Note 1 — Security Valuation
In accordance with the authoritative guidance on fair value measurements and disclosures under GAAP, the Portfolios disclose the fair value of its investments in a hierarchy that prioritizes the inputs to valuation techniques used to measure the fair value. In accordance with GAAP, fair value is defined as the price that the Portfolios would receive upon selling an asset or transferring a liability in a timely transaction to an independent third party in the principal or most advantageous market. GAAP established a three-tier hierarchy to provide more transparency around the inputs used to measure fair value and to establish classification of fair value measurements for disclosure purposes. Inputs refer broadly to the assumptions that market participants would use in pricing the asset or liability, including assumptions about risk. Inputs may be observable or unobservable. Observable inputs are inputs that reflect the assumptions market participants would use in pricing the asset or liability developed 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. The three tiers are as follows:
Level 1 — Unadjusted quoted prices in active markets for identical securities
Level 2 — Other significant observable inputs (including quoted prices for similar securities, interest rates, prepayment speeds, credit risk, referenced indices, quoted prices in inactive markets, adjusted quoted prices in active markets, adjusted quoted prices on foreign equity securities that were adjusted in accordance with pricing procedures adopted the Board of Trustees (“the Board”), etc.).
Level 3 — Significant unobservable inputs (includes inputs that reflect the Portfolios’ own assumptions about the assumptions market participants would use in pricing the security, developed based on the best information available under the circumstances.)
Changes in valuation techniques may result in transfers in or out of an investment’s assigned Level within the hierarchy. The methodology used for valuing investments are not necessarily an indication of the risk associated with investing in those investments and the determination of the significance of a particular input to the fair value measurement in its entirety requires judgment and consideration of factors specific to each security.
The availability of observable inputs can vary from security to security and is affected by a wide variety of factors, including, for example, the type of security, whether the security is recently issued and not yet established in the marketplace, the liquidity of markets, and other characteristics particular to the security. To the extent that valuation is based on models or inputs that are less observable or unobservable in the market, the determination of fair value requires more judgment. Accordingly, the degree of judgment exercised in determining fair value is greatest for instruments categorized in Level 3.
The summary of the Portfolios’ assets and liabilities classified in the fair value hierarchy as of September 30, 2024, is reported on a schedule at the end of each Portfolio’s Portfolio of Investments.
The Board must determine fair value in good faith for portfolio holdings for which market quotations are not readily available or are unreliable. The Board has designated SAAMCo as the valuation designee ("Valuation Designee") to preform the fair valuation determinations relating to any or all fund investments. SAAMCo, as the Valuation Designee, has adopted policies and procedures and has established a pricing review committee to determine the fair value of the designated portfolio holdings on its behalf.
The net asset value (“NAV”) of each Portfolio is determined based upon the NAV of its corresponding Master Fund.
Master Funds
Each Master Fund is a series of American Funds Insurance Series (“AFIS”). All portfolio securities of funds managed by Capital Research and Management Company (“Capital Research”) are valued, and the NAV per share for each share class are determined, as follows:
The AFIS investment adviser values the AFIS investments at fair value as defined by U.S.generally accepted accounting principles. The net asset value of per share is calculated once daily as of the close of regular trading on the New York Stock Exchange, normally 4 p.m. New York time, each day the New York Stock Exchange is open. Security transactions are recorded by the funds as of the date the trades are executed with brokers. Assets and liabilities, including investment securities, denominated in currencies other than U.S. dollars are translated into U.S. dollars at the exchange rates supplied by one or more pricing vendors on the valuation date.
Methods and inputs — The AFIS investment adviser uses the following methods and inputs to establish the fair value of each fund’s assets and liabilities. Use of particular methods and inputs may vary over time based on availability and relevance as market and economic conditions evolve.
Equity securities, including depositary receipts, are generally valued at the official closing price of, or the last reported sale price on, the exchange or market on which such securities are traded, as of the close of business on the day the securities are being valued or, lacking any sales, at the last available bid price. Prices for each security are taken from the principal exchange or market on which the security trades. The value of an underlying fund is based on its reported net asset value.
Fixed-income securities, including short-term securities, are generally valued at evaluated prices obtained from third-party pricing vendors. Vendors value such securities based on one or more of the inputs described in the following table. The table provides examples of inputs that are commonly relevant for valuing particular classes of
