1. Summary of Significant
Accounting Policies
a. Security Valuation:
The Fund values its
securities at current market value or fair value, consistent with regulatory requirements. "Fair value" is defined in the Fund's Valuation and Liquidity Procedures as the price that could be received to sell an asset
or paid to transfer a liability in an orderly transaction between willing market participants without a compulsion to transact at the measurement date. Pursuant to Rule 2a-5 under the 1940 Act, the Board designated
abrdn Inc., the Fund's Investment Adviser (the "Investment Adviser"), as the valuation designee ("Valuation Designee") for the Fund to perform the fair value determinations relating to Fund investments for which
market quotations are not readily available or deemed unreliable.
Equity securities that are
traded on an exchange are valued at the last quoted sale price or the official close price on the principal exchange on which the security is traded at the “Valuation Time” subject to application, when
appropriate, of the valuation factors described in the paragraph below. Under normal circumstances, the Valuation Time is as of the close of regular trading on the New York Stock Exchange ("NYSE") (usually 4:00 p.m.
Eastern Time). In the absence of a sale price, the security is valued at the mean of the bid/ask price quoted at the close on the principal exchange on which the security is traded. Securities traded on NASDAQ are
valued at the NASDAQ official closing price.
Foreign equity securities that
are traded on foreign exchanges that close prior to the Valuation Time are valued by applying valuation factors to the last sale price or the mean price as noted above. Valuation factors are provided by an independent
pricing service provider. These valuation factors are used when pricing the Fund's portfolio holdings to estimate market movements between the time foreign markets close and the time the Fund values such foreign
securities. These valuation factors are based on inputs such as depositary receipts, indices, futures, sector indices/ETFs, exchange rates, and local exchange opening and closing prices of each security. When prices
with the application of valuation factors are utilized, the value assigned to the foreign securities may not be the same as quoted or published prices of the securities on their primary markets. A security that
applies a valuation factor is generally determined to be a Level 2 investment because the exchange-traded price has been adjusted. Valuation factors are not utilized if the independent pricing service provider is
unable to provide a valuation factor or if the valuation factor falls below a predetermined threshold.
Short-term investments are
comprised of cash and cash equivalents invested in short-term investment funds which are redeemable daily. The Fund sweeps available cash into the State Street Institutional U.S. Government Money Market Fund,
which has elected to qualify as a “government money market fund” pursuant to Rule 2a-7 under the 1940 Act, and has an objective, which is not guaranteed, to maintain a $1.00 per share NAV. Generally, these
investment types are categorized as Level 1 investments.
In the event that a
security’s market quotations are not readily available or are deemed unreliable (for reasons other than because the foreign exchange on which it trades closes before the Valuation Time), the security is valued
at fair value as determined by the Valuation Designee, taking into account the relevant factors and surrounding circumstances using valuation policies and procedures approved by the Board. A security that has been
fair valued by the Adviser may be classified as Level 2 or Level 3 depending on the nature of the inputs.
In accordance with the
authoritative guidance on fair value measurements and disclosures under U.S. GAAP, the Fund discloses the fair value of its investments using a three-level hierarchy that classifies the inputs to valuation techniques
used to measure the fair value. The hierarchy assigns Level 1, the highest level, measurements to valuations based upon unadjusted quoted prices in active markets for identical assets, Level 2 measurements to
valuations based upon other significant observable inputs, including adjusted quoted prices in active markets for similar assets, and Level 3, the lowest level, measurements to valuations based upon unobservable
inputs that are significant to the valuation. Inputs refer broadly to the assumptions that market participants would use in pricing the asset or liability, including assumptions about risk, for example, the risk
inherent in a particular valuation technique used to measure fair value including a pricing model and/or the risk inherent in the inputs to the valuation technique. Inputs may be observable or unobservable. Observable
inputs are inputs that reflect the assumptions market participants would use in pricing the asset or liability, which are based on market data obtained from sources independent of the reporting entity. Unobservable
inputs are inputs that reflect the reporting entity’s own assumptions about the assumptions market participants would use in pricing the asset or liability developed based on the best information available in
the circumstances. A financial instrument’s level within the fair value hierarchy is based upon the lowest level of any input that is significant to the fair value measurement.
The three-level hierarchy of
inputs is summarized below:
Level 1 - quoted prices (unadjusted)
in active markets for identical investments;
Level 2 - other significant
observable inputs (including valuation factors, quoted prices for similar securities, interest rates, prepayment speeds, and credit risk, etc.); or
Level 3 - significant unobservable
inputs (including the Fund’s own assumptions in determining the fair value of investments). Investments that are included in this category are private credit investments.
