Portfolio of Investments – as of September 30, 2023 (Unaudited)
Gateway Fund
Gateway Fund
Shares | Description | Value (†) |
Common Stocks — 96.8% of Net Assets | ||
Aerospace & Defense — 1.2% | ||
139,958 | Boeing Co.(a)(b) | $26,827,149 |
41,278 | HEICO Corp.(a) | 6,684,147 |
528,727 | RTX Corp.(a) | 38,052,482 |
71,563,778 | ||
Air Freight & Logistics — 0.6% | ||
36,648 | GXO Logistics, Inc.(a)(b) | 2,149,405 |
216,722 | United Parcel Service, Inc., Class B(a) | 33,780,458 |
35,929,863 | ||
Automobile Components — 0.1% | ||
36,852 | Autoliv, Inc.(a) | 3,555,481 |
Automobiles — 2.1% | ||
1,239,636 | Ford Motor Co.(a) | 15,396,279 |
446,637 | Tesla, Inc.(a)(b) | 111,757,510 |
127,153,789 | ||
Banks — 3.1% | ||
1,846,904 | Bank of America Corp.(a) | 50,568,232 |
643,137 | Citigroup, Inc.(a) | 26,452,225 |
589,207 | JPMorgan Chase & Co.(a) | 85,446,799 |
744,414 | Wells Fargo & Co.(a) | 30,416,756 |
192,884,012 | ||
Beverages — 1.2% | ||
349,444 | Monster Beverage Corp.(a)(b) | 18,503,060 |
320,572 | PepsiCo, Inc.(a) | 54,317,719 |
72,820,779 | ||
Biotechnology — 2.1% | ||
361,393 | AbbVie, Inc.(a) | 53,869,241 |
8,614 | Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc.(a)(b) | 1,525,539 |
115,006 | Amgen, Inc.(a) | 30,909,013 |
39,867 | Biogen, Inc.(a)(b) | 10,246,218 |
16,697 | Exact Sciences Corp.(b) | 1,139,069 |
3,171 | Horizon Therapeutics PLC(b) | 366,853 |
52,957 | Moderna, Inc.(a)(b) | 5,469,928 |
16,492 | Seagen, Inc.(a)(b) | 3,498,778 |
68,273 | Vertex Pharmaceuticals, Inc.(a)(b) | 23,741,253 |
130,765,892 | ||
Broadline Retail — 3.3% | ||
1,581,805 | Amazon.com, Inc.(a)(b) | 201,079,052 |
2,538 | MercadoLibre, Inc.(a)(b) | 3,217,879 |
204,296,931 | ||
Building Products — 0.4% | ||
355,197 | Carrier Global Corp.(a) | 19,606,874 |
20,800 | Lennox International, Inc.(a) | 7,788,352 |
27,395,226 | ||
Capital Markets — 2.1% | ||
45,389 | Blackstone, Inc.(a) | 4,862,978 |
324,121 | Charles Schwab Corp.(a) | 17,794,243 |
14,601 | FactSet Research Systems, Inc.(a) | 6,384,433 |
216,194 | Intercontinental Exchange, Inc.(a) | 23,785,664 |
432,102 | Morgan Stanley(a) | 35,289,770 |
41,804 | MSCI, Inc.(a) | 21,448,796 |
58,940 | S&P Global, Inc.(a) | 21,537,266 |
131,103,150 | ||
Chemicals — 1.5% | ||
83,434 | Ashland, Inc.(a) | 6,814,889 |
71,767 | Celanese Corp.(a) | 9,008,194 |
275,738 | Corteva, Inc.(a) | 14,106,756 |
336,894 | Dow, Inc.(a) | 17,370,255 |
125,392 | Eastman Chemical Co.(a) | 9,620,074 |
Shares | Description | Value (†) |
Chemicals — continued | ||
167,820 | LyondellBasell Industries NV, Class A(a) | $15,892,554 |
125,903 | Mosaic Co.(a) | 4,482,147 |
52,475 | Nutrien Ltd.(a) | 3,240,856 |
66,451 | Olin Corp.(a) | 3,321,221 |
95,921 | RPM International, Inc.(a) | 9,094,270 |
92,951,216 | ||
Commercial Services & Supplies — 0.9% | ||
488,628 | Copart, Inc.(a)(b) | 21,054,981 |
53,505 | Waste Connections, Inc.(a) | 7,185,721 |
185,672 | Waste Management, Inc.(a) | 28,303,840 |
56,544,542 | ||
Communications Equipment — 0.9% | ||
1,082,609 | Cisco Systems, Inc.(a) | 58,201,060 |
Construction Materials — 0.3% | ||
43,244 | Martin Marietta Materials, Inc.(a) | 17,750,797 |
Consumer Finance — 0.6% | ||
259,378 | Ally Financial, Inc.(a) | 6,920,205 |
180,444 | Discover Financial Services(a) | 15,631,864 |
445,997 | Synchrony Financial(a) | 13,634,128 |
36,186,197 | ||
Consumer Staples Distribution & Retail — 1.9% | ||
26,487 | Casey's General Stores, Inc.(a) | 7,191,750 |
92,351 | Costco Wholesale Corp.(a) | 52,174,621 |
152,451 | Target Corp.(a) | 16,856,507 |
68,318 | U.S. Foods Holding Corp.(a)(b) | 2,712,225 |
243,492 | Walmart, Inc.(a) | 38,941,675 |
117,876,778 | ||
Containers & Packaging — 0.3% | ||
54,360 | Avery Dennison Corp.(a) | 9,929,941 |
60,185 | Crown Holdings, Inc.(a) | 5,325,169 |
141,364 | WestRock Co.(a) | 5,060,831 |
20,315,941 | ||
Distributors — 0.3% | ||
107,529 | Genuine Parts Co.(a) | 15,525,037 |
Diversified Consumer Services — 0.1% | ||
67,454 | Service Corp. International(a) | 3,854,322 |
Diversified REITs — 0.0% | ||
34,300 | W.P. Carey, Inc.(a) | 1,854,944 |
Diversified Telecommunication Services — 1.0% | ||
2,416,419 | AT&T, Inc.(a) | 36,294,614 |
699,196 | Verizon Communications, Inc.(a) | 22,660,942 |
58,955,556 | ||
Electric Utilities — 1.3% | ||
323,243 | Alliant Energy Corp.(a) | 15,661,123 |
456,313 | American Electric Power Co., Inc.(a) | 34,323,864 |
80,010 | Evergy, Inc.(a) | 4,056,507 |
153,399 | OGE Energy Corp.(a) | 5,112,789 |
335,165 | Xcel Energy, Inc.(a) | 19,178,141 |
78,332,424 | ||
Electrical Equipment — 0.7% | ||
157,676 | Eaton Corp. PLC(a) | 33,629,137 |
31,715 | Hubbell, Inc.(a) | 9,939,798 |
43,568,935 | ||
Electronic Equipment, Instruments & Components — 0.8% | ||
97,069 | CDW Corp.(a) | 19,584,641 |
375,436 | Corning, Inc.(a) | 11,439,535 |
26,442 | Teledyne Technologies, Inc.(a)(b) | 10,803,672 |
33,350 | Zebra Technologies Corp., Class A(a)(b) | 7,888,276 |
49,716,124 |
Shares | Description | Value (†) |
Energy Equipment & Services — 0.4% | ||
595,515 | Halliburton Co.(a) | $24,118,358 |
Entertainment — 1.2% | ||
81,510 | Live Nation Entertainment, Inc.(a)(b) | 6,768,590 |
89,778 | Netflix, Inc.(a)(b) | 33,900,173 |
6,573 | Roku, Inc.(b) | 463,988 |
428,339 | Walt Disney Co.(a)(b) | 34,716,876 |
75,849,627 | ||
Financial Services — 4.7% | ||
409,957 | Berkshire Hathaway, Inc., Class B(a)(b) | 143,607,937 |
97,940 | Mastercard, Inc., Class A(a) | 38,775,425 |
300,792 | PayPal Holdings, Inc.(a)(b) | 17,584,300 |
357,561 | Visa, Inc., Class A(a) | 82,242,606 |
133,431 | Voya Financial, Inc.(a) | 8,866,490 |
291,076,758 | ||
Food Products — 1.0% | ||
61,781 | Bunge Ltd.(a) | 6,687,793 |
74,762 | Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc.(a) | 6,912,495 |
665,608 | Mondelez International, Inc., Class A(a) | 46,193,195 |
59,793,483 | ||
Gas Utilities — 0.0% | ||
10,131 | UGI Corp. | 233,013 |
Ground Transportation — 1.0% | ||
88,900 | Canadian Pacific Kansas City Ltd.(a) | 6,615,049 |
836,813 | CSX Corp.(a) | 25,732,000 |
47,741 | J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc.(a) | 9,000,133 |
43,447 | Old Dominion Freight Line, Inc.(a) | 17,775,906 |
47,378 | Uber Technologies, Inc.(b) | 2,178,914 |
61,302,002 | ||
Health Care Equipment & Supplies — 2.3% | ||
426,297 | Abbott Laboratories(a) | 41,286,864 |
161,683 | Baxter International, Inc.(a) | 6,101,916 |
554,460 | Boston Scientific Corp.(a)(b) | 29,275,488 |
218,970 | Edwards Lifesciences Corp.(a)(b) | 15,170,242 |
72,423 | GE HealthCare Technologies, Inc.(a) | 4,927,661 |
2,268 | Insulet Corp.(b) | 361,723 |
108,519 | Intuitive Surgical, Inc.(a)(b) | 31,719,019 |
55,109 | STERIS PLC(a) | 12,092,017 |
140,934,930 | ||
Health Care Providers & Services — 3.1% | ||
354,081 | CVS Health Corp.(a) | 24,721,936 |
79,403 | Elevance Health, Inc.(a) | 34,573,654 |
78,255 | HCA Healthcare, Inc.(a) | 19,249,165 |
16,707 | Molina Healthcare, Inc.(a)(b) | 5,478,058 |
201,782 | UnitedHealth Group, Inc.(a) | 101,736,467 |
46,177 | Universal Health Services, Inc., Class B(a) | 5,805,834 |
191,565,114 | ||
Health Care Technology — 0.1% | ||
35,189 | Veeva Systems, Inc., Class A(a)(b) | 7,159,202 |
Hotels, Restaurants & Leisure — 2.0% | ||
95,160 | Airbnb, Inc., Class A(a)(b) | 13,056,904 |
9,745 | Booking Holdings, Inc.(a)(b) | 30,053,093 |
168,770 | Hilton Worldwide Holdings, Inc.(a) | 25,345,878 |
175,041 | McDonald's Corp.(a) | 46,112,801 |
105,955 | Restaurant Brands International, Inc.(a) | 7,058,722 |
12,225 | Vail Resorts, Inc.(a) | 2,712,605 |
124,340,003 | ||
Household Durables — 0.4% | ||
2,093 | NVR, Inc.(a)(b) | 12,481,187 |
129,073 | Toll Brothers, Inc.(a) | 9,546,239 |
22,027,426 |
Shares | Description | Value (†) |
Household Products — 1.3% | ||
527,557 | Procter & Gamble Co.(a) | $76,949,464 |
Industrial Conglomerates — 1.0% | ||
211,469 | 3M Co.(a) | 19,797,728 |
213,732 | Honeywell International, Inc.(a) | 39,484,849 |
59,282,577 | ||
Industrial REITs — 0.3% | ||
171,517 | Prologis, Inc.(a) | 19,245,923 |
Insurance — 2.0% | ||
406,909 | Aflac, Inc.(a) | 31,230,266 |
62,253 | American Financial Group, Inc.(a) | 6,951,792 |
91,119 | Aon PLC, Class A(a) | 29,542,602 |
147,374 | Arthur J Gallagher & Co.(a) | 33,590,956 |
74,687 | Fidelity National Financial, Inc.(a) | 3,084,573 |
3,155 | Markel Group, Inc.(a)(b) | 4,645,706 |
245,220 | Unum Group(a) | 12,062,372 |
121,108,267 | ||
Interactive Media & Services — 5.9% | ||
394,000 | Alphabet, Inc., Class A(a)(b) | 51,558,840 |
1,499,237 | Alphabet, Inc., Class C(a)(b) | 197,674,399 |
383,101 | Meta Platforms, Inc., Class A(a)(b) | 115,010,751 |
364,243,990 | ||
IT Services — 0.5% | ||
14,418 | EPAM Systems, Inc.(a)(b) | 3,686,538 |
21,387 | Gartner, Inc.(a)(b) | 7,348,787 |
39,628 | Shopify, Inc., Class A(a)(b) | 2,162,500 |
8,665 | Twilio, Inc., Class A(b) | 507,162 |
72,450 | VeriSign, Inc.(a)(b) | 14,673,299 |
28,378,286 | ||
Leisure Products — 0.0% | ||
1,696 | Polaris, Inc. | 176,621 |
Life Sciences Tools & Services — 1.1% | ||
155,362 | Agilent Technologies, Inc.(a) | 17,372,579 |
17,245 | ICON PLC, ADR(a)(b) | 4,246,581 |
43,762 | Illumina, Inc.(a)(b) | 6,007,647 |
82,356 | Thermo Fisher Scientific, Inc.(a) | 41,686,137 |
69,312,944 | ||
Machinery — 1.8% | ||
127,277 | Caterpillar, Inc.(a) | 34,746,621 |
89,903 | Cummins, Inc.(a) | 20,539,239 |
66,901 | Deere & Co.(a) | 25,247,100 |
62,061 | Parker-Hannifin Corp.(a) | 24,174,001 |
121,067 | Pentair PLC(a) | 7,839,088 |
112,546,049 | ||
Media — 0.6% | ||
880,705 | Comcast Corp., Class A(a) | 39,050,460 |
Metals & Mining — 0.3% | ||
209,039 | Newmont Corp.(a) | 7,723,991 |
96,794 | Southern Copper Corp.(a) | 7,287,621 |
47,801 | Steel Dynamics, Inc.(a) | 5,125,223 |
20,136,835 | ||
Multi-Utilities — 0.9% | ||
260,977 | Ameren Corp.(a) | 19,528,909 |
206,097 | Consolidated Edison, Inc.(a) | 17,627,476 |
227,581 | WEC Energy Group, Inc.(a) | 18,331,650 |
55,488,035 | ||
Oil, Gas & Consumable Fuels — 4.3% | ||
163,828 | Cenovus Energy, Inc.(a) | 3,410,899 |
45,031 | Cheniere Energy, Inc.(a) | 7,473,345 |
389,682 | Chevron Corp.(a) | 65,708,179 |
Shares | Description | Value (†) |
Oil, Gas & Consumable Fuels — continued | ||
365,530 | ConocoPhillips(a) | $43,790,494 |
13,379 | Enbridge, Inc. | 444,049 |
789,833 | Exxon Mobil Corp.(a) | 92,868,564 |
61,365 | HF Sinclair Corp.(a) | 3,493,509 |
221,709 | Occidental Petroleum Corp.(a) | 14,384,480 |
226,052 | ONEOK, Inc.(a) | 14,338,478 |
204,932 | Suncor Energy, Inc.(a) | 7,045,562 |
115,966 | Targa Resources Corp.(a) | 9,940,606 |
262,898,165 | ||
Passenger Airlines — 0.2% | ||
153,012 | Alaska Air Group, Inc.(a)(b) | 5,673,685 |
144,851 | United Airlines Holdings, Inc.(a)(b) | 6,127,197 |
11,800,882 | ||
Pharmaceuticals — 4.4% | ||
489,213 | Bristol-Myers Squibb Co.(a) | 28,393,923 |
149,655 | Eli Lilly & Co.(a) | 80,384,190 |
14,229 | Jazz Pharmaceuticals PLC(b) | 1,841,802 |
485,856 | Johnson & Johnson(a) | 75,672,072 |
461,815 | Merck & Co., Inc.(a) | 47,543,854 |
1,049,311 | Pfizer, Inc.(a) | 34,805,646 |
268,641,487 | ||
Professional Services — 0.9% | ||
141,064 | Automatic Data Processing, Inc.(a) | 33,937,177 |
4,628 | Booz Allen Hamilton Holding Corp. | 505,702 |
160,547 | Paychex, Inc.(a) | 18,515,886 |
21,371 | SS&C Technologies Holdings, Inc. | 1,122,832 |
53,033 | TransUnion(a) | 3,807,239 |
57,888,836 | ||
Real Estate Management & Development — 0.1% | ||
97,840 | CoStar Group, Inc.(a)(b) | 7,522,918 |
15,415 | Zillow Group, Inc., Class C(b) | 711,556 |
8,234,474 | ||
Residential REITs — 0.8% | ||
252,006 | American Homes 4 Rent, Class A(a) | 8,490,082 |
85,332 | Camden Property Trust(a) | 8,070,701 |
143,552 | Equity LifeStyle Properties, Inc.(a) | 9,145,698 |
346,842 | Invitation Homes, Inc.(a) | 10,991,423 |
48,503 | Sun Communities, Inc.(a) | 5,739,845 |
265,036 | UDR, Inc.(a) | 9,453,834 |
51,891,583 | ||
Retail REITs — 0.1% | ||
122,523 | NNN REIT, Inc.(a) | 4,329,963 |
Semiconductors & Semiconductor Equipment — 6.9% | ||
326,538 | Advanced Micro Devices, Inc.(a)(b) | 33,574,637 |
127,044 | Analog Devices, Inc.(a) | 22,244,134 |
79,275 | Broadcom, Inc.(a) | 65,844,229 |
16,102 | First Solar, Inc.(a)(b) | 2,601,922 |
820,543 | Intel Corp.(a) | 29,170,304 |
122,826 | Marvell Technology, Inc.(a) | 6,648,571 |
425,033 | NVIDIA Corp.(a) | 184,885,105 |
225,942 | QUALCOMM, Inc.(a) | 25,093,119 |
106,600 | Teradyne, Inc.(a) | 10,709,036 |
258,807 | Texas Instruments, Inc.(a) | 41,152,901 |
421,923,958 |
Shares | Description | Value (†) |
Software — 10.2% | ||
100,205 | Adobe, Inc.(a)(b) | $51,094,529 |
115,419 | Cadence Design Systems, Inc.(a)(b) | 27,042,672 |
43,832 | Intuit, Inc.(a) | 22,395,522 |
1,280,850 | Microsoft Corp.(a) | 404,428,387 |
350,902 | Oracle Corp.(a) | 37,167,540 |
65,690 | Palo Alto Networks, Inc.(a)(b) | 15,400,364 |
185,837 | Salesforce, Inc.(a)(b) | 37,684,027 |
44,136 | ServiceNow, Inc.(a)(b) | 24,670,258 |
10,997 | VMware, Inc., Class A(b) | 1,830,781 |
29,249 | Workday, Inc., Class A(a)(b) | 6,284,148 |
627,998,228 | ||
Specialized REITs — 0.4% | ||
189,838 | Crown Castle, Inc.(a) | 17,470,791 |
151,601 | CubeSmart(a) | 5,780,546 |
23,251,337 | ||
Specialty Retail — 2.0% | ||
20,171 | Dick's Sporting Goods, Inc.(a) | 2,190,167 |
218,400 | Home Depot, Inc.(a) | 65,991,744 |
186,352 | Lowe's Cos., Inc.(a) | 38,731,400 |
12,994 | O'Reilly Automotive, Inc.(a)(b) | 11,809,727 |
195,010 | Valvoline, Inc.(a) | 6,287,122 |
125,010,160 | ||
Technology Hardware, Storage & Peripherals — 7.2% | ||
2,586,196 | Apple, Inc.(a) | 442,782,617 |
38,399 | Dell Technologies, Inc., Class C(a) | 2,645,691 |
445,428,308 | ||
Textiles, Apparel & Luxury Goods — 0.1% | ||
16,507 | Lululemon Athletica, Inc.(a)(b) | 6,365,264 |
Tobacco — 0.5% | ||
671,905 | Altria Group, Inc.(a) | 28,253,605 |
Total Common Stocks (Identified Cost $2,053,250,681) | 5,957,338,391 | |
Total Purchased Options — 1.4% (Identified Cost $66,673,925) (see details below) | 83,321,485 |
Principal Amount | ||
Short-Term Investments — 2.4% | ||
$145,837,939 | Tri-Party Repurchase Agreement with Fixed Income Clearing Corporation, dated 9/29/2023 at 2.500% to be repurchased at $145,868,322 on 10/02/2023 collateralized by $163,888,500 U.S. Treasury Note, 1.375% due 8/31/2026 valued at $148,754,703 including accrued interest(c) (Identified Cost $145,837,939) | 145,837,939 |
Total Investments — 100.6% (Identified Cost $2,265,762,545) | 6,186,497,815 | |
Other assets less liabilities — (0.6)% | (34,129,177 ) | |
Net Assets — 100.0% | $6,152,368,638 |
Purchased Options — 1.4% | ||||||
Description | Expiration Date | Exercise Price | Contracts | Notional Amount | Cost | Value (†) |
Index Options — 1.4% | ||||||
S&P 500® Index, Put(b)(d) | 11/17/2023 | 3,925 | 1,970 | $844,745,850 | $8,446,375 | $3,447,500 |
S&P 500® Index, Put(b)(d) | 11/17/2023 | 4,050 | 1,970 | 844,745,850 | 7,132,385 | 5,949,400 |
S&P 500® Index, Put(b)(d) | 12/15/2023 | 4,100 | 1,969 | 844,317,045 | 8,266,847 | 11,183,920 |
S&P 500® Index, Put(b)(d) | 12/15/2023 | 4,150 | 1,926 | 825,878,430 | 7,499,536 | 12,856,050 |
S&P 500® Index, Put(b)(d) | 1/19/2024 | 4,150 | 1,969 | 844,317,045 | 9,239,533 | 16,578,980 |
S&P 500® Index, Put(b)(d) | 2/16/2024 | 4,050 | 1,969 | 844,317,045 | 14,979,167 | 15,407,425 |
S&P 500® Index, Put(b)(d) | 3/15/2024 | 4,050 | 1,969 | 844,317,045 | 11,110,082 | 17,898,210 |
Total | $66,673,925 | $83,321,485 |
Written Options — (0.6%) | ||||||
Description | Expiration Date | Exercise Price | Contracts | Notional Amount | Premiums (Received) | Value (†) |
Index Options — (0.6%) | ||||||
S&P 500® Index, Call(d) | 10/20/2023 | 4,400 | (1,527 ) | $(654,785,235 ) | $(15,983,872 ) | $(2,947,110 ) |
S&P 500® Index, Call(d) | 10/20/2023 | 4,550 | (1,527 ) | (654,785,235 ) | (6,616,766 ) | (156,517 ) |
S&P 500® Index, Call(d) | 10/20/2023 | 4,650 | (1,527 ) | (654,785,235 ) | (14,655,382 ) | (26,723 ) |
S&P 500® Index, Call(d) | 10/20/2023 | 4,700 | (1,527 ) | (654,785,235 ) | (9,694,327 ) | (15,270 ) |
S&P 500® Index, Call(d) | 10/31/2023 | 4,350 | (1,527 ) | (654,785,235 ) | (9,990,398 ) | (8,100,735 ) |
S&P 500® Index, Call(d) | 10/31/2023 | 4,400 | (1,527 ) | (654,785,235 ) | (10,776,803 ) | (4,970,385 ) |
S&P 500® Index, Call(d) | 11/17/2023 | 4,400 | (1,527 ) | (654,785,235 ) | (12,067,117 ) | (7,925,130 ) |
S&P 500® Index, Call(d) | 11/17/2023 | 4,500 | (1,526 ) | (654,356,430 ) | (13,409,725 ) | (3,196,970 ) |
S&P 500® Index, Call(d) | 11/30/2023 | 4,400 | (1,527 ) | (654,785,235 ) | (11,456,318 ) | (9,879,690 ) |
Total | $(104,650,708 ) | $(37,218,530 ) |
(†) | Registered investment companies are required to value portfolio investments using an unadjusted, readily available market quotation. The Fund obtains readily available market quotations from independent pricing services. Fund investments for which readily available market quotations are not available are priced at fair value pursuant to the Fund's Valuation Procedures. The Board of Trustees has approved a valuation designee who is subject to the Board's oversight. Unadjusted readily available market quotations that are utilized for exchange traded equity securities (including shares of closed-end investment companies and exchange-traded funds) include the last sale price quoted on the exchange where the security is traded most extensively. Domestic, exchange-traded index and single name equity option contracts (including options on exchange-traded funds) are valued at the mean of the National Best Bid and Offer quotations as determined by the Options Price Reporting Authority. Shares of open-end investment companies are valued at net asset value per share. Exchange traded equity securities for which there is no reported sale during the day are fair valued at the closing bid quotation as reported by an independent pricing service. Unlisted equity securities (except unlisted preferred equity securities) are fair valued at the last sale price quoted in the market where they are traded most extensively or, if there is no reported sale during the day, the closing bid quotation as reported by an independent pricing service. If there is no last sale price or closing bid quotation available, unlisted equity securities will be fair valued using evaluated bids furnished by an independent pricing service, if available. Debt securities and unlisted preferred equity securities are fair valued based on evaluated bids furnished to the Fund by an independent pricing service or bid prices obtained from broker-dealers. Broker-dealer bid prices may be used to fair value debt and unlisted equities where an independent pricing service is unable to price an investment or where an independent pricing service does not provide a reliable price for the investment. The Fund may also fair value investments in other circumstances such as when extraordinary events occur after the close of a foreign market, but prior to the close of the New York Stock Exchange. This may include situations relating to a single issuer (such as a declaration of bankruptcy or a delisting of the issuer's security from the primary market on which it has traded) as well as events affecting the securities markets in general (such as market disruptions or closings and significant fluctuations in U.S. and/or foreign markets). When fair valuing a Fund's investments, the valuation designee may, among other things, use modeling tools or other processes that may take into account factors such as issuer specific information, or other related market activity and/or information that occurred after the close of the foreign market but before the time the Fund's net asset value ("NAV") is calculated. Fair valuation by the Fund's valuation designee may require subjective determinations about the value of the investment, and fair values used to determine a Fund's NAV may differ from quoted or published prices, or from prices that are used by others, for the same investments. In addition, the use of fair value pricing may not always result in adjustments to the prices of investments held by a Fund. The books and records of the Fund are maintained in U.S. dollars. The values of securities, currencies and other assets and liabilities denominated in currencies other than U.S. dollars, if any, are translated into U.S. dollars based upon foreign exchange rates prevailing at the end of the period. |
(a) | Security (or a portion thereof) has been pledged as collateral for open derivative contracts. |
(b) | Non-income producing security. |
(c) | The Fund may enter into repurchase agreements, under the terms of a Master Repurchase Agreement, under which the Fund acquires securities as collateral and agrees to resell the securities at an agreed upon time and at an agreed upon price. It is the Fund's policy that the market value of the collateral for repurchase agreements be at least equal to 102% of the repurchase price, including interest. Certain repurchase agreements are tri-party arrangements whereby the collateral is held in a segregated account for the benefit of the Fund and on behalf of the counterparty. Repurchase agreements could involve certain risks in the event of default or insolvency of the counterparty, including possible delays or restrictions upon the Fund's ability to dispose of the underlying securities. As of September 30, 2023, the Fund had an investment in a repurchase agreement for which the value of the related collateral exceeded the value of the repurchase agreement. |
(d) | The Fund's investment strategy makes use of exchange-traded options. Exchange-traded options are standardized contracts and are settled through a clearing house with fulfillment supported by the credit of the exchange. Therefore, counterparty credit risks to the Fund are reduced. The Fund writes (sells) index call options and purchases index put options. When the Fund writes an index call option, an amount equal to the net premium received (the premium less commission) is recorded as a liability and is subsequently adjusted to the current value until the option expires or the Fund enters into a closing purchase transaction. When an index call option expires or the Fund enters into a closing purchase transaction, the difference between the net premium received and any amount paid at expiration or on effecting a closing purchase transaction, including commission, is treated as a realized gain or, if the net premium received is less than the amount paid, as a realized loss. The Fund, as writer of an index call option, bears the risk of an unfavorable change in the market value of the index underlying the written option. When the Fund purchases an index put option, it pays a premium and the index put option is subsequently marked-to-market to reflect current value until the option expires or the Fund enters into a closing sale transaction. Premiums paid for purchasing index put options which expire are treated as realized losses. When the Fund enters into a closing sale transaction, the difference between the premium paid and the proceeds of the closing sale transaction is treated as a realized gain or loss. The risk associated with purchasing index put options is limited to the premium paid. |
ADR | An American Depositary Receipt is a certificate issued by a custodian bank representing the right to receive securities of the foreign issuer described. The values of ADRs may be significantly influenced by trading on exchanges not located in the United States. |
REITs | Real Estate Investment Trusts |
Fair Value Measurements.
In accordance with accounting standards related to fair value measurements and disclosures, the Fund has categorized the inputs utilized in determining the value of each Fund’s assets or liabilities. These inputs are summarized in the three broad levels listed below:
• Level 1 — quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities;
• Level 2 — prices determined using other significant inputs that are observable either directly, or indirectly through corroboration with observable market data (which could include quoted prices for similar assets or liabilities, interest rates, credit risk, etc.); and
• Level 3 — prices determined using significant unobservable inputs when quoted prices or observable inputs are unavailable such as when there is little or no market activity for an asset or liability (unobservable inputs reflect each Fund’s own assumptions in determining the fair value of assets or liabilities and would be based on the best information available).
The inputs or methodology used for valuing securities are not necessarily an indication of the risk associated with investing in those securities.
The Fund's pricing policies have been approved by the Board of Trustees. Investments for which market quotations are readily available are categorized in Level 1. Other investments for which an independent pricing service is utilized are categorized in Level 2. Broker-dealer bid prices for which the Fund has knowledge of the inputs used by the broker-dealer are categorized in Level 2. All other investments, including broker-dealer bid prices for which the Fund does not have knowledge of the inputs used by the broker-dealer, as well as investments fair valued by the valuation designee, are categorized in Level 3. All Level 2 and 3 securities are defined as being fair valued.
Under certain conditions and based upon specific facts and circumstances, the Fund’s valuation designee may determine that a fair valuation should be made for portfolio investment(s). These valuation designee fair valuations will be based upon a significant amount of Level 3 inputs.
The following is a summary of the inputs used to value the Fund's investments as of September 30, 2023, at value:
Asset Valuation Inputs | ||||
Description | Level 1 | Level 2 | Level 3 | Total |
Common Stocks(a) | $5,957,338,391 | $— | $— | $5,957,338,391 |
Purchased Options(a) | 83,321,485 | — | — | 83,321,485 |
Short-Term Investments | — | 145,837,939 | — | 145,837,939 |
Total | $6,040,659,876 | $145,837,939 | $— | $6,186,497,815 |
Liability Valuation Inputs | ||||
Description | Level 1 | Level 2 | Level 3 | Total |
Written Options(a) | $(37,218,530 ) | $— | $— | $(37,218,530 ) |
(a) | Details of the major categories of the Fund’s investments are reflected within the Portfolio of Investments. |
Derivatives
Derivative instruments are defined as financial instruments whose value and performance are based on the value and performance of an underlying asset, reference rate or index. Derivative instruments that the Fund used during the period include written index call options and purchased index put options.
The Fund seeks to capture the majority of the returns associated with equity market investments, while exposing investors to less risk than other equity investments. To meet this investment goal, the Fund invests in a broadly diversified portfolio of common stocks, while also writing index call options. Writing index call options can reduce the Fund’s volatility, provide a steady cash flow and be an important source of the Fund’s return, although it also may reduce the Fund’s ability to profit from increases in the value of its equity portfolio. The Fund also buys index put options, which can protect the Fund from a significant market decline that may occur over a short period of time. The value of an index put option generally increases as the prices of stocks constituting the index decrease and decreases as those stocks increase in price. The combination of the diversified stock portfolio, the steady cash flow from writing of index call options and the downside protection from purchased index put options is intended to provide the Fund with the majority of the returns associated with equity market investments while exposing investors to less risk than other equity investments. During the period ended September 30, 2023, written index call options and purchased index put options were used in accordance with this objective.
The following is a summary of derivative instruments for the Fund, as of September 30, 2023:
Assets | Investments at value1 |
Exchange-traded asset derivatives | |
Equity contracts | $83,321,485 |
1 | Represents purchased options, at value. |
Liabilities | Options written at value |
Exchange-traded liability derivatives | |
Equity contracts | $(37,218,530 ) |
The Fund’s derivatives do not qualify for hedge accounting under authoritative guidance for derivative instruments. The Fund’s investments in derivatives may represent an economic hedge; however, they are considered to be non-hedge transactions for the purpose of this disclosure.
Counterparty risk is managed based on policies and procedures established by the Fund’s adviser. Such policies and procedures may include, but are not limited to, minimum counterparty credit rating requirements, monitoring of counterparty credit default swap spreads and posting of collateral. With exchange-traded derivatives, there is minimal counterparty credit risk to the Fund because the exchange’s clearinghouse, as counterparty to these instruments, stands between the buyer and the seller of the contract. Credit risk still exists in exchange-traded derivatives with respect to initial and variation margin that is held in a broker’s customer accounts. While brokers typically are required to segregate customer margin for exchange-traded derivatives from their own assets, in the event that a broker becomes insolvent or goes into bankruptcy and at that time there is a shortfall in the aggregate amount of margin held by the broker for all its customers, U.S. bankruptcy laws will typically allocate that shortfall on a pro rata basis across all of the broker’s customers, potentially resulting in losses to the Fund.
Industry Summary at September 30, 2023 (Unaudited) | |
Software | 10.2% |
Technology Hardware, Storage & Peripherals | 7.2 |
Semiconductors & Semiconductor Equipment | 6.9 |
Interactive Media & Services | 5.9 |
Financial Services | 4.7 |
Pharmaceuticals | 4.4 |
Oil, Gas & Consumable Fuels | 4.3 |
Broadline Retail | 3.3 |
Banks | 3.1 |
Health Care Providers & Services | 3.1 |
Health Care Equipment & Supplies | 2.3 |
Capital Markets | 2.1 |
Biotechnology | 2.1 |
Automobiles | 2.1 |
Specialty Retail | 2.0 |
Hotels, Restaurants & Leisure | 2.0 |
Insurance | 2.0 |
Other Investments, less than 2% each | 30.5 |
Short-Term Investments | 2.4 |
Total Investments | 100.6 |
Other assets less liabilities (including open written options) | (0.6) |
Net Assets | 100.0% |