USA Liberty All Star Equity Fund

Liberty All-Star^® Equity Fund

Periods Ended September 30, 2024 (Unaudited)

 

Fund Statistics
Net Asset Value (NAV)	$7.17
Market Price	$7.10
Discount	-1.0%

 

	Quarter	Year-to-Date
Distributions*	$0.18	$0.53
Market Price Trading Range	$6.27 to $7.23	$6.26 to $7.23
Premium/(Discount) Range	-0.7% to -3.4%	0.4% to -5.8%
Performance
Shares Valued at NAV with Dividends Reinvested	4.82%	14.77%
Shares Valued at Market Price with Dividends Reinvested	7.15%	20.24%
Dow Jones Industrial Average	8.72%	13.93%
Lipper Large-Cap Core Mutual Fund Average	5.25%	20.38%
NASDAQ Composite Index	2.76%	21.84%
S&P 500® Index	5.89%	22.08%
S&P 500® Equal Weight Index	9.60%	15.16%

 

*

Sources of distributions to shareholders may include ordinary dividends, long-term capital gains and return of capital. The final determination of the source of all distributions in 2024 for tax reporting purposes will be made after year end. The actual amounts and sources of the amounts for tax reporting purposes will depend upon the Fund’s investment experience during its fiscal year and may be subject to changes based on tax regulations. Based on current estimates a portion of the distributions consist of a return of capital. Pursuant to Section 852 of the Internal Revenue Code, the taxability of these distributions will be reported on Form 1099-DIV for 2024.

 

Performance returns for the Fund are total returns, which include dividends. Returns are net of management fees and other Fund expenses. The returns shown for the Lipper Large-Cap Core Mutual Fund Average are based on open-end mutual funds’ total returns, which include dividends, and are net of fund expenses. Returns for the unmanaged Dow Jones Industrial Average, NASDAQ Composite Index and the S&P 500^® Indices are total returns, including dividends. A description of the Lipper benchmark and the market indices can be found on page 19.

 

Past performance cannot predict future results. Performance will fluctuate with market conditions. Current performance may be lower or higher than the performance data shown. Performance information does not reflect the deduction of taxes that shareholders would pay on Fund distributions or the sale of Fund shares. An investment in the Fund involves risk, including loss of principal. Closed-end funds raise money in an initial public offering and shares are listed and traded on an exchange. Open-end mutual funds continuously issue and redeem shares at net asset value. Shares of closed-end funds frequently trade at a discount to net asset value. The price of the Fund’s shares is determined by a number of factors, several of which are beyond the control of the Fund. Therefore, the Fund cannot predict whether its shares will trade at, below or above net asset value.

 

The views expressed in the President’s letter reflect the views of the President as of October 2024 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.

Liberty All-Star® Equity Fund	President’s Letter
	(Unaudited)

 

Fellow Shareholders:

October 2024

 

With signs indicating that the tide had turned in the battle against inflation—and that interest rate reductions were imminent—stocks overcame occasional choppiness to post gains in the third quarter, with the S&P 500^® Index and the Dow Jones Industrial Average notching record highs along the way. The S&P 500^® is off to its best start to a year since 1997 when the dotcom bubble was in full swing. Growing belief the economy is in for a soft landing has resulted in the index posting 43 record highs through nine months of the year. In addition, a range of data consistently indicated that economic activity was both strong and sustainable. The highlight of the quarter came on September 18 when the Federal Reserve lowered the fed funds rate by half a percentage point (50 basis points) and hinted that further reductions could be in store by year-end. What was perhaps the key data point surfaced in late July when the Commerce Department reported that GDP advanced a strong 2.8 percent in the second quarter (later revised upward to 3.0 percent). This was well ahead of the first quarter’s rate of 1.4 percent and gave credence to the soft-landing narrative, in which inflation eases without spawning a recession.

 

The S&P 500^® returned 5.89 percent for the quarter, building on previous quarterly advances that carried the large-cap benchmark to a gain of 22.08 percent through nine months. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) returned 8.72 percent for the quarter, led by strong returns from names like 3M, IBM and McDonald’s; the index returned 13.93 percent through nine months. The NASDAQ Composite returned 2.76 percent for the quarter; the index’s return of 21.84 percent through nine months narrowly trailed the S&P 500^® after leading through the first six months. Driven by technology stocks through the first half, the market broadened out during the quarter—especially in July—as a diverse range of industries and companies benefited from a stable economic environment.

 

The catalyst for the broader market was a Consumer Price Index report in early July showing that prices fell 0.1 percent in June, lowering the annual inflation rate to 3.0 percent. That triggered a sell-off in technology stocks, while the real estate, utilities, financials and industrials sectors rallied. Indicative of the broadening, for July the NASDAQ Composite returned -0.73 percent while the S&P 500^® gained 1.22 percent; the DJIA, which has the greatest value orientation of the three, made a strong move, returning 4.51 percent for the month.

 

In early August, the unemployment rate rose from 4.1 percent to 4.3 percent, triggering a brief sell-off. Meanwhile the shift remained in place, but moderated during August when the NASDAQ, S&P 500^® and DJIA, respectively, returned 0.74 percent, 2.43 percent and 2.03 percent. September saw technology stocks resume market leadership, exemplified by the NASDAQ returning 2.76 percent, followed by 2.14 percent for the S&P 500^® and 1.96 percent for the DJIA.

 

Predictions of an imminent recession have been rebuffed to date. Geopolitical tensions, an imminent U.S. election and countervailing economic reports—regarding employment, wages, prices, consumer confidence, manufacturing activity and other factors—meant that more than many quarters 3Q24 experienced bouts of trading extremes. The DJIA rallied over six straight trading sessions in early July only to lose over 900 points the next two days. What is perhaps the most magnificent of the so-called “Magnificent Seven¹” stocks, NVIDIA, fell nearly 6.8 percent on July 24 only to gain 12.8 percent on July 31. In the span of one week (beginning August 5), the S&P 500^® had its best and worst trading days in nearly two years. Beginning on September 9, the S&P 500^®, DJIA and NASDAQ enjoyed their best week of the year. And the DJIA surged past the 42000 level on September 19.

 

In a sharp reversal, value style stocks outperformed growth stocks for the quarter. The large-cap Russell 1000^® Value Index returned 9.43 percent in the third quarter, well outpacing the Russell 1000^® Growth Index return of 3.19 percent. Through nine months, however, large-cap growth stock returns continued to outpace those of large-cap value by a wide margin.

 

1	Those stocks are Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Meta Platforms, Microsoft, NVIDIA and Tesla.

 

Third Quarter Report (Unaudited) | September 30, 2024

1

Liberty All-Star® Equity Fund	President’s Letter
	(Unaudited)

 

Liberty All-Star^® Equity Fund

Liberty All-Star^® Equity Fund posted good absolute returns for the quarter while on a relative basis the Fund’s market price return topped its primary benchmark, the S&P 500^® and the NASDAQ Composite. For the quarter, the Fund returned 4.82 percent when shares are valued at net asset value (NAV) with dividends reinvested and 7.15 percent when shares are valued at market price with dividends reinvested. (Fund returns are net of expenses.) The Fund’s primary benchmark, the Lipper Large-Cap Core Mutual Fund Average, returned 5.25 percent. As noted, the S&P 500^® and the NASDAQ Composite returned 5.89 percent and 2.76 percent, respectively. The Fund’s market price return trailed only the DJIA return of 8.72 percent (as well as the S&P 500^® Equal Weight Index, at 9.60 percent, a return that reflects the broadening of the market during the quarter).

 

Fund returns were helped by the better performance of value versus growth style stocks and by an overweight to financial issues. The Fund was hurt by stock selection among consumer staples and information technology stocks.

 

Turning to the first nine months, both measures of Fund performance delivered double-digit gains. The Fund returned 14.77 when shares are valued at NAV with dividends reinvested and 20.24 percent when shares are valued at market price with dividends reinvested. The latter figure lagged the primary Lipper benchmark by about 0.14 percentage points.

 

The discount at which Fund shares traded relative to their underlying NAV narrowed moderately during the third quarter. Fund shares traded during the quarter in a range from -0.7 percent to -3.4 percent versus a premium of 0.4 percent to a -4.3 percent discount in the second quarter.

 

In accordance with the Fund’s distribution policy, the Fund paid a distribution of $0.18 per share in the third quarter. The Fund’s distribution policy has been in place since 1988 and is a major component of the Fund’s total return. The Fund has paid distributions of $30.82 per share for a total of more than $3.8 billion since 1987 (the Fund’s first full calendar year of operations). We continue to emphasize that shareholders should include these distributions when determining the total return on their investment in the Fund.

 

The Fund performed well in the first and third quarters this year but suffered on a relative basis in the second quarter when the concentration effects of a few mega-cap technology stocks separated these issues into a class all their own based on the potential impact of artificial intelligence (AI). This was not a realistic reflection of the diversification represented by the larger stock market—nor, for that matter, the overall U.S. economy. As we have commented before, such concentration presents a level of risk that active managers seek to mitigate through their own diversified portfolios. We believe Liberty All- Star Equity Fund represents such diversification, and not only through individual stocks but also by combining growth and value styles. This Fund characteristic, enhanced by the skills and experience of carefully selected and monitored portfolio managers, means the Fund remains well positioned as a core equity holding for long-term investors.

 

Sincerely,

 

Mark T. Haley, CFA

President

Liberty All-Star^® Equity Fund

 

2	www.all-starfunds.com

	Table of Distributions,
Liberty All-Star® Equity Fund	Rights Offerings and Tax Credits
	(Unaudited)

 

		Rights Offerings
Year	Per Share Distributions	Month Completed	Shares Needed to Purchase One Additional Share	Subscription Price	Tax Credits1
1987	$1.18
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	102	8.34
2005	0.87
2006	0.88
2007	0.90	December	10	6.51
2008	0.65
20093	0.31
2010	0.31
2011	0.34
2012	0.32
2013	0.35
2014	0.39
20154	0.51
2016	0.48
20175	0.56
2018	0.68
2019	0.66
2020	0.63
2021	0.81	November	102	7.78
2022	0.69
2023	0.61
2024
1st Quarter	0.17
2nd Quarter	0.18
3rd Quarter	0.18
Total	$30.82

 

1	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.
2	The number of shares offered was increased by an additional 25 percent to cover a portion of the over-subscription requests.
3	Effective with the second quarter distribution, the annual distribution rate was changed from 10 percent to 6 percent.
4	Effective with the second quarter distribution, the annual distribution rate was changed from 6 percent to 8 percent.
5	Effective with the fourth quarter distribution, the annual distribution rate was changed from 8 percent to 10 percent.

 

Third Quarter Report (Unaudited) | September 30, 2024

3

	Stock Changes in the Quarter
Liberty All-Star® Equity Fund	and Distribution Policy
	(Unaudited)

 

The following are the largest ($6 million or more) stock changes - both purchases and sales - that were made in the Fund’s portfolio during the third quarter of 2024.

 

	Shares
Security Name	Purchases (Sales)	Held as of 9/30/24
Purchases
American International Group, Inc.	112,700	112,700
Delta Air Lines, Inc.	202,504	202,504
Synopsys, Inc.	15,453	30,466
Verizon Communications, Inc.	204,500	204,500
Waste Management, Inc.	41,075	81,859
Sales
Alphabet, Inc.	(36,683)	313,539
Autodesk, Inc.	(39,670)	38,589
Corpay, Inc.	(33,067)	0
Edison International	(97,415)	73,213
Salesforce, Inc.	(28,339)	57,391

 

DISTRIBUTION POLICY

The current policy is to pay distributions on its shares totaling approximately 10 percent of its net asset value per year, payable in four quarterly installments of 2.5 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. Sources of distributions to shareholders may include ordinary dividends, long-term capital gains and return of capital. The final determination of the source of all distributions in 2024 for tax reporting purposes will be made after year end. The actual amounts and sources of the amounts for tax reporting purposes will depend upon the Fund’s investment experience during the remainder of its fiscal year and may be subject to changes based on tax regulations. If a distribution includes anything other than net investment income, the Fund provides a Section 19(a) notice of the best estimate of its distribution sources at that time. These estimates may not match the final tax characterization (for the full year’s distributions) contained in shareholder 1099-DIV forms after the end of the year. If the Fund’s ordinary dividends and long-term capital gains for any year exceed the amount distributed under the distribution policy, the Fund may, in its discretion, retain and not distribute capital gains and pay income tax thereon to the extent of such excess.

 

4	www.all-starfunds.com

Liberty All-Star® Equity Fund	Top 20 Holdings & Economic Sectors
	September 30, 2024 (Unaudited)

 

Top 20 Holdings*	Percent of Net Assets
Microsoft Corp.	3.62%
NVIDIA Corp.	3.36
Amazon.com, Inc.	2.63
Alphabet, Inc.	2.55
UnitedHealth Group, Inc.	2.21
Visa, Inc.	1.73
ServiceNow, Inc.	1.67
Meta Platforms, Inc.	1.56
S&P Global, Inc.	1.39
Capital One Financial Corp.	1.29
Fresenius Medical Care AG	1.20
Danaher Corp.	1.19
Ecolab, Inc.	1.12
Sony Group Corp.	1.09
Berkshire Hathaway, Inc.	1.02
Charles Schwab Corp.	1.00
Adobe, Inc.	0.98
Ferguson Enterprises, Inc.	0.97
Avery Dennison Corp.	0.95
Dow, Inc.	0.95
	32.48%

 

Economic Sectors*	Percent of Net Assets
Information Technology	21.66%
Financials	19.53
Health Care	14.99
Consumer Discretionary	12.40
Industrials	8.78
Communication Services	6.79
Consumer Staples	4.75
Materials	4.61
Energy	1.83
Utilities	1.60
Real Estate	0.62
Other Net Assets	2.44
	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.

 

Third Quarter Report (Unaudited) | September 30, 2024

5

	Investment Managers/
Liberty All-Star® Equity Fund	Portfolio Characteristics
	(Unaudited)

 

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

 

 

 

ALPS Advisors, Inc., the investment advisor to the Fund, has the ultimate authority (subject to oversight by the Board of Trustees) to oversee the investment managers and recommend their hiring, termination and replacement.

 

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 September 30, 2024 (Unaudited)

 

	Investment Style Spectrum
	Value			Growth
							S&P 500®
	PZENA	FIDUCIARY	ARISTOTLE	SUSTAINABLE	TCW	TOTAL FUND	INDEX
Number of Holdings	34	30	43	28	30	144*	504
Percent of Holdings in Top 10	40%	48%	32%	48%	59%	22%	35%
Weighted Average Market Capitalization (billions)	$74	$208	$218	$836	$1,125	$493	$1,004
Average Five-Year Earnings Per Share Growth	5%	11%	12%	18%	24%	14%	18%
Dividend Yield	2.7%	1.2%	1.8%	0.6%	0.4%	1.4%	1.3%
Price/Earnings Ratio**	14x	24x	22x	38x	46x	25x	29x
Price/Book Value Ratio	1.5x	3.9x	3.0x	8.2x	7.7x	3.3x	4.8x

 

*	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
	September 30, 2024 (Unaudited)

 

		SHARES				VALUE
COMMON STOCKS (97.56%)
COMMUNICATION SERVICES (6.79%)
Diversified Telecommunication Services (0.45%)
Verizon Communications, Inc.			204,500			$	9,184,095
Entertainment (0.61%)
Netflix, Inc.(a)			17,648				12,517,197
Interactive Media & Services (4.11%)
Alphabet, Inc., Class A			94,037				15,596,036
Alphabet, Inc., Class C			219,502				36,698,539
Meta Platforms, Inc., Class A			55,867				31,980,506
							84,275,081
Media (1.62%)
Charter Communications, Inc., Class A(a)			41,416				13,422,098
Omnicom Group, Inc.			113,075				11,690,824
Trade Desk, Inc., Class A(a)			73,097				8,015,086
							33,128,008
CONSUMER DISCRETIONARY (12.40%)
Automobile Components (1.67%)
Cie Generale des Etablissements Michelin SCA(b)			414,100				8,406,230
Lear Corp.			109,726				11,976,593
Magna International, Inc., Class A			338,513				13,892,574
							34,275,397
Broadline Retail (2.63%)
Amazon.com, Inc.(a)			289,600				53,961,168
Entertainment (1.09%)
Sony Group Corp.(b)(c)			230,567				22,265,855
Hotels, Restaurants & Leisure (2.97%)
Aramark			464,317				17,982,997
Booking Holdings, Inc.			4,448				18,735,510
Starbucks Corp.			84,699				8,257,306
Yum! Brands, Inc.			112,730				15,749,508
							60,725,321
Household Durables (1.06%)
Lennar Corp., Class A			83,500				15,654,580
Newell Brands, Inc.			783,352				6,016,143
							21,670,723
Specialty Retail (2.70%)
CarMax, Inc.(a)			182,723				14,139,106

 

See Notes to Schedule of Investments.
Third Quarter Report (Unaudited) | September 30, 2024	7

 

Liberty All-Star® Equity Fund	Schedule of Investments
	September 30, 2024 (Unaudited)

 

		SHARES				VALUE
COMMON STOCKS (continued)
Specialty Retail (continued)
Home Depot, Inc.			18,219			$	7,382,339
Lowe's Cos., Inc.			34,000				9,208,900
O'Reilly Automotive, Inc.(a)			16,391				18,875,875
TJX Cos., Inc.			48,411				5,690,229
							55,296,449
Textiles, Apparel & Luxury Goods (0.28%)
PVH Corp.			56,548				5,701,735
CONSUMER STAPLES (4.75%)
Beverages (0.78%)
Coca-Cola Co.			127,300				9,147,778
Constellation Brands, Inc., Class A			26,700				6,880,323
							16,028,101
Consumer Staples Distribution & Retail (1.61%)
Costco Wholesale Corp.			14,626				12,966,242
Dollar Tree, Inc.(a)			95,685				6,728,569
SYSCO Corp.			169,234				13,210,406
							32,905,217
Food Products (0.50%)
Tyson Foods, Inc., Class A			172,180				10,255,041
Household Products (0.42%)
Procter & Gamble Co.			49,400				8,556,080
Multiline Retail (0.68%)
Dollar General Corp.			163,350				13,814,509
Personal Care Products (0.76%)
Unilever PLC(b)			240,204				15,603,652
ENERGY (1.83%)
Energy Equipment & Services (0.58%)
NOV, Inc.			441,864				7,056,568
Schlumberger NV			113,865				4,776,637
							11,833,205
Oil, Gas & Consumable Fuels (1.25%)
Coterra Energy, Inc.			320,800				7,683,160
Shell PLC(b)			145,792				9,614,982
TotalEnergies SE(b)			129,992				8,400,083
							25,698,225

 

See Notes to Schedule of Investments.
8	www.all-starfunds.com

 

Liberty All-Star® Equity Fund	Schedule of Investments
	September 30, 2024 (Unaudited)

 

		SHARES				VALUE
COMMON STOCKS (continued)
FINANCIALS (19.53%)
Banks (4.23%)
Bank of America Corp.			343,426			$	13,627,144
Citigroup, Inc.			283,757				17,763,188
Commerce Bancshares, Inc.			70,500				4,187,700
Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc.			50,900				5,693,674
JPMorgan Chase & Co.			29,013				6,117,681
Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Inc.(b)(c)			641,000				6,525,380
PNC Financial Services Group, Inc.			43,800				8,096,430
U.S. Bancorp			200,300				9,159,719
Wells Fargo & Co.			273,001				15,421,826
							86,592,742
Capital Markets (5.43%)
Ameriprise Financial, Inc.			28,600				13,436,566
BlackRock, Inc.			9,356				8,883,616
Blackstone Group LP			54,700				8,376,211
Charles Schwab Corp.			315,951				20,476,784
Goldman Sachs Group, Inc.			12,248				6,064,107
MSCI, Inc.			21,952				12,796,479
Northern Trust Corp.			59,125				5,323,024
S&P Global, Inc.			55,131				28,481,777
UBS Group AG			242,844				7,506,308
							111,344,872
Consumer Finance (1.81%)
American Express Co.			39,696				10,765,555
Capital One Financial Corp.			176,016				26,354,876
							37,120,431
Financial Services (5.14%)
Berkshire Hathaway, Inc., Class B(a)			45,389				20,890,741
Equitable Holdings, Inc.			329,928				13,866,874
Global Payments, Inc.			127,936				13,103,205
Mastercard, Inc., Class A			26,820				13,243,716
Visa, Inc., Class A			128,745				35,398,438
Voya Financial, Inc.			110,585				8,760,544
							105,263,518
Insurance (2.92%)
American International Group, Inc.			112,700				8,253,021
Aon PLC, Class A			47,738				16,516,871
Arch Capital Group, Ltd.(a)			53,296				5,962,756
MetLife, Inc.			172,133				14,197,530
Progressive Corp.			58,547				14,856,887
							59,787,065

 

See Notes to Schedule of Investments.
Third Quarter Report (Unaudited) | September 30, 2024	9

 

Liberty All-Star® Equity Fund	Schedule of Investments
	September 30, 2024 (Unaudited)

 

		SHARES				VALUE
COMMON STOCKS (continued)
HEALTH CARE (14.99%)
Biotechnology (0.52%)
Amgen, Inc.			32,900			$	10,600,709
Health Care Equipment & Supplies (4.49%)
Alcon, Inc.			93,800				9,386,566
Baxter International, Inc.			486,104				18,457,369
Boston Scientific Corp.(a)			120,853				10,127,481
Dexcom, Inc.(a)			59,165				3,966,422
Intuitive Surgical, Inc.(a)			21,986				10,801,062
Koninklijke Philips NV			402,334				13,164,369
Medtronic PLC			197,786				17,806,674
Smith & Nephew PLC(b)(c)			264,738				8,243,941
							91,953,884
Health Care Providers & Services (5.44%)
CVS Health Corp.			229,600				14,437,248
Fresenius Medical Care AG(b)			1,156,332				24,629,871
Humana, Inc.			43,423				13,753,801
Quest Diagnostics, Inc.			86,479				13,425,865
UnitedHealth Group, Inc.			77,279				45,183,486
							111,430,271
Life Sciences Tools & Services (1.87%)
Danaher Corp.			87,411				24,302,006
Thermo Fisher Scientific, Inc.			22,596				13,977,208
							38,279,214
Pharmaceuticals (2.67%)
Bristol-Myers Squibb Co.			246,566				12,757,325
Merck & Co., Inc.			78,500				8,914,460
Novo Nordisk A/S(b)			114,323				13,612,439
Pfizer, Inc.			367,153				10,625,408
Zoetis, Inc.			45,384				8,867,126
							54,776,758
INDUSTRIALS (8.78%)
Aerospace & Defense (0.74%)
General Dynamics Corp.			28,900				8,733,580
General Electric Co.			34,340				6,475,837
							15,209,417
Building Products (2.59%)
Carlisle Cos., Inc.			39,589				17,805,153
Carrier Global Corp.			212,998				17,144,209

 

See Notes to Schedule of Investments.
10	www.all-starfunds.com

Liberty All-Star® Equity Fund	Schedule of Investments
	September 30, 2024 (Unaudited)

 

		SHARES				VALUE
COMMON STOCKS (continued)
Building Products (continued)
Masco Corp.			214,129			$	17,973,988
							52,923,350
Commercial Services & Supplies (1.22%)
Waste Connections, Inc.			44,190				7,902,056
Waste Management, Inc.			81,859				16,993,928
							24,895,984
Ground Transportation (0.76%)
Canadian Pacific Kansas City, Ltd.			182,579				15,617,808
Industrial Conglomerates (0.39%)
Honeywell International, Inc.			39,000				8,061,690
Machinery (1.61%)
Oshkosh Corp.			53,600				5,371,256
Parker-Hannifin Corp.			28,200				17,817,324
Xylem, Inc.			72,500				9,789,675
							32,978,255
Passenger Airlines (0.50%)
Delta Air Lines, Inc.			202,504				10,285,178
Trading Companies & Distributors (0.97%)
Ferguson Enterprises, Inc.			99,940				19,845,086
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (21.66%)
Electronic Equipment & Instruments (0.38%)
TE Connectivity Ltd.			51,086				7,713,475
Electronic Equipment, Instruments & Components (0.78%)
CDW Corp.			36,863				8,342,097
Teledyne Technologies, Inc.(a)			17,600				7,702,816
							16,044,913
IT Services (2.69%)
Amdocs, Ltd.			132,812				11,618,394
Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp., Class A			180,764				13,951,365
Gartner, Inc.(a)			38,277				19,397,253
Shopify, Inc., Class A(a)			98,880				7,924,243
Snowflake, Inc., Class A(a)			18,558				2,131,572
							55,022,827
Semiconductors & Semiconductor Equipment (5.77%)
ASML Holding N.V.			10,846				9,037,430

 

See Notes to Schedule of Investments.
Third Quarter Report (Unaudited) | September 30, 2024	11

 

Liberty All-Star® Equity Fund	Schedule of Investments
	September 30, 2024 (Unaudited)

 

		SHARES				VALUE
COMMON STOCKS (continued)
Semiconductors & Semiconductor Equipment (continued)
Microchip Technology, Inc.			123,800			$	9,939,902
Micron Technology, Inc.			94,654				9,816,566
NVIDIA Corp.			566,555				68,802,439
QUALCOMM, Inc.			63,800				10,849,190
Skyworks Solutions, Inc.			99,204				9,798,379
							118,243,906
Software (11.37%)
Adobe, Inc.(a)			38,713				20,044,817
ANSYS, Inc.(a)			31,000				9,877,530
Autodesk, Inc.(a)			38,589				10,630,498
Cadence Design Systems, Inc.(a)			33,790				9,158,104
Crowdstrike Holdings, Inc., Class A(a)			34,527				9,683,788
Intuit, Inc.			18,100				11,240,100
Microsoft Corp.			172,195				74,095,508
Palo Alto Networks, Inc.(a)			27,588				9,429,578
Salesforce, Inc.			57,391				15,708,490
ServiceNow, Inc.(a)			38,202				34,167,487
Synopsys, Inc.(a)			30,466				15,427,678
Workday, Inc., Class A(a)			54,763				13,384,625
							232,848,203
Technology Hardware, Storage & Equipment (0.67%)
Apple, Inc.			59,333				13,824,589
MATERIALS (4.61%)
Chemicals (3.11%)
Corteva, Inc.			205,700				12,093,103
Dow, Inc.			355,607				19,426,811
Ecolab, Inc.			89,485				22,848,205
RPM International, Inc.			77,800				9,413,800
							63,781,919
Construction Materials (0.55%)
Martin Marietta Materials, Inc.			20,749				11,168,149
Containers & Packaging (0.95%)
Avery Dennison Corp.			88,246				19,481,187
REAL ESTATE (0.62%)
Residential REITs (0.32%)
Equity LifeStyle Properties, Inc.			92,200				6,577,548

 

See Notes to Schedule of Investments.
12	www.all-starfunds.com

Liberty All-Star® Equity Fund	Schedule of Investments
	September 30, 2024 (Unaudited)

 

		SHARES				VALUE
COMMON STOCKS (continued)
Specialized REITs (0.30%)
American Tower Corp.			26,316			$	6,120,049
UTILITIES (1.60%)
Electric Utilities (0.68%)
Edison International			73,213				6,376,120
Xcel Energy, Inc.			118,000				7,705,400
							14,081,520
Gas Utilities (0.49%)
Atmos Energy Corp.			72,100				10,000,991
Water Utilities (0.43%)
American Water Works Co., Inc.			59,900				8,759,776
TOTAL COMMON STOCKS
(COST OF $1,512,744,596)							1,998,330,343
SHORT TERM INVESTMENTS (3.59%)
MONEY MARKET FUND (2.47%)
State Street Institutional US Government Money Market Fund, Premier Class, 4.94%(d)
(COST OF $50,549,236)			50,549,236				50,549,236
INVESTMENTS PURCHASED WITH COLLATERAL FROM
SECURITIES LOANED (1.12%)
State Street Navigator Securities Lending Government Money Market Portfolio, 5.02%
(COST OF $22,855,622)			22,855,622				22,855,622
TOTAL SHORT TERM INVESTMENTS
(COST OF $73,404,858)							73,404,858
TOTAL INVESTMENTS (101.15%)
(COST OF $1,586,149,454)							2,071,735,201
LIABILITIES IN EXCESS OF OTHER ASSETS (-1.15%)							(23,399,577	)
NET ASSETS (100.00%)						$	2,048,335,624
NET ASSET VALUE PER SHARE
(285,759,625 SHARES OUTSTANDING)						$	7.17

 

See Notes to Schedule of Investments.
Third Quarter Report (Unaudited) | September 30, 2024	13

Liberty All-Star® Equity Fund	Schedule of Investments
	September 30, 2024 (Unaudited)

 

(a)	Non-income producing security.
(b)	American Depositary Receipt.
(c)	Security, or a portion of the security position, is currently on loan. The total market value of securities on loan is $36,958,049.
(d)	Rate reflects seven-day effective yield on September 30, 2024.

 

See Notes to Schedule of Investments.
14	www.all-starfunds.com

Liberty All-Star® Equity Fund	Notes to Schedule of Investments
	September 30, 2024 (Unaudited)

 

Security Valuation

Equity securities are valued at the last sale price at the close of the principal exchange on which they trade, except for securities listed on the NASDAQ Stock Market LLC (“NASDAQ”), 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.

 

Cash collateral from securities lending activity is reinvested in the State Street Navigator Securities Lending Government Money Market Portfolio (“State Street Navigator”), a registered investment company under the Investment Company Act of 1940 (the “1940 Act”), which operates as a money market fund in compliance with Rule 2a-7 under the 1940 Act. Shares of registered investment companies are valued daily at that investment company’s net asset value (“NAV”) per share.

 

The Fund’s investments are valued at market value or, in the absence of market value with respect to any portfolio securities, at fair value according to procedures adopted by the Fund's Board of Trustees (the "Board"). The Board has designated ALPS Advisors, Inc. (the “Advisor”) as the Fund’s Valuation Designee. The Valuation Designee is responsible for determining fair value in good faith for all Fund investments, subject to oversight by the Board. When market quotations are not readily available, or in management’s judgment they do not accurately reflect fair value of a security, or an event occurs after the market close but before the Fund is priced that materially affects the value of a security, the security will be valued by the Advisor’s Valuation Committee using fair valuation procedures established by the Valuation Designee. Examples of potentially significant events that could materially impact a Fund’s NAV include, but are not limited to: single issuer events such as corporate actions, reorganizations, mergers, spin-offs, liquidations, acquisitions and buyouts; corporate announcements on earnings or product offerings; regulatory news; and litigation and multiple issuer events such as governmental actions; natural disasters or armed conflicts that affect a country or a region; or significant market fluctuations. Potential significant events are monitored by the Advisor, Sub-Advisers and/or the Valuation Committee through independent reviews of market indicators, general news sources and communications from the Fund’s custodian. As of September 30, 2024, the Fund held no securities that were fair valued.

 

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.

 

Income Recognition

Interest income is recorded on the accrual basis. 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.

 

Third Quarter Report (Unaudited) | September 30, 2024

15

Liberty All-Star® Equity Fund	Notes to Schedule of Investments
	September 30, 2024 (Unaudited)

 

Lending of Portfolio Securities

The Fund may lend its portfolio securities only to borrowers that are approved by the Fund’s securities lending agent, State Street Bank & Trust Co. (“SSB”). The Fund will limit such lending to not more than 30% of the value of its total assets. The borrower pledges and maintains with the Fund collateral consisting of cash (U.S. Dollar only), securities issued or guaranteed by the U.S. government or its agencies or instrumentalities, or by irrevocable bank letters of credit issued by a person other than the borrower or an affiliate of the borrower. The initial collateral received by the Fund is required to have a value of no less than 102% of the market value of the loaned securities for securities traded on U.S. exchanges and a value of no less than 105% of the market value for all other securities. The collateral is maintained thereafter, at a market value equal to no less than 100% of the current value of the securities on loan. The market value of the loaned securities is determined at the close of each business day and any additional required collateral is delivered to the Fund on the next business day. During the term of the loan, the Fund is entitled to all distributions made on or in respect of the loaned securities. Loans of securities are terminable at any time and the borrower, after notice, is required to return borrowed securities within the standard time period for settlement of securities transactions.

 

Any cash collateral received is reinvested in State Street Navigator. Non-cash collateral, in the form of securities issued or guaranteed by the U.S. government or its agencies or instrumentalities, is not disclosed in the Fund’s Schedule of Investments as it is held by the lending agent on behalf of the Fund, and the Fund does not have the ability to re-hypothecate these securities.

 

The following is a summary of the Fund’s securities lending positions and related cash and non-cash collateral received as of September 30, 2024:

 

Market Value of Securities on Loan	Cash Collateral Received	Non-Cash Collateral Received	Total Collateral Received
$36,958,049	$22,855,622	$14,824,133	$37,679,755

 

The risks of securities lending include the risk that the borrower may not provide additional collateral when required or may not return the securities when due. To mitigate these risks, the Fund benefits from a borrower default indemnity provided by SSB. SSB’s indemnity allows for full replacement of securities lent wherein SSB will purchase the unreturned loaned securities on the open market by applying the proceeds of the collateral, or to the extent such proceeds are insufficient or the collateral is unavailable, SSB will purchase the unreturned loan securities at SSB’s expense. However, the Fund could suffer a loss if the value of the investments purchased with cash collateral falls below the value of the cash collateral received.

 

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.

 

16	www.all-starfunds.com

Liberty All-Star® Equity Fund	Notes to Schedule of Investments
	September 30, 2024 (Unaudited)

 

Valuation techniques used to value the Fund’s investments by major category are as follows:

 

Equity securities that are valued based on unadjusted quoted prices in active markets are categorized as Level 1 in the hierarchy. In the event there were no sales during the day or closing prices are not available, securities are valued at the mean of the most recent quoted bid and ask prices on such day and are generally categorized as Level 2 in the hierarchy. Investments in open-end mutual funds are valued at their closing NAV each business day and are categorized as Level 1 in the hierarchy.

 

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.

 

The following is a summary of the inputs used to value the Fund’s investments as of September 30, 2024:

 

		Valuation Inputs
Investments in Securities at Value		Level 1				Level 2				Level 3				Total
Common Stocks*		$	1,998,330,343			$	–			$	–			$	1,998,330,343
Short Term Investments			73,404,858				–				–				73,404,858
Total		$	2,071,735,201			$	–			$	–			$	2,071,735,201

 

*	See Schedule of Investments for industry classifications.

 

The Fund did not have any securities that used significant unobservable inputs (Level 3) in determining fair value during the period.

 

Third Quarter Report (Unaudited) | September 30, 2024

17

Liberty All-Star® Equity Fund	Notes to Schedule of Investments
	September 30, 2024 (Unaudited)

 

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.

 

18	www.all-starfunds.com

	Description of Lipper Benchmark
Liberty All-Star® Equity Fund	and Market Indices
	(Unaudited)

 

Dow Jones Industrial Average

A price-weighted measure of 30 U.S. blue-chip companies.

 

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 average characteristics compared to the S&P 500^® Index.

 

NASDAQ Composite Index

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

 

Russell 1000^® Growth Index (Largecap)

Measures the performance of those Russell 1000^® companies with lower book-to-price ratios and higher growth values. The Russell 1000^® Index measures the performance of the 1,000 largest companies in the Russell 3000^® Index.

 

Russell 1000^® Value Index (Largecap)

Measures the performance of those Russell 1000^® companies with higher book-to-price ratios and lower growth values.

 

S&P 500^® Index

A large-cap U.S. equities index that includes 500 leading companies and represents approximately 80% of the total domestic U.S. equity market capitalization.

 

S&P 500^® Equal Weight Index

The equal-weight version of the S&P 500^®.

 

An investor cannot invest directly in an index.

 

Third Quarter Report (Unaudited) | September 30, 2024

19

 

 

 

 

 

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