Trust Company	William R. Parmentier, Jr., President
One Lincoln Street	Mark T. Haley, CFA, Senior Vice President
Boston, Massachusetts 02111	Jill Kerschen, Treasurer
	Sareena Khwaja-Dixon, Secretary
	Jennifer Craig, Assistant Secretary
INVESTOR ASSISTANCE, TRANSFER & DIVIDEND DISBURSING AGENT & REGISTRAR	Matthew Sutula, Chief Compliance Officer *  Member of the Audit Committee
Computershare Trust Company, N.A.
P.O. Box 505000
Louisville, Kentucky 40233
1-800-LIB-FUND (1-800-542-3863)
www.computershare.com
A description of the Fund’s proxy voting policies and procedures is available (i) on the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (“SEC”) website at www.sec.gov, and (ii) without charge, upon request, by calling 1-800-542-3863. Information regarding how the Fund voted proxies relating to portfolio securities during the 12-month period ended June 30 is available from the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov.   The Fund files a complete schedule of portfolio holdings with the SEC for the first and third quarters of each fiscal year in Form N-PORT. The Fund’s Form N-PORTs are available on the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov and may be reviewed and copied at the SEC’s Public Reference Room in Washington, DC. Information on the operation of the Public Reference Room may be obtained by calling 1-800-SEC-0330.   Notice is hereby given in accordance with Section 23(c) of the Investment Company Act of 1940 that the Fund may purchase at market prices from time to time shares of its own common stock in the open market.   This report is transmitted to shareholders of Liberty All-Star® Equity Fund for their information. It is not a prospectus or other document intended for use in the purchase of Fund shares.

 

 

 

 

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