Written Covered Call Options (Exchange-Traded) (continued) | | | | | | | |
Description | Number of Contracts | Notional Amount | Exercise Price | Expiration Date | Value |
UnitedHealth Group, Inc. | 165 | | $ 8,319,135 | | $530 | 10/27/23 | $ (62,287) |
Vertex Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | 65 | | 2,260,310 | | 365 | 10/6/23 | (8,288) |
Visa, Inc., Class A | 610 | | 14,030,610 | | 250 | 10/20/23 | (8,845) |
Walmart, Inc. | 230 | | 3,678,390 | | 165 | 11/3/23 | (27,370) |
Waste Connections, Inc. | 395 | | 5,304,850 | | 145 | 10/20/23 | (30,612) |
Zscaler, Inc | 215 | | 3,345,185 | | 173 | 10/13/23 | (11,933) |
Total | | | | | | | $(3,839,243) |
At September 30, 2023, the Fund had sufficient cash and/or securities to cover commitments under open derivative contracts.
The Fund is subject to equity price risk in the normal course of pursuing its investment objectives. The Fund writes covered call options on individual stocks above the current value of the stock to generate premium income. In writing call options on individual stocks, the Fund in effect sells potential appreciation in the value of the applicable stock above the exercise price in exchange for the option premium received. The Fund retains the risk of loss, minus the premium received, should the price of the underlying stock decline.
Affiliated Investments
At September 30, 2023, the value of the Fund's investment in funds that may be deemed to be affiliated was $6,618,019, which represents 0.7% of the Fund's net assets. Transactions in such investments by the Fund for the fiscal year to date ended September 30, 2023 were as follows:
Name | Value, beginning of period | Purchases | Sales proceeds | Net realized gain (loss) | Change in unrealized appreciation (depreciation) | Value, end of period | Dividend income | Shares, end of period |
Short-Term Investments |
Liquidity Fund, Institutional Class(1) | $6,562,058 | $95,434,907 | $(95,378,946) | $ — | $ — | $6,618,019 | $209,679 | 6,618,019 |
(1) | Represents investment in Morgan Stanley Institutional Liquidity Funds - Government Portfolio. |
Fair Value Measurements
Under generally accepted accounting principles for fair value measurements, a three-tier hierarchy to prioritize the assumptions, referred to as inputs, is used in valuation techniques to measure fair value. The three-tier hierarchy of inputs is summarized in the three broad levels listed below.
• | Level 1 – quoted prices in active markets for identical investments |
• | Level 2 – other significant observable inputs (including quoted prices for similar investments, interest rates, prepayment speeds, credit risk, etc.) |
• | Level 3 – significant unobservable inputs (including a fund's own assumptions in determining the fair value of investments) |
In cases where the inputs used to measure fair value fall in different levels of the fair value hierarchy, the level disclosed is determined based on the lowest level input that is significant to the fair value measurement in its entirety. The inputs or methodology used for valuing securities are not necessarily an indication of the risk associated with investing in those securities.