Quarterly Report
November 30, 2020
MFS® Research
International Fund
International Fund
RIF-Q1
Portfolio of Investments
11/30/20 (unaudited)
The Portfolio of Investments is a
complete list of all securities owned by your fund. It is categorized by broad-based asset classes.
Issuer | Shares/Par | Value ($) | ||
Common Stocks – 98.4% | ||||
Airlines – 0.9% | ||||
Aena S.A. (a) | 350,185 | $57,140,612 | ||
Ryanair Holdings PLC, ADR (a) | 570,630 | 59,214,275 | ||
$116,354,887 | ||||
Alcoholic Beverages – 1.7% | ||||
Diageo PLC | 5,501,700 | $210,729,934 | ||
Apparel Manufacturers – 4.2% | ||||
Adidas AG (a) | 471,943 | $150,284,110 | ||
Burberry Group PLC | 1,744,524 | 40,107,423 | ||
Compagnie Financiere Richemont S.A. | 1,026,689 | 84,988,191 | ||
LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SE | 460,947 | 264,467,503 | ||
$539,847,227 | ||||
Automotive – 2.2% | ||||
Continental AG | 326,534 | $44,426,902 | ||
Koito Manufacturing Co. Ltd. | 1,922,800 | 115,013,352 | ||
USS Co. Ltd. | 5,937,600 | 123,260,772 | ||
$282,701,026 | ||||
Brokerage & Asset Managers – 2.4% | ||||
Euronext N.V. | 1,896,438 | $201,014,160 | ||
Hong Kong Exchanges & Clearing Ltd. | 2,186,100 | 108,697,910 | ||
$309,712,070 | ||||
Business Services – 0.9% | ||||
Nomura Research Institute Ltd. | 3,335,300 | $112,614,296 | ||
Computer Software – 0.5% | ||||
Cadence Design Systems, Inc. (a) | 573,872 | $66,741,314 | ||
Computer Software - Systems – 4.8% | ||||
Amadeus IT Group S.A. | 1,567,874 | $106,786,929 | ||
Constellation Software, Inc. | 64,541 | 79,926,080 | ||
EPAM Systems, Inc. (a) | 284,398 | 91,670,007 | ||
Fujitsu Ltd. | 550,300 | 76,456,911 | ||
Hitachi Ltd. | 3,942,700 | 148,977,621 | ||
Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. | 1,862,585 | 112,519,413 | ||
$616,336,961 | ||||
Conglomerates – 0.1% | ||||
Melrose Industries PLC (a) | 6,184,770 | $12,656,424 | ||
Construction – 1.6% | ||||
Techtronic Industries Co. Ltd. | 11,635,000 | $149,132,988 | ||
Toto Ltd. | 1,019,900 | 57,378,450 | ||
$206,511,438 | ||||
Consumer Products – 2.1% | ||||
Kao Corp. | 1,751,300 | $130,492,653 | ||
Reckitt Benckiser Group PLC | 1,553,281 | 136,338,638 | ||
$266,831,291 |
1
Portfolio of Investments (unaudited) –
continued
Issuer | Shares/Par | Value ($) | ||
Common Stocks – continued | ||||
Consumer Services – 1.0% | ||||
51job, Inc., ADR (a) | 618,538 | $43,606,929 | ||
Carsales.com Ltd. | 1,530,131 | 22,834,507 | ||
Persol Holdings Co. Ltd. | 2,113,800 | 38,370,287 | ||
SEEK Ltd. | 1,435,648 | 27,452,465 | ||
$132,264,188 | ||||
Containers – 0.8% | ||||
Brambles Ltd. | 13,037,969 | $104,892,913 | ||
Electrical Equipment – 3.8% | ||||
Legrand S.A. | 1,698,272 | $143,335,674 | ||
Schneider Electric SE | 2,448,467 | 339,660,758 | ||
$482,996,432 | ||||
Electronics – 2.6% | ||||
Kyocera Corp. | 1,432,300 | $81,420,867 | ||
NXP Semiconductors N.V. | 832,697 | 131,915,859 | ||
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. Ltd. | 6,799,326 | 114,841,409 | ||
$328,178,135 | ||||
Energy - Independent – 0.4% | ||||
Oil Search Ltd. | 20,528,081 | $54,171,181 | ||
Energy - Integrated – 2.0% | ||||
Cairn Energy PLC (a) | 23,992,295 | $51,276,393 | ||
Eni S.p.A. | 6,165,920 | 60,596,980 | ||
Galp Energia SGPS S.A., “B” | 8,966,320 | 95,910,419 | ||
Idemitsu Kosan Co. Ltd. | 2,379,200 | 49,302,103 | ||
$257,085,895 | ||||
Food & Beverages – 4.1% | ||||
Danone S.A. | 2,429,130 | $155,580,815 | ||
Nestle S.A. | 3,354,540 | 374,326,542 | ||
$529,907,357 | ||||
Food & Drug Stores – 0.3% | ||||
Sugi Holdings Co. Ltd. | 599,000 | $39,761,207 | ||
Gaming & Lodging – 0.5% | ||||
Flutter Entertainment PLC (a) | 337,917 | $61,904,388 | ||
Insurance – 5.3% | ||||
AIA Group Ltd. | 21,653,000 | $236,516,721 | ||
AON PLC | 930,119 | 190,572,082 | ||
Hiscox Ltd. (a) | 7,771,424 | 111,914,243 | ||
Zurich Insurance Group AG | 347,086 | 140,695,946 | ||
$679,698,992 | ||||
Internet – 2.9% | ||||
NAVER Corp. | 317,788 | $79,920,315 | ||
NetEase.com, Inc., ADR | 1,363,757 | 123,242,720 | ||
Scout24 AG | 913,014 | 69,810,620 | ||
Tencent Holdings Ltd. | 1,429,400 | 103,824,927 | ||
$376,798,582 |
2
Portfolio of Investments (unaudited) –
continued
Issuer | Shares/Par | Value ($) | ||
Common Stocks – continued | ||||
Leisure & Toys – 1.7% | ||||
Nintendo Co. Ltd. | 171,900 | $97,574,655 | ||
Prosus N.V. | 735,199 | 79,411,199 | ||
Yamaha Corp. | 726,700 | 41,172,430 | ||
$218,158,284 | ||||
Machinery & Tools – 6.9% | ||||
Daikin Industries Ltd. | 1,104,600 | $250,386,581 | ||
GEA Group AG | 2,627,653 | 89,988,546 | ||
Kubota Corp. | 8,342,500 | 164,527,380 | ||
Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers, Inc. | 1,692,416 | 121,728,327 | ||
Schindler Holding AG | 488,013 | 133,179,889 | ||
SMC Corp. | 198,000 | 125,779,310 | ||
$885,590,033 | ||||
Major Banks – 3.9% | ||||
BNP Paribas (a) | 4,103,601 | $209,125,714 | ||
Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Inc. | 25,796,100 | 110,062,445 | ||
UBS Group AG | 13,001,376 | 184,126,324 | ||
$503,314,483 | ||||
Medical Equipment – 3.8% | ||||
EssilorLuxottica (a) | 1,135,258 | $163,803,831 | ||
Koninklijke Philips N.V. (a) | 3,929,465 | 203,239,785 | ||
Terumo Corp. | 3,138,100 | 124,158,807 | ||
$491,202,423 | ||||
Natural Gas - Distribution – 0.5% | ||||
China Resources Gas Group Ltd. | 12,830,000 | $60,911,857 | ||
Natural Gas - Pipeline – 0.8% | ||||
APA Group | 6,776,872 | $51,486,727 | ||
TC Energy Corp. | 1,110,466 | 48,849,559 | ||
$100,336,286 | ||||
Other Banks & Diversified Financials – 4.8% | ||||
AIB Group PLC (a) | 28,995,569 | $52,088,594 | ||
HDFC Bank Ltd. (a) | 7,469,631 | 144,061,141 | ||
Julius Baer Group Ltd. | 2,606,655 | 150,192,315 | ||
KBC Group N.V. (a) | 1,658,991 | 115,147,006 | ||
Macquarie Group Ltd. | 855,402 | 87,071,981 | ||
Visa, Inc., “A” | 335,175 | 70,504,061 | ||
$619,065,098 | ||||
Pharmaceuticals – 8.9% | ||||
Bayer AG | 2,171,684 | $125,043,165 | ||
Kyowa Kirin Co. Ltd. | 5,623,800 | 153,160,577 | ||
Novo Nordisk A.S., “B” | 4,495,596 | 301,931,803 | ||
Roche Holding AG | 1,228,718 | 403,822,145 | ||
Santen Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. | 9,756,700 | 161,587,912 | ||
$1,145,545,602 | ||||
Printing & Publishing – 1.3% | ||||
Wolters Kluwer N.V. | 1,994,118 | $167,221,536 |
3
Portfolio of Investments (unaudited) –
continued
Issuer | Shares/Par | Value ($) | ||
Common Stocks – continued | ||||
Real Estate – 3.0% | ||||
ESR Cayman Ltd. (a) | 17,609,800 | $53,049,436 | ||
Grand City Properties S.A. | 6,592,261 | 155,698,924 | ||
LEG Immobilien AG | 1,211,070 | 172,574,962 | ||
$381,323,322 | ||||
Restaurants – 0.7% | ||||
Yum China Holdings, Inc. | 1,471,015 | $82,935,826 | ||
Specialty Chemicals – 8.6% | ||||
Akzo Nobel N.V. | 1,541,832 | $163,796,936 | ||
Croda International PLC | 1,814,234 | 144,054,586 | ||
Kansai Paint Co. Ltd. | 2,369,900 | 71,846,106 | ||
Linde PLC | 1,239,566 | 316,276,168 | ||
Nitto Denko Corp. | 1,541,800 | 127,597,241 | ||
Sika AG | 554,934 | 141,390,022 | ||
Symrise AG | 1,135,926 | 142,273,943 | ||
$1,107,235,002 | ||||
Telecommunications - Wireless – 2.6% | ||||
Advanced Info Service Public Co. Ltd. | 9,565,500 | $55,970,033 | ||
KDDI Corp. | 4,336,200 | 124,332,833 | ||
SoftBank Corp. | 2,277,100 | 158,611,793 | ||
$338,914,659 | ||||
Telephone Services – 1.0% | ||||
Hellenic Telecommunications Organization S.A. | 3,776,187 | $62,926,841 | ||
Tele2 AB, “B” | 4,551,031 | 58,456,065 | ||
$121,382,906 | ||||
Tobacco – 1.9% | ||||
British American Tobacco PLC | 4,411,562 | $155,236,253 | ||
Japan Tobacco, Inc. | 4,215,900 | 85,286,794 | ||
$240,523,047 | ||||
Utilities - Electric Power – 2.9% | ||||
CLP Holdings Ltd. | 7,624,000 | $71,606,711 | ||
E.ON SE | 5,113,665 | 55,362,130 | ||
Iberdrola S.A. | 11,549,957 | 157,395,209 | ||
Orsted A.S. | 486,756 | 87,873,734 | ||
$372,237,784 | ||||
Total Common Stocks | $12,624,594,286 |
Strike Price | First Exercise | |||
Warrants – 0.0% | ||||
Apparel Manufacturers – 0.0% | ||||
Compagnie Financiere Richemont S.A. (1 share for 1 warrant, Expiration 12/04/2023) (a)(n) | CHF 67.00 | 11/20/23 | 2,033,964 | $402,876 |
Investment Companies (h) – 1.3% | ||||
Money Market Funds – 1.3% | ||||
MFS Institutional Money Market Portfolio, 0.1% (v) | 158,431,903 | $158,431,903 | ||
Other Assets, Less Liabilities – 0.3% | 43,091,928 | |||
Net Assets – 100.0% | $12,826,520,993 |
(a) | Non-income producing security. |
4
Portfolio of Investments (unaudited) –
continued
(h) | An affiliated issuer, which may be considered one in which the fund owns 5% or more of the outstanding voting securities, or a company which is under common control. At period end, the aggregate values of the fund's investments in affiliated issuers and in unaffiliated issuers were $158,431,903 and $12,624,997,162, respectively. | |||
(n) | Securities exempt from registration under Rule 144A of the Securities Act of 1933. These securities may be sold in the ordinary course of business in transactions exempt from registration, normally to qualified institutional buyers. At period end, the aggregate value of these securities was $402,876, representing 0.0% of net assets. | |||
(v) | Affiliated issuer that is available only to investment companies managed by MFS. The rate quoted for the MFS Institutional Money Market Portfolio is the annualized seven-day yield of the fund at period end. |
The following abbreviations are used in this report and are defined: | |
ADR | American Depositary Receipt |
Abbreviations indicate amounts shown in currencies other than the U.S. dollar. All amounts are stated in U.S. dollars unless otherwise indicated. A list of abbreviations is shown below: | |
CHF | Swiss Franc |
See attached supplemental
information. For more information see notes to financial statements as disclosed in the most recent semiannual or annual report.
5
Supplemental Information
11/30/20 (unaudited)
The fund is an investment company
and accordingly follows the investment company accounting and reporting guidance of the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) Accounting Standards Codification Topic 946 Financial Services - Investment
Companies.
(1) Investment Valuations
Equity securities, including
restricted equity securities, are generally valued at the last sale or official closing price on their primary market or exchange as provided by a third-party pricing service. Equity securities, for which there were
no sales reported that day, are generally valued at the last quoted daily bid quotation on their primary market or exchange as provided by a third-party pricing service. Short-term instruments with a maturity at
issuance of 60 days or less may be valued at amortized cost, which approximates market value. Open-end investment companies are generally valued at net asset value per share. Securities and other assets
generally valued on the basis of information from a third-party pricing service may also be valued at a broker/dealer bid quotation. In determining values, third-party pricing services can utilize both
transaction data and market information such as yield, quality, coupon rate, maturity, type of issue, trading characteristics, and other market data. The values of foreign securities and other assets and
liabilities expressed in foreign currencies are converted to U.S. dollars using the mean of bid and asked prices for rates provided by a third-party pricing service.
The Board of Trustees has delegated
primary responsibility for determining or causing to be determined the value of the fund’s investments (including any fair valuation) to the adviser pursuant to valuation policies and procedures approved by the
Board. If the adviser determines that reliable market quotations are not readily available, investments are valued at fair value as determined in good faith by the adviser in accordance with such procedures under the
oversight of the Board of Trustees. Under the fund’s valuation policies and procedures, market quotations are not considered to be readily available for most types of debt instruments and floating rate loans and
many types of derivatives. These investments are generally valued at fair value based on information from third-party pricing services. In addition, investments may be valued at fair value if the adviser determines
that an investment’s value has been materially affected by events occurring after the close of the exchange or market on which the investment is principally traded (such as foreign exchange or market) and prior
to the determination of the fund’s net asset value, or after the halt of trading of a specific security where trading does not resume prior to the close of the exchange or market on which the security is
principally traded. Events that occur after foreign markets close (such as developments in foreign markets and significant movements in the U.S. markets) and prior to the determination of the fund’s net asset
value may be deemed to have a material effect on the value of securities traded in foreign markets. Accordingly, the fund’s foreign equity securities may often be valued at fair value. The adviser generally
relies on third-party pricing services or other information (such as the correlation with price movements of similar securities in the same or other markets; the type, cost and investment characteristics of the
security; the business and financial condition of the issuer; and trading and other market data) to assist in determining whether to fair value and at what value to fair value an investment. The value of an investment
for purposes of calculating the fund’s net asset value can differ depending on the source and method used to determine value. When fair valuation is used, the value of an investment used to determine the
fund’s net asset value may differ from quoted or published prices for the same investment. There can be no assurance that the fund could obtain the fair value assigned to an investment if it were to sell the
investment at the same time at which the fund determines its net asset value per share.
Various inputs are used in
determining the value of the fund's assets or liabilities. These inputs are categorized into three broad levels. In certain cases, the inputs used to measure fair value may fall into different levels of the fair value
hierarchy. In such cases, an investment's level within the fair value hierarchy is based on the lowest level of input that is significant to the fair value measurement. The fund's assessment of the significance of a
particular input to the fair value measurement in its entirety requires judgment, and considers factors specific to the investment. Level 1 includes unadjusted quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or
liabilities. Level 2 includes other significant observable market-based inputs (including quoted prices for similar securities, interest rates, prepayment speed, and credit risk). Level 3 includes unobservable inputs,
which may include the adviser's own assumptions in determining the fair value of investments. The following is a summary of the levels used as of November 30, 2020 in valuing the fund's assets or liabilities:
Financial Instruments | Level 1 | Level 2 | Level 3 | Total |
Equity Securities: | ||||
Japan | $1,060,628,100 | $1,708,505,283 | $— | $2,769,133,383 |
Switzerland | 133,582,765 | 1,479,541,485 | — | 1,613,124,250 |
France | — | 1,476,988,455 | — | 1,476,988,455 |
Germany | 810,752,290 | 194,711,012 | — | 1,005,463,302 |
United Kingdom | 448,285,901 | 414,027,993 | — | 862,313,894 |
Netherlands | 666,174,116 | 79,411,199 | — | 745,585,315 |
United States | 735,763,632 | — | — | 735,763,632 |
Hong Kong | 329,437,609 | 236,516,721 | — | 565,954,330 |
China | 406,659,838 | 60,911,857 | — | 467,571,695 |
Other Countries | 774,442,302 | 1,608,656,604 | — | 2,383,098,906 |
Mutual Funds | 158,431,903 | — | — | 158,431,903 |
Total | $5,524,158,456 | $7,259,270,609 | $— | $12,783,429,065 |
For further information regarding
security characteristics, see the Portfolio of Investments.
6
Supplemental Information (unaudited) –
continued
(2) Investments in Affiliated
Issuers
An affiliated issuer may be
considered one in which the fund owns 5% or more of the outstanding voting securities, or a company which is under common control. For the purposes of this report, the following were affiliated issuers:
Affiliated Issuers | Beginning Value | Purchases | Sales Proceeds | Realized Gain (Loss) | Change in Unrealized Appreciation or Depreciation | Ending Value |
MFS Institutional Money Market Portfolio | $117,231,063 | $464,673,360 | $423,472,520 | $— | $— | $158,431,903 |
Affiliated Issuers | Dividend Income | Capital Gain Distributions |
MFS Institutional Money Market Portfolio | $31,342 | $— |
(3) Issuer Country
Weightings
Issuer country weighting percentages
of portfolio holdings based on net assets, as of November 30, 2020, are as follows:
Japan | 21.6% |
Switzerland | 12.6% |
France | 11.5% |
Germany | 7.9% |
United States | 7.2% |
United Kingdom | 6.7% |
Netherlands | 5.8% |
Hong Kong | 4.4% |
China | 3.7% |
Other Countries | 18.6% |
(4) Impacts of COVID-19
The pandemic related to the global
spread of novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19), which was first detected in December 2019, has resulted in significant disruptions to global business activity and the global economy, as well as the economies of
individual countries, the financial performance of individual companies and sectors, and the securities and commodities markets in general. This pandemic, the full effects of which are still unknown, has resulted in
substantial market volatility and may have adversely impacted the prices and liquidity of the fund's investments and the fund's performance.
7