Liberty All-Star® Equity Fund December 2017 Update


BOSTON, Jan. 17, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Below is the December 2017 Monthly Update for the Liberty All-Star® Equity Fund. (NYSE:USA)

Liberty All-Star Equity Fund      Monthly Update
 Ticker: USA      December, 2017
Investment Approach       


Fund Style: Large-Cap Core   
     
Fund Strategy: Combines three value-style and two growth-style
investment managers. Those selected demonstrate a consistent
investment philosophy, decision making process, continuity of key
people and above-average long-term results compared to managers
with similar styles.   
     
Investment Managers:   
Value Managers:   
Aristotle Capitol Management, LLC   
Macquarie Investment Management   
Pzena Investment Management, LLC   
     
Growth Managers:   
Sustainable Growth Advisers, LP   
TCW Investment Management Company   
     
Top 20 Holdings at Month-End   
 (29.3% of equity portfolio)   
 (Rank from previous month)   
1Alphabet, Inc., Class C (3) 2.1%  
2Facebook, Inc., Class A (2) 2.1%  
3Visa, Inc., Class A (1) 2.0%  
4Salesforce.com, Inc. (4) 1.9%  
5Adobe Systems, Inc. (5) 1.8%  
6Amazon.com, Inc. (6) 1.8%  
7Mondelez International, Inc., Class A (7) 1.6%  
8Bank of America Corp. (8) 1.5%  
9Halliburton Co. (14) 1.4%  
10PayPal Holdings, Inc. (9) 1.3%  
11Equinix, Inc. (10) 1.3%  
12Starbucks Corp. (13) 1.3%  
13Lowe's Companies, Inc. (11) 1.2%  
14Oracle Corp. (15) 1.2%  
15Chubb Ltd. (12) 1.2%  
16The Home Depot, Inc. (16) 1.2%  
17The Priceline Group, Inc. (17) 1.1%  
18Capital One Financial Corp. (20) 1.1%  
19DowDuPont, Inc. (18) 1.1%  
20JPMorgan Chase & Co. (19) 1.1%  
 Holdings are subject to change.   
     


Monthly Performance  
PerformanceNAV
 Market Price
 Discount 
Beginning of month value$6.77 $6.09 -10.0% 
Distributions –  –   
End of month value$6.87 $6.30 -8.3% 
Performance for month 1.48%  3.45%   
Performance year-to-date 23.38%  34.42%   
  
The net asset value (NAV) of a closed-end fund is the market value of the underlying investments (i.e., stocks and bonds) in the Fund’s portfolio, minus liabilities, divided by the total number of Fund shares outstanding. However, the Fund also has a market price; the value at which it trades on an exchange. If the market price is above  the NAV the Fund is trading at a premium. If the market price is below the NAV the Fund is trading at a discount.
 
          
Performance returns for the Fund are total returns, which includes dividends, and are net of management fees and other Fund expenses. Returns are calculated assuming that a shareholder reinvested all distributions. Past performance cannot predict future investment results. 
          
Performance will fluctuate with changes in market conditions. Current performance may be lower or higher than the performance data shown. Performance information shown does not reflect the deduction of taxes that shareholders would pay on Fund distributions or the sale of Fund shares. Shareholders must be willing to tolerate significant fluctuations in the value of their investment. An investment in the Fund involves risk, including loss of principal.  
          
Sources of distributions to shareholders may include ordinary dividends, long-term capital gains and return of capital. 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. 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 shareholders’ 1099-DIV forms after the end of the year.
The Liberty All-Star Equity Fund is a closed-end fund and does not continuously offer shares.The Fund trades in the secondary market, investors wishing to buy or sell shares need to place orders through an intermediary or broker by using the Fund’s ticker symbol: USA. Secondary market support provided to the Fund by ALPS Fund Services, Inc.’s affiliate ALPS Portfolio Solutions Distributor, Inc., a FINRA member. All data is as of December 31, 2017 unless otherwise noted.
 
     
Net Assets at Month-End ($millions)   
Total$1,329.8    
Equities$1,304.5    
Percent Invested 98.1%    
    
Sector Breakdown (% of equity portfolio)*    
Information Technology  24.0%   
Financials  17.3%   
Health Care  14.6%   
Consumer Discretionary  13.9%   
Energy  8.8%   
Consumer Staples  6.5%   
Industrials  6.3%   
Materials  3.4%   
Real Estate  2.9%   
Telecommunication Services  1.2%   
Utilities  1.1%   
Total Market Value  100.0%   
*Based on Standard & Poor's and MSCI Barra Global Industry Classification Standard (GICS).    
     
New Holdings  Holdings Liquidated 
Align Technology, Inc.  Baxter International, Inc. 
The Walt Disney Co.    

Liberty All-Star® Equity Fund
1-800-241-1850
www.all-starfunds.com