Sterling
Capital
Real
Estate
Fund
1
Schedule
of
Portfolio
Investments
December
31,
2023
(Unaudited)
See
accompanying
Notes
to
the
Schedule
of
Portfolio
Investments.
Shares
Fair
Value
COMMON
STOCKS
—
98.4%
Data
Center
—
11.4%
22,384
Digital
Realty
Trust,
Inc.
.............
$
3,012,439
6,231
Equinix,
Inc.
.....................
5,018,385
8,030,824
Diversified
—
1.8%
49,985
Essential
Properties
Realty
Trust,
Inc.
...
1,277,616
Health
Care
—
7.6%
41,310
Ventas,
Inc.
......................
2,058,890
36,733
Welltower,
Inc.
....................
3,312,215
5,371,105
Hotel
&
Resort
—
3.4%
34,911
Apple
Hospitality
REIT,
Inc.
..........
579,871
16,628
Ryman
Hospitality
Properties,
Inc.
.....
1,830,078
2,409,949
Industrial
—
14.7%
12,045
EastGroup
Properties,
Inc.
...........
2,210,739
32,655
First
Industrial
Realty
Trust,
Inc.
.......
1,719,939
47,725
Prologis,
Inc.
.....................
6,361,743
10,292,421
Multi-Family
Residential
—
12.2%
13,178
Camden
Property
Trust
..............
1,308,444
9,171
Essex
Property
Trust,
Inc.
............
2,273,858
15,370
Mid-America
Apartment
Communities,
Inc.
..........................
2,066,650
22,670
NexPoint
Residential
Trust,
Inc.
........
780,528
56,745
UDR,
Inc.
.......................
2,172,766
8,602,246
Office
—
4.7%
16,006
Alexandria
Real
Estate
Equities,
Inc.
....
2,029,081
26,470
Highwoods
Properties,
Inc.
...........
607,751
71,221
Hudson
Pacific
Properties,
Inc.
........
663,067
3,299,899
Other
Specialized
—
3.9%
85,109
VICI
Properties,
Inc.
...............
2,713,275
Real
Estate
Development
—
1.6%
13,175
Howard
Hughes
Holdings,
Inc.(a)
......
1,127,121
Retail
—
13.0%
76,133
Brixmor
Property
Group,
Inc.
.........
1,771,615
38,024
InvenTrust
Properties
Corp.
..........
963,528
92,531
Kite
Realty
Group
Trust
.............
2,115,259
59,823
NETSTREIT
Corp.
................
1,067,840
76,359
Retail
Opportunity
Investments
Corp.
...
1,071,317
75,786
Tanger,
Inc.
......................
2,100,788
9,090,347
Self-Storage
—
7.0%
45,568
CubeSmart
......................
2,112,077
Shares
Fair
Value
COMMON
STOCKS
—
(continued)
Self-Storage
—
(continued)
17,687
Extra
Space
Storage,
Inc.
............
$
2,835,757
4,947,834
Single-Family
Residential
—
3.7%
75,466
Invitation
Homes,
Inc.
..............
2,574,145
Telecom
Tower
—
13.4%
31,058
American
Tower
Corp.
..............
6,704,801
10,578
SBA
Communications
Corp.
..........
2,683,533
9,388,334
Total
Common
Stocks
(Cost
$39,950,276)
...............
69,125,116
MONEY
MARKET
FUND
—
1.2%
813,679
Federated
Treasury
Obligations
Fund,
Institutional
Shares,
5.22%(b)
.......
813,679
Total
Money
Market
Fund
(Cost
$813,679)
.................
813,679
Total
Investments
—
99.6%
(Cost
$40,763,955)
............................
69,938,795
Net
Other
Assets
(Liabilities)
—
0.4%
...............
283,584
NET
ASSETS
—
100.0%
.......................
$
70,222,379
(a)
Represents
non-income
producing
security.
(b)
Represents
the
current
yield
as
of
report
date.
2
Sterling
Capital
Funds
Notes
to
Schedule
of
Portfolio
Investments
-
Sterling
Capital
Real
Estate
Fund
December
31,
2023
(Unaudited)
1.
Organization:
Sterling
Capital
Funds
(the
“Trust”)
commenced
operations
on
October
5,
1992
and
is
registered
under
the
Investment
Company
Act
of
1940,
as
amended
(“the
1940
Act”),
as
an
open-end
investment
company
established
as
a
Massachusetts
business
trust.
The
Trust
offers
shares
of
Sterling
Capital
Real
Estate
Fund
(referred
to
as
a
“Fund”).
The
Fund
is
a
“diversified”
fund
as
defined
in
the
1940
Act.
2.
Significant
Accounting
Policies:
The
Fund
is
an
investment
company
and
accordingly
follows
the
investment
company
accounting
and
reporting
guidance
of
the
Financial
Accounting
Standards
Board
(“FASB”)
Accounting
Standard
Codification
Topic
946
Financial
Services-
Investment
Companies.
The
following
is
a
summary
of
significant
accounting
policies
followed
by
the
Fund.
The
policies
are
in
conformity
with
United
States
generally
accepted
accounting
principles
(“U.S.
GAAP”).
The
preparation
of
this
schedule
requires
management
to
make
estimates
and
assumptions
that
affect
the
reported
amounts
of
assets
and
liabilities
and
disclosure
of
contingent
assets
and
liabilities
at
the
date
of
the
schedule
and
the
reported
amount
of
income
and
expense
for
the
reporting
period.
Actual
result
could
differ
from
those
estimates.
Securities
Valuation
—
Investments
of
the
Fund
in
securities
traded
on
a
national
securities
exchange
or
in
the
over-the-
counter
market
are
valued
at
the
closing
price
on
the
principal
exchange
or
market
(including
the
NASDAQ
Closing
Price
for
securities
traded
on
NASDAQ),
typically
4:00
PM
ET
or,
absent
such
a
price,
by
reference
to
the
latest
available
bid
prices
in
the
principal
market
in
which
such
securities
are
normally
traded.
The
Fund
may
also
use
an
independent
pricing
service
approved
by
the
Board
of
Trustees
(the
“Board”)
to
value
certain
securities,
including
the
use
of
electronic
and
matrix
techniques.
Investments
in
open-end
investment
companies
are
valued
at
their
respective
net
asset
values
as
reported
by
such
companies.
Investments
in
closed-end
investment
companies
and
exchange-traded
funds
are
valued
at
their
market
values
based
upon
the
latest
available
sale
price
or,
absent
such
a
price,
by
reference
to
the
latest
available
bid
prices
in
the
principal
market
in
which
such
securities
are
normally
traded.
The
differences
between
cost
and
fair
value
of
investments
are
reflected
as
either
unrealized
appreciation
or
depreciation.
Securities
for
which
market
quotations
are
not
readily
available
or
deemed
unreliable
(e.g.,
an
approved
pricing
service
does
not
provide
a
price,
a
furnished
price
is
in
error,
certain
stale
prices,
or
an
event
occurs
that
materially
affects
the
furnished
price)
will
be
fair
valued
in
accordance
with
procedures
established
in
good
faith
under
the
general
supervision
of
the
Board.
Fair
Value
Measurements
—
The
objective
of
a
fair
value
measurement
is
to
determine
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
(an
exit
price).
Accordingly,
the
fair
value
hierarchy
gives
the
highest
priority
to
quoted
prices
(unadjusted)
in
active
markets
for
identical
assets
or
liabilities
(Level
1)
and
the
lowest
priority
to
unobservable
inputs
(Level
3).
The
three
levels
of
the
fair
value
hierarchy
are
described
as
follows:
Level
1
–
quoted
prices
in
active
markets
for
identical
securities
Level
2
–
based
on
other
significant
observable
inputs
(including
quoted
prices
for
similar
securities,
interest
rates,
prepayment
speeds,
credit
risk,
etc.)
Level
3
–
based
on
significant
unobservable
inputs
(including
a
Fund’s
own
assumptions
in
determining
the
fair
value
of
investments)
3
Sterling
Capital
Funds
Notes
to
Schedule
of
Portfolio
Investments
-
Sterling
Capital
Real
Estate
Fund
—
(continued)
December
31,
2023
(Unaudited)
The
inputs
or
methodology
used
for
valuing
securities
are
not
necessarily
an
indication
of
the
risk
associated
with
investing
in
those
securities.
During
the
period
ended
December
31,
2023
,
there
were
no
significant
changes
to
the
valuation
policies
and
procedures.
The
summary
of
inputs
used
to
determine
the
fair
value
of
the
Fund’s
investments
as
of
December
31,
2023
is
as
follows:
Cash
and
Cash
Equivalents
—
The
Fund
considers
liquid
assets
deposited
with
a
bank,
and
certain
short
term
debt
instruments
with
original
maturities
of
three
months
or
less
to
be
cash
equivalents.
These
investments
represent
amounts
held
with
financial
institutions
that
are
readily
accessible
to
pay
Fund
expenses
or
investments.
The
Fund
may
invest
its
excess
cash
in
the
Federated
Treasury
Obligations
Fund
or
a
similar
money
market
fund
or
other
short-term
investment.
Risks
Associated
with
Foreign
Securities
and
Currencies
—
Investments
in
securities
of
foreign
issuers
carry
certain
risks
not
ordinarily
associated
with
investments
in
securities
of
domestic
issuers.
Such
risks
include
future
political
and
economic
developments
and
the
possible
imposition
of
exchange
controls
or
other
foreign
governmental
laws
and
restrictions.
In
addition,
with
respect
to
certain
countries,
there
is
the
possibility
of
expropriation
of
assets,
confiscatory
taxation,
political
or
social
instability
or
diplomatic
developments
which
could
adversely
affect
investments
in
those
countries.
Certain
foreign
investments
may
also
be
subject
to
foreign
withholding
taxes.
Forward
Foreign
Currency
Exchange
Contracts
—
The
Fund
may
enter
into
forward
foreign
currency
exchange
contracts
(foreign
currency
exchange
risk)
in
connection
with
planned
purchases
or
sales
of
securities
or
to
hedge
the
U.S.
dollar
value
of
Funds
securities
denominated
in
a
particular
currency.
A
foreign
currency
exchange
contract
is
an
agreement
between
two
parties
to
buy
and
sell
a
currency
at
a
set
exchange
rate
on
a
future
date.
The
Fund
can
be
exposed
to
risks
if
the
counterparties
to
the
contracts
are
unable
to
meet
the
terms
of
their
contracts
and
from
unanticipated
movements
in
the
value
of
a
foreign
currency
relative
to
the
U.S.
dollar.
In
the
event
of
default
by
the
counterparty
to
the
transaction,
the
Fund’s
maximum
amount
of
loss,
as
either
the
buyer
or
seller,
is
the
unrealized
gain
of
the
contract.
The
forward
foreign
currency
exchange
contracts
are
adjusted
by
the
daily
exchange
rate
of
the
underlying
currency
and
any
gains
or
losses
are
recorded
for
purposes
of
this
schedule
as
unrealized
gains
or
losses
until
the
contract
settlement
date.
When
the
contract
is
closed,
the
Fund
records
a
realized
gain
(loss)
equal
to
the
difference
between
the
value
at
the
time
it
was
opened
and
the
value
at
the
time
it
was
closed.
When-Issued
and
Forward
Commitments
—
The
Fund
may
purchase
securities
on
a
“when-issued”
basis.
The
Fund
may
also
purchase
or
sell
securities
on
a
forward
commitment
basis.
The
Fund
records
when-issued
securities
on
the
trade
date
and
pledge
assets
with
a
value
at
least
equal
to
the
purchase
commitment
for
payment
of
the
securities
purchased.
The
value
of
the
securities
underlying
when-issued
or
forward
commitments
to
purchase
securities,
and
any
subsequent
fluctuation
in
their
value,
is
taken
into
account
when
determining
the
net
asset
value
of
the
Fund
commencing
with
the
date
the
Fund
agrees
to
purchase
the
securities.
The
Fund
does
not
accrue
interest
or
dividends
on
“when-issued”
securities
until
the
underlying
securities
are
received.
Level
1-
Quoted
Prices
Level
2-
Other
Significant
Observable
Inputs
Level
3-
Significant
Unobservable
Inputs
Total
Assets:
Investments
in
Securities
Sterling
Capital
Real
Estate
Fund
....................
$
69,938,795(a)
$
—
$
—
$
69,938,795
(a)
Industries,
countries
or
security
types
are
disclosed
in
the
Schedule
of
Portfolio
Investments.