UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
FORM N-CSR
CERTIFIED SHAREHOLDER REPORT OF REGISTERED
MANAGEMENT INVESTMENT COMPANIES
Investment Company Act File Number: 811-00958
| T. Rowe Price New Horizons Fund, Inc. |
| (Exact name of registrant as specified in charter) |
| 100 East Pratt Street, Baltimore, MD 21202 |
| (Address of principal executive offices) |
| David Oestreicher |
| 100 East Pratt Street, Baltimore, MD 21202 |
| (Name and address of agent for service) |
Registrant’s telephone number, including area code: (410) 345-2000
Date of fiscal year end: December 31
Date of reporting period: December 31, 2018
 |
| New Horizons Fund | December 31, 2018 |
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| T. ROWE PRICE NEW HORIZONS FUND |
HIGHLIGHTS
| ■ | Most major stock indexes finished the year lower despite gains in the first half of 2018. Heightened uncertainty related to global trade policies, decelerating global growth, and the outlook for the U.S. economy contributed to the sharp market pullback in the last three months of the year. |
| ■ | The New Horizons Fund posted a 4.04% return in the 12-month reporting period, outperforming its benchmark and Lipper peer group index. |
| ■ | In the strategy review, we analyze a small group of companies—which we refer to as compounders—that are responsible for an outsized portion of the market’s return over 10-year periods and drive a significant amount of our returns as well. |
| ■ | Despite the uncertainty of the current macroeconomic environment, we remain committed to identifying small companies that can become large companies and compound wealth for our shareholders. |
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Management’s Discussion of Fund Performance
Fellow Shareholders
Your fund outperformed its benchmark and peer group with a 4.04% return in the 12-month reporting period. While the fund declined along with most market indices in the second half of 2018, the fund’s performance compared with its benchmark and peer group further improved from the first six months of the year. We endeavored to take advantage of the market volatility in 2018 by adding to the fund’s highest-conviction holdings and buying new positions as they became more attractive. In this letter, we will review our key performance indicators (KPIs) consistent with prior periods—in the spirit of transparency and comparability. In the strategy review, we detail the overall importance of a select group of small-cap growth companies—compounders—both in terms of market returns and the fund’s performance. We focus on sourcing these companies from both our public and private market efforts.
PERFORMANCE REVIEW
The New Horizons Fund returned 4.04% for the year ended December 31, 2018, outperforming the -9.31% return of its benchmark, the Russell 2000 Growth Index. The fund also outpaced the Lipper Mid-Cap Growth Funds Index, which generated a -3.53% return. The New Horizons Fund was the top-performing mid-cap growth fund among the Lipper peer group for the trailing 3-, 5-, and 10-year periods ended December 31, 2018. Based on cumulative total returns, Lipper ranked the New Horizons Fund 16 of 386, 3 of 351, 2 of 330, and 1 of 228 mid-cap growth funds for the 1-, 3-, 5-, and 10-year periods ended December 31, 2018, respectively. (Performance for the I Class will vary due to its differing fee structure.Past performance cannot guarantee future results.)
MARKET ENVIRONMENT
Although the final data have yet to come in, by most macroeconomic indicators, the U.S. economy grew by about 3% in 2018, aided by corporate tax reform and fiscal stimulus measures. Yet concerns about underlying economic change and resulting displacement that threatens long-term job stability have contributed to a growing populist rhetoric in the U.S. and developed markets abroad. Secular and cyclical risks are becoming more salient to investors, particularly as we progress into the late stages of an economic cycle. Despite investors’ willingness to disregard “headline risks” in recent years, key issues—including global relations and trade, signs of inflation, and normalization of global monetary policy—hurt investors’ risk appetite in 2018. The transition to a “risk-off” environment was particularly acute in the last few months of the year, as the S&P 500 Index declined nearly 20% from peak-to-trough between September 21 and December 24. We expect the market will most likely be more volatile and susceptible to short-term pullbacks compared with recent years with more sanguine investor expectations. Experience has taughtus to sharpen our focus on bottom-up security analysis and double down on our fundamental research during these periods, with a greater emphasis on companies that can compound wealth into the next economic cycle.
PERFORMANCE DISCUSSION
In the spirit of transparency, several shareholder letters ago, we committed to sharing more comprehensive data about KPIs of the fund, including our private investment returns and performance of the fund’s top 20 holdings and private investments. We have received positive feedback from our shareholders and intend to provide these two charts annually.
(1) Private Investment Returns
We remind investors that periodic updates may appear relatively unchanged depending on the maturation of older companies, acquisitions, and initial public offering (IPO) activity from the portfolio. In 2018, the fund’s private holdings had eight IPOs compared with four IPOs in 2017. We added 16 new private investments in 2018 compared with seven in the previous year.
As detailed in previous letters, we encourage investors not to view our private market investments as separate from our public market activity. Rather, it is an extension of our investment process in early-stage growth companies that have the potential to become compounders. Furthermore, we believe that our experiences with private businesses and assessing change advantages all of our investment efforts.
The first chart details the fund’s private investment activity since September 2009 and classifies each company by subgroup based on the profile of the investment return. The first subgroup, “Public and Sold Companies,” features investments with returns that were realized in a liquidity event, be it an IPO or an acquisition. We believe the investment returns for companies taken public or sold can be viewed as equivalent to the returns generated by the fund’s public investments, given the liquidity and readily available market price.
The second subgroup consists of companies that are still private. While these investments are considered illiquid, T. Rowe Price values the securities through a rigorous process audited by a third party. These investments are often made in earlier-stage companies where there are fewer data points to evaluate the performance of the business. Thus, we expect private companies to produce lower returns, as the businesses still require substantial monetary and human capital investments before they can achieve meaningful scale. In addition, we expect larger returns from the older cohorts as those investments mature and the prospect of a liquidity event becomes more apparent. We have found that this process to judge a cohort takes around three years. As a result, we recommend investors focus on 2015 and prior-year cohorts as the primary driver of the fund’s current private investment returns. We remind shareholders that given the illiquidity and early stage of these private companies, we seek1,000 basis points of outperformance versus the index as our return threshold (100 basis points equals 1.00%). Each of the 2015 and prior cohorts, with the exception of 2012, has achieved this level.
We present our Top 20 and private investment performance as a window into the two areas of the portfolio where the New Horizons Fund’s Investment Advisory Committee spends a majority of its time. We believe investors should focus on performance for our largest 20 holdings and private investments as a barometer for our team’s return on invested time. Overall, our expectation for the fund’s largest public investments is an average of 500 basis points of annual outperformance versus the Russell 2000 Growth Index benchmark. Given the weight between our Top 20 and private holdings, we seek returns roughly 600 basis points above the benchmark for this subset of the portfolio. As observed in the previous charts, our returns against these two KPIs have remained strong across market environments as our capital base has scaled, including in 2018.
STRATEGY REVIEW
Our studies of historical performance show us that, over the long term, wealth creation is concentrated among a handful of companies. This is true for both the broader market indices and the fund. We examined this through two prisms: the returns from our holdings based on duration of ownership and the success of our 20 largest contributors over the last five years. Since 2010, the fund’s top contributors are those that benefited from compounding, as our analysis shows that 106% of outperformance (alpha) versus the Russell 2000 Growth Index can be attributed to companies owned in the public market for more than five years. In contrast, these companies represent just 10% of the fund’s aggregate number of investments since 2010. This demonstrates the importance of time and concentration to our performance.
In recent years, we began to study an elite group of these compounders, across the universe of small-cap, publicly traded companies since 1996. We found that small-cap compounders—U.S.-listed companies that began with $1 billion to $6 billion market capitalization and subsequently generated a 20% total return compound annual growth rate (CAGR) over a 10-year period—are rare and extremely valuable to returns over time. Since 1996, there have been 463 instances where small-cap companies passed the 10-year return hurdle to be designated as a compounder. The median number of small-cap compounders was 28 per year, or 2.4% of eligible companies during the 10-year period.
The data also show that, on average, an annual cohort of small-cap compounders contributed nearly 35% of the total market appreciation over the 10-year period. Said differently, compounders were nearly 15 times more impactful to the market’s returns than the number of companies would imply on its own. Using a specific example, the 1996 cohort included 56 companies that achieved 20% total return compound annual growth rate (CAGR) over the 10-year period from December 31, 1995, to December 31, 2005. These 56 compounders represented 6% of U.S.-listed companies with $1 billion to $6 billion market cap, but they contributed 40% of the total market cap appreciation for the entire group over the 10-year period. This data reaffirmed our views that small-cap compounders are rare—historically 1 in 40 companies achieved the feat—and the stakes are very high for investors. This reminds us that, as growth investors, we need to grow our roses and cut our weeds.
When we looked at this data for the New Horizons Fund, we examined the top 20 contributors and detractors to the fund’s outperformance versus the Russell 2000 Growth Index benchmark over the past five years (as our current team does not yet have a 10-year track record). Of the top 20 contributors, we found that 16 successfully generated at least a 20% total return CAGR over the fund’s holding period and are currently on track to become compounders as of the end of the reporting period. Looking at the fund’s corresponding top 20 detractors, we found that their impact on the fund was less than half of the positive contributors. We need to remember that as equity investors in small companies, our returns are driven disproportionately by our contributors.We will continue to track and disclose these metrics for shareholders going forward.
We also studied how our private holdings have performed with the lens of sourcing additional compounders. As discussed previously, private investing is an extension of our investment process as we similarly seek to invest in companies that have the potential to become much larger. We tested this hypothesis by analyzing the number of companies that would be on track to become compounders, or 6.2 times larger, since our initial investment in the company. This does not represent the fund’s realized return on the investment but rather is an illustration of how the private market has impacted our ability to invest in companies that can become much larger.
We note that nine of our private investments increased by more than 6.2 times our initial investment. Of these, six companies are still held in the fund today, and five of those are publicly traded as of December 31, 2018. We believe that this represents an attractive risk-adjusted return for our shareholders over time and that by learning about these companies early and knowing the leadership teams that helped build them, we have developed a greater appreciation for their durability. In short, we believe the private market increases the opportunity set from which future compounders emerge.
PORTFOLIO REVIEW
The cloud-based commerce platformShopifywas a top contributor to the fund’s performance during 2018. We believe Shopify has the potential to be a much bigger company because of its strong product and technology culture;early-mover advantage in a market where scale is increasingly advantageous; and strong founder-led culture of innovation and customer focus. Our thesis is that Shopify’s topline growth is more durable than the market appreciates given the platform’s dominant market share among small merchants and the monetization opportunities available over time. We believe the company is in the early innings of realizing the full potential from its open-architecture platform that allows merchants to build and scale a business. Over time, we expect Shopify to demonstrate robust sales growth through subscription revenue and ancillary services, such as payments, marketing, shipping, and lending. We believe thecurrent valuation does not reflect the strategic importance of this building block platform. (Please refer to the fund’s portfolio of investments for a complete list of holdings and the amount each represents in the portfolio.)
StoneCothe Brazilian financial technology provider, was a top contributor to the fund’s relative performance during the reporting period. The fund first invested in Stone as a private company in 2015. Since then, the fund has invested more capital in every successive round, including buying shares in the IPO last October. We believe Stone can be a powerful early-stage growth company and eventually become a much larger business. In 2017, Brazilian credit card usage grew 11% despite a recession, and credit card penetration reached 29% of total transactions compared with 50% in the U.S. market. Stone is positioned to benefit from this secular growth by gaining share from three legacy incumbents that represented 100% of the market in 2010. Stone has already reached 6% market share since its founding in 2014, and we believe it will continue to rapidly gain share for years to come.
Vail Resortswas a detractor from the fund’s performance over the past year. Much of the controversy around the stock was the company’s report of 2018 season pass growth of 8% to 925,000 units compared with the market’s expectation for an additional 1% to 2% more, or roughly 20,000 season passes. We believe much of the weakness was the result of historically bad weather out West that affected the usage of the season pass, especially in the Tahoe region. The second reason was that a rival introduced a competitive season pass that attracted local skiers. However, we believe Vail is unique because of its national network of resorts that attracts destination season pass holders, not just local skiers. Ultimately, for any durable company, there are times when the competitive moat gets tested. While the market’s fear of competition is setting in, we believe Vail is well positioned to sustain double-digit growth because of the value of its network. Vail remained the fund’s largest position at the end of the period.
The real estate brokerageRedfinwas another detractor from the fund’s performance during 2018 because the residential real estate market was unexpectedly weak throughout 2018 as industry trends declined in the second half of the year. This was particularly true for higher-priced West Coast markets where Redfin generates a large percentage of its business and has its highest market share. Also, despite housing market weakness, Redfin announced that it would increase marketing spending on television ads by roughly $40 million in 2019, which would delay its path to profitability until 2021. In conjunction with the softening housing market and uncertain outlook for 2019, investors viewed the additional investment as defensive. We believe it is helpful to take a step back and evaluate these data points within the context of our investment thesis. On balance, 2018 was a good year for Redfin, as the company increased its real estate transactions in the mid-20% range despite a flat U.S. housing market. We believe that Redfin has a competitive advantage because its marketing and workflow tools enable agents to operate a successful business. The data show that Redfin agents are three times more productive than non-Redfin agents because of technology advantages that allow Redfin agents to spend more time focused on customers. Redfin can pass through some of these efficiencies to customers in the form of lower sales commissions. These factors drive scale as more customers and agents move to the platform for better prices, improved efficiency, and, ultimately, a better home-buying experience. We remain optimistic that Redfin will accelerate growth and market share gains through its advertising investments in 2019 and beyond.
While the fund is primarily a cash manager, it occasionally uses derivatives for hedging purposes. During the period the use of derivatives detracted from performance.
The views expressed reflect the opinions of T. Rowe Price as of the date of this report and are subject to change based on changes in market, economic, or other conditions. These views are not intended to be a forecast of future events and are no guarantee of future results.
OUTLOOK
The price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of the fund’s holdings at the end of December 2018 was 34.6, which was down from 36.2 as of December 31, 2017. Small-cap growth valuations are still modestly elevated relative to large-caps, however. For example, the fund’s P/E ratio relative to the same measure for the S&P 500 Index on expected 12-month forward earnings was 2.33 at the end of December, up from 2.00 at the end of 2017.
This suggests that it will be important to invest in companies that can pull away from the pack, capitalize on change, and create an environment in which their employees benefit from stability and higher productivity. We believe that companies that can demonstrate excellence in these key areas will be distinguished as winning companies over the next 10 years. In addition, investors who are able to identify and own these companies over the long term will be rewarded. As we detailed before, we view our team as uniquely positioned to invest in the next generation of market leaders.
Thank you for investing with T. Rowe Price.
Respectfully submitted,
Henry Ellenbogen
President of the fund and chairman of its Investment Advisory Committee
February 5, 2019
The committee chairman has day-to-day responsibility for managing the portfolio and works with committee members in developing and executing the fund’s investment program.
RISKS OF INVESTING
As with all stock and bond mutual funds, each fund’s share price can fall because of weakness in the stock or bond markets, a particular industry, or specific holdings. Stock markets can decline for many reasons, including adverse political or economic developments, changes in investor psychology, or heavy institutional selling. The prospects for an industry or company may deteriorate because of a variety of factors, including disappointing earnings or changes in the competitive environment. In addition, the investment manager’s assessment of companies held in a fund may prove incorrect, resulting in losses or poor performance even in rising markets.
Investing in small companies involves greater risk than is customarily associated with larger companies. Stocks of small companies are subject to more abrupt or erratic price movements than larger-company stocks. Small companies often have limited product lines, markets, or financial resources, and their managements may lack depth and experience. Such companies seldom pay significant dividends that could cushion returns in a falling market.
GLOSSARY
Alpha:Excess return above that of the benchmark.
Initial public offering (IPO):The first sale of stock to the public by a formerly private company.
Lipper indexes:Fund benchmarks that consist of a small number (10 to 30) of the largest mutual funds in a particular category as tracked by Lipper Inc.
Price/book ratio:A valuation measure that compares a stock’s market price with its book value, i.e., the company’s net worth divided by the number of outstanding shares.
Price/earnings (P/E) ratio:A valuation measure calculated by dividing the price of a stock by its current or projected earnings per share. The ratio is a measure of how much investors are willing to pay for the company’s earnings.
Russell 2000 Growth Index:An index that tracks the performance of small-cap stocks with higher price-to-book ratios and higher forecast growth values.
Russell 2000 Index:An unmanaged index that tracks the stocks of 2,000 small U.S. companies.
Russell 2000 Value Index:An index that tracks the performance of small-cap stocks with lower price-to-book ratios and lower forecast growth values.
S&P 500 Index:An unmanaged index that tracks the stocks of 500 primarily large-cap U.S. companies.
Note: Frank Russell Company (Russell) is the source and owner of the Russell index data contained or reflected in these materials and all trademarks andcopyrights related thereto. Russell® is a registered trademark of Russell. Russellis not responsible for the formatting or configuration of these materials or for any inaccuracy in T. Rowe Price Associates’ presentation thereof.
GROWTH OF $10,000
This chart shows the value of a hypothetical $10,000 investment in the fund over the past 10 fiscal year periods or since inception (for funds lacking 10-year records). The result is compared with benchmarks, which include a broad-based market index and may also include a peer group average or index. Market indexes do not include expenses, which are deducted from fund returns as well as mutual fund averages and indexes.
AVERAGE ANNUAL COMPOUND TOTAL RETURN
EXPENSE RATIO
FUND EXPENSE EXAMPLE
As a mutual fund shareholder, you may incur two types of costs: (1) transaction costs, such as redemption fees or sales loads, and (2) ongoing costs, including management fees, distribution and service (12b-1) fees, and other fund expenses. The following example is intended to help you 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. The example is based on an investment of $1,000 invested at the beginning of the most recent six-month period and held for the entire period.
Please note that the fund has two share classes: The original share class (Investor Class) charges no distribution and service (12b-1) fee, and the I Class shares are also available to institutionally oriented clients and impose no 12b-1 or administrative fee payment. Each share class is presented separately in the table.
Actual Expenses
The first line of the following table (Actual) provides information about actual account values and expenses based on the fund’s actual returns. You may use the information on this line, together with your account balance, to estimate the expenses that you paid 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 on the first line under the heading “Expenses Paid During Period” to estimate the expenses you paid on your account during this period.
Hypothetical Example for Comparison Purposes
The information on the second line of the table (Hypothetical) is based on hypothetical account values and expenses derived from the fund’s actual expense ratio and an assumed 5% per year rate of return before expenses (not the fund’s actual return). You may compare the ongoing costs of investing in the fund with other funds by contrasting this 5% hypothetical example and the 5% hypothetical examples that appear in the shareholder reports of the other funds. The hypothetical account values and expenses may not be used to estimate the actual ending account balance or expenses you paid for the period.
Note:T. Rowe Price charges an annual account service fee of $20, generally for accounts with less than $10,000. The fee is waived for any investor whose T. Rowe Price mutual fund accounts total $50,000 or more; accounts electing to receive electronic delivery of account statements, transaction confirmations, prospectuses, and shareholder reports; or accounts of an investor who is a T. Rowe Price Personal Services or Enhanced Personal Services client (enrollment in these programs generally requires T. Rowe Price assets of at least $250,000). This fee is not included in the accompanying table. If you are subject to the fee, keep it in mind when you are estimating the ongoing expenses of investing in the fund and when comparing the expenses of this fund with other funds.
You should also be aware that the expenses shown in the table highlight only your ongoing costs and do not reflect any transaction costs, such as redemption fees or sales loads. Therefore, the second line of the table is useful in comparing ongoing costs only and will not help you determine the relative total costs of owning different funds. To the extent a fund charges transaction costs, however, the total cost of owning that fund is higher.
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.
| NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS |
T. Rowe Price New Horizons Fund, Inc. (the fund) is registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940 (the 1940 Act) as a diversified, open-end management investment company. The fund seeks long-term capital growth by investing primarily in common stocks of small, rapidly growing companies. The fund has two classes of shares: the New Horizons Fund (Investor Class) and the New Horizons Fund–I Class (I Class).I Class shares generally are available only to investors meeting a $1,000,000 minimum investment, although the minimum is generally waived for certain client accounts. Each class has exclusive voting rights on matters related solely to that class; separate voting rights on matters that relate to both classes; and, in all other respects, the same rights and obligations as the other class.
NOTE 1 - SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES
Basis of PreparationThe fund is an investment company and follows accounting and reporting guidance in the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB)Accounting Standards CodificationTopic 946 (ASC 946). The accompanying financial statements were prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (GAAP), including, but not limited to, ASC 946. GAAP requires the use of estimates made by management. Management believes that estimates and valuations are appropriate; however, actual results may differ from those estimates, and the valuations reflected in the accompanying financial statements may differ from the value ultimately realized upon sale or maturity. Certain ratios in the accompanying Financial Highlights have been included to conform to the current year presentation.
Investment Transactions, Investment Income, and DistributionsInvestment transactions are accounted for on the trade date basis. Income and expenses are recorded on the accrual basis. Realized gains and losses are reported on the identified cost basis. Premiums and discounts on debt securities are amortized for financial reporting purposes. Income tax-related interest and penalties, if incurred, are recorded as income tax expense. Dividends received from mutual fund investments are reflected as dividend income; capital gain distributions are reflected as realized gain/loss. Dividend income and capital gain distributions are recorded on the ex-dividend date. Distributions to shareholders are recorded on the ex-dividend date. Income distributions, if any, are declared and paid by each class annually. A capital gain distribution may also be declared and paid by the fund annually.
Currency TranslationAssets, including investments, and liabilities denominated in foreign currencies are translated into U.S. dollar values each day at the prevailing exchange rate, using the mean of the bid and asked prices of such currencies against U.S. dollars as quoted by a major bank. Purchases and sales of securities, income, and expenses are translated into U.S. dollars at the prevailing exchange rate on the respective date of such transaction. The effect of changes in foreign currency exchange rates on realized and unrealized security gains and losses is not bifurcated from the portion attributable to changes in market prices.
Class AccountingShareholder servicing, prospectus, and shareholder report expenses incurred by each class are charged directly to the class to which they relate. Expenses common to both classes, investment income, and realized and unrealized gains and losses are allocated to the classes based upon the relative daily net assets of each class. To the extent any expenses are waived or reimbursed in accordance with an expense limitation (see Note 6), the waiver or reimbursement is charged to the applicable class or allocated across the classes in the same manner as the related expense.
In-Kind RedemptionsIn accordance with guidelines described in the fund’s prospectus, and when considered to be in the best interest of all shareholders, the fund may distribute portfolio securities rather than cash as payment for a redemption of fund shares (in-kind redemption). Gains and losses realized on in-kind redemptions are not recognized for tax purposes and are reclassified from undistributed realized gain (loss) to paid-in capital. During the year ended December 31, 2018, the fund realized $181,686,000 of net gain on $332,686,000 of in-kind redemptions.
New Accounting GuidanceIn March 2017, the FASB issued amended guidance to shorten the amortization period for certain callable debt securities held at a premium. The guidance is effective for fiscal years and interim periods beginning after December 15, 2018. Adoption will have no effect on the fund’s net assets or results of operations.
IndemnificationIn the normal course of business, the fund may provide indemnification in connection with its officers and directors, service providers, and/or private company investments. The fund’s maximum exposure under these arrangements is unknown; however, the risk of material loss is currently considered to be remote.
NOTE 2 - VALUATION
The fund’s financial instruments are valued and each class’s net asset value (NAV) per share is computed at the close of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), normally 4 p.m. ET, each day the NYSE is open for business. However, the NAV per share may be calculated at a time other than the normal close of the NYSE if trading on the NYSE is restricted, if the NYSE closes earlier, or as may be permitted by the SEC.
Fair ValueThe fund’s financial instruments are reported at fair value, which GAAP defines as the price that would be received to sell an asset or paid to transfer a liability in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement date. The T. Rowe Price Valuation Committee (the Valuation Committee) is an internal committee that has been delegated certain responsibilities by the fund’s Board of Directors (the Board) to ensure that financial instruments are appropriately priced at fair value in accordance with GAAP and the 1940 Act. Subject to oversight by the Board, the Valuation Committee develops and oversees pricing-related policies and procedures and approves all fair value determinations. Specifically, the Valuation Committee establishes procedures to value securities; determines pricing techniques, sources, and persons eligible to effect fair value pricing actions; oversees the selection, services, and performance of pricing vendors; oversees valuation-related business continuity practices; and provides guidance on internal controls and valuation-related matters. The Valuation Committee reports to the Board and has representation from legal, portfolio management and trading, operations, risk management, and the fund’s treasurer.
Various valuation techniques and inputs are used to determine the fair value of financial instruments. GAAP establishes the following fair value hierarchy that categorizes the inputs used to measure fair value:
Level 1 – quoted prices (unadjusted) in active markets for identical financial instruments that the fund can access at the reporting date
Level 2 – inputs other than Level 1 quoted prices that are observable, either directly or indirectly (including, but not limited to, quoted prices for similar financial instruments in active markets, quoted prices for identical or similar financial instruments in inactive markets, interest rates and yield curves, implied volatilities, and credit spreads)
Level 3 – unobservable inputs
Observable inputs are developed using market data, such as publicly available information about actual events or transactions, and reflect the assumptions that market participants would use to price the financial instrument. Unobservable inputs are those for which market data are not available and are developed using the best information available aboutthe assumptions that market participants would use to price the financial instrument. GAAP requires valuation techniques to maximize the use of relevant observable inputs and minimize the use of unobservable inputs. When multiple inputs are used to derive fair value, the financial instrument is assigned to the level within the fair value hierarchy based on the lowest-level input that is significant to the fair value of the financial instrument. Input levels are not necessarily an indication of the risk or liquidity associated with financial instruments at that level but rather the degree of judgment used in determining those values.
Valuation TechniquesEquity securities listed or regularly traded on a securities exchange or in the over-the-counter (OTC) market are valued at the last quoted sale price or, for certain markets, the official closing price at the time the valuations are made. OTC Bulletin Board securities are valued at the mean of the closing bid and asked prices. A security that is listed or traded on more than one exchange is valued at the quotation on the exchange determined to be the primary market for such security. Listed securities not traded on a particular day are valued at the mean of the closing bid and asked prices for domestic securities and the last quoted sale or closing price for international securities.
For valuation purposes, the last quoted prices of non-U.S. equity securities may be adjusted to reflect the fair value of such securities at the close of the NYSE. If the fund determines that developments between the close of a foreign market and the close of the NYSE will affect the value of some or all of its portfolio securities, the fund will adjust the previous quoted prices to reflect what it believes to be the fair value of the securities as of the close of the NYSE. In deciding whether it is necessary to adjust quoted prices to reflect fair value, the fund reviews a variety of factors, including developments in foreign markets, the performance of U.S. securities markets, and the performance of instruments trading in U.S. markets that represent foreign securities and baskets of foreign securities. The fund may also fair value securities in other situations, such as when a particular foreign market is closed but the fund is open. The fund uses outside pricing services to provide it with quoted prices and information to evaluate or adjust those prices. The fund cannot predict how often it will use quoted prices and how often it will determine it necessary to adjust those prices to reflect fair value. As a means of evaluating its security valuation process, the fund routinely compares quoted prices, the next day’s opening prices in the same markets, and adjusted prices.
Actively traded equity securities listed on a domestic exchange generally are categorized in Level 1 of the fair value hierarchy. Non-U.S. equity securities generally are categorized in Level 2 of the fair value hierarchy despite the availability of quoted prices because, as described above, the fund evaluates and determines whether those quoted prices reflectfair value at the close of the NYSE or require adjustment. OTC Bulletin Board securities, certain preferred securities, and equity securities traded in inactive markets generally are categorized in Level 2 of the fair value hierarchy.
Debt securities generally are traded in the OTC market and are valued at prices furnished by dealers who make markets in such securities or by an independent pricing service, which considers the yield or price of bonds of comparable quality, coupon, maturity, and type, as well as prices quoted by dealers who make markets in such securities. Generally, debt securities are categorized in Level 2 of the fair value hierarchy; however, to the extent the valuations include significant unobservable inputs, the securities would be categorized in Level 3.
Investments in mutual funds are valued at the mutual fund’s closing NAV per share on the day of valuation and are categorized in Level 1 of the fair value hierarchy. Assets and liabilities other than financial instruments, including short-term receivables and payables, are carried at cost, or estimated realizable value, if less, which approximates fair value.
Thinly traded financial instruments and those for which the above valuation procedures are inappropriate or are deemed not to reflect fair value are stated at fair value as determined in good faith by the Valuation Committee. The objective of any fair value pricing determination is to arrive at a price that could reasonably be expected from a current sale. Financial instruments fair valued by the Valuation Committee are primarily private placements, restricted securities, warrants, rights, and other securities that are not publicly traded.
Subject to oversight by the Board, the Valuation Committee regularly makes good faith judgments to establish and adjust the fair valuations of certain securities as events occur and circumstances warrant. For instance, in determining the fair value of an equity investment with limited market activity, such as a private placement or a thinly traded public company stock, the Valuation Committee considers a variety of factors, which may include, but are not limited to, the issuer’s business prospects, its financial standing and performance, recent investment transactions in the issuer, new rounds of financing, negotiated transactions of significant size between other investors in the company, relevant market valuations of peer companies, strategic events affecting the company, market liquidity for the issuer, and general economic conditions and events. In consultation with the investment and pricing teams, the Valuation Committee will determine an appropriate valuation technique based on available information, which may include both observable and unobservable inputs. The Valuation Committee typically will afford greatest weight to actual prices in arm’s length transactions, to the extent they represent orderly transactions between market participants; transaction information can be reliably obtained, and prices are deemed representative of fair value. However, theValuation Committee may also consider other valuation methods such as market-based valuation multiples; a discount or premium from market value of a similar, freely traded security of the same issuer; or some combination. Fair value determinations are reviewed on a regular basis and updated as information becomes available, including actual purchase and sale transactions of the issue. Because any fair value determination involves a significant amount of judgment, there is a degree of subjectivity inherent in such pricing decisions, and fair value prices determined by the Valuation Committee could differ from those of other market participants. Depending on the relative significance of unobservable inputs, including the valuation technique(s) used, fair valued securities may be categorized in Level 2 or 3 of the fair value hierarchy.
Valuation InputsThe following table summarizes the fund’s financial instruments, based on the inputs used to determine their fair values on December 31, 2018 (for further detail by category, please refer to the accompanying Portfolio of Investments):
There were no material transfers between Levels 1 and 2 during the year ended December 31, 2018.
Following is a reconciliation of the fund’s Level 3 holdings for the year ended December 31, 2018. Gain (loss) reflects both realized and change in unrealized gain/loss on Level 3 holdings during the period, if any, and is included on the accompanying Statement of Operations. The change in unrealized gain/loss on Level 3 instruments held at December 31, 2018, totaled $186,426,000 for the year endedDecember 31, 2018. Transfers into and out of Level 3 are reflected at the value of the financial instrument at the beginning of the period. During the year, transfers out of Level 3 were because observable market data became available for the security.
In accordance with GAAP, the following table provides quantitative information about significant unobservable inputs used to determine the fair valuations of the fund’s Level 3 assets, by class of financial instrument; it also indicates the sensitivity of the Level 3 valuations to changes in those significant unobservable inputs. Because the Valuation Committee considers a wide variety of factors and inputs, both observable and unobservable, in determining fair values, the unobservable inputs presented do not reflect all inputs significant to the fair value determination.
NOTE 3 - DERIVATIVE INSTRUMENTS
During the year ended December 31, 2018, the fund invested in derivative instruments. As defined by GAAP, a derivative is a financial instrument whose value is derived from an underlying security price, foreign exchange rate, interest rate, index of prices or rates, or other variable; it requires little or no initial investment and permits or requires net settlement. The fund invests in derivatives only if the expected risks and rewards are consistent with its investment objectives, policies, and overall risk profile, as described in its prospectus and Statement of Additional Information. The fund may use derivatives for a variety of purposes, such as seeking to hedge against declines in principal value, increase yield, invest in an asset with greater efficiency and at a lower cost than is possible through direct investment, to enhance return, or to adjust credit exposure. The risks associated with the use of derivatives are different from, and potentially much greater than, the risks associated with investing directly in the instruments on which the derivatives are based. The fund at all times maintains sufficient cash reserves, liquid assets, or other SEC-permitted asset types to cover its settlement obligations under open derivative contracts.
The fund values its derivatives at fair value and recognizes changes in fair value currently in its results of operations. Accordingly, the fund does not follow hedge accounting, even for derivatives employed as economic hedges. Generally, the fund accounts for its derivatives on a gross basis. It does not offset the fair value of derivative liabilities against the fair value of derivative assets on its financial statements, nor does it offset the fair value of derivative instruments against the right to reclaim or obligation to return collateral. As of December 31, 2018, the fund held no derivative instruments.
Additionally, during the year ended December 31, 2018, the fund recognized $96,616,000 of loss on equity derivatives, included in realized gain (loss) on Futures on the accompanying Statement of Operations.
Futures ContractsThe fund is subject to equity price risk in the normal course of pursuing its investment objectives and uses futures contracts to help manage such risk. The fund may enter into futures contracts to manage exposure to interest rates, security prices, foreign currencies, and credit quality; as an efficient means of adjusting exposure to all or part of a target market; to enhance income; as a cash management tool; or to adjust credit exposure. A futures contract provides for the future sale by one party and purchase by another of a specified amount of a specific underlying financial instrument at an agreed upon price, date, time, and place. The fund currently invests only in exchange-traded futures, which generally are standardized as to maturity date, underlying financial instrument, and other contract terms. Payments are made or received by the fund each day to settle daily fluctuations in the value of the contract (variation margin), which reflect changes in the value of the underlying financial instrument. Variation margin is recorded as unrealized gain or loss until the contract is closed. The value of a futures contract included in net assets is the amount of unsettled variation margin; net variation margin receivable is reflected as an asset and net variation margin payable is reflected as a liability on the accompanying Statement of Assets and Liabilities. Risks related to the use of futures contracts include possible illiquidity of the futures markets, contract prices that can be highly volatile and imperfectly correlated to movements in hedged security values, and potential losses in excess of the fund’s initial investment. During the year ended December 31, 2018, the volume of the fund’s activity in futures, based on underlying notional amounts, was generally between 0% and 5% of net assets.
NOTE 4 - OTHER INVESTMENT TRANSACTIONS
Consistent with its investment objective, the fund engages in the following practices to manage exposure to certain risks and/or to enhance performance. The investment objective, policies, program, and risk factors of the fund are described more fully in the fund’s prospectus and Statement of Additional Information.
Restricted SecuritiesThe fund may invest in securities that are subject to legal or contractual restrictions on resale. Prompt sale of such securities at an acceptable price may be difficult and may involve substantial delays and additional costs.
Bank LoansThe fund may invest in bank loans, which represent an interest in amounts owed by a borrower to a syndicate of lenders. Bank loans are generally noninvestment grade and often involve borrowers whose financial condition is highly leveraged. Bank loans may be in the form of either assignments or participations. A loan assignment transfers all legal, beneficial, and economic rights to the buyer, and transfer typically requires consent of both the borrower and agent. In contrast, a loan participation generally entitles the buyer to receive the cash flows from principal, interest, and any fee payments on a portion of a loan; however, the seller continues to hold legal title to that portion of the loan. As a result, the buyer of a loan participation generally has no direct recourse against the borrower and is exposed to credit risk of both the borrower and seller of the participation. Bank loans often have extended settlement periods, generally may be repaid at any time at the option of the borrower, and may require additional principal to be funded at the borrowers’ discretion at a later date (e.g. unfunded commitments and revolving debt instruments). Until settlement, the fund maintains liquid assets sufficient to settle its unfunded loan commitments. The fund reflects both the funded portion of a bank loan as well as its unfunded commitment in the Portfolio of Investments. However, if a credit agreement provides no initial funding of a tranche and funding of the full commitment at a future date(s) is at the borrower’s discretion and considered uncertain, a loan is reflected in the Portfolio of Investments only if, and only to the extent that, the fund has actually settled a funding commitment.
OtherPurchases and sales of portfolio securities other than short-term securities aggregated $9,195,848,000 and $9,462,681,000, respectively, for the year ended December 31, 2018.
NOTE 5 - FEDERAL INCOME TAXES
No provision for federal income taxes is required since the fund intends to continue to qualify as a regulated investment company under Subchapter M of the Internal Revenue Code and distribute to shareholders all of its taxable income and gains. Distributions determined in accordance with federal income tax regulations may differ in amount or character from net investment income and realized gains for financial reporting purposes. Financial reporting records are adjusted for permanent book/tax differences to reflect tax character but are not adjusted for temporary differences.
The fund files U.S. federal, state, and local tax returns as required. The fund’s tax returns are subject to examination by the relevant tax authorities until expiration of the applicable statute of limitations, which is generally three years after the filing of the tax return but which can be extended to six years in certain circumstances. Tax returns for open years have incorporated no uncertain tax positions that require a provision for income taxes.
Reclassifications to paid-in capital relate primarily to redemptions in kind and a tax practice that treats a portion of the proceeds from each redemption of capital shares as a distribution of taxable net investment income or realized capital gain. For the year ended December 31, 2018, the following reclassifications were recorded to reflect tax character (there was no impact on results of operations or net assets):
Distributions during the years ended December 31, 2018 and December 31, 2017, were characterized for tax purposes as follows:
At December 31, 2018, the tax-basis cost of investments and components of net assets were as follows:
The difference between book-basis and tax-basis net unrealized appreciation (depreciation) is attributable to the deferral of losses from wash sales and the realization of gains/losses on passive foreign investment companies for tax purposes. The fund intends to retain realized gains to the extent of available capital loss carryforwards. Net realized capital losses may be carried forward indefinitely to offset future realized capital gains. All or a portion of the capital loss carryforwards may be from losses realized between November 1 and the fund’s fiscal year-end, which are deferred for tax purposes until the subsequent year but recognized for financial reporting purposes in the year realized. In accordance with federal tax laws applicable to investment companies, net specified losses realized between November 1 and December 31 are not recognized for tax purposes until the subsequent year (late-year ordinary loss deferrals); however, such losses are recognized for financial reporting purposes in the year realized.
NOTE 6 - RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS
The fund is managed by T. Rowe Price Associates, Inc. (Price Associates), a wholly owned subsidiary of T. Rowe Price Group, Inc. (Price Group). The investment management agreement between the fund and Price Associates provides for an annual investment management fee, which is computed daily and paid monthly. The fee consists of an individual fund fee, equal to 0.35% of the fund’s average daily net assets, and a groupfee. The group fee rate is calculated based on the combined net assets of certain mutual funds sponsored by Price Associates (the group) applied to a graduated fee schedule, with rates ranging from 0.48% for the first $1 billion of assets to 0.265% for assets in excess of $650 billion. The fund’s group fee is determined by applying the group fee rate to the fund’s average daily net assets. At December 31, 2018, the effective annual group fee rate was 0.29%.
The I Class is subject to an operating expense limitation (I Class limit) pursuant to which Price Associates is contractually required to pay all operating expenses of the I Class, excluding management fees, interest, expenses related to borrowings, taxes, brokerage, and other non-recurring expenses permitted by the investment management agreement, to the extent such operating expenses, on an annualized basis, exceed the I Class limit. This agreement will continue through the limitation date indicated in the table below, and may be renewed, revised, or revoked only with approval of the fund’s Board. The I Class is required to repay Price Associates for expenses previously paid to the extent the class’s net assets grow or expenses decline sufficiently to allow repayment without causing the class’s operating expenses (after the repayment is taken into account) to exceed both: (1) the I Class limit in place at the time such amounts were paid; and (2) the current I Class limit. However, no repayment will be made more than three years after the date of a payment or waiver.
In addition, the fund has entered into service agreements with Price Associates and two wholly owned subsidiaries of Price Associates, each an affiliate of the fund (collectively, Price). Price Associates provides certain accounting and administrative services to the fund. T. Rowe Price Services, Inc. provides shareholder and administrative services in its capacity as the fund’s transfer and dividend-disbursing agent. T. Rowe Price Retirement Plan Services, Inc. provides subaccounting and recordkeeping services for certain retirement accounts invested in the Investor Class. For the year ended December 31, 2018, expenses incurred pursuant to these service agreements were $79,000 for Price Associates; $2,936,000 for T. Rowe Price Services, Inc.; and $4,085,000 for T. Rowe Price Retirement Plan Services, Inc. All amounts due to and due from Price, exclusive of investment management fees payable, are presented net on the accompanying Statement of Assets and Liabilities.
Additionally, the fund is one of several mutual funds in which certain college savings plans managed by Price Associates may invest. As approved by the fund’s Board of Directors, shareholder servicing costs associated with each college savings plan are borne by the fund in proportion to the average daily value of its shares owned by the college savings plan. For the year ended December 31, 2018, the fund was charged $139,000 for shareholder servicing costs related to the college savings plans, of which $82,000 was for services provided by Price. All amounts due to and due from Price, exclusive of investment management fees payable, are presented net on the Statement of Assets and Liabilities. At December 31, 2018, less than 1% of the outstanding shares of the Investor Class were held by college savings plans.
The fund is also one of several mutual funds sponsored by Price Associates (underlying Price Funds) in which the T. Rowe Price Spectrum Funds (Spectrum Funds) and T. Rowe Price Retirement Funds (Retirement Funds) may invest. None of the Spectrum Funds or Retirement Funds invest in the underlying Price Funds for the purpose of exercising management or control. Pursuant to special servicing agreements, expenses associated with the operation of the Spectrum Funds and Retirement Funds are borne by each underlying Price Fund to the extent of estimated savings to it and in proportion to the average daily value of its shares owned by the Spectrum Funds and Retirement Funds. Expenses allocated under these special servicing agreements are reflected as shareholder servicing expense in the accompanying financial statements. For the year ended December 31, 2018, the fund was allocated $136,000 of Spectrum Funds’ expenses and $4,483,000 of Retirement Funds’ expenses. Of these amounts, $1,506,000 related to services provided by Price. All amounts due to and due from Price, exclusive of investment management fees payable, are presented net on the accompanying Statement of Assets and Liabilities. At December 31, 2018, approximately 15% of the outstanding shares of the Investor Class were held by the Spectrum Funds and Retirement Funds.
In addition, other mutual funds, trusts, and other accounts managed by Price Associates or its affiliates (collectively, Price Funds and accounts) may invest in the fund and are not subject to the special servicing agreements disclosed above. No Price fund or account may invest for the purpose of exercising management or control over the fund. At December 31, 2018, approximately 11% of the I Class’s outstanding shares were held by Price Funds and accounts.
The fund may invest its cash reserves in certain open-end management investment companies managed by Price Associates and considered affiliates of the fund: the T. Rowe Price Government Reserve Fund or the T. Rowe Price Treasury Reserve Fund, organized as money market funds, or the T. Rowe Price Short-Term Fund, a short-term bond fund(collectively, the Price Reserve Funds). The Price Reserve Funds are offered as short-term investment options to mutual funds, trusts, and other accounts managed by Price Associates or its affiliates and are not available for direct purchase by members of the public. Cash collateral from securities lending is invested in the T. Rowe Price Short-Term Fund. The Price Reserve Funds pay no investment management fees.
The fund may participate in securities purchase and sale transactions with other funds or accounts advised by Price Associates (cross trades), in accordance with procedures adopted by the fund’s Board and Securities and Exchange Commission rules, which require, among other things, that such purchase and sale cross trades be effected at the independent current market price of the security. During the year ended December 31, 2018, the aggregate value of purchases and sales cross trades with other funds or accounts advised by Price Associates was less than 1% of the fund’s net assets as of December 31, 2018.
REPORT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM
To the Board of Directors and Shareholders of
T. Rowe Price New Horizons Fund, Inc.
Opinion on the Financial Statements
We have audited the accompanying statement of assets and liabilities, including the portfolio of investments, of T. Rowe Price New Horizons Fund, Inc. (the “Fund”) as of December 31, 2018, the related statement of operations for the year ended December 31, 2018, the statement of changes in net assets for each of the two years in the period ended December 31, 2018, including the related notes, and the financial highlights for each of the periods indicated therein (collectively referred to as the “financial statements”). In our opinion, the financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the Fund as of December 31, 2018, the results of its operations for the year then ended, the changes in its net assets for each of the two years in the period ended December 31, 2018 and the financial highlights for each of the periods indicated therein, in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America.
Basis for Opinion
These financial statements are the responsibility of the Fund’s management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on the Fund’s financial statements based on our audits. We are a public accounting firm registered with the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) (PCAOB) and are required to be independent with respect to the Fund in accordance with the U.S. federal securities laws and the applicable rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the PCAOB.
We conducted our audits of these financial statements in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement, whether due to error or fraud.
Our audits included performing procedures to assess the risks of material misstatement of the financial statements, whether due to error or fraud, and performing procedures that respond to those risks. Such procedures included examining, on a test basis, evidence regarding the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. Our audits also included evaluating the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall presentation of the financial statements. Our procedures included confirmation of securities owned as of December 31, 2018 by correspondence with the custodians, transfer agent and brokers; when replies were not received from brokers, we performed other auditing procedures. We believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinion.
PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP
Baltimore, Maryland
February 15, 2019
We have served as the auditor of one or more investment companies in the T. Rowe Price group of investment companies since 1973.
TAX INFORMATION (UNAUDITED) FOR THE TAX YEAR ENDED 12/31/18
We are providing this information as required by the Internal Revenue Code. The amounts shown may differ from those elsewhere in this report because of differences between tax and financial reporting requirements.
The fund’s distributions to shareholders included:
| ■ | $352,408,000 from short-term capital gains, |
| ■ | $2,586,761,000 from long-term capital gains, subject to a long-term capital gains tax rate of not greater than 20%. |
For taxable non-corporate shareholders, $110,385,000 of the fund’s income represents qualified dividend income subject to a long-term capital gains tax rate of not greater than 20%.
For corporate shareholders, $97,845,000 of the fund’s income qualifies for the dividends-received deduction.
INFORMATION ON PROXY VOTING POLICIES, PROCEDURES, AND RECORDS
A description of the policies and procedures used by T. Rowe Price funds and portfolios to determine how to vote proxies relating to portfolio securities is available in each fund’s Statement of Additional Information. You may request this document by calling 1-800-225-5132 or by accessing the SEC’s website, sec.gov.
The description of our proxy voting policies and procedures is also available on our corporate website. To access it, please visit the following Web page:
https://www3.troweprice.com/usis/corporate/en/utility/policies.html
Scroll down to the section near the bottom of the page that says, “Proxy Voting Policies.” Click on the Proxy Voting Policies link in the shaded box.
Each fund’s most recent annual proxy voting record is available on our website and through the SEC’s website. To access it through T. Rowe Price, visit the website location shown above, and scroll down to the section near the bottom of the page that says, “Proxy Voting Records.” Click on the Proxy Voting Records link in the shaded box.
HOW TO OBTAIN QUARTERLY PORTFOLIO HOLDINGS
Effective for reporting periods on or after March 1, 2019, the fund files a complete schedule of portfolio holdings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for the first and third quarters of each fiscal year as an exhibit to its reports on Form N-PORT. Prior to March 1, 2019, the fund filed a complete schedule of portfolio holdings with the SEC for the first and third quarters of each fiscal year on Form N-Q. The fund’s Forms N-PORT and N-Q are available electronically on the SEC’s website (sec.gov).
ABOUT THE FUND’S DIRECTORS AND OFFICERS
Your fund is overseen by a Board of Directors (Board) that meets regularly to review a wide variety of matters affecting or potentially affecting the fund, including performance, investment programs, compliance matters, advisory fees and expenses, service providers, and business and regulatory affairs. The Board elects the fund’s officers, who are listed in the final table. At least 75% of the Board’s members are independent of the Boards of T. Rowe Price Associates, Inc. (T. Rowe Price), and its affiliates; “inside” or “interested” directors are employees or officers of T. Rowe Price. The business address of each director and officer is 100 East Pratt Street, Baltimore, Maryland 21202. The Statement of Additional Information includes additional information about the fund directors and is available without charge by calling a T. Rowe Price representative at 1-800-638-5660.
| INDEPENDENT DIRECTORS(a) | ||
| Name (Year of Birth) Year Elected [Number of T. Rowe Price Portfolios Overseen] | Principal Occupation(s) and Directorships of Public Companies and Other Investment Companies During the Past Five Years | |
| Teresa Bryce Bazemore(b) (1959) 2018 [189] | President, Radian Guaranty (2008 to 2017); Member, Bazemore Consulting LLC (2018 to present); Member, Chimera Investment Corporation (2017 to present); Member, Federal Home Loan Bank of Pittsburgh (2017 to present) | |
| Ronald J. Daniels(b) (1959) 2018 [189] | President, The Johns Hopkins University(c)and Professor, Political Science Department, The Johns Hopkins University (2009 to present); Director, Lyndhurst Holdings (2015 to present) | |
| Bruce W. Duncan (1951) 2013 [189] | Chief Executive Officer and Director (January 2009 to December 2016), Chairman of the Board (January 2016 to present), and President (January 2009 to September 2016), First Industrial Realty Trust, an owner and operator of industrial properties; Chairman of the Board (2005 to September 2016) and Director (1999 to September 2016), Starwood Hotels & Resorts, a hotel and leisure company; Director, Boston Properties (May 2016 to present); Director, Marriott International, Inc. (September 2016 to present) | |
| Robert J. Gerrard, Jr. (1952) 2012 [189] | Advisory Board Member, Pipeline Crisis/Winning Strategies, a collaborative working to improve opportunities for young African Americans (1997 to present); Chairman of the Board, all funds (since July 2018) | |
| Paul F. McBride (1956) 2013 [189] | Advisory Board Member, Vizzia Technologies (2015 to present); Board Member, Dunbar Armored (2012 to present) | |
| Cecilia E. Rouse, Ph.D. (1963) 2012 [189] | Dean, Woodrow Wilson School (2012 to present); Professor and Researcher, Princeton University (1992 to present); Member of National Academy of Education (2010 to present); Director, MDRC, a nonprofit education and social policy research organization (2011 to present); Research Associate of Labor Studies Program at the National Bureau of Economic Research (2011 to 2015); Board Member of the National Bureau of Economic Research (2011 to present); Chair of Committee on the Status of Minority Groups in the Economic Profession of the American Economic Association (2012 to 2017); Vice President (2015 to 2016), American Economic Association | |
| John G. Schreiber (1946) 2001 [189] | Owner/President, Centaur Capital Partners, Inc., a real estate investment company (1991 to present); Cofounder, Partner, and Cochairman of the Investment Committee, Blackstone Real Estate Advisors, L.P. (1992 to 2015); Director, General Growth Properties, Inc. (2010 to 2013); Director, Blackstone Mortgage Trust, a real estate finance company (2012 to 2016); Director and Chairman of the Board, Brixmor Property Group, Inc. (2013 to present); Director, Hilton Worldwide (2013 to present); Director, Hudson Pacific Properties (2014 to 2016); Director, Invitation Homes (2014 to present) | |
| Mark R. Tercek (1957) 2009 [189] | President and Chief Executive Officer, The Nature Conservancy (2008 to present) | |
| (a)All information about the independent directors was current as of December 31, 2017, except for the information provided for Ms. Bazemore and Mr. Daniels, which is current as of January 1, 2018. | ||
| (b)Effective January 1, 2018, Ms. Bazemore and Mr. Daniels were elected as independent directors of the Price Funds. | ||
| (c)William J. Stromberg, president and chief executive officer of T. Rowe Price Group, Inc., the parent company of the Price Funds’ investment advisor, has served on the Board of Trustees of Johns Hopkins University since 2014 and is a member of the Johns Hopkins University Board’s Compensation Committee. | ||
| INSIDE DIRECTORS | ||
| Name (Year of Birth) Year Elected* [Number of T. Rowe Price Portfolios Overseen] | Principal Occupation(s) and Directorships of Public Companies and Other Investment Companies During the Past Five Years | |
| Edward C. Bernard** (1956) 2006 [0] | Director and Vice President, T. Rowe Price; Vice Chairman of the Board, Director, and Vice President, T. Rowe Price Group, Inc.; Chairman of the Board, Director, and Vice President, T. Rowe Price Investment Services, Inc., and T. Rowe Price Services, Inc.; Chairman of the Board and Director, T. Rowe Price Retirement Plan Services, Inc.; Chairman of the Board, Chief Executive Officer, Director, and President, T. Rowe Price International and T. Rowe Price Trust Company; Chairman of the Board, all funds | |
| David Oestreicher (1967) 2018 [189] | Chief Legal Officer, Vice President, and Secretary, T. Rowe Price Group, Inc.; Director, Vice President, and Secretary, T. Rowe Price Investment Services, Inc., T. Rowe Price Retirement Plan Services, Inc., T. Rowe Price Services, Inc., and T. Rowe Price Trust Company; Vice President and Secretary, T. Rowe Price, T. Rowe Price Hong Kong, and T. Rowe Price International; Vice President, T. Rowe Price Japan and T. Rowe Price Singapore; Principal Executive Officer and Executive Vice President, all funds | |
| Robert W. Sharps, CFA, CPA (1971) 2017 [135] | Vice President, T. Rowe Price, T. Rowe Price Group, Inc., and T. Rowe Price Trust Company | |
| *Each inside director serves until retirement, resignation, or election of a successor. | ||
| **Effective at the conclusion of a meeting of the Boards of the Price Funds held on July 25, 2018, Mr. Bernard resigned from his role as a director and chairman of the Boards of all the Price Funds. | ||
| OFFICERS | ||
| Name (Year of Birth) Position Held With New Horizons Fund | Principal Occupation(s) | |
| Francisco M. Alonso (1978) Vice President | Vice President, T. Rowe Price, T. Rowe Price Group, Inc., and T. Rowe Price Trust Company | |
| Ziad Bakri, M.D., CFA (1980) Vice President | Vice President, T. Rowe Price and T. Rowe Price Group, Inc. | |
| Brian W.H. Berghuis, CFA (1958) Vice President | Vice President, T. Rowe Price, T. Rowe Price Group, Inc., and T. Rowe Price Trust Company | |
| Michael F. Blandino (1971) Vice President | Vice President, T. Rowe Price and T. Rowe Price Group, Inc. | |
| Darrell N. Braman (1963) Vice President and Secretary | Vice President, Price Hong Kong, Price Singapore, T. Rowe Price, T. Rowe Price Group, Inc., T. Rowe Price International, T. Rowe Price Investment Services, Inc., and T. Rowe Price Services, Inc. | |
| Christopher W. Carlson (1967) Vice President | Vice President, T. Rowe Price and T. Rowe Price Group, Inc. | |
| Eric L. DeVilbiss, CFA (1983) Vice President | Vice President, T. Rowe Price and T. Rowe Price Group, Inc. | |
| Anouk Dey, CFA (1986) Vice President | Vice President, T. Rowe Price and T. Rowe Price Group, Inc. | |
| Henry M. Ellenbogen (1973) President | Vice President, T. Rowe Price, T. Rowe Price Group, Inc., and T. Rowe Price Trust Company | |
| John R. Gilner (1961) Chief Compliance Officer | Chief Compliance Officer and Vice President, T. Rowe Price; Vice President, T. Rowe Price Group, Inc., and T. Rowe Price Investment Services, Inc. | |
| Gary J. Greb (1961) Vice President | Vice President, T. Rowe Price, T. Rowe Price International, and T. Rowe Price Trust Company | |
| Barry Henderson (1966) Vice President | Vice President, T. Rowe Price and T. Rowe Price Group, Inc. | |
| Paul J. Krug, CPA (1964) Vice President | Vice President, T. Rowe Price, T. Rowe Price Group, Inc., and T. Rowe Price Trust Company | |
| Catherine D. Mathews (1963) Treasurer and Vice President | Vice President, T. Rowe Price, T. Rowe Price Group, Inc., and T. Rowe Price Trust Company | |
| Adam Poussard (1984) Vice President | Vice President, T. Rowe Price and T. Rowe Price Group, Inc. | |
| John W. Ratzesberger (1975) Vice President | Vice President, T. Rowe Price, T. Rowe Price Group, Inc., and T. Rowe Price Trust Company; formerly, North American Head of Listed Derivatives Operation, Morgan Stanley (to 2013) | |
| Shannon H. Rauser (1987) Assistant Secretary | Employee, T. Rowe Price | |
| Alexander P. Roik, CFA (1991) Vice President | Vice President, T. Rowe Price | |
| Corey D. Shull, CFA (1983) Vice President | Vice President, T. Rowe Price and T. Rowe Price Group, Inc. | |
| Joshua K. Spencer, CFA (1973) Vice President | Vice President, T. Rowe Price and T. Rowe Price Group, Inc. | |
| Justin Thomson (1968) Vice President | Vice President, T. Rowe Price Group, Inc., and T. Rowe Price International | |
| Alan Tu (1985) Vice President | Vice President, T. Rowe Price and T. Rowe Price Group, Inc.; formerly, student, University of Chicago Booth School of Business (to 2014) | |
| J. David Wagner, CFA (1974) Vice President | Vice President, T. Rowe Price, T. Rowe Price Group, Inc., and T. Rowe Price Trust Company | |
| Megan Warren (1968) Vice President | Vice President, T. Rowe Price, T. Rowe Price Group, Inc., T. Rowe Price Retirement Plan Services, Inc., T. Rowe Price Services, Inc., and T. Rowe Price Trust Company; formerly, Executive Director, JP Morgan Chase (to 2017) | |
| Unless otherwise noted, officers have been employees of T. Rowe Price or T. Rowe Price International for at least 5 years. | ||
Item 2. Code of Ethics.
The registrant has adopted a code of ethics, as defined in Item 2 of Form N-CSR, applicable to its principal executive officer, principal financial officer, principal accounting officer or controller, or persons performing similar functions. A copy of this code of ethics is filed as an exhibit to this Form N-CSR. No substantive amendments were approved or waivers were granted to this code of ethics during the period covered by this report.
Item 3. Audit Committee Financial Expert.
The registrant’s Board of Directors/Trustees has determined that Mr. Bruce W. Duncan qualifies as an audit committee financial expert, as defined in Item 3 of Form N-CSR. Mr. Duncan is considered independent for purposes of Item 3 of Form N-CSR.
Item 4. Principal Accountant Fees and Services.
(a) – (d) Aggregate fees billed for the last two fiscal years for professional services rendered to, or on behalf of, the registrant by the registrant’s principal accountant were as follows:
Audit fees include amounts related to the audit of the registrant’s annual financial statements and services normally provided by the accountant in connection with statutory and regulatory filings. Audit-related fees include amounts reasonably related to the performance of the audit of the registrant’s financial statements and specifically include the issuance of a report on internal controls and, if applicable, agreed-upon procedures related to fund acquisitions. Tax fees include amounts related to services for tax compliance, tax planning, and tax advice. The nature of these services specifically includes the review of distribution calculations and the preparation of Federal, state, and excise tax returns. All other fees include the registrant’s pro-rata share of amounts for agreed-upon procedures in conjunction with service contract approvals by the registrant’s Board of Directors/Trustees.
(e)(1) The registrant’s audit committee has adopted a policy whereby audit and non-audit services performed by the registrant’s principal accountant for the registrant, its investment adviser, and any entity controlling, controlled by, or under common control with the investment adviser that provides ongoing services to the registrant require pre-approval in advance at regularly scheduled audit committee meetings. If such a service is required between regularly scheduled audit committee meetings, pre-approval may be authorized by one audit committee member with ratification at the next scheduled audit committee meeting. Waiver of pre-approval for audit or non-audit services requiring fees of a de minimis amount is not permitted.
(2) No services included in (b) – (d) above were approved pursuant to paragraph (c)(7)(i)(C) of Rule 2-01 of Regulation S-X.
(f) Less than 50 percent of the hours expended on the principal accountant’s engagement to audit the registrant’s financial statements for the most recent fiscal year were attributed to work performed by persons other than the principal accountant’s full-time, permanent employees.
(g) The aggregate fees billed for the most recent fiscal year and the preceding fiscal year by the registrant’s principal accountant for non-audit services rendered to the registrant, its investment adviser, and any entity controlling, controlled by, or under common control with the investment adviser that provides ongoing services to the registrant were $2,544,000 and $2,169,000, respectively.
(h) All non-audit services rendered in (g) above were pre-approved by the registrant’s audit committee. Accordingly, these services were considered by the registrant’s audit committee in maintaining the principal accountant’s independence.
Item 5. Audit Committee of Listed Registrants.
Not applicable.
Item 6. Investments.
(a) Not applicable. The complete schedule of investments is included in Item 1 of this Form N-CSR.
(b) Not applicable.
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.
Not applicable.
Item 11. Controls and Procedures.
(a) The registrant’s principal executive officer and principal financial officer have evaluated the registrant’s disclosure controls and procedures within 90 days of this filing and have concluded that the registrant’s disclosure controls and procedures were effective, as of that date, in ensuring that information required to be disclosed by the registrant in this Form N-CSR was recorded, processed, summarized, and reported timely.
(b) During the period, the Price Funds’ accounting agent, The Bank of New York Mellon (BNYM), converted the fund’s books and records from a legacy fund accounting system / operating model to a BNYM fund accounting system / operating model.
Item 12. Exhibits.
(a)(1) The registrant’s code of ethics pursuant to Item 2 of Form N-CSR is attached.
(2) Separate certifications by the registrant's principal executive officer and principal financial officer, pursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 and required by Rule 30a-2(a) under the Investment Company Act of 1940, are attached.
(3) Written solicitation to repurchase securities issued by closed-end companies: not applicable.
(b) A certification by the registrant’s principal executive officer and principal financial officer, pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 and required by Rule 30a-2(b) under the Investment Company Act of 1940, is attached.
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.
T. Rowe Price New Horizons Fund, Inc.
| By | /s/ David Oestreicher | |||||
| David Oestreicher | ||||||
| Principal Executive Officer | ||||||
| Date | February 15, 2019 | |||||
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/ David Oestreicher | |||||
| David Oestreicher | ||||||
| Principal Executive Officer | ||||||
| Date | February 15, 2019 | |||||
| By | /s/ Catherine D. Mathews | |||||
| Catherine D. Mathews | ||||||
| Principal Financial Officer | ||||||
| Date | February 15, 2019 | |||||