Fair Value Measurement Summary at September 30, 2023 (Unaudited) | | | |
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Equity securities listed or traded on a U.S. securities exchange for which market quotations are readily available are valued at the last quoted |
sale price on the exchange on which the security is primarily traded. Nasdaq Global Market securities are valued at the Nasdaq Official |
Closing Price ("NOCP"). Unlisted U.S. equity securities and listed U.S. equity securities not traded on a particular valuation date are valued at |
the mean of the most recent quoted bid and ask price on the relevant exchanges or markets. Equity securities listed on a foreign exchange for |
which market quotations are readily available are valued at the last quoted sales price on the exchange on which the security is primarily |
traded. Debt securities are normally valued at the mean of the closing bid and ask price and/or by using a combination of broker quotations or |
evaluated prices provided by an independent pricing service. Futures and options on futures are valued at the settlement prices established each |
day on the principal exchange on which they are traded. Forward contracts are valued based on the forward rate using information provided by |
an independent pricing service. Other assets and securities for which no market or broker quotations or evaluated prices are readily available |
are valued in good faith at fair value. Rule 2a-5 under the Investment Company Act of 1940 (the “Valuation Rule”) establishes requirements for |
determining fair value in good faith for purposes of the Investment Company Act of 1940, including related oversight and reporting requirements. |
The Valuation Rule also defines when market quotations are “readily available” for purposes of the Investment Company Act of 1940, the |
threshold for determining whether the Fund must fair value a security. The Valuation Rule permits the Fund’s board to designate the |
Fund’s primary investment adviser as “valuation designee” to perform the Fund’s fair value determinations subject to board oversight |
and certain reporting and other requirements intended to ensure that the registered investment company’s board receives the | |
information it needs to oversee the investment adviser’s fair value determinations. The Board has designated the Adviser as valuation |
designee under the Valuation Rule to perform fair value functions in accordance with the requirements of the Valuation Rule. The | |
Adviser may value securities at fair value in good faith pursuant to the Adviser’s and the Fund’s procedures. The Adviser may use | |
prices provided by independent pricing services to assist in the fair valuation of the Fund’s portfolio securities. | |
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The Trust has adopted accounting standards which establish an authoritative definition of fair value and set out a hierarchy for measuring |
fair value. These standards require additional disclosures about the various inputs and valuation techniques used to develop the | |
measurements of fair value and a discussion of changes in valuation techniques and related inputs during the period. These standards |
define fair value 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 fair value hierarchy is organized into three levels based upon the assumptions (referred to |
as "inputs') used in pricing the asset or liability. These standards state that "observable inputs" reflect the assumptions market | |
participants would use in pricing the asset or liability based on market data obtained from independent sources and "unobservable |
inputs" reflect an entity's own assumptions about the assumptions market participants would use in pricing the asset or liability. These |
inputs are summarized in the three broad levels listed below. | | | |
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Level 1 - Quoted unadjusted prices for identical instruments in active markets to which the Trust has access at the date of measurement. |
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Level 2 - Quoted prices for similar instruments in active markets; quoted prices for identical or similar instruments in markets that are not |
active; and model-derived valuations in which all significant inputs and significant value drivers are observable in active | |
markets. Level 2 inputs are those in markets for which there are few transactions, the prices are not current, little public | |
information exists or instances where prices vary substantially over time or among brokered market makers. | | |
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Level 3 - Model derived valuations in which one or more significant inputs or significant value drivers are unobservable. Unobservable |
inputs are those inputs that reflect the Trust's own assumptions that market participants would use to price the asset or liability | |
based on the best available information. | | | | |
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The inputs or methodology used for valuing securities are not necessarily an indication of the risk associated with investing in those |
securities. As of September 30, 2023, the Fund's assets carried at fair value were classified as follows: | | |