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: 811-04605
First Opportunity Fund, Inc.
(Exact name of registrant as specified in charter)
2344 Spruce Street, Suite A, Boulder, CO 80302
(Address of principal executive offices) (Zip code)
Fund Administrative Services, LLC
2344 Spruce Street, Suite A
Boulder, CO 80302
(Name and address of agent for service)
Registrants telephone number, including area code: (303) 444-5483
Date of fiscal year end: March 31
Date of reporting period: June 30, 2013
Item 1 Schedule of Investments.
The Schedule of Investments is included herewith.
Consolidated Portfolio of Investments as of June 30, 2013 (Unaudited)
FIRST OPPORTUNITY FUND, INC.
Shares | Description | Value (Note 1) |
||||
|
||||||
LONG TERM INVESTMENTS (96.5%) |
| |||||
DOMESTIC COMMON STOCKS (54.5%) |
| |||||
Banks & Thrifts (11.8%) |
| |||||
29,289 |
Bank of Commerce Holdings | $147,617 | ||||
35,498 |
Carolina Trust Bank* | 87,325 | ||||
43,644 |
Central Valley Community Bancorp | 427,711 | ||||
12,300 |
Citizens & Northern Corp. | 237,636 | ||||
60,000 |
Community Bank*(a)(b)(c) | 5,986,800 | ||||
77,436 |
Eastern Virginia Bankshares, Inc.* | 387,180 | ||||
39,700 |
First American International*(a)(b)(c) | 829,333 | ||||
116,276 |
First Capital Bancorp, Inc.* | 395,338 | ||||
66,726 |
First Southern Bancorp, Inc. - Class B* | 310,276 | ||||
193,261 |
Florida Capital Group*(a)(b)(c) | 8,117 | ||||
126,100 |
Metro Bancorp, Inc.* | 2,525,783 | ||||
905,600 |
National Bancshares, Inc.*(a)(b)(c) | 370,662 | ||||
4,000 |
North Dallas Bank & Trust Co.* | 184,640 | ||||
30,400 |
Oak Ridge Financial Services, Inc.* | 124,032 | ||||
1,900 |
Old Point Financial Corp. | 24,700 | ||||
44,300 |
OmniAmerican Bancorp, Inc.* | 975,929 | ||||
190,540 |
Republic First Bancorp, Inc.* | 543,039 | ||||
55,000 |
San Diego Private Bank* | 577,500 | ||||
92,195 |
Southern First Bancshares, Inc.* | 996,628 | ||||
79,900 |
Southern National Bancorp of Virginia, Inc. | 781,422 | ||||
302,900 |
Square 1 Financial, Inc.*(a)(b)(c) | 2,453,490 | ||||
62,746 |
Square 1 Financial, Inc. - Class A*(a)(b)(c) | 508,243 | ||||
41,122 |
Valley Commerce Bancorp | 528,829 | ||||
419,789 |
Wells Fargo & Co. | 17,324,692 | ||||
12,404 |
Xenith Bankshares, Inc.* | 65,245 | ||||
|
|
|||||
36,802,167 | ||||||
|
|
|||||
Construction Machinery (0.9%) |
| |||||
35,200 |
Caterpillar, Inc. | 2,903,648 | ||||
|
|
|||||
Diversified Financial Services (6.4%) |
| |||||
60,000 |
Independence Financial Group, Inc.*(a)(b)(c) | 540,600 | ||||
303,800 |
JPMorgan Chase & Co. | 16,037,602 | ||||
125,890 |
Mackinac Financial Corp. | 1,088,949 | ||||
455,100 |
Ocwen Structured Investments, LLC*(a)(b)(c) | 297,681 | ||||
25,000 |
South Street Securities Holdings, Inc.*(a)(c)(d) | 1,085,250 | ||||
47,960 |
Tiptree Financial*(a)(c)(d) | 939,536 | ||||
|
|
|||||
19,989,618 | ||||||
|
|
|||||
Environmental Control (0.3%) |
| |||||
30,000 |
Republic Services, Inc. | 1,018,200 | ||||
|
|
|||||
Healthcare Products & Services (2.5%) |
| |||||
91,800 |
Johnson & Johnson | 7,881,948 | ||||
|
|
|||||
Insurance (2.0%) |
| |||||
19,678 |
Forethought Financial Group, Inc. - Class A*(a)(b)(c) | 6,246,191 | ||||
|
|
|||||
Mining (3.8%) |
| |||||
425,300 |
Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold, Inc. | 11,742,533 | ||||
|
|
Shares | Description | Value (Note 1) |
||||
|
||||||
Mortgages & REITS (0.0%) | ||||||
155,504 |
Newcastle Investment Holdings Corp., REIT*(c) | $72,838 | ||||
|
|
|||||
Oil & Gas (4.0%) |
||||||
97,300 |
Chevron Corp. | 11,514,482 | ||||
30,000 |
Linn Energy LLC | 995,400 | ||||
|
|
|||||
12,509,882 | ||||||
|
|
|||||
Pharmaceuticals (0.3%) |
||||||
20,447 |
Merck & Co., Inc. | 949,763 | ||||
|
|
|||||
Pipelines (0.7%) |
||||||
33,250 |
Enterprise Products Partners LP | 2,066,487 | ||||
|
|
|||||
Registered Investment Companies (RICs) (0.4%) |
||||||
40,000 |
Cohen & Steers Infrastructure Fund, Inc. | 755,600 | ||||
18,727 |
RMR Real Estate Income Fund | 377,349 | ||||
|
|
|||||
1,132,949 | ||||||
|
|
|||||
Retail (4.4%) |
||||||
253,700 |
Kohls Corp. | 12,814,387 | ||||
10,000 |
Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. | 744,900 | ||||
|
|
|||||
13,559,287 | ||||||
|
|
|||||
Savings & Loans (7.3%) |
||||||
10,000 |
Auburn Bancorp, Inc.* | 60,000 | ||||
40,846 |
CFS Bancorp, Inc. | 437,869 | ||||
33,500 |
Eagle Bancorp | 357,445 | ||||
31,254 |
Georgetown Bancorp, Inc. | 442,244 | ||||
84,989 |
Hampden Bancorp, Inc. | 1,267,186 | ||||
22,030 |
HF Financial Corp. | 286,831 | ||||
47,216 |
Home Bancorp, Inc.* | 873,496 | ||||
88,948 |
Home Federal Bancorp, Inc. | 1,133,198 | ||||
42,000 |
Liberty Bancorp, Inc. | 441,000 | ||||
16,122 |
Malvern Bancorp, Inc.* | 192,819 | ||||
310,300 |
MidCountry Financial Corp.*(a)(b)(c) | 3,770,145 | ||||
11,314 |
Newport Bancorp, Inc.* | 193,130 | ||||
106,998 |
Ocean Shore Holding Co. | 1,478,712 | ||||
29,100 |
Old Line Bancshares, Inc. | 383,829 | ||||
168,810 |
Pacific Premier Bancorp, Inc.* | 2,062,858 | ||||
165,930 |
Perpetual Federal Savings Bank(e) | 3,152,670 | ||||
40,650 |
Redwood Financial, Inc.*(e) | 693,082 | ||||
89,993 |
River Valley Bancorp(e) | 1,864,655 | ||||
6,300 |
Royal Financial, Inc.* | 30,870 | ||||
273,079 |
SI Financial Group, Inc. | 3,017,523 | ||||
110,500 |
Third Century Bancorp*(e) | 569,075 | ||||
|
|
|||||
22,708,637 | ||||||
|
|
|||||
Software & Services (3.5%) |
||||||
57,000 |
International Business Machines Corp. | 10,893,270 | ||||
|
|
|||||
Technology, Hardware & Equipment (5.4%) |
||||||
638,825 |
Cisco Systems, Inc. | 15,529,836 | ||||
23,000 |
Harris Corp. | 1,132,750 | ||||
|
|
|||||
16,662,586 | ||||||
|
|
|||||
Tobacco Products (0.8%) |
||||||
42,000 |
Altria Group, Inc. | 1,469,580 |
Shares | Description | Value (Note 1) |
||||
|
||||||
Tobacco Products (continued) |
||||||
11,000 |
Philip Morris International, Inc. | $952,820 | ||||
|
|
|||||
2,422,400 | ||||||
|
|
|||||
TOTAL DOMESTIC COMMON STOCKS |
169,562,404 | |||||
|
|
|||||
FOREIGN COMMON STOCKS (7.8%) |
||||||
Banks & Thrifts (0.2%) |
||||||
5,490 |
Gronlandsbanken AB | 541,326 | ||||
|
|
|||||
Insurance (0.4%) |
||||||
6,700 |
Muenchener Rueckversicherungs AG | 1,233,150 | ||||
|
|
|||||
Iron/Steel (1.5%) |
||||||
72,000 |
POSCO, ADR | 4,685,760 | ||||
|
|
|||||
National Stock Exchange (0.5%) |
||||||
17,776 |
NSE India, Ltd.*(a)(b)(c) | 1,420,578 | ||||
|
|
|||||
Oil & Gas (0.7%) |
||||||
18,000 |
Total SA, Sponsored ADR | 876,600 | ||||
30,200 |
Transocean, Ltd. | 1,448,090 | ||||
|
|
|||||
2,324,690 | ||||||
|
|
|||||
Pharmaceuticals (3.8%) |
||||||
24,000 |
Sanofi | 2,487,283 | ||||
180,300 |
Sanofi, ADR | 9,287,253 | ||||
|
|
|||||
11,774,536 | ||||||
|
|
|||||
Real Estate (0.7%) |
||||||
98,000 |
Cheung Kong Holdings, Ltd. | 1,329,234 | ||||
2,490,000 |
Midland Holdings, Ltd. | 931,015 | ||||
|
|
|||||
2,260,249 | ||||||
|
|
|||||
TOTAL FOREIGN COMMON STOCKS |
24,240,289 | |||||
|
|
|||||
DOMESTIC LIMITED PARTNERSHIPS (16.9%) |
||||||
Bay Pond Partners, LP*(a)(b)(c) | 52,454,209 | |||||
|
|
|||||
TOTAL DOMESTIC LIMITED PARTNERSHIPS |
52,454,209 | |||||
|
|
|||||
FOREIGN LIMITED PARTNERSHIPS (16.7%) |
||||||
Wolf Creek Investors (Bermuda), LP, a Wellington Management Investors (Bermuda), Ltd. share class*(a)(b)(c) | 51,824,841 | |||||
|
|
|||||
TOTAL FOREIGN LIMITED PARTNERSHIPS |
51,824,841 | |||||
|
|
|||||
DOMESTIC PREFERRED STOCKS (0.5%) |
||||||
1,600 |
Maiden Holdings, Ltd., Series C, 14.00%*(a)(c)(d) | 1,734,704 | ||||
|
|
|||||
TOTAL DOMESTIC PREFERRED STOCKS |
1,734,704 | |||||
|
|
Shares | Description | Value (Note 1) |
||||
|
||||||
DOMESTIC WARRANTS (0.1%) |
||||||
116,276 |
First Capital Bancorp, Inc., Warrant, strike price $1.00, Expires 2/8/2022*(c) | $110,009 | ||||
26,230 |
Flagstar Bancorp, Warrant, strike price $10.00, Expires 1/30/2019*(c) | 174,791 | ||||
|
|
|||||
284,800 | ||||||
|
|
|||||
TOTAL DOMESTIC WARRANTS |
284,800 | |||||
|
|
|||||
TOTAL LONG TERM INVESTMENTS |
300,101,247 | |||||
|
|
|||||
SHORT TERM INVESTMENTS (3.4%) |
||||||
Money Market Funds (3.4%) |
||||||
3,791,523 |
Dreyfus Treasury & Agency Cash Management Money Market Fund, Institutional Class (7 day Yield 0.010%) | 3,791,523 | ||||
6,900,000 |
JPMorgan Prime Money Market Fund (7 day Yield 0.065%) | 6,900,000 | ||||
|
|
|||||
TOTAL SHORT TERM INVESTMENTS |
10,691,523 | |||||
|
|
|||||
TOTAL INVESTMENTS (99.9%) |
310,792,770 | |||||
TOTAL OTHER ASSETS LESS LIABILITIES (0.1%) |
167,567 | |||||
|
|
|||||
TOTAL NET ASSETS (100.0%) |
$310,960,337 | |||||
|
|
* | Non-income producing security. |
(a) | Indicates a security which is considered restricted. Also see Notes to Quarterly Consolidated Portfolio of Investments. |
(b) | Private Placement: these securities may only be resold in transactions exempt from registration under the Securities Act of 1933. As of June 30, 2013, these securities had a total value of $126,710,890 or 40.75% of total net assets. |
(c) | Fair valued security under procedures established by the Funds Board of Directors. Total value of fair valued securities as of June 30, 2013 was $130,828,018 or 42.07% of total net assets. |
(d) | Security exempt from registration under Rule 144A of the Securities Act of 1933. These securities may be resold in transactions exempt from registration, normally to qualified institutional buyers. As of June 30, 2013 these securities had a total value of $3,759,490 or 1.21% of total net assets. |
(e) | Affiliated Company. See accompanying Notes to Quarterly Consolidated Portfolio of Investments. |
Common Abbreviations:
AB - Aktiebolag is the Swedish equivalent of the term corporation
ADR - American Depositary Receipt
AG - Aktiengesellschaft is a German term that refers to a corporation that is limited by shares, i.e., owned by shareholders
LLC - Limited Liability Company
LP - Limited Partnership
Ltd. - Limited
REIT - Real Estate Investment Trust
SA - Generally designates corporations in various countries, mostly those employing the civil law. This translates literally in all languages mentioned as anonymous company.
See accompanying Notes to Quarterly Consolidated Portfolio of Investments.
Regional Breakdown as a % of Total Net Assets |
||||
United States |
75.5 | |||
|
||||
Bermuda |
16.7 | |||
|
||||
France |
4.1 | |||
|
||||
South Korea |
1.5 | |||
|
||||
Hong Kong |
0.7 | |||
|
||||
Switzerland |
0.4 | |||
|
||||
India |
0.4 | |||
|
||||
Germany |
0.4 | |||
|
||||
Denmark |
0.2 | |||
|
||||
Other Assets and Liabilities |
0.1 | |||
|
Notes to Quarterly Consolidated Portfolio of Investments
June 30, 2013 (Unaudited)
Note 1. Valuation and Investment Practices
Basis for Consolidation: The First Opportunity Fund, Inc. (the Fund) invests a significant portion of its investments (the Hedge Fund Portfolio) in private investment partnerships and similar investment vehicles, typically referred to as hedge funds (Hedge Funds). In addition, a portion of the Funds assets are invested primarily in equity securities issued by financial services companies (the Legacy Portfolio). The accompanying Consolidated Portfolio of Investments includes the investment positions of FOFI 1, Ltd. and FOFI 2, Ltd. (the Subsidiaries), each a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Fund, organized under the laws of the Cayman Islands. FOFI 1, Ltd. invests in Bay Pond Partners, LP, and FOFI 2, Ltd. contains cash and accruals for expenses related to the subsidiary. The Fund may invest up to 25% of its total assets in the Subsidiaries. The aggregated net assets of the Subsidiaries at June 30, 2013 were $52,384,265 or 16.8% of the Funds consolidated total net assets. The Consolidated Portfolio of Investments includes positions of the Fund and of the Subsidiaries. The Subsidiaries price their portfolio investments pursuant to the same pricing and valuation methodologies used by the Fund.
Securities Valuation: Equity securities for which market quotations are readily available (including securities listed on national securities exchanges and those traded over-the-counter) are valued based on the last sales price at the close of the applicable exchange. If such equity securities were not traded on the valuation date, but market quotations are readily available, they are valued at the bid price provided by an independent pricing service or by principal market makers. Equity securities traded on NASDAQ are valued at the NASDAQ Official Closing Price. Debt securities are valued at the mean between the closing bid and asked prices, or based on a matrix system which utilizes information (such as credit ratings, yields and maturities) from independent pricing services, principal market maker or other independent sources. Short-term securities which mature in more than 60 days are valued at current market quotations. Short-term securities which mature in 60 days or less are valued at amortized cost, which approximates fair value.
The Funds Board of Directors (the Board) has delegated to the advisers, through approval of the appointment of the members of the advisers Valuation Committee, the responsibility of determining fair value of any security or financial instrument owned by the Fund for which market quotations are not readily available or where the pricing agent or market maker does not provide a valuation or methodology, or provides a valuation or methodology that, in the judgment of the adviser, does not represent fair value (Fair Value Securities). The advisers use a third party pricing consultant to assist the advisers in analyzing, developing, applying and documenting a methodology with respect to certain Fair Value Securities. The advisers and their valuation consultant, as appropriate, use valuation techniques that utilize both observable and unobservable inputs including discount for lack of marketability, price to tangible book value multiple, transaction price, book value multiple, discount, spread, and price to earnings multiple. In such circumstances, the advisers are responsible for (i) identifying Fair Value Securities, (ii) analyzing the Fair Value Security and developing, applying and documenting a methodology for valuing Fair Value Securities, and (iii) periodically reviewing the appropriateness and accuracy of the methods used in valuing Fair Value Securities. The appointment of any officer or employee of the advisers to the Valuation Committee shall be promptly reported to the Board and ratified by the Board at its next regularly scheduled meeting. The advisers are responsible for reporting to the Board, on a quarterly basis, valuations and certain findings with respect to the Fair Value Securities. Such valuations and findings are reviewed by the entire Board on a quarterly basis.
The Funds investments in Hedge Funds are valued, as a practical expedient, at the most recent estimated net asset value periodically determined by the respective Hedge Fund manager according to such managers policies and procedures based on valuation information reasonably available to the Hedge Fund manager at that time (adjusted for estimated expenses and fees accrued to the Fund since the last valuation date); provided, however,
that the advisers may consider whether it is appropriate, in light of relevant circumstances, to adjust such valuation in accordance with the Funds valuation procedures. If a Hedge Fund does not report a value to the Fund on a timely basis, the fair value of such Hedge Fund shall be based on the most recent value reported by the Hedge Fund, as well as any other relevant information available at the time the Fund values its portfolio. As a practical matter, Hedge Fund valuations generally can be obtained from Hedge Fund managers on a weekly basis, as of close of business Thursday, but the frequency and timing of receiving valuations for Hedge Fund investments is subject to change at any time, without notice to investors, at the discretion of the Hedge Fund manager or the Fund.
The Consolidated Portfolio of Investments includes investments valued at $130,828,018 (42.07% of total net assets), whose fair values have been estimated by management in the absence of readily determinable fair values. Due to the inherent uncertainty of the valuation of these investments, these values may differ from the values that would have been used had a ready market for these investments existed and the differences could be material.
For valuation purposes, the last quoted prices of non-U.S. equity securities may be adjusted under the circumstances described below. If the Fund determines that developments between the close of a foreign market and the close of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) will, in its judgment, materially affect the value of some or all of its portfolio securities, the Fund will adjust the previous closing prices to reflect what it believes to be the fair value of the securities as of the close of the NYSE. In deciding whether it is necessary to adjust closing prices to reflect fair value, the Fund reviews a variety of factors, including developments in foreign markets, the performance of U.S. securities markets, and the performance of instruments trading in U.S. markets that represent foreign securities and baskets of foreign securities. The Fund may also fair value securities in other situations, such as when a particular foreign market is closed but the U.S. market is open. The Fund uses outside pricing services to provide it with closing prices. The advisers may consider whether it is appropriate, in light of relevant circumstances, to adjust such valuation in accordance with the Funds valuation procedures. The Fund cannot predict how often it will use closing prices and how often it will determine it necessary to adjust those prices to reflect fair value. If the Fund uses adjusted prices, the Fund will periodically compare closing prices, the next days opening prices in the same markets and those adjusted prices as a means of evaluating its security valuation process.
Various inputs are used to determine the value of the Funds investments. Observable inputs are inputs that reflect the assumptions market participants would use based on market data obtained from sources independent of the reporting entity. Unobservable inputs are inputs that reflect the reporting entitys own assumptions based on the best information available in the circumstances.
These inputs are summarized in the three broad levels listed below.
| Level 1 Unadjusted quoted prices in active markets for identical investments |
| Level 2 Significant observable inputs (including quoted prices for similar investments, interest rates, prepayment speeds, credit risk, etc.) |
| Level 3 Significant unobservable inputs (including the Funds own assumptions in determining the fair value of investments) |
The following is a summary of the inputs used as of June 30, 2013 in valuing the Funds investments carried at value:
Valuation Inputs | ||||||||||||||||
Investments in Securities at Value |
Level 1 | Level 2 | Level 3 | Total | ||||||||||||
Banks & Thrifts |
$ | 25,354,553 | $ | 1,290,969 | $ | 10,156,645 | $ | 36,802,167 |
Construction Machinery |
2,903,648 | | | 2,903,648 | ||||||||||||
Diversified Financial Services |
17,126,551 | | 2,863,067 | 19,989,618 | ||||||||||||
Environmental Control |
1,018,200 | | | 1,018,200 | ||||||||||||
Healthcare Products & Services |
7,881,948 | | | 7,881,948 | ||||||||||||
Insurance |
| | 6,246,191 | 6,246,191 | ||||||||||||
Mining |
11,742,533 | | | 11,742,533 | ||||||||||||
Mortgages & REITS |
| | 72,838 | 72,838 | ||||||||||||
Oil & Gas |
12,509,882 | | | 12,509,882 | ||||||||||||
Pharmaceuticals |
949,763 | | | 949,763 | ||||||||||||
Pipelines |
2,066,487 | | | 2,066,487 | ||||||||||||
Registered Investment Companies (RICs) |
1,132,949 | | | 1,132,949 | ||||||||||||
Retail |
13,559,287 | | | 13,559,287 | ||||||||||||
Savings & Loans |
12,158,010 | 6,780,482 | 3,770,145 | 22,708,637 | ||||||||||||
Software & Services |
10,893,270 | | | 10,893,270 | ||||||||||||
Technology, Hardware & Equipment |
16,662,586 | | | 16,662,586 | ||||||||||||
Tobacco Products |
2,422,400 | | | 2,422,400 | ||||||||||||
Domestic Common Stocks |
138,382,067 | 8,071,451 | 23,108,886 | 169,562,404 | ||||||||||||
Banks & Thrifts |
541,326 | | | 541,326 | ||||||||||||
Insurance |
1,233,150 | | | 1,233,150 | ||||||||||||
Iron/Steel |
4,685,760 | | | 4,685,760 | ||||||||||||
National Stock Exchange |
| | 1,420,578 | 1,420,578 | ||||||||||||
Oil & Gas |
2,324,690 | | | 2,324,690 | ||||||||||||
Pharmaceuticals |
11,774,536 | | | 11,774,536 | ||||||||||||
Real Estate |
2,260,249 | | | 2,260,249 | ||||||||||||
Foreign Common Stocks |
22,819,711 | | 1,420,578 | 24,240,289 | ||||||||||||
Domestic Limited Partnerships |
| | 52,454,209 | 52,454,209 | ||||||||||||
Foreign Limited Partnerships |
| | 51,824,841 | 51,824,841 | ||||||||||||
Domestic Preferred Stocks |
| | 1,734,704 | 1,734,704 | ||||||||||||
Domestic Warrants |
| 284,800 | | 284,800 | ||||||||||||
Short Term Investments |
10,691,523 | | | 10,691,523 | ||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||
TOTAL |
$171,893,301 | $8,356,251 | $130,543,218 | $310,792,770 | ||||||||||||
|
The Fund evaluates transfers into or out of Level 1, 2 and 3 as of the end of the reporting period. Financial assets were transferred from Level 1 to Level 2 since certain equity prices used a bid price from a data provider at the end of the period and a last quoted sales price from a data provider at the beginning of the period. Financial assets were transferred from Level 2 to Level 1 since certain equity prices used a last sales price from a data provider at the end of the period and a bid price from a data provider at the beginning of the period.
Transfers into and out of Levels 1 and 2 at June 30, 2013 were as follows:
Level 1 - Quoted and Unadjusted Prices | Level 2 - Other Significant Observable Inputs | |||||||
Transfers In | Transfers (Out) | Transfers In | Transfers (Out) | |||||
Common Stocks |
$ 124,032 | $ (1,864,655) | $ 1,864,655 | $ (124,032) | ||||
Total |
$ 124,032 | $ (1,864,655) | $ 1,864,655 | $ (124,032) | ||||
The following is a reconciliation of assets in which significant unobservable inputs (Level 3) were used in determining fair value:
Investments in Securities |
Balance as of March 31, |
Realized loss |
Change in |
Sales proceeds | Transfer into |
Balance as of June 30, 2013 | ||||||
Domestic Common Stocks |
$ 22,311,336 | $ (139) | $ 830,072 | $ (32,383) | $ - | $ 23,108,886 | ||||||
Foreign Common Stocks |
1,615,421 | - | (194,843) | - | - | 1,420,578 | ||||||
Domestic Limited Partnership |
50,791,303 | - | 1,662,906 | - | - | 52,454,209 | ||||||
Foreign Limited Partnerships |
50,792,985 | - | 1,031,856 | - | - | 51,824,841 | ||||||
Domestic Preferred Stocks |
1,777,824 | - | (43,120) | - | - | 1,734,704 | ||||||
Total |
$ 127,288,869 | $ (139) | $ 3,286,871 | $ (32,383) | $ - | $ 130,543,218 |
The table below provides additional information about the Level 3 Fair Value Measurements as of June 30, 2013:
Quantitative Information about Level 3 Fair Value Measurements | ||||||||||
Asset Class | Fair Value (USD) | Valuation Technique |
Unobservable Inputs(a) | Range | ||||||
Domestic Common Stocks: |
||||||||||
Banks & Thrifts |
$9,785,983 | Comparable Company Approach |
Discount for lack of marketability | 10% | ||||||
Price to Tangible Book Value Multiple | .83x-1.36x | |||||||||
$370,662 | Direct Offering Price Approach | Transaction Price | $0.41 | |||||||
Diversified Financial Services |
$1,625,850 | Comparable Company Approach |
Discount for lack of marketability | 10% | ||||||
Price to Tangible Book | 1.12x-1.22x |
Value Multiple | ||||||||||
$1,237,217 | Book Value Approach |
Book Value Multiple | 1.00x | |||||||
Insurance | $6,246,191 | Comparable Company Approach |
Discount for lack of marketability | 10% | ||||||
Price to Tangible Book Value Multiple | .81x | |||||||||
Mortgages & REITS | $72,838 | Book Value Approach |
Book Value Multiple | 1.00x | ||||||
Savings & Loans | $3,770,145 | Comparable Company Approach |
Discount for lack of marketability | 10% | ||||||
Price to Tangible Book Value Multiple | 1.24x | |||||||||
Domestic Preferred Stocks: | $1,734,704 | Comparable Security Approach |
Spread | 3.5% | ||||||
Foreign Common Stocks: | ||||||||||
National Stock Exchange | $1,420,578 | Comparable Company Approach |
Discount for lack of marketability | 10% | ||||||
Price to Earnings Multiple | 27.70x | |||||||||
(a) | A change to the unobservable input may result in a significant change to the value of the investment as follows: |
Unobservable Input | Impact to Value if Input Increases | Impact to Value if Input Decreases | ||
Discount for Lack of Marketability |
Decrease | Increase | ||
Price to Tangible Book Value Multiple |
Increase | Decrease | ||
Transaction Price |
Increase | Decrease | ||
Book Value Multiple |
Increase | Decrease | ||
Discount |
Decrease | Increase | ||
Spread |
Decrease | Increase | ||
Price to Earnings Multiple |
Increase | Decrease |
Securities Transactions and Investment Income: Securities transactions are recorded as of the trade date. Realized gains and losses from securities sold are recorded on the identified cost basis. Dividend income is recorded as of the ex-dividend date, or for certain foreign securities, when the information becomes available to the Fund. Interest income including amortization of premium and accretion of discount on debt securities, as required, is recorded on the accrual basis, using the interest method.
Foreign Currency Translations: The Fund may invest a portion of its assets in foreign securities. In the event that the Fund executes a foreign security transaction, the Fund will generally enter into a forward foreign currency contract to settle the foreign security transaction. Foreign securities may carry more risk than U.S. securities, such as political, market and currency risks. See Foreign Issuer Risk below.
The books and records of the Fund are maintained in U.S. dollars. Foreign currencies, investments and other assets and liabilities denominated in foreign currencies are translated into U.S. dollars at the exchange rate prevailing at the end of the period, and purchases and sales of investment securities, income and expenses transacted in foreign currencies are translated at the exchange rate on the dates of such transactions. Foreign currency gains and losses result from fluctuations in exchange rates between trade date and settlement date on
securities transactions, foreign currency transactions and the difference between amounts of foreign interest and dividends recorded on the books of the Fund and the amounts actually received.
Foreign Issuer Risk: Investment in non-U.S. issuers may involve unique risks compared to investing in securities of U.S. issuers. These risks may include, but are not limited to: (i) less information about non-U.S. issuers or markets may be available due to less rigorous disclosure, accounting standards or regulatory practices; (ii) many non-U.S. markets are smaller, less liquid and more volatile thus, in a changing market, the adviser may not be able to sell the Funds portfolio securities at times, in amounts and at prices they consider reasonable; (iii) currency exchange rates or controls may adversely affect the value of the Funds investments; (iv) the economies of non-U.S. countries may grow at slower rates than expected or may experience downturns or recessions; and, (v) withholdings and other non-U.S. taxes may decrease the Funds return.
Concentration Risk: The Fund has highly concentrated positions in certain Hedge Funds and may take concentrated positions in other securities. Concentrating investments in a fewer number of securities (including investments in Hedge Funds) may involve a degree of risk that is greater than a fund which has less concentrated investments spread out over a greater number of securities. For example, the value of the Funds net assets will fluctuate significantly based on the fluctuation in the value of the Hedge Funds in which it invests. In addition, investments in Hedge Funds can be highly volatile and may subject investors to heightened risk and higher operating expenses than another closed-end fund with a different investment focus.
Hedge Fund Risk: The Fund invests a significant portion of its assets in Hedge Funds. The Funds investments in Hedge Funds are private entities that are not registered under the 1940 Act and have limited regulatory oversight and disclosure obligations. In addition, the Hedge Funds invest in and actively trade securities and other financial instruments using different strategies and investment techniques, which involve significant risks. These strategies and techniques may include, among others, leverage, employing various types of derivatives, short selling, securities lending, and commodities trading. These Hedge Funds may invest a high percentage of their assets in specific sectors of the market in order to achieve a potentially greater investment return. As a result, the Hedge Funds may be more susceptible to economic, political, and regulatory developments in a particular sector of the market, positive or negative, and may experience increased volatility. These and other risks associated with Hedge Funds may cause the Funds net asset value to be more volatile and more susceptible to the risk of loss than that of other funds with a different investment strategy.
Industry Diversification: The Fund may not invest more than 25% of its assets in any industry or group of industries. While the Advisers do not intend to invest more than 25% of the Funds assets in a single industry, the Fund does not look through its investments in the Hedge Funds, some of which have significant exposure to industries within the financial sector, to determine whether the Fund exceeds the 25% limit. As a result, the Fund may be indirectly concentrated in an industry or group of industries by virtue of the Funds investments in Hedge Funds.
Indemnifications: Like many other companies, the Funds organizational documents provide that its officers and directors are indemnified against certain liabilities arising out of the performance of their duties to the Fund. In addition, both in some of its principal service contracts and in the normal course of its business, the Fund enters into contracts that provide indemnifications to other parties for certain types of losses or liabilities. The Funds maximum exposure under these arrangements is unknown as this could involve future claims against the Fund.
Note 2. Unrealized Appreciation/ (Depreciation)
On June 30, 2013, based on cost of $265,584,234 for federal income tax purposes, aggregate gross unrealized appreciation for all securities in which there is an excess of value over tax cost was $68,242,080 and aggregate gross unrealized depreciation for all securities in which there is an excess of tax cost over value was $23,033,544, resulting in net unrealized appreciation of $45,208,536.
Note 3. Transactions With Affiliated Companies
Transactions during the period with companies in which the Fund owned at least 5% of the voting securities were as follows:
Name of Affiliate | Beginning of 04/01/13 |
Purchases | Sales | Ending Share Balance as of 06/30/13 |
Dividend Income |
Realized Gains (Losses) |
Value as of 06/30/13 | |||||||
Perpetual Federal Savings Bank | 165,930 | - | - | 165,930 | $ 28,208 | $ - | $ 3,152,670 | |||||||
Redwood Financial, Inc. | 40,650 | - | - | 40,650 | - | - | 693,082 | |||||||
River Valley Bancorp | 89,993 | - | - | 89,993 | 18,899 | - | 1,864,655 | |||||||
Third Century Bancorp | 110,500 | - | - | 110,500 | - | - | 569,075 | |||||||
TOTAL |
$ 47,107 | $ - | $ 6,279,482 | |||||||||||
Note 4. Restricted Securities
As of June 30, 2013, investments in securities included issues that are considered restricted. Restricted securities are often purchased in private placement transactions, are not registered under the Securities Act of 1933, may have contractual restrictions on resale, and may be valued under methods approved by the Board as reflecting fair value.
Restricted securities as of June 30, 2013 are as follows:
Description | Acquisition Date | Cost | Market Value |
Value as Percentage | ||||
Bay Pond Partners, LP |
10/3/11 | $39,387,185 | $52,454,209 | 16.9% | ||||
Community Bank |
2/12/08 | 912,100 | 5,986,800 | 1.9% | ||||
First American International |
11/29/05 | 1,052,050 | 829,333 | 0.3% | ||||
Florida Capital Group |
8/23/06 | 2,203,175 | 8,117 | 0.0%(a) | ||||
Forethought Financial Group, Inc. - Class A |
11/13/09-9/30/10 | 4,066,780 | 6,246,191 | 2.0% | ||||
Independence Financial Group, Inc. |
9/13/04 | 480,000 | 540,600 | 0.2% | ||||
Maiden Holdings, Ltd., Series C |
1/15/09 | 1,600,000 | 1,734,704 | 0.5% | ||||
MidCountry Financial Corp. |
10/22/04 | 4,654,500 | 3,770,145 | 1.2% | ||||
National Bancshares, Inc. |
6/6/06 | 2,128,160 | 370,662 | 0.1% | ||||
NSE India, Ltd. |
4/30/10 | 1,517,269 | 1,420,578 | 0.5% | ||||
Ocwen Structured Investments, LLC |
3/20/07 - 8/27/07 | 1,399,433 | 297,681 | 0.1% | ||||
South Street Securities Holdings, Inc. |
12/8/03 | 2,500,000 | 1,085,250 | 0.3% |
Square 1 Financial, Inc. |
5/3/05 | 3,029,000 | 2,453,490 | 0.8% | ||||||
Square 1 Financial, Inc.- Class A |
11/7/12 | 431,379 | 508,243 | 0.2% | ||||||
Tiptree Financial |
6/4/07-7/10/09 | 2,058,848 | 939,536 | 0.3% | ||||||
Wolf Creek Investors (Bermuda) LP, a Wellington Management Investors (Bermuda), Ltd. share class |
10/3/11 | 40,043,650 | 51,824,841 | 16.7% | ||||||
| ||||||||||
$ 107,463,529 | $ 130,470,380 | 42.0% | ||||||||
|
(a) | Less than 0.05% of total net assets. |
Note 5. Investments in Limited Partnerships
As of June 30, 2013, the Fund held investments in Hedge Funds that are organized as limited partnerships. The Funds investments in the Hedge Funds are reported on the Consolidated Portfolio of Investments under the sections titled Domestic Limited Partnerships and Foreign Limited Partnerships.
The Hedge Funds investment objectives are to seek long-term capital appreciation through investment primarily in equity and equity-related securities of companies that derive a major portion of profits or anticipated profits from the global financial services sector and related sectors.
Since the investments in limited partnerships are not publicly traded, the Funds ability to make withdrawals from its investments in the limited partnerships is subject to certain restrictions which vary for each respective limited partnership. These restrictions include notice requirements for withdrawals and additional restrictions or charges for withdrawals within a certain time period following initial investment. In addition, there could be circumstances in which such restrictions can include the suspension or delay in withdrawals from the respective limited partnership, or limited withdrawals allowable only during specified times during the year. In certain circumstances a limited partner may not make withdrawals that occur less than one year following the date of admission to the partnership. The following table summarizes the Funds investments in limited partnerships as of June 30, 2013:
Description | % of Net of 6/30/13 |
Value as of 6/30/13 |
Net Unrealized as of 6/30/13 |
Mgmt fees | Incentive fees | Redemption Period/ Frequency | ||||||
Bay Pond Partners, LP |
16.9% | $52,454,209 | $13,067,024 | Annual rate of 1% of net assets | 20% of net profits at the end of the fiscal year | June 30 or Dec 31 upon 45 days notice | ||||||
Wolf Creek Investors (Bermuda) LP, a Wellington Management Investors (Bermuda), Ltd. share class |
16.7% | 51,824,841 | 11,781,191 | Annual rate of 1% of net assets | 20% of net profits at the end of the fiscal year | At the end of each calendar quarter upon 45 days notice | ||||||
Total |
33.6% | $104,279,050 | $24,848,215 | |||||||||
The Fund did not have any outstanding unfunded commitments as of June 30, 2013.
Item 2 - Controls and Procedures.
(a) | The Registrants Principal Executive Officer and Principal Financial Officer concluded that the Registrants disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Rule 30a-3(c) under the Investment Company Act of 1940 (17 CFR 270.30a-3(c))) were effective as of a date within 90 days of the filing date of this report (the Evaluation Date), based on their evaluation of the effectiveness of the Registrants disclosure controls and procedures as of the Evaluation Date. |
(b) | There were no changes in the Registrants internal control over financial reporting (as defined in Rule 30a-3(d) under the Investment Company Act of 1940 (17 CFR 270.30a-3(d))) that occurred during the Registrants last fiscal quarter that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, the Registrants internal control over financial reporting. |
Item 3 Exhibits.
(a) | Certification of Principal Executive Officer and Principal Financial Officer of the Registrant as required by Rule 30a-2(a) under the Investment Company Act of 1940 (17 CFR 270.30a-2(a)) is attached hereto as Exhibit 99CERT. |
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.
Registrant | First Opportunity Fund, Inc. |
By: | /s/ Stephen C. Miller | |
Stephen C. Miller, President | ||
(Principal Executive Officer) | ||
Date: | August 28, 2013 |
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/ Stephen C. Miller | |
Stephen C. Miller, President | ||
(Principal Executive Officer) | ||
Date: | August 28, 2013 |
By: | Nicole L. Murphey | |
Nicole L. Murphey, Chief Financial Officer, Chief Accounting Officer, Vice President, Treasurer, Asst. Secretary | ||
(Principal Financial Officer) | ||
Date: | August 28, 2013 |