Liberty All-Star Equity Fund

 

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LOGO


Liberty All-Star® Equity Fund

   President’s Letter

 

 

Fellow Shareholders:

   April 2012

Building on gains posted in the final quarter of 2011, the stock market got 2012 off to a highly positive start with an impressive first quarter performance. The S&P 500® Index registered its strongest first quarter return since 1998, while the technology-oriented NASDAQ Composite Index posted its best first quarter since 1991.

The exceptional performance came as somewhat of a surprise to many equity analysts and market watchers. The U.S. economy continued to grow, albeit slowly. There were no serious solutions forthcoming to address the U.S. budget deficit. The fundamental economic problems plaguing the Euro Zone remained, and there were fears of a hard landing in China. But the stock market rolled into the new year with momentum behind it, and there were some bright spots in an improving employment picture, higher consumer spending and fears of a potential Euro Zone collapse eased once the European Central Bank finally embarked on its version of quantitative easing.

By quarter’s end, the net outcome was a 12.59 percent return for the S&P 500 Index and a 12.43 percent gain for the Lipper Large-Cap Core Mutual Fund Average. Liberty All-Star® Equity Fund fully participated in the market’s advance, as it solidly outperformed key benchmarks. For the quarter, the Fund returned 14.87 percent with shares valued at net asset value (NAV), 15.07 percent with shares valued at NAV with dividends reinvested and 18.73 percent with shares valued at market price (with dividends reinvested). This strong performance ranked the Fund in the top 11 percent of funds in the Lipper Large-Cap Core Mutual Fund universe. The discount at which Fund shares are priced relative to their NAV also improved, as it narrowed to a range of 12.0 to 15.3 percent from a high of 16.8 percent in the final quarter of 2011.

Some of the very factors that hindered the Fund’s relative performance in 2011 helped it in the past quarter. Financials and technology, for example, were strong performers for the Fund in the first quarter after lagging last year. The Fund’s strong quarter illustrates a point we made in the 2011 annual report-specifically, that things can change quickly. The Fund ranked in the 62nd percentile of the Lipper Large-Cap Core universe in the last quarter of 2011; a quarter later, it ranked in the 11th percentile, as previously mentioned. Investors may find it challenging at times

 

  First Quarter Report (Unaudited)  |  March 31, 2012

   1  


President’s Letter

   Liberty All-Star® Equity Fund

 

 

to remain patient in this environment, especially when events outside our control on the other side of the world have such a profound impact on our markets here at home.

We are hopeful that 2012 will be a good one for investors, especially after the extreme volatility experienced during 2011. We cannot expect the first quarter’s double-digit returns to continue throughout the year. Indeed, the second quarter opened as weakly as the first quarter opened strongly. We believe the Fund is well positioned for the vast majority of market environments, and we remain positive on the outlook for the year. Thank you for your continued support of the Fund.

Sincerely,

 

LOGO

William R. Parmentier, Jr.

President and Chief Executive Officer

Liberty All-Star® Equity Fund

 

The views expressed in the President’s letter reflect the views of the President as of April 2012 and may not reflect his views on the date this report is first published or anytime thereafter. These views are not guarantees of future performance and involve certain risks, uncertainties and assumptions that are difficult to predict so actual outcomes and results may differ significantly from the views expressed. These views are subject to change at any time based upon economic, market or other conditions and the Fund disclaims any responsibility to update such views. These views may not be relied on as investment advice and, because investment decisions for the Fund are based on numerous factors, may not be relied on as an indication of trading intent.

 

  2

   www.all-starfunds.com  


Liberty All-Star® Equity Fund

   Table of Distributions & Rights Offerings

 

        Rights Offerings    
Year  

Per Share

Distributions

 

Month

Completed

 

Shares Needed to

Purchase One

Additional Share

 

Subscription

Price

  Tax Credits*
1988   $0.64                  
1989   0.95                
1990   0.90                
1991   1.02                
1992   1.07   April   10   $10.05    
1993   1.07   October   15     10.41   $0.18
1994   1.00   September   15     9.14    
1995   1.04                
1996   1.18                 0.13
1997   1.33                 0.36
1998   1.40   April   20     12.83    
1999   1.39                
2000   1.42                
2001   1.20                
2002   0.88   May   10       8.99    
2003   0.78                
2004   0.89   July       10**       8.34    
2005   0.87                
2006   0.88                
2007   0.90   December   10       6.51    
2008   0.65                
2009       0.31***                
2010   0.31                
2011   0.34                
2012

1st Quarter

  0.08                

 

*

The Fund’s net investment income and net realized capital gains exceeded the amount to be distributed under the Fund’s distribution policy. In each case, the Fund elected to pay taxes on the undistributed income and passed through a proportionate tax credit to shareholders.

**

The number of shares offered was increased by an additional 25% to cover a portion of the over-subscription requests.

***

Effective with the second quarter distribution, the annual distribution rate was changed from 10 percent to 6 percent.

DISTRIBUTION POLICY

 

Liberty All-Star® Equity Fund’s current policy is to pay distributions on its shares totaling approximately 6 percent of its net asset value per year, payable in four quarterly installments of 1.5 percent of the Fund’s net asset value at the close of the New York Stock Exchange on the Friday prior to each quarterly declaration date. The fixed distributions are not related to the amount of the Fund’s net investment income or net realized capital gains or losses and may be taxed as ordinary income up to the amount of the Fund’s current and accumulated earnings and profits. If, for any calendar year, the total distributions made under the distribution policy exceed the Fund’s net investment income and net realized capital gains, the excess will generally be treated as a non-taxable return of capital, reducing the shareholder’s adjusted basis in his or her shares. If the Fund’s net investment income and net realized capital gains for any year exceed the amount distributed under the distribution policy, the Fund may, in its discretion, retain and not distribute net realized capital gains and pay income tax thereon to the extent of such excess. The Fund retained such excess gains in 1993, 1996 and 1997.

 

  First Quarter Report (Unaudited)  |  March 31, 2012

   3  


Top 20 Holdings & Economic Sectors

   Liberty All-Star® Equity Fund

March 31, 2012 (Unaudited)

  

 

 

Top 20 Holdings*    Percent of Net Assets

Apple, Inc.

       3.58 %

JPMorgan Chase & Co.

       2.54  

QUALCOMM, Inc.

       2.04  

Wells Fargo & Co.

       2.00  

Google, Inc., Class A

       1.71  

Exxon Mobil Corp.

       1.59  

Cisco Systems, Inc.

       1.58  

Dell, Inc.

       1.51  

Staples, Inc.

       1.41  

The Allstate Corp.

       1.39  

ACE Ltd.

       1.38  

State Street Corp.

       1.30  

Salesforce.com, Inc.

       1.25  

SunTrust Banks, Inc.

       1.22  

Microsoft Corp.

       1.20  

TE Connectivity Ltd.

       1.14  

BP PLC

       1.00  

Hewlett-Packard Co.

       1.00  

Visa, Inc., Class A

       0.99  

American Tower Corp., Class A

       0.96  
       30.79 %
Economic Sectors*    Percent of Net Assets

Information Technology

       24.61 %

Financials

       21.27  

Energy

       13.79  

Consumer Discretionary

       10.89  

Health Care

       7.81  

Industrials

       7.74  

Consumer Staples

       6.12  

Materials

       2.96  

Telecommunication Services

       1.48  

Utilities

       1.45  

Other Net Assets

       1.88  
       100.00 %

 

*

Because the Fund is actively managed, there can be no guarantee that the Fund will continue to hold securities of the indicated issuers and sectors in the future.

 

  4

   www.all-starfunds.com


Liberty All-Star® Equity Fund

   Major Stock Changes in the Quarter

 

The following are the major ($3 million or more) stock changes - both purchases and sales – that were made in the Fund’s portfolio during the first quarter of 2012.

 

Security Name    Purchases (Sales)   Shares as of 3/31/12

Purchases

        

Citigroup, Inc.

       100,173         248,979  

Exxon Mobil Corp.

       36,610         189,382  

Invesco Ltd.

       159,025         159,025  

Joy Global, Inc.

       44,551         44,551  

VF Corp.

       33,769         33,769  
Sales         

Amazon.com, Inc.

       (16,877 )       27,480  

Analog Devices, Inc.

       (172,000 )       0  

Cisco Systems, Inc.

       (234,918 )       770,342  

Gilead Sciences, Inc.

       (77,159 )       103,649  

J.C. Penney Co., Inc.

       (164,010 )       26,955  

Medco Health Solutions, Inc.

       (54,627 )       32,325  

Robert Half International, Inc.

       (107,833 )       0  

Rockwell Automation, Inc.

       (38,868 )       58,566  

The Sherwin-Williams Co.

       (42,850 )       0  

 

 

  First Quarter Report (Unaudited)  |  March 31, 2012

   5  


Investment Managers/

Portfolio Characteristics

   Liberty All-Star® Equity Fund

 

THE FUND’S ASSETS ARE APPROXIMATELY EQUALLY DISTRIBUTED AMONG THREE VALUE MANAGERS AND TWO GROWTH MANAGERS:

 

LOGO

MANAGERS’ DIFFERING INVESTMENT STRATEGIES ARE REFLECTED IN PORTFOLIO CHARACTERISTICS

 

The portfolio characteristics table below is a regular feature of the Fund’s shareholder reports. It serves as a useful tool for understanding the value of a multi-managed portfolio. The characteristics are different for each of the Fund’s five investment managers. These differences are a reflection of the fact that each pursues a different investment style. The shaded column highlights the characteristics of the Fund as a whole, while the final column shows portfolio characteristics for the S&P 500® Index.

PORTFOLIO CHARACTERISTICS As of March 31, 2012 (Unaudited)

 

 

                                                          LOGO

      SCHNEIDER   PZENA   MATRIX   CORNERSTONE   TCW   TOTAL FUND  

S&P 500®

INDEX

Number of Holdings

   41   37   36   49   32   162   500

Percent of Holdings in Top 10

   48%   39%   38%   40%   45%   20%   21%

Weighted Average Market Capitalization (billions)

   $40   $61   $69   $109   $90   $74   $110

Average Five-Year Earnings Per Share Growth

   (7)%   (2)%   0%   22%   24%   8%   9%

Dividend Yield

   1.4%   2.4%   2.0%   1.1%   0.7%   1.5%   2.0%

Price/Earnings Ratio**

   14x   11x   12x   17x   25x   15x   16x

Price/Book Value Ratio

   1.3x   2.0x   2.2x   4.7x   5.9x   3.2x   3.8x

*   Certain holdings are held by more than one manager.

**  Excludes negative earnings.

 

  6

   www.all-starfunds.com  


Liberty All-Star® Equity Fund

   Schedule of Investments

 

 

     SHARES      MARKET VALUE  

COMMON STOCKS (98.12%)

     

CONSUMER DISCRETIONARY (10.89%)

     

Auto Components (1.31%)

     

Johnson Controls, Inc.

     230,082       $ 7,473,063   

Magna International, Inc.

     127,175         6,071,335   
     

 

 

 
        13,544,398   
     

 

 

 

Diversified Consumer Services (0.36%)

     

Apollo Group, Inc., Class A(a)

     96,550         3,730,692   
     

 

 

 

Hotels, Restaurants & Leisure (1.36%)

     

Carnival Corp.

     273,825         8,784,306   

Marriott International, Inc., Class A

     75,401         2,853,928   

Orient-Express Hotels Ltd., Class A(a)

     236,091         2,408,128   
     

 

 

 
        14,046,362   
     

 

 

 

Household Durables (1.79%)

     

KB Home

     303,710         2,703,019   

NVR, Inc.(a)

     11,955         8,683,275   

Toll Brothers, Inc.(a)

     294,001         7,053,084   
     

 

 

 
        18,439,378   
     

 

 

 

Internet & Catalog Retail (1.30%)

     

Amazon.com, Inc.(a)

     27,480         5,564,975   

priceline.com, Inc.(a)

     10,975         7,874,562   
     

 

 

 
        13,439,537   
     

 

 

 

Media (1.06%)

     

Omnicom Group, Inc.

     123,450         6,252,743   

The Walt Disney Co.

     106,907         4,680,388   
     

 

 

 
        10,933,131   
     

 

 

 

Multi-Line Retail (0.46%)

     

Dollar General Corp.(a)

     81,857         3,781,793   

J.C. Penney Co., Inc.

     26,955         955,016   
     

 

 

 
        4,736,809   
     

 

 

 

Specialty Retail (2.22%)

     

Dick’s Sporting Goods, Inc.

     60,126         2,890,858   

Ross Stores, Inc.

     30,262         1,758,222   

Staples, Inc.

     897,825         14,526,809   

Tiffany & Co.

     17,407         1,203,346   

The TJX Cos., Inc.

     63,506         2,521,823   
     

 

 

 
        22,901,058   
     

 

 

 

Textiles, Apparel & Luxury Goods (1.03%)

     

Burberry Group PLC(b)

     85,711         4,108,985   

Coach, Inc.

     20,410         1,577,285   

VF Corp.

     33,769         4,929,599   
     

 

 

 
        10,615,869   
     

 

 

 

 

  See Notes to Schedule of Investments.

    

  First Quarter Report (Unaudited)  |  March 31, 2012

   7  


Schedule of Investments

   Liberty All-Star® Equity Fund

 

 

 

     SHARES      MARKET VALUE  

COMMON STOCKS (continued)

     

CONSUMER STAPLES (6.12%)

     

Beverages (1.64%)

     

The Coca-Cola Company

     31,000       $ 2,294,310   

Diageo PLC(b)

     64,681         6,241,717   

Molson Coors Brewing Co., Class B

     137,750         6,233,187   

PepsiCo, Inc.

     33,000         2,189,550   
     

 

 

 
        16,958,764   
     

 

 

 

Food & Staples Retailing (1.32%)

     

Costco Wholesale Corp.

     50,200         4,558,160   

CVS Caremark Corp.

     80,000         3,584,000   

Walgreen Co.

     162,000         5,425,380   
     

 

 

 
        13,567,540   
     

 

 

 

Food Products (1.53%)

     

Archer-Daniels-Midland Co.

     160,000         5,065,600   

General Mills, Inc.

     107,120         4,225,884   

Mead Johnson Nutrition Co.

     78,900         6,507,672   
     

 

 

 
        15,799,156   
     

 

 

 

Household Products (0.51%)

     

The Procter & Gamble Co.

     78,000         5,242,380   
     

 

 

 

Personal Products (0.69%)

     

Avon Products, Inc.

     210,668         4,078,533   

The Estee Lauder Cos., Inc., Class A

     49,009         3,035,617   
     

 

 

 
        7,114,150   
     

 

 

 

Tobacco (0.43%)

     

British American Tobacco PLC(b)

     44,208         4,474,734   
     

 

 

 

ENERGY (13.79%)

     

Energy Equipment & Services (3.01%)

     

FMC Technologies, Inc.(a)

     112,920         5,693,427   

Oceaneering International, Inc.

     109,800         5,917,122   

Schlumberger Ltd.

     130,384         9,117,753   

Tidewater, Inc.

     135,000         7,292,700   

Weatherford International Ltd.(a)

     200,845         3,030,751   
     

 

 

 
        31,051,753   
     

 

 

 

Oil, Gas & Consumable Fuels (10.78%)

     

Anadarko Petroleum Corp.

     29,771         2,332,260   

Arch Coal, Inc.

     720,055         7,711,789   

BP PLC(b)

     229,792         10,340,640   

Chesapeake Energy Corp.

     118,571         2,747,290   

Chevron Corp.

     63,000         6,756,120   

Cobalt International Energy, Inc.(a)

     234,788         7,050,684   

ConocoPhillips

     107,300         8,155,873   

 

 

  See Notes to Schedule of Investments.

    

  8

   www.all-starfunds.com  


Liberty All-Star® Equity Fund

   Schedule of Investments

 

 

     SHARES      MARKET VALUE  

COMMON STOCKS (continued)

     

Oil, Gas & Consumable Fuels (continued)

     

Consol Energy, Inc.

     162,870       $ 5,553,867   

Devon Energy Corp.

     105,000         7,467,600   

Exxon Mobil Corp.

     189,382         16,425,101   

Hess Corp.

     60,051         3,540,006   

Occidental Petroleum Corp.

     78,800         7,504,124   

Peabody Energy Corp.

     306,630         8,880,005   

Royal Dutch Shell PLC, Class A(b)

     124,753         8,748,928   

Valero Energy Corp.

     308,550         7,951,333   
     

 

 

 
        111,165,620   
     

 

 

 

FINANCIALS (21.27%)

     

Capital Markets (4.92%)

     

The Charles Schwab Corp.

     536,100         7,703,757   

Franklin Resources, Inc.

     39,125         4,852,674   

The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc.

     65,351         8,127,704   

Invesco Ltd.

     159,025         4,241,197   

Morgan Stanley

     352,675         6,926,537   

State Street Corp.

     295,175         13,430,462   

UBS AG(a)

     389,825         5,465,346   
     

 

 

 
        50,747,677   
     

 

 

 

Commercial Banks (5.26%)

     

BB&T Corp.

     150,000         4,708,500   

Huntington Bancshares, Inc.

     413,581         2,667,597   

PNC Financial Services Group, Inc.

     108,704         7,010,321   

Regions Financial Corp.

     1,008,835         6,648,223   

SunTrust Banks, Inc.

     520,838         12,588,654   

Wells Fargo & Co.

     605,390         20,668,015   
     

 

 

 
        54,291,310   
     

 

 

 

Consumer Finance (0.61%)

     

American Express Co.

     108,000         6,248,880   
     

 

 

 

Diversified Financial Services (3.74%)

     

Bank of America Corp.

     344,350         3,295,430   

Citigroup, Inc.

     248,979         9,100,182   

JPMorgan Chase & Co.

     569,415         26,181,702   
     

 

 

 
        38,577,314   
     

 

 

 

Insurance (6.36%)

     

ACE Ltd.

     194,720         14,253,504   

The Allstate Corp.

     434,595         14,306,867   

American International Group, Inc.(a)

     164,375         5,067,681   

Aon PLC

     11,048         542,015   

Assured Guaranty Ltd.

     274,144         4,528,859   

Axis Capital Holdings Ltd.

     185,950         6,167,961   

Brown & Brown, Inc.

     9,629         228,978   

Fidelity National Financial, Inc., Class A

     233,275         4,205,948   

 

 

  See Notes to Schedule of Investments.

    

  First Quarter Report (Unaudited)  |  March 31, 2012

   9  


Schedule of Investments

   Liberty All-Star® Equity Fund

 

 

 

     SHARES      MARKET VALUE  

COMMON STOCKS (continued)

     

Insurance (continued)

     

Genworth Financial, Inc., Class A(a)

     218,309       $ 1,816,331   

MetLife, Inc.

     257,725         9,626,029   

RenaissanceRe Holdings Ltd.

     64,330         4,871,711   
     

 

 

 
        65,615,884   
     

 

 

 

Real Estate Investment Trusts (0.38%)

     

Sunstone Hotel Investors, Inc.(a)

     408,063         3,974,534   
     

 

 

 

HEALTH CARE (7.81%)

     

Biotechnology (0.49%)

     

Gilead Sciences, Inc.(a)

     103,649         5,063,254   
     

 

 

 

Health Care Equipment & Supplies (2.45%)

     

Intuitive Surgical, Inc.(a)

     7,500         4,063,125   

NuVasive, Inc.(a)

     154,007         2,593,478   

St. Jude Medical, Inc.

     158,000         7,000,980   

Varian Medical Systems, Inc.(a)

     54,900         3,785,904   

Zimmer Holdings, Inc.

     122,000         7,842,160   
     

 

 

 
        25,285,647   
     

 

 

 

Health Care Providers & Services (1.30%)

     

Brookdale Senior Living, Inc.(a)

     322,517         6,037,518   

Express Scripts, Inc.(a)

     38,975         2,111,666   

Medco Health Solutions, Inc.(a)

     32,325         2,272,447   

WellPoint, Inc.

     39,584         2,921,299   
     

 

 

 
        13,342,930   
     

 

 

 

Health Care Technology (0.78%)

     

Cerner Corp.(a)

     105,664         8,047,370   
     

 

 

 

Life Sciences Tools & Services (0.58%)

     

Life Technologies Corp.(a)

     122,000         5,956,040   
     

 

 

 

Pharmaceuticals (2.21%)

     

Abbott Laboratories

     143,130         8,772,438   

Allergan, Inc.

     77,900         7,433,997   

Johnson & Johnson

     39,000         2,572,440   

Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd.(b)

     90,000         4,055,400   
     

 

 

 
        22,834,275   
     

 

 

 

INDUSTRIALS (7.74%)

     

Aerospace & Defense (2.99%)

     

The Boeing Co.

     60,540         4,502,360   

General Dynamics Corp.

     44,060         3,233,123   

Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc.(a)

     21,862         879,727   

L-3 Communications Holdings, Inc.

     93,425         6,611,687   

Northrop Grumman Corp.

     117,100         7,152,468   

 

 

  See Notes to Schedule of Investments.

    

  10

   www.all-starfunds.com  


Liberty All-Star® Equity Fund

   Schedule of Investments

 

 

     SHARES      MARKET VALUE  

COMMON STOCKS (continued)

     

Aerospace & Defense (continued)

     

Precision Castparts Corp.

     37,000       $ 6,397,300   

Textron, Inc.

     73,063         2,033,343   
     

 

 

 
        30,810,008   
     

 

 

 

Air Freight & Logistics (1.11%)

     

C.H. Robinson Worldwide, Inc.

     101,345         6,637,084   

Expeditors International of Washington, Inc.

     104,490         4,859,830   
     

 

 

 
        11,496,914   
     

 

 

 

Building Products (0.56%)

     

Fortune Brands Home & Security, Inc.(a)

     62,075         1,369,995   

Masco Corp.

     325,475         4,351,601   
     

 

 

 
        5,721,596   
     

 

 

 

Construction & Engineering (0.51%)

     

Fluor Corp.

     87,651         5,262,566   
     

 

 

 

Electrical Equipment (0.70%)

     

Cooper Industries PLC

     40,343         2,579,935   

Rockwell Automation, Inc.

     58,566         4,667,710   
     

 

 

 
        7,247,645   
     

 

 

 

Machinery (0.95%)

     

Joy Global, Inc.

     44,551         3,274,498   

Navistar International Corp.(a)

     143,731         5,813,919   

Rexnord Corp.(a)

     34,630         730,693   
     

 

 

 
        9,819,110   
     

 

 

 

Road & Rail (0.44%)

     

CSX Corp.

     212,655         4,576,336   
     

 

 

 

Trading Companies & Distributors (0.31%)

     

Fastenal Co.

     59,097         3,197,148   
     

 

 

 

Transportation Infrastructure (0.17%)

     

Aegean Marine Petroleum Network, Inc.

     251,080         1,734,963   
     

 

 

 

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (24.61%)

     

Communications Equipment (4.62%)

     

Acme Packet, Inc.(a)

     153,609         4,227,320   

Cisco Systems, Inc.

     770,342         16,292,733   

Harris Corp.

     135,000         6,085,800   

QUALCOMM, Inc.

     309,885         21,078,378   
     

 

 

 
        47,684,231   
     

 

 

 

Computers & Peripherals (6.10%)

     

Apple, Inc.(a)

     61,650         36,957,325   

Dell, Inc.(a)

     940,670         15,615,122   

 

 

  See Notes to Schedule of Investments.

    

  First Quarter Report (Unaudited)  |  March 31, 2012

   11  


Schedule of Investments

   Liberty All-Star® Equity Fund

 

 

 

     SHARES      MARKET VALUE  

COMMON STOCKS (continued)

     

Computers & Peripherals (continued)

     

Hewlett-Packard Co.

     432,825       $ 10,314,220   
     

 

 

 
        62,886,667   
     

 

 

 

Electronic Equipment & Instruments (2.21%)

     

Avnet, Inc.(a)

     119,935         4,364,434   

Corning, Inc.

     475,000         6,688,000   

TE Connectivity Ltd.

     319,325         11,735,194   
     

 

 

 
        22,787,628   
     

 

 

 

Internet Software & Services (4.06%)

     

Baidu, Inc.(a)(b)

     52,808         7,697,822   

eBay, Inc.(a)

     219,494         8,097,134   

Google, Inc., Class A(a)

     27,590         17,691,812   

Monster Worldwide, Inc.(a)

     442,000         4,309,500   

OpenTable, Inc.(a)

     102,058         4,130,287   
     

 

 

 
        41,926,555   
     

 

 

 

IT Services (2.99%)

     

Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp., Class A(a)

     81,500         6,271,425   

Computer Sciences Corp.

     180,900         5,416,146   

Visa, Inc., Class A

     86,579         10,216,322   

The Western Union Co.

     510,132         8,978,323   
     

 

 

 
        30,882,216   
     

 

 

 

Semiconductors & Semiconductor Equipment (0.94%)

     

ARM Holdings PLC(b)

     167,000         4,724,430   

MEMC Electronic Materials, Inc.(a)

     477,380         1,723,342   

Texas Instruments, Inc.

     95,929         3,224,174   
     

 

 

 
        9,671,946   
     

 

 

 

Software (3.69%)

     

CA, Inc.

     150,400         4,145,024   

Citrix Systems, Inc.(a)

     26,938         2,125,678   

Microsoft Corp.

     384,600         12,403,350   

Salesforce.com, Inc.(a)

     83,503         12,902,048   

VMware, Inc., Class A(a)

     57,700         6,483,749   
     

 

 

 
        38,059,849   
     

 

 

 

MATERIALS (2.96%)

     

Chemicals (1.81%)

     

LyondellBasell Industries N.V.

     7,500         327,375   

The Mosaic Co.

     99,037         5,475,756   

PPG Industries, Inc.

     63,050         6,040,190   

Praxair, Inc.

     59,600         6,832,544   
     

 

 

 
        18,675,865   
     

 

 

 

Metals & Mining (1.15%)

     

Alcoa, Inc.

     407,000         4,078,140   

Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold, Inc.

     101,406         3,857,484   

 

 

  See Notes to Schedule of Investments.

    

  12

   www.all-starfunds.com  


Liberty All-Star® Equity Fund

   Schedule of Investments

 

 

     SHARES      MARKET VALUE  

COMMON STOCKS (continued)

     

Metals & Mining (continued)

     

Silver Wheaton Corp.

     119,200       $ 3,957,440   
     

 

 

 
        11,893,064   
     

 

 

 

TELECOMMUNICATION SERVICES (1.48%)

     

Wireless Telecommunication Services (1.48%)

     

American Tower Corp., Class A

     157,360         9,916,827   

Vodafone Group PLC(b)

     193,000         5,340,310   
     

 

 

 
        15,257,137   
     

 

 

 

UTILITIES (1.45%)

     

Electric Utilities (0.93%)

     

Entergy Corp.

     102,700         6,901,440   

FirstEnergy Corp.

     57,869         2,638,248   
     

 

 

 
        9,539,688   
     

 

 

 

Gas Utilities (0.23%)

     

EQT Corp.

     50,041         2,412,476   
     

 

 

 

Independent Power Producers & Energy Traders (0.29%)

     

GenOn Energy, Inc.(a)

     1,440,250         2,995,720   
     

 

 

 

TOTAL COMMON STOCKS

(COST OF $945,597,775)

        1,012,285,774   
     

 

 

 
     PAR VALUE         

SHORT TERM INVESTMENT (1.99%)

     

REPURCHASE AGREEMENT (1.99%)

     

Repurchase agreement with State Street Bank & Trust Co., dated 03/31/12, due 04/02/12 at 0.01%, collateralized by Fannie Mae 3.07% 01/01/42, market value of $20,992,161 (Repurchase proceeds of $20,567,017) (COST OF $20,567,000)

   $ 20,567,000         20,567,000   
     

 

 

 

TOTAL INVESTMENTS (100.11%)

(COST OF $966,164,775)(c)

        1,032,852,774   

LIABILITIES IN EXCESS OF OTHER ASSETS (-0.11%)

        (1,121,447
     

 

 

 

NET ASSETS (100.00%)

      $ 1,031,731,327   
     

 

 

 

NET ASSET VALUE PER SHARE

(182,678,079 SHARES OUTSTANDING)

      $ 5.65   
     

 

 

 

 

 

(a)

Non-income producing security.

(b)

American Depositary Receipt.

(c)

Cost of investments for federal income tax purposes is $975,894,078.

 

 

  See Notes to Schedule of Investments.

    

  First Quarter Report (Unaudited)  |  March 31, 2012

   13  


Schedule of Investments

   Liberty All-Star® Equity Fund

 

 

Gross unrealized appreciation and depreciation at March 31, 2012 based on cost of investments for federal income tax purposes is as follows:

Gross unrealized appreciation

   $     168,831,605   

Gross unrealized depreciation

     (111,872,909

Net unrealized appreciation

   $ 56,958,696   
          

 

  See Notes to Schedule of Investments.

    

  16

   www.all-starfunds.com  


Liberty All-Star® Equity Fund

   Notes to Schedule of Investments

 

Security Valuation

Equity securities including common stocks and exchange traded funds are valued at the last sale price at the close of the principal exchange on which they trade, except for securities listed on the National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations (“NASDAQ”) exchange, which are valued at the NASDAQ official closing price. Unlisted securities or listed securities for which there were no sales during the day are valued at the closing bid price on such exchanges or over-the-counter markets.

Debt securities generally are valued by pricing services approved by the Fund’s Board of Trustees (the “Board”). The services may use various pricing techniques which take into account appropriate factors such as yield, quality, coupon rate, maturity, type of issue, trading characteristics and other data, as well as broker quotes. Debt securities for which quotations are readily available are valued at an over-the-counter or exchange bid quotation.

Short-term debt obligations maturing in more than 60 days for which market quotations are readily available are valued at current market value. Short-term debt obligations maturing within 60 days are valued at amortized cost, which approximates market value.

Investments for which market quotations are not readily available are valued at fair value as determined in good faith under consistently applied procedures approved by and under the general supervision of the Board.

Foreign Securities

The Fund may directly purchase securities of foreign issuers. Investing in securities of foreign issuers involves special risks not typically associated with investing in securities of U.S. issuers. The risks include possible reevaluation of currencies, the inability to repatriate foreign currency, less complete financial information about companies and possible future adverse political and economic developments. Moreover, securities of many foreign issuers and their markets may be less liquid and their prices more volatile than those of securities of comparable U.S. issuers. For the period ended March 31, 2012, the Fund only held American Depository Receipts and did not hold any securities denominated in foreign currencies.

Security Transactions

Security transactions are recorded on trade date. Cost is determined and gains/(losses) are based upon the specific identification method for both financial statement and federal income tax purposes.

Repurchase Agreements

The Fund engages in repurchase agreement transactions with institutions that the Fund’s investment advisor has determined are creditworthy. The Fund, through its custodian, receives delivery of underlying securities collateralizing a repurchase agreement. Collateral is at least equal, at all times, to the value of the repurchase obligation including interest. A repurchase agreement transaction involves certain risks in the event of default or insolvency of the counterparty. These risks include possible delays or restrictions upon a Fund’s ability to dispose of the underlying securities and a possible decline in the value of the underlying securities during the period while the Fund seeks to assert its rights.

 

  First Quarter Report (Unaudited)  |  March 31, 2012

   15  


Notes to Schedule of Investments

   Liberty All-Star® Equity Fund

March 31, 2012 (Unaudited)

  

 

 

Income Recognition

Interest income is recorded on the accrual basis. Premiums and discounts are amortized and accreted, respectively, on all debt securities. Corporate actions and dividend income are recorded on the ex-date.

The Fund estimates components of distributions from real estate investment trusts (“REITs”). Distributions received in excess of income are recorded as a reduction of the cost of the related investments. Once the REIT reports annually the tax character of its distributions, the Fund revises its estimates. If the Fund no longer owns the applicable securities, any distributions received in excess of income are recorded as realized gains.

Fair Value Measurements

The Fund discloses the classification of its fair value measurements following a three-tier hierarchy based on the inputs used to measure fair value. Inputs refer broadly to the assumptions that market participants would use in pricing the asset or liability, including assumptions about risk. Inputs may be observable or unobservable. Observable inputs reflect the assumptions market participants would use in pricing the asset or liability that are developed based on market data obtained from sources independent of the reporting entity. Unobservable inputs reflect the reporting entity’s own assumptions about the assumptions market participants would use in pricing the asset or liability that are developed based on the best information available.

Various inputs are used in determining the value of the Fund’s investments as of the end of the reporting period.

When inputs used fall into different levels of the fair value hierarchy, the level in the hierarchy within which the fair value measurement falls is determined based on the lowest level input that is significant to the fair value measurement in its entirety. The designated input levels are not necessarily an indication of the risk or liquidity associated with these investments. These inputs are categorized in the following hierarchy under applicable financial accounting standards:

 

Level 1

  

  

Unadjusted quoted prices in active markets for identical investments, unrestricted assets or liabilities that a Fund has the ability to access at the measurement date;

Level 2

  

  

Quoted prices which are not active, quoted prices for similar assets or liabilities in active markets or inputs other than quoted prices that are observable (either directly or indirectly) for substantially the full term of the asset or liability; and

Level 3

  

  

Significant unobservable prices or inputs (including the Fund’s own assumptions in determining the fair value of investments) where there is little or no market activity for the asset or liability at the measurement date.

 

  16

   www.all-starfunds.com  


Liberty All-Star® Equity Fund

   Notes to Schedule of Investments

 

The following is a summary of the inputs used to value the Fund’s investments as of March 31, 2012. The Fund recognizes transfers between the levels as of the beginning of the annual period in which the transfer occurred.

 

     Valuation Inputs         
Investments in Securities at Value*    Level 1      Level 2      Level 3      Total  

Common Stocks

   $   1,012,285,774       $       $       $   1,012,285,774   

Short Term Investment

             20,567,000                 20,567,000   

Total

   $   1,012,285,774       $   20,567,000       $       $   1,032,852,774   
                                     

*See Schedule of Investments for industry classifications

For the period ended March 31, 2012, the Fund did not have any significant transfers between Level 1 and Level 2 securities. The Fund did not have any securities which used significant unobservable inputs (Level 3) in determining fair value.

Indemnification

In the normal course of business, the Fund enters into contracts that contain a variety of representations and warranties and which provide general indemnities. The Fund’s maximum exposure under these arrangements is unknown, as this would involve future claims against the Fund. Also, under the Fund’s organizational documents and by contract, the Trustees and Officers of the Fund are indemnified against certain liabilities that may arise out of their duties to the Fund. However, based on experience, the Fund expects the risk of loss due to these warranties and indemnities to be minimal.

 

  First Quarter Report (Unaudited)  |  March 31, 2012

   17  


Description of Lipper Benchmark

and Market Indices

   Liberty All-Star® Equity Fund

 

 

Lipper Large-Cap Core Mutual Fund Average

The average of funds that, by portfolio practice, invest at least 75% of their equity assets in companies with market capitalizations (on a three-year weighted basis) above Lipper’s U.S. domestic equity large-cap floor. These funds typically have an average price-to-earnings ratio, price-to-book ratio, and three-year sales-per-share growth value, compared to the S&P 500® Index.

S&P 500® Index

A representative sample of 500 leading companies in leading industries of the U.S. economy. Focuses on the large-cap segment of the market with approximately 75% coverage of U.S. equities.

NASDAQ Composite Index®

Measures all NASDAQ domestic and international based common type stocks listed on the NASDAQ Stock Market.

You cannot invest directly in an index.

 

  18

   www.all-starfunds.com  


Liberty All-Star® Equity Fund    Notes

 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

 

  First Quarter Report (Unaudited)  |  March 31, 2012

   19  


Notes

   Liberty All-Star® Equity Fund

 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

 

  20

   www.all-starfunds.com  


 

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