UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549

 

FORM N-Q

 

QUARTERLY SCHEDULE OF PORTFOLIO HOLDINGS OF REGISTERED
MANAGEMENT INVESTMENT COMPANY

 

Investment Company Act file number

811-04809

 

 

LIBERTY ALL-STAR EQUITY FUND

(Exact name of registrant as specified in charter)

 

1290 Broadway, Suite 1100, Denver, Colorado

 

80203

(Address of principal executive offices)

 

(Zip code)

 

Tané T. Tyler

Liberty All-Star Equity Fund

1290 Broadway, Suite 1100

Denver, Colorado 80203

(Name and address of agent for service)

 

Registrant's telephone number, including area code:

(303) 623-2577

 

 

Date of fiscal year end:

December 31

 

 

 

 

Date of reporting period:

September 30, 2007

 

 



 

Item 1 – Schedule of Investments.

 



 

LIBERTY ALL-STAR EQUITY FUND

SCHEDULE OF INVESTMENTS

as of September 30, 2007 (Unaudited)

 

 

 

SHARES

 

MARKET VALUE

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

COMMON STOCKS (96.53%)

 

 

 

 

 

CONSUMER DISCRETIONARY (10.08%)

 

 

 

 

 

Auto Components (0.63%)

 

 

 

 

 

Magna International, Inc., Class A

 

76,775

 

$

7,394,200

 

Visteon Corp. (a)

 

298,075

 

1,535,086

 

 

 

 

 

8,929,286

 

Diversified Consumer Services (0.20%)

 

 

 

 

 

H&R Block, Inc.

 

135,000

 

2,859,300

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hotels, Restaurants & Leisure (1.61%)

 

 

 

 

 

Carnival Corp.

 

50,325

 

2,437,240

 

Las Vegas Sands Corp. (a)

 

63,490

 

8,470,836

 

McDonald’s Corp.

 

217,300

 

11,836,331

 

 

 

 

 

22,744,407

 

Household Durables (1.31%)

 

 

 

 

 

Centex Corp.

 

222,150

 

5,902,525

 

Pulte Homes, Inc.

 

431,670

 

5,875,029

 

Whirlpool Corp.

 

76,825

 

6,845,108

 

 

 

 

 

18,622,662

 

Internet & Catalog Retail (1.27%)

 

 

 

 

 

Amazon.com, Inc. (a)

 

192,780

 

17,957,457

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Media (2.36%)

 

 

 

 

 

Comcast Corp., Class A (a)

 

418,000

 

10,015,280

 

Liberty Media Corp., Capital Series A (a)

 

45,804

 

5,717,713

 

Time Warner, Inc.

 

582,000

 

10,685,520

 

XM Satellite Radio Holdings, Inc., Class A (a)

 

496,550

 

7,036,114

 

 

 

 

 

33,454,627

 

Specialty Retail (2.70%)

 

 

 

 

 

Chico’s FAS, Inc. (a)

 

16,150

 

226,908

 

The Gap, Inc.

 

502,000

 

9,256,880

 

Home Depot, Inc.

 

230,175

 

7,466,877

 

Office Depot, Inc. (a)

 

262,000

 

5,402,440

 

Staples, Inc.

 

344,150

 

7,395,783

 

TJX Companies, Inc.

 

294,200

 

8,552,394

 

 

 

 

 

38,301,282

 

CONSUMER STAPLES (3.78%)

 

 

 

 

 

Beverages (0.87%)

 

 

 

 

 

The Coca-Cola Co.

 

214,700

 

12,338,809

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Food & Staples Retailing (2.18%)

 

 

 

 

 

CVS Caremark Corp.

 

156,200

 

6,190,206

 

Walgreen Co.

 

51,900

 

2,451,756

 

Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.

 

510,475

 

22,282,234

 

 

 

 

 

30,924,196

 

Food Products (0.73%)

 

 

 

 

 

Kraft Foods, Inc.

 

174,575

 

6,024,583

 

Sara Lee Corp.

 

120,296

 

2,007,740

 

Smithfield Foods, Inc. (a)

 

14,475

 

455,962

 

Tyson Foods, Inc., Class A

 

102,150

 

1,823,378

 

 

 

 

 

10,311,663

 

 



 

ENERGY (9.07%)

 

 

 

 

 

Energy Equipment & Services (2.67%)

 

 

 

 

 

National Oilwell Varco, Inc. (a)

 

26,600

 

$

3,843,700

 

Schlumberger Ltd.

 

323,430

 

33,960,150

 

 

 

 

 

37,803,850

 

Oil, Gas & Consumable Fuels (6.40%)

 

 

 

 

 

Arch Coal, Inc.

 

352,750

 

11,901,785

 

BP PLC (b)

 

88,200

 

6,116,670

 

Cameco Corp.

 

67,150

 

3,105,016

 

Chevron Corp.

 

120,000

 

11,229,600

 

ConocoPhillips

 

140,000

 

12,287,800

 

Consol Energy, Inc.

 

332,200

 

15,480,520

 

Devon Energy Corp.

 

113,000

 

9,401,600

 

Exxon Mobil Corp.

 

119,500

 

11,060,920

 

Massey Energy Co.

 

181,825

 

3,967,421

 

Transocean, Inc. (a)

 

54,300

 

6,138,615

 

 

 

 

 

90,689,947

 

FINANCIALS (21.57%)

 

 

 

 

 

Capital Markets (2.16%)

 

 

 

 

 

Lehman Brothers Holdings, Inc.

 

96,600

 

5,963,118

 

Merrill Lynch & Co., Inc.

 

138,000

 

9,836,640

 

Morgan Stanley

 

236,075

 

14,872,725

 

 

 

 

 

30,672,483

 

Commercial Banks (1.25%)

 

 

 

 

 

Comerica, Inc.

 

93,825

 

4,811,346

 

Commerce Bancorp, Inc.

 

332,210

 

12,883,104

 

 

 

 

 

17,694,450

 

Consumer Finance (0.76%)

 

 

 

 

 

Capital One Financial Corp.

 

103,200

 

6,855,576

 

Discover Financial Services LLC (a)

 

188,537

 

3,921,570

 

 

 

 

 

10,777,146

 

Diversified Financial Services (4.69%)

 

 

 

 

 

Bank of America Corp.

 

397,075

 

19,960,960

 

Citigroup, Inc.

 

705,975

 

32,947,853

 

IntercontinentalExchange, Inc. (a)

 

31,490

 

4,783,331

 

JPMorgan Chase & Co.

 

191,000

 

8,751,620

 

 

 

 

 

66,443,764

 

Insurance (6.15%)

 

 

 

 

 

The Allstate Corp.

 

182,500

 

10,437,175

 

American International Group, Inc.

 

196,750

 

13,310,137

 

Fidelity National Financial, Inc.

 

252,825

 

4,419,381

 

First American Corp.

 

110,375

 

4,041,932

 

Genworth Financial, Inc., Class A

 

211,000

 

6,484,030

 

MBIA, Inc.

 

42,475

 

2,593,099

 

MetLife, Inc.

 

89,475

 

6,239,092

 

The Progressive Corp.

 

641,370

 

12,448,992

 

RenaissanceRe Holdings Ltd.

 

52,525

 

3,435,660

 

Torchmark Corp.

 

166,300

 

10,363,816

 

Unum Group

 

61,050

 

1,493,894

 

XL Capital Ltd., Class A

 

149,025

 

11,802,780

 

 

 

 

 

87,069,988

 

Real Estate Investment Trusts (1.36%)

 

 

 

 

 

Annaly Capital Management, Inc.

 

1,073,525

 

17,101,253

 

iStar Financial, Inc.

 

31,400

 

1,067,286

 

Redwood Trust, Inc.

 

31,800

 

1,056,396

 

 

 

 

 

19,224,935

 

 



 

Thrifts & Mortgage Finance (5.20%)

 

 

 

 

 

Countrywide Financial Corp.

 

723,230

 

$

13,748,602

 

Fannie Mae

 

409,591

 

24,907,229

 

Freddie Mac

 

378,200

 

22,317,582

 

Radian Group, Inc.

 

248,425

 

5,783,334

 

Washington Mutual, Inc.

 

196,650

 

6,943,712

 

 

 

 

 

73,700,459

 

HEALTH CARE (12.28%)

 

 

 

 

 

Biotechnology (2.08%)

 

 

 

 

 

Amgen, Inc. (a)

 

82,350

 

4,658,540

 

Cephalon, Inc. (a)

 

82,600

 

6,034,756

 

Genentech, Inc. (a)

 

114,600

 

8,941,092

 

Genzyme Corp. (a)

 

159,170

 

9,862,173

 

 

 

 

 

29,496,561

 

Health Care Equipment & Supplies (3.11%)

 

 

 

 

 

Baxter International, Inc.

 

181,900

 

10,237,332

 

Becton Dickinson & Co.

 

37,400

 

3,068,670

 

Boston Scientific Corp. (a)

 

166,925

 

2,328,604

 

Covidien Ltd. (a)

 

286,400

 

11,885,600

 

St. Jude Medical, Inc. (a)

 

99,500

 

4,384,965

 

Stryker Corp.

 

87,700

 

6,030,252

 

Varian Medical Systems, Inc. (a)

 

145,700

 

6,103,373

 

 

 

 

 

44,038,796

 

Health Care Providers & Services (1.66%)

 

 

 

 

 

AmerisourceBergen Corp.

 

104,625

 

4,742,651

 

Express Scripts, Inc. (a)

 

110,400

 

6,162,528

 

Omnicare, Inc.

 

201,850

 

6,687,291

 

PharMerica Corp. (a)

 

8,723

 

130,147

 

WellPoint, Inc. (a)

 

74,300

 

5,863,756

 

 

 

 

 

23,586,373

 

Health Care Technology (0.36%)

 

 

 

 

 

Cerner Corp. (a)

 

84,732

 

5,067,821

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pharmaceuticals (5.07%)

 

 

 

 

 

Bristol-Myers Squibb Co.

 

198,775

 

5,728,695

 

Johnson & Johnson

 

290,250

 

19,069,425

 

Pfizer, Inc.

 

768,200

 

18,767,126

 

Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. (b)

 

425,500

 

18,921,985

 

Wyeth

 

208,500

 

9,288,675

 

 

 

 

 

71,775,906

 

INDUSTRIALS (12.33%)

 

 

 

 

 

Aerospace & Defense (5.09%)

 

 

 

 

 

The Boeing Co.

 

48,050

 

5,044,769

 

Bombardier, Inc., Class B (a)

 

922,225

 

5,479,666

 

General Dynamics Corp.

 

72,200

 

6,098,734

 

Goodrich Corp.

 

58,700

 

4,005,101

 

Honeywell International, Inc.

 

145,500

 

8,652,885

 

L-3 Communications Holdings, Inc.

 

25,300

 

2,584,142

 

Lockheed Martin Corp.

 

73,700

 

7,995,713

 

Northrop Grumman Corp.

 

64,675

 

5,044,650

 

Precision Castparts Corp.

 

40,300

 

5,963,594

 

Rockwell Collins, Inc.

 

113,900

 

8,319,256

 

United Technologies Corp.

 

159,900

 

12,868,752

 

 

 

 

 

72,057,262

 

Air Freight & Logistics (1.05%)

 

 

 

 

 

C.H. Robinson Worldwide, Inc.

 

149,845

 

8,135,085

 

Expeditors International of Washington, Inc.

 

141,245

 

6,680,889

 

 

 

 

 

14,815,974

 

 



 

Industrial Conglomerates (3.34%)

 

 

 

 

 

3M Co.

 

179,100

 

$

16,760,178

 

General Electric Co.

 

501,000

 

20,741,400

 

Tyco International Ltd.

 

222,000

 

9,843,480

 

 

 

 

 

47,345,058

 

Machinery (2.66%)

 

 

 

 

 

AGCO Corp. (a)

 

73,000

 

3,706,210

 

Danaher Corp.

 

59,800

 

4,946,058

 

Deere & Co.

 

84,800

 

12,586,016

 

Navistar International Corp. (a)

 

266,933

 

16,469,766

 

 

 

 

 

37,708,050

 

Road & Rail (0.19%)

 

 

 

 

 

CSX Corp.

 

63,625

 

2,718,696

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (21.90%)

 

 

 

 

 

Communications Equipment (4.50%)

 

 

 

 

 

Alcatel-Lucent (b)

 

1,159,223

 

11,800,890

 

Cisco Systems, Inc. (a)

 

664,600

 

22,004,906

 

Motorola, Inc.

 

129,125

 

2,392,686

 

Nokia Corp. (b)

 

203,700

 

7,726,341

 

QUALCOMM, Inc.

 

470,500

 

19,883,330

 

 

 

 

 

63,808,153

 

Computers & Peripherals (4.34%)

 

 

 

 

 

Dell, Inc. (a)

 

697,425

 

19,248,930

 

EMC Corp. (a)

 

585,900

 

12,186,720

 

Hewlett-Packard Co.

 

253,500

 

12,621,765

 

International Business Machines Corp.

 

101,400

 

11,944,920

 

Network Appliance, Inc. (a)

 

206,615

 

5,560,010

 

 

 

 

 

61,562,345

 

Electronic Equipment & Instruments (1.03%)

 

 

 

 

 

AU Optronics Corp. (b)

 

541,519

 

9,162,496

 

Celestica, Inc. (a)

 

294,225

 

1,797,715

 

Tyco Electronics Ltd.

 

103,250

 

3,658,147

 

 

 

 

 

14,618,358

 

Internet Software & Services (2.75%)

 

 

 

 

 

eBay, Inc. (a)

 

316,000

 

12,330,320

 

Google, Inc., Class A (a)

 

35,300

 

20,024,631

 

VeriSign, Inc. (a)

 

197,795

 

6,673,603

 

 

 

 

 

39,028,554

 

IT Services (1.83%)

 

 

 

 

 

Accenture Ltd., Class A

 

112,400

 

4,524,100

 

Affiliated Computer Services, Inc., Class A (a)

 

131,375

 

6,600,280

 

BearingPoint, Inc. (a)

 

581,130

 

2,353,577

 

Computer Sciences Corp. (a)

 

20,000

 

1,118,000

 

The Western Union Co.

 

540,000

 

11,323,800

 

 

 

 

 

25,919,757

 

Semiconductors & Semiconductor Equipment (2.01%)

 

 

 

 

 

Analog Devices, Inc.

 

121,000

 

4,375,360

 

Intel Corp.

 

385,000

 

9,956,100

 

International Rectifier Corp. (a)

 

117,203

 

3,866,527

 

Novellus Systems, Inc. (a)

 

189,000

 

5,152,140

 

NVIDIA Corp. (a)

 

99,450

 

3,604,068

 

Qimonda (a)(b)

 

128,550

 

1,452,615

 

 

 

 

 

28,406,810

 

 



 

Software (5.44%)

 

 

 

 

 

Autodesk, Inc. (a)

 

241,660

 

$

12,075,750

 

CA, Inc.

 

274,050

 

7,048,566

 

Microsoft Corp.

 

632,875

 

18,644,498

 

Oracle Corp. (a)

 

781,225

 

16,913,521

 

Salesforce.com, Inc. (a)

 

331,700

 

17,022,844

 

Symantec Corp. (a)

 

275,000

 

5,329,500

 

 

 

 

 

77,034,679

 

MATERIALS (1.73%)

 

 

 

 

 

Chemicals (0.96%)

 

 

 

 

 

Cytec Industries, Inc.

 

29,475

 

2,015,795

 

Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan, Inc.

 

43,500

 

4,597,950

 

Praxair, Inc.

 

84,700

 

7,094,472

 

 

 

 

 

13,708,217

 

Metals & Mining (0.77%)

 

 

 

 

 

Allegheny Technologies, Inc.

 

98,917

 

10,875,924

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

TELECOMMUNICATION SERVICES (2.11%)

 

 

 

 

 

Wireless Telecommunication Services (2.11%)

 

 

 

 

 

America Movil, S.A. de C.V. (b)

 

232,300

 

14,867,200

 

China Mobile Ltd. (b)

 

57,100

 

4,684,484

 

Mobile TeleSystems (b)

 

115,300

 

7,991,443

 

Sprint Nextel Corp.

 

126,925

 

2,411,575

 

 

 

 

 

29,954,702

 

UTILITIES (1.68%)

 

 

 

 

 

Electric Utilities (0.91%)

 

 

 

 

 

Reliant Energy, Inc. (a)

 

504,525

 

12,915,840

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Multi-Utilities (0.77%)

 

 

 

 

 

Sempra Energy

 

101,925

 

5,923,881

 

Wisconsin Energy Corp., Series C

 

110,200

 

4,962,306

 

 

 

 

 

10,886,187

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

TOTAL COMMON STOCKS
(COST OF $1,221,847,171)

 

 

 

1,367,850,734

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

EXCHANGE TRADED FUNDS (0.27%)

 

 

 

 

 

EXCHANGE TRADED FUNDS (0.27%)

 

 

 

 

 

iShares Russell 1000 Value Index Fund
(COST OF $3,605,565)

 

43,800

 

3,765,486

 

 

 

 

PAR

 

 

 

 

 

VALUE

 

MARKET VALUE

 

SHORT TERM INVESTMENTS (2.83%)

 

 

 

 

 

REPURCHASE AGREEMENT (2.83%)

 

 

 

 

 

Repurchase agreement with State Street Bank & Trust Co., dated 09/28/07, due 10/01/07 at 4.05%, collateralized by several U.S. Treasury Bonds with various maturity dates, market value of $40,850,133 (repurchase proceeds of $40,061,019) (COST OF $40,043,000)

 

$

40,043,000

 

$

40,043,000

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

TOTAL INVESTMENTS (99.63%)
(COST OF $1,265,495,736)(c)

 

 

 

1,411,659,220

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

OTHER ASSETS IN EXCESS OF LIABILITIES (0.37%)

 

 

 

5,282,625

 

NET ASSETS (100.00%)

 

 

 

$

1,416,941,845

 

NET ASSET VALUE PER SHARE (160,681,907 SHARES OUTSTANDING)

 

 

 

$

8.82

 

 


(a)

 

Non-income producing security

(b)

 

American Depository Receipt

(c)

 

Cost of investments for federal income tax purposes is $1,273,394,092

 

 

 

 

 

Gross unrealized appreciation and depreciation at September 30, 2007 based on cost of investments for federal income tax purposes is as follows:

 

 

 

 

Gross unrealized appreciation

 

$

214,296,869

 

Gross unrealized depreciation

 

(76,031,741

)

Net unrealized appreciation

 

$

138,265,128

 

 



 

NOTES TO STATEMENTS OF INVESTMENTS (unaudited)

 

NOTE 1. ORGANIZATION

 

Liberty All-Star Equity Fund (the “Fund”) is a Massachusetts business trust registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940 (the “Act”), as amended, as a diversified, closed-end management investment company.

 

Investment Goal

The Fund seeks total investment return comprised of longterm capital appreciation and current income through investing primarily in a diversified portfolio of equity securities.

 

Fund Shares

The Fund may issue an unlimited number of shares of beneficial interest.

 

NOTE 2. SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES

 

Use of Estimates

The preparation of financial statements in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“GAAP”) requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities, the disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of revenue and expenses during the reporting period. Actual results could differ from those estimates. The following is a summary of significant accounting policies consistently followed by the Fund in the preparation of its financial statements.

 

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, 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”), based upon market transactions for normal, institutional-size trading units of similar securities. 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.

 



 

Security Transactions

Security transactions are accounted for on the 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 may engage in repurchase agreement transactions with institutions that the Fund’s investment adviser 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.

 

Income Recognition

Interest income is recorded on the accrual basis. Premium and discount 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 (REIT’s). Distributions received in excess of income are recorded as a reduction of the cost of the related investments. If the Fund no longer owns the applicable securities, any distributions received in excess of income are recorded as realized gains.

 

Federal Income Tax Status

Consistent with the Fund’s policy to qualify as a regulated investment company and to distribute all of its taxable income to shareholders, no federal income tax has been accrued.

 

Distributions to Shareholders

The Fund currently has a policy of paying distributions on its shares of beneficial interest totaling approximately 10% of its net asset value per year. The distributions are payable in four quarterly distributions of 2.5% 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. Distributions to shareholders are recorded on ex-date.

 



 

Item 2 - Controls and Procedures.

 

(a)           The registrant’s Principal Executive Officer and Principal Financial Officer have evaluated the registrant’s disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Rule 30a-3(c) under the Investment Company Act of 1940) within 90 days of this filing and have concluded that the registrant’s disclosure controls and procedures were effective, as of that date.

 

(b)           There was no change in the registrant’s internal control over financial reporting (as defined in Rule 30a-3(d) under the Investment Company Act of 1940) during registrant’s last fiscal quarter that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, the registrant’s internal control over financial reporting.

 

Item 3 – Exhibits.

 

Separate certifications for the registrant’s Principal Executive Officer and Principal Financial Officer, as required by Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 and Rule 30a-2(a) under the Investment Company Act of 1940, are attached as Ex99.CERT.

 

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SIGNATURES

 

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and the Investment Company Act of 1940, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.

 

 

LIBERTY ALL-STAR EQUITY FUND

 

 

 

 

By:

/s/ William Parmentier

 

 

 

William Parmentier

 

 

President (principal executive

 

 

officer)

 

 

 

 

Date:

November 29, 2007

 

 

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and the Investment Company Act of 1940, this report has been signed below by the following persons on behalf of the registrant and in the capacities and on the dates indicated.

 

 

By:

/s/ William Parmentier

 

 

 

William Parmentier

 

 

President (principal executive

 

 

officer)

 

 

 

 

Date:

November 29, 2007

 

 

 

By:

/s/ Jeremy O. May

 

 

 

Jeremy O. May

 

 

Treasurer (principal financial

 

 

officer)

 

 

 

 

Date:

November 29, 2007

 

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