Liberty All-Star Growth Fund, Inc.

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM N-Q

QUARTERLY SCHEDULE OF PORTFOLIO HOLDINGS OF REGISTERED

MANAGEMENT INVESTMENT COMPANY

Investment Company Act file number: 811-04537

 

LIBERTY ALL-STAR GROWTH FUND, INC.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in charter)

1290 Broadway, Suite 1100, Denver, Colorado 80203

(Address of principal executive offices) (Zip code)

Tané T. Tyler

ALPS Fund Services, Inc.

1290 Broadway, Suite 1100

Denver, Colorado 80203

(Name and address of agent for service)

Registrant’s telephone number, including area code: (303) 623-2577

Date of fiscal year end: December 31

Date of reporting period: January 1 – March 31, 2011


Item 1 – Schedule of Investments.


Liberty All-Star Growth Fund, Inc.

Schedule of Investments

March 31, 2011 (Unaudited)

 

     SHARES      MARKET VALUE  

COMMON STOCKS (97.91%)

     

CONSUMER DISCRETIONARY (11.92%)

     

Automobiles (0.47%)

     

Thor Industries, Inc.

     20,370         $679,747   
           

Distributors (1.26%)

     

LKQ Corp.(a)

     76,135         1,834,853   
           

Diversified Consumer Services (1.56%)

     

Capella Education Co.(a)

     17,246         858,678   

Global Education & Technology Group Ltd.(a)(b)

     55,044         337,420   

Strayer Education, Inc.(a)

     6,400         835,136   

Xueda Education Group(a)(b)

     26,234         250,797   
           
        2,282,031   
           

Hotels, Restaurants & Leisure (1.11%)

     

BJ’s Restaurants, Inc.(a)

     20,711         814,564   

Ctrip.com International Ltd.(a)(b)

     19,466         807,644   
           
        1,622,208   
           

Household Durables (0.63%)

     

Harman International Industries, Inc.

     19,704         922,541   
           

Internet & Catalog Retail (2.47%)

     

Amazon.com, Inc.(a)

     9,140         1,646,388   

E-Commerce China Dangdang, Inc.(a)(b)

     28,873         595,650   

priceline.com, Inc.(a)

     2,700         1,367,388   
           
        3,609,426   
           

Specialty Retail (2.69%)

     

CarMax, Inc.(a)

     29,200         937,320   

Monro Muffler Brake, Inc.

     10,702         352,952   

Rue21, Inc.(a)

     66,232         1,907,482   

Ulta Salon, Cosmetics & Fragrance, Inc.(a)

     15,340         738,314   
           
        3,936,068   
           

Textiles, Apparel & Luxury Goods (1.73%)

     

Fossil, Inc.(a)

     8,900         833,485   

Gildan Activewear, Inc.

     23,400         766,818   

Under Armour, Inc., Class A(a)

     13,510         919,356   
           
        2,519,659   
           

CONSUMER STAPLES (3.17%)

     

Food & Staples Retailing (1.17%)

     

Costco Wholesale Corp.

     12,500         916,500   

CVS Caremark Corp.

     23,100         792,792   
           
        1,709,292   
           

Food Products (2.00%)

     

Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, Inc.(a)

     28,100         1,815,541   

Mead Johnson Nutrition Co.

     19,100         1,106,463   
           
        2,922,004   
           


     SHARES      MARKET VALUE  

COMMON STOCKS (continued)

     

ENERGY (10.21%)

     

Energy Equipment & Services (7.36%)

     

CARBO Ceramics, Inc.

     6,000         $846,720   

Core Laboratories N.V.(a)

     23,757         2,427,253   

Dril-Quip, Inc.(a)

     11,114         878,339   

FMC Technologies, Inc.(a)

     25,000         2,362,000   

Oceaneering International, Inc.(a)

     26,800         2,397,260   

Schlumberger Ltd.

     19,795         1,846,082   
           
        10,757,654   
           

Oil, Gas & Consumable Fuels (2.85%)

     

Brigham Exploration Co.(a)

     29,800         1,107,964   

Occidental Petroleum Corp.(a)

     15,600         1,630,044   

Plains Exploration & Production Co.(a)

     17,800         644,894   

Ultra Petroleum Corp.(a)

     15,700         773,225   
           
        4,156,127   
           

FINANCIALS (11.01%)

     

Capital Markets (4.05%)

     

Affiliated Managers Group, Inc.(a)

     13,383         1,463,699   

The Charles Schwab Corp.

     49,100         885,273   

Duff & Phelps Corp., Class A

     25,383         405,620   

FXCM, Inc., Class A

     15,186         197,874   

Janus Capital Group, Inc.

     76,400         952,708   

SEI Investments Co.

     40,100         957,588   

T. Rowe Price Group, Inc.(a)

     15,800         1,049,436   
           
        5,912,198   
           

Commercial Banks (1.18%)

     

Signature Bank(a)

     30,509         1,720,707   
           

Consumer Finance (0.51%)

     

Green Dot Corp., Class A(a)

     17,300         742,343   
           

Diversified Financial Services (2.34%)

     

MSCI, Inc., Class A(a)

     47,024         1,731,424   

Portfolio Recovery Associates, Inc.(a)

     19,856         1,690,341   
           
        3,421,765   
           

Insurance (2.00%)

     

ACE Ltd.(a)

     31,600         2,044,520   

Greenlight Capital Re Ltd., Class A(a)

     31,311         883,283   
           
        2,927,803   
           

Real Estate Management & Development (0.93%)

     

China Real Estate Information Corp.(a)(b)

     32,941         257,269   

FirstService Corp.(a)

     29,097         1,106,559   
           
        1,363,828   
           


     SHARES      MARKET VALUE  

COMMON STOCKS (continued)

     

HEALTH CARE (14.33%)

     

Biotechnology (3.01%)

     

BioMarin Pharmaceutical, Inc.(a)

     58,305         $1,465,205   

Dendreon Corp.(a)

     25,100         939,493   

Human Genome Sciences, Inc.(a)

     27,488         754,545   

Ironwood Pharmaceuticals, Inc.(a)

     20,000         280,000   

Vertex Pharmaceuticals, Inc.(a)

     19,900         953,807   
           
        4,393,050   
           

Health Care Equipment & Supplies (4.34%)

     

Accuray, Inc.(a)

     54,634         493,345   

Intuitive Surgical, Inc.(a)

     7,300         2,434,258   

Masimo Corp.

     26,750         885,425   

ResMed, Inc.(a)

     10,467         314,010   

Varian Medical Systems, Inc.(a)

     22,600         1,528,664   

Volcano Corp.(a)

     26,700         683,520   
           
        6,339,222   
           

Health Care Providers & Services (2.06%)

     

IPC The Hospitalist Co., Inc.(a)

     12,017         545,692   

Lincare Holdings, Inc.

     25,565         758,258   

PSS World Medical, Inc.(a)

     34,110         926,086   

VCA Antech, Inc.(a)

     31,121         783,627   
           
        3,013,663   
           

Health Care Technology (1.82%)

     

athenahealth, Inc.(a)

     22,583         1,019,171   

Cerner Corp.(a)

     14,700         1,634,640   
           
        2,653,811   
           

Life Sciences Tools & Services (0.84%)

     

Life Technologies Corp.(a)

     23,500         1,231,870   
           

Pharmaceuticals (2.26%)

     

Allergan, Inc.

     18,000         1,278,360   

Mylan, Inc.(a)

     38,900         881,863   

Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd.(b)

     22,710         1,139,361   
           
        3,299,584   
           

INDUSTRIALS (17.38%)

     

Aerospace & Defense (2.70%)

     

Aerovironment, Inc.(a)

     27,200         951,184   

HEICO Corp.

     14,499         906,478   

Precision Castparts Corp.

     8,200         1,206,876   

TransDigm Group, Inc.(a)

     10,570         886,083   
           
        3,950,621   
           

Air Freight & Logistics (3.50%)

     

C.H. Robinson Worldwide, Inc.(a)

     40,200         2,980,026   


     SHARES      MARKET VALUE  

COMMON STOCKS (continued)

     

Air Freight & Logistics (continued)

     

Expeditors International of Washington, Inc.

     42,500         $2,130,950   
           
        5,110,976   
           

Commercial Services & Supplies (2.20%)

     

American Reprographics Co.(a)

     66,379         687,023   

Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers, Inc.

     13,305         374,536   

Stericycle, Inc.(a)

     13,035         1,155,813   

Waste Connections, Inc.

     34,717         999,502   
           
        3,216,874   
           

Electrical Equipment (2.39%)

     

II-VI, Inc.(a)

     14,974         744,957   

Rockwell Automation, Inc.(a)

     29,100         2,754,315   
           
        3,499,272   
           

Machinery (0.81%)

     

Graco, Inc.

     20,394         927,723   

Watts Water Technologies, Inc., Class A

     6,528         249,304   
           
        1,177,027   
           

Professional Services (4.85%)

     

Huron Consulting Group, Inc.(a)

     29,942         829,094   

ICF International, Inc.(a)

     18,196         373,746   

IHS, Inc., Class A(a)

     25,713         2,282,029   

Resources Connection, Inc.

     99,400         1,927,366   

Robert Half International, Inc.

     32,700         1,000,620   

Stantec, Inc.(a)

     22,249         667,692   
           
        7,080,547   
           

Road & Rail (0.93%)

     

Knight Transportation, Inc.

     24,846         478,286   

Landstar System, Inc.

     19,133         873,995   
           
        1,352,281   
           

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (25.94%)

     

Communications Equipment (3.59%)

     

Aruba Networks, Inc.(a)

     31,300         1,059,192   

F5 Networks, Inc.(a)

     3,800         389,766   

InterDigital, Inc.

     5,587         266,556   

Polycom, Inc.(a)

     18,968         983,491   

QUALCOMM, Inc.

     46,365         2,542,193   
           
        5,241,198   
           

Computers & Peripherals (2.04%)

     

Apple, Inc.(a)

     8,560         2,982,732   
           
     

Electronic Equipment & Instruments (1.48%)

     

FARO Technologies, Inc.(a)

     19,267         770,680   

FLIR Systems, Inc.

     18,857         652,641   


     SHARES      MARKET VALUE  

COMMON STOCKS (continued)

     

Electronic Equipment & Instruments (continued)

     

National Instruments Corp.

     22,455         $735,850   
           
        2,159,171   
           

Internet Software & Services (5.11%)

     

Baidu, Inc.(a)(b)

     16,200         2,232,522   

comScore, Inc.(a)

     12,327         363,770   

Cornerstone OnDemand, Inc.(a)

     2,091         38,119   

Google, Inc., Class A(a)

     3,575         2,095,701   

Monster Worldwide, Inc.(a)

     55,194         877,584   

Qihoo 360 Technology Co. Ltd.(a)(b)

     1,100         32,549   

VistaPrint Ltd.(a)

     15,832         821,681   

Youku.com, Inc.(a)(b)

     21,164         1,005,501   
           
        7,467,427   
           

IT Services (4.09%)

     

Alliance Data Systems Corp.(a)

     10,100         867,489   

Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp., Class A(a)

     20,100         1,636,140   

FleetCor Technologies, Inc.(a)

     9,327         304,620   

ServiceSource International, Inc.(a)

     1,000         12,180   

VeriFone Systems, Inc.(a)

     40,376         2,218,661   

Visa, Inc., Class A

     12,715         936,078   
           
        5,975,168   
           

Semiconductors & Semiconductor Equipment (2.75%)

     

ARM Holdings PLC(b)

     72,750         2,049,368   

Cavium Networks, Inc.(a)

     21,588         969,949   

Hittite Microwave Corp.(a)

     15,642         997,490   
           
        4,016,807   
           

Software (6.88%)

     

ANSYS, Inc.(a)

     23,330         1,264,253   

Concur Technologies, Inc.(a)

     12,781         708,707   

QLIK Technologies, Inc.(a)

     38,077         990,002   

RealPage, Inc.(a)

     24,727         685,680   

Salesforce.com, Inc.(a)

     22,000         2,938,760   

Solera Holdings, Inc.

     23,363         1,193,849   

SuccessFactors, Inc.(a)

     22,800         891,252   

VMware, Inc., Class A(a)

     16,860         1,374,764   
           
        10,047,267   
           

MATERIALS (2.05%)

     

Chemicals (1.61%)

     

CF Industries Holdings, Inc.

     6,200         848,098   

Praxair, Inc.(a)

     14,800         1,503,680   
           
        2,351,778   
           

Metals & Mining (0.44%)

     

Silver Wheaton Corp.

     14,700         637,392   
           


     SHARES      MARKET VALUE  

COMMON STOCKS (continued)

     

TELECOMMUNICATION SERVICES (1.23%)

     

Wireless Telecommunication Services (1.23%)

     

American Tower Corp., Class A(a)

     34,600         $1,792,972   
           

UTILITIES (0.67%)

     

Electric Utilities (0.67%)

     

ITC Holdings Corp.(a)

     13,953         975,315   
           

TOTAL COMMON STOCKS

     

(COST OF $107,192,024)

        143,006,279   
           
     PAR VALUE      

SHORT TERM INVESTMENT (2.27%)

     

REPURCHASE AGREEMENT (2.27%)

     

Repurchase agreement with State Street Bank & Trust Co., dated 03/31/11, due 04/01/11 at 0.01%, collateralized by several Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac instruments with various maturity dates, market value of $3,383,019 (Repurchase proceeds of $3,309,001)

     $3,309,000         3,309,000   
           

TOTAL SHORT TERM INVESTMENT

     

(COST OF $3,309,000)

        3,309,000   
           

TOTAL INVESTMENTS (100.18%)

     

(COST OF $110,501,024)(c)

        146,315,279   

LIABILITIES IN EXCESS OF OTHER ASSETS (-0.18%)

        (258,445)   
           

NET ASSETS (100.00%)

        $146,056,834   
           

NET ASSET VALUE PER SHARE

     

(30,080,350 SHARES OUTSTANDING)

        $4.86   
           

 

(a)

Non-income producing security.

(b)

American Depositary Receipt.

(c)

Cost of investments for federal income tax purposes is $110,840,294.

Gross unrealized appreciation and depreciation at March 31, 2011 based on cost of investments for federal income tax purposes is as follows:

Gross unrealized appreciation

     $38,863,758   

Gross unrealized depreciation

     (3,388,773)   
   

Net unrealized appreciation

     $35,474,985   
   

For Fund compliance purposes, the Fund’s industry classifications refer to any one or more of the industry sub-classifications used by one or more widely recognized market indexes or ratings group indexes, and/or as defined by Fund management. This definition may not apply for purposes of this report, which may combine industry sub-classifications for reporting ease. Industries are shown as a percent of net assets. These industry classifications are unaudited.

    


Notes to Schedule of Investments

Security Valuation

Equity securities are valued at the last sale price at the close of the principal exchange on which they trade, except for securities listed on the National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations (“NASDAQ”) exchange, which are valued at the NASDAQ official closing price. Unlisted securities or listed securities for which there were no sales during the day are valued at the closing bid price on such exchanges or over-the-counter markets.

Short-term debt obligations maturing in more than 60 days for which market quotations are readily available are valued at current market value. Short-term debt obligations maturing within 60 days are valued at amortized cost, which approximates market value.

Investments for which market quotations are not readily available are valued at fair value as determined in good faith under consistently applied procedures approved by and under the general supervision of the Liberty All-Star® Growth Fund’s (the “Fund”) Board of Directors (the “Board”).

Foreign Securities

The Fund invests in foreign securities including American Depositary Receipts, which may involve a number of risk factors and special considerations not present with investments in securities of U.S. corporations.

Security Transactions

Security transactions are accounted for on the trade date. Cost is determined and gains/(losses) are based upon the specific identification method for both financial statement and federal income tax purposes.

Repurchase Agreements

The Fund may engage in repurchase agreement transactions with institutions that the Fund’s investment advisor has determined are creditworthy. The Fund, through its custodian, receives delivery of underlying securities collateralizing a repurchase agreement. Collateral is at least equal, at all times, to the value of the repurchase obligation including interest. A repurchase agreement transaction involves certain risks in the event of default or insolvency of the counterparty. These risks include possible delays or restrictions upon a Fund’s ability to dispose of the underlying securities and a possible decline in the value of the underlying securities during the period while the Fund seeks to assert its rights.

Income Recognition

Interest income is recorded on the accrual basis. Corporate actions and dividend income are recorded on the ex-date.

Fair Value Measurements

The Fund discloses the classification of its fair value measurements following the three-tier hierarchy based on the inputs used to measure fair value. 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 reflect the assumptions market participants would use in pricing the asset or liability that are developed based on market data obtained from sources independent of the reporting entity. Unobservable inputs reflect the reporting entity’s own assumptions about the assumptions market participants would use in pricing the asset or liability that are developed based on the best information available.

Various inputs are used in determining the value of the Fund’s investments as of the end of the reporting period. When inputs used fall into different levels of the fair value hierarchy, the level in the hierarchy within the fair value measurement falls is determined based on the lowest level input that is significant to the fair value measurement in its entirety. The designated input levels are not necessarily an indication of the risk or liquidity associated with these investments. These inputs are categorized in the following hierarchy under applicable financial accounting standards:

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, credit risk, etc.)

Level 3 Significant unobservable inputs (including the Fund’s own assumptions in determining the fair value of investments)

The following is a summary of the inputs used to value the Fund’s investments as of March 31, 2011:


     Valuation Inputs         

Investments in Securities at

Value*

   Level 1      Level 2      Level 3      Total  

Common Stocks

   $   143,006,279       $       $       $   143,006,279   

Short Term Investment

             3,309,000                 3,309,000   

Total

   $ 143,006,279       $   3,309,000       $       $ 146,315,279   
                                     

*See Schedule of Investments for industry classifications

For the three months ended March 31, 2011, the Fund did not have any significant transfers between Level 1 and Level 2 securities. The Fund did not have any securities which used significant unobservable inputs (Level 3) in determining fair value.

Indemnification

In the normal course of business, the Fund enters into contracts that contain a variety of representations and warranties and which provide general indemnities. The Fund’s maximum exposure under these arrangements is unknown, as this would involve future claims against the Fund. Also, under the Fund’s organizational documents and by contract, the Directors and Officers of the Fund are indemnified against certain liabilities that may arise out of their duties to the Fund. However, based on experience, the Fund expects the risk of loss due to these warranties and indemnities to be minimal.

Maryland Statutes

By resolution of the Board of Directors, the Fund has opted into the Maryland Control Share Acquisition Act and the Maryland Business Combination Act. In general, the Maryland Control Share Acquisition Act provides that “control shares” of a Maryland corporation acquired in a control share acquisition may not be voted except to the extent approved by shareholders at a meeting by a vote of two-thirds of the votes entitled to be cast on the matter (excluding shares owned by the acquiror and by officers or directors who are employees of the corporation). “Control shares” are voting shares of stock which, if aggregated with all other shares of stock owned by the acquiror or in respect of which the acquiror is able to exercise or direct the exercise of voting power (except solely by virtue of a revocable proxy), would entitle the acquiror to exercise voting power in electing directors within certain statutorily-defined ranges (one-tenth but less than one-third, one-third but less than a majority, and more than a majority of the voting power). In general, the Maryland Business Combination Act prohibits an interested shareholder (a shareholder that holds 10% or more of the voting power of the outstanding stock of the corporation) of a Maryland corporation from engaging in a business combination (generally defined to include a merger, consolidation, share exchange, sale of a substantial amount of assets, a transfer of the corporation’s securities and similar transactions to or with the interested shareholder or an entity affiliated with the interested shareholder) with the corporation for a period of five years after the most recent date on which the interested shareholder became an interested shareholder. At the time of adoption, March 19, 2009, the Board and the Fund were not aware of any shareholder that held control shares or that was an interested shareholder under the statutes.


Item 2 - Controls and Procedures.

 

  (a) The registrant’s Principal Executive Officer and Principal Financial Officer have evaluated the registrant’s disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Rule 30a-3(c) under the Investment Company Act of 1940) within 90 days of this filing and have concluded that the registrant’s disclosure controls and procedures were effective, as of that date.

 

  (b) There was no change in the registrant’s internal control over financial reporting (as defined in Rule 30a-3(d) under the Investment Company Act of 1940) during registrant’s last fiscal quarter that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, the registrant’s internal control over financial reporting.

Item 3 – Exhibits.

Separate certifications for the registrant’s Principal Executive Officer and Principal Financial Officer, as required by Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 and Rule 30a-2(a) under the Investment Company Act of 1940, are attached as Ex99.CERT.


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.

 

LIBERTY ALL-STAR GROWTH FUND, INC.

By:

  

/s/ William Parmentier

  

William Parmentier

   President (principal executive officer)

Date:

  

May 26, 2011

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.

 

By:   

/s/ William Parmentier

   William Parmentier
   President (principal executive officer)
Date:    May 26, 2011
By:   

/s/ Jeremy O. May

   Jeremy O. May
   Treasurer (principal financial officer)
Date:    May 26, 2011