See Notes to Financial Statements.
1. Organization
Managed Portfolio Series (the “Trust”) was organized as a Delaware statutory trust on January 27, 2011. The Trust is registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”), as an open-end management investment company. The Cove Street Capital Small Cap Value Fund (the “Fund”) is a diversified series with its own investment objectives and policies within the Trust. The investment objective of the Fund is capital appreciation. The Fund is an investment company and accordingly follows the investment company accounting and reporting guidance of the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) Accounting Standards Codification Topic 946, Financial Services – Investment Companies. The Fund commenced operations on September 30, 1998 and currently offers Institutional Class shares. The Fund may issue an unlimited number of shares of beneficial interest, with no par value.
2. Significant Accounting Policies
The following is a summary of significant accounting policies consistently followed by the Fund in preparation of its financial statements. These policies are in conformity with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States of America (“GAAP”).
Security Valuation – All investments in securities are recorded at their estimated fair value, as described in Note 3.
Federal Income Taxes – The Fund complies with the requirements of subchapter M of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, as necessary to qualify as a regulated investment company and distributes substantially all net taxable investment income and net realized gains to shareholders in a manner which results in no tax cost to the Fund. Therefore, no federal income tax or excise tax provision is required. As of and during the year ended September 30, 2023, the Fund did not have any tax positions that did not meet the “more-likely-than-not” threshold of being sustained by the applicable tax authority. As of and during the year ended September 30, 2023, the Fund did not have liabilities for any unrecognized tax benefits. The Fund recognizes interest and penalties, if any, related to unrecognized tax benefits on uncertain tax positions as income tax expense in the Statement of Operations. As of and during the year ended September 30, 2023, the Fund did not incur any interest or penalties. The Fund is not subject to examination by U.S. tax authorities for tax years prior to the year ended September 30, 2020.
Security Transactions, Income, and Distributions – The Fund follows industry practice and records security transactions on the trade date. Realized gains and losses on sales of securities are calculated on the basis of identified cost. Dividend income is recorded on the ex-dividend date and interest income and expense is recorded on an accrual basis. Withholding taxes on foreign dividends have been provided for in accordance with the Fund’s understanding of the applicable country’s tax rules and regulations. The Fund will establish a reserve for interest receivable when it becomes probable that the interest will not be collected, and the amount of uncollectible interest can be reasonably estimated. Discounts and premiums on securities purchased are amortized over the expected life of the respective securities using the constant yield method.
The Fund may utilize earnings and profits distributed to shareholders on redemptions of shares as part of the dividend paid deduction. The Fund distributes substantially all net investment income and net realized capital gains, if any, at least annually. Distributions to shareholders are recorded on the ex-dividend date. The treatment for financial reporting purposes of distributions made to shareholders during the year from net investment income or net realized capital gains may differ from their ultimate treatment for federal income tax purposes. These differences are caused primarily by differences in the timing of the recognition of certain components of income, expense or realized capital gain for federal income tax purposes. Where such differences are permanent in nature, GAAP requires that they be reclassified in the components of the net assets based on their ultimate characterization for federal income tax purposes. Any such reclassifications will have no effect on net assets, results of operations or net asset value per share of the Fund. For the year ended September 30, 2023, the Fund decreased distributable earnings by $314,184 and increased paid-in capital by $314,184. These adjustments were largely due to the use of tax equalization by the Fund.
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Notes to Financial Statements (continued)
September 30, 2023
| | Annual Report 2023 — CSCAX Cove Street Capital Small Cap Value Fund |
Use of Estimates – The preparation of financial statements in conformity with GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting period. Actual results could differ from those estimates.
Allocation of Expenses – Expenses associated with a specific fund in the Trust are charged to that fund. Common Trust expenses are typically allocated evenly between the funds of the Trust, or by other equitable means.
Illiquid or Restricted Securities – A security may be considered illiquid if it lacks a readily available market. Securities are generally considered liquid if they can be sold or disposed of in the ordinary course of business within seven days at approximately the price at which the security is valued by the Fund. The Fund will not hold more than 15% of the value of its net assets in illiquid securities. Certain restricted securities may be considered illiquid. Restricted securities are often purchased in private placement transactions, are not registered under the Securities Act of 1933, may have contractual restrictions on resale, and may be valued under methods approved by the Board as reflecting fair value. At September 30, 2023, the Fund had investments in illiquid securities with a total value of $1,803,246 or 6.5% of total net assets.
Information concerning illiquid securities, including restricted securities considered to be illiquid, is as follows:
| Security | Shares | Date Acquired | Cost Basis |
| Lifecore Biomedical., Series A, 7.50% | 1,555 | Jan. 2023 | $ 1,554,549 |
3. Securities Valuation
The Fund has adopted authoritative fair value accounting standards which establish an authoritative definition of fair value and set out a hierarchy for measuring fair value. These standards require additional disclosures about the various inputs and valuation techniques used to develop the measurements of fair value, a discussion of changes in valuation techniques and related inputs during the period and expanded disclosure of valuation Levels for major security types. These inputs are summarized in the three broad Levels listed below:
| Level 1 – | Unadjusted quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities that the Fund has the ability to access. |
| Level 2 – | Observable inputs other than quoted prices included in Level 1 that are observable for the asset or liability, either directly or indirectly. These inputs may include quoted prices for the identical instrument on an inactive market, prices for similar instruments, interest rates, prepayment speeds, credit risk, yield curves, default rates and similar data. |
| Level 3 – | Unobservable inputs for the asset or liability, to the extent relevant observable inputs are not available, representing the Fund’s own assumptions about the assumptions a market participant would use in valuing the asset or liability, and would be based on the best information available. |
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Annual Report 2023 — CSCAX Cove Street Capital Small Cap Value Fund | | Notes to Financial Statements (continued) September 30, 2023 |
Following is a description of the valuation techniques applied to the Fund’s major categories of assets and liabilities measured at fair value on a recurring basis. The Fund’s investments are carried at fair value.
Equity Securities – Equity securities that are primarily traded on a national securities exchange are valued at the last sale price on the exchange on which they are primarily traded on the day of valuation or, if there has been no sale on such day, at the mean between the bid and ask prices, or last trade. Securities traded primarily in the Nasdaq Global Market System for which market quotations are readily available are valued using the Nasdaq Official Closing Price (“NOCP”). If the NOCP is not available, such securities are valued at the last sale price on the day of valuation, or if there has been no sale on such day, at the mean between the bid and ask prices, or last trade. To the extent these securities are actively traded and valuation adjustments are not applied, they are categorized in Level 1 of the fair value hierarchy. If the market for a particular security is not active, and the mean between bid and ask prices, or last trade is used, these securities are categorized in Level 2 of the fair value hierarchy. Also categorized in Level 2 are convertible preferred stock securities which are not actively traded and are valued using a formula-based technique that use observable inputs such as the conversion price, market volatility, risk-free rate, etc.
Short-Term Investments – Investments in other mutual funds, including money market funds, are valued at their net asset value per share. To the extent these securities are actively traded and valuation adjustments are not applied, they are categorized in Level 1 of the fair value hierarchy.
The Board of Trustees (the “Board”) has adopted a pricing and valuation policy for use by the Fund and its Valuation Designee (as defined below) in calculating the Fund's NAV. Pursuant to Rule 2a-5 under the 1940 Act, the Fund has designated Cove Street Capital, LLC (the “Adviser”) as its “Valuation Designee” to perform all of the fair value determinations as well as to perform all of the responsibilities that may be performed by the Valuation Designee in accordance with Rule 2a-5. The Valuation Designee is authorized to make all necessary determinations of the fair values of portfolio securities and other assets for which market quotations are not readily available or if it is deemed that the prices obtained from brokers and dealers or independent pricing services are unreliable.
The inputs or methodology used for valuing securities are not an indication of the risk associated with investing in those securities. The following is a summary of the inputs used to value the Fund’s securities as of September 30, 2023:
| | | Level 1 | | | Level 2 | | | Level 3 | | | Total | |
| Common Stocks | | $ | 22,992,023 | | | $ | - | | | $ | - | | | $ | 22,992,023 | |
| Convertible Preferred Stock | | | - | | | | 1,803,246 | | | | - | | | | 1,803,246 | |
| Short-Term Investment | | | 2,338,003 | | | | - | | | | - | | | | 2,338,003 | |
| Total Investments in Securities | | $ | 25,330,026 | | | $ | 1,803,246 | | | $ | - | | | $ | 27,133,272 | |
Refer to the Schedule of Investments for further information on the classification of investments.
4. Investment Advisory Fee and Other Transactions With Affiliates
The Trust has an agreement with the Adviser to furnish investment advisory services to the Fund. Pursuant to an Investment Advisory Agreement between the Trust and the Adviser, the Adviser is entitled to receive, on a monthly basis, an annual advisory fee equal to 0.85% of the Fund's average daily net assets.
The Fund’s Adviser has contractually agreed to waive a portion or all of its management fees and/or reimburse the Fund for its expenses to ensure that total annual operating expenses (does not include any front-end or contingent deferred loads, taxes, leverage/borrowing interest, interest expense, dividends paid on short sales, brokerage commissions, acquired fund fees and expenses, expenses incurred in connection with any merger or reorganization, or extraordinary expenses such as litigation) do not exceed 1.25% of the average daily net assets. Fees waived and expenses reimbursed by the Adviser may be recouped by the Adviser for a period of thirty-six months following the month during which such waiver or reimbursement was made if such recoupment can be achieved without exceeding the expense limit in effect at the time the expense reimbursement occurred and at the time of recoupment.
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Notes to Financial Statements (continued)
September 30, 2023
| | Annual Report 2023 — CSCAX Cove Street Capital Small Cap Value Fund |
The Operating Expenses Limitation Agreement is indefinite in term but cannot be terminated within a year after the effective date of the Fund’s prospectus. After that date, the agreement may be terminated at any time upon 60 days’ written notice by the Trust’s Board or the Adviser, with the consent of the Board. Total fee recoupment in the fiscal year ended September 30, 2023, was $5,506, which represented fee waivers occurring during the current fiscal year. As of September 30, 2023, the Fund has $30,923 and $114,845 in previously waived fees or reimbursed expenses subject to potential recovery by August 31, 2025 and August 31, 2026, respectively.
U.S. Bancorp Fund Services, LLC (the “Administrator”), doing business as U.S. Bank Global Fund Services, acts as the Fund’s Administrator, Transfer Agent, and Fund Accountant. U.S. Bank N.A. (the “Custodian”) serves as the custodian to the Fund. The Custodian is an affiliate of the Administrator. The Administrator performs various administrative and accounting services for the Fund. The Administrator prepares various federal and state regulatory filings, reports and returns for the Fund; prepares reports and materials to be supplied to the Trustees; monitors the activities of the Custodian; coordinates the payment of the Fund’s expenses and reviews the Fund’s expense accruals. The officers of the Trust, including the Chief Compliance Officer, are employees of the Administrator. As compensation for its services, the Administrator is entitled to a monthly fee at an annual rate based upon the average daily net assets of the Fund, subject to annual minimums. Fees paid by the Fund for administration and accounting, transfer agency, custody and compliance services for the year ended September 30, 2023, are disclosed in the Statement of Operations.
5. Capital Share Transactions
| | For the Year Ended September 30, 2023 | | For the Year Ended September 30, 2022 |
| Institutional Class: | | | | | | | |
| Shares sold | | | 17,032 | | | | | 107,957 | |
| Shares issued to holders in reinvestment of distributions | | | 149,060 | | | | | 151,353 | |
| Shares redeemed | | | (377,085 | ) | | | | (965,905 | ) |
| Net decrease in shares outstanding | | | (210,993 | ) | | | | (706,595 | ) |
6. Investment Transactions
The aggregate purchases and sales, excluding Short-Term investments, by the Fund for the year ended September 30, 2023, were as follows:
| | Purchases | Sales |
| U.S. Government Securities | $- | $- |
| Other Securities | $13,446,454 | $27,406,057 |
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Annual Report 2023 — CSCAX Cove Street Capital Small Cap Value Fund | | Notes to Financial Statements (continued) September 30, 2023 |
7. Income Tax Information
The aggregate gross unrealized appreciation and depreciation of securities held by the Fund and the total cost of securities for federal income tax purposes at September 30, 2023, were as follows:
Aggregate Gross Appreciation | Depreciation | Net
Appreciation | Tax Cost |
| $5,675,271 | $(1,259,775) | $4,415,496 | $22,717,776 |
Any difference between book-basis and tax-basis unrealized appreciation would be attributable primarily to the tax deferral of losses on wash sales and partnership holdings in the Fund.
At September 30, 2023, the Fund’s components of distributable earnings on a tax-basis were as follows:
Undistributed Ordinary Income | Undistributed Long- Term Capital Gain | Other Accumulated Gains | Net Unrealized Appreciation | Total Distributable Earnings |
| $299,120 | $1,597,170 | $- | $4,415,496 | $6,311,786 |
A regulated investment company may elect for any taxable year to treat any portion of any qualified late year loss as arising on the first day of the next taxable year. Qualified late year losses are certain capital, and ordinary losses which occur during the portion of a Fund’s taxable year subsequent to October 31 and December 31, respectively. For the taxable year ended September 30, 2023, the Fund did not defer any qualified late year losses. As of September 30, 2023, the Fund had no capital loss carryforwards.
The tax character of distributions paid for the year ended September 30, 2023, were as follows:
| | Ordinary Income* | Long Term Capital Gains | Total |
| Amount in Dollars | $99,887 | $4,874,733 | $4,974,620 |
| Amount per Share | $0.09500 | $4.63621 | $4.73121 |
The tax character of distributions paid for the year ended September 30, 2022, were as follows:
| | Ordinary Income* | Long Term Capital Gains | Total |
| Amount in Dollars | $3,882,957 | $2,878,186 | $6,761,143 |
| Amount per Share | $2.38175 | $1.77867 | $4.16042 |
*For federal income tax purposes, distributions of short-term capital gains are treated as ordinary income distributions.
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Notes to Financial Statements (continued)
September 30, 2023
| | Annual Report 2023 — CSCAX Cove Street Capital Small Cap Value Fund |
8. Control Ownership
The beneficial ownership, either directly or indirectly, of more than 25% of the voting securities of a fund creates a presumption of control of the fund, under Section 2(a)(9) of the Investment Company Act of 1940. As of September 30, 2023, Charles Schwab & Co. owned 32.5% of the Fund’s outstanding shares.
9. Line of Credit
The Fund has established an unsecured line of credit (“LOC”) in the amount of $4,000,000, 15% of gross market value of the Fund, or 33.33% of the fair value of the Fund’s unencumbered assets, whichever is less. The LOC matures unless renewed on July 19, 2024. This LOC is intended to provide short-term financing, if necessary, subject to certain restrictions and covenants in connection with shareholder redemptions and other short-term liquidity needs of the Fund. The LOC is with the Custodian. Interest is charged at the prime rate which was 8.50% as of September 30, 2023. The interest rate during the year was between 6.25% and 8.50%. The Fund has authorized the Custodian to charge any of the Fund’s accounts for any missed payments. The weighted average interest rate paid on outstanding borrowings for the Fund was 7.57%. For the year ended September 30, 2023, the Fund’s LOC activity was as follows:
| LOC Agent | Average Borrowings | Amount Outstanding as of September 30, 2023 | Interest Expense | Maximum Borrowing | Date of Maximum Borrowing |
| U.S. Bank N.A. | $18,282 | $ - | $1,403 | $2,093,000 | November 14, 2022 |
Prior to July 21, 2023, the date the LOC was renewed, the LOC was limited to the lesser of $7,000,000, 15% of the Fund’s gross market value or 33.33% of the fair value of the Fund’s unencumbered assets, whichever was less.
10. Subsequent Event
On November 10, 2023, the Fund paid a short-term capital gain distribution of $372,433, or $0.43507 per share, and a long-term capital gain distribution of $1,725,636, or $2.01586 per share.
Effective November 19, 2023, Douglas ScAppendixhafer no longer serves as an Officer of the Managed Portfolio Series Trust in which the Fund operates as a diversified series. This change was approved by the Board at its Meeting on November 16-17, 2023.
Management has performed an evaluation of subsequent events through the date the financial statements were issued and has determined that no additional items require recognition or disclosure.
End of Notes to Financial Statements.
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Appendix
Appendix Contents
Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
Additional Information
Privacy Notice
Report of Independent Registered
Public Accounting Firm
To the Shareholders of Cove Street Capital Small Cap Value Fund and
Board of Trustees of Managed Portfolio Series
Opinion on the Financial Statements
We have audited the accompanying statement of assets and liabilities, including the schedule of investments, of Cove Street Capital Small Cap Value Fund (the “Fund”), a series of Managed Portfolio Series, as of September 30, 2023, the related statement of operations for the year then ended, the statements of changes in net assets for each of the two years in the period then ended, the related notes, and the financial highlights for each of the five years in the period then ended (collectively referred to as the “financial statements”). In our opinion, the financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the Fund as of September 30, 2023, the results of its operations for the year then ended, the changes in net assets for each of the two years in the period then ended, and the financial highlights for each of the five years in the period then ended, in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America.
Basis for Opinion
These financial statements are the responsibility of the Fund’s management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on the Fund’s financial statements based on our audits. We are a public accounting firm registered with the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) (“PCAOB”) and are required to be independent with respect to the Fund in accordance with the U.S. federal securities laws and the applicable rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the PCAOB.
We conducted our audits in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement whether due to error or fraud.
Our audits included performing procedures to assess the risks of material misstatement of the financial statements, whether due to error or fraud, and performing procedures that respond to those risks. Such procedures included examining, on a test basis, evidence regarding the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. Our procedures included confirmation of securities owned as of September 30, 2023, by correspondence with the custodian and brokers. Our audits also included evaluating the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall presentation of the financial statements. We believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinion.
We have served as the Fund’s auditor since 2011.
COHEN & COMPANY, LTD.
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
November 29, 2023
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Annual Report 2023 — CSCAX Cove Street Capital Small Cap Value Fund | | Additional Information (unaudited) |
Name, Address, Year of Birth | Position(s) Held with the Trust | Term of Office & Length of Time Served | Number of Portfolios in Trust Overseen by Trustee | Principal Occupation(s) During the Past Five Years | Other Directorships Held by Trustee During the Past Five Years |
| Independent Trustees |
Leonard M. Rush, CPA 615 E. Michigan St. Milwaukee, WI 53202 Year of Birth: 1946 | Chairman, Trustee and Audit Committee Chairman | Indefinite Term; Since
April 2011 | 32 | Retired, Chief Financial Officer, Robert W. Baird & Co. Incorporated (2000-2011). | Independent Trustee, ETF Series Solutions (57 Portfolios) (2012- Present); |
David A. Massart 615 E. Michigan St. Milwaukee, WI 53202 Year of Birth: 1967 | Trustee | Indefinite Term; Since April 2011 | 32 | Partner and Managing Director, Beacon Pointe Advisors, LLC (since 2022); Co-Founder and
Chief Investment Strategist; Next Generation Wealth Management, Inc. (2005-2021). | Independent Trustee, ETF Series Solutions (57 Portfolios) (2012- Present) |
David M. Swanson 615 E. Michigan St. Milwaukee, WI 53202 Year of Birth: 1957 | Trustee and Nominating & Governance Committee Chairman | Indefinite Term; Since April 2011 | 32 | Founder and Managing Principal, SwanDog Strategic Marketing, LLC (2006-present). | Independent Trustee, ALPS Variable Investment Trust (7 Portfolios) (2006-Present); Independent Trustee, RiverNorth Funds (3 Portfolios) (2018- Present); RiverNorth Managed Duration Municipal Income Fund Inc. (1 Portfolio) (2019-Present); RiverNorth Opportunistic Municipal Income Fund, Inc. (1 Portfolio) (2018- Present); RiverNorth Capital and Income Fund (1 Portfolio) (2018-Present); RiverNorth Opportunities Fund (1 Portfolio) (2015-Present; RiverNorth/ DoubleLine Strategic Opportunity Fund, Inc. (1 Portfolio) (2019- Present); RiverNorth Flexible Municipal Income Fund (1 Portfolio) (2020-Present); RiverNorth Flexible Municipal Income Fund II, Inc. (1 Portfolio) (2021 to Present); RiverNorth Managed Duration Municipal Income Fund II, Inc. (1 Portfolio) (2022 to Present). |
Robert J. Kern 615 E. Michigan St. Milwaukee, WI 53202 Year of Birth: 1958 | Trustee | Indefinite Term; Since January 2011 | 32 | Retired (July 2018-Present); Executive Vice President, U.S. Bancorp Fund Services, LLC (1994-2018). | None |
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Additional Information (continued)
| | Annual Report 2023 — CSCAX Cove Street Capital Small Cap Value Fund |
Name, Address, Year of Birth | Position(s) Held with the Trust | Term of Office & Length of Time Served | Number of Portfolios in Trust Overseen by Trustee | Principal Occupation(s) During the Past Five Years | Other Directorships Held by Trustee During the Past Five Years |
| Officers |
Brian R. Wiedmeyer 615 E. Michigan St. Milwaukee, WI 53202 Year of Birth: 1973 | President and Principal Executive Officer | Indefinite Term; Since November 2018 | N/A | Vice President, U.S. Bancorp Fund Services, LLC (2005-present). | N/A |
Deborah Ward 615 E. Michigan St. Milwaukee, WI 53202 Year of Birth: 1966 | Vice President, Chief Compliance Officer and Anti-Money Laundering Officer | Indefinite Term; Since April 2013 | N/A | Senior Vice President, U.S. Bancorp Fund Services, LLC (2004-present). | N/A |
Benjamin Eirich 615 E. Michigan St. Milwaukee, WI 53202 Year of Birth: 1981 | Treasurer, Principal Financial Officer and Vice President | Indefinite Term; Since August 2019 (Treasurer); Since November 2018 (Vice President) | N/A | Assistant Vice President, U.S. Bancorp Fund Services, LLC (2008-present). | N/A |
John Hadermayer 615 E. Michigan St. Milwaukee, WI 53202 Year of Birth: 1977 | Secretary | Indefinite Term; Since May 2022 | N/A | Vice President, U.S. Bank Global Fund Services, LLC (2022-present); Executive Director, AQR Capital Management, LLC (2013-2022). | N/A |
Douglas Schafer* 615 E. Michigan St. Milwaukee, WI 53202 Year of Birth: 1970 | Vice President and Assistant Treasurer | Indefinite Term; Since May 2016 (Assistant Treasurer); Since November 2018 (Vice President) | N/A | Assistant Vice President, U.S. Bancorp Fund Services, LLC (2002-present). | N/A |
Sara J. Bollech 615 E. Michigan St. Milwaukee, WI 53202 Year of Birth: 1977 | Assistant Treasurer and Vice President | Indefinite Term; Since November 2021 | N/A | Officer, U.S. Bancorp Fund Services, LLC (2007-present). | N/A |
Peter A. Walker, CPA 615 E. Michigan St. Milwaukee, WI 53202 Year of Birth: 1993 | Assistant Treasurer and Vice President | Indefinite Term; Since November 2021 | N/A | Officer, U.S. Bancorp Fund Services, LLC (2016-present). | N/A |
* Effective November 19, 2023, Mr. Schafer is no longer an Officer of the Managed Portfolio Series.
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Annual Report 2023 — CSCAX Cove Street Capital Small Cap Value Fund | | Additional Information (continued) (unaudited) |
Statement Regarding the Fund’s Liquidity Risk Management Program
Pursuant to Rule 22e-4 under the Investment Company Act of 1940, Managed Portfolio Series (the “Trust”), on behalf of the Cove Street Capital Small Cap Value Fund (the “Fund”), has adopted and implemented a written liquidity risk management program (the “Program”) that includes policies and procedures reasonably designed to comply with the requirements of Rule 22e-4, including: (i) assessment, management and periodic review of liquidity risk; (ii) classification of portfolio holdings; (iii) establishment of a highly liquid investment minimum (“HLIM”), as applicable;(iv) limitation on illiquid investments; and (v) redemptions in-kind. The Trust’s Board of Trustees (the “Board”) has approved the designation of Cove Street Capital, LLC (“Cove Street”) as the administrator of the Program (the “Program Administrator”). Personnel of Cove Street or its affiliates conduct the day-to-day operation of the Program pursuant to policies and procedures administered by Cove Street’s Liquidity Risk Management Committee.
In accordance with Rule 22e-4, the Board reviewed a report prepared by the Program Administrator (the “Report”) regarding the operation of the Program and its adequacy and effectiveness of implementation for the period January 1, 2022, through December 31, 2022 (the “Reporting Period”). No significant liquidity events impacting the Fund during the Reporting Period or material changes to the Program were noted in the Report.
Under the Program, Cove Street manages and periodically reviews the Fund’s liquidity risk, including consideration of applicable factors specified in Rule 22e-4 and the Program. Liquidity risk is defined as the risk that the Fund could not meet shareholder redemption requests without significant dilution of remaining shareholders’ interests in the Fund. In general, this risk was managed during the Reporting Period by monitoring the degree of liquidity of the Fund’s investments, limiting the amount of the Fund’s illiquid investments, and utilizing various risk management tools and facilities available to the Fund for meeting shareholder redemptions, among other means. In the Report, Cove Street provided its assessment that, based on the information considered in its review, the Program remains reasonably designed to manage the Fund’s liquidity risk and the Fund’ s investment strategy remains appropriate for an open-end fund.
Pursuant to the Program, the Program Administrator oversaw the classification of each of the Fund’s portfolio investments as highly liquid, moderately liquid, less liquid or illiquid during the Reporting Period, including in connection with recording investment classifications on Form N-PORT. Cove Street’s process of determining the degree of liquidity of the Fund’s investments is supported by one or more third-party liquidity assessment vendors.
The Fund qualified as a “primarily highly liquid fund” as defined in the Program during the Reporting Period. Accordingly, the Fund was not required to establish a HLIM or comply with the related Program provisions during the Reporting Period.
During the Reporting Period, the Fund’s investments were monitored for compliance with the 15% limitation on illiquid investments pursuant to the Program and in accordance with Rule 22e-4. The Fund did not have redemptions in-kind during the Reporting Period.
The Report concluded: (i) the Program was implemented and operated effectively to achieve the goal of assessing and managing the Fund’s liquidity risk during the Reporting Period; and (ii) the Fund was able to meet requests for redemption without significant dilution of remaining investors’ interests in the Fund during the Reporting Period.
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Annual Report 2023 — CSCAX Cove Street Capital Small Cap Value Fund | | Additional Information (continued) (unaudited) |
Availability of Fund Portfolio Information
The Fund files complete schedules of portfolio holdings with the SEC for the first and third quarters of each fiscal year on Part F of Form N-PORT. The Fund’s Part F of Form N-PORT is available on the SEC’s website at https://www.sec.gov/ and may be reviewed and copied at the SEC’s Public Reference Room in Washington, D.C. For information on the Public Reference Room call 1-800-SEC-0330. In addition, the Fund’s Part F of Form N-PORT is available without charge upon request by calling 1-866-497-0097.
Availability of Fund Proxy Voting Information
A description of the Fund’s Proxy Voting Policies and Procedures is available without charge, upon request, by calling 1-866-497-0097. Information regarding how the Fund voted proxies relating to portfolio securities during the most recent 12-month period ended June 30, is available (1) without charge, upon request, by calling 1-866-497-0097, or (2) on the SEC’s website at https://www.sec.gov/.
Fund Distribution Information
For the fiscal year ended September 30, 2023, certain dividends paid by the Fund may be reported as qualified dividend income and may be eligible for taxation at capital gain rates. The percentage of dividends declared from ordinary income designated as qualified dividend income was 96.53% for the Fund. For corporate shareholders, the percent of ordinary income distributions qualifying for the corporate dividends received deduction for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2023 was 96.21% for the Fund. The percentage of taxable ordinary income distributions that are designated as short-term capital gain distributions under Internal Revenue Section 871(k)(2)(c) was 100.00%.
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Privacy Notice
(unaudited)
The Fund collects only relevant information about you that the law allows or requires it to have in order to conduct its business and properly service you. The Fund collects financial and personal information about you (“Personal Information”) directly (e.g., information on account applications and other forms, such as your name, address, and social security number, and information provided to access account information or conduct account transactions online, such as password, account number, e-mail address, and alternate telephone number), and indirectly (e.g., information about your transactions with us, such as transaction amounts, account balance and account holdings).
The Fund does not disclose any non-public personal information about its shareholders or former shareholders other than for everyday business purposes such as to process a transaction, service an account, respond to court orders and legal investigations or as otherwise permitted by law. Third parties that may receive this information include companies that provide transfer agency, technology and administrative services to the Fund, as well as the Fund’s investment adviser who is an affiliate of the Fund. If you maintain a retirement/educational custodial account directly with the Fund, we may also disclose your Personal Information to the custodian for that account for shareholder servicing purposes. The Fund limits access to your Personal Information provided to unaffiliated third parties to information necessary to carry out their assigned responsibilities to the Fund. All shareholder records will be disposed of in accordance with applicable law. The Fund maintains physical, electronic and procedural safeguards to protect your Personal Information and requires its third party service providers with access to such information to treat your Personal Information with the same high degree of confidentiality.
In the event that you hold shares of the Fund through a financial intermediary, including, but not limited to, a broker-dealer, credit union, bank or trust company, the privacy policy of your financial intermediary governs how your non-public personal information is shared with unaffiliated third parties.
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ANNUAL REPORT 2023
Cove Street Capital
Small Cap Value Fund
C S C A X
This report should be accompanied or preceded by a prospectus.
The Fund’s Statement of Additional Information contains additional information about the Fund’s
trustees and is available without charge upon request by calling 1-866-497-0097.
| Investment Adviser Cove Street Capital, LLC 525 South Douglas Street, Suite 225 El Segundo, CA 90245 | Distributor Quasar Distributors, LLC 111 East Kilbourn Avenue, Suite 2200 Milwaukee, WI 53202 | |
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| Custodian U.S. Bank N.A. 1555 North Rivercenter Drive, Suite 302 Milwaukee, WI 53212 | Administrator, Fund Accountant and Transfer Agent U.S. Bancorp Fund Services, LLC 615 East Michigan Street Milwaukee, WI 53202 | |
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| Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm Cohen & Company, Ltd. 342 North Water Street, Suite 830 Milwaukee, WI 53202 | Legal Counsel Stradley Ronon Stevens & Young, LLP 2005 Market Street, Suite 2600 Philadelphia, PA 19103 | |
