UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
FORM N-CSR
CERTIFIED SHAREHOLDER REPORT OF REGISTERED MANAGEMENT
INVESTMENT COMPANIES
Investment Company Act file number 811-23874
Institutional Investment Strategy Fund
(Exact name of registrant as specified in charter)
c/o Buena Capital Advisors, LLC
2261 Market Street #5190
San Francisco, CA 94114
(Address of principal executive offices)
The Corporation Trust Company
Corporation Trust Center
1209 Orange Street
Wilmington, DE 19801
(Name and address of agent for service)
Registrant’s telephone number, including area code: (800) 535-7096
Date of fiscal year end: March 31
Date of reporting period: September 30, 2024
Explanatory Note: The registrant is filing this amendment to its filing on Form N-CSR for the period ended September 30, 2024, which was originally filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on November 27, 2024 (Accession Number 0001976685-24-000279) and amended on August 7, 2026
(Accession Number 0001976685-26-000032), to correct certifications pursuant to the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.
Item 1. Reports to Stockholders.
(a)
Semi-Annual Report
September 30, 2024
Table of Contents
TOTAL RETURNS FOR THE PERIOD ENDED SEPTEMBER 30, 2024
|
|
6 months
|
Since Inception
(non-annualized)
(03/05/24)
|
|
Institutional
Investment Strategy Fund NAV
|
5.78%
|
8.00%
|
|
Endowment-Style
Index*
|
8.35%
|
10.78%
|
|
MSCI ACWI Index*
|
9.67%
|
13.10%
|
|
S&P 500
Index** (Prior benchmark†)
|
10.42%
|
14.36%
|
Performance data quoted represents past performance, which is no
guarantee of future results and current performance may be lower or higher than the figures
shown. All NAV returns include the deduction of management fees, operating expenses and all other
Fund expenses. The deduction of taxes that a shareholder would pay on Fund
distributions or the sale of Fund shares is not reflected in the total returns.
Since inception returns assume a purchase of the Fund at the
initial share price of $10.00 per share for share price returns or initial net asset value (NAV)
of $10.00 per share for NAV returns. Returns for periods of less than one year are not annualized.
The referenced indices are unmanaged and not available for direct
investment. Index performance does not reflect transaction costs, fees or expenses.
† The Fund has changed
its primary benchmark from the S&P 500 Index to the MSCI ACWI Index to
better reflect its investment strategy, which may include investments in
foreign and domestic equities, both public and private.
* The Endowment-Style
Index is comprised of 70% MSCI ACWI Index and 30% Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate
Bond Index. The MSCI ACWI Index captures
large and mid cap representation across 23 Developed Markets (DM) and 24
Emerging Markets (EM) countries. The Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate Bond Index
measures the investment grade, U.S. dollar-denominated, fix-rated taxable bond
market.
** The S&P 500 Index is a market capitalization-weighted index of 500 widely held common stocks.
Schedule of Investments (Unaudited)
| |
Shares |
Value |
| COMMON
STOCKS† - 44.9% |
|
|
| Technology
- 13.8% |
|
|
| Apple,
Inc. |
774 |
$ 180,342 |
| Microsoft
Corp. |
384 |
165,235 |
| NVIDIA
Corp. |
1,252 |
152,043 |
| Broadcom,
Inc. |
236 |
40,710 |
| Oracle
Corp. |
82 |
13,973 |
| Salesforce,
Inc. |
50 |
13,685 |
| Advanced
Micro Devices, Inc.* |
83 |
13,619 |
| Adobe,
Inc.* |
23 |
11,909 |
| Accenture
plc — Class A |
31 |
10,958 |
| International
Business Machines Corp. |
48 |
10,612 |
| Texas
Instruments, Inc. |
50 |
10,329 |
| Intuit,
Inc. |
16 |
9,936 |
| QUALCOMM,
Inc. |
57 |
9,693 |
| ServiceNow,
Inc.* |
10 |
8,944 |
| Applied
Materials, Inc. |
43 |
8,688 |
| Analog
Devices, Inc. |
30 |
6,905 |
| Micron
Technology, Inc. |
57 |
5,912 |
| Fiserv,
Inc.* |
30 |
5,389 |
| Lam
Research Corp. |
6 |
4,897 |
| KLA
Corp. |
6 |
4,646 |
| Intel
Corp.* |
196 |
4,598 |
| Autodesk,
Inc.* |
14 |
3,857 |
| Cadence
Design Systems, Inc.* |
14 |
3,794 |
| Palantir
Technologies, Inc. — Class A* |
102 |
3,794 |
| Synopsys,
Inc.* |
7 |
3,545 |
| TE
Connectivity plc |
23 |
3,473 |
| Paychex,
Inc. |
24 |
3,221 |
| Crowdstrike
Holdings, Inc. — Class A* |
11 |
3,085 |
| NXP
Semiconductor N.V. |
12 |
2,880 |
| Fortinet,
Inc.* |
32 |
2,481 |
| Fidelity
National Information Services, Inc. |
28 |
2,345 |
| HP, Inc. |
63 |
2,260 |
| Microchip
Technology, Inc. |
28 |
2,248 |
| Roper
Technologies, Inc. |
4 |
2,226 |
| Gartner,
Inc.* |
4 |
2,027 |
| Cognizant
Technology Solutions Corp. — Class A |
26 |
2,007 |
| Fair
Isaac Corp.* |
1 |
1,944 |
| Electronic
Arts, Inc. |
13 |
1,865 |
| Zebra
Technologies Corp. — Class A* |
5 |
1,851 |
| Monolithic
Power Systems, Inc. |
2 |
1,849 |
| PTC,
Inc.* |
10 |
1,807 |
| MSCI,
Inc. — Class A |
3 |
1,749 |
| Dell
Technologies, Inc. — Class C |
14 |
1,659 |
| ON
Semiconductor Corp.* |
22 |
1,597 |
| Take-Two
Interactive Software, Inc.* |
9 |
1,383 |
| Hewlett
Packard Enterprise Co. |
67 |
1,371 |
| ANSYS,
Inc.* |
4 |
1,274 |
| Seagate
Technology Holdings plc |
10 |
1,095 |
| Western
Digital Corp.* |
16 |
1,093 |
| Teradyne,
Inc. |
8 |
1,071 |
| NetApp,
Inc. |
8 |
988 |
| Leidos
Holdings, Inc. |
6 |
978 |
| Super
Micro Computer, Inc.* |
2 |
833 |
| EPAM Systems, Inc.* |
2 |
398 |
| Total
Technology |
|
761,071 |
| Consumer,
Non-cyclical - 7.8% |
|
|
| Eli
Lilly & Co. |
41 |
36,323 |
| UnitedHealth
Group, Inc. |
49 |
28,649 |
| Procter
& Gamble Co. |
133 |
23,036 |
| Johnson
& Johnson |
132 |
21,392 |
| AbbVie,
Inc. |
91 |
17,971 |
| Merck
& Company, Inc. |
128 |
14,536 |
| Coca-Cola
Co. |
198 |
14,228 |
| PepsiCo,
Inc. |
82 |
13,944 |
| Thermo
Fisher Scientific, Inc. |
20 |
12,371 |
| Abbott
Laboratories |
95 |
10,831 |
| Philip
Morris International, Inc. |
84 |
10,198 |
| Danaher
Corp. |
36 |
10,009 |
| S&P
Global, Inc. |
18 |
9,299 |
| Amgen,
Inc. |
28 |
9,022 |
| Intuitive
Surgical, Inc.* |
18 |
8,843 |
| Pfizer,
Inc. |
261 |
7,553 |
| Boston
Scientific Corp.* |
87 |
7,291 |
| Stryker
Corp. |
17 |
6,141 |
| Vertex
Pharmaceuticals, Inc.* |
13 |
6,046 |
| Medtronic
plc |
67 |
6,032 |
| Automatic
Data Processing, Inc. |
21 |
5,811 |
| Elevance
Health, Inc. |
11 |
5,720 |
| Zoetis,
Inc. |
28 |
5,470 |
| Bristol-Myers
Squibb Co. |
104 |
5,381 |
| Gilead
Sciences, Inc. |
64 |
5,366 |
| Regeneron
Pharmaceuticals, Inc.* |
5 |
5,256 |
| Colgate-Palmolive
Co. |
50 |
5,191 |
| Mondelez
International, Inc. — Class A |
68 |
5,010 |
| Cigna
Group |
14 |
4,850 |
| HCA
Healthcare, Inc. |
11 |
4,471 |
| Becton
Dickinson & Co. |
17 |
4,099 |
| CVS
Health Corp. |
65 |
4,087 |
| PayPal
Holdings, Inc.* |
52 |
4,058 |
| Altria
Group, Inc. |
72 |
3,675 |
| General
Mills, Inc. |
47 |
3,471 |
| Moody's
Corp. |
7 |
3,322 |
| Cintas
Corp. |
16 |
3,294 |
| United
Rentals, Inc. |
4 |
3,239 |
| Agilent
Technologies, Inc. |
20 |
2,970 |
| McKesson
Corp. |
6 |
2,966 |
| Keurig
Dr Pepper, Inc. |
73 |
2,736 |
| Constellation
Brands, Inc. — Class A |
10 |
2,577 |
| Kimberly-Clark
Corp. |
18 |
2,561 |
| IDEXX
Laboratories, Inc.* |
5 |
2,526 |
| ResMed,
Inc. |
10 |
2,441 |
| Quanta
Services, Inc. |
8 |
2,385 |
| Humana,
Inc. |
7 |
2,217 |
| IQVIA
Holdings, Inc.* |
9 |
2,133 |
| Corteva,
Inc. |
35 |
2,057 |
| Equifax,
Inc. |
7 |
2,057 |
| Edwards
Lifesciences Corp.* |
31 |
2,046 |
| Kraft
Heinz Co. |
58 |
2,036 |
| Kenvue,
Inc. |
88 |
2,035 |
| Centene
Corp.* |
27 |
2,033 |
| Cencora,
Inc. — Class A |
9 |
2,026 |
| GE
HealthCare Technologies, Inc. |
21 |
1,971 |
| Sysco
Corp. |
25 |
1,952 |
| Verisk
Analytics, Inc. — Class A |
7 |
1,876 |
| Monster
Beverage Corp.* |
35 |
1,826 |
| Zimmer
Biomet Holdings, Inc. |
15 |
1,619 |
| Biogen,
Inc.* |
8 |
1,551 |
| Hershey
Co. |
8 |
1,534 |
| Archer-Daniels-Midland
Co. |
25 |
1,493 |
| Cardinal
Health, Inc. |
13 |
1,437 |
| Kroger
Co. |
25 |
1,432 |
| Dexcom,
Inc.* |
20 |
1,341 |
| Estee
Lauder Companies, Inc. — Class A |
12 |
1,196 |
| Moderna,
Inc.* |
17 |
1,136 |
| Kellanova |
14 |
1,130 |
| Global
Payments, Inc. |
11 |
1,127 |
| Cooper
Companies, Inc.* |
10 |
1,103 |
| Waters
Corp.* |
3 |
1,080 |
| McCormick
& Company, Inc. |
13 |
1,070 |
| Molina
Healthcare, Inc.* |
3 |
1,034 |
| Hologic,
Inc.* |
12 |
978 |
| West
Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. |
3 |
900 |
| Revvity,
Inc. |
7 |
894 |
| Align
Technology, Inc.* |
3 |
763 |
| Labcorp
Holdings, Inc. |
3 |
670 |
| Catalent,
Inc.* |
10 |
606 |
| Solventum Corp.* |
7 |
488 |
| Total
Consumer, Non-cyclical |
|
427,495 |
| Communications
- 6.4% |
|
|
| Amazon.com,
Inc.* |
476 |
88,693 |
| Meta
Platforms, Inc. — Class A |
111 |
63,541 |
| Alphabet,
Inc. — Class A |
298 |
49,423 |
| Alphabet,
Inc. — Class C |
244 |
40,794 |
| Netflix,
Inc.* |
21 |
14,895 |
| Cisco
Systems, Inc. |
205 |
10,910 |
| Verizon
Communications, Inc. |
233 |
10,464 |
| Walt
Disney Co. |
104 |
10,004 |
| Booking
Holdings, Inc. |
2 |
8,424 |
| Comcast
Corp. — Class A |
196 |
8,187 |
| Uber
Technologies, Inc.* |
106 |
7,967 |
| AT&T,
Inc. |
289 |
6,358 |
| T-Mobile
US, Inc. |
27 |
5,572 |
| Palo
Alto Networks, Inc.* |
16 |
5,469 |
| Arista
Networks, Inc.* |
13 |
4,990 |
| Motorola
Solutions, Inc. |
11 |
4,946 |
| Airbnb,
Inc. — Class A* |
22 |
2,790 |
| CDW
Corp. |
9 |
2,037 |
| eBay,
Inc. |
29 |
1,888 |
| Corning,
Inc. |
36 |
1,625 |
| Charter
Communications, Inc. — Class A* |
4 |
1,296 |
| F5,
Inc.* |
5 |
1,101 |
| GoDaddy,
Inc. — Class A* |
7 |
1,098 |
| Omnicom
Group, Inc. |
10 |
1,034 |
| Expedia
Group, Inc.* |
6 |
888 |
| Warner Bros Discovery, Inc.* |
90 |
742 |
| Total
Communications |
|
355,136 |
| Financial
- 6.4% |
|
|
| Berkshire
Hathaway, Inc. — Class B* |
98 |
45,105 |
| JPMorgan
Chase & Co. |
154 |
32,472 |
| Visa,
Inc. — Class A |
88 |
24,196 |
| Mastercard,
Inc. — Class A |
44 |
21,727 |
| Bank of
America Corp. |
326 |
12,936 |
| Goldman
Sachs Group, Inc. |
20 |
9,902 |
| Wells
Fargo & Co. |
174 |
9,829 |
| American
Express Co. |
32 |
8,678 |
| Morgan
Stanley |
74 |
7,714 |
| Marsh
& McLennan Companies, Inc. |
34 |
7,585 |
| Chubb
Ltd. |
24 |
6,921 |
| Progressive
Corp. |
27 |
6,852 |
| Citigroup,
Inc. |
108 |
6,761 |
| Prologis,
Inc. REIT |
47 |
5,935 |
| BlackRock,
Inc. — Class A |
6 |
5,697 |
| Blackstone,
Inc. — Class A |
36 |
5,512 |
| Charles
Schwab Corp. |
85 |
5,509 |
| American
Tower Corp. — Class A REIT |
23 |
5,349 |
| Aflac,
Inc. |
42 |
4,696 |
| Intercontinental
Exchange, Inc. |
29 |
4,658 |
| U.S.
Bancorp |
100 |
4,573 |
| Simon
Property Group, Inc. REIT |
27 |
4,564 |
| KKR
& Company, Inc. — Class A |
34 |
4,440 |
| PNC
Financial Services Group, Inc. |
22 |
4,067 |
| CME
Group, Inc. — Class A |
18 |
3,972 |
| AvalonBay
Communities, Inc. REIT |
17 |
3,829 |
| Aon plc
— Class A |
11 |
3,806 |
| Travelers
Companies, Inc. |
16 |
3,746 |
| Welltower,
Inc. REIT |
29 |
3,713 |
| Equinix,
Inc. REIT |
4 |
3,551 |
| Prudential
Financial, Inc. |
28 |
3,391 |
| Truist
Financial Corp. |
76 |
3,251 |
| MetLife,
Inc. |
39 |
3,217 |
| CBRE
Group, Inc. — Class A* |
25 |
3,112 |
| Capital
One Financial Corp. |
20 |
2,995 |
| Public
Storage REIT |
8 |
2,911 |
| Extra
Space Storage, Inc. REIT |
16 |
2,883 |
| VICI
Properties, Inc. REIT |
86 |
2,865 |
| Mid-America
Apartment Communities, Inc. REIT |
18 |
2,860 |
| Realty
Income Corp. REIT |
44 |
2,790 |
| Loews
Corp. |
35 |
2,767 |
| Bank of
New York Mellon Corp. |
37 |
2,659 |
| Allstate
Corp. |
14 |
2,655 |
| Crown
Castle, Inc. REIT |
22 |
2,610 |
| Arthur J
Gallagher & Co. |
9 |
2,532 |
| Alexandria
Real Estate Equities, Inc. REIT |
21 |
2,494 |
| American
International Group, Inc. |
34 |
2,490 |
| Digital
Realty Trust, Inc. REIT |
15 |
2,427 |
| Ventas,
Inc. REIT |
32 |
2,052 |
| Ameriprise
Financial, Inc. |
4 |
1,879 |
| Arch
Capital Group Ltd.* |
16 |
1,790 |
| Hartford
Financial Services Group, Inc. |
15 |
1,764 |
| T. Rowe
Price Group, Inc. |
16 |
1,743 |
| Discover
Financial Services |
12 |
1,683 |
| Iron
Mountain, Inc. REIT |
14 |
1,664 |
| M&T
Bank Corp. |
9 |
1,603 |
| CoStar
Group, Inc.* |
21 |
1,584 |
| Nasdaq,
Inc. |
21 |
1,533 |
| Fifth
Third Bancorp |
35 |
1,499 |
| State
Street Corp. |
15 |
1,327 |
| Raymond
James Financial, Inc. |
10 |
1,225 |
| Cincinnati
Financial Corp. |
8 |
1,089 |
| Synchrony
Financial |
20 |
998 |
| Principal
Financial Group, Inc. |
11 |
945 |
| Weyerhaeuser Co. REIT |
25 |
846 |
| Total
Financial |
|
354,428 |
| Consumer,
Cyclical - 3.7% |
|
|
| Tesla,
Inc.* |
141 |
36,890 |
| Home
Depot, Inc. |
53 |
21,476 |
| Costco
Wholesale Corp. |
22 |
19,503 |
| Walmart,
Inc. |
221 |
17,846 |
| McDonald's
Corp. |
40 |
12,180 |
| TJX
Companies, Inc. |
67 |
7,875 |
| Lowe's
Companies, Inc. |
29 |
7,855 |
| Starbucks
Corp. |
57 |
5,557 |
| NIKE,
Inc. — Class B |
62 |
5,481 |
| Chipotle
Mexican Grill, Inc. — Class A* |
69 |
3,976 |
| Target
Corp. |
24 |
3,741 |
| Marriott
International, Inc. — Class A |
14 |
3,480 |
| O'Reilly
Automotive, Inc.* |
3 |
3,455 |
| Lennar
Corp. — Class A |
18 |
3,375 |
| AutoZone,
Inc.* |
1 |
3,150 |
| WW
Grainger, Inc. |
3 |
3,116 |
| DR
Horton, Inc. |
16 |
3,052 |
| General
Motors Co. |
60 |
2,690 |
| PACCAR,
Inc. |
27 |
2,664 |
| Ross
Stores, Inc. |
17 |
2,559 |
| Copart,
Inc.* |
45 |
2,358 |
| Delta
Air Lines, Inc. |
46 |
2,336 |
| Royal
Caribbean Cruises Ltd. |
13 |
2,306 |
| Hilton
Worldwide Holdings, Inc. |
10 |
2,305 |
| Fastenal
Co. |
30 |
2,143 |
| Yum!
Brands, Inc. |
15 |
2,096 |
| Genuine
Parts Co. |
14 |
1,955 |
| Cummins,
Inc. |
6 |
1,943 |
| Deckers
Outdoor Corp.* |
12 |
1,913 |
| Ford
Motor Co. |
159 |
1,679 |
| PulteGroup,
Inc. |
11 |
1,579 |
| Darden
Restaurants, Inc. |
9 |
1,477 |
| Aptiv
plc* |
20 |
1,440 |
| Lululemon
Athletica, Inc.* |
5 |
1,357 |
| Tractor
Supply Co. |
4 |
1,164 |
| MGM
Resorts International* |
29 |
1,134 |
| Best Buy
Company, Inc. |
10 |
1,033 |
| Tapestry,
Inc. |
21 |
987 |
| United
Airlines Holdings, Inc.* |
16 |
913 |
| Las
Vegas Sands Corp. |
16 |
806 |
| Ulta
Beauty, Inc.* |
2 |
778 |
| Live
Nation Entertainment, Inc.* |
7 |
766 |
| Dollar
General Corp. |
8 |
676 |
| Carnival
Corp.* |
36 |
665 |
| Dollar Tree, Inc.* |
8 |
562 |
| Total
Consumer, Cyclical |
|
206,292 |
| Industrial
- 3.2% |
|
|
| General
Electric Co. |
55 |
10,372 |
| Caterpillar,
Inc. |
25 |
9,778 |
| RTX
Corp. |
73 |
8,845 |
| Union
Pacific Corp. |
35 |
8,627 |
| Eaton
Corporation plc |
23 |
7,623 |
| Honeywell
International, Inc. |
34 |
7,028 |
| Lockheed
Martin Corp. |
11 |
6,430 |
| Illinois
Tool Works, Inc. |
24 |
6,290 |
| Deere
& Co. |
14 |
5,843 |
| United
Parcel Service, Inc. — Class B |
42 |
5,726 |
| 3M Co. |
39 |
5,331 |
| Boeing
Co.* |
30 |
4,561 |
| TransDigm
Group, Inc. |
3 |
4,281 |
| Trane
Technologies plc |
11 |
4,276 |
| Emerson
Electric Co. |
39 |
4,265 |
| General
Dynamics Corp. |
14 |
4,231 |
| Amphenol
Corp. — Class A |
62 |
4,040 |
| Carrier
Global Corp. |
50 |
4,025 |
| Parker-Hannifin
Corp. |
6 |
3,791 |
| Waste
Management, Inc. |
18 |
3,737 |
| Norfolk
Southern Corp. |
15 |
3,728 |
| Northrop
Grumman Corp. |
7 |
3,697 |
| GE
Vernova, Inc.* |
13 |
3,315 |
| FedEx
Corp. |
12 |
3,284 |
| AMETEK,
Inc. |
17 |
2,919 |
| Ingersoll
Rand, Inc. |
29 |
2,847 |
| CSX
Corp. |
81 |
2,797 |
| Dover
Corp. |
14 |
2,684 |
| Johnson
Controls International plc |
33 |
2,561 |
| Westinghouse
Air Brake Technologies Corp. |
13 |
2,363 |
| Republic
Services, Inc. — Class A |
11 |
2,209 |
| Martin
Marietta Materials, Inc. |
4 |
2,153 |
| Howmet
Aerospace, Inc. |
20 |
2,005 |
| Old
Dominion Freight Line, Inc. |
10 |
1,986 |
| L3Harris
Technologies, Inc. |
7 |
1,665 |
| Otis
Worldwide Corp. |
16 |
1,663 |
| Xylem,
Inc. |
12 |
1,620 |
| Keysight
Technologies, Inc.* |
10 |
1,589 |
| Veralto
Corp. |
12 |
1,342 |
| Fortive
Corp. |
17 |
1,342 |
| Vulcan
Materials Co. |
5 |
1,252 |
| Garmin
Ltd. |
7 |
1,232 |
| Axon
Enterprise, Inc.* |
3 |
1,199 |
| Smurfit
WestRock plc |
23 |
1,137 |
| Ball
Corp. |
16 |
1,086 |
| Rockwell
Automation, Inc. |
4 |
1,074 |
| Masco
Corp. |
12 |
1,007 |
| Builders
FirstSource, Inc.* |
5 |
970 |
| Stanley
Black & Decker, Inc. |
7 |
771 |
| Generac Holdings, Inc.* |
3 |
477 |
| Total
Industrial |
|
177,074 |
| Energy -
1.6% |
|
|
| Exxon
Mobil Corp. |
227 |
26,609 |
| Chevron
Corp. |
89 |
13,107 |
| ConocoPhillips |
60 |
6,317 |
| Williams
Companies, Inc. |
97 |
4,428 |
| EOG
Resources, Inc. |
29 |
3,565 |
| Kinder
Morgan, Inc. |
158 |
3,490 |
| Hess
Corp. |
22 |
2,988 |
| Schlumberger
N.V. |
71 |
2,978 |
| Marathon
Petroleum Corp. |
17 |
2,769 |
| Phillips
66 |
21 |
2,760 |
| ONEOK,
Inc. |
30 |
2,734 |
| Diamondback
Energy, Inc. |
11 |
1,896 |
| Valero
Energy Corp. |
14 |
1,890 |
| Occidental
Petroleum Corp. |
35 |
1,804 |
| Targa
Resources Corp. |
11 |
1,628 |
| Baker
Hughes Co. |
45 |
1,627 |
| First
Solar, Inc.* |
5 |
1,248 |
| Halliburton
Co. |
38 |
1,104 |
| Devon
Energy Corp. |
23 |
900 |
| Enphase
Energy, Inc.* |
6 |
678 |
| Equities
Corp. |
18 |
660 |
| Coterra Energy, Inc. — Class A |
27 |
647 |
| Total
Energy |
|
85,827 |
| Utilities
- 1.1% |
|
|
| NextEra
Energy, Inc. |
105 |
8,876 |
| Duke
Energy Corp. |
59 |
6,803 |
| Southern
Co. |
71 |
6,403 |
| Sempra |
58 |
4,850 |
| American
Electric Power Company, Inc. |
45 |
4,617 |
| CMS
Energy Corp. |
59 |
4,167 |
| Edison
International |
46 |
4,006 |
| Constellation
Energy Corp. |
15 |
3,900 |
| Dominion
Energy, Inc. |
58 |
3,352 |
| Public
Service Enterprise Group, Inc. |
26 |
2,319 |
| Vistra
Corp. |
17 |
2,015 |
| Exelon
Corp. |
49 |
1,987 |
| Xcel
Energy, Inc. |
29 |
1,894 |
| American
Water Works Company, Inc. |
12 |
1,755 |
| PG&E
Corp. |
87 |
1,720 |
| NRG Energy, Inc. |
11 |
1,002 |
| Total
Utilities |
|
59,666 |
| Basic
Materials - 0.9% |
|
|
| Linde
plc |
26 |
12,398 |
| Ecolab,
Inc. |
18 |
4,596 |
| Sherwin-Williams
Co. |
12 |
4,580 |
| Freeport-McMoRan,
Inc. |
77 |
3,844 |
| Air
Products and Chemicals, Inc. |
11 |
3,275 |
| Newmont
Corp. |
59 |
3,154 |
| DuPont
de Nemours, Inc. |
31 |
2,762 |
| Dow,
Inc. |
39 |
2,131 |
| Nucor
Corp. |
13 |
1,954 |
| International
Paper Co. |
33 |
1,612 |
| PPG
Industries, Inc. |
12 |
1,590 |
| International
Flavors & Fragrances, Inc. |
14 |
1,469 |
| LyondellBasell
Industries N.V. — Class A |
13 |
1,247 |
| Steel
Dynamics, Inc. |
7 |
883 |
| CF
Industries Holdings, Inc. |
9 |
772 |
| Albemarle Corp. |
6 |
568 |
| Total
Basic Materials |
|
46,835 |
| Total
Common Stocks |
|
|
| (Cost
$2,246,617) |
|
2,473,824 |
| EXCHANGE-TRADED
FUNDS***,† - 0.9% |
|
|
| iShares 0-3 Month Treasury Bond ETF |
501 |
50,461 |
| Total
Exchange-Traded Funds |
|
|
| (Cost
$50,388) |
|
50,461 |
| CLOSED-END
FUNDS***,† - 36.4% |
|
|
| Carlyle
Alpinvest Private Markets Fund — Class I* |
40,923 |
531,584 |
| Hamilton
Lane Private Assets Fund*,†† |
31,770 |
522,934 |
| Golub
Capital Private Credit Fund†† |
14,397 |
361,654 |
| Opportunistic
Credit Interval Fund — Class I |
30,804 |
354,559 |
| Variant Alternative Income Fund |
8,750 |
237,224 |
| Total
Closed-End Funds |
|
|
| (Cost
$1,972,740) |
|
2,007,955 |
| PRIVATE
REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT TRUSTS†† - 6.4% |
|
|
| Blue Owl Real Estate Net Lease Trust |
34,855 |
353,077 |
| Total
Private Real Estate Investment Trusts |
|
|
| (Cost
$354,322) |
|
353,077 |
| MONEY
MARKET FUND***,† - 6.1% |
|
|
| Federated Hermes U.S. Treasury Cash
Reserves Fund — Institutional Shares, 4.85%1 |
338,395 |
338,395 |
| Total
Money Market Fund |
|
|
| (Cost
$338,395) |
|
338,395 |
| |
Face Amount |
|
| U.S.
TREASURY BILLS†† - 6.0% |
|
|
| U.S.
Treasury Bills |
|
|
| 5.02%
due 10/10/242 |
$165,000
|
164,772 |
| 4.87% due 11/07/242 |
165,000 |
164,161 |
| Total
U.S. Treasury Bills |
|
|
| (Cost
$328,957) |
|
328,933 |
| Total
Investments - 100.7% |
|
|
| (Cost
$5,291,419) |
|
5,552,645 |
| Other
Assets & Liabilities, net - (0.7)% |
|
(37,227) |
| Total
Net Assets - 100.0% |
|
5,515,418 |
| * | | Non-income producing security |
| *** | | A copy of each underlying unaffiliated fund's financial statements is available at the SEC's website at www.sec.gov. |
| † | | Value determined based on Level 1 inputs, unless otherwise noted — See Note 5. |
| †† | | Value determined based on Level 2 inputs — See Note 5. |
| 1 | | Rate indicated is the 7-day yield as of September 30, 2024. |
| 2 | | Rate indicated is the effective yield at the time of purchase |
| | | plc — Public Limited Company |
| | | REIT — Real Estate Investment Trust |
See accompanying Notes to Financial Statements
Statement of Assets and Liabilities (Unaudited)
| ASSETS: | | | |
| Investments, at value (cost $5,291,419) | $ | 5,552,645 | |
| Receivables: | | | |
| Dividends | | 6,547 | |
| Total assets | | 5,559,192 | |
| | | | |
| LIABILITIES: | | | |
| Due to custodian | | 35,018 | |
| Payable for: | | | |
| Investments purchased | | 5,430 | |
| Investment advisory fees | | 3,326 | |
| Total liabilities | | 43,774 | |
| NET ASSETS | $ | 5,515,418 | |
| | | | |
| NET ASSETS CONSIST OF: | | | |
| Additional paid-in capital | | 5,188,011 | |
| Total distributable earnings (loss) | | 327,407 | |
| NET ASSETS | $ | 5,515,418 | |
| Shares outstanding (unlimited amount authorized) | | 510,717 | |
| Net asset value | $ | 10.80 | |
See accompanying Notes to Financial Statements
Statement of Operations (Unaudited)
| | Six Months Ended September 30, 2024 | |
| INVESTMENT INCOME: | | | |
| Dividends (net of foreign withholdings tax $1) | $ | 55,064 | |
| Interest | | 28,676 | |
| Total investment income | | 83,740 | |
| | | | |
| EXPENSES: | | | |
| Investment advisory fees | | 18,111 | |
| Total expenses | | 18,111 | |
| Net investment income | | 65,629 | |
| | | | |
| NET REALIZED AND UNREALIZED GAIN (LOSS): | | | |
| Net realized gain (loss) on: | | | |
| Investments | | (326) | |
| Net realized loss | | (326) | |
| Net change in unrealized appreciation (depreciation) on: | | | |
| Investments | | 226,726 | |
| Net change in unrealized appreciation (depreciation) | | 226,726 | |
| Net realized and unrealized gain | | 226,400 | |
| Net increase in net assets resulting from operations | $ | 292,029 | |
See accompanying Notes to Financial Statements
Statements of Changes in Net Assets
| | | Six Months Ended
September 30, 2024
(Unaudited) | | | Period from
March 5, 2024
to
March 31, 2024a | |
| | | | | | | |
| INCREASE (DECREASE) IN NET ASSETS FROM OPERATIONS: | | | | | | |
| Net investment income | $ | 65,629 | | $ | 48 | |
| Net realized gain on investments | | (326 | ) | | 830 | |
| Net change in unrealized appreciation (depreciation) on investments | | 226,726 | | | 34,500 | |
| Net increase in net assets resulting from operations | | 292,029 | | | 35,378 | |
| | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | |
| SHAREHOLDER TRANSACTIONS: | | | | | | |
| Proceeds from issuance of shares | | 2,105,489 | | | 2,983,565 | |
| Cost of shares redeemed | | (1,043 | ) | | - | |
| Net increase in net assets resulting from shareholder transactions | | 2,104,446 | | | 2,983,565 | |
| Net increase in net assets | | 2,396,475 | | | 3,018,943 | |
| | | | | | | |
| NET ASSETS: | | | | | | |
| Beginning of period | | 3,118,943 | | | 100,000 | |
| End of period | $ | 5,515,418 | | $ | 3,118,943 | |
|
(a)
|
Since commencement of operations
|
See accompanying Notes to Financial Statements
| | Six Months
Ended
September 30, 2024
(Unaudited) | | | Period Ended
March 31, 2024a | |
| Per Share Data: | | | | | | |
| Net asset value, beginning of period | $ | 10.21 | | $ | 10.00 | |
| Income from investment operations: | | | | | | |
| Net investment incomeb | | 0.14 | | | - | c |
| Net gain on investments (realized and unrealized) | | 0.45 | | | 0.21 | |
| Total from investment operations | | 0.59 | | | 0.21 | |
| Net asset value, end of period | $ | 10.80 | | $ | 10.21 | |
| Total Returnd | | | | | | |
| Net asset value | | 5.78 | % | | 2.10 | % |
| Ratios/Supplemental Data: | | | | | | |
| Net assets, end of period (in thousands) | $ | 5,515 | | $ | 3,119 | |
| Ratio to average net assets of: | | | | | | |
| Net investment income | | 2.72 | % | | 0.04 | % |
| Total expenses | | 0.75 | % | | 0.75 | % |
| Portfolio turnover rate | | 0.26 | % | | 1.76 | % |
|
(a)
|
Since commencement of operations: March 5, 2024. Percentage
amounts for the period, except total return and portfolio turnover rate, have
been annualized.
|
|
(b)
|
Based on average shares outstanding.
|
|
(c)
|
Less than $0.01 per share.
|
|
(d)
|
Total investment return is calculated assuming an initial investment
made at the net asset value at the beginning of the period, reinvestment of
all dividends and distributions at net asset value during the period, and
redemption on the last day of the period. Transaction fees are not reflected
in the calculation of total investment return.
|
See accompanying Notes to Financial Statements
Notes to Financial Statements (Unaudited)
Note 1 — Organization
and Registration
Institutional
Investment Strategy Fund (the “Fund”), a Delaware statutory trust, is a non-diversified, closed-end management investment company, registered under the
Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”), that continuously
offers its shares of beneficial interest and is operated as an “interval fund.”
The Fund was organized as a Delaware statutory trust on January 3, 2023, and
commenced investment operations on March 5, 2024.
The
Fund may issue an unlimited number of shares of beneficial interest, with no par value. All shares
of the Fund have equal rights and privileges. Each share of the Fund is
entitled to one vote on all matters as to which shares are entitled to vote. In
addition, each share of the Fund is entitled to participate, equally with other
shares (i) in dividends and distributions declared by the Fund and (ii) upon
liquidation, in the distribution of its proportionate share of the assets
remaining after satisfaction of outstanding liabilities. Shares of the Fund are
fully paid, non-assessable and fully transferable when issued and have no
pre-emptive, conversion or exchange rights. Fractional shares have
proportionately the same rights, including voting rights, as are provided for a
full share. The Fund offers one class of shares: Class I Shares.
Note 2 — Significant
Accounting Policies
The
Fund’s financial statements are prepared in accordance with accounting
principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“U.S. GAAP”).
The
Fund is considered an investment company under U.S. GAAP and follows the
accounting and reporting guidance applicable to investment companies in the
Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”), Accounting Standards
Codification (“ASC”) Topic 946, Financial Services - Investment Companies.
(a) Valuation of
Investments
Pursuant to Rule 2a-5 under the 1940 Act (the "Valuation Rule"), the Fund’s Board of Trustees (the “Board”) has designated the Adviser, as defined in Note 3, as the Fund’s valuation designee to perform any fair value determinations for securities and other assets held by the Fund. The Adviser is subject to the oversight of the Board and certain reporting and other requirements intended to provide the Board the information needed to oversee the Adviser’s fair value determinations. The Adviser is responsible for determining the fair value of investments for which market quotations are not readily available in accordance with policies and procedures that have been approved by the Board. Under these procedures, the Adviser convenes on a regular and ad hoc basis to review such investments and considers a number of factors, including valuation methodologies and significant unobservable inputs, when arriving at fair value. The Board has approved the Adviser’s fair valuation procedures as a part of the Fund’s compliance program and will review any changes made to the procedures. The Adviser provides fair valuation inputs. In determining fair valuations, inputs may include market-based analytics that may consider related or comparable assets or liabilities, recent transactions, market multiples, book values and other relevant investment information. Adviser inputs may include an income-based approach in which the anticipated future cash flows of the investment are discounted in determining fair value. Discounts may also be applied based on the nature or duration of any restrictions on the disposition of the investments. The Adviser performs regular reviews of valuation methodologies, key inputs and assumptions, disposition analysis and market activity.
Valuations of the Fund's securities and other assets
are supplied primarily by pricing services appointed pursuant to the processes
set forth in the Valuation Rule. At least annually, the Adviser directs (or
assists) the Fund's Principal Financial Officer to assess the material risks associated with the
determination of the fair value of the Fund’s investments, including a review
of any material conflicts of interest and an assessment by the Adviser’s
management of such material risks. The Adviser reviews and approves a final risk
assessment annually.
Equity securities listed or traded on a recognized
U.S. securities exchange or the National Association of Securities Dealers
Automated Quotations (“NASDAQ”) National Market System shall generally be
valued on the basis of the last sale price on the primary U.S. exchange or
market on which the security is listed or traded; provided, however, that
securities listed on NASDAQ will be valued at the NASDAQ Official Closing
Price, which may not necessarily represent the last sale price.
Money market funds, closed-end investment companies, and business development companies ("BDCs") are valued at the most recently published NAV per share of the underlying fund.
Debt securities with a maturity of greater than 60
days at acquisition are valued at prices that reflect broker-dealer supplied
valuations or are obtained from independent pricing services, which may
consider the trade activity, treasury spreads, yields or price of bonds of
comparable quality, coupon, maturity, and type, as well as prices quoted by
dealers who make markets in such securities. Short-term debt securities with a
maturity of 60 days or less at acquisition are valued at amortized cost, provided
such amount approximates market value.
Securities representing an interest in another pooled investment vehicle (each, an “Underlying Private Fund”) will initially be assessed at the value provided by that Underlying Private Fund or its manager (each, an “Underlying Manager”). To arrive at the fair value of investments in Underlying Private Funds, the Adviser receives monthly or quarterly capital account statements from the Underlying Private Funds. Upon receipt of these statements, the Adviser makes a determination that the account statements are based on the fair value of underlying investments. In making such determination, the Adviser reviews and evaluates the valuation policies and procedures of the entity providing the statement. If necessary, the Adviser adjusts the account statements for underlying investments not held at fair value or to bring the fair value estimate in phase with the Adviser reporting date.
If market quotations are not readily available,
securities are valued at fair value as set forth below. Fair valuation involves
subjective judgments, and it is possible that the fair value determined for a
security may differ materially from the value that could be realized upon the
sale of the security. There is no single standard for determining fair value of
a security. In determining the fair value of a security for which there are no
readily available market quotations, the Valuation Designee may consider several factors,
including: (1) evaluation of all relevant factors, including but not limited
to, pricing history, current market level, supply and demand of the respective
security; (2) comparison to the values and current pricing of securities that
have comparable characteristics; (3) knowledge of historical market information
with respect to the security; (4) other factors relevant to the security. The Valuation Designee may also consider periodic financial statements (audited and unaudited)
or other information provided by the issuer.
(b) Use of Estimates
The
preparation of the financial statement in accordance with U.S. GAAP requires
management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts
and disclosures, including contingent assets and liabilities, in the financial
statement during the period reported. Management believes the estimates are
appropriate; however, actual results may differ from those estimates.
(c) Cash Equivalents and Short-Term Debt Securities
For
temporary defensive purposes, the Fund may invest up to 100% of its assets in
cash equivalents and short-term debt securities. Short-term debt investments
having a remaining maturity of 60 days or less when purchased will be valued at
cost, adjusted for amortization of premiums and accretion of discounts.
(d) Mortgage-Backed Securities
The
Fund may invest in a variety of mortgage-related and other asset-backed
securities issued by government agencies or other governmental entities or by
private originators or issuers.
Mortgage-related
securities include mortgage pass-through securities, collateralized mortgage
obligations (“CMO”), commercial mortgage-backed securities (“CMBS”), mortgage
dollar rolls, CMO residuals, adjustable rate mortgage-backed securities
(“ARMBS”), stripped mortgage-backed securities (“SMBS”) and other securities
that directly or indirectly represent a participation in, or are secured by and
payable from, mortgage loans on real property.
(e) When-Issued and Forward Commitment Securities
The
Fund may purchase securities on a “when-issued” basis and may purchase or sell
securities on a “forward commitment” basis in order to acquire the security or
to hedge against anticipated changes in interest rates and prices. When such
transactions are negotiated, the price, which is generally expressed in yield
terms, is fixed at the time the commitment is made, but delivery and payment
for the securities take place at a later date.
(f) Business Development Companies
The
Fund may invest in different types of investment companies from time to time,
including business development companies (“BDCs”). A BDC is a less common type
of an investment company that more closely resembles an operating company than
a typical investment company. BDCs generally focus on investing in, and
providing managerial assistance to, small, developing, financially troubled,
private companies or other companies that may have value that can be realized
over time and with managerial assistance.
(g) Foreign
Taxation
Income
received by the Fund from sources within foreign countries may be subject to
withholding and other taxes imposed by such countries. Tax treaties and
conventions between certain countries and the U.S. may reduce or eliminate such
taxes. If more than 50% of the value of the Fund's total assets at the close of
its taxable year consists of securities of foreign corporations, the Fund may
be able to elect to “pass through” to the Fund's shareholders the amount of
eligible foreign income and similar taxes paid by the Fund. It is not generally
expected that the Fund will be eligible to make this election.
(h) Security Transactions and Investment Income and Realized Gain and Loss
Investment
security transactions are recorded as of the trade date for financial reporting
purposes. Securities purchased or sold on a when-issued or delayed-delivery
basis may be settled beyond a standard settlement period for the security after
the trade date. Realized gains (losses) from securities sold are recorded on
the identified cost basis. Dividend income is recorded on the ex-dividend date,
except certain dividends from foreign securities where the ex-dividend date may
have passed, which are recorded as soon as the Fund is informed of the
ex-dividend date. Interest income, adjusted for the accretion of discounts and
amortization of premiums, is recorded on the accrual basis from settlement
date, with the exception of securities with a forward starting effective date,
where interest income is recorded on the accrual basis from effective date. For
convertible securities, premiums attributable to the conversion feature are not
amortized. Estimated tax liabilities on certain foreign securities are recorded
on an accrual basis and are reflected as components of interest income or net
change in unrealized appreciation (depreciation) on investments on the
Statement of Operations, as appropriate. Tax liabilities realized as a result
of such security sales are reflected as a component of net realized gain (loss)
on investments on the Statement of Operations. Paydown gains (losses) on
mortgage-related and other asset-backed securities, if any, are recorded as
components of interest income on the Statement of Operations. Income or
short-term capital gain distributions received from registered investment
companies, if any, are recorded as dividend income. Long-term capital gain
distributions received from registered investment companies, if any, are
recorded as realized gains.
Debt
obligations may be placed on non-accrual status and related interest income may
be reduced by ceasing current accruals and writing off interest receivable when
the collection of all or a portion of interest has become doubtful based on
consistently applied procedures. A debt obligation is removed from non-accrual
status when the issuer resumes interest payments or when collectability of
interest is probable. A debt obligation may be granted, in certain situations,
a contractual or non-contractual forbearance for interest payments that are
expected to be paid after agreed upon pay dates.
(i) Distributions to Shareholders
The Fund intends to distribute all of its net investment income, any excess of net short-term capital gains
over net long-term capital losses, and any excess of net long-term capital gains over net short-term capital
losses in accordance with the timing requirements imposed by the Internal
Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the "Internal Revenue Code") and therefore should not be
required to pay any federal income or excise taxes. Distributions of net investment income will be made
annually and net capital gain will be made after the end of each fiscal year, and no later than December 31
of each year. Both types of distributions will be in shares of the Fund unless a shareholder elects to
receive cash.
(j) Indemnification
The
Fund indemnifies its officers and Board for certain
liabilities that may arise from the performance of their duties to the Fund.
Additionally, in the normal course of business, the Fund enters into contracts
that contain a variety of representations and warranties which provide general
indemnities. The Fund’s maximum exposure under these arrangements is unknown,
as this would involve future claims that may be made against the Fund that have
not yet occurred. However, the Fund expects the risk of loss due to these
warranties and indemnities to be remote.
(k) Commitments and Contingencies
In the normal course of business, the Fund enters into contracts that provide general indemnifications by the Fund to the counterparty to the contract. The Fund’s maximum exposure under these arrangements is dependent on future claims that may be made against the Fund and, therefore, cannot be estimated; however, based on experience, the risk of loss from such claims is considered remote. The Fund has determined that none of these arrangements requires disclosure on the Fund’s statement of assets and liabilities.
(l) Contributions Made in Advance
Contributions
made in advance represent amounts paid to closed end funds and BDCs for an
investment in their respective companies with an effective date after September
30, 2024.
Note 3 — Investment Advisory Fees
Pursuant
to an Investment Advisory Agreement between the Fund and the Buena Capital Advisors, LLC (the "Adviser"), the Adviser, among other
things, manages the
investment and reinvestment of the Fund’s assets;
executes and delivers all documents relating to the investments of the Fund and
the placing of orders for purchases and sales of portfolio investments; and
reviews, supervises, and administers the
Fund’s investments consistent with the Fund’s objectives and strategies. In consideration of the advisory services provided
by the Adviser to the Fund, the Adviser is entitled to a base management fee. The
base management fee (the "Advisory Fee") is calculated daily and payable monthly in arrears at the
annual rate of 0.75% of the Fund’s average daily net assets during such period. For the fiscal period ended September 30, 2024, the Adviser earned $18,111.
The Adviser agrees to pay all expenses incurred by the Fund except for the Advisory Fee, interest, taxes, brokerage commissions and other expenses incurred in placing or settlement of orders for the purchase and sale of securities and other investment instruments, acquired fund fees and expenses, accrued deferred tax liability, extraordinary expenses, shareholder servicing fees, and distribution fees and expenses paid by the Trust under any distribution plan adopted pursuant to Rule 12b-1 under the 1940 Act.
The Adviser shall be responsible for all reasonable costs and expenses associated with any special meetings of the Fund or shareholders convened for the primary benefit of the Adviser (the legal fees associated with preparing a proxy statement and associated mailing and solicitations costs).
Pursuant
to a Sub-Advisory Agreement between the Adviser and Rhumbline Advisers,
LP (the “Sub-Adviser”), the Sub-Adviser under the supervision of the
Fund’s Board and the Adviser, provides a continuous investment program for a designated portion of the
Fund’s portfolio; provides investment research; makes and executes
recommendations for the purchase and sale of securities; and provides certain facilities
and personnel. As compensation for its services, the Adviser pays the Sub-Adviser a
fee, in an annual amount equal to 0.04% of the Fund’s average daily net assets
during such period, with a minimum of $15,000 annually. The Sub-Adviser’s fee is paid from the Advisory Fee and not by the Fund.
Note 4 — Agreements
Fund Administrator,
Fund Accountant and Transfer Agent and Expenses
MUFG
Investor Services (US), LLC (“MUIS”) serves as Fund Administrator, Fund Accountant
and Transfer Agent for the Fund pursuant to a Services Agreement with the Fund.
In its role as Fund Administrator and the Fund Accountant, MUIS is responsible
for maintaining the books and records of the Fund’s securities. As Transfer
Agent, MUIS responsible for maintaining all shareholder records of the Fund. For
providing these services, MUIS is entitled to receive a monthly
fee and out of pocket expenses. The amounts owed
to MUIS under the Services Agreement are paid from the Advisory Fee.
Custody Fees and Expenses
Fifth
Third Bank (“FTB”) serves as the custodian for the securities and cash of the
Fund’s portfolio pursuant to a custody agreement with the Fund. FTB holds the Fund’s assets in
safekeeping and maintains all necessary records and documents relating to its
duties and receives customary fees, paid by the Adviser, for such services.
Note 5 — Fair Value
Measurement
The Fund follows ASC Topic 820, Fair Value
Measurements and Disclosures, (“ASC 820”) for measuring the fair value of portfolio
investments. Fair value is defined as the price that the Fund would receive
upon selling an investment or pay to transfer a liability in an orderly
transaction to a market participant in the principal or most advantageous
market for the investment. This accounting guidance emphasizes that valuation
techniques maximize the use of observable market inputs and minimize the use of
unobservable inputs. The valuation hierarchical levels are based upon the
transparency of the inputs to the valuation of the investment as of the
measurement date. A financial instrument’s categorization within the valuation
hierarchy is based upon the lowest level of input that is significant to the
fair value measurement.
The three levels are defined as follows:
Level 1 — Valuations based on quoted prices in
active markets for identical assets or liabilities at the measurement date that the Fund has the ability to access.
Level 2 — Valuations based on inputs other than
quoted prices in active markets included in Level 1, which are either directly
or indirectly observable at the measurement date. This category includes quoted
prices for similar assets or liabilities in active markets, quoted prices for
identical or similar assets or liabilities in non-active markets including
actionable bids from third parties for privately held assets or liabilities,
and observable inputs other than quoted prices such as yield curves and forward
currency rates that are entered directly into valuation models to determine the
value of derivatives or other assets or liabilities.
Level 3 — Valuations based on inputs that are
unobservable and where there is little, if any, market activity at the
measurement date. The inputs for the determination of fair value may require
significant management judgment or estimation and are based upon management’s
assessment of the assumptions that market participants would use in pricing the
assets or liabilities. These investments include debt and equity investments in
private companies or assets valued using the market or income approach and may
involve pricing models whose inputs require significant judgment or estimation
because of the absence of any meaningful current market data for identical or
similar investments. The inputs in these valuations may include, but are not
limited to, capitalization and discount rates, beta and EBITDA multiples. The
information may also include pricing information or broker quotes, which
include a disclaimer that the broker would not be held to such a price in an
actual transaction. The non-binding nature of consensus pricing and/or quotes
accompanied by disclaimer would result in classification as Level 3
information, assuming no additional corroborating evidence.
Routine fair valuations are intended to reflect fair
valuations that are determined from the application of a consistent methodology
in specific situations with observable inputs. Non-routine fair valuations
include all other fair value situations. In a non-routine fair value situation,
the Valuation Designee will e-mail the Administrator and other applicable Trust
Officers the value to be used along with all relevant information that was used
in determining such fair valuation.
ASC 820-10-35-41C(a) provides a practical expedient
for the fair value measurement of a large number of similar assets or
liabilities for which quoted prices in active markets are available, but not
readily accessible. In accordance with this guidance, fair value may be
measured by using an alternative pricing method (e.g., matrix pricing) instead
of obtaining quoted prices for each individual security, provided that the
reporting entity demonstrates that the method replicates actual prices. If an
alternative pricing method is used as a practical expedient, the resulting fair
value measurement will be Level 2, not Level 1 as it would have been had the
quoted prices been used.
The Adviser will review the appropriateness and
accuracy of the aforementioned valuation methodologies at least annually and
make any necessary adjustments and amendments to this policy.
The inputs or methodologies used for valuing
securities are not necessarily an indication of the risk associated with
investing in those securities. The suitability of the techniques and sources
employed to determine fair valuation are regularly monitored and subject to
change.
The following table
summarizes the inputs used to value the Fund's investments at September 30, 2024:
| Investments in Securities (Assets) | | Level 1 Quoted Prices | | | Level 2 Significant Observable Inputs | | | Level 3 Significant Unobservable Inputs | | | Total | |
| Common Stocks | $ | 2,473,824 | | $ | - | | $ | - | | $ | 2,473,824 | |
| Exchange-Traded Funds | | 50,461 | | | - | | | - | | | 50,461 | |
| Closed-End Funds | | 1,123,367 | | | 884,588 | | | - | | | 2,007,955 | |
| Money Market Fund | | 338,395 | | | - | | | - | | | 338,395 | |
| U.S. Treasury Bills | | - | | | 328,933 | | | - | | | 328,933 | |
| Private Real Estate Investment Trusts | | - | | | 353,077 | | | - | | | 353,077 | |
| Total Assets | $ | 3,986,047 | | $ | 1,566,598 | | | - | | $ | 5,552,645 | |
Note 6 — Federal
Income Tax Information
The
Fund intends to comply with the provisions of Subchapter M of the Internal Revenue Code,
applicable to regulated investment companies and will distribute substantially
all taxable net investment income and capital gains sufficient to relieve the
Fund from all, or substantially all, federal income, excise and state income
taxes. Therefore, no provision for federal or state income tax or federal
excise tax is required.
Tax
positions taken or expected to be taken in the course of preparing the Fund's
tax returns are evaluated to determine whether the tax positions are
"more-likely-than-not" of being sustained by the applicable tax
authority. Tax positions not deemed to meet the “more-likely-than-not”
threshold would be recorded as a tax benefit or expense in the current year.
Management has analyzed the Fund's tax positions taken, or to be taken, on U.S.
federal income tax returns for all open tax years, and has concluded that no
provision for income tax is required in the Fund's financial statements. The
Fund's U.S. federal income tax returns are subject to examination by the
Internal Revenue Service ("IRS") for a period of three years after
they are filed.
At September 30, 2024, the cost of investments for U.S. federal income tax purposes,
the aggregate gross unrealized appreciation for all investments for which there
was an excess of value over tax cost and the aggregate gross unrealized
depreciation for all investments for which there was an excess of tax cost over
value, were as follows:
|
Tax Cost
|
Tax Unrealized Appreciation
|
Tax Unrealized Depreciation
|
Net Tax Unrealized Appreciation /
(Depreciation)
|
|
$ 5,291,420
|
$ 318,910
|
$ (57,685)
|
$ 261,225
|
Note 7 — Securities
Transactions
For
the period ended September 30, 2024, the cost of purchases and proceeds from sales
of investment securities, excluding short-term investments, were as follows:
|
Purchases
|
Sales
|
|
$2,984,275
|
$8,883
|
There were no purchases or sales of U.S. Government securities during the period ended September 30, 2024
Note 8 — Capital Shares of Beneficial Interest
The Fund has an unlimited amount of shares of beneficial interest, no
par value, authorized and 510,717 shares issued and outstanding. Transactions
in shares of beneficial interest were as follows:
| | | | | | |
| | | Period Ended September 30, 2024 | | | Period Ended March 31, 2024 | |
| Beginning shares | | 305,359 | | | 10,000 | |
| Shares issued | | 205,458 | | | 295,359 | |
| Shares redeemed | | (100 | ) | | - | |
| Ending shares | | 510,717 | | | 305,359 | |
Note 9 — Repurchase
Offers
In order to provide liquidity to shareholders, the
Fund has adopted a fundamental policy that it will make quarterly repurchase
offers for no less than 5% of the Fund’s shares outstanding at NAV less any
repurchase fee, unless suspended or postponed in accordance with regulatory requirements,
and each repurchase pricing shall occur no later than the 14th day after the
Repurchase Request Deadline (between 21 to 42 days following the date the
repurchase offer is made (or the preceding business day if the New York Stock
Exchange is closed on that day), as specified by the Fund) or the next business
day if the 14th day is not a business day.
During the six months ended September 30, 2024, the Fund completed one quarterly repurchase offer. The Fund offered to repurchase up to 5% of the number of its outstanding shares as of the Repurchase Pricing Dates. The results of the repurchase offers were as follows:
| |
| Repurchase Offer | |
| Commencement Date |
| June 28, 2024 | |
| Repurchase Request Deadline |
| July 29, 2024 | |
| Repurchase Pricing Date |
| July 29, 2024 | |
| |
| | |
| Net Asset Value As of Repurchase Offer
Date: |
$ | 10.43 | |
| Amount Repurchased: |
$ | 1,043 | |
| Total Number of Shares Tendered: |
| 100 | |
| Percentage of Shares Tendered that were
Repurchased: |
| 0.02 | % |
Quarterly repurchases by the Fund of its shares
typically will be funded from borrowing proceeds, available cash or sales of
portfolio securities. However, payment for repurchased shares may require the
Fund to liquidate portfolio holdings earlier than the Adviser otherwise would
liquidate such holdings, potentially resulting in losses, and may increase the
Fund’s portfolio turnover. The Adviser may take measures to attempt to avoid or
minimize such potential losses and turnover, and instead of liquidating portfolio
holdings, may borrow money to finance repurchases of shares. If the Fund
borrows to finance repurchases, interest on any such borrowing will negatively
affect shareholders who do not tender their shares in a repurchase offer by
increasing the Fund’s expenses and reducing any net investment income. To the
extent the Fund finances repurchase proceeds by selling investments, the Fund
may hold a larger proportion of its gross assets in less liquid securities.
Also, the sale of securities to fund repurchases could reduce the market price
of those securities, which in turn would reduce the Fund’s NAV.
Repurchases of shares will tend to reduce the amount
of outstanding shares and, depending upon the Fund’s investment performance,
its net assets. A reduction in the Fund’s net assets may increase the Fund’s
expense ratio to the extent that additional shares are not sold. In addition,
the repurchase of shares by the Fund may be a taxable event to shareholders.
Note 10 –– Control and Ownership
The beneficial ownership, either directly or indirectly, of more than
25% of the voting
securities of a Fund creates a presumption of control of the Fund, under
section 2(a)(9)
of the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended. As of September 30, 2024,
Matthew Pauker (principal of the Adviser and Principal Financial Officer of the Fund) owned approximately 29% and Wenwen McElhoe (Wendy Li) (principal of the Adviser and Chief Investment Officer of the Fund) owned
approximately 36% of the oustanding shares of the Fund.
Note 11 — Subsequent
Events
The
Adviser has evaluated subsequent events through the date of issuance of the
financial statements included herein. There have been no subsequent events that
occurred during such period that would require disclosure or would be required
to be recognized in the financial statement.
As outlined in the Fund's Quarterly Repurchase Offer Notice dated September 27, 2024, the Fund offered to repurchase up to 5% of its outstanding shares (the “Repurchase Offer”) at the net asset value of such shares on October 28, 2024 (the “Repurchase Date”). Subsequently, no requests for repurchase were received during this offer period.
On November 26, 2024, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission issued a Multi-Class Exemption (Investment Company Act Release No. 35398) (File no. 812 15580) permitting the Fund to offer multiple share classes. Pursuant to such relief, the Fund’s commenced offering an “Investor” share class. The Fund’s Class I shares were renamed “Founder Class” shares.
Other Information (Unaudited)
Federal Income Tax
Information
This
information is being provided as required by the Internal Revenue Code.
In
January 2025, shareholders will be advised on IRS Form 1099 DIV or substitute
1099 DIV as to the federal tax status of the distributions received by
shareholders in the calendar year 2024.
Sector Classification
Information
in the Schedule of Investments is categorized by sectors using sector-level
classifications used by Bloomberg Industry Classification System, a widely
recognized industry classification system provider. In the Fund’s registration
statement, the Fund has investment policies relating to concentration in
specific industries. For purposes of these investment policies, the Fund generally classifies industries based on industry-level classifications used by
widely recognized industry classification system providers such as Bloomberg
Industry Classification System.
Proxy Voting
A description of the policies and procedures that the Fund uses to determine how to vote proxies relating to portfolio securities owned by the Fund and information regarding how the Fund voted proxies relating to the portfolio of securities for the most recent 12- month period ending June 30th are available to shareholders without charge, upon request by calling the Advisor toll free at (800) 535-7096 or on the SEC’s web site at www.sec.gov.
Portfolio Holdings
The
Fund files its complete schedule of portfolio holdings with the SEC for
the first and third quarters of each fiscal year as an exhibit
to Form N-PORT. Form N-PORT are available on the SEC’s website at
http://www.sec.gov. The information on Form N-PORT is also available upon request by calling 1-800-535-7096.
Consideration of the
Amendment to Investment Advisory Agreement
In connection with a meeting held on
August 16, 2024, the Board, including a majority of the Trustees who are not
“interested persons” as that term is defined in the 1940 Act discussed the
approval of an amended investment advisory agreement (the “Advisory Agreement”)
between the Adviser and the Fund In considering the approval of the amended
Advisory Agreement, the Board received materials specifically relating to the
Fund, the Adviser and the amended Advisory Agreement.
The Board relied upon the advice of
independent legal counsel and its own business judgment in determining the
material factors to be considered in evaluating the amended Advisory Agreement
and the weight to be given to each such factor. The Board’s conclusions were
based on an evaluation of all of the information provided and were not the
result of any one factor. Moreover, each Trustee may have afforded different
weight to the various factors in reaching conclusions with respect to the
amended Advisory Agreement.
In considering the approval of the amended
Advisory Agreement, the Board reviewed and analyzed various factors that they
determined were relevant, including the factors enumerated below.
Nature, Extent and Quality of Services.
The Board noted that the Adviser was newly founded and registered with
the SEC and that the Fund was the Adviser’s sole client. It remarked that the personnel of the Adviser
had 17 years’ experience managing multi-asset class portfolios on behalf of
institutional endowments and foundations and had outstanding academic
credentials. The Board reviewed that the
Adviser intended to engage with market participants to identify the best
risk-adjusted investment opportunities and would focus on opportunities that
were structurally persistent or could be expected to last through an economic
cycle. The Board discussed that the
Adviser conducted due diligence of potential investments through a combination
of quantitative and qualitative analysis.
It observed that the Adviser used daily compliance checklists designed
to ensure compliance with all statutory and regulatory requirements, including
all investments restrictions and limitations set forth in the Fund’s
prospectus, and that the Adviser’s Chief Compliance Officer reviewed and
oversaw the implementation of the Fund’s compliance policies and
procedures. The Board noted that the
Adviser had business continuity and disaster recovery plans in place. The Board concluded that the Adviser could be
expected to provide quality service to the Fund and its shareholders.
Performance.
The Board acknowledged that the Adviser was newly launched and had not
had sufficient time to generate meaningful performance history to
evaluate. The Board noted that in the
four months since the Fund’s inception, the Fund lagged its benchmark, but
noted that the Adviser explained that the Fund had a higher cash balance than
the Fund would be expected to have going forward, and that such cash drag
detracted from the Fund’s performance.
The Board determined that it the Adviser should be allowed to manage the
Fund over a full market cycle and that the Fund’s performance thus far had been
acceptable.
Fees and Expenses.
The Board remarked that the Adviser had a unitary fee for the Fund, and
that such fee was lower significantly lower than the average of its peer group
and the Multistrategy Morningstar Category.
The Board observed that the Fund’s expense ratio was similarly lower
than the average of its peer group and Morningstar category. The Board agreed that the advisory fee for the
Fund was not unreasonable.
Profitability.
The Board reviewed the Adviser’s projected profitability analysis and
noted that the Adviser anticipated a small profit in Year 1 and a reasonable
profit in Year 2 before amounts spent on marketing and distribution were taken
into consideration. The Board concluded
that the Adviser’s projected profits were not excessive.
Economies of Scale.
The Board noted that economies of scale had not yet been reached as the
Fund had only recently launched. The
Board discussed future opportunities for breakpoints as the assets of the Fund
grew.
Conclusion.
Having requested and received such information from the Adviser as the
Board believed to be reasonably necessary to evaluate the terms of the advisory
agreement, and as assisted by the advice of independent counsel, the Board
determined that approval of the amendment to the advisory agreement was in the
best interests of the Fund, its wholly owned subsidiary, and its
shareholders.
*Due to the timing of the contract renewal
schedule, these deliberations may or may not relate to the current performance
results of the Fund.
Item 2. Code of Ethics.
Not applicable.
Item 3. Audit Committee Financial Expert
The Audit Committee has
designated Brian O’Neil as its financial expert as defined by the Sarbanes
Oxley Act of 2002. Mr. O’Neil is independent
because (i) he does not accept directly or indirectly any consulting, advisory,
or other compensatory fee from the Fund other than in his capacity as a member
of the Audit Committee and Board of Trustees, and (ii) is not an “interested
person” of the Fund as defined in Section 2(a)(19) of the 1940 Act.
Item 4. Principal Accountant Fees and Services.
Not applicable.
Item 5. Audit Committee of Listed Registrants.
Not applicable.
Item 6. Investments.
Schedule of Investments is included as part of the semi-annual report to shareholders filed under Item 1 of this Form N-CSR.
Item 7. Financial Statements and Financial Highlights for Open-End Management Investment Companies.
Not applicable.
Item 8. Changes in and Disagreements with Accountants for Open-End Management Investment Companies.
Not applicable.
Item 9. Proxy Disclosures for Open-End Management Investment Companies.
Not applicable.
Item 10. Remuneration Paid to Directors, Officers, and Others of Open-End Management Investment Companies.
Not applicable.
Item 11. Statement Regarding Basis for Approval of Investment Advisory Contract.
Not applicable.
Item 12. Disclosure of Proxy Voting Policies and Procedures for Closed-End Management Investment Companies.
Not applicable.
Item 13. Portfolio Managers of Closed-End Management Investment Companies.
Not applicable.
Item 14. Purchases of Equity Securities by Closed-End Management Investment Company and Affiliated Purchasers.
Not applicable.
Item 15. Submission of Matters to a Vote of Security Holders.
Not applicable.
Item 16. Controls and Procedures.
(a) The registrant’s President and Treasurer have reviewed the registrant’s disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Rule 30a-3(c) under the Investment Company Act of 1940 (the “Act”)) as of a date within 90 days of the filing of this report, as required by Rule 30a-3(b) under the Act and Rules 13a-15(b) or 15d-15(b) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Based on their review, such officers have concluded that the disclosure controls and procedures are effective in ensuring that information required to be disclosed in this report is appropriately recorded, processed, summarized and reported and made known to them by others within the registrant and by the registrant’s service provider.
(b) There were no changes in the registrant’s internal control over financial reporting (as defined in Rule 30a-3(d) under the Act) that occurred during the period covered by this report that have materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, the registrant’s internal control over financial reporting.
Item 17. Disclosure of Securities Lending Activities for Closed-End Management Investment Companies
The registrant did not engage in securities lending activities during the fiscal period reported on this Form N-CSR.
Item 18. Recovery of Erroneously Awarded Compensation.
Not applicable.
Item 19. Exhibits.
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)
|
Institutional Investment Strategy Fund
|
|
By (Signature and Title)
|
/s/ Arash Ghodoosi
|
| |
Arash Ghodoosi, President
|
| |
(Principal Executive Officer)
|
|
Date
|
November 27, 2024
|
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.
|
(Registrant)
|
Institutional Investment Strategy Fund
|
|
By (Signature and Title)
|
/s/ Arash Ghodoosi
|
| |
Arash Ghodoosi, President
|
| |
(Principal Executive Officer)
|
|
Date
|
November 27, 2024
|
|
(Registrant)
|
Institutional Investment Strategy Fund
|
|
By (Signature and Title)
|
/s/ Matthew Pauker
|
| |
Matthew Pauker, Treasurer
|
| |
(Principal Financial Officer)
|
|
Date
|
November 27, 2024
|
N-CSRS/A
N-2
0001976685
false
0001976685
2024-04-01
2024-09-30
0001976685
2024-09-30
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