SCHEDULE 13D/A
DATE OF EVENT WHICH REQUIRES FILING OF THIS STATEMENT
5/21/13
1. NAME OF REPORTING PERSON
Bulldog Investors, Brooklyn Capital Management,
Phillip Goldstein, Andrew Dakos and Steven Samuels
2. CHECK THE BOX IF MEMBER OF A GROUP a[X]
b[]
3. SEC USE ONLY
4. SOURCE OF FUNDS
WC
5. CHECK BOX IF DISCLOSURE OF LEGAL PROCEEDINGS IS REQUIRED
PURSUANT TO ITEMS 2(d) AND 2(e) []
6. CITIZENSHIP OR PLACE OF ORGANIZATION
USA
___________________________________________________________
7. SOLE VOTING POWER
838,882
8. SHARED VOTING POWER
0
9. SOLE DISPOSITIVE POWER
838,882
_______________________________________________________
10. SHARED DISPOSITIVE POWER
0
11. AGGREGATE AMOUNT OWNED BY EACH REPORTING PERSON
838,882
12. CHECK IF THE AGGREGATE AMOUNT EXCLUDES CERTAIN SHARES
[]
___________________________________________________________
13. PERCENT OF CLASS REPRESENTED BY ROW 11
9.80%
14. TYPE OF REPORTING PERSON
IA
_______________________________________________________
Item 1. SECURITY AND ISSUER
This statement constitutes Amendment #3 to the schedule 13d
filed September 27, 2012. Except as specifically set forth
herein, the Schedule 13d remains unmodified.
ITEM 4. PURPOSE OF TRANSACTION
Letter sent to Company's Secretary. See attached Exhibit A
ITEM 5. INTEREST IN SECURITIES OF THE ISSUER
As per the 10-Q filed on August 9, 2012 there were 8,556,480 shares
of common stock outstanding as of 06/30/2012. The percentages set
forth herein were derived using such number.Phillip Goldstein,
Andrew Dakos and Steven Samuels own Brooklyn Capital Management, LLC (BCM),
a registered investment advisor. As of May 21, 2013, BCM is deemed
to be the beneficial owner of 838,882 by virtue of BCM's power to direct
the vote of, and dispose of, these shares. These 838,882 shares of SVVC
include 388,787 shares (representing 4.54% of SVVC's outstanding shares)
that are beneficially owned by (1) Mr. Goldstein and (2) the following
entities over which Messrs. Goldstein, Dakos and Mr. Samuels exercise
control: Opportunity Partners LP, Calapasas West Partners, LP,
Full Value Special Situations Fund, LP, Full Value Offshore Fund, Ltd.,
Full Value Partners, LP, Opportunity Income Plus, LP, and MCM Opportunity
Partners, LP (collectively, Bulldog Investors). Bulldog Investors and
Mr. Goldstein may be deemed to constitute a group. All other shares
included in the aforementioned 838,882 shares of SVVC beneficially owned
by BCM (solely by virtue of its power to sell or direct the vote of
these shares) are also beneficially owned by clients of BCM who are not
members of any group. The total number of these "non-group" shares is
450,095 shares (representing 5.26% of SVVC's outstanding shares).
c) Subsequent to the last filing on 4/15/13 the following shares of SVVC
were purchased:
Date: Shares: Price:
04/15/13 7,832 18.7240
04/17/13 2,620 18.6300
d) Beneficiaries of managed accounts are entitled to receive any
dividends or sales proceeds.
e) NA
ITEM 6. CONTRACTS,ARRANGEMENTS,UNDERSTANDINGS OR RELATIONSHIPS
WITH RESPECT TO SECURITIES OF THE ISSUER.
None.
ITEM 7. MATERIAL TO BE FILED AS EXHIBITS
none
After reasonable inquiry and to the best of my knowledge
and belief, I certify that the information set forth in this
statement is true, complete and correct.
Dated: 5/29/2013
By: /s/ Phillip Goldstein
Name: Phillip Goldstein
By: /S/ Andrew Dakos
Name: Andrew Dakos
By: /S/ Steven Samuels
Name: Steven Samuels
Exhibit A:
Full Value Partners L.P.,
250 Pehle Ave, Suite 708, Saddle Brook, NJ 07663
(201) 556-0092 // Fax: (201)556-0097
// pgoldstein@bulldoginvestors.com
April 22, 2013
Kelvin Leung
Secretary
Firsthand Technology Value Fund, Inc.
150 Almaden Boulevard
Suite 1250
San Jose, CA 95113
Dear Mr. Leung:
Full Value Partners L.P., a member of the Bulldog Investors group
that filed a Schedule 13D/A on April 15, 2013, is the beneficial owner of
shares in Firsthand Technology Value Fund, Inc. (the "Fund") valued in
excess of $2,000 and has held these shares for over 12 months.
A verification letter from Wells Fargo Prime Services, LLC is enclosed.
We intend to continue to hold our shares through the next meeting of
stockholders (after the May 23, 2013 annual meeting).
We hereby submit the following proposal and supporting statement pursuant
to rule 14a-8 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 for inclusion in
management's proxy materials for the next meeting of stockholders for
which this proposal is timely submitted.
***
RESOLVED: The Investment Management Agreement between the Fund and
Firsthand Capital Management, Inc., (FCM) shall be terminated as soon
as possible.
SUPPORTING STATEMENT
FCM is controlled by Kevin Landis. For managing the Fund, FCM is paid 2%
per annum of its gross assets plus 20% of any net realized capital gains.
Since the Fund has assets of about $200 million, FCM receives about
$4 million per annum just for showing up. That is extraordinarily high
compensation for managing a closed-end investment fund. We are not at all
opposed to generously compensating a manager who has demonstrated
outstanding long-term performance. In a recent Barron's interview,
Leon Cooperman, whose $8.5 billion hedge fund has returned more than
14% (net) per annum to investors over more than two decades, put it
this way: "If you are paying somebody two and 20, as opposed to 1%, you
basically have a right to expect more from that person." We agree.
By contrast, Mr. Landis' long-term performance can only be described as
abysmal. As an open-end fund, in the first quarter of 2000, the Fund's
NAV peaked at about $135 per share. By April 2011, when it was converted
to a closed-end fund, its NAV had fallen to about $27 per share. That is
a decline of 80% in shareholder value over a period of eleven years.
Nor have those shareholders who held on to their shares since April 2011
in hopes of improved performance, fared any better. Over the next two
years, the market price of their shares fell another 30% while tech stocks
generally performed very well!
We don't think Mr. Cooperman would approve of Mr. Landis' compensation.
To put it bluntly, there are some people who should not be managing other
people's money -- and Kevin Landis has demonstrated that he is one of those
people. There is simply no way to spin the numbers and conclude that his
performance has been anything but disastrous for shareholders.
We find it inexplicable that the board has not already terminated his
firm's management agreement. That is why we are urging shareholders
themselves to vote to terminate it. Then, the board can hire a new manager
that has a track record of making money for investors, rather than losing
money. Trust me, there are plenty of good investment managers that would
love to manage the Fund and would do so for a much lower fee than FCM is
paid.
In sum, we believe the buck stops with Kevin Landis. His horrendous long
term performance is intolerable as is his lavish compensation. In our view,
the best way to turn the Fund around is to replace FCM with a manager that
has demonstrated an ability to make money for investors over the long term.
That can be done very quickly.
Please take this opportunity to vote for this proposal.
Very truly yours,
/s/ Phillip Goldstein
Phillip Goldstein
Principal