Notes to Schedule of Investments (unaudited)
1. Organization and significant accounting policies
ClearBridge MLP and Midstream Fund Inc. (the “Fund”) was incorporated in Maryland on March 31, 2010 and is registered as a non-diversified, closed-end management investment company under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”). The Board of Directors authorized 100 million shares of $0.001 par value common stock. The Fund’s investment objective is to provide a high level of total return with an emphasis on cash distributions. The Fund seeks to achieve its objective by investing primarily in energy master limited partnerships (“MLPs”) and energy midstream entities. There can be no assurance that the Fund will achieve its investment objective.
Under normal market conditions the Fund invests at least 80% of its Managed Assets in energy MLPs and energy midstream entities (the 80% policy). For purposes of the 80% policy, the Fund considers investments in MLPs to include investments that offer economic exposure to public and private MLPs in the form of MLP equity securities, securities of entities holding primarily general partner or managing member interests in MLPs, securities that are derivatives of interests in MLPs (including I-Shares), exchange-traded funds that primarily hold MLP interests and debt securities of MLPs. For purposes of the 80% policy, the Fund considers investments in midstream entities as direct or indirect investments in those entities that provide midstream services including the gathering, transporting, processing, fractionation, storing, refining, and distribution of oil, natural gas liquids, natural gas and refined petroleum products. The Fund considers an entity to be within the Energy sector if it derives at least 50% of its revenues from the business of exploring, developing, producing, gathering, fractionating, transporting, processing, storing, refining, distributing, mining or marketing natural gas, natural gas liquids (including propane), crude oil, refined petroleum products or coal. The Fund may also invest up to 20% of its managed assets in other securities that are not MLPs or midstream entities. “Managed Assets” means net assets plus the amount of borrowings and assets attributable to any preferred stock of the Fund that may be outstanding.
The following are significant accounting policies consistently followed by the Fund and are in conformity with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”).
(a) Investment valuation.Equity securities for which market quotations are available are valued at the last reported sales price or official closing price on the primary market or exchange on which they trade. The valuations for fixed income securities (which may include, but are not limited to, corporate, government, municipal, mortgage-backed, collateralized mortgage obligations and asset-backed securities) and certain derivative instruments are typically the prices supplied by independent third party pricing services, which may use market prices or broker/dealer quotations or a variety of valuation techniques and methodologies. The independent third party pricing services use inputs that are observable such as issuer details, interest rates, yield curves, prepayment speeds, credit risks/spreads, default rates and quoted prices for similar securities. Investments in open-end funds are valued at the closing net asset value per share of each fund on the day
