Federated Income Securities Trust N-CSRS Certified semi-annual shareholder report (management investment company)

United States

Securities and Exchange Commission

Washington, D.C. 20549

Form N-CSR

Certified Shareholder Report of Registered Management Investment Companies

811-4577

(Investment Company Act File Number)

Federated Hermes Income Securities Trust

______________________________________________________________

(Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in Charter)

Federated Hermes Funds

4000 Ericsson Drive

Warrendale, PA 15086-7561

(Address of Principal Executive Offices)

(412) 288-1900

(Registrant's Telephone Number)

Peter J. Germain, Esquire

1001 Liberty Avenue

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15222-3779

(Name and Address of Agent for Service)

(Notices should be sent to the Agent for Service)

Date of Fiscal Year End: 11/30/21

Date of Reporting Period: Six months ended 05/31/21

Item 1. Reports to Stockholders

Semi-Annual Shareholder Report

May 31, 2021

 

 

Share Class | Ticker	A | CAPAX	B | CAPBX	C | CAPCX
	F | CAPFX	R | CAPRX	Institutional | CAPSX

Federated Hermes Capital Income Fund

Fund Established 1988

A Portfolio of Federated Hermes Income Securities Trust

Dear Valued Shareholder,

I am pleased to present the Semi-Annual Shareholder Report for your fund covering the period from December 1, 2020 through May 31, 2021.

While the pandemic continues to present challenges to our lives, families and businesses, I want you to know that Federated Hermes remains dedicated to helping you successfully navigate the markets ahead. You can count on us for the insights, investment management knowledge and client service that you have come to expect. Please refer to our website, FederatedInvestors.com, for timely updates on this and other economic and market matters.

Thank you for investing with us. I hope you find this information useful and look forward to keeping you informed.

Sincerely,  

J. Christopher Donahue, President

Not FDIC Insured ▪ May Lose Value ▪ No Bank Guarantee

CONTENTS 

Portfolio of Investments Summary Tables	1
Portfolio of Investments	3
Financial Highlights	20
Statement of Assets and Liabilities	26
Statement of Operations	28
Statement of Changes in Net Assets	30
Notes to Financial Statements	31
Shareholder Expense Example	46
Evaluation and Approval of Advisory Contract	48
Liquidity Risk Management Program – Annual Evaluation of Adequacy and Effectiveness	58
Voting Proxies on Fund Portfolio Securities	60
Quarterly Portfolio Schedule	60

Portfolio of Investments Summary Tables (unaudited)

At May 31, 2021, the Fund’s portfolio composition1 was as follows: 

Portfolio Composition	Percentage of Total Net Assets
Domestic Equity Securities	46.4%
Domestic Fixed-Income Securities	20.2%
U.S. Government Agency Mortgage-Backed Securities	9.7%
International Fixed-Income Securities	9.7%
Foreign Governments/Agencies	4.9%
Non-Agency Mortgage-Backed Securities	1.0%
Asset-Backed Securities	0.7%
International Equity Securities	0.5%
Bank Loan Core Fund	3.0%
Cash Equivalents2	4.7%
Derivative Contracts3	(0.1)%
Other Assets and Liabilities—Net4	(0.7)%
TOTAL	100%

Semi-Annual Shareholder Report

1

At May 31, 2021, the Fund’s sector composition5 for its equity securities (excluding exchange-traded funds) was as follows: 

Sector Composition	Percentage of Equity Securities
Financials	18.5%
Information Technology	13.7%
Health Care	11.1%
Consumer Discretionary	10.6%
Industrials	10.6%
Communication Services	8.6%
Energy	8.3%
Consumer Staples	5.9%
Materials	4.8%
Utilities	4.7%
Real Estate	3.2%
Total	100%

 

1	See the Fund’s Prospectus for a description of the principal types of securities in which the Fund invests. As of the date specified above, the Fund owned shares of one or more affiliated investment companies. For purposes of this table, affiliated investment companies (other than an affiliated money market mutual fund) in which the Fund invested greater than 10% of its net assets are not treated as a single portfolio security, but rather the Fund is treated as owning a pro rata portion of each security and each other asset and liability owned by the affiliated investment company. Accordingly, the percentages of total net assets shown in the table will differ from those presented on the Portfolio of Investments. Affiliated investment companies (other than an affiliated money market mutual fund) in which the Fund invested less than 10% of its net assets are listed individually in the table.
2	Cash Equivalents include any investments in money market mutual funds and/or overnight repurchase agreements.
3	Based upon net unrealized appreciation (depreciation) or value of the derivative contracts as applicable. Derivative contracts may consist of futures, forwards, options and swaps. The impact of a derivative contract on the Fund’s performance may be larger than its unrealized appreciation (depreciation) or value may indicate. In many cases, the notional value or amount of a derivative contract may provide a better indication of the contract’s significance to the portfolio. More complete information regarding the Fund’s direct investments in derivative contracts, including unrealized appreciation (depreciation), value and notional values or amounts of such contracts, can be found in the table at the end of the Portfolio of Investments included in this Report.
4	Assets, other than investments in securities and derivative contracts, less liabilities. See Statement of Assets and Liabilities.
5	Sector classifications are based upon, and individual portfolio securities are assigned to, the classifications of the Global Industry Classification Standard (GICS) except that the Adviser assigns a classification to securities not classified by the GICS and to securities for which the Adviser does not have access to the classification made by the GICS.

Semi-Annual Shareholder Report

2

Portfolio of Investments

May 31, 2021 (unaudited) 

Shares or Principal Amount			Value
		COMMON STOCKS—   42.1%
		Communication Services—   4.0%
3,910	1	Alphabet, Inc., Class A	$9,215,284
234,442		AT&T, Inc.	6,899,628
120,543		Comcast Corp., Class A	6,911,936
28,118	1	Facebook, Inc.	9,243,230
18,443	1	T-Mobile USA, Inc.	2,608,762
38,272		Walt Disney Co.	6,837,293
		TOTAL	41,716,133
		Consumer Discretionary—   4.5%
2,874	1	Amazon.com, Inc.	9,263,103
65,513	1	Boyd Gaming Corp.	4,218,382
115,556	1	General Motors Co.	6,853,627
120,752	1	Las Vegas Sands Corp.	6,973,428
120,662		Levi Strauss & Co.	3,228,915
11,455		McDonald’s Corp.	2,679,210
22,287	1	PVH Corp.	2,558,993
55,732	1	Royal Caribbean Cruises, Ltd.	5,198,124
62,908		Steven Madden Ltd.	2,604,391
14,360		Target Corp.	3,258,571
		TOTAL	46,836,744
		Consumer Staples—   2.8%
211,087		Kraft Heinz Co./The	9,201,282
31,590		Procter & Gamble Co.	4,259,912
140,307		The Coca-Cola Co.	7,757,574
51,510		WalMart, Inc.	7,315,965
		TOTAL	28,534,733
		Energy—   3.9%
104,748		Chevron Corp.	10,871,795
125,207		ConocoPhillips	6,979,038
113,288		Exxon Mobil Corp.	6,612,621
38,172		Phillips 66	3,214,846
202,443		Schlumberger Ltd.	6,342,539
79,363		Valero Energy Corp.	6,380,785
		TOTAL	40,401,624
		Financials—   8.7%
59,777		American International Group, Inc.	3,158,617
365,326		Bank of America Corp.	15,486,169

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3

Shares or Principal Amount			Value
		COMMON STOCKS—   continued
		Financials—   continued
85,089		Capital One Financial Corp.	$13,680,609
195,455		Citizens Financial Group, Inc.	9,753,205
19,978		Everest Re Group Ltd.	5,193,481
124,814		Fifth Third Bancorp	5,259,662
23,832		Goldman Sachs Group, Inc.	8,865,981
74,779		JPMorgan Chase & Co.	12,281,703
57,415		LPL Investment Holdings, Inc.	8,490,530
158,175		Wells Fargo & Co.	7,389,936
		TOTAL	89,559,893
		Health Care—   3.6%
15,695		Abbott Laboratories	1,830,822
11,178		Eli Lilly & Co.	2,232,694
33,373	1	Halozyme Therapeutics, Inc.	1,381,976
47,119	1	Horizon Therapeutics PLC	4,318,927
39,982		Johnson & Johnson	6,766,953
39,127		Medtronic PLC	4,953,087
32,231		Merck & Co., Inc.	2,446,011
4,915		Thermo Fisher Scientific, Inc.	2,307,592
19,914		UnitedHealth Group, Inc.	8,202,975
14,800		Zimmer Biomet Holdings, Inc.	2,491,284
		TOTAL	36,932,321
		Industrials—   4.9%
9,463	1	Boeing Co.	2,337,550
44,372		Eaton Corp. PLC	6,445,033
7,877		FedEx Corp.	2,479,758
675,391		General Electric Co.	9,495,998
36,779		Honeywell International, Inc.	8,492,639
26,916		Jacobs Engineering Group, Inc.	3,824,225
25,396		TransUnion	2,717,372
37,906		Union Pacific Corp.	8,518,615
32,313	1	United Airlines Holdings, Inc.	1,885,464
14,715	1	United Rentals, Inc.	4,914,222
		TOTAL	51,110,876
		Information Technology—   5.6%
21,881	1	Akamai Technologies, Inc.	2,499,029
35,308		Analog Devices, Inc.	5,811,697
96,591		Apple, Inc.	12,036,204
28,028		Fidelity National Information Services, Inc.	4,175,611
38,141		Intel Corp.	2,178,614

Semi-Annual Shareholder Report

4

Shares or Principal Amount			Value
		COMMON STOCKS—   continued
		Information Technology—   continued
16,828		Microchip Technology, Inc.	$2,641,155
40,436	1	Micron Technology, Inc.	3,402,285
52,594		Microsoft Corp.	13,131,670
4,163		NVIDIA Corp.	2,705,034
8,931		NXP Semiconductors NV	1,888,192
34,599		Visa, Inc., Class A	7,864,353
		TOTAL	58,333,844
		Materials—   2.2%
301,537	1	Cleveland-Cliffs, Inc.	6,066,924
77,948		DuPont de Nemours, Inc.	6,593,621
86,633		Freeport-McMoRan, Inc.	3,700,962
115,696		Huntsman Corp.	3,283,453
10,252		Linde PLC	3,081,751
		TOTAL	22,726,711
		Real Estate—   1.5%
4,697		Equinix, Inc.	3,460,374
80,877		Invitation Homes, Inc.	2,933,409
65,855		National Retail Properties, Inc.	3,052,379
19,539		ProLogis, Inc.	2,302,476
232,261		RLJ Lodging Trust	3,569,851
		TOTAL	15,318,489
		Utilities—   0.4%
53,146		NextEra Energy, Inc.	3,891,350
		TOTAL COMMON STOCKS (IDENTIFIED COST $341,477,757)	435,362,718
		PREFERRED STOCKS—   4.7%
		Consumer Discretionary—   0.5%
26,800		Aptiv PLC, Conv. Pfd., Series A, 5.500%, 6/15/2023, Annual Dividend $5.50	4,552,516
		Health Care—   1.6%
48,193		Avantor, Inc., Conv. Pfd., Series A, 6.250%, 5/15/2022, Annual Dividend $3.12	4,802,914
50,000		Becton Dickinson & Co., Conv. Pfd., 6.000%, 6/1/2023, Annual Dividend $3.00	2,725,000
2,950		Danaher Corp., Conv. Pfd., Series A, 4.750%, 4/15/2022, Annual Dividend $47.50	5,124,150
73,991		Elanco Animal Health, Inc., Conv. Bond, 5.000%, 2/1/2023, Annual Dividend $2.50	4,006,613
		TOTAL	16,658,677
		Information Technology—   0.8%
5,400		Broadcom, Inc., Conv. Pfd., 8.000%, 9/30/2022, Annual Dividend $80.00	8,212,752

Semi-Annual Shareholder Report

5

Shares or Principal Amount		Value
	PREFERRED STOCKS—   continued
	Utilities—   1.8%
45,336	AES Corp., Conv. Bond, 6.875%, 2/15/2024, Annual Dividend $6.88	$4,728,545
58,380	American Electric Power Co., Inc., Conv. Pfd., 6.125%, 3/15/2022, Annual Dividend $3.06	2,909,075
39,243	Dominion Energy, Inc., Conv. Pfd., 7.250%, 6/1/2022, Annual Dividend $7.25	3,904,679
59,953	Essential Utilities, Inc., Conv. Pfd., 6.000%, 4/30/2022, Annual Dividend $3.00	3,610,969
69,188	Southern Co., Conv. Pfd., 6.750%, 8/1/2022, Annual Dividend $3.38	3,588,090
	TOTAL	18,741,358
	PREFERRED STOCKS (IDENTIFIED COST $39,107,554)	48,165,303
	CORPORATE BONDS—   3.7%
	Basic Industry - Chemicals—   0.0%
$   175,000	Albemarle Corp., 4.150%, 12/1/2024	192,570
	Basic Industry - Metals & Mining—   0.0%
200,000	Anglo American Capital PLC, Sr. Unsecd. Note, 144A, 2.875%, 3/17/2031	202,103
75,000	Glencore Funding LLC, Sr. Unsecd. Note, 144A, 1.625%, 4/27/2026	75,047
35,000	Glencore Funding LLC, Sr. Unsecd. Note, 144A, 3.875%, 4/27/2051	35,082
	TOTAL	312,232
	Capital Goods - Aerospace & Defense—   0.2%
200,000	BAE Systems PLC, Sr. Unsecd. Note, 144A, 3.400%, 4/15/2030	214,522
150,000	Boeing Co., Sr. Unsecd. Note, 2.950%, 2/1/2030	151,543
225,000	Boeing Co., Sr. Unsecd. Note, 3.625%, 2/1/2031	238,791
30,000	Boeing Co., Sr. Unsecd. Note, 3.950%, 8/1/2059	29,697
320,000	Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc., Sr. Unsecd. Note, 3.483%, 12/1/2027	350,690
50,000	Leidos, Inc., Unsecd. Note, 144A, 3.625%, 5/15/2025	54,495
130,000	Leidos, Inc., Unsecd. Note, 144A, 4.375%, 5/15/2030	146,190
300,000	Lockheed Martin Corp., Sr. Unsecd. Note, 2.900%, 3/1/2025	323,629
170,000	Northrop Grumman Corp., Sr. Unsecd. Note, 3.250%, 1/15/2028	184,134
	TOTAL	1,693,691
	Capital Goods - Building Materials—   0.0%
40,000	Allegion PLC, Sr. Unsecd. Note, 3.500%, 10/1/2029	42,819
180,000	Allegion US Holdings Co., Inc., Sr. Unsecd. Note, 3.550%, 10/1/2027	196,028
85,000	Carrier Global Corp., Sr. Unsecd. Note, 2.700%, 2/15/2031	86,556
40,000	Carrier Global Corp., Sr. Unsecd. Note, 2.722%, 2/15/2030	41,109
	TOTAL	366,512
	Capital Goods - Construction Machinery—   0.0%
240,000	CNH Industrial NV, Sr. Unsecd. Note, Series MTN, 3.850%, 11/15/2027	266,700
	Capital Goods - Diversified Manufacturing—   0.0%
125,000	General Electric Co., Sr. Unsecd. Note, 3.625%, 5/1/2030	137,419

Semi-Annual Shareholder Report

6

Shares or Principal Amount		Value
	CORPORATE BONDS—   continued
	Capital Goods - Diversified Manufacturing—   continued
$    50,000	Otis Worldwide Corp., Sr. Unsecd. Note, Series WI, 2.565%, 2/15/2030	$51,068
60,000	Wabtec Corp., Sr. Unsecd. Note, 3.200%, 6/15/2025	64,096
95,000	Xylem, Inc., Sr. Unsecd. Note, 2.250%, 1/30/2031	94,077
	TOTAL	346,660
	Communications - Cable & Satellite—   0.1%
95,000	Charter Communications Operating, LLC/Charter Communications Operating Capital Corp., 5.050%, 3/30/2029	110,775
150,000	Charter Communications Operating, LLC/Charter Communications Operating Capital Corp., Sec. Fac. Bond, 2.800%, 4/1/2031	149,876
105,000	Charter Communications Operating, LLC/Charter Communications Operating Capital Corp., Term Loan - 1st Lien, 3.900%, 6/1/2052	100,945
400,000	Comcast Corp., Sr. Unsecd. Note, 3.150%, 2/15/2028	435,984
200,000	Comcast Corp., Sr. Unsecd. Note, 3.300%, 2/1/2027	220,291
200,000	Comcast Corp., Sr. Unsecd. Note, 3.950%, 10/15/2025	224,650
	TOTAL	1,242,521
	Communications - Media & Entertainment—   0.1%
50,000	Alphabet, Inc., Sr. Unsecd. Note, 1.900%, 8/15/2040	44,208
150,000	Discovery Communications LLC, Sr. Unsecd. Note, 4.650%, 5/15/2050	167,054
135,000	Fox Corp., Sr. Unsecd. Note, Series WI, 4.709%, 1/25/2029	156,642
145,000	Interpublic Group of Cos., Inc., Sr. Unsecd. Note, 3.375%, 3/1/2041	144,453
100,000	Omnicom Group, Inc., Sr. Unsecd. Note, 2.450%, 4/30/2030	99,544
150,000	ViacomCBS, Inc., Sr. Unsecd. Note, 4.950%, 1/15/2031	177,888
40,000	Walt Disney Co., Sr. Unsecd. Note, 3.600%, 1/13/2051	42,944
45,000	Walt Disney Co., Sr. Unsecd. Note, 3.800%, 5/13/2060	49,415
	TOTAL	882,148
	Communications - Telecom Wireless—   0.1%
175,000	American Tower Corp., Sr. Unsecd. Note, 5.000%, 2/15/2024	195,123
150,000	Crown Castle International Corp., Sr. Unsecd. Note, 5.200%, 2/15/2049	186,931
75,000	T-Mobile USA, Inc., Sec. Fac. Bond, 144A, 3.875%, 4/15/2030	82,348
40,000	T-Mobile USA, Inc., Sec. Fac. Bond, 144A, 4.500%, 4/15/2050	45,316
	TOTAL	509,718
	Communications - Telecom Wirelines—   0.1%
200,000	AT&T, Inc., Sr. Unsecd. Note, 0.900%, 3/25/2024	200,567
200,000	AT&T, Inc., Sr. Unsecd. Note, 1.700%, 3/25/2026	201,824
85,000	AT&T, Inc., Sr. Unsecd. Note, 3.850%, 6/1/2060	85,204
190,000	AT&T, Inc., Sr. Unsecd. Note, Series WI, 5.300%, 8/15/2058	229,848
150,000	Telefonica Emisiones SAU, Sr. Unsecd. Note, 5.213%, 3/8/2047	180,404
190,000	Verizon Communications, Inc., Sr. Unsecd. Note, 2.550%, 3/21/2031	191,206
110,000	Verizon Communications, Inc., Sr. Unsecd. Note, 3.550%, 3/22/2051	111,703

Semi-Annual Shareholder Report

7

Shares or Principal Amount		Value
	CORPORATE BONDS—   continued
	Communications - Telecom Wirelines—   continued
$   206,000	Verizon Communications, Inc., Sr. Unsecd. Note, 4.672%, 3/15/2055	$254,270
	TOTAL	1,455,026
	Consumer Cyclical - Automotive—   0.1%
150,000	American Honda Finance Corp., Sr. Unsecd. Note, Series MTN, 0.875%, 7/7/2023	151,766
100,000	General Motors Co., Sr. Unsecd. Note, 5.200%, 4/1/2045	119,292
75,000	General Motors Co., Sr. Unsecd. Note, 6.125%, 10/1/2025	89,212
60,000	Hyundai Capital America, Sr. Unsecd. Note, 144A, 2.375%, 2/10/2023	61,685
50,000	Hyundai Capital America, Sr. Unsecd. Note, 144A, 2.375%, 10/15/2027	50,985
220,000	Toyota Motor Credit Corp., Sr. Unsecd. Note, Series GMTN, 2.700%, 1/11/2023	228,830
200,000	Volkswagen Group of America Finance LLC, Sr. Unsecd. Note, 144A, 3.125%, 5/12/2023	210,533
	TOTAL	912,303
	Consumer Cyclical - Retailers—   0.1%
150,000	Advance Auto Parts, Inc., Sr. Unsecd. Note, Series WI, 3.900%, 4/15/2030	165,397
150,000	Alimentation Couche-Tard, Inc., Sr. Unsecd. Note, 144A, 3.800%, 1/25/2050	154,485
70,000	AutoNation, Inc., Sr. Unsecd. Note, 4.750%, 6/1/2030	82,453
250,000	CVS Health Corp., Sr. Unsecd. Note, 5.050%, 3/25/2048	309,133
200,000	Home Depot, Inc., Sr. Unsecd. Note, 2.500%, 4/15/2027	213,283
150,000	Home Depot, Inc., Sr. Unsecd. Note, 2.950%, 6/15/2029	161,876
95,000	O’Reilly Automotive, Inc., Sr. Unsecd. Note, 1.750%, 3/15/2031	89,804
	TOTAL	1,176,431
	Consumer Cyclical - Services—   0.1%
200,000	Alibaba Group Holding Ltd., Sr. Unsecd. Note, 2.125%, 2/9/2031	193,968
200,000	Cintas Corp. No. 2, Sr. Unsecd. Note, 3.700%, 4/1/2027	224,897
150,000	Expedia Group, Inc., Sr. Unsecd. Note, 144A, 2.950%, 3/15/2031	149,815
150,000	IHS Markit Ltd., Sr. Unsecd. Note, 4.750%, 8/1/2028	175,123
80,000	Visa, Inc., Sr. Unsecd. Note, 2.750%, 9/15/2027	86,664
	TOTAL	830,467
	Consumer Non-Cyclical - Food/Beverage—   0.2%
250,000	Anheuser-Busch Cos LLC / Anheuser-Busch InBev Worldwide, Inc., Sr. Unsecd. Note, 4.900%, 2/1/2046	300,229
150,000	Coca-Cola Femsa S.A.B. de C.V., Sr. Unsecd. Note, 2.750%, 1/22/2030	153,994
45,000	Constellation Brands, Inc., Sr. Unsecd. Note, 3.750%, 5/1/2050	47,539
50,000	Flowers Foods, Inc., Sr. Unsecd. Note, 2.400%, 3/15/2031	49,468
200,000	Grupo Bimbo S.A.B. de CV, Sr. Unsecd. Note, 144A, 3.875%, 6/27/2024	217,992
150,000	Keurig Dr Pepper, Inc., Sr. Unsecd. Note, 5.085%, 5/25/2048	191,825
150,000	Kraft Heinz Foods Co., Sr. Unsecd. Note, 4.375%, 6/1/2046	161,108

Semi-Annual Shareholder Report

8

Shares or Principal Amount		Value
	CORPORATE BONDS—   continued
	Consumer Non-Cyclical - Food/Beverage—   continued
$    50,000	McCormick & Co., Inc., Sr. Unsecd. Note, 2.500%, 4/15/2030	$50,695
75,000	PepsiCo, Inc., Sr. Unsecd. Note, 3.625%, 3/19/2050	83,491
150,000	Smithfield Foods, Inc., Sr. Unsecd. Note, 144A, 3.000%, 10/15/2030	149,833
150,000	Sysco Corp., Sr. Unsecd. Note, 3.250%, 7/15/2027	163,279
	TOTAL	1,569,453
	Consumer Non-Cyclical - Health Care—   0.0%
55,000	Agilent Technologies, Inc., Sr. Unsecd. Note, 2.100%, 6/4/2030	53,670
55,000	Dentsply Sirona, Inc., Sr. Unsecd. Note, 3.250%, 6/1/2030	58,165
200,000	PerkinElmer, Inc., Sr. Unsecd. Note, 3.300%, 9/15/2029	213,926
35,000	Thermo Fisher Scientific, Inc., Sr. Unsecd. Note, 4.133%, 3/25/2025	39,031
	TOTAL	364,792
	Consumer Non-Cyclical - Pharmaceuticals—   0.1%
435,000	AbbVie, Inc., Sr. Unsecd. Note, 3.200%, 11/21/2029	466,944
200,000	Amgen, Inc., Sr. Unsecd. Note, 2.450%, 2/21/2030	203,428
200,000	Bristol-Myers Squibb Co., Sr. Unsecd. Note, Series WI, 4.350%, 11/15/2047	242,702
135,000	Royalty Pharma PLC, Sr. Unsecd. Note, 144A, 1.750%, 9/2/2027	133,817
	TOTAL	1,046,891
	Consumer Non-Cyclical - Products—   0.0%
100,000	Procter & Gamble Co., Sr. Unsecd. Note, 3.000%, 3/25/2030	109,035
	Consumer Non-Cyclical - Supermarkets—   0.0%
100,000	Kroger Co., Sr. Unsecd. Note, 4.450%, 2/1/2047	113,962
	Consumer Non-Cyclical - Tobacco—   0.1%
110,000	Altria Group, Inc., Sr. Unsecd. Note, 2.450%, 2/4/2032	104,266
85,000	Altria Group, Inc., Sr. Unsecd. Note, 3.700%, 2/4/2051	77,416
320,000	Reynolds American, Inc., Sr. Unsecd. Note, 7.000%, 8/4/2041	415,836
	TOTAL	597,518
	Energy - Independent—   0.1%
280,000	Cimarex Energy Co., Sr. Unsecd. Note, 4.375%, 3/15/2029	314,671
300,000	EOG Resources, Inc., Sr. Unsecd. Note, 4.150%, 1/15/2026	338,759
	TOTAL	653,430
	Energy - Integrated—   0.1%
300,000	Exxon Mobil Corp., Sr. Unsecd. Note, 3.482%, 3/19/2030	332,057
205,000	Shell International Finance B.V., Sr. Unsecd. Note, 4.000%, 5/10/2046	233,796
	TOTAL	565,853
	Energy - Midstream—   0.1%
205,000	Boardwalk Pipeline Partners LP, Sr. Unsecd. Note, 4.800%, 5/3/2029	233,887
155,000	Energy Transfer Partners LP, Sr. Unsecd. Note, 4.050%, 3/15/2025	168,446
80,000	Energy Transfer Partners LP, Sr. Unsecd. Note, Series 30Y, 6.000%, 6/15/2048	96,968

Semi-Annual Shareholder Report

9

Shares or Principal Amount		Value
	CORPORATE BONDS—   continued
	Energy - Midstream—   continued
$   150,000	Enterprise Products Operating LLC, Sr. Unsecd. Note, 3.700%, 1/31/2051	$150,894
250,000	Kinder Morgan, Inc., 5.050%, 2/15/2046	293,535
200,000	ONEOK, Inc., Sr. Unsecd. Note, 4.550%, 7/15/2028	226,002
230,000	TC Pipelines, LP, Sr. Unsecd. Note, 3.900%, 5/25/2027	254,012
	TOTAL	1,423,744
	Energy - Refining—   0.0%
140,000	Valero Energy Corp., Sr. Unsecd. Note, 4.000%, 4/1/2029	153,419
	Financial Institution - Banking—   0.8%
400,000	Bank of America Corp., Sr. Unsecd. Note, 2.592%, 4/29/2031	407,466
200,000	Bank of America Corp., Sr. Unsecd. Note, Series MTN, 2.884%, 10/22/2030	208,145
500,000	Bank of America Corp., Sub. Note, Series MTN, 4.000%, 1/22/2025	551,832
200,000	Bank of New York Mellon Corp., Sr. Unsecd. Note, Series MTN, 2.661%, 5/16/2023	204,682
125,000	Capital One Financial Corp., Sr. Unsecd. Note, 3.900%, 1/29/2024	135,508
350,000	Citigroup, Inc., Sr. Unsecd. Note, 2.876%, 7/24/2023	360,321
800,000	Citigroup, Inc., Sr. Unsecd. Note, 3.200%, 10/21/2026	869,878
250,000	Citizens Bank N.A., Sr. Unsecd. Note, Series BKNT, 3.750%, 2/18/2026	277,832
250,000	Compass Bank, Birmingham, Sub. Note, Series BKNT, 3.875%, 4/10/2025	275,247
200,000	Fifth Third Bancorp, Sr. Unsecd. Note, 3.950%, 3/14/2028	228,721
80,000	FNB Corp. (PA), Sr. Unsecd. Note, 2.200%, 2/24/2023	81,488
500,000	Goldman Sachs Group, Inc., Sr. Unsecd. Note, 3.500%, 4/1/2025	545,393
300,000	Goldman Sachs Group, Inc., Sr. Unsecd. Note, 3.691%, 6/5/2028	331,963
250,000	HSBC Holdings PLC, Sr. Unsecd. Note, 3.900%, 5/25/2026	278,996
250,000	JPMorgan Chase & Co., Sr. Unsecd. Note, 2.083%, 4/22/2026	259,822
150,000	JPMorgan Chase & Co., Sr. Unsecd. Note, 3.509%, 1/23/2029	164,484
600,000	JPMorgan Chase & Co., Sr. Unsecd. Note, 3.782%, 2/1/2028	668,511
300,000	Morgan Stanley, Sr. Unsecd. Note, Series GMTN, 4.431%, 1/23/2030	348,626
350,000	Morgan Stanley, Sr. Unsecd. Note, Series MTN, 6.250%, 8/9/2026	433,574
150,000	Northern Trust Corp., Sr. Unsecd. Note, 1.950%, 5/1/2030	149,455
150,000	US Bancorp, Sr. Unsecd. Note, Series MTN, 1.375%, 7/22/2030	141,529
210,000	Wells Fargo & Co., Sr. Unsecd. Note, 2.188%, 4/30/2026	219,056
550,000	Wells Fargo & Co., Sr. Unsecd. Note, 3.000%, 10/23/2026	596,485
100,000	Wells Fargo & Co., Sr. Unsecd. Note, Series MTN, 2.879%, 10/30/2030	104,843
	TOTAL	7,843,857
	Financial Institution - Broker/Asset Mgr/Exchange—   0.0%
50,000	BlackRock, Inc., Sr. Unsecd. Note, 1.900%, 1/28/2031	49,149
50,000	Jefferies Group LLC, Sr. Unsecd. Note, 2.750%, 10/15/2032	49,381
	TOTAL	98,530

Semi-Annual Shareholder Report

10

Shares or Principal Amount		Value
	CORPORATE BONDS—   continued
	Financial Institution - Finance Companies—   0.1%
$    60,000	Astrazeneca Finance LLC, Sr. Unsecd. Note, 2.250%, 5/28/2031	$60,179
365,000	GE Capital International Funding, Inc., Sr. Unsecd. Note, 4.418%, 11/15/2035	424,950
	TOTAL	485,129
	Financial Institution - Insurance - Life—   0.1%
200,000	AIA Group Ltd., Sr. Unsecd. Note, 144A, 3.600%, 4/9/2029	219,146
150,000	American International Group, Inc., Sr. Unsecd. Note, 4.375%, 1/15/2055	172,437
200,000	Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Co., Sub. Note, 144A, 4.900%, 4/1/2077	244,646 ��
340,000	Pacific Life Insurance Co., Sub. Note, 144A, 4.300%, 10/24/2067	376,744
150,000	Prudential Financial, Inc., Sr. Unsecd. Note, Series MTN, 4.600%, 5/15/2044	183,607
	TOTAL	1,196,580
	Financial Institution - Insurance - P&C—   0.1%
89,000	Liberty Mutual Group, Inc., Sr. Unsecd. Note, 144A, 4.250%, 6/15/2023	95,612
250,000	Nationwide Mutual Insurance Co., Sub. Note, 144A, 9.375%, 8/15/2039	421,477
	TOTAL	517,089
	Financial Institution - REIT - Apartment—   0.1%
195,000	Avalonbay Communities, Inc., Sr. Unsecd. Note, Series MTN, 3.350%, 5/15/2027	213,487
40,000	Camden Property Trust, Sr. Unsecd. Note, 2.800%, 5/15/2030	41,585
250,000	Mid-America Apartment Communities LP, Sr. Unsecd. Note, 3.750%, 6/15/2024	270,815
150,000	UDR, Inc., Sr. Unsecd. Note, Series MTN, 2.100%, 8/1/2032	141,675
	TOTAL	667,562
	Financial Institution - REIT - Healthcare—   0.0%
200,000	Physicians Realty Trust, Sr. Unsecd. Note, 4.300%, 3/15/2027	225,852
110,000	Welltower, Inc., Sr. Unsecd. Note, 2.750%, 1/15/2031	111,537
	TOTAL	337,389
	Financial Institution - REIT - Office—   0.0%
130,000	Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Inc., Sr. Unsecd. Note, 1.875%, 2/1/2033	120,216
300,000	Boston Properties LP, Sr. Unsecd. Note, 4.500%, 12/1/2028	345,536
	TOTAL	465,752
	Financial Institution - REIT - Other—   0.0%
115,000	WP Carey, Inc., Sr. Unsecd. Note, 3.850%, 7/15/2029	125,870
	Financial Institution - REIT - Retail—   0.0%
160,000	Regency Centers LP, Sr. Unsecd. Note, 4.125%, 3/15/2028	177,322
	Technology—   0.2%
100,000	Broadcom, Inc., Sr. Unsecd. Note, 4.150%, 11/15/2030	109,590
75,000	Broadcom, Inc., Sr. Unsecd. Note, 144A, 3.419%, 4/15/2033	76,570

Semi-Annual Shareholder Report

11

Shares or Principal Amount		Value
	CORPORATE BONDS—   continued
	Technology—   continued
$    35,000	Broadcom, Inc., Sr. Unsecd. Note, 144A, 3.750%, 2/15/2051	$34,062
155,000	Dell International LLC / EMC Corp., Sec. Fac. Bond, 144A, 5.850%, 7/15/2025	181,716
135,000	Equifax, Inc., Sr. Unsecd. Note, 2.600%, 12/1/2024	142,852
200,000	Experian Finance PLC., Sr. Unsecd. Note, 144A, 4.250%, 2/1/2029	225,147
150,000	Fiserv, Inc., Sr. Unsecd. Note, 3.500%, 7/1/2029	163,027
245,000	Lam Research Corp., Sr. Unsecd. Note, 4.000%, 3/15/2029	280,252
50,000	Micron Technology, Inc., Sr. Unsecd. Note, 2.497%, 4/24/2023	51,871
250,000	Oracle Corp., Sr. Unsecd. Note, 3.650%, 3/25/2041	255,253
20,000	Skyworks Solutions, Inc., Sr. Unsecd. Note, 1.800%, 6/1/2026	20,157
155,000	Total System Services, Inc., Sr. Unsecd. Note, 4.800%, 4/1/2026	178,390
100,000	Vontier Corp., Sr. Unsecd. Note, 144A, 1.800%, 4/1/2026	99,990
	TOTAL	1,818,877
	Technology Services—   0.0%
40,000	Global Payments, Inc., Sr. Unsecd. Note, 2.900%, 5/15/2030	41,063
40,000	Verisign, Inc., Sr. Unsecd. Note, 2.700%, 6/15/2031	40,152
	TOTAL	81,215
	Transportation - Airlines—   0.4%
2,000,000	American Airlines Group, Inc., Conv. Bond, 6.500%, 7/1/2025	3,459,460
40,000	Southwest Airlines Co., Sr. Unsecd. Note, 4.750%, 5/4/2023	43,143
65,000	Southwest Airlines Co., Sr. Unsecd. Note, 5.250%, 5/4/2025	74,597
	TOTAL	3,577,200
	Transportation - Railroads—   0.0%
105,000	Kansas City Southern Industries, Inc., Sr. Unsecd. Note, 3.500%, 5/1/2050	106,870
65,000	Union Pacific Corp., Sr. Unsecd. Note, 2.400%, 2/5/2030	66,349
	TOTAL	173,219
	Transportation - Services—   0.0%
200,000	FedEx Corp., Sr. Unsecd. Note, 4.050%, 2/15/2048	220,643
135,000	Penske Truck Leasing Co. LP & PTL Finance Corp., Sr. Unsecd. Note, 144A, 4.000%, 7/15/2025	149,258
	TOTAL	369,901
	Utility - Electric—   0.3%
85,000	Avangrid, Inc., Sr. Unsecd. Note, 3.200%, 4/15/2025	91,623
75,000	Black Hills Corp., Sr. Unsecd. Note, 2.500%, 6/15/2030	75,528
150,000	CenterPoint Energy, Inc., Sr. Unsecd. Note, 2.650%, 6/1/2031	150,797
300,000	Enel Finance International SA, Company Guarantee, 144A, 6.000%, 10/7/2039	405,427
290,000	Exelon Corp., Sr. Unsecd. Note, 3.400%, 4/15/2026	316,640
80,000	FirstEnergy Transmission LLC, Sr. Unsecd. Note, 144A, 4.550%, 4/1/2049	89,429
280,000	Kansas City Power and Light Co., Sr. Unsecd. Note, 4.200%, 3/15/2048	327,299

Semi-Annual Shareholder Report

12

Shares or Principal Amount			Value
		CORPORATE BONDS—   continued
		Utility - Electric—   continued
$   230,000		National Rural Utilities Cooperative Finance Corp., Sr. Unsecd. Note, 2.950%, 2/7/2024	$243,886
130,000		NiSource Finance Corp., Sr. Unsecd. Note, 4.375%, 5/15/2047	151,249
150,000		Northeast Utilities, Sr. Unsecd. Note, Series H, 3.150%, 1/15/2025	160,511
300,000		PPL Capital Funding, Inc., Sr. Unsecd. Note, 3.100%, 5/15/2026	323,514
175,000		Southern Co., Jr. Sub. Note, Series B, 4.000%, 1/15/2051	185,591
280,000		Virginia Electric & Power Co., Sr. Unsecd. Note, Series A, 3.500%, 3/15/2027	311,209
		TOTAL	2,832,703
		Utility - Natural Gas—   0.0%
150,000		National Fuel Gas Co., Sr. Unsecd. Note, 5.500%, 1/15/2026	174,291
250,000		Southern Natural Gas, Sr. Unsecd. Note, 144A, 4.800%, 3/15/2047	297,334
		TOTAL	471,625
		TOTAL CORPORATE BONDS (IDENTIFIED COST $33,657,750)	38,024,896
		COMMERCIAL MORTGAGE-BACKED SECURITIES—   1.0%
		Agency Commercial Mortgage-Backed Securities—   0.3%
1,025,000		Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp. REMIC, Series K054, Class A2, 2.745%, 1/25/2026	1,109,184
600,000		Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp. REMIC, Series K109, Class A2, 1.558%, 4/25/2030	599,973
992,716		FHLMC REMIC, Series K105, Class A1, 1.536%, 9/25/2029	1,000,752
		TOTAL	2,709,909
		Commercial Mortgage—   0.7%
875,000		Bank 2018-BN12, Class A4, 4.255%, 5/15/2061	1,010,768
1,225,000	2	Bank 2018-BN15, Class A4, 4.407% (12-month USLIBOR +0.000%), 11/15/2061	1,431,362
2,000,000		Benchmark Mortgage Trust 2018-B4, Class A5, 4.121%, 7/15/2051	2,295,466
400,000		CD Commercial Mortgage Trust 2016-CD4, Class A4, 3.514%, 5/10/2050	441,676
2,000,000		JPMDB Commercial Mortgage Securities Trust 2016-C4, Class A3, 3.141%, 12/15/2049	2,175,897
		TOTAL	7,355,169
		TOTAL COMMERCIAL MORTGAGE-BACKED SECURITIES (IDENTIFIED COST $9,370,567)	10,065,078
		WARRANT—   0.0%
		Materials—   0.0%
4,803	1	Hercules, Inc., 03/31/2029 (IDENTIFIED COST $0)	562,234
		INVESTMENT COMPANIES—   48.2%
3,189,908		Bank Loan Core Fund	30,846,409
13,077,753		Emerging Markets Core Fund	134,439,296

Semi-Annual Shareholder Report

13

Shares or Principal Amount		Value
	INVESTMENT COMPANIES—   continued
13,242,399	Federated Hermes Institutional Prime Value Obligations Fund, Institutional Shares, 0.03%3	$13,246,371
31,624,737	High Yield Bond Core Fund	200,817,083
11,996,307	Mortgage Core Fund	118,883,407
	TOTAL INVESTMENT COMPANIES (IDENTIFIED COST $517,093,585)	498,232,566
	TOTAL INVESTMENT IN SECURITIES—99.7% (IDENTIFIED COST $940,707,213)4	1,030,412,795
	OTHER ASSETS AND LIABILITIES - NET—0.3%5	3,507,024
	TOTAL NET ASSETS—100%	$1,033,919,819

At May 31, 2021, the Fund had the following outstanding futures contracts: 

Description	Number of Contracts	Notional Value	Expiration Date	Value and Unrealized Appreciation (Depreciation)
Long Futures:
1United States Treasury Notes 2-Year Long Futures	553	$122,066,110	September 2021	$55,517
Short Futures:
1United States Treasury Notes 5-Year Short Futures	139	$17,215,367	September 2021	$(23,643)
1United States Treasury Notes 10-Year Short Futures	99	$13,061,812	September 2021	$(23,436)
1United States Treasury Notes 10-Year Ultra Short Futures	189	$27,396,141	September 2021	$(38,519)
1United States Treasury Ultra Bond Short Futures	10	$1,852,500	September 2021	$(19,556)
NET UNREALIZED DEPRECIATION ON FUTURES CONTRACTS				$(49,637)

Net Unrealized Depreciation on Futures Contracts is included in “Other Assets and Liabilities—Net.”

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14

 

[PAGE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK]

Semi-Annual Shareholder Report

15

Affiliated fund holdings are investment companies which are managed by the Adviser or an affiliate of the Adviser. Transactions with the affiliated fund holdings during the period ended May 31, 2021, were as follows:  

Affiliates	Value as of 11/30/2020	Purchases at Cost	Proceeds from Sales
Bank Loan Core Fund	$15,220,872	$15,320,568	$—
Emerging Markets Core Fund	$142,001,331	$2,999,999	$(10,700,000)
Federated Hermes Institutional Prime Value Obligations Fund, Institutional Shares	$—	$119,130,075	$(105,883,711)
High Yield Bond Core Fund	$211,199,413	$5,000,000	$(18,500,000)
Mortgage Core Fund	$133,198,273	$1,500,000	$(14,000,000)
TOTAL OF AFFILIATED TRANSACTIONS	$501,619,889	$143,950,642	$(149,083,711)

Semi-Annual Shareholder Report

16

 

Change in Unrealized Appreciation/ Depreciation	Net Realized Gain/ (Loss)	Value as of 5/31/2021	Shares Held as of 5/31/2021	Dividend Income
$304,969	$—	$30,846,409	3,189,908	$428,776
$(618,775)	$756,741	$134,439,296	13,077,753	$4,542,380
$20	$(13)	$13,246,371	13,242,399	$1,217
$2,449,523	$668,147	$200,817,083	31,624,737	$5,880,559
$(1,982,030)	$167,164	$118,883,407	11,996,307	$1,487,351
$153,707	$1,592,039	$498,232,566	73,131,104	$12,340,283

Semi-Annual Shareholder Report

17

 

1	Non-income-producing security.
2	Floating/variable note with current rate and current maturity or next reset date shown.
3	7-day net yield.
4	The cost of investments for federal tax purposes amounts to $940,776,683.
5	Assets, other than investments in securities, less liabilities. See Statement of Assets and Liabilities.

Note: The categories of investments are shown as a percentage of total net assets at May 31, 2021.

Various inputs are used in determining the value of the Fund’s investments. These inputs are summarized in the three broad levels listed below:

Level 1—quoted prices in active markets for identical securities.

Level 2—other significant observable inputs (including quoted prices for similar securities, interest rates, prepayment speeds, credit risk, etc.). Also includes securities valued at amortized cost.

Level 3—significant unobservable inputs (including the Fund’s own assumptions in determining the fair value of investments).

The inputs or methodology used for valuing securities are not an indication of the risk associated with investing in those securities.

Semi-Annual Shareholder Report

18

The following is a summary of the inputs used, as of May 31, 2021, in valuing the Fund’s assets carried at fair value:  

Valuation Inputs
	Level 1— Quoted Prices	Level 2— Other Significant Observable Inputs	Level 3— Significant Unobservable Inputs	Total
Equity Securities:
Common Stocks
Domestic	$430,392,775	$—	$—	$430,392,775
International	4,969,943	—	—	4,969,943
Preferred Stocks
Domestic	48,165,303	—	—	48,165,303
Debt Securities:
Corporate Bonds	—	38,024,896	—	38,024,896
Commercial Mortgage-Backed Securities	—	10,065,078	—	10,065,078
Warrant	—	562,234	—	562,234
Investment Companies	498,232,566	—	—	498,232,566
TOTAL SECURITIES	$981,760,587	$48,652,208	$—	$1,030,412,795
Other Financial Instruments:1
Assets	$55,517	$—	$—	$55,517
Liabilities	(105,154)	—	—	(105,154)
TOTAL OTHER FINANCIAL INSTRUMENTS	$(49,637)	$—	$—	$(49,637)

 

1 Other financial instruments are futures contracts.

 

The following acronym(s) are used throughout this portfolio:
BKNT	—Bank Notes
FHLMC	—Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation
GMTN	—Global Medium Term Note
LIBOR	—London Interbank Offered Rate
MTN	—Medium Term Note
REIT	—Real Estate Investment Trust
REMIC	—Real Estate Mortgage Investment Conduit

See Notes which are an integral part of the Financial Statements

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19

Financial Highlights–Class A Shares

(For a Share Outstanding Throughout Each Period) 

	Six Months Ended (unaudited) 5/31/2021	Year Ended November 30,
		2020	2019	2018	2017	2016
Net Asset Value, Beginning of Period	$8.31	$7.94	$7.64	$8.11	$7.61	$7.69
Income From Investment Operations:
Net investment income (loss)1	0.15	0.28	0.28	0.32	0.30	0.32
Net realized and unrealized gain (loss)	0.70	0.38	0.31	(0.46)	0.52	(0.04)
Total From Investment Operations	0.85	0.66	0.59	(0.14)	0.82	0.28
Less Distributions:
Distributions from net investment income	(0.15)	(0.29)	(0.29)	(0.33)	(0.32)	(0.36)
Net Asset Value, End of Period	$9.01	$8.31	$7.94	$7.64	$8.11	$7.61
Total Return2	10.32%	8.57%	7.89%	(1.79)%	10.94%	3.82%
Ratios to Average Net Assets:
Net expenses3	0.88%4	0.88%	0.88%	0.88%	0.88%	0.89%5
Net investment income	3.49%4	3.58%	3.66%	4.05%	3.80%	4.32%
Expense waiver/reimbursement6	0.18%4	0.19%	0.19%	0.18%	0.16%	0.16%
Supplemental Data:
Net assets, end of period (000 omitted)	$475,986	$426,630	$435,330	$487,934	$614,835	$824,013
Portfolio turnover	29%	80%	59%	105%	51%	71%

 

1	Per share numbers have been calculated using the average shares method.
2	Based on net asset value, which does not reflect the sales charge, redemption fee or contingent deferred sales charge, if applicable. Total returns for periods of less than one year are not annualized.
3	Amount does not reflect net expenses incurred by investment companies in which the Fund may invest.
4	Computed on an annualized basis.
5	The net expense ratio is calculated without reduction for expense offset arrangements. The net expense ratio was 0.89% for the year ended November 30, 2016, after taking into account these expense reductions.
6	This expense decrease is reflected in both the net expense and the net investment income ratios shown above. Amount does not reflect expense waiver/reimbursement recorded by investment companies in which the Fund may invest.

See Notes which are an integral part of the Financial Statements

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20

Financial Highlights–Class B Shares

(For a Share Outstanding Throughout Each Period) 

	Six Months Ended (unaudited) 5/31/2021	Year Ended November 30,
		2020	2019	2018	2017	2016
Net Asset Value, Beginning of Period	$8.32	$7.96	$7.65	$8.13	$7.63	$7.71
Income From Investment Operations:
Net investment income (loss)1	0.11	0.21	0.22	0.26	0.24	0.26
Net realized and unrealized gain (loss)	0.71	0.37	0.32	(0.47)	0.52	(0.04)
Total From Investment Operations	0.82	0.58	0.54	(0.21)	0.76	0.22
Less Distributions:
Distributions from net investment income	(0.11)	(0.22)	(0.23)	(0.27)	(0.26)	(0.30)
Net Asset Value, End of Period	$9.03	$8.32	$7.96	$7.65	$8.13	$7.63
Total Return2	9.96%	7.51%	7.12%	(2.66)%	10.07%	3.02%
Ratios to Average Net Assets:
Net expenses3	1.72%4	1.73%	1.71%	1.64%	1.64%	1.65%5
Net investment income	2.65%4	2.75%	2.83%	3.28%	3.04%	3.55%
Expense waiver/reimbursement6	0.11%4	0.12%	0.13%	0.18%	0.18%	0.18%
Supplemental Data:
Net assets, end of period (000 omitted)	$41,829	$47,036	$59,115	$69,110	$88,136	$92,748
Portfolio turnover	29%	80%	59%	105%	51%	71%

 

1	Per share numbers have been calculated using the average shares method.
2	Based on net asset value, which does not reflect the sales charge, redemption fee or contingent deferred sales charge, if applicable. Total returns for periods of less than one year are not annualized.
3	Amount does not reflect net expenses incurred by investment companies in which the Fund may invest.
4	Computed on an annualized basis.
5	The net expense ratio is calculated without reduction for expense offset arrangements. The net expense ratio was 1.65% for the year ended November 30, 2016, after taking into account these expense reductions.
6	This expense decrease is reflected in both the net expense and the net investment income ratios shown above. Amount does not reflect expense waiver/reimbursement recorded by investment companies in which the Fund may invest.

See Notes which are an integral part of the Financial Statements

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21

Financial Highlights–Class C Shares

(For a Share Outstanding Throughout Each Period) 

	Six Months Ended (unaudited) 5/31/2021	Year Ended November 30,
		2020	2019	2018	2017	2016
Net Asset Value, Beginning of Period	$8.31	$7.95	$7.64	$8.11	$7.61	$7.69
Income From Investment Operations:
Net investment income (loss)1	0.12	0.22	0.22	0.26	0.24	0.26
Net realized and unrealized gain (loss)	0.71	0.36	0.32	(0.46)	0.52	(0.04)
Total From Investment Operations	0.83	0.58	0.54	(0.20)	0.76	0.22
Less Distributions:
Distributions from net investment income	(0.12)	(0.22)	(0.23)	(0.27)	(0.26)	(0.30)
Net Asset Value, End of Period	$9.02	$8.31	$7.95	$7.64	$8.11	$7.61
Total Return2	9.99%	7.53%	7.15%	(2.55)%	10.09%	3.03%
Ratios to Average Net Assets:
Net expenses3	1.71%4	1.71%	1.69%	1.64%	1.64%	1.65%5
Net investment income	2.66%4	2.77%	2.84%	3.29%	3.04%	3.56%
Expense waiver/reimbursement6	0.11%4	0.12%	0.12%	0.17%	0.16%	0.16%
Supplemental Data:
Net assets, end of period (000 omitted)	$233,853	$252,421	$335,247	$423,771	$599,819	$784,221
Portfolio turnover	29%	80%	59%	105%	51%	71%

 

1	Per share numbers have been calculated using the average shares method.
2	Based on net asset value, which does not reflect the sales charge, redemption fee or contingent deferred sales charge, if applicable. Total returns for periods of less than one year are not annualized.
3	Amount does not reflect net expenses incurred by investment companies in which the Fund may invest.
4	Computed on an annualized basis.
5	The net expense ratio is calculated without reduction for expense offset arrangements. The net expense ratio was 1.65% for the year ended November 30, 2016, after taking into account these expense reductions.
6	This expense decrease is reflected in both the net expense and the net investment income ratios shown above. Amount does not reflect expense waiver/reimbursement recorded by investment companies in which the Fund may invest.

See Notes which are an integral part of the Financial Statements

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22

Financial Highlights–Class F Shares

(For a Share Outstanding Throughout Each Period) 

	Six Months Ended (unaudited) 5/31/2021	Year Ended November 30,
		2020	2019	2018	2017	2016
Net Asset Value, Beginning of Period	$8.30	$7.94	$7.63	$8.11	$7.60	$7.69
Income From Investment Operations:
Net investment income (loss)1	0.15	0.28	0.28	0.32	0.30	0.32
Net realized and unrealized gain (loss)	0.70	0.36	0.32	(0.47)	0.53	(0.05)
Total From Investment Operations	0.85	0.64	0.60	(0.15)	0.83	0.27
Less Distributions:
Distributions from net investment income	(0.15)	(0.28)	(0.29)	(0.33)	(0.32)	(0.36)
Net Asset Value, End of Period	$9.00	$8.30	$7.94	$7.63	$8.11	$7.60
Total Return2	10.33%	8.44%	8.02%	(1.93)%	11.08%	3.67%
Ratios to Average Net Assets:
Net expenses3	0.89%4	0.89%	0.89%	0.89%	0.89%	0.90%5
Net investment income	3.48%4	3.57%	3.65%	4.04%	3.79%	4.30%
Expense waiver/reimbursement6	0.17%4	0.18%	0.17%	0.17%	0.16%	0.16%
Supplemental Data:
Net assets, end of period (000 omitted)	$123,556	$121,891	$133,595	$152,820	$184,305	$197,858
Portfolio turnover	29%	80%	59%	105%	51%	71%

 

1	Per share numbers have been calculated using the average shares method.
2	Based on net asset value, which does not reflect the sales charge, redemption fee or contingent deferred sales charge, if applicable. Total returns for periods of less than one year are not annualized.
3	Amount does not reflect net expenses incurred by investment companies in which the Fund may invest.
4	Computed on an annualized basis.
5	The net expense ratio is calculated without reduction for expense offset arrangements. The net expense ratio was 0.90% for the year ended November 30, 2016, after taking into account these expense reductions.
6	This expense decrease is reflected in both the net expense and the net investment income ratios shown above. Amount does not reflect expense waiver/reimbursement recorded by investment companies in which the Fund may invest.

See Notes which are an integral part of the Financial Statements

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23

Financial Highlights–Class R Shares

(For a Share Outstanding Throughout Each Period) 

	Six Months Ended (unaudited) 5/31/2021	Year Ended November 30,
		2020	2019	2018	2017	2016
Net Asset Value, Beginning of Period	$8.32	$7.95	$7.65	$8.12	$7.62	$7.70
Income From Investment Operations:
Net investment income (loss)1	0.15	0.27	0.27	0.31	0.28	0.30
Net realized and unrealized gain (loss)	0.71	0.37	0.31	(0.46)	0.52	(0.04)
Total From Investment Operations	0.86	0.64	0.58	(0.15)	0.80	0.26
Less Distributions:
Distributions from net investment income	(0.15)	(0.27)	(0.28)	(0.32)	(0.30)	(0.34)
Net Asset Value, End of Period	$9.03	$8.32	$7.95	$7.65	$8.12	$7.62
Total Return2	10.37%	8.37%	7.68%	(1.99)%	10.69%	3.54%
Ratios to Average Net Assets:
Net expenses3	1.01%4	1.03%	1.07%	1.09%	1.09%	1.13%5
Net investment income	3.36%4	3.45%	3.48%	3.84%	3.60%	4.08%
Expense waiver/reimbursement6	0.36%4	0.37%	0.36%	0.35%	0.35%	0.34%
Supplemental Data:
Net assets, end of period (000 omitted)	$1,073	$1,066	$1,085	$1,076	$1,123	$1,175
Portfolio turnover	29%	80%	59%	105%	51%	71%

 

1	Per share numbers have been calculated using the average shares method.
2	Based on net asset value. Total returns for periods of less than one year are not annualized.
3	Amount does not reflect net expenses incurred by investment companies in which the Fund may invest.
4	Computed on an annualized basis.
5	The net expense ratio is calculated without reduction for expense offset arrangements. The net expense ratio was 1.13% for the year ended November 30, 2016, after taking into account these expense reductions.
6	This expense decrease is reflected in both the net expense and the net investment income ratios shown above. Amount does not reflect expense waiver/reimbursement recorded by investment companies in which the Fund may invest.

See Notes which are an integral part of the Financial Statements

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24

Financial Highlights–Institutional Shares

(For a Share Outstanding Throughout Each Period) 

	Six Months Ended (unaudited) 5/31/2021	Year Ended November 30,
		2020	2019	2018	2017	2016
Net Asset Value, Beginning of Period	$8.32	$7.95	$7.65	$8.12	$7.62	$7.70
Income From Investment Operations:
Net investment income (loss)1	0.16	0.30	0.30	0.34	0.32	0.34
Net realized and unrealized gain (loss)	0.70	0.37	0.31	(0.46)	0.52	(0.04)
Total From Investment Operations	0.86	0.67	0.61	(0.12)	0.84	0.30
Less Distributions:
Distributions from net investment income	(0.16)	(0.30)	(0.31)	(0.35)	(0.34)	(0.38)
Net Asset Value, End of Period	$9.02	$8.32	$7.95	$7.65	$8.12	$7.62
Total Return2	10.45%	8.84%	8.15%	(1.54)%	11.20%	4.07%
Ratios to Average Net Assets:
Net expenses3	0.63%4	0.63%	0.63%	0.63%	0.63%	0.64%5
Net investment income	3.74%4	3.84%	3.90%	4.30%	4.04%	4.57%
Expense waiver/reimbursement6	0.18%4	0.20%	0.18%	0.17%	0.17%	0.16%
Supplemental Data:
Net assets, end of period (000 omitted)	$157,624	$148,479	$177,672	$252,899	$310,996	$302,660
Portfolio turnover	29%	80%	59%	105%	51%	71%

 

1	Per share numbers have been calculated using the average shares method.
2	Based on net asset value. Total returns for periods of less than one year are not annualized.
3	Amount does not reflect net expenses incurred by investment companies in which the Fund may invest.
4	Computed on an annualized basis.
5	The net expense ratio is calculated without reduction for expense offset arrangements. The net expense ratio was 0.64% for the year ended November 30, 2016, after taking into account these expense reductions.
6	This expense decrease is reflected in both the net expense and the net investment income ratios shown above. Amount does not reflect expense waiver/reimbursement recorded by investment companies in which the Fund may invest.

See Notes which are an integral part of the Financial Statements

Semi-Annual Shareholder Report

25

Statement of Assets and LiabilitiesMay 31, 2021 (unaudited)

 

Assets:
Investment in securities, at value including $498,232,566 of investment in affiliated holdings* (identified cost $940,707,213)	$1,030,412,795
Due from broker (Note 2)	2,020
Income receivable	2,111,949
Income receivable from affiliated holdings	1,883,635
Receivable for investments sold	496,089
Receivable for shares sold	292,263
Receivable for variation margin on futures contracts	610,256
Total Assets	1,035,809,007
Liabilities:
Payable for investments purchased	242,148
Payable for shares redeemed	1,035,579
Payable for investment adviser fee (Note 5)	55,543
Payable for administrative fee (Note 5)	8,867
Payable for transfer agent fees	113,125
Payable for distribution services fee (Note 5)	177,596
Payable for other service fees (Notes 2 and 5)	170,692
Accrued expenses (Note 5)	85,638
Total Liabilities	1,889,188
Net assets for 114,689,148 shares outstanding	$1,033,919,819
Net Assets Consist of:
Paid-in capital	$1,143,692,653
Total distributable earnings (loss)	(109,772,834)
Total Net Assets	$1,033,919,819

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26

Statement of Assets and Liabilities–continued

Net Asset Value, Offering Price and Redemption Proceeds Per Share:
Class A Shares:
Net asset value per share ($475,986,259 ÷ 52,808,780 shares outstanding), no par value, unlimited shares authorized	$9.01
Offering price per share (100/94.50 of $9.01)	$9.53
Redemption proceeds per share	$9.01
Class B Shares:
Net asset value per share ($41,829,043 ÷ 4,631,494 shares outstanding), no par value, unlimited shares authorized	$9.03
Offering price per share	$9.03
Redemption proceeds per share (94.50/100 of $9.03)	$8.53
Class C Shares:
Net asset value per share ($233,852,537 ÷ 25,935,881 shares outstanding), no par value, unlimited shares authorized	$9.02
Offering price per share	$9.02
Redemption proceeds per share (99.00/100 of $9.02)	$8.93
Class F Shares:
Net asset value per share ($123,555,721 ÷ 13,723,032 shares outstanding), no par value, unlimited shares authorized	$9.00
Offering price per share (100/99.00 of $9.00)	$9.09
Redemption proceeds per share (99.00/100 of $9.00)	$8.91
Class R Shares:
Net asset value per share ($1,072,716 ÷ 118,821 shares outstanding), no par value, unlimited shares authorized	$9.03
Offering price per share	$9.03
Redemption proceeds per share	$9.03
Institutional Shares:
Net asset value per share ($157,623,543 ÷ 17,471,140 shares outstanding), no par value, unlimited shares authorized	$9.02
Offering price per share	$9.02
Redemption proceeds per share	$9.02

 

* See information listed after the Fund’s Portfolio of Investments.

See Notes which are an integral part of the Financial Statements

Semi-Annual Shareholder Report

27

Statement of OperationsSix Months Ended May 31, 2021 (unaudited)

 

Investment Income:
Dividends (including $12,340,283 received from affiliated holdings* and net of foreign taxes withheld of $232,448)	$21,223,146
Interest	938,383
TOTAL INCOME	22,161,529
Expenses:
Investment adviser fee (Note 5)	3,038,722
Administrative fee (Note 5)	396,902
Custodian fees	27,002
Transfer agent fees (Note 2)	463,133
Directors’/Trustees’ fees (Note 5)	3,005
Auditing fees	16,948
Legal fees	7,591
Portfolio accounting fees	100,470
Distribution services fee (Note 5)	1,088,719
Other service fees (Notes 2 and 5)	1,070,830
Share registration costs	50,200
Printing and postage	32,795
Miscellaneous (Note 5)	17,908
TOTAL EXPENSES	6,314,225
Waivers and Reimbursements:
Waiver/reimbursement of investment adviser fee (Note 5)	(568,704)
Waiver/reimbursement of other operating expenses (Notes 2 and 5)	(248,377)
TOTAL WAIVERS AND REIMBURSEMENTS	(817,081)
Net expenses	5,497,144
Net investment income	16,664,385

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28

Statement of Operations–continued

Realized and Unrealized Gain (Loss) on Investments, Foreign Currency Transactions, Foreign Exchange Contracts, Futures Contracts, Written Options and Swap Contracts:
Net realized gain on investments (including net realized gain of $1,592,039 on sales of investments in affiliated holdings*)	$37,904,018
Net realized gain on foreign currency transactions	31,710
Net realized loss on foreign exchange contracts	(514)
Net realized gain on futures contracts	2,480,833
Net realized gain on written options	2,431,848
Net realized gain on swap contracts	5,282
Net change in unrealized appreciation of investments (including net change in unrealized depreciation of $153,707 on investments in affiliated holdings*)	39,607,811
Net change in unrealized appreciation/depreciation of translation of assets and liabilities in foreign currency	8,224
Net change in unrealized appreciation of futures contracts	(91,778)
Net change in unrealized depreciation of written options	161,923
Net realized and unrealized gain (loss) on investments, foreign currency transactions, foreign exchange contracts, futures contracts, written options and swap contracts	82,539,357
Change in net assets resulting from operations	$99,203,742

 

* See information listed after the Fund’s Portfolio of Investments.

See Notes which are an integral part of the Financial Statements

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29

Statement of Changes in Net Assets 

 

	Six Months Ended (unaudited) 5/31/2021	Year Ended 11/30/2020
Increase (Decrease) in Net Assets
Operations:
Net investment income	$16,664,385	$33,682,339
Net realized gain (loss)	42,853,177	178,729
Net change in unrealized appreciation/depreciation	39,686,180	38,834,231
CHANGE IN NET ASSETS RESULTING FROM OPERATIONS	99,203,742	72,695,299
Distributions to Shareholders:
Class A Shares	(7,802,083)	(14,879,294)
Class B Shares	(585,527)	(1,421,950)
Class C Shares	(3,221,112)	(7,929,195)
Class F Shares	(2,132,179)	(4,476,932)
Class R Shares	(18,691)	(35,390)
Institutional Shares	(2,859,644)	(5,950,712)
CHANGE IN NET ASSETS RESULTING FROM DISTRIBUTIONS TO SHAREHOLDERS	(16,619,236)	(34,693,473)
Share Transactions:
Proceeds from sale of shares	74,436,713	84,859,820
Net asset value of shares issued to shareholders in payment of distributions declared	15,740,080	32,889,483
Cost of shares redeemed	(136,364,500)	(300,271,292)
CHANGE IN NET ASSETS RESULTING FROM SHARE TRANSACTIONS	(46,187,707)	(182,521,989)
Change in net assets	36,396,799	(144,520,163)
Net Assets:
Beginning of period	997,523,020	1,142,043,183
End of period	$1,033,919,819	$997,523,020

See Notes which are an integral part of the Financial Statements

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Notes to Financial Statements

May 31, 2021 (unaudited)

1. ORGANIZATION

Federated Hermes Income Securities Trust (the “Trust”) is registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “Act”), as an open-end management investment company. The Trust consists of seven portfolios. The financial statements included herein are only those of Federated Hermes Capital Income Fund (the “Fund”), a diversified portfolio. The financial statements of the other portfolios are presented separately. The assets of each portfolio are segregated and a shareholder’s interest is limited to the portfolio in which shares are held. Each portfolio pays its own expenses. The Fund offers six classes of shares: Class A Shares, Class B Shares, Class C Shares, Class F Shares, Class R Shares and Institutional Shares. All shares of the Fund have equal rights with respect to voting, except on class-specific matters. The primary investment objective of the Fund is current income and long-term growth of income. Capital appreciation is a secondary objective.

Class B Shares are closed to new accounts, new investors and new purchases made by existing shareholders (excluding reinvestment of dividends and capital gains). Class B Shares of the Fund may be exchanged for Class B Shares of any other Federated Hermes fund.

2. SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES

The following is a summary of significant accounting policies consistently followed by the Fund in the preparation of its financial statements. These policies are in conformity with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP).

Investment Valuation

In calculating its net asset value (NAV), the Fund generally values investments as follows:

■

Equity securities listed on an exchange or traded through a regulated market system are valued at their last reported sale price or official closing price in their principal exchange or market.

■

Shares of other mutual funds or non-exchange-traded investment companies are valued based upon their reported NAVs.

■

Fixed-income securities are fair valued using price evaluations provided by a pricing service approved by the Fund’s Board of Trustees (the “Trustees”).

■

Derivative contracts listed on exchanges are valued at their reported settlement or closing price, except that options are valued at the mean of closing bid and asked quotations.

■

Over-the-counter (OTC) derivative contracts are fair valued using price evaluations provided by a pricing service approved by the Trustees.

■

For securities that are fair valued in accordance with procedures established by and under the general supervision of the Trustees, certain factors may be considered, such as: the last traded or purchase price of the security, information obtained by contacting the issuer or dealers, analysis of the issuer’s financial statements or other available documents, fundamental analytical data, the nature and duration of restrictions on disposition, the movement of the market in which the security is

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normally traded, public trading in similar securities or derivative contracts of the issuer or comparable issuers, movement of a relevant index, or other factors including but not limited to industry changes and relevant government actions.

If any price, quotation, price evaluation or other pricing source is not readily available when the NAV is calculated, if the Fund cannot obtain price evaluations from a pricing service or from more than one dealer for an investment within a reasonable period of time as set forth in the Fund’s valuation policies and procedures, or if information furnished by a pricing service, in the opinion of the valuation committee (“Valuation Committee”), is deemed not representative of the fair value of such security, the Fund uses the fair value of the investment determined in accordance with the procedures described below. There can be no assurance that the Fund could obtain the fair value assigned to an investment if it sold the investment at approximately the time at which the Fund determines its NAV per share, and the actual value obtained could be materially different.

Fair Valuation and Significant Events Procedures

The Trustees have ultimate responsibility for determining the fair value of investments for which market quotations are not readily available. The Trustees have appointed a Valuation Committee comprised of officers of the Fund, Federated Equity Management Company of Pennsylvania (the “Adviser”) and certain of the Adviser’s affiliated companies to assist in determining fair value and in overseeing the calculation of the NAV. The Trustees have also authorized the use of pricing services recommended by the Valuation Committee to provide fair value evaluations of the current value of certain investments for purposes of calculating the NAV. The Valuation Committee employs various methods for reviewing third-party pricing-service evaluations including periodic reviews of third-party pricing services’ policies, procedures and valuation methods (including key inputs, methods, models and assumptions), transactional back-testing, comparisons of evaluations of different pricing services, and review of price challenges by the Adviser based on recent market activity. In the event that market quotations and price evaluations are not available for an investment, the Valuation Committee determines the fair value of the investment in accordance with procedures adopted by the Trustees. The Trustees periodically review and approve the fair valuations made by the Valuation Committee and any changes made to the procedures.

Factors considered by pricing services in evaluating an investment include the yields or prices of investments of comparable quality, coupon, maturity, call rights and other potential prepayments, terms and type, reported transactions, indications as to values from dealers and general market conditions. Some pricing services provide a single price evaluation reflecting the bid-side of the market for an investment (a “bid” evaluation). Other pricing services offer both bid evaluations and price evaluations indicative of a price between the prices bid and asked for the investment (a “mid” evaluation). The Fund normally uses bid evaluations for any U.S. Treasury and Agency securities, mortgage-backed securities and municipal securities. The Fund normally uses mid evaluations for any other types of fixed-income securities and any OTC derivative contracts. In the event that market quotations and price evaluations are not available for an investment, the fair value of the investment is determined in accordance with procedures adopted by the Trustees.

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The Trustees also have adopted procedures requiring an investment to be priced at its fair value whenever the Adviser determines that a significant event affecting the value of the investment has occurred between the time as of which the price of the investment would otherwise be determined and the time as of which the NAV is computed. An event is considered significant if there is both an affirmative expectation that the investment’s value will change in response to the event and a reasonable basis for quantifying the resulting change in value. Examples of significant events that may occur after the close of the principal market on which a security is traded, or after the time of a price evaluation provided by a pricing service or a dealer, include:

■

With respect to securities traded principally in foreign markets, significant trends in U.S. equity markets or in the trading of foreign securities index futures contracts;

■

Political or other developments affecting the economy or markets in which an issuer conducts its operations or its securities are traded;

■

Announcements concerning matters such as acquisitions, recapitalizations, litigation developments, or a natural disaster affecting the issuer’s operations or regulatory changes or market developments affecting the issuer’s industry.

The Trustees have adopted procedures whereby the Valuation Committee uses a pricing service to provide factors to update the fair value of equity securities traded principally in foreign markets from the time of the close of their respective foreign stock exchanges to the pricing time of the Fund. For other significant events, the Fund may seek to obtain more current quotations or price evaluations from alternative pricing sources. If a reliable alternative pricing source is not available, the Fund will determine the fair value of the investment in accordance with the fair valuation procedures approved by the Trustees. The Trustees have ultimate responsibility for any fair valuations made in response to a significant event.

Repurchase Agreements

The Fund may invest in repurchase agreements for short-term liquidity purposes. It is the policy of the Fund to require the other party to a repurchase agreement to transfer to the Fund’s custodian or sub-custodian eligible securities or cash with a market value (after transaction costs) at least equal to the repurchase price to be paid under the repurchase agreement. The eligible securities are transferred to accounts with the custodian or sub-custodian in which the Fund holds a “securities entitlement” and exercises “control” as those terms are defined in the Uniform Commercial Code. The Fund has established procedures for monitoring the market value of the transferred securities and requiring the transfer of additional eligible securities if necessary to equal at least the repurchase price. These procedures also allow the other party to require securities to be transferred from the account to the extent that their market value exceeds the repurchase price or in exchange for other eligible securities of equivalent market value.

The insolvency of the other party or other failure to repurchase the securities may delay the disposition of the underlying securities or cause the Fund to receive less than the full repurchase price. Under the terms of the repurchase agreement, any amounts received by the Fund in excess of the repurchase price and related transaction costs must be remitted to the other party.

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The Fund may enter into repurchase agreements in which eligible securities are transferred into joint trading accounts maintained by the custodian or sub-custodian for investment companies and other clients advised by the Fund’s Adviser and its affiliates. The Fund will participate on a pro rata basis with the other investment companies and clients in its share of the securities transferred under such repurchase agreements and in its share of proceeds from any repurchase or other disposition of such securities.

Investment Income, Gains and Losses, Expenses and Distributions

Investment transactions are accounted for on a trade-date basis. Realized gains and losses from investment transactions are recorded on an identified-cost basis. Interest income and expenses are accrued daily. Dividend income and distributions to shareholders are recorded on the ex-dividend date. Foreign dividends are recorded on the ex-dividend date or when the Fund is informed of the ex-dividend date. Distributions of net investment income, if any, are declared and paid monthly. Non-cash dividends included in dividend income, if any, are recorded at fair value. Amortization/accretion of premium and discount is included in investment income. Gains and losses realized on principal payment of mortgage-backed securities (paydown gains and losses) are classified as part of investment income. Investment income, realized and unrealized gains and losses, and certain fund-level expenses are allocated to each class based on relative average daily net assets, except that select classes will bear certain expenses unique to those classes. The detail of the total fund expense waivers and reimbursements of $817,081 is disclosed in various locations in this Note 2 and Note 5. For the six months ended May 31, 2021, transfer agent fees for the Fund were as follows:  

	Transfer Agent Fees Incurred	Transfer Agent Fees Reimbursed
Class A Shares	$199,137	$(157,056)
Class B Shares	24,076	—
Class C Shares	116,039	(30)
Class F Shares	54,683	(35,554)
Class R Shares	806	—
Institutional Shares	68,392	(54,346)
TOTAL	$463,133	$(246,986)

Dividends are declared separately for each class. No class has preferential dividend rights; differences in per share dividend rates are generally due to differences in separate class expenses.

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Other Service Fees

The Fund may pay other service fees up to 0.25% of the average daily net assets of the Fund’s Class A Shares, Class B Shares, Class C Shares and Class F Shares to financial intermediaries or to Federated Shareholder Services Company (FSSC) for providing services to shareholders and maintaining shareholder accounts. Subject to the terms described in the Expense Limitation note, FSSC may voluntarily reimburse the Fund for other service fees. For the six months ended May 31, 2021, other service fees for the Fund were as follows:  

	Other Service Fees Incurred
Class A Shares	$556,967
Class B Shares	55,870
Class C Shares	306,108
Class F Shares	151,885
TOTAL	$1,070,830

Federal Taxes

It is the Fund’s policy to comply with the Subchapter M provision of the Internal Revenue Code (the “Code”) and to distribute to shareholders each year substantially all of its income. Accordingly, no provision for federal income tax is necessary. As of and during the six months ended May 31, 2021, the Fund did not have a liability for any uncertain tax positions. The Fund recognizes interest and penalties, if any, related to tax liabilities as income tax expense in the Statement of Operations. As of May 31, 2021, tax years 2017 through 2020 remain subject to examination by the Fund’s major tax jurisdictions, which include the United States of America and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

The Fund may be subject to taxes imposed by governments of countries in which it invests. Such taxes are generally based on either income or gains earned or repatriated. The Fund accrues and applies such taxes to net investment income, net realized gains and net unrealized gains as income and/or gains are earned.

When-Issued and Delayed-Delivery Transactions

The Fund may engage in when-issued or delayed-delivery transactions. The Fund records when-issued securities on the trade date and maintains security positions such that sufficient liquid assets will be available to make payment for the securities purchased. Securities purchased on a when-issued or delayed-delivery basis are marked to market daily and begin earning interest on the settlement date. Losses may occur on these transactions due to changes in market conditions or the failure of counterparties to perform under the contract.

Swap Contracts

Swap contracts involve two parties that agree to exchange the returns (or the differential in rates of return) earned or realized on particular predetermined investments, instruments, indices or other measures. The gross returns to be exchanged or “swapped” between parties are generally calculated with respect to a “notional amount” for a predetermined period of time. The Fund may enter into interest rate, total return, credit default, currency and other swap agreements. Risks may arise upon

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entering into swap agreements from the potential inability of the counterparties to meet the terms of their contract from unanticipated changes in the value of the swap agreement. In connection with these agreements, securities or a specified amount of cash may be identified as collateral or margin in accordance with the terms of the respective swap agreements to provide assets of value and recourse in the event of default.

The Fund uses credit default swaps to manage sector/asset class risk. The “buyer” in a credit default swap is obligated to pay the “seller” a periodic stream of payments over the term of the contract provided that no event of default on an underlying reference obligation has occurred. If an event of default occurs, the seller must pay the buyer the full notional value, or the “par value”, of the reference obligation in exchange for the reference obligation. In connection with these agreements, securities may be identified as collateral in accordance with the terms of the respective swap agreements to provide assets of value and recourse in the event of default or bankruptcy/insolvency. Recovery values are assumed by market makers considering either industry standard recovery rates or entity specific factors and considerations until a credit event occurs. If a credit event has occurred, the recovery value is typically determined by a facilitated auction whereby a minimum number of allowable broker bids, together with a specific valuation method, are used to calculate the settlement value. The maximum amount of the payment that may occur, as a result of a credit event payable by the protection seller, is equal to the notional amount of the underlying index or security. The Fund’s maximum risk of loss from counterparty credit risk, either as the protection buyer or as the protection seller, is the fair value of the contract. This risk is mitigated by having a master netting arrangement between the Fund and the counterparty and by the posting of collateral by the counterparty to the Fund to cover the Fund’s exposure to the counterparty.

Upfront payments received or paid by the Fund will be reflected as an asset or liability on the Statement of Assets and Liabilities. Changes in the value of swap contracts are included in “Swaps, at value” on the Statement of Assets and Liabilities, and periodic payments are reported as “Net realized gain (loss) on swap contracts” in the Statement of Operations.

Certain swap contracts may be centrally cleared (“centrally cleared swaps”), whereby all payments made or received by the Fund pursuant to the contract are with a central clearing party (CCP) rather than the counterparty. The CCP guarantees the performance of the parties to the contract. Upon entering into centrally cleared swaps, the Fund is required to deposit with the CCP, either in cash or securities, an amount of initial margin determined by the CCP, which is subject to adjustment. For centrally cleared swaps, the daily change in valuation is recorded as a receivable or payable for variation margin and settled in cash with the CCP daily. In the case of centrally cleared swaps, counterparty risk is minimal due to protections provided by the CCP.

At May 31, 2021, the Fund had no outstanding swap contracts.

The average notional amount of swap contracts held by the Fund throughout the period was $2,928,571. This is based on amounts held as of each month-end throughout the six-month period.

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Foreign Exchange Contracts

The Fund enters into foreign exchange contracts to manage currency risk. Purchased contracts are used to acquire exposure to foreign currencies, whereas, contracts to sell are used to hedge the Fund’s securities against currency fluctuations. Risks may arise upon entering into these transactions from the potential inability of counterparties to meet the terms of their commitments and from unanticipated movements in security prices or foreign exchange rates. The foreign exchange contracts are adjusted by the daily exchange rate of the underlying currency and any gains or losses are recorded for financial statement purposes as unrealized until the settlement date.

At May 31, 2021, the Fund had no outstanding foreign exchange contracts.

Futures Contracts

The Fund purchases and sells financial futures contracts to manage duration, sector/asset class, yield curve and market risks. Upon entering into a financial futures contract with a broker, the Fund is required to deposit with a broker, either U.S. government securities or a specified amount of cash, which is shown as due from broker in the Statement of Assets and Liabilities. Futures contracts are valued daily and unrealized gains or losses are recorded in a “variation margin” account. The Fund receives from or pays to the broker a specified amount of cash based upon changes in the variation margin account. When a contract is closed, the Fund recognizes a realized gain or loss. Futures contracts have market risks, including the risk that the change in the value of the contract may not correlate with the changes in the value of the underlying securities. There is minimal counterparty risk to the Fund since futures contracts are exchange traded and the exchange’s clearinghouse, as counterparty to all exchange traded futures contracts, guarantees the futures contracts against default.

Futures contracts outstanding at period end are listed after the Fund’s Portfolio of Investments.

The average notional value of long and short futures contracts held by the Fund throughout the period was $110,628,084 and $57,928,942, respectively. This is based on amounts held as of each month-end throughout the six-month period.

Foreign Currency Translation

The accounting records of the Fund are maintained in U.S. dollars. All assets and liabilities denominated in foreign currencies are translated into U.S. dollars based on the rates of exchange of such currencies against U.S. dollars on the date of valuation. Purchases and sales of securities, income and expenses are translated at the rate of exchange quoted on the respective date that such transactions are recorded. The Fund does not isolate that portion of the results of operations resulting from changes in foreign exchange rates on investments from the fluctuations arising from changes in market prices of securities held. Such fluctuations are included with the net realized and unrealized gain or loss from investments.

Reported net realized foreign exchange gains or losses arise from sales of foreign currencies, currency gains or losses realized between the trade and settlement dates on securities transactions, the difference between the amounts of dividends, interest and foreign withholding taxes recorded on the Fund’s books, and the U.S. dollar equivalent of the amounts actually received or paid. Net unrealized foreign exchange gains and losses arise from changes in the value of assets and liabilities other than investments in securities at period end, resulting from changes in the exchange rate.

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Option Contracts

The Fund buys or sells put and call options to seek to increase return and to manage security, market and sector/asset class risks. The seller (“writer”) of an option receives a payment or premium, from the buyer, which the writer keeps regardless of whether the buyer exercises the option. When the Fund writes a put or call option, an amount equal to the premium received is recorded as a liability and subsequently marked to market to reflect the current value of the option written. Premiums received from writing options which expire are treated as realized gains. The Fund, as a writer of an option, bears the market risk of an unfavorable change in the price of the underlying reference instrument. When the Fund purchases a put or call option, an amount equal to the premium paid is recorded as an increase to the cost of the investment and subsequently marked to market to reflect the current value of the option purchased. Premiums paid for purchasing options which expire are treated as realized losses. Premiums received/paid for writing/purchasing options which are exercised or closed are added to the proceeds or offset against amounts paid on the underlying reference instrument to determine the realized gain or loss. The risk associated with purchasing put and call options is limited to the premium paid. Options can trade on securities or commodities exchanges. In this case, the exchange sets all the terms of the contract except for the price. Most exchanges require investors to maintain margin accounts through their brokers to cover their potential obligations to the exchange. This protects investors against potential defaults by the counterparty.

At May 31, 2021, the Fund had no outstanding purchased and written option contracts.

The average market value of purchased put and call options held by the Fund throughout the period was $719,675 and $26,943, respectively. This is based on amounts held as of each month-end throughout the six-month period.

The average market value of written put and call options held by the Fund throughout the period was $375,579 and $76,501, respectively. This is based on amounts held as of each month-end throughout the six-month period.

Restricted Securities

The Fund may purchase securities which are considered restricted. Restricted securities are securities that either: (a) cannot be offered for public sale without first being registered, or being able to take advantage of an exemption from registration, under the Securities Act of 1933; or (b) are subject to contractual restrictions on public sales. In some cases, when a security cannot be offered for public sale without first being registered, the issuer of the restricted security has agreed to register such securities for resale, at the issuer’s expense, either upon demand by the Fund or in connection with another registered offering of the securities. Many such restricted securities may be resold in the secondary market in transactions exempt from registration. Restricted securities may be determined to be liquid under criteria established by the Trustees. The Fund will not incur any registration costs upon such resales. The Fund’s restricted securities, like other securities, are priced in accordance with procedures established by and under the general supervision of the Trustees.

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Additional Disclosure Related to Derivative Instruments 

Fair Value of Derivative Instruments
	Assets
	Statement of Assets and Liabilities Location	Fair Value
Derivatives not accounted for as hedging instruments under ASC Topic 815
Interest rate contracts	Receivable for variation margin on futures contracts	$(49,637)*

 

* Includes cumulative net depreciation of futures contracts as reported in the footnotes to the Portfolio of Investments. Only the current day’s variation margin is reported within the Statement of Assets and Liabilities.

The Effect of Derivative Instruments on the Statement of Operations for the Six Months Ended May 31, 2021  

Amount of Realized Gain or (Loss) on Derivatives Recognized in Income
	Credit Default Swaps	Futures Contracts	Foreign Exchange Contracts	Purchased Options Contracts1	Written Options Contracts	Total
Interest rate contracts	$—	$2,480,833	$—	$—	$—	$2,480,833
Equity contracts	—	—	—	(4,294,449)	2,431,848	(1,862,601)
Foreign exchange contracts	—	—	(514)	—	—	(514)
Credit contracts	5,282	—	—	—	—	5,282
TOTAL	$5,282	$2,480,833	$(514)	$(4,294,449)	$2,431,848	$623,000

 

1 The net realized loss on Purchased Options Contracts is found within the Net realized gain on investments on the Statement of Operations.

 

Change in Unrealized Appreciation or (Depreciation) on Derivatives Recognized in Income
	Futures Contracts	Purchased Options Contracts2	Written Options Contracts	Total
Interest rate contracts	$(91,778)	$—	$—	$(91,778)
Equity contracts	—	146,213	161,923	308,136
TOTAL	$(91,778)	$146,213	$161,923	$216,358

 

2 The net change in unrealized appreciation of Purchased Options Contracts is found within the Net change in unrealized appreciation of investments on the Statement of Operations.

Other

The preparation of financial statements in conformity with GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the amounts of assets, liabilities, expenses and revenues reported in the financial statements. Actual results could differ materially from those estimated. The Fund applies investment company accounting and reporting guidance.

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3. SHARES OF BENEFICIAL INTEREST

The following tables summarize share activity: 

	Six Months Ended 5/31/2021		Year Ended 11/30/2020
Class A Shares:	Shares	Amount	Shares	Amount
Shares sold	5,465,568	$47,835,276	6,902,350	$53,831,261
Shares issued to shareholders in payment of distributions declared	845,623	7,377,223	1,841,268	14,280,481
Shares redeemed	(4,852,042)	(42,047,603)	(12,195,453)	(94,461,596)
NET CHANGE RESULTING FROM CLASS A SHARE TRANSACTIONS	1,459,149	$13,164,896	(3,451,835)	$(26,349,854)
	Six Months Ended 5/31/2021		Year Ended 11/30/2020
Class B Shares:	Shares	Amount	Shares	Amount
Shares sold	12,213	$107,763	33,201	$258,409
Shares issued to shareholders in payment of distributions declared	61,857	539,932	169,265	1,315,520
Shares redeemed	(1,092,917)	(9,531,510)	(1,980,544)	(15,419,070)
NET CHANGE RESULTING FROM CLASS B SHARE TRANSACTIONS	(1,018,847)	$(8,883,815)	(1,778,078)	$(13,845,141)
	Six Months Ended 5/31/2021		Year Ended 11/30/2020
Class C Shares:	Shares	Amount	Shares	Amount
Shares sold	1,303,741	$11,410,187	1,014,827	$7,912,944
Shares issued to shareholders in payment of distributions declared	364,935	3,180,785	980,771	7,612,410
Shares redeemed	(6,104,561)	(53,287,982)	(13,818,776)	(107,131,359)
NET CHANGE RESULTING FROM CLASS C SHARE TRANSACTIONS	(4,435,885)	$(38,697,010)	(11,823,178)	$(91,606,005)
	Six Months Ended 5/31/2021		Year Ended 11/30/2020
Class F Shares:	Shares	Amount	Shares	Amount
Shares sold	45,096	$393,036	500,935	$3,680,288
Shares issued to shareholders in payment of distributions declared	231,190	2,013,393	547,988	4,243,904
Shares redeemed	(1,239,950)	(10,776,346)	(3,197,163)	(24,762,013)
NET CHANGE RESULTING FROM CLASS F SHARE TRANSACTIONS	(963,664)	$(8,369,917)	(2,148,240)	$(16,837,821)

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	Six Months Ended 5/31/2021		Year Ended 11/30/2020
Class R Shares:	Shares	Amount	Shares	Amount
Shares sold	12,589	$109,314	47,153	$374,448
Shares issued to shareholders in payment of distributions declared	1,256	10,943	3,017	23,450
Shares redeemed	(23,114)	(202,035)	(58,497)	(471,432)
NET CHANGE RESULTING FROM CLASS R SHARE TRANSACTIONS	(9,269)	$(81,778)	(8,327)	$(73,534)
	Six Months Ended 5/31/2021		Year Ended 11/30/2020
Institutional Shares:	Shares	Amount	Shares	Amount
Shares sold	1,678,572	$14,581,137	2,399,419	$18,802,470
Shares issued to shareholders in payment of distributions declared	299,997	2,617,804	697,818	5,413,718
Shares redeemed	(2,361,740)	(20,519,024)	(7,588,143)	(58,025,822)
NET CHANGE RESULTING FROM INSTITUTIONAL SHARE TRANSACTIONS	(383,171)	$(3,320,083)	(4,490,906)	$(33,809,634)
NET CHANGE RESULTING FROM TOTAL FUND SHARE TRANSACTIONS	(5,351,687)	$(46,187,707)	(23,700,564)	$(182,521,989)

4. FEDERAL TAX INFORMATION

At May 31, 2021, the cost of investments for federal tax purposes was $940,776,683. The net unrealized appreciation of investments for federal tax purposes was $89,586,475. This consists of net unrealized appreciation from investments for those securities having an excess of value over cost of $113,844,339 and net unrealized depreciation from investments for those securities having an excess of cost over value of $24,257,864. The amounts presented are inclusive of derivative contracts.

As of November 30, 2020, the Fund had a capital loss carryforward of $256,380,375 which will reduce the Fund’s taxable income arising from future net realized gains on investments, if any, to the extent permitted by the Code, thereby reducing the amount of distributions to shareholders which would otherwise be necessary to relieve the Fund of any liability for federal income tax. Pursuant to the Code, these net capital losses retain their character as either short-term or long-term and do not expire.

The following schedule summarizes the Fund’s capital loss carryforwards: 

Short-Term	Long-Term	Total
$256,380,375	$—	$256,380,375

At November 30, 2020, for federal income tax purposes, the Fund had $996,426 in straddle loss deferrals.

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5. INVESTMENT ADVISER FEE AND OTHER TRANSACTIONS WITH AFFILIATES

Investment Adviser Fee

The advisory agreement between the Fund and the Adviser provides for an annual fee equal to 0.60% of the Fund’s average daily net assets. Subject to the terms described in the Expense Limitation note, the Adviser may voluntarily choose to waive any portion of its fee and/or reimburse certain operating expenses of the Fund. For the six months ended May 31, 2021, the Adviser voluntarily waived $567,005 of its fee and voluntarily reimbursed $246,986 of transfer agent fees.

The Adviser has agreed to reimburse the Fund for certain investment adviser fees as a result of transactions in other affiliated investment companies. For the six months ended May 31, 2021, the Adviser reimbursed $1,699.

Certain of the Fund’s assets are managed by Federated Investment Management Company (the “Sub-Adviser”). Under the terms of a sub-advisory agreement between the Adviser and the Sub-Adviser, the Sub-Adviser receives an allocable portion of the Fund’s adviser fee. The fee is paid by the Adviser out of its resources and is not an incremental Fund expense. For the six months ended May 31, 2021, the Sub-Adviser earned a fee of $648,407.

Administrative Fee

Federated Administrative Services (FAS), under the Administrative Services Agreement, provides the Fund with administrative personnel and services. For purposes of determining the appropriate rate breakpoint, “Investment Complex” is defined as all of the Federated Hermes Funds subject to a fee under the Administrative Services Agreement. The fee paid to FAS is based on the average daily net assets of the Investment Complex as specified below:  

Administrative Fee	Average Daily Net Assets of the Investment Complex
0.100%	on assets up to $50 billion
0.075%	on assets over $50 billion

Subject to the terms described in the Expense Limitation note, FAS may voluntarily choose to waive any portion of its fee. For the six months ended May 31, 2021, the annualized fee paid to FAS was 0.078% of average daily net assets of the Fund.

In addition, FAS may charge certain out-of-pocket expenses to the Fund.

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Distribution Services Fee

The Fund has adopted a Distribution Plan (the “Plan”) pursuant to Rule 12b-1 under the Act. Under the terms of the Plan, the Fund will compensate Federated Securities Corp. (FSC), the principal distributor, from the daily net assets of the Fund’s Class B Shares, Class C Shares, Class F Shares and Class R Shares to finance activities intended to result in the sale of these shares. The Plan provides that the Fund may incur distribution expenses at the following percentages of average daily net assets annually, to compensate FSC:  

	Percentage of Average Daily Net Assets of Class
Class B Shares	0.75%
Class C Shares	0.75%
Class F Shares	0.05%
Class R Shares	0.50%

Subject to the terms described in the Expense Limitation note, FSC may voluntarily choose to waive any portion of its fee. For the six months ended May 31, 2021, distribution services fees for the Fund were as follows:  

	Distribution Services Fees Incurred	Distribution Services Fees Waived
Class B Shares	$167,611	$—
Class C Shares	918,325	—
Class R Shares	2,783	(1,391)
TOTAL	$1,088,719	$(1,391)

For the six months ended May 31, 2021, Fund’s Class F Shares did not incur a distribution services fee; however, it may begin to incur this fee upon approval of the Trustees.

When FSC receives fees, it may pay some or all of them to financial intermediaries whose customers purchase shares. For the six months ended May 31, 2021, FSC retained $185,120 of fees paid by the Fund.

Sales Charges

Front-end sales charges and contingent deferred sales charges (CDSC) do not represent expenses of the Fund. They are deducted from the proceeds of sales of Fund shares prior to investment or from redemption proceeds prior to remittance, as applicable. For the six months ended May 31, 2021, FSC retained $17,442 in sales charges from the sale of Class A Shares. FSC also retained $31,904, $1,332 and $6,272 of CDSC relating to redemptions of Class B Shares, Class C Shares and Class F Shares, respectively.

Other Service Fees

For the six months ended May 31, 2021, FSSC received $71,125 of the other service fees disclosed in Note 2.

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Expense Limitation

The Adviser and certain of its affiliates (which may include FSC, FAS and FSSC) on their own initiative have agreed to waive certain amounts of their respective fees and/or reimburse expenses. Total annual fund operating expenses (as shown in the financial highlights, excluding tax reclaim recovery expenses, interest expense, extraordinary expenses and proxy-related expenses paid by the Fund, if any) paid by the Fund’s Class A Shares, Class B Shares, Class C Shares, Class F Shares, Class R Shares and Institutional Shares (after the voluntary waivers and/or reimbursements) will not exceed 0.88%, 1.73%, 1.72%, 0.89%, 1.13% and 0.63% (the “Fee Limit”), respectively, up to but not including the later of (the “Termination Date”): (a) February 1, 2022; or (b) the date of the Fund’s next effective Prospectus. While the Adviser and its applicable affiliates currently do not anticipate terminating or increasing these arrangements prior to the Termination Date, these arrangements may only be terminated or the Fee Limit increased prior to the Termination Date with the agreement of the Trustees.

Directors’/Trustees’ and Miscellaneous Fees

Certain Officers and Trustees of the Fund are Officers and Directors or Trustees of certain of the above companies. To efficiently facilitate payment, Independent Directors’/Trustees’ fees and certain expenses related to conducting meetings of the Directors/Trustees and other miscellaneous expenses are paid by an affiliate of the Adviser which in due course are reimbursed by the Fund. These expenses related to conducting meetings of the Directors/Trustees and other miscellaneous expenses may be included in Accrued and Miscellaneous Expenses on the Statement of Assets and Liabilities and Statement of Operations, respectively.

6. INVESTMENT TRANSACTIONS

Purchases and sales of investments, excluding long-term U.S. government securities and short-term obligations, for the six months ended May 31, 2021, were as follows:  

Purchases	$288,949,940
Sales	$354,600,848

7. Line of Credit

The Fund participates with certain other Federated Hermes Funds, on a several basis, in an up to $500,000,000 unsecured, 364-day, committed, revolving line of credit (LOC) agreement dated June 24, 2020, which was renewed on June 23, 2021. The LOC was made available to temporarily finance the repurchase or redemption of shares of the Fund, failed trades, payment of dividends, settlement of trades and for other short-term, temporary or emergency general business purposes. The Fund cannot borrow under the LOC if an inter-fund loan is outstanding. The Fund’s ability to borrow under the LOC also is subject to the limitations of the Act and various conditions precedent that must be satisfied before the Fund can borrow. Loans under the LOC are charged interest at a fluctuating rate per annum equal to the highest, on any day, of (a) (i) the federal funds effective rate, (ii) the one month London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR), or a replacement rate as appropriate, and (iii) 0.0%, plus (b) a margin. Any fund eligible to borrow under the LOC pays its pro rata share of a commitment fee based on the amount of the lenders’ commitment that has not been utilized, quarterly in arrears and at maturity. As of May 31, 2021, the Fund had no outstanding loans. During the six months ended May 31, 2021, the Fund did not utilize the LOC.

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8. INTERFUND LENDING

Pursuant to an Exemptive Order issued by the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Fund, along with other funds advised by subsidiaries of Federated Hermes, Inc., may participate in an interfund lending program. This program provides an alternative credit facility allowing the Fund to borrow from other participating affiliated funds. As of May 31, 2021, there were no outstanding loans. During the six months ended May 31, 2021, the program was not utilized.

9. OTHER MATTERS

An outbreak of respiratory disease caused by a novel coronavirus was first detected in China in late 2019 and subsequently spread globally. As of the date of the issuance of these financial statements, this coronavirus has resulted in closing borders, enhanced health screenings, disruptions to healthcare service preparation and delivery, quarantines, cancellations, and disruptions to supply chains, workflow operations and consumer activity, as well as general concern and uncertainty. The impact of this coronavirus may be short-term or may last for an extended period of time and has resulted in a substantial economic downturn. Health crises caused by outbreaks, such as the coronavirus outbreak, may exacerbate other pre-existing political, social and economic risks. The impact of this outbreak, and other epidemics and pandemics that may arise in the future, could continue to negatively affect the worldwide economy, as well as the economies of individual countries, individual companies (including certain Fund service providers and issuers of the Fund’s investments) and the markets in general in significant and unforeseen ways. Any such impact could adversely affect the Fund’s performance.

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Shareholder Expense Example (unaudited)

As a shareholder of the Fund, you incur two types of costs: (1) transaction costs, including sales charges (loads) on purchase or redemption payments; and (2) ongoing costs, including management fees and to the extent applicable, distribution (12b-1) fees and/or other service fees and other Fund expenses. This Example is intended to help you to understand your ongoing costs (in dollars) of investing in the Fund and to compare these costs with the ongoing costs of investing in other mutual funds. It is based on an investment of $1,000 invested at the beginning of the period and held for the entire period from December 1, 2020 to May 31, 2021.

ACTUAL EXPENSES

The first section of the table below provides information about actual account values and actual expenses. You may use the information in this section, together with the amount you invested, to estimate the expenses that you incurred over the period. Simply divide your account value by $1,000 (for example, an $8,600 account value divided by $1,000 = 8.6), then multiply the result by the number in the first section under the heading entitled “Expenses Paid During Period” to estimate the expenses attributable to your investment during this period.

HYPOTHETICAL EXAMPLE FOR COMPARISON PURPOSES

The second section of the table below provides information about hypothetical account values and hypothetical expenses based on the Fund’s actual expense ratio and an assumed rate of return of 5% per year before expenses, which is not the Fund’s actual return. Thus, you should not use the hypothetical account values and expenses to estimate the actual ending account balance or your expenses for the period. Rather, these figures are required to be provided to enable you to compare the ongoing costs of investing in the Fund with other funds. To do so, compare this 5% hypothetical example with the 5% hypothetical examples that appear in the shareholder reports of the other funds.

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Please note that the expenses shown in the table are meant to highlight your ongoing costs only and do not reflect any transaction costs, such as sales charges (loads) on purchase or redemption payments. Therefore, the second section of the table is useful in comparing ongoing costs only, and will not help you determine the relative total costs of owning different funds. In addition, if these transaction costs were included, your costs would have been higher.  

	Beginning Account Value 12/1/2020	Ending Account Value 5/31/2021	Expenses Paid During Period1
Actual:
Class A Shares	$1,000	$1,103.20	$4.61
Class B Shares	$1,000	$1,099.60	$9.00
Class C Shares	$1,000	$1,099.90	$8.95
Class F Shares	$1,000	$1,103.30	$4.67
Class R Shares	$1,000	$1,103.70	$25.30
Institutional Shares	$1,000	$1,104.50	$3.31
Hypothetical (assuming a 5% return before expenses):
Class A Shares	$1,000	$1,020.54	$4.43
Class B Shares	$1,000	$1,016.36	$8.65
Class C Shares	$1,000	$1,016.40	$8.60
Class F Shares	$1,000	$1,020.49	$4.48
Class R Shares	$1,000	$1,019.90	$25.09
Institutional Shares	$1,000	$1,021.79	$3.18

 

1 Expenses are equal to the Fund’s annualized net expense ratios, multiplied by the average account value over the period, multiplied by 182/365 (to reflect the one-half-year period). The annualized net expense ratios are as follows:

 

Class A Shares	0.88%
Class B Shares	1.72%
Class C Shares	1.71%
Class F Shares	0.89%
Class R Shares	1.01%
Institutional Shares	0.63%

 

2 Actual and Hypothetical expenses paid during the period utilizing the Fund’s Class R Shares current Fee Limit of 1.13% (as reflected in the Notes to Financial Statements, Note 5 under Expense Limitation), multiplied by the average account value over the period, multiplied by 182/365 (to reflect expenses paid as if they had been in effect throughout the most recent one-half-year period) would be $5.93 and $5.69, respectively.

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Evaluation and Approval of Advisory Contract–May 2021

Federated Hermes Capital Income Fund (the “Fund”)

At its meetings in May 2021 (the “May Meetings”), the Fund’s Board of Trustees (the “Board”), including those Trustees who are not “interested persons” of the Fund, as defined in the Investment Company Act of 1940 (the “Independent Trustees”), reviewed and unanimously approved the continuation of the investment advisory contract between the Fund and Federated Equity Management Company of Pennsylvania (the “Adviser”) and the investment sub-advisory contract between the Adviser and Federated Investment Management Company (the “Sub-Adviser” and together with the Adviser, the “Advisers”) with respect to the Fund (together, the “Contracts”) for an additional one-year term. The Board’s determination to approve the continuation of the Contracts reflects the exercise of its business judgment after considering all of the information and factors believed to be relevant and appropriate on whether to approve the continuation of the existing arrangements. The information, factors and conclusions that formed the basis for the Board’s approval are summarized below.

Information Received and Review Process

At the request of the Independent Trustees, the Fund’s Chief Compliance Officer (the “CCO”) furnished to the Board in advance of its May Meetings an independent written evaluation presenting on the topics discussed below. The Board considered the CCO’s independent written evaluation (the “CCO Fee Evaluation Report”), along with other information, in evaluating the reasonableness of the Fund’s management fee and in determining to approve the continuation of the Contracts. The CCO, in preparing the CCO Fee Evaluation Report, has the authority to retain consultants, experts or staff as reasonably necessary to assist in the performance of his duties, reports directly to the Board, and can be terminated only with the approval of a majority of the Independent Trustees. At the request of the Independent Trustees, the CCO Fee Evaluation Report followed the same general approach and covered the same topics as that of the report that had previously been delivered by the CCO in his capacity as “Senior Officer” prior to the elimination of the Senior Officer position in December 2017.

In addition to the extensive materials that comprise and accompany the CCO Fee Evaluation Report, the Board considered information specifically prepared in connection with the approval of the continuation of the Contracts that was presented at the May Meetings. In this regard, in the months preceding the May Meetings, the Board requested and reviewed written responses and supporting materials prepared by the Advisers and their affiliates (collectively, “Federated Hermes”) in response to requests posed to Federated Hermes on behalf of the Independent Trustees encompassing a wide variety of topics, including those summarized below. The Board also considered such additional

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matters as the Independent Trustees deemed reasonably necessary to evaluate the Contracts, which included detailed information about the Fund and Federated Hermes furnished to the Board at its meetings throughout the year and in between regularly scheduled meetings on particular matters as the need arose.

The Board’s consideration of the Contracts included review of materials and information covering the following matters, among others: the Advisers’ investment philosophy, revenue, profitability, personnel and processes; investment and operating strategies; the Fund’s short-term and long-term performance (in absolute terms, both on a gross basis and net of expenses, and relative to the Fund’s particular investment program and a group of its peer funds and/or its benchmark, as appropriate) and comments on the reasons for the Fund’s performance; the Fund’s investment objectives; the Fund’s expenses, including the advisory fee and the overall expense structure of the Fund (both in absolute terms and relative to a group of its peer funds), with due regard for contractual or voluntary expense limitations (if any); the use and allocation of brokerage commissions derived from trading the Fund’s portfolio securities (if any); and the nature, quality and extent of the advisory and other services provided to the Fund by the Advisers and their affiliates. The Board also considered the preferences and expectations of Fund shareholders; the entrepreneurial and other risks assumed by the Adviser in sponsoring and managing the Fund; the continuing state of competition in the mutual fund industry and market practices; the range of comparable fees for similar funds in the mutual fund industry; the Fund’s relationship to the other funds advised by Federated Hermes (each, a “Federated Hermes Fund” and, collectively, the “Federated Hermes Funds”), which include a comprehensive array of funds with different investment objectives, policies and strategies, and the benefits to shareholders of being part of the family of Federated Hermes Funds, which include the general right to exchange investments between the same class of shares without the incurrence of additional sales charges; compliance and audit reports concerning the Federated Hermes Funds and Federated Hermes’ affiliates that service them (including communications from regulatory agencies), as well as Federated Hermes’ responses to any issues raised therein; and relevant developments in the mutual fund industry and how the Federated Hermes Funds and/or Federated Hermes may be responding to them. The Board noted that its evaluation process is evolutionary and that the criteria considered and the emphasis placed on relevant criteria may change in recognition of changing circumstances in the mutual fund marketplace.

The Board also considered judicial decisions concerning allegedly excessive investment advisory fees in determining to approve the Contracts. Using these judicial decisions as a guide, the Board observed that the following factors may be relevant to an adviser’s fiduciary duty with respect to its receipt of compensation from a fund: (1) the nature and quality of the services provided by an adviser to a fund and its shareholders (including the performance of the

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fund, its benchmark, and comparable funds); (2) an adviser’s cost of providing the services (including the profitability to an adviser of providing advisory services to a fund); (3) the extent to which an adviser may realize “economies of scale” as a fund grows larger and, if such economies of scale exist, whether they have been appropriately shared with a fund and its shareholders or the family of funds; (4) any “fall-out” benefits that accrue to an adviser because of its relationship with a fund (including research services received from brokers that execute fund trades and any fees paid to affiliates of an adviser for services rendered to a fund); (5) comparative fee and expense structures (including a comparison of fees paid to an adviser with those paid by similar funds both internally and externally as well as management fees charged to institutional and other advisory clients of the adviser for what might be viewed as like services); and (6) the extent of care, conscientiousness and independence with which the fund’s board members perform their duties and their expertise (including whether they are fully informed about all facts the board deems relevant to its consideration of an adviser’s services and fees). The Board noted that the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) disclosure requirements regarding the basis for a fund board’s approval of the fund’s investment advisory contract generally align with the factors listed above. The Board was guided by these factors in its review of the Contracts to the extent it considered them to be appropriate and relevant, as discussed further below. The Board considered and weighed these factors in light of its substantial accumulated experience in governing the Fund and working with Federated Hermes on matters relating to the Federated Hermes Funds.

In addition to considering the above-referenced factors, the Board was mindful of the potential disruptions of the Fund’s operations and various risks, uncertainties and other effects that could occur as a result of a decision to terminate or not renew the Contracts. In particular, the Board recognized that many shareholders have invested in the Fund on the strength of Federated Hermes’ industry standing and reputation and with the expectation that Federated Hermes will have a continuing role in providing advisory services to the Fund. Thus, the Board observed that in the marketplace there are a range of investment options available to the Fund’s shareholders and such shareholders, having had the opportunity to consider other investment options, have effectively selected Federated Hermes by virtue of investing in the Fund.

In determining to approve the continuation of the Contracts, the members of the Board reviewed and evaluated information and factors they believed to be relevant and appropriate through the exercise of their reasonable business judgment. While individual members of the Board may have weighed certain factors differently, the Board’s determination to approve the continuation of the Contracts was based on a comprehensive consideration of all information provided to the Board throughout the year and specifically with respect to the continuation of the Contracts. The Independent Trustees were assisted throughout the evaluation process by independent legal counsel. In connection

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with their deliberations at the May Meetings, the Independent Trustees met separately in executive session with their independent legal counsel and without management present to review the relevant materials and consider their responsibilities under applicable laws. In addition, senior management representatives of Federated Hermes also met with the Independent Trustees and their independent legal counsel to discuss the materials and presentations furnished to the Board at the May Meetings. The Board considered the approval of the Contracts for the Fund as part of its consideration of agreements for funds across the Federated Hermes Funds family, but its approvals were made on a fund-by-fund basis.

Nature, Extent and Quality of Services

The Board considered the nature, extent and quality of the services provided to the Fund by the Advisers and the resources of the Advisers and their affiliates dedicated to the Fund. In this regard, the Board evaluated, among other things, the terms of the Contracts and the range of services provided to the Fund by the Advisers and their affiliates. The Board considered the Advisers’ personnel, investment philosophy and process, investment research capabilities and resources, trade execution capabilities, experience and performance track record. The Board reviewed the qualifications, backgrounds and responsibilities of the portfolio management team primarily responsible for the day-to-day management of the Fund and the Advisers’ ability and experience in attracting and retaining qualified personnel to service the Fund. The Fund’s ability to deliver competitive performance when compared to its Performance Peer Group (as defined below) was also deemed to be relevant by the Board as a useful indicator of how the Advisers are executing the Fund’s investment program.

In addition, the Board considered the financial resources and overall reputation of Federated Hermes and its willingness to consider and make investments in personnel, infrastructure, technology, cybersecurity, business continuity planning and operational enhancements that are designed to benefit the Federated Hermes Funds. The Board noted the significant acquisition of Hermes Fund Managers Limited by Federated Hermes in 2018, which has deepened the organization’s investment management expertise and capabilities and expanded the investment process for all of the Federated Hermes Funds to have access to analytical resources related to environmental, social and governance (“ESG”) factors and issuer engagement on ESG matters.

The Board considered the quality of the Advisers’ communications with the Board and responsiveness to Board inquiries and requests made from time to time with respect to the Fund and other Federated Hermes Funds. In this regard, the Board took into account the Advisers’ communications with the Board in light of the market volatility amidst the pandemic. The Board also considered that Federated Hermes is responsible for providing the Federated Hermes Funds’ officers.

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The Board received and evaluated information regarding the Advisers’ regulatory and compliance environment. The Board considered the Advisers’ compliance program, compliance history, and reports from the CCO about the Advisers’ compliance with applicable laws and regulations, including responses to regulatory developments and any compliance or other issues raised by regulatory agencies. The Board also noted Federated Hermes’ support of the Federated Hermes Funds’ compliance control structure and, in particular, the compliance-related resources devoted by the Advisers and their affiliates in support of the Fund’s obligations pursuant to Rule 38a-1 under the Investment Company Act of 1940, including the Advisers’ commitment to respond to rulemaking and other regulatory initiatives of the SEC. The Board considered Federated Hermes’ day-to-day oversight of the Federated Hermes Funds’ compliance with their investment objectives and policies as well as with applicable laws and regulations, noting that regulatory and other developments had over time led to an increase in the scope of Federated Hermes’ oversight in this regard, including in connection with the designation of the Federated Hermes Funds’ investment advisers as the administrators of the Federated Hermes Funds’ liquidity risk management program.

The Board also considered discussions with Federated Hermes regarding the implementation of its business continuity plans and recognized steps taken by Federated Hermes to continue to provide the same nature, extent and quality of services to the Federated Hermes Funds during the pandemic. In addition, the Board noted Federated Hermes’ commitment to maintaining high quality systems and expending substantial resources to prepare for and respond to ongoing changes due to the market, regulatory and control environments in which the Fund and its service providers operate, including changes associated with the pandemic.

Based on these considerations, the Board concluded that the nature, extent and quality of the Advisers’ investment management and related services warrant the continuation of the Contracts.

Fund Investment Performance

In evaluating the Fund’s investment performance, the Board considered performance results in light of the Fund’s investment objective, strategies and risks, as disclosed in the Fund’s prospectus. The Board considered detailed investment reports on, and the Advisers’ analysis of, the Fund’s performance over different time periods that were provided to the Board throughout the year and in connection with the May Meetings. These reports include, among other items, information on the Fund’s gross and net returns, the Fund’s investment performance compared to one or more relevant investment categories and the Fund’s benchmark index, portfolio attribution information and commentary on the effect of current and recent market conditions.

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The Board also reviewed comparative information regarding the performance of other mutual funds in the category of peer funds selected by Morningstar, Inc. (the “Morningstar”), an independent fund ranking organization (the “Performance Peer Group”), noting the CCO’s view that comparisons to fund peer groups may be helpful, though not conclusive, in evaluating the performance of the Advisers in managing the Fund. The Board considered, in evaluating such comparisons, that in some cases there may be differences in the funds’ objectives or investment management techniques, or the costs to implement the funds, even within the same Performance Peer Group.

For the periods ended December 31, 2020, the Fund’s performance for the one-year and five-year periods was above the median of the Performance Peer Group, and the Fund’s performance fell below the median of the Performance Peer Group for the three-year period. The Board discussed the Fund’s performance with the Advisers and recognized the efforts being taken by the Advisers in the context of other factors considered relevant by the Board.

Following such evaluation and full deliberations, the Board concluded that the performance of the Fund supported renewal of the Contracts.

Fund Expenses

The Board considered the advisory fee, sub-advisory fee, and overall expense structure of the Fund and the comparative fee and expense information that had been provided in connection with the May Meetings. In this regard, the Board was presented with, and considered, information regarding the contractual advisory fee rates, net advisory fee rates, total expense ratios and each element of the Fund’s total expense ratio (i.e., gross and net advisory fees, administrative fees, custody fees, portfolio accounting fees and transfer agency fees) relative to an appropriate group of peer funds compiled by Federated Hermes from the category of peer funds selected by Morningstar (the “Expense Peer Group”). The Board received a description of the methodology used to select the Expense Peer Group from the overall Morningstar category. The Board also reviewed comparative information regarding the fees and expenses of the broader group of funds in the overall Morningstar category.

While mindful that courts have cautioned against giving too much weight to comparative information concerning fees charged by other advisers for managing funds with comparable investment programs, the Board noted that it found the use of such comparisons to be relevant to its deliberations. The Board focused on comparisons with other similar mutual funds more heavily than non-mutual fund products or services because such comparisons are believed to be more relevant. The Board considered that other mutual funds are the products most like the Fund, in that they are readily available to Fund shareholders as alternative investment vehicles, and they are the type of

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investment vehicle, in fact, chosen and maintained by the Fund’s shareholders. The Board noted that the range of such other mutual funds’ fees and expenses, therefore, appears to be a relevant indicator of what consumers have found to be reasonable in the marketplace in which the Fund competes.

The Board reviewed the contractual advisory fee rate, net advisory fee rate and other expenses of the Fund and noted the position of the Fund’s fee rates relative to its Expense Peer Group. In this regard, the Board noted that the contractual advisory fee rate was below the median of the Expense Peer Group, and the Board was satisfied that the overall expense structure of the Fund remained competitive.

The Board also received and considered information about the fees charged by Federated Hermes for providing advisory services to other types of clients with investment strategies similar to those of the Federated Hermes Funds, including non-mutual fund clients (such as institutional separate accounts) and third-party unaffiliated mutual funds for which any of the Advisers or their affiliates serve as sub-adviser. The Board noted the CCO’s conclusion that non-mutual fund clients are inherently different products due to the following differences, among others: (i) different types of targeted investors; (ii) different applicable laws and regulations; (iii) different legal structures; (iv) different average account sizes and portfolio management techniques made necessary by different cash flows and different associated costs; (v) the time spent by portfolio managers and their teams (among other personnel across various departments, including legal, compliance and risk management) in reviewing securities pricing, addressing different administrative responsibilities, and addressing different degrees of risk associated with management; and (vi) a variety of different costs. The Board also considered information regarding the differences in the nature of the services required for Federated Hermes to manage its proprietary mutual fund business versus managing a discrete pool of assets as a sub-adviser to another institution’s mutual fund, noting the CCO’s view that Federated Hermes generally performs significant additional services and assumes substantially greater risks in managing the Fund and other Federated Hermes Funds than in its role as sub-adviser to an unaffiliated third-party mutual fund. The Board noted that the CCO did not consider the fees for providing advisory services to other types of clients to be determinative in judging the appropriateness of the Federated Hermes Funds’ advisory fees.

Following such evaluation and full deliberations, the Board concluded that the fees and expenses of the Fund are reasonable and supported renewal of the Contracts.

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Profitability and Other Benefits

The Board also received financial information about Federated Hermes, including information regarding the compensation and ancillary (or “fall-out”) benefits that Federated Hermes derived from its relationships with the Federated Hermes Funds. This information covered not only the fees under the Federated Hermes Funds’ investment advisory contracts, but also fees received by Federated Hermes’ affiliates for providing other services to the Federated Hermes Funds under separate contracts (e.g., for serving as the Federated Hermes Funds’ administrator and distributor). In this regard, the Board considered that certain of Federated Hermes’ affiliates provide distribution and shareholder services to the Federated Hermes Funds, for which they may be compensated through distribution and servicing fees paid pursuant to Rule 12b-1 plans or otherwise. The Board also received and considered information detailing any indirect benefit that Federated Hermes may derive from its receipt of research services from brokers who execute portfolio trades for the Federated Hermes Funds. In addition, the Board considered that, in order for the Federated Hermes Funds to remain competitive in the marketplace, the Adviser and its affiliates frequently waived fees and/or reimbursed expenses and have disclosed to Federated Hermes Fund shareholders and/or reported to the Board their intention to do so (or continue to do so) in the future. Moreover, the Board received and considered regular reports from Federated Hermes throughout the year as to the institution, adjustment or elimination of these voluntary waivers and/or reimbursements. The Board considered Federated Hermes’ previous reductions in contractual management fees to certain Federated Hermes Funds during the prior year, including in response to the CCO’s recommendations in the prior year’s CCO Fee Evaluation Report.

The Board received and considered information furnished by Federated Hermes, as requested by the CCO, that reported revenues on a fund-by-fund basis and made estimates of the allocation of expenses on a fund-by-fund basis, using allocation methodologies specified by the CCO and described to the Board. The Board considered the CCO’s view that, while these cost allocation reports apply consistent allocation processes, the inherent difficulties in allocating costs continues to cause the CCO to question the precision of the process and to conclude that such reports may be unreliable because a single change in an allocation estimate may dramatically alter the resulting estimate of cost and/or profitability of a Federated Hermes Fund and may produce unintended consequences. The allocation information, including the CCO’s view that cost allocations on a fund-by-fund basis may be unreliable, was considered in the evaluation by the Board. In addition, the Board considered the CCO’s view that the allocation methodologies used by Federated Hermes in estimating profitability for purposes of reporting to the Board in connection with the continuation of the Contracts are consistent with the methodologies previously reviewed by an independent consultant. The

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Board noted that the independent consultant had previously conducted a review of the allocation methodologies and reported that, although there is no single best method to allocate expenses, the methodologies used by Federated Hermes are reasonable.

The Board also reviewed information compiled by Federated Hermes comparing its profitability information to other publicly held fund management companies, including information regarding profitability trends over time. The Board considered the CCO’s conclusion that, based on such profitability information, Federated Hermes’ profit margins did not appear to be excessive. The Board also considered the CCO’s view that Federated Hermes appeared financially sound, with the resources necessary to fulfill its obligations under its contracts with the Federated Hermes Funds.

Economies of Scale

The Board received and considered information about the notion of possible realization of “economies of scale” as a fund grows larger, the difficulties of calculating economies of scale at an individual fund level, and the extent to which potential scale benefits are shared with shareholders. In this regard, the Board considered that Federated Hermes has made significant and long-term investments in areas that support all of the Federated Hermes Funds, such as personnel and processes for the portfolio management (including market data on which portfolio managers make investment decisions), trading operations, issuer engagement (including with respect to ESG matters), shareholder services, compliance, business continuity, internal audit and risk management functions, as well as systems technology (including technology relating to cybersecurity) and use of data. The Board noted that Federated Hermes’ investments in these areas are extensive and are designed to provide enhanced services to the Federated Hermes Funds and their shareholders. The Board considered that the benefits of these investments (as well as the benefits of any economies of scale, should they exist) are likely to be shared with the family of Federated Hermes Funds as a whole. In addition, the Board considered that the Adviser and its affiliates have frequently waived fees and/or reimbursed expenses for the Federated Hermes Funds and that such waivers and reimbursements are another means for potential economies of scale to be shared with shareholders and can provide protection from an increase in expenses if a Federated Hermes Fund’s assets decline. The Board also considered reports on adviser-paid fees (commonly referred to as “revenue sharing”) that were provided to the Board throughout the year and in connection with the May Meetings. The Board considered the beliefs of Federated Hermes and the CCO that this information should be viewed to determine if there was an incentive to either not apply breakpoints, or to apply breakpoints at higher levels, and should not be viewed to determine the appropriateness of advisory fees. The Board also noted the absence of any

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applicable regulatory or industry guidelines on this subject, which is compounded by the lack of any common industry practice or general pattern with respect to structuring fund advisory fees with “breakpoints” that serve to reduce the fees as a fund attains a certain size.

Conclusions

The Board considered: (i) the CCO’s conclusion that his observations and the information accompanying the CCO Fee Evaluation Report show that the management fee for the Fund was reasonable; and (ii) the CCO’s recommendation that the Board approve the management fee. The Board noted that, under these circumstances, no changes were recommended to, and no objection was raised to the continuation of, the Contracts by the CCO. The CCO also recognized that the Board’s evaluation of the Federated Hermes Funds’ advisory and sub-advisory arrangements is a continuing and ongoing process that is informed by the information that the Board requests and receives from management throughout the course of the year and, in this regard, the CCO noted certain items for future reporting to the Board or further consideration by management as the Board continues its ongoing oversight of the Federated Hermes Funds.

On the basis of the information and factors summarized above, among other information and factors deemed relevant by the Board, and the evaluation thereof, the Board, including the Independent Trustees, unanimously voted to approve the continuation of the Contracts. The Board based its determination to approve the Contracts on the totality of the circumstances and relevant factors and with a view of past and future long-term considerations. Not all of the factors and considerations identified above were necessarily deemed to be relevant to the Fund, nor did the Board consider any one of them to be determinative. With respect to the factors that were deemed to be relevant, the Board’s determination to approve the continuation of the Contracts reflects its view that Federated Hermes’ performance and actions provided a satisfactory basis to support the determination to approve the continuation of the existing arrangements.

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Liquidity Risk Management Program–
Annual Evaluation of Adequacy and Effectiveness

In accordance with Rule 22e-4 under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “Liquidity Rule”), Federated Hermes Income Securities Trust (the “Trust”) has adopted and implemented a liquidity risk management program (the “Program”) for Federated Hermes Capital Income Fund (the “Fund” and, collectively with the other non-money market open-end funds advised by Federated Hermes, the “Federated Hermes Funds”). The Program seeks to assess and manage the Fund’s liquidity risk. “Liquidity risk” is defined under the Liquidity Rule as the risk that the Fund is unable to meet redemption requests without significantly diluting remaining investors’ interests in the Fund. The Board of Trustees of the Trust (the “Board”) has approved the designation of the Fund’s investment adviser as the administrator for the Program with respect to the Fund (the “Administrator”). Each affiliated Federated Hermes advisory subsidiary (including the Fund’s investment adviser) that serves as investment adviser to a Federated Hermes Fund (including the Fund) has been approved as the administrator of the Program with respect to each Federated Hermes Fund that is managed by such advisory subsidiary (collectively, the “Administrator”). The Administrator, in turn, has delegated day-to-day responsibility for the administration of the Program to multiple Liquidity Risk Management Committees, which are comprised of representatives from certain divisions within Federated Hermes.

The Program is comprised of various components designed to support the assessment and/or management of liquidity risk, including: (1) the periodic assessment (no less frequently than annually) of certain factors that influence the Fund’s liquidity risk; (2) the periodic classification (no less frequently than monthly) of the Fund’s investments into one of four liquidity categories that reflect an estimate of their liquidity under current market conditions; (3) a 15% limit on the acquisition of “illiquid investments” (as defined under the Liquidity Rule); (4) to the extent a Fund does not invest primarily in “highly liquid investments” (as defined under the Liquidity Rule), the determination of a minimum percentage of the Fund’s assets that generally will be invested in highly liquid investments (an “HLIM”); (5) if a Fund has established an HLIM, the periodic review (no less frequently than annually) of the HLIM and the adoption of policies and procedures for responding to a shortfall of the Fund’s highly liquid investments below its HLIM; and (6) periodic reporting to the Board.

At its meetings in May 2021, the Board received and reviewed a written report (the “Report”) from the Federated Hermes Funds’ Chief Compliance Officer and Chief Risk Officer, on behalf of the Administrator, concerning the operation of the Program for the period from April 1, 2020 through March 31, 2021 (the “Period”). The Report addressed the operation of the Program and assessed its adequacy and effectiveness, including, where

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applicable, the operation of any HLIM established for a Federated Hermes Fund and each Federated Hermes Fund’s access to other available funding sources such as the Federated Hermes Funds’ interfund lending facility, redemptions in-kind and committed lines of credit. There were no material changes to the Program during the Period. The Report summarized the operation of the Program and the information and factors considered by the Administrator in assessing whether the Program has been adequately and effectively implemented with respect to the Federated Hermes Funds. Such information and factors included, among other things:

■ confirmation that the Fund did not utilize alternative funding sources during the Period;

■ the periodic classifications of the Fund’s investments into one of four liquidity categories and the methodologies and inputs used to classify the investments, including the Fund’s reasonably anticipated trade size;

■ the analysis received from a third-party liquidity assessment vendor that is taken into account in the process of determining the liquidity classifications of the Fund’s investments and the results of an evaluation of the services performed by the vendor in support of this process;

■ the fact that the Fund invested primarily in highly liquid investments during the Period and, therefore, was not required to establish, and has not established, an HLIM and the procedures for monitoring the status of the Fund as investing primarily in highly liquid investments;

■ the fact that the Fund invested no more than 15% of its assets in illiquid investments during the Period and the procedures for monitoring this limit; and

■ liquidity events during the Period, including the impact on liquidity caused by extended non-U.S. market closures and the March-April 2020 market conditions, and the fact that there were no specific liquidity events during the Period that materially affected the Fund’s liquidity risk.

Based on this review, the Administrator concluded that the Program is operating effectively to assess and manage the Fund’s liquidity risk, and that the Program has been and continues to be adequately and effectively implemented to monitor and, as applicable, respond to the Fund’s liquidity developments.

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Voting Proxies on Fund Portfolio Securities

A description of the policies and procedures that the Fund uses to determine how to vote proxies, if any, relating to securities held in the Fund’s portfolio is available, without charge and upon request, by calling 1-800-341-7400. A report on “Form N-PX” of how the Fund voted any such proxies during the most recent 12-month period ended June 30 is available via the Proxy Voting Record (Form N-PX) link associated with the Fund and share class name at FederatedInvestors.com/FundInformation. Form N-PX filings are also available at the SEC’s website at sec.gov.

Quarterly Portfolio Schedule

Each fiscal quarter, the Fund will file with the SEC a complete schedule of its monthly portfolio holdings on “Form N-PORT.” The Fund’s holdings as of the end of the third month of every fiscal quarter, as reported on Form N-PORT, will be publicly available on the SEC’s website at sec.gov within 60 days of the end of the fiscal quarter upon filing. You may also access this information via the link to the Fund and share class name at FederatedInvestors.com.

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Mutual funds are not bank deposits or obligations, are not guaranteed by any bank and are not insured or guaranteed by the U.S. government, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Federal Reserve Board or any other government agency. Investment in mutual funds involves investment risk, including the possible loss of principal.

This Report is authorized for distribution to prospective investors only when preceded or accompanied by the Fund’s Prospectus, which contains facts concerning its objective and policies, management fees, expenses and other information.

 IMPORTANT NOTICE ABOUT FUND DOCUMENT DELIVERY 

In an effort to reduce costs and avoid duplicate mailings, the Fund(s) intend to deliver a single copy of certain documents to each household in which more than one shareholder of the Fund(s) resides (so-called “householding”), as permitted by applicable rules. The Fund’s “householding” program covers its/their Prospectus and Statement of Additional Information, and supplements to each, as well as Semi-Annual and Annual Shareholder Reports and any Proxies or information statements. Shareholders must give their written consent to participate in the “householding” program. The Fund is also permitted to treat a shareholder as having given consent (“implied consent”) if (i) shareholders with the same last name, or believed to be members of the same family, reside at the same street address or receive mail at the same post office box, (ii) the Fund gives notice of its intent to “household” at least sixty (60) days before it begins “householding” and (iii) none of the shareholders in the household have notified the Fund(s) or their agent of the desire to “opt out” of “householding.” Shareholders who have granted written consent, or have been deemed to have granted implied consent, can revoke that consent and opt out of “householding” at any time: shareholders who purchased shares through an intermediary should contact their representative; other shareholders may call the Fund at 1-800-341-7400.

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Federated Hermes Capital Income Fund
Federated Hermes Funds
4000 Ericsson Drive
Warrendale, PA 15086-7561

Contact us atFederatedInvestors.com
or call 1-800-341-7400.

Federated Securities Corp., Distributor

CUSIP 31420C878
CUSIP 31420C860
CUSIP 31420C852
CUSIP 31420C845
CUSIP 31420C613
CUSIP 31420C621

8092606 (7/21)

© 2021 Federated Hermes, Inc.

 

Item 2. Code of Ethics

Not Applicable

Item 3. Audit Committee Financial Expert

Not Applicable

Item 4. Principal Accountant Fees and Services

Not Applicable

Item 5. Audit Committee of Listed Registrants

Not Applicable

Item 6. Schedule of Investments

(a) The registrant’s Schedule of Investments is included as part of the Report to Stockholders filed under Item 1 of this form.

(b) Not Applicable; Fund had no divestments during the reporting period covered since the previous Form N-CSR filing.

Item 7. Disclosure of Proxy Voting Policies and Procedures for Closed-End Management Investment Companies

Not Applicable

Item 8. Portfolio Managers of Closed-End Management Investment Companies

Not Applicable

Item 9. Purchases of Equity Securities by Closed-End Management Investment Company and Affiliated Purchasers

Not Applicable

Item 10. Submission of Matters to a Vote of Security Holders

No Changes to Report

Item 11. Controls and Procedures

(a) The registrant’s President and Treasurer have concluded that the

registrant’s disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in rule 30a-3(c) under the Act) are effective in design and operation and are sufficient to form the basis of the certifications required by Rule 30a-(2) under the Act, based on their evaluation of these disclosure controls and procedures within 90 days of the filing date of this report on Form N-CSR.

(b) There were no changes in the registrant’s internal control over financial reporting (as defined in rule 30a-3(d) under the Act) during the registrant’s most recent fiscal half-year (the registrant’s second fiscal half-year in the case of an annual report) that have materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, the registrant’s internal control over financial reporting.

Item 12. Disclosure of Securities Lending Activities for Closed-End Management Investment Companies

Not Applicable

Item 13. Exhibits

(a)(1) Code of Ethics- Not Applicable to this Report.

(a)(2) Certifications of Principal Executive Officer and Principal Financial Officer.

(a)(3) Not Applicable.

(b) Certifications pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 1350.

SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and the Investment Company Act of 1940, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.

Registrant Federated Hermes Income Securities Trust

By /S/ Lori A. Hensler

Lori A. Hensler

Principal Financial Officer

Date July 23, 2021

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and the Investment Company Act of 1940, this report has been signed below by the following persons on behalf of the registrant and in the capacities and on the dates indicated.

By /S/ J. Christopher Donahue

J. Christopher Donahue

Principal Executive Officer

Date July 23, 2021

By /S/ Lori A. Hensler

Lori A. Hensler

Principal Financial Officer

Date July 23, 2021