Fidelity School Street Trust NPORT-PFidelity Global Credit Fund (Sep 2024 report)

Fiscal year to date information regarding the Fund's investments in Fidelity Central Funds, including the ownership percentage, is presented below.

Amounts in the dividend income column in the above table include any capital gain distributions from underlying funds.

Amounts in the dividend income column for Fidelity Securities Lending Cash Central Fund represents the income earned on investing cash collateral, less rebates paid to borrowers and any lending agent fees associated with the loan, plus any premium payments received for lending certain types of securities.

Investments are valued as of 4:00 p.m. Eastern time on the last calendar day of the period. Securities transactions are accounted for as of trade date. The Board of Trustees (the Board) has designated the Fund's investment adviser as the valuation designee responsible for the fair valuation function and performing fair value determinations as needed. The investment adviser has established a Fair Value Committee (the Committee) to carry out the day-to-day fair valuation responsibilities and has adopted policies and procedures to govern the fair valuation process and the activities of the Committee. In accordance with these fair valuation policies and procedures, which have been approved by the Board, the Fund attempts to obtain prices from one or more third party pricing services or brokers to value its investments. When current market prices, quotations or currency exchange rates are not readily available or reliable, investments will be fair valued in good faith by the Committee, in accordance with the policies and procedures. Factors used in determining fair value vary by investment type and may include market or investment specific events, transaction data, estimated cash flows, and market observations of comparable investments. The frequency that the fair valuation procedures are used cannot be predicted and they may be utilized to a significant extent. The Committee manages the Fund's fair valuation practices and maintains the fair valuation policies and procedures. The Fund's investment adviser reports to the Board information regarding the fair valuation process and related material matters.   

 

The inputs to valuation techniques used to value investments are categorized into a disclosure hierarchy consisting of three levels as shown below:

 

Level 1 - Unadjusted quoted prices in active markets for identical investments

Level 2 - other significant observable inputs (including quoted prices for similar investments, interest rates, prepayment speeds, etc.)

Level 3 - unobservable inputs (including the Fund's own assumptions based on the best information available)

 

Valuation techniques used to value investments by major category are as follows:

Debt securities, including restricted securities, are valued based on evaluated prices received from third party pricing services or from brokers who make markets in such securities. U.S. Treasury Obligations, Foreign Government and Government Agency Obligations, Non-Convertible Corporate Bonds and Preferred Securities are valued by pricing services who utilize matrix pricing which considers yield or price of bonds of comparable quality, coupon, maturity and type or by broker-supplied prices. When independent prices are unavailable or unreliable, debt securities may be valued utilizing pricing methodologies which consider similar factors that would be used by third party pricing services. For foreign debt securities, when significant market or security specific events arise, valuations may be determined in good faith in accordance with procedures adopted by the Board. Debt securities are generally categorized as Level 2 in the hierarchy but may be Level 3 depending on the circumstances.

Swaps are marked-to-market daily based on valuations from third party pricing services, registered derivatives clearing organizations (clearinghouses) or broker-supplied valuations. These pricing sources may utilize inputs such as interest rate curves, credit spread curves, default possibilities and recovery rates. When independent prices are unavailable or unreliable, swaps may be valued utilizing pricing methodologies which consider similar factors that would be used by third party pricing services. Swaps are generally categorized as Level 2 in the hierarchy but may be Level 3 depending on the circumstances.

The U.S. dollar value of forward foreign currency contracts is determined using currency exchange rates supplied by a pricing service and are categorized as Level 2 in the hierarchy.

Futures contracts are valued at the settlement price established each day by the board of trade or exchange on which they are traded and are categorized as Level 1 in the hierarchy.

Investments in any open-end mutual funds are valued at their closing net asset value (NAV) each business day and are categorized as Level 1 in the hierarchy.

Changes in valuation techniques may result in transfers in or out of an assigned level within the disclosure hierarchy.

Risk Exposures and the Use of Derivative Instruments: The Fund's investment objectives allow the Fund to enter into various types of derivative contracts. Derivatives are investments whose value is primarily derived from underlying assets, indices or reference rates and may be transacted on an exchange or over-the-counter (OTC). Derivatives may involve a future commitment to buy or sell a specified asset based on specified terms, to exchange future cash flows at periodic intervals based on a notional principal amount, or for one party to make one or more payments upon the occurrence of specified events in exchange for periodic payments from the other party.

The Fund used derivatives to increase returns, to gain exposure to certain types of assets and/or to manage exposure to certain risks as defined below. The success of any strategy involving derivatives depends on analysis of numerous economic factors, and if the strategies for investment do not work as intended, the Fund may not achieve its objectives.  

The Fund's use of derivatives increased or decreased its exposure to the following risk(s):

Credit Risk - Credit risk relates to the ability of the issuer of a financial instrument to make further principal or interest payments on an obligation or commitment that it has to the Fund.

Foreign Exchange Risk - Foreign exchange rate risk relates to fluctuations in the value of an asset or liability due to changes in currency exchange rates.

Interest Rate Risk - Interest rate risk relates to the fluctuations in the value of interest-bearing securities due to changes in the prevailing levels of market interest rates.

The Fund is also exposed to additional risks from investing in derivatives, such as liquidity risk and counterparty credit risk. Liquidity risk is the risk that the Fund will be unable to close out the derivative in the open market in a timely manner. Counterparty credit risk is the risk that the counterparty will not be able to fulfill its obligation to the Fund. 

Derivative counterparty credit risk is managed through formal evaluation of the creditworthiness of all potential counterparties. On certain OTC derivatives, the Fund attempts to reduce its exposure to counterparty credit risk by entering into an International Swaps and Derivatives Association, Inc. (ISDA) Master Agreement with each of its counterparties. The ISDA Master Agreement gives the Fund the right to terminate all transactions traded under such agreement upon the deterioration in the credit quality of the counterparty beyond specified levels. The ISDA Master Agreement gives each party the right, upon an event of default by the other party or a termination of the agreement, to close out all transactions traded under such agreement and to net the amounts owed under each transaction to one net payable by one party to the other. To mitigate counterparty credit risk on bi-lateral OTC derivatives, the Fund receives collateral in the form of cash or securities once the Fund's net unrealized appreciation on outstanding derivative contracts under an ISDA Master Agreement exceeds certain applicable thresholds, subject to certain minimum transfer provisions. The collateral received is held in segregated accounts with the Fund's custodian bank in accordance with the collateral agreements entered into between the Fund, the counterparty and the Fund's custodian bank. The Fund could experience delays and costs in gaining access to the collateral even though it is held by the Fund's custodian bank. The Fund's maximum risk of loss from counterparty credit risk related to bi-lateral OTC derivatives is generally the aggregate unrealized appreciation and unpaid counterparty payments in excess of any collateral pledged by the counterparty to the Fund. The Fund may be required to pledge collateral for the benefit of the counterparties on bi-lateral OTC derivatives in an amount not less than each counterparty's unrealized appreciation on outstanding derivative contracts, subject to certain minimum transfer provisions, and any such pledged collateral is identified in the Schedule of Investments. Exchange-traded contracts are not covered by the ISDA Master Agreement; however counterparty credit risk related to these contracts may be mitigated by the protection provided by the exchange on which they trade. Counterparty credit risk related to centrally cleared swaps may be mitigated by the protection provided by the clearinghouse.

Investing in derivatives may involve greater risks than investing in the underlying assets directly and, to varying degrees, may involve risk of loss in excess of any initial investment and collateral received. In addition, there may be the risk that the change in value of the derivative contract does not correspond to the change in value of the underlying instrument.  

Forward Foreign Currency Contracts: Forward foreign currency contracts represent obligations to purchase or sell foreign currency on a specified future date at a price fixed at the time the contracts are entered into.  

The Fund used forward foreign currency contracts to facilitate transactions in foreign-denominated securities and to manage exposure to certain foreign currencies.

Open forward foreign currency contracts at period end are presented in the Schedule of Investments under the caption "Forward Foreign Currency Contracts." The contract amount and unrealized appreciation (depreciation) reflects each contract's exposure to the underlying currency at period end.

Futures Contracts: A futures contract is an agreement between two parties to buy or sell a specified underlying instrument for a specified price at a specified future date.

The Fund used futures contracts to manage its exposure to the bond market and fluctuations in interest rates.

Open futures contracts at period end are presented in the Schedule of Investments under the caption "Futures Contracts". The underlying face amount at value reflects each contract's exposure to the underlying instrument or index at period end. Any securities and/or cash deposited to meet initial margin requirements are identified in the Schedule of Investments.

Swaps: A swap is a contract between two parties to exchange future cash flows at periodic intervals based on a notional principal amount.

A bi-lateral OTC swap is a transaction between a fund and a dealer counterparty where cash flows are exchanged between the two parties for the life of the swap.

Open swaps at period end are included in the Schedule of Investments under the caption Credit Default Swaps, Interest Rate Swaps and/or Total Return Swaps, as applicable.

For additional information on the Fund's significant accounting policies, please refer to the Fund's most recent semiannual or annual shareholder report.