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 811-06400

 

 

The Advisors’ Inner Circle Fund

(Exact name of registrant as specified in charter)

 

 

SEI Investments

One Freedom Valley Drive

Oaks, PA 19456

(Address of principal executive offices) (Zip code)

 

 

SEI Investments

One Freedom Valley Drive

Oaks, PA 19456

(Name and address of agent for service)

 

 

Registrant’s telephone number, including area code: (877) 446-3863

Date of fiscal year end: October 31, 2020

Date of reporting period: October 31, 2020

 

 

 


Item 1.

Reports to Stockholders.

A copy of the report transmitted to stockholders pursuant to Rule 30e-1 under the Investment Company Act or 1940, as amended (the “Act”) (17 CFR § 270.30e-1), is attached hereto.

 


THE ADVISORS’ INNER CIRCLE FUND

 

LOGO

Value Equity Fund

ANNUAL REPORT TO SHAREHOLDERS

October 31, 2020

This information must be preceded or accompanied by a current prospectus. Investors should read the prospectus carefully before investing.

Beginning on March 1, 2021, as permitted by regulations adopted by the Securities and Exchange Commission, paper copies of the Fund’s shareholder reports will no longer be sent by mail, unless you specifically request paper copies of the reports from the Fund or from your financial intermediary, such as a broker-dealer or bank. Instead, the reports will be made available on a website, and you will be notified by mail each time a report is posted and provided with a website link to access the report.

If you already elected to receive shareholder reports electronically, you will not be affected by this change and you need not take any action. You may elect to receive shareholder reports and other communications from the Fund electronically by contacting your financial intermediary.

You may elect to receive all future reports in paper free of charge. If you invest through a financial intermediary, you can follow the instructions included with this disclosure, if applicable, or you can contact your financial intermediary to inform it that you wish to continue receiving paper copies of your shareholder reports. If you invest directly with the Fund, you can inform the Fund that you wish to continue receiving paper copies of your shareholder reports by calling 1-888-FUND-LSV (1-888-386-3578). Your election to receive reports in paper will apply to all funds held with your financial intermediary if you invest through a financial intermediary or all LSV Funds if you invest directly with the Fund.


LOGO

MANAGER’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FUND PERFORMANCE

(Unaudited)

The total net of fee return of the LSV Value Equity Fund, the Russell 1000 Value Index (the benchmark), and the S&P 500 Index for trailing periods ending October 31, 2020, were as follows:

 

           One Year      Three
Years
     Five
Years
     Seven
Years
     Ten
Years
     Fifteen
Year
     Twenty
Year
 

Since

Inception

LSV Value Equity Fund, Institutional Class Shares*

     -13.22%      -2.83%      3.52%      5.15%      9.02%      5.87%      7.02%   6.93%

Benchmark:

                                    

Russell 1000 Value

     -7.57%      1.94%      5.82%      6.50%      9.48%      6.44%      6.00%   6.11%

Benchmark Market:

                                    

S&P 500 Index

     -9.51%      10.42%      11.71%      11.53%      13.01%      9.12%      6.30%   6.43%

* Periods longer than one year are annualized; inception date is March 31, 1999; net of fees.

Institutional Class Shares performance as of 9/30/20: -10.28% (1 year), 4.99% (5 year), 9.36% (10 year) and 7.00% (Since Inception). The performance data quoted represents past performance. Past performance does not guarantee future results. The investment return and principal value of an investment will fluctuate so that an investor’s shares when redeemed, may be worth more or less than their original cost and current performance may be lower or higher than the performance quoted. For performance data current to the most recent month end, please call 888-FUND-LSV (888-386-3578).

Coming into 2020, the S&P 500 Index was trading near all-time highs thanks to improved economic data, continued support from global central banks and the ‘phase one’ trade resolution with China. The seemingly calm and optimistic environment for equity markets, however abruptly shifted course as the COVID-19 global pandemic took center stage, wreaking havoc on markets. Despite the short-term economic toll due to COVID-19, investors have proven willing to look past the short-term impact, dismissing much of the bleak data, and the market recorded solid returns for the trailing twelve months on the back of optimistic COVID-19 vaccine news and historic levels monetary and fiscal stimulus. The S&P 500 was up 9.71% (in USD). Large cap stocks significantly outperformed small caps over the period as the Russell 1000 was up 10.87% while the Russell 2000 was down -0.14% (both in USD). From a style perspective, value stocks dramatically underperformed across all market capitalization segments based on the Russell Indices—the Russell 1000 Value Index was down -7.57% while the Russell 1000 Growth Index was up 29.22% (both in USD). The difference in returns between the Russell 1000 Value and Russell 1000 Growth over this period of -36.78% was one of the worst on record for the Russell Indices dating back to 1979; worse than at the height of the technology bubble during the late 1990’s. The LSV Value Equity Fund, Institutional Class Shares, was down -13.22% for the period. From a sector perspective, Information Technology, Consumer Discretionary and Communication Services stocks outperformed while Energy, Financials and Real Estate lagged.

The historically difficult environment for value stocks was the root cause of the poor relative performance for the trailing twelve month period. Cheaper stocks based on cash flow and earnings

 

1


LOGO

MANAGER’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FUND PERFORMANCE

(Unaudited)

measures, which we favor, significantly lagged for the period and the Fund’s emphasis on buying and holding stocks that are attractive on these measures detracted from relative performance results. In addition, smaller capitalization stocks dramatically underperformed large cap stocks over the period and the Fund’s smaller capitalization bias versus the benchmark also had a negative impact on relative performance. Attribution analysis further indicates that stock selection detracted from relative returns over the period while sector selection added value. Stock selection losses were concentrated in the Industrials, Health Care and Technology sectors as names within the Airlines, Pharmaceuticals and Semiconductors industries lagged. Not owning expensive names in the Health Care Equipment and Life Sciences Tools & Services industries also detracted. From a sector perspective, relative gains were largely due to our underweight position in the Energy sector as well as our overweight to Information Technology stocks. Top individual contributors included overweight positions in Cummins, Target, Best Buy, Kroger and Whirlpool. Not holding Wells Fargo, Exxon and our underweight to Chevron also added value. Main individual detractors included overweights to Citigroup, United Airlines, Phillips 66, Holly Frontier and Walgreens as well as not holding Procter & Gamble, WalMart and Danaher.

The Fund continues to trade at a significant discount to the overall market as well as to the value benchmark. The Fund is trading at 12.1x forward earnings compared to 19.3x for the Russell 1000 Value Index, 1.5x book compared to 2.1x for the benchmark and 7.6x cash flow compared to 12.1x for the value benchmark. Sector weightings are a result of our bottom-up stock selection process, subject to constraints at the sector and industry levels. The Fund is currently overweight the Consumer Discretionary, Health Care and Financials sectors while underweight Industrials, Utilities and Communication Services.

Our organization remains stable and our research team continues to pursue an active research agenda in which we are looking for better ways to measure value and identify signs of positive change. As always, we are focused on delivering the long-term results that our investors have come to expect from LSV and that we have delivered for clients since 1994.

This material represents the manager’s assessment of the portfolio and market environment at a specific point in time and should not be relied upon by the reader as research or investment advice. Investing involves risk including loss of principal. The information provided herein represents the opinion of the manager and is not intended to be a forecast of future events, a guarantee of future results or investment advice.

Forward earnings is not a forecast of the Fund’s future performance. Investing involves risk, including possible loss of principal. Investments in smaller companies typically exhibit higher volatility.

The Russell 1000 Value Index is a widely-recognized, capitalization-weighted (companies with larger market capitalizations have more influence than those with smaller market capitalization) index of U.S. companies with lower forecasted growth rates and price-to-book ratios.

The Russell 1000 Growth Index is a widely-recognized, capitalization-weighted (companies with larger market capitalizations have more influence than those with smaller market capitalization) index of U.S. companies with higher forecasted growth rates and price-to-book ratios.

The S&P 500 Index consists of 500 stocks chosen for market size, liquidity, and industry group representation. It is a market-value weighted index (stock price times number of shares outstanding), with each stock’s weight in the

 

2


LOGO

MANAGER’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FUND PERFORMANCE

(Unaudited)

Index proportionate to its market value. The S&P 500 Index is one of the most widely used benchmarks of U.S. equity performance.

Russell 2000 Index is an unmanaged index comprised of 2,000 stocks of U.S. companies with small market capitalization.

MSCI USA Minimum Volatility Index aims to reflect the performance characteristics of a minimum variance strategy applied to the US large and mid-cap equity universe.

Index Returns are for illustrative purposes only and do not represent actual fund performance. Index performance returns do not reflect any manage fees, transaction costs or expenses. Indexes are unmanaged and one cannot invest directly in an index. Past performance does not guarantee future results.

 

3


Comparison of Change in the Value of a $100,000 Investment in the

LSV Value Equity Fund, Institutional Class Shares, versus the Russell 1000 Value Index (Unaudited)

 

    

Average Annual Total Return

for the period ended October 31, 2020

     One Year    
Return    
   Three Year    
Return    
   Five Year    
Return    
   Ten Year    
Return    
   Annualized
Inception to
Date(1)

LSV Value Equity Fund, Institutional Class Shares 

   -13.22%        -2.83%        3.52%        9.02%        6.93%    

LSV Value Equity Fund, Investor Class Shares (2)  

   -13.43%        -3.07%        3.27%        8.74%        6.67%    

Russell 1000 Value Index 

   -7.57%        1.94%        5.82%        9.48%        6.11%    

 

LOGO

 

*

The graph is based on only the Institutional Class Shares; performance for Investor Class Shares would be different due to differences in fee structures.

 

(1)

The LSV Value Equity Fund Commenced operations on March 31, 1999.

 

(2)

Investor Class Shares commenced operations on June 10, 2014. Investor Class Shares’ performance for periods prior to June 10, 2014, is that of the Institutional Class Shares. Institutional Class Shares’ performance was adjusted to reflect the 12b-1 fees applicable to the Investor Class Shares.

The performance data quoted herein represents past performance and the return and value of an investment in the Fund will fluc-tuate so that, when redeemed, may be worth less than its original cost. Past performance does not guarantee future results. The Fund’s performance assumes the reinvestment of all dividends and all capital gains. Index returns assume reinvestment of dividends and, unlike a fund’s returns, do not reflect any fees or expenses. If such fees and expenses were included in the Index returns, the performance would have been lower. Please note that one cannot invest directly in an unmanaged index. Fee waivers were in effect previously, if they had not been in effect, performance would have been lower.

Returns shown do not reflect the deduction of taxes that a shareholder would pay on Fund distributions or the redemption of Fund shares.

See definition of comparative indices on page 2.

 

4


October 31, 2020

 

Sector Weightings (Unaudited)†:

 

LOGO

 

Percentages are based on total investments.

Schedule of Investments

LSV Value Equity Fund

              Shares          Value (000)  

Common Stock (98.9%)

     

Aerospace & Defense (1.7%)

     

Curtiss-Wright

     66,300      $ 5,593  

General Dynamics

     69,300        9,101  

Huntington Ingalls Industries

     62,900        9,277  

Textron

     211,600        7,575  
     

 

 

 
        31,546  
     

 

 

 

Agricultural Products (0.4%)

     

Ingredion

     112,500        7,975  
     

 

 

 

Air Freight & Logistics (0.3%)

 

  

FedEx

     20,300        5,267  
     

 

 

 

Aircraft (1.5%)

     

Delta Air Lines

     176,500        5,408  

JetBlue Airways*

     537,100        6,429  

Lockheed Martin

     24,000        8,403  

United Airlines Holdings*

     182,500        6,180  
     

 

 

 
        26,420  
     

 

 

 

Apparel Retail (0.5%)

     

Foot Locker

     259,600        9,574  
     

 

 

 

Apparel, Accessories & Luxury Goods (0.5%)

 

Hanesbrands

     583,100        9,370  
     

 

 

 

Asset Management & Custody Banks (3.2%)

 

Ameriprise Financial

     165,700        26,649  

Bank of New York Mellon

     495,100        17,012  

State Street

     248,900        14,660  
     

 

 

 
        58,321  
     

 

 

 

Automotive (2.7%)

     

American Axle & Manufacturing Holdings*

     600,200        4,033  

BorgWarner

     305,510        10,687  

Ford Motor

     1,346,200        10,406  

General Motors

     417,400        14,413  

Goodyear Tire & Rubber

     395,880        3,278  
LSV Value Equity Fund                
             Shares          Value (000)  

Automotive (continued)

     

Lear

     58,800      $ 7,104  
     

 

 

 
        49,921  
     

 

 

 

Automotive Retail (0.5%)

     

Group 1 Automotive

     78,600        8,338  
     

 

 

 

Banks (6.2%)

     

Bank of America

     1,080,400        25,605  

Citizens Financial Group

     542,500        14,783  

Fifth Third Bancorp

     493,600        11,461  

Huntington Bancshares

     440,400        4,598  

JPMorgan Chase

     222,100        21,775  

Keycorp

     515,900        6,696  

PNC Financial Services Group

     50,100        5,605  

Regions Financial

     689,300        9,168  

Zions Bancorp

     385,300        12,434  
     

 

 

 
        112,125  
     

 

 

 

Biotechnology (4.2%)

     

Alexion Pharmaceuticals*

     213,400        24,571  

Amgen

     97,300        21,108  

Biogen*

     55,100        13,889  

Gilead Sciences

     199,500        11,601  

Regeneron Pharmaceuticals*

     8,700        4,729  
     

 

 

 
        75,898  
     

 

 

 

Broadcasting (0.4%)

     

ViacomCBS, Cl B

     277,700        7,934  
     

 

 

 

Building & Construction (1.2%)

 

  

Owens Corning

     101,000        6,612  

PulteGroup

     283,900        11,572  

TRI Pointe Group*

     259,500        4,264  
     

 

 

 
        22,448  
     

 

 

 

Chemicals (3.6%)

     

Celanese, Cl A

     92,400        10,488  

Chemours

     293,000        5,901  

Eastman Chemical

     206,300        16,677  

Huntsman

     479,400        11,645  

Ingevity*

     111,400        6,114  

LyondellBasell Industries, Cl A

     222,500        15,230  
     

 

 

 
        66,055  
     

 

 

 

Commercial Printing (0.2%)

     

Deluxe

     165,400        3,546  
     

 

 

 

Commercial Services (0.4%)

     

Western Union

     381,000        7,407  
     

 

 

 

Commodity Chemicals (0.6%)

     

Cabot

     171,700        6,526  
 

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of the financial statements

 

5


Schedule of Investments

October 31, 2020

 

LSV Value Equity Fund

 
             Shares          Value (000)  

Commodity Chemicals (continued)

 

  

Trinseo

     167,400      $ 5,327  
     

 

 

 
        11,853  
     

 

 

 

Computer & Electronics Retail (0.9%)

 

Best Buy

     97,500        10,876  

Rent-A-Center, Cl A

     181,800        5,618  
     

 

 

 
        16,494  
     

 

 

 

Computers & Services (4.8%)

 

Amdocs

     113,300        6,388  

DXC Technology

     255,100        4,699  

eBay

     322,300        15,351  

Hewlett Packard Enterprise

     821,800        7,100  

HP

     720,100        12,933  

NCR*

     141,400        2,873  

Oracle

     413,000        23,174  

Seagate Technology

     217,500        10,401  

Xerox Holdings

     290,800        5,054  
     

 

 

 
        87,973  
     

 

 

 

Construction & Engineering (0.7%)

 

EMCOR Group

     81,100        5,530  

MasTec*

     128,300        6,369  
     

 

 

 
        11,899  
     

 

 

 

Diversified REIT’s (0.4%)

 

Lexington Realty Trust,CI B

     41,500        412  

VEREIT

     975,800        6,050  
     

 

 

 
        6,462  
     

 

 

 

Drug Retail (0.8%)

 

Walgreens Boots Alliance

     434,200        14,780  
     

 

 

 

Electric Utilities (0.7%)

 

Evergy

     88,100        4,863  

NRG Energy

     246,000        7,779  
     

 

 

 
        12,642  
     

 

 

 

Electrical Components & Equipment (0.6%)

 

Acuity Brands

     53,900        4,805  

Energizer Holdings

     142,200        5,595  
     

 

 

 
        10,400  
     

 

 

 

Electrical Services (1.4%)

 

Exelon

     324,700        12,952  

Vistra Energy

     704,937        12,245  
     

 

 

 
        25,197  
     

 

 

 

Electronic Equipment & Instruments (0.2%)

 

OSI Systems*

     36,000        2,778  
     

 

 

 

Financial Services (4.1%)

 

Ally Financial

     419,400        11,190  

Capital One Financial

     78,700        5,751  

Citigroup

     568,400        23,543  
LSV Value Equity Fund  
             Shares          Value (000)  

Financial Services (continued)

 

Discover Financial Services

     169,500      $ 11,019  

Goldman Sachs Group

     56,200        10,624  

Navient

     755,400        6,051  

Santander Consumer USA Holdings

     316,100        6,430  
     

 

 

 
        74,608  
     

 

 

 

Food, Beverage & Tobacco (3.9%)

 

Altria Group

     267,100        9,637  

Conagra Brands

     316,400        11,103  

JM Smucker

     156,900        17,604  

Molson Coors Brewing, Cl B

     389,000        13,716  

Pilgrim’s Pride*

     295,200        4,942  

Tyson Foods, Cl A

     227,700        13,031  
     

 

 

 
        70,033  
     

 

 

 

General Merchandise Stores (1.6%)

 

  

Big Lots

     118,415        5,637  

Target

     150,100        22,848  
     

 

 

 
        28,485  
     

 

 

 

Health Care Services (0.5%)

 

DaVita*

     109,000        9,401  
     

 

 

 

Health Care Distributors (1.2%)

 

Cardinal Health

     205,400        9,405  

McKesson

     88,600        13,068  
     

 

 

 
        22,473  
     

 

 

 

Health Care Equipment (0.2%)

 

Hill-Rom Holdings

     41,600        3,788  
     

 

 

 

Health Care Facilities (1.3%)

 

HCA Holdings

     112,900        13,993  

Universal Health Services, Cl B

     92,100        10,089  
     

 

 

 
        24,082  
     

 

 

 

Health Care REIT’s (0.1%)

 

Industrial Logistics Properties Trust

     66,014        1,266  
     

 

 

 

Health Care Services (2.1%)

 

Cigna

     54,400        9,083  

CVS Health

     400,300        22,453  

Laboratory Corp of America Holdings*

     29,200        5,833  
     

 

 

 
        37,369  
     

 

 

 

Homefurnishing Retail (0.5%)

 

Sleep Number*

     133,000        8,427  
     

 

 

 

Hotel & Resort REIT’s (0.1%)

 

Service Properties Trust

     343,400        2,476  
     

 

 

 
 

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of the financial statements

 

6


Schedule of Investments

October 31, 2020

 

LSV Value Equity Fund

 

           Shares          Value (000)  

Hotels & Lodging (0.3%)

     

Wyndham Destinations

     143,200      $ 4,673  
     

 

 

 

Household Products, Furniture & Fixtures (0.8%)

 

Whirlpool

     82,400        15,241  
     

 

 

 

Human Resource & Employment Services (0.3%)

 

ManpowerGroup

     79,800        5,416  
     

 

 

 

Industrial Machinery (0.3%)

     

Snap-on

     38,400        6,049  
     

 

 

 

Insurance (5.4%)

     

Allstate

     188,100        16,694  

American Equity Investment Life Holding

     183,000        4,542  

American Financial Group

     173,800        13,024  

CNO Financial Group

     291,700        5,178  

Hartford Financial Services Group

     293,700        11,313  

Lincoln National

     212,500        7,459  

MetLife

     287,900        10,897  

MGIC Investment

     713,900        7,182  

Principal Financial Group

     161,800        6,346  

Prudential Financial

     127,300        8,150  

Voya Financial

     146,300        7,012  
     

 

 

 
        97,797  
     

 

 

 

Investment Banking & Brokerage (1.2%)

 

  

Morgan Stanley

     456,700        21,990  
     

 

 

 

IT Consulting & Other Services (0.9%)

 

  

International Business Machines

     107,400        11,992  

Science Applications International

     56,300        4,300  
     

 

 

 
        16,292  
     

 

 

 

Leasing & Renting (0.4%)

     

Triton International

     197,200        7,273  
     

 

 

 

Machinery (3.0%)

     

AGCO

     173,300        13,349  

Allison Transmission Holdings

     316,600        11,445  

Cummins

     76,400        16,800  

Oshkosh

     121,100        8,157  

Terex

     215,000        5,309  
     

 

 

 
        55,060  
     

 

 

 

Managed Health Care (0.8%)

     

Anthem

     53,700        14,649  
     

 

 

 

Media & Entertainment (1.9%)

 

  

AMC Networks, Cl A*

     210,100        4,464  

Comcast, Cl A

     544,500        23,000  

LSV Value Equity Fund

 

           Shares          Value (000)  

Media & Entertainment (continued)

 

  

TEGNA

     535,300      $ 6,440  
     

 

 

 
        33,904  
     

 

 

 

Metal & Glass Containers (1.1%)

 

  

Berry Global Group*

     205,750        9,594  

O-I Glass, Cl I

     482,700        4,552  

Silgan Holdings

     157,600        5,429  
     

 

 

 
        19,575  
     

 

 

 

Mortgage REITs (0.6%)

     

Annaly Capital Management

     689,400        4,888  

Starwood Property Trust

     376,070        5,253  
     

 

 

 
        10,141  
     

 

 

 

Motorcycle Manufacturers (0.5%)

 

  

Harley-Davidson

     260,600        8,568  
     

 

 

 

Multi-Utilities (0.7%)

     

MDU Resources Group

     517,500        12,296  
     

 

 

 

Office REITs (0.5%)

     

Highwoods Properties

     135,000        4,019  

Office Properties Income Trust

     89,200        1,642  

Piedmont Office Realty
Trust, Cl A

     376,265        4,297  
     

 

 

 
        9,958  
     

 

 

 

Packaged Foods & Meats (0.6%)

 

  

Kraft Heinz

     339,500        10,385  
     

 

 

 

Paper Packaging (0.8%)

     

Westrock

     369,900        13,890  
     

 

 

 

Petroleum & Fuel Products (1.8%)

 

  

ConocoPhillips

     244,900        7,009  

HollyFrontier

     267,500        4,952  

Marathon Petroleum

     230,000        6,785  

Phillips 66

     171,300        7,993  

Valero Energy

     150,900        5,826  
     

 

 

 
        32,565  
     

 

 

 

Pharmaceuticals (7.1%)

     

AbbVie

     182,300        15,514  

Bristol-Myers Squibb

     573,500        33,521  

Jazz Pharmaceuticals*

     87,600        12,623  

Johnson & Johnson

     86,600        11,873  

Merck

     289,200        21,751  

Pfizer

     956,200        33,926  
     

 

 

 
        129,208  
     

 

 

 

Real Estate (0.2%)

     

DiamondRock Hospitality

     700,200        3,459  
     

 

 

 
 

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of the financial statements

 

7


Schedule of Investments

October 31, 2020

 

LSV Value Equity Fund

 

           Shares          Value (000)  

Reinsurance (0.4%)

     

Everest Re Group

     33,800      $ 6,661  
     

 

 

 

Retail (2.1%)

     

Dick’s Sporting Goods

     123,400        6,991  

Kohl’s

     232,600        4,952  

Kroger

     763,600        24,595  

Macy’s

     330,800        2,054  
     

 

 

 
        38,592  
     

 

 

 

Semi-Conductors/Instruments (4.2%)

 

  

Applied Materials

     357,600        21,181  

Cirrus Logic*

     56,400        3,884  

Intel

     833,400        36,903  

Lam Research

     10,800        3,695  

Micron Technology*

     133,000        6,695  

Vishay Intertechnology

     287,300        4,660  
     

 

 

 
        77,018  
     

 

 

 

Specialized Consumer Services (0.3%)

 

  

H&R Block

     291,200        5,026  
     

 

 

 

Specialized REITs (0.4%)

     

Iron Mountain

     258,900        6,747  
     

 

 

 

Specialty Stores (0.2%)

     

Office Depot

     199,440        3,889  
     

 

 

 

Steel & Steel Works (1.1%)

 

  

Reliance Steel & Aluminum

     104,900        11,433  

Steel Dynamics

     290,200        9,136  
     

 

 

 
        20,569  
     

 

 

 

Technology Distributors (0.8%)

 

  

Arrow Electronics*

     124,500        9,697  

Insight Enterprises*

     98,100        5,234  
     

 

 

 
        14,931  
     

 

 

 

Telephones & Telecommunications (5.4%)

 

AT&T

     1,174,200        31,727  

Ciena*

     115,700        4,557  

Cisco Systems

     312,800        11,230  

Juniper Networks

     418,900        8,261  

Verizon Communications

     736,100        41,950  
     

 

 

 
        97,725  
     

 

 

 

Thrifts & Mortgage Finance (0.4%)

 

  

Radian Group

     395,600        7,101  
     

 

 

 

LSV Value Equity Fund

 

           Shares          Value (000)  

Trading Companies & Distributors (0.2%)

 

HD Supply Holdings* 

     112,800      $ 4,496  
     

 

 

 

TOTAL COMMON STOCK
(Cost $1,982,429)

 

     1,796,175  
     

 

 

 
     Face Amount
(000)
        

Repurchase Agreement (0.1%)

 

  

South Street Securities 0.030%, dated 10/30/20, to be repurchased on 11/02/20, repurchase price $2,203 (collateralized by various U.S. Treasury obligations, ranging in par value $0 - $2,239, 0.125% - 0.375%, 03/31/22 -10/15/25; total market value $2,247)

   $ 2,203        2,203  
     

 

 

 

TOTAL REPURCHASE AGREEMENT

 

(Cost $2,203)

        2,203  
     

 

 

 

Total Investments – 99.0%

 

  

(Cost $1,984,632)

      $
1,798,378
 
     

 

 

 
Percentages are based on Net Assets of $1,816,205 (000).

 

*  Non-income producing security.

 

Cl — Class      
REIT— Real Estate Investment Trust

 

  

The following is a list of the inputs used as of October 31, 2020, in valuing the Fund’s investments carried at value ($ Thousands):

 

Investments in
  Securities    
      Level 1             Level 2             Level 3             Total      

Common Stock

    $ 1,796,175       $       $       $ 1,796,175  

Repurchase Agreements

          2,203             2,203  

 

 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total Investments in Securities

    $   1,796,175     $ 2,203       $         —       $   1,798,378  

 

 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

For the year ended October 31, 2020, there were no transfers in or out of Level 3.

Amounts designated as “—” are $0 or have been rounded to $0.

For more information on valuation inputs, see Note 2 — Significant Accounting Policies in the Notes to Financial Statements.

 

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of the financial statements

 

8


Statement of Assets and Liabilities (000)

October 31, 2020

 

      LSV Value Equity  
Fund
 

Assets:

  

Investments at Value (Cost $1,984,632)

      $ 1,798,378   

Receivable for Capital Shares Sold

     19,225  

Dividends and Interest Receivable

     3,730  

Receivable for Investment Securities Sold

     170  

Prepaid Expenses

     93  

Total Assets

     1,821,596  

Liabilities:

  

Payable for Fund Shares Redeemed

     3,886  

Payable due to Investment Adviser

     899  

Payable due to Distributor

     147  

Payable due to Administrator

     93  

Payable due to Trustees

     20  

Payable due to Chief Compliance Officer

     6  

Payable to Custodian

      

Payable due to Audit Fees

     141  

Other Accrued Expenses

     199  

Total Liabilities

     5,391  

Net Assets

      $ 1,816,205  
          

Net Assets

   $ 1,816,205  

Net Assets Consist of:

  

Paid-in Capital

      $ 1,904,609  

Total distributable loss

     (88,404)  

Net Asset

      $ 1,816,205  
          
          

Net Asset Value, Offering and Redemption Price Per Share —
Institutional Class Shares ($1,090,639 ÷ 48,793,249 shares)(1)

      $ 22.35  
          
          

Net Asset Value, Offering and Redemption Price Per Share —
Investor Class Shares ($725,566 ÷ 32,630,177 shares)(1)

      $ 22.24  
          
          

 

(1)

Shares have not been rounded.

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of the financial statements

 

9


Statement of Operations (000)

For the year ended October 31, 2020

 

      LSV Value Equity  
Fund

Investment Income:

  

Dividend Income

      $ 68,439   

Interest Income

     36   

Foreign Taxes Withheld

     (38)   

Total Investment Income

     68,437   

Expenses:

  

Investment Advisory Fees

     12,953   

Administration Fees

     1,277   

Distribution Fees - Investor Class

     1,034   

Trustees’ Fees

     88   

Chief Compliance Officer Fees

     13   

Transfer Agent Fees

     243   

Professional Fees

     236   

Printing Fees

     184   

Custodian Fees

     154   

Registration and Filing Fees

     147   

Insurance and Other Fees

     127   

Total Expenses

     16,456   

Less: Fees Paid Indirectly — (see Note 4)

     (2)   

Net Expenses

     16,454   

Net Investment Income

     51,983   

Net Realized Gain on Investments

     58,886   

Net Change in Unrealized Appreciation (Depreciation) on Investments

     (510,816)   

Net Realized and Unrealized Loss on Investments

     (451,930)   

Net Decrease in Net Assets Resulting from Operations

      $ (399,947)   
          

Amounts designated as “—” are $0 or have been rounded to $0.

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of the financial statements

 

10


Statements of Changes in Net Assets (000)

For the year ended October 31,

 

     LSV Value Equity Fund    
      2020     2019

Operations:

    

Net Investment Income

   $ 51,983     $ 67,224   

Net Realized Gain on Investments

     58,886       87,051   

Net Change in Unrealized Appreciation (Depreciation) on Investments

 

     (510,816     42,395   

Net Increase (Decrease) in Net Assets Resulting from Operations

     (399,947     196,670   

Distributions

    

Institutional Class Shares

     (138,582     (166,763)  

Investor Class Shares

     (14,221     (10,632)  
     

Total Distributions

     (152,803     (177,395)   

Capital Share Transactions:

    

Institutional Class Shares:

    

Issued

     428,273       527,760   

Reinvestment of Dividends and Distributions

     129,584       156,282   

Redeemed

     (1,732,467     (605,750)  
     

Net Increase (Decrease) from Institutional Class Shares Transactions

     (1,174,610     78,292   

Investor Class Shares:

    

Issued

     973,689       417,116   

Reinvestment of Dividends and Distributions

     14,216       10,622   

Redeemed

     (521,030     (451,055)  
     

Net Increase (Decrease) from Investor Class Shares Transactions

     466,875       (23,317)  

Net Increase (Decrease) in Net Assets Derived from Capital Share Transactions

     (707,735     54,975   
     

Total Increase (Decrease) in Net Assets

     (1,260,485     74,250   

Net Assets:

    

Beginning of Year

 

     3,076,690       3,002,440   

End of Year

   $     1,816,205     $     3,076,690   
   

Shares Transactions:

    

Institutional Class:

    

Issued

     19,761       20,621   

Reinvestment of Dividends and Distributions

     4,677       6,796   

Redeemed

     (78,601     (23,720)  

Total Institutional Class Share Transactions

     (54,163     3,697   

Investor Class:

    

Issued

     45,294       16,374   

Reinvestment of Dividends and Distributions

     515       464   

Redeemed

     (24,086     (17,777)  

Total Investor Class Share Transactions

     21,723       (939)  

Net Increase (Decrease) in Shares Outstanding

     (32,440     2,758   
   

Amounts designated as “—” are $0 or have been rounded to $0.

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of the financial statements

 

11


Financial Highlights

For a share outstanding throughout year ended October 31,

 

 

     Net
Asset
Value
Beginning
of Period
     Net
Investment
Income(1)
     Realized and
Unrealized
Gains
(Losses) on
Investments
     Total from
Operations
     Dividends
from Net
Investment
Income
     Distributions
from Realized
Gain
     Total
Dividends
and
Distributions
     Net
Asset
Value
End of
Period
       Total  
  Return†  
     Net
Assets End
of Period

(000)
     Ratio of
Expenses
to Average
Net Assets
     Ratio of
Expenses to
Average Net
Assets

(Excluding
Fees Paid
Indirectly)
     Ratio of
Net
Investment
Income to
Average
Net Assets
     Portfolio
Turnover  
Rate
 

LSV Value Equity Fund

                                         

Institutional Class Shares

 

                                   

2020

   $ 27.03      $ 0.55      $ (3.87)      $ (3.32)      $ (0.59)      $ (0.77)      $ (1.36)      $ 22.35        (13.22)%        $1,090,639        0.65%        0.65%        2.29%        24%  

2019

     27.04        0.59        1.08        1.67        (0.50)        (1.18)        (1.68)        27.03        7.35        2,783,225        0.65           0.65           2.28           18     

2018

     29.33        0.54        (0.85)        (0.31)        (0.51)        (1.47)        (1.98)        27.04        (1.52)        2,684,113        0.64           0.64           1.85           14     

2017

     24.09        0.51        5.42        5.93        (0.54)        (0.15)        (0.69)        29.33        24.94        2,024,354        0.65           0.65           1.88           15     

2016

     23.65        0.53        0.33        0.86        (0.42)        –              (0.42)        24.09        3.71        1,849,633        0.66           0.66           2.28           15     

Investor Class Shares

 

                                   

2020

   $ 26.91      $ 0.42      $ (3.79)      $ (3.37)      $ (0.53)      $ (0.77)      $ (1.30)      $ 22.24        (13.43)%        $725,566        0.91%        0.91%        1.82%        24%  

2019

     26.87        0.53        1.08        1.61        (0.39)        (1.18)        (1.57)        26.91        7.11        293,465        0.90           0.90           2.05           18     

2018

     29.20        0.45        (0.84)        (0.39)        (0.47)        (1.47)        (1.94)        26.87        (1.78)        318,327        0.89           0.89           1.57           14     

2017

     23.99        0.41        5.44        5.85        (0.49)        (0.15)        (0.64)        29.20        24.69        83,587        0.90           0.90           1.49           15     

2016

     23.59        0.46        0.33        0.79        (0.39)        –              (0.39)        23.99        3.43        6,528        0.91           0.91           1.98           15     

 

Total return is for the period indicated and has not been annualized. Total returns shown do not reflect the deduction of taxes that a shareholder would pay on Fund distributions or the redemption of Capital shares.

(1)

Per share calculations were performed using average shares for the period.

 

Amounts

designated as “—” are $0 or have been rounded to $0.

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of the financial statements

 

12


Notes to Financial Statements

October 31, 2020

 

1.

Organization:

The Advisors’ Inner Circle Fund (the “Trust”) is organized as a Massachusetts business trust under an Amended and Restated Agreement and Declaration of Trust dated February 18, 1997. The Trust is registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, as an open-end management investment company with 43 funds. The financial statements herein are those of the LSV Value Equity Fund, a diversified Fund (the “Fund”). The Fund seeks long-term growth of capital by investing in undervalued stocks which are out of favor in the market. The financial statements of the remaining funds of the Trust are not presented herein, but are presented separately. The assets of each fund are segregated, and a shareholder’s interest is limited to the fund in which shares are held.

 

2.

Significant Accounting Policies:

The following are significant accounting policies, which are consistently followed in the preparation of the financial statements of the Fund. The Fund is an investment company that applies the accounting and reporting guidance issued in Topic 946 by the U.S. Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”).

Use of Estimates — The preparation of financial statements in conformity with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (“U.S. GAAP”) requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the fair value of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of increases and decreases in net assets from operations during the reporting period. Actual results could differ from those estimates and such differences could be material.

Security Valuation — Securities listed on a securities exchange, market or automated quotation system for which quotations are readily available (except for securities traded on NASDAQ), including securities traded over the counter, are valued at the last quoted sale price on an exchange or market (foreign or domestic) on which they are traded on the valuation date (or at approximately 4:00 pm ET if a security’s primary exchange is normally open at that time), or, if there is no such reported sale on the valuation date, at the most recent quoted bid price. For securities traded on NASDAQ, the NASDAQ Official Closing Price will be used. The prices for foreign securities are reported in local currency and converted to U.S. dollars using currency exchange rates.

Securities for which market prices are not “readily available” are valued in accordance with Fair Value

Procedures established by the Fund’s Board of Trustees (the “Board”). The Fund’s Fair Value Procedures are implemented through a Fair Value Committee (the “Committee”) designated by the Board. Some of the more common reasons that may necessitate that a security be valued using Fair Value Procedures include: the security’s trading has been halted or suspended; the security has been de-listed from a national exchange; the security’s primary trading market is temporarily closed at a time when under normal conditions it would be open; the security has not been traded for an extended period of time; the security’s primary pricing source is not able or willing to provide a price; or trading of the security is subject to local government-imposed restrictions. When a security is valued in accordance with the Fair Value Procedures, the Committee will determine the value after taking into consideration relevant information reasonably available to the Committee. As of October 31, 2020, there were no securities valued in accordance with Fair Value Procedures.

In accordance with the authoritative guidance on fair value measurements and disclosure under U.S. GAAP, the Fund discloses fair value of its investments in a hierarchy that prioritizes the inputs to valuation techniques used to measure the fair value. The objective of a fair value measurement is to determine the price that would be received to sell an asset or paid to transfer a liability in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement date (an exit price). Accordingly, the fair value hierarchy gives the highest priority to quoted prices unadjusted in active markets for priority to unobservable inputs (Level 3). The three levels of the fair value hierarchy are described below:

Level 1 — Unadjusted quoted prices in active markets for identical, unrestricted assets or liabilities that the Fund has the ability to access at the measurement date;

Level 2 — Other significant observable inputs (includes quoted prices for similar securities, interest rates, prepayment speeds, credit risk, referenced indices, quoted prices in in active markets, adjusted quoted prices in active markets, etc.); and

Level 3 — Prices, inputs or proprietary modeling techniques which are both significant to the fair value measurement and unobservable (supported by little or no market activity).

Investments are classified within the level of the lowest significant input considered in determining fair value. Investments classified within Level 3 whose fair value measurement considers several inputs may include Level 1 or Level 2 inputs as components of the overall fair value measurement.

For the year ended October 31, 2020, there have been no significant changes to the Fund’s fair valuation

 

 

 

13


Notes to Financial Statements

October 31, 2020

 

methodologies.

Federal Income Taxes — It is the Fund’s intention to continue to qualify as a regulated investment company for Federal income tax purposes by complying with the appropriate provisions of Subchapter M of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended and to distribute substantially all of its income to shareholders. Accordingly, no provision for Federal income taxes has been made in the financial statements.

The Fund evaluates tax positions taken or expected to be taken in the course of preparing the Fund’s tax returns to determine whether it is “more-likely-than-not” (i.e., greater than 50-percent) that each tax position will be sustained upon examination by a taxing authority based on the technical merits of the position. Tax positions not deemed to meet the more-likely-than-not threshold are recorded as a tax benefit or expense in the current year. The Fund did not record any tax provision in the current period. However, management’s conclusions regarding tax positions taken may be subject to review and adjustment at a later date based on factors including, but not limited to, examination by tax authorities on open tax years (i.e. the last three open tax year ends, as applicable), on-going analysis of and changes to tax laws, regulations and interpretations thereof.

As of and during the year ended October 31, 2020, the Fund did not have a liability for any unrecognized tax benefits. The Fund recognizes interest and penalties, if any, related to unrecognized tax benefits as income tax expense in the Statement of Operations. During the year October 31, 2020, the Fund did not incur any interest or penalties.

Security Transactions and Investment Income — Security transactions are accounted for on trade date for financial reporting purposes. Costs used in determining realized gains or losses on the sale of investment securities are based on the specific identification method. Dividend income is recorded on the ex-dividend date. Interest income is recognized on the accrual basis from settlement date.

Investments in Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) — With respect to the Fund, dividend income is recorded based on the income included in distributions received from the REIT investments using published REIT reclassifications including some management estimates when actual amounts are not available. Distributions received in excess of this estimated amount are recorded as a reduction of the cost of investments or reclassified to capital gains. The actual amounts of

income, return of capital, and capital gains are only determined by each REIT after its fiscal year-end, and may differ from the estimated amounts.

Repurchase Agreements — In connection with transactions involving repurchase agreements, a third party custodian bank takes possession of the underlying securities (“collateral”), the value of which exceeds the principal amount of the repurchase transaction, including accrued interest. Such collateral will be cash, debt securities issued or guaranteed by the U.S. Government, securities that at the time the repurchase agreement is entered into are rated in the highest category by a nationally recognized statistical rating organization (“NRSRO”) or unrated category by an NRSRO, as determined by the Adviser. In the event of default on the obligation to repurchase, the Fund has the right to liquidate the collateral and apply the proceeds in satisfaction of the obligation. In the event of default or bankruptcy by the counterparty to the agreement, realization and/or retention of the collateral or proceeds may be subject to legal proceedings.

Repurchase agreements are entered into by the Fund under Master Repurchase Agreements (“MRA”) which permit the Fund, under certain circumstances including an event of default (such as bankruptcy or insolvency), to offset payables and/or receivables under the MRA with collateral held and/ or posted to the counterparty and create one single net payment due to or from the Fund.

At October 31, 2020, the open repurchase agreements by counterparty which are subject to a MRA on a net payment basis are as follows (000):

 

Counterparty    Repurchase
Agreement
     Fair
Value of
Non-Cash
Collateral
Received
     Cash
Collateral
Received(1)
     Net Amount(2)  
South Street Securities     $ 2,203      $ 2,203       $ –        $ –    

(1) The amount of collateral reflected in the table does not include any over-collateralization received by the Fund.

(2) Net amount represents the net amount receivable due from the counterparty in the event of default.

Expenses— Expenses that are directly related to the Fund are charged to the Fund. Other operating expenses of the Trust are prorated to the Fund based on the number of funds and/or average daily net assets

Classes— Class specific expenses are borne by that class of shares. Income, realized and unrealized gains and losses and non-class specific expenses are allocated to the respective class on the basis of average daily net assets.

 

 

 

14


Notes to Financial Statements

October 31, 2020

 

Dividends and Distributions to Shareholders— Dividends from net investment income, if any, are declared and paid to shareholders annually. Any net realized capital gains are distributed to shareholders at least annually.

 

3.

Transactions with Affiliates:

Certain officers of the Trust are also employees of SEI Investments Global Funds Services (the “Administrator”), a wholly owned subsidiary of SEI Investments Company, and/or SEI Investments Distribution Co. (the “Distributor”). Such officers are paid no fees by the Trust for serving as officers of the Trust other than the Chief Compliance Officer (“CCO”) as described below.

A portion of the services provided by the CCO and his staff, whom are employees of the Administrator, are paid for by the Trust as incurred. The services include regulatory oversight of the Trust’s Advisors and service providers as required by SEC regulations. The CCO’s services have been approved by and reviewed by the Board.

 

4.

Administration, Distribution, Transfer Agency and Custodian Agreements:

The Fund, along with other series of the Trust advised by LSV Asset Management (the “Adviser”), and the Administrator are parties to an Administration Agreement, under which the Administrator provides administrative services to the Fund. For these services, the Administrator is paid an asset based fee, subject to certain minimums, which will vary depending on the number of share classes and the average daily net assets of the Fund. For the year ended October 31, 2020, the Fund paid $1,277,079 for these services.

The Trust and Distributor are parties to a Distribution Agreement dated November 14, 1991, as Amended and Restated November 14, 2005. The Distributor receives no fees for its distribution services under this agreement.

The Fund has adopted a distribution plan under the Rule 12b-1 under the 1940 Act for Investor Class Shares that allows the Fund to pay distribution and service fees for the sale and distribution of its shares, and for services provided to shareholders. The maximum annual distribution fee for Investor Class Shares of the Fund is 0.25% annually of the average daily net assets. For the year ended October 31, 2020, the Fund incurred $1,033,811 of distribution fees.

DST Systems, Inc. serves as the transfer agent and dividend disbursing agent for the Fund under a transfer agency agreement with the Trust. During the year ended October 31, 2020, the Fund earned $2,088 in cash management credits which were used to offset transfer

agent expenses. This amount is labeled as “Fees Paid Indirectly” on the Statement of Operations.

U.S. Bank, N.A. acts as custodian (the “Custodian”) for the Fund. The Custodian plays no role in determining the investment policies of the Fund or which securities are to be purchased and sold by the Fund.

 

5.

Investment Advisory Agreement:

The Trust and the Adviser are parties to an Investment Advisory Agreement, under which the Adviser receives an annual fee equal to 0.55% of the Fund’s average daily net assets.

 

6.

Investment Transactions:

The cost of security purchases and the proceeds from security sales, other than short-term investments, for the year ended October 31, 2020, were as follows (000):

 

Purchases

  

Other

   $ 560,626  

Sales

  

Other

   $     1,373,874  

 

7.

Federal Tax Information:

The amount and character of income and capital gain distributions to be paid, if any, are determined in accordance with Federal income tax regulations, which may differ from U.S. GAAP. As a result, net investment income (loss) and net realized gain (loss) on investment transactions for a reporting period may differ significantly from distributions during such period. These book/tax differences may be temporary or permanent.

The permanent differences primarily consist of reclassification of long term capital gain distribution on REITs, investments in publicly traded partnerships, and distribution reclassification. There are no permanent differences that are credited or charged to Paid-in Capital and Distributable Earnings as of October 31, 2020.

The tax character of dividends and distributions paid during the years ended October 31, 2020 and 2019 was as follows (000):

 

         Ordinary    
Income
     Long-Term
    Capital Gain    
     Total  

2020

   $       66,437      $       86,366      $       152,803  

2019

     58,146        119,249        177,395  
 

 

15


Notes to Financial Statements

October 31, 2020

 

As of October 31, 2020, the components of distributable earnings on a tax basis were as follows (000):

 

Undistributed Ordinary Income

     $         43,259   

Undistributed Long-Term Capital Gain

     56,871   

Other Temporary Differences

     (2)  

Unrealized Depreciation

     (188,532)  
  

 

 

 

Total Accumulated Losses

     $ (88,404)  
  

 

 

 

The fund has no capital loss carryforwards at October, 31, 2020.

During the year ended October 31, 2020, no capital loss carryforwards were utilized to offset capital gains.

The total cost of securities for Federal income tax purposes and the aggregate gross unrealized appreciation and depreciation on investments held by the Fund at October 31, 2020, were as follows (000):

 

Federal Tax
Cost
  Aggregated
Gross
Unrealized
Appreciation
  Aggregated
Gross
Unrealized
Depreciation
  Net
Unrealized
Depreciation
$    1,986,910   $    160,173   $    (348,705)   $    (188,532)

 

8.

Concentration of Risks:

Equity Risk — Since the Fund purchases equity securities, the Fund is subject to the risk that stock prices will fall over short or extended periods of time. Historically, the equity markets have moved in cycles, and the value of the Fund’s equity securities may fluctuate drastically from day-to-day. Individual companies may report poor results or be negatively affected by industry and/or economic trends and developments. The prices of securities issued by such companies may suffer a decline in response. These factors contribute to price volatility, which is the principal risk of investing in the Fund.

Market Risk — The risk that the market value of an investment may move up and down, sometimes rapidly and unpredictably. Markets for securities in which the Fund invests may decline significantly in response to adverse issuer, political, regulatory, market, economic or other developments that may cause broad changes in market value, public perceptions concerning these developments, and adverse investor sentiment or publicity. Similarly, the impact of any epidemic, pandemic or natural disaster, or widespread fear that such events may occur, could negatively affect the global economy, as well as the economies of individual countries, the financial performance of individual companies and sectors, and the markets in general in significant and unforeseen ways. Any such impact could adversely affect the prices and liquidity of the securities and other instruments in which the Fund invests, which in turn

could negatively impact the Fund’s performance and cause losses on your investment in the Fund.

Medium and Smaller Capitalization Risk — The medium-and smaller-capitalization companies in which the Fund may invest may be more vulnerable to adverse business or economic events than larger, more established companies. In particular, investments in these medium-and small-sized companies may pose additional risks, including liquidity risk, because these companies tend to have limited product lines, markets and financial resources, and may depend upon a relatively small management group. Therefore, medium- and small-capitalization stocks may be more volatile than those of larger companies. These securities may be traded over-the-counter or listed on an exchange.

Style Risk — Since the Fund pursues a “value style” of investing, if the Adviser’s assessment of market conditions, or a company’s value or prospects for exceeding earnings expectations is wrong, the Fund could suffer losses or produce poor performance relative to other funds. In addition, “value stocks” can continue to be undervalued by the market for long periods of time.

Sector Focus Risk — Because the Fund may, from time to time, be more heavily invested in particular sectors, the value of its shares may be especially sensitive to factors and economic risks that specifically affect those sectors. As a result, the Fund’s share price may fluctuate more widely

 

9.

Other:

At October 31, 2020, 21% of total shares outstanding for the Institutional Class Shares were held by one record shareholder owning 10% or greater of the aggregate total shares outstanding. At October 31, 2020, 100% of total shares outstanding for the Investor Class Shares were held by one record shareholder owning 10% or greater of the aggregate total shares outstanding. These were comprised mostly of omnibus accounts which were held on behalf of various individual shareholders.

In the normal course of business, the Fund enters into contracts that provide general indemnifications. 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.

 

10.

New Accounting Pronouncement:

In August 2018, the FASB issued Accounting Standards Update 2018-13, Fair Value Measurement (Topic 820). The new guidance includes additions, removals and modifications to disclosures requirements for fair value

 

 

16


Notes to Financial Statements

October 31, 2020

 

measurements. For public entities, the amendments are effective for financial statements issued for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2019, and interim periods within those fiscal years. The Funds early adopted this guidance as of November 1, 2019. The adoption of this guidance did not have a material impact on the financial statements.

 

11.

Subsequent Events:

The Fund has evaluated the need for additional disclosures and/or adjustments resulting from subsequent events through the date the financial statements were issued. Based on this evaluation, no additional disclosures or adjustments were required to the financial statements.

 

 

17


Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm

To the Board of Trustees of The Advisors’ Inner Circle Fund and the Shareholders of LSV Value Equity Fund

Opinion on the Financial Statements

We have audited the accompanying statement of assets and liabilities, of LSV Value Equity Fund (the “Fund”) (one of the series constituting The Advisors’ Inner Circle Fund (the “Trust”)), including the schedule of investments, as of October 31, 2020, and the related statement of operations for the year then ended, the statements of changes in net assets for each of the two years in the period then ended, the financial highlights for each of the five years in the period then ended and the related notes (collectively referred to as the “financial statements”). In our opinion, the financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the Fund (one of the series constituting The Advisors’ Inner Circle Fund) at October 31, 2020, the results of its operations for the year then ended, the changes in its net assets for each of the two years in the period then ended, and its financial highlights for each of the five years in the period then ended, in conformity with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles.

Basis for Opinion

These financial statements are the responsibility of the Trust’s management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on the Fund’s financial statements based on our audits. We are a public accounting firm registered with the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) (“PCAOB”) and are required to be independent with respect to the Trust in accordance with the U.S. federal securities laws and the applicable rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the PCAOB.

We conducted our audits in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement, whether due to error or fraud. The Trust is not required to have, nor were we engaged to perform, an audit of the Trust’s internal control over financial reporting. As part of our audits, we are required to obtain an understanding of internal control over financial reporting, but not for the purpose of expressing an opinion on the effectiveness of the Trust’s internal control over financial reporting. Accordingly, we express no such opinion.

Our audits included performing procedures to assess the risks of material misstatement of the financial statements, whether due to error or fraud, and performing procedures that respond to those risks. Such procedures included examining, on a test basis, evidence regarding the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. Our procedures included confirmation of securities owned as of October 31, 2020, by correspondence with the custodian and brokers or by other appropriate auditing procedures where replies from brokers were not received. Our audits also included evaluating the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall presentation of the financial statements. We believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinion.

 

LOGO

We have served as the auditor of one or more LSV Asset Management investment companies since 2005.

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

December 29, 2020

 

18


Disclosure of Fund Expenses (Unaudited)

All mutual funds have operating expenses. As a shareholder of a mutual fund, your investment is affected by these ongoing costs, which include (among others) costs for portfolio management, administrative services, and shareholder reports like this one. It is important for you to understand the impact of these costs on your investment returns.

Operating expenses such as these are deducted from the mutual fund’s gross income and directly reduce your final investment return. These expenses are expressed as a percentage of the mutual fund’s average net assets; this percentage is known as the mutual fund’s expense ratio.

The following examples use the expense ratio and are intended to help you understand the ongoing costs (in dollars) of investing in your Fund and to compare these costs with those of other mutual funds. The examples are based on an investment of $1,000 made at the beginning of the period and held for the entire period from May 1, 2020 to October 31, 2020.

The table below illustrates your Fund’s costs in two ways:

  Actual fund return. This section helps you to estimate the actual expenses after fee waivers that your Fund incurred over the period. The “Expenses Paid During Period” column shows the actual dollar expense cost incurred by a $1,000 investment in the Fund, and the “Ending Account Value” number is derived from deducting that expense cost from the Fund’s gross investment return.

You can use this information, together with the actual amount you invested in the Fund, to estimate the expenses you paid over that period. Simply divide your account value by $1,000 to arrive at a ratio (for example, an $8,600 account value divided by $1,000 = $8.6), then multiply that ratio by the number shown for your Fund under “Expenses Paid During Period.”

•  Hypothetical 5% return. This section helps you compare your Fund’s costs with those of other mutual funds. It assumes that the Fund had an annual 5% return before expenses during the period, but that the expense ratio (Column 3) is unchanged. This example is useful in making comparisons because the Securities and Exchange Commission requires all mutual funds to make this 5% calculation. You can assess your Fund’s comparative cost by comparing the hypothetical result for your Fund in the “Expense Paid During Period” column with those that appear in the same charts in the shareholder reports for other mutual funds.

NOTE: Because the hypothetical return is set at 5% for comparison purposes — NOT your Fund’s actual return —the account values shown do not apply to your specific investment.

 

     Beginning
Account
Value
05/01/20
     Ending
Account
Value
10/31/20
     Annualized
Expense
Ratios
     Expenses        
Paid        
During        
Period*         
 

 

 

LSV Value Equity Fund

           

 

 

Actual Fund Return

           

Institutional Class Shares

   $ 1,000.00        $1,068.90        0.67%          $3.48          

Investor Class Shares

     1,000.00        1,068.20        0.92             4.78          

Hypothetical 5% Return

           

Institutional Class Shares

   $ 1,000.00        $1,021.77        0.67%          $3.40          

Investor Class Shares

     1,000.00        1,020.51        0.92             4.67          

 

 

 

*

Expenses are equal to the Fund’s annualized expense ratio multiplied by the average account value over the period, multiplied by 184/366 (to reflect the one-half year period).

 

19


Review of Liquidity Risk Management Program (Unaudited)

Pursuant to Rule 22e-4 under the 1940 Act, the Fund’s investment adviser has adopted, and the Board has approved, a liquidity risk management program (the “Program”) to govern the Fund’s approach to managing liquidity risk. The Program is overseen by the Fund’s Liquidity Risk Management Program Administrator (the “Program Administrator”), and the Program’s principal objectives include assessing, managing and periodically reviewing the Fund’s liquidity risk, based on factors specific to the circumstances of the Funds.

At a meeting of the Board held on May 19, 2020, the Trustees received a report from the Program Administrator addressing the operations of the Program and assessing its adequacy and effectiveness of implementation. The Board acknowledged that (i) the report covered the period from December 1, 2018 through December 31, 2019 and thus did not cover the recent period of market volatility, and (ii) the Board held a call with the Trust’s officers on March 25, 2020 where the officers discussed the operations and effectiveness of the Program during the then-current market volatility. The Board requested that the Program Administrator provide an update of the operation of the Program during the then-current market volatility at its next meeting.    The Program Administrator’s report noted that the Program Administrator had determined that the Program is reasonably designed to assess and manage the Fund’s liquidity risk and has operated adequately and effectively to manage the Fund’s liquidity risk since the Program was implemented on December 1, 2018. The Program Administrator’s report noted that during the period covered by the report, there were no liquidity events that impacted the Fund or its ability to timely meet redemptions without dilution to existing shareholders. The Program Administrator’s report further noted that no material changes have been made to the Program since its implementation.

There can be no assurance that the Program will achieve its objectives in the future. Please refer to the prospectus for more information regarding the Fund’s exposure to liquidity risk and other principal risks to which an investment in the Fund may be subject.

 

20


Trustees And Officers Of The Advisors’ Inner Circle Fund (Unaudited)

Set forth below are the names, ages, position with the Trust, term of office, length of time served and the principal occupations for the last five years of each of the persons currently serving as Trustees and Officers of the Trust. Trustees who are deemed not to be “interested persons” of the Trust are referred to as “Independent Board Members.” Messrs. Nesher and Klauder are Trustees who may be deemed to be “interested” persons of the Fund as that term is defined in the 1940 Act by virtue of their affiliation with the Trust’s Distributor. The Trust’s Statement of Additional Information (“SAI”) includes additional information about the Trustees and Officers. The SAI may be obtained without charge by calling 888-Fund-LSV. The following chart lists Trustees and Officers as of October 31, 2020.

 

Name and

Year of Birth

 

Position with

Trust and Length

of Time Served1

 

Principal Occupation

in the Past Five Years

 

Other Directorships

Held in the Past Five Years2

INTERESTED

TRUSTEES3,4

           
Robert Nesher
(Born: 1946)
 

Chairman of the

Board of Trustees

(since 1991)

  SEI employee 1974 to present; currently performs various services on behalf of SEI Investments for which Mr. Nesher is compensated. President, Chief Executive Officer and Trustee of SEI Daily Income Trust, SEI Tax Exempt Trust, SEI Institutional Managed Trust, SEI Institutional International Trust, SEI Institutional Investments Trust, SEI Asset Allocation Trust, Adviser Managed Trust, New Covenant Funds, SEI Insurance Products Trust and SEI Catholic Values Trust. President and Director of SEI Structured Credit Fund, LP. Vice Chairman of O’Connor EQUUS (closed-end investment company) to 2016. President, Chief Executive Officer and Trustee of SEI Liquid Asset Trust to 2016. Vice Chairman of Winton Series Trust to 2017. Vice Chairman of Winton Diversified Opportunities Fund (closed-end investment company), The Advisors’ Inner Circle Fund III, Gallery Trust, Schroder Series Trust and Schroder Global Series Trust to 2018.  

Current Directorships: Trustee of The Advisors’ Inner Circle Fund II, Bishop Street Funds, The KP Funds, Frost Family of Funds, SEI Daily Income Trust, SEI Institutional International Trust, SEI Institutional Investments Trust, SEI Institutional Managed Trust, SEI Asset Allocation Trust, SEI Tax Exempt Trust, Adviser Managed Trust, New Covenant Funds, SEI Insurance Products Trust and SEI Catholic Values Trust. Director of SEI Structured Credit Fund, LP, SEI Global Master Fund plc, SEI Global Assets Fund plc, SEI Global Investments Fund plc, SEI Investments–Global Funds Services, Limited, SEI Investments Global, Limited, SEI Investments (Europe) Ltd., SEI Investments–Unit Trust Management (UK) Limited, SEI Multi-Strategy Funds PLC and SEI Global Nominee Ltd.

 

Former Directorships: Trustee of SEI Liquid Asset Trust to 2016.

N. Jeffrey Klauder
(Born: 1952)
 

Trustee

(since 2018)

  Senior Advisor of SEI Investments since 2018. Executive Vice President and General Counsel of SEI Investments, 2004 to 2018.  

Current Directorships: Trustee of The Advisors’ Inner Circle Fund II, Bishop Street Funds and The KP Funds. Director of SEI Private Trust Company, SEI Global Fund Services Ltd., SEI Investments Global Limited, SEI Global Master Fund, SEI Global Investments Fund and SEI Global Assets Fund.

Former Directorships: Trustee of SEI Investments Management Corporation, SEI Trust Company, SEI Investments (South Africa), Limited and SEI Investments (Canada) Company to 2018.

 

1

Each Trustee shall hold office during the lifetime of this Trust until the election and qualification of his or her successor, or until he or she sooner dies, resigns, or is removed in accordance with the Trust’s Declaration of Trust.

2

Directorships of Companies required to report to the Securities and Exchange Commission under the Securities Exchange act of 1934 (i.e., “public companies”) or other investment companies under the 1940 act.

3

Denotes Trustees who may be deemed to be “interested” persons of the Fund as that term is defined in the 1940 Act by virtue of their affiliation with the Distributor and/or its affiliates.

4

Trustees oversee 43 funds in The Advisors’ Inner Circle Fund.

 

21


Trustees And Officers Of The Advisors’ Inner Circle Fund (Unaudited)

 

Name and

Year of Birth

 

Position with
Trust

and Length of
Time Served1

  Principal Occupation
in the Past Five Years
  Other Directorships
Held in the Past Five Years2

INDEPENDENT

TRUSTEES3,4

              
Joseph T. Grause, Jr.
(Born: 1952)
  Trustee
(Since 2011)
Lead Independent
Trustee
(since 2018)
  Self-Employed Consultant since 2012. Director of Endowments and Foundations, Morningstar Investment Management, Morningstar, Inc., 2010 to 2011. Director of International Consulting and Chief Executive Officer of Morningstar Associates EuropeLimited, Morningstar, Inc., 2007 to 2010. Country Manager – Morningstar UK Limited, Morningstar, Inc., 2005 to 2007.   Current Directorships: Trustee of The Advisors’ Inner Circle Fund II, Bishop Street Funds, The KP Funds and Frost Family of Funds. Director of RQSI GAA Systematic Global Macro Fund, Ltd. Former Directorships: Director of The Korea Fund, Inc. to 2019.
Mitchell A. Johnson
(Born: 1942)
  Trustee
(since 2005)
  Retired. Private investor since 1994.  

Current Directorships: Trustee of The Advisors’ Inner Circle Fund II, Bishop Street Funds, The KP Funds, SEI Asset Allocation Trust, SEI Daily Income Trust, SEI Institutional International Trust, SEI Institutional Managed Trust, SEI Institutional Investments Trust, SEI Tax Exempt Trust, Adviser Managed Trust, New Covenant Funds, SEI Insurance Products Trust and SEI Catholic Values Trust. Director of Federal Agricultural Mortgage Corporation (Farmer Mac) since 1997 and RQSI GAA Systematic Global Macro Fund, Ltd.

Former Directorships: Trustee of SEI Liquid Asset Trust to 2016.

Betty L. Krikorian

(Born: 1943)

 

Trustee

(since 2005)

  Vice President, Compliance, AARP Financial Inc., from 2008 to 2010. Self-Employed Legal and Financial Services Consultant since 2003. Counsel (in-house) for State Street Bank from 1995 to 2003.   Current Directorships: Trustee of The Advisors’ Inner Circle Fund II, Bishop Street Funds and The KP Funds. Director of RQSI GAA Systematic Global Macro Fund, Ltd.

Robert Mulhall

(Born: 1958)

 

Trustee

(since 2019)

  Partner, Ernst & Young LLP, from 1998 to 2018.   Current Directorships: Trustee of The Advisors’ Inner Circle Fund II, Bishop Street Funds, The KP Funds and Frost Family of Funds. Director of RQSI GAA Systematic Global Macro Fund, Ltd. Former Directorships: Trustee of Villanova University Alumni Board of Directors to 2018.

Bruce R. Speca

(Born: 1956)

 

Trustee

(since 2011)

  Global Head of Asset Allocation, Manulife Asset Management (subsidiary of Manulife Financial), 2010 to 2011. Executive Vice President – Investment Management Services, John Hancock Financial Services (subsidiary of Manulife Financial), 2003 to 2010.   Current Directorships: Trustee of The Advisors’ Inner Circle Fund II, Bishop Street Funds, The KP Funds and Frost Family of Funds. Director of Stone Harbor Investments Funds (8 Portfolios), Stone Harbor Emerging Markets Income Fund (closed-end fund) and Stone Harbor Emerging Markets Total Income Fund (closed-end fund). Director of RQSI GAA Systematic Global Macro Fund, Ltd.

 

1

Each Trustee shall hold office during the lifetime of this Trust until the election and qualification of his or her successor, or until he or she sooner dies, resigns, or is removed in accordance with the Trust’s Declaration of Trust.

2

Directorships of Companies required to report to the Securities and Exchange Commission under the Securities Exchange act of 1934 (i.e., “public companies”) or other investment companies under the 1940 act.

3

Denotes Trustees who may be deemed to be “interested” persons of the Fund as that term is defined in the 1940 Act by virtue of their affiliation with the Distributor and/or its affiliates.

4

Trustees oversee 43 funds in The Advisors’ Inner Circle Fund.

 

22


Trustees And Officers Of The Advisors’ Inner Circle Fund (Unaudited)

 

Name and

Year of Birth

  Position with
Trust
and Length of
Time Served 1
  Principal Occupation
in the Past Five Years
  Other Directorships
Held in the Past Five Years 2
INDEPENDENT
TRUSTEES
(continued)3
              
George J. Sullivan, Jr.
(Born: 1942)
  Trustee
(since 1999)
  Retired since 2012. Self-Employed Consultant, Newfound Consultants Inc., 1997 to 2011  

Current Directorships: Trustee/Director of The Advisors’ Inner Circle Fund II, Bishop Street Funds, The KP Funds, SEI Structured Credit Fund, LP, SEI Daily Income Trust, SEI Institutional International Trust, SEI Institutional Investments Trust, SEI Institutional Managed Trust, SEI Asset Allocation Trust, SEI Tax Exempt Trust, Adviser Managed Trust, New Covenant Funds, SEI Insurance Products Trust and SEI Catholic Values Trust.

 

Former Directorships: Trustee of SEI Liquid Asset Trust to 2016. Trustee/ Director of State Street Navigator Securities Lending Trust to 2017. Member of the independent review committee for SEI’s Canadian-registered mutual funds to 2017.

OFFICERS

           
Michael Beattie
(Born: 1965)
  President
(since 2011)
  Director of Client Service, SEI Investments, since 2004.   None.
James Bernstein
(Born: 1962)
  Vice President and
Assistant Secretary
(since 2017)
 

Attorney, SEI Investments, since 2017.

 

Prior Positions: Self-employed consultant, 2017. Associate General Counsel & Vice President, Nationwide Funds Group and Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company, from 2002 to 2016. Assistant General Counsel & Vice President, Market Street Funds and Provident Mutual Insurance Company, from 1999 to 2002.

 

  None.

John Bourgeois

(Born: 1973)

 

Assistant Treasurer

(since 2017)

  Fund Accounting Manager, SEI Investments, since 2000.   None.
Stephen Connors
(Born: 1984)
  Treasurer, Controller and Chief Financial
Officer
(since 2015)
  Director, SEI Investments, Fund Accounting since 2014. Audit Manager, Deloitte & Touche LLP, from 2011 to 2014.   None.

 

1

Each Trustee shall hold office during the lifetime of this Trust until the election and qualification of his or her successor, or until he or she sooner dies, resigns, or is removed in accordance with the Trust’s Declaration of Trust.

2

Directorships of Companies required to report to the Securities and Exchange Commission under the Securities Exchange act of 1934 (i.e., “public companies”) or other investment companies under the 1940 act.

3

Trustees oversee 43 funds in The Advisors’ Inner Circle Fund.

 

23


Trustees And Officers Of The Advisors’ Inner Circle Fund (Unaudited)

 

Name and
Year of Birth
  Position with
Trust
and Length of
Time Served
  Principal Occupation
in the Past Five Years
 

Other Directorships

Held in the Past Five Years

OFFICERS (continued)

           
Russell Emery
(Born: 1962)
  Chief Compliance
Officer
(since 2006)
  Chief Compliance Officer of SEI Structured Credit Fund, LP since 2007. Chief Compliance Officer of The Advisors’ Inner Circle Fund, The Advisors’ Inner Circle Fund II, Bishop Street Funds, The KP Funds, Frost Family of Funds, The Advisors’ Inner Circle Fund III, Gallery Trust, Schroder Series Trust, Schroder Global Series Trust, SEI Institutional Managed Trust, SEI Asset Allocation Trust, SEI Institutional International Trust, SEI Institutional Investments Trust, SEI Daily Income Trust, SEI Tax Exempt Trust, Adviser Managed Trust, New Covenant Funds, SEI Insurance Products Trust and SEI Catholic Values Trust. Chief Compliance Officer of O’Connor EQUUS (closed-end investment company) to 2016. Chief Compliance Officer of SEI Liquid Asset Trust to 2016. Chief Compliance Officer of Winton Series Trust to 2017. Chief Compliance Officer of Winton Diversified Opportunities Fund (closed-end investment company) to 2018.   None.
Eric C. Griffith
(Born: 1969)
 

Vice President and
Assistant Secretary
(since 2019)

 

  Counsel at SEI Investments since 2019. Vice President and Assistant General Counsel, JPMorgan Chase & Co., from 2012 to 2018.   None.
Matthew M. Maher
(Born: 1975)
  Vice President and
Assistant Secretary
(since 2018)
 

Counsel at SEI Investments since 2018. Attorney, Blank Rome LLP, from 2015 to 2018. Assistant Counsel & Vice President, Bank of New York Mellon, from 2013 to 2014. Attorney, Dilworth Paxson LLP, from 2006 to 2013.

 

  None.
Robert Morrow
(Born: 1968)
 

Vice President

(since 2017)

 

 

Account Manager, SEI Investments, since 2007.

 

  None.

Bridget E. Sudall

(Born: 1980)

 

Anti-Money Laundering Compliance Officer and Privacy Officer

(since 2015)

 

  Senior Associate and AML Officer, Morgan Stanley Alternative Investment Partners, from 2011 to 2015. Investor Services Team Lead, Morgan Stanley Alternative Investment Partners, from 2007 to 2011.   None.

 

24


NOTICE TO SHAREHOLDERS

OF

LSV VALUE EQUITY FUND

(Unaudited)

For shareholders that do not have an October 31, 2020 tax year end, this notice is for informational purposes only. For shareholders with an October 31, 2020 tax year end, please consult your tax advisor as to the pertinence of this notice. For the fiscal year ended October 31, 2020, the Fund is designating the following items with regard to distributions paid during the year.

 

Long-Term
Capital Gain
Distribution

 

Ordinary
Income
Distributions

 

Total

Distribu-

tions

 

Qualifying
For
Corporate
Dividends
Receivable
Deduction (1)

 

Qualifying
Dividend
Income (2)

 

U.S.
Government
Interest (3)

 

Interest
Related
Dividends (4)

 

Short-Term
Capital Gain
Dividends (5)

 

Qualifying
Business
Income (6)

56.52%   43.48%   100.00%   100.00%   100.00%   0.00%   0.00%   0.00%   0.00%

 

(1)

Qualifying dividends represent dividends which qualify for the corporate dividends received deduction and is reflected as a percentage of ordinary income distributions (the total of short-term capital gain and net investment income distributions).

 

(2)

The percentage in this column represents the amount of “Qualifying Dividend Income” as created by the Jobs and Growth Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2003 and is reflected as a percentage of ordinary income distributions (the total of short-term capital gain and net investment income distributions). It is the intention of the aforementioned Fund to designate the maximum amount permitted by the law.

 

(3)

“U.S. Government Interest” represents the amount of interest that was derived from direct U.S. Government obligations and distributed during the fiscal year. This amount is reflected as a percentage of ordinary income distributions. Generally, interest from direct U.S. Government obligations is exempt from state income tax. However, for shareholders of the Advisors’ Inner Circle Fund-LSV Value Equity Fund who are residents of California, Connecticut and New York, the statutory threshold requirements were not satisfied to permit exemption of these amounts from state income.

 

(4)

The percentage in this column represents the amount of “Interest Related Dividend” is reflected as a percentage of ordinary income distribution. Interest related dividends is exempted from U.S. withholding tax when paid to foreign investors.

 

(5)

The percentage in this column represents the amount of “Short-Term Capital Gain Dividends” is reflected as a percentage of short-term capital gain distribution that is exempted from U.S. withholding tax when paid to foreign investors.

 

(6)

The percentage of this column represents that amount of ordinary dividend income that qualified for 20% Business Income Deduction.

 

  

The information reported herein may differ from the information and distributions taxable to the shareholders for the calendar year ending December 31, 2020. Complete information will be computed and reported in conjunction with your 2020 Form 1099-DIV.

 

25


                     
                   
     

 

Trust:

The Advisors’ Inner Circle Fund

 

Fund:

LSV Value Equity Fund

 

Adviser:

LSV Asset Management

 

Distributor:

SEI Investments Distribution Co.

 

Administrator:

SEI Investments Global Fund Services

 

Legal Counsel:

Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP

 

The Fund files their complete schedule of investments with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) for the first and third quarters of each fiscal year as an exhibit to its report on Form N-PORT (Form N-Q for filings prior to March 31, 2020). The Fund’s Forms N-Q and N-PORT are available on the SEC’s website at http://www.sec.gov, and may be reviewed and copied at the SEC’s Public Reference Room in Washington, DC. Information on the operation of the Public Reference Room may be obtained by calling 1-800-SEC-0330.

 

A description of the policies and procedures that the Fund uses to determine how to vote proxies relating to Fund securities, as well as information relating to how a Fund voted proxies relating to fund securities during the most recent 12-month period ended June 30, is available (i) without charge, upon request, by calling 1-888-386-3578; and (ii) on the SEC’s website at http://www.sec.gov.

 

LSV-AR-004-2200

 

                  
                     
                     


Item 2.

Code of Ethics.

The Registrant has adopted a code of ethics that applies to the Registrant’s principal executive officer, principal financial officer, controller or principal accounting officer, and any person who performs a similar function. There have been no amendments to or waivers granted to this code of ethics during the period covered by this report.

 

Item 3.

Audit Committee Financial Expert.

(a)(1) The Registrant’s board of trustees has determined that the Registrant has at least one audit committee financial expert serving on the audit committee.

(a)(2) The audit committee financial experts are George Sullivan and Robert Mulhall, and each whom is considered to be “independent,” as that term is defined in Form N-CSR Item 3(a)(2).

 

Item 4.

Principal Accountant Fees and Services.

Fees billed by PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP (“PwC”) relate to The Advisors’ Inner Circle Fund (the “Trust”).

PwC billed the Trust aggregate fees for services rendered to the Trust for the last two fiscal years as follows:

 

     2020      2019  
          All fees and
services to
the Trust
that were
pre-approved
     All fees and
services to

service
affiliates

that were
pre-approved
     All other
fees and
services to
service
affiliates

that did not
require
pre-approval
     All fees and
services to the
Trust that were
pre-approved
     All fees and
services to

service
affiliates

that were
pre-approved
     All other
fees and
services to
service
affiliates

that did not
require
pre-approval
 
(a)    Audit Fees(1)    $ 104,400        None        None      $ 104,400        None        None  
(b)    Audit-Related Fees      None        None        None        None        None        None  
(c)    Tax Fees(2)    $ 10,000        None      $ 88,304      $ 6,000        None      $ 57,000  
(d)    All Other Fees      None        None      $ 376,378        None        None      $ 97,500  


Fees billed by Ernst & Young LLP (“E&Y”) related to the Trust

E&Y billed the Trust aggregate fees for services rendered to the Trust for the last two fiscal years as follows:

 

     2020      2019  
          All fees and
services to
the Trust
that were
pre-approved
    All fees and
services to
service
affiliates
that were
pre-approved
     All other
fees and
services to
service
affiliates
that did not
require
pre-approval
     All fees and
services to
the Trust
that were
pre-approved
    All fees and
services to
service
affiliates
that were
pre-approved
     All other
fees and
services to
service
affiliates
that did not
require
pre-approval
 
(a)    Audit Fees(1)    $ 766,250       None        None      $ 608,176       None        None  
(b)    Audit-Related Fees      None       None        None        None       None        None  
(c)    Tax Fees    $ 970 (4)       None        None      $ 11,559 (3)       None        None  
(d)    All Other Fees      None       None        None        None       None        None  

Fees billed by Deloitte & Touche LLP (“D&T”) related to the Trust

D&T billed the Trust aggregate fees for services rendered to the Trust for the last two fiscal years as follows:

 

     2020      2019  
          All fees and
services to
the Trust
that were
pre-approved
     All fees and
services to
service
affiliates
that were
pre-approved
     All other
fees and
services to
service
affiliates
that did not
require
pre-approval
     All fees and
services to
the Trust
that were
pre-approved
     All fees and
services to
service
affiliates
that were
pre-approved
     All other
fees and
services to
service
affiliates
that did not
require
pre-approval
 
(a)    Audit Fees(1)    $ 69,500        None        None      $ 68,000        None        None  
(b)    Audit-Related Fees      None        None        None        None        None        None  
(c)    Tax Fees(5)    $ 24,150        None        None        None        None        None  
(d)    All Other Fees      None        None        None        None        None        None  


Fees billed by BBD, LLP (“BBD”) related to the Trust

BBD billed the Trust aggregate fees for services rendered to the Trust for the last two fiscal years as follows:

 

     2020      2019  
          All fees and
services to
the Trust
that were
pre-approved
     All fees and
services to
service
affiliates
that were
pre-approved
     All other
fees and
services to
service
affiliates
that did not
require
pre-approval
     All fees and
services to
the Trust
that were
pre-approved
     All fees and
services to
service
affiliates
that were
pre-approved
     All other
fees and
services to
service
affiliates
that did not
require
pre-approval
 
(a)    Audit Fees(1)    $ 95,300        None        None      $ 113,300        None        None  
(b)    Audit-Related Fees      None        None        None        None        None        None  
(c)    Tax Fees      None        None        None        None        None        None  
(d)    All Other Fees      None        None        None        None        None        None  

Notes:

 

  (1)

Audit fees include amounts related to the audit of the Trust’s annual financial statements and services normally provided by the accountant in connection with statutory and regulatory filings.

 

  (2)

Tax compliance services provided to McKee International Equity Portfolio or affiliates of the Funds.

 

  (3)

Tax compliance services for Westwood Emerging Markets Fund.

 

  (4)

Common Reporting Services (“CRS”) tax services for the Sands Capital Global Growth Fund.

 

  (5)

Review and signing of federal and state income tax returns.

(e)(1) The Trust’s Audit Committee has adopted and the Board of Trustees has ratified an Audit and Non-Audit Services Pre-Approval Policy (the “Policy”), which sets forth the procedures and the conditions pursuant to which services proposed to be performed by the independent auditor of the Funds may be pre-approved.

The Policy provides that all requests or applications for proposed services to be provided by the independent auditor must be submitted to the Registrant’s Chief Financial Officer (“CFO”) and must include a detailed description of the services proposed to be rendered. The CFO will determine whether such services:

 

  1.

require specific pre-approval;

 

  2.

are included within the list of services that have received the general pre-approval of the Audit Committee pursuant to the Policy; or


  3.

have been previously pre-approved in connection with the independent auditor’s annual engagement letter for the applicable year or otherwise. In any instance where services require pre-approval, the Audit Committee will consider whether such services are consistent with SEC’s rules and whether the provision of such services would impair the auditor’s independence.

Requests or applications to provide services that require specific pre-approval by the Audit Committee will be submitted to the Audit Committee by the CFO. The Audit Committee will be informed by the CFO on a quarterly basis of all services rendered by the independent auditor. The Audit Committee has delegated specific pre-approval authority to either the Audit Committee Chair or financial expert, provided that the estimated fee for any such proposed pre-approved service does not exceed $100,000 and any pre-approval decisions are reported to the Audit Committee at its next regularly-scheduled meeting.

Services that have received the general pre-approval of the Audit Committee are identified and described in the Policy. In addition, the Policy sets forth a maximum fee per engagement with respect to each identified service that has received general pre-approval.

All services to be provided by the independent auditor shall be provided pursuant to a signed written engagement letter with the Registrant, the investment adviser, or applicable control affiliate (except that matters as to which an engagement letter would be impractical because of timing issues or because the matter is small may not be the subject of an engagement letter) that sets forth both the services to be provided by the independent auditor and the total fees to be paid to the independent auditor for those services.

In addition, the Audit Committee has determined to take additional measures on an annual basis to meet the Audit Committee’s responsibility to oversee the work of the independent auditor and to assure the auditor’s independence from the Registrant, such as (a) reviewing a formal written statement from the independent auditor delineating all relationships between the independent auditor and the Registrant, and (b) discussing with the independent auditor the independent auditor’s methods and procedures for ensuring independence.

(e)(2) Percentage of fees billed applicable to non-audit services pursuant to waiver of pre-approval requirement were as follows (PwC):

 

     2020      2019  

Audit-Related Fees

     None        None  

Tax Fees

     None        None  

All Other Fees

     None        None  

(e)(2) Percentage of fees billed applicable to non-audit services pursuant to waiver of pre-approval requirement were as follows (E&Y):

 

     2020      2019  

Audit-Related Fees

     None        None  

Tax Fees

     None        None  

All Other Fees

     None        None  


(e)(2) Percentage of fees billed applicable to non-audit services pursuant to waiver of pre-approval requirement were as follows (D&T):

 

     2020      2019  

Audit-Related Fees

     None        None  

Tax Fees

     None        None  

All Other Fees

     None        None  

(e)(2) Percentage of fees billed applicable to non-audit services pursuant to waiver of pre-approval requirement were as follows (BBD):

 

     2020      2019  

Audit-Related Fees

     None        None  

Tax Fees

     None        None  

All Other Fees

     None        None  

(f) Not applicable.

(g) The aggregate non-audit fees and services billed by PwC for services rendered to the Registrant, and rendered to the Registrant’s investment adviser (not including any sub-adviser whose role is primarily portfolio management and is subcontracted with or overseen by another investment adviser), and any entity controlling, controlled by, or under common control with the adviser that provides ongoing services to the Registrant for the last two fiscal-years-ended October 31st were $464,682 and $160,500 for 2020 and 2019, respectively.

(g) The aggregate non-audit fees and services billed by E&Y for services rendered to the Registrant, and rendered to the Registrant’s investment adviser (not including any sub-adviser whose role is primarily portfolio management and is subcontracted with or overseen by another investment adviser), and any entity controlling, controlled by, or under common control with the adviser that provides ongoing services to the Registrant for the last two fiscal-years-ended October 31st were $970 and $11,559 for 2020 and 2019, respectively.

(g) The aggregate non-audit fees and services billed by D&T for services rendered to the Registrant, and rendered to the Registrant’s investment adviser (not including any sub-adviser whose role is primarily portfolio management and is subcontracted with or overseen by another investment adviser), and any entity controlling, controlled by, or under common control with the adviser that provides ongoing services to the Registrant for the last two fiscal-years-ended October 31st were $24,150 and $0 for 2020 and 2019, respectively.

(g) The aggregate non-audit fees and services billed by BBD for services rendered to the Registrant, and rendered to the Registrant’s investment adviser (not including any sub-adviser whose role is primarily portfolio management and is subcontracted with or overseen by another investment adviser), and any entity controlling, controlled by, or under common control with the adviser that provides ongoing services to the Registrant for the last two fiscal-years-ended October 31st were $0 and $0 for 2020 and 2019, respectively.

(h) During the past fiscal year, all non-audit services provided by the Registrant’s principal accountant to either the Registrant’s investment adviser or to any entity controlling, controlled by, or under common control with the Registrant’s investment adviser that provides ongoing services


to the Registrant were pre-approved by the Audit Committee of Registrant’s Board of Trustees. Included in the Audit Committee’s pre-approval of these non-audit service were the review and consideration as to whether the provision of these non-audit services is compatible with maintaining the principal accountant’s independence.

 

Item 5.

Audit Committee of Listed Registrants.

Not applicable to open-end management investment companies.

 

Item 6.

Schedule of Investments.

Schedule of Investments is included as part of the Report to Shareholders filed under Item 1 of this form.

 

Item 7.

Disclosure of Proxy Voting Policies and Procedures for Closed-End Management Investment Companies.

Not applicable to open-end management investment companies.

 

Item 8.

Portfolio Managers of Closed-End Management Investment Companies

Not applicable to open-end management investment companies. Effective for closed-end management investment companies for fiscal-years-ending on or after December 31, 2005.

 

Item 9.

Purchases of Equity Securities by Closed-End Management Company and Affiliated Purchasers.

Not applicable to open-end management investment companies.

 

Item 10.

Submission of Matters to a Vote of Security Holders.

There have been no changes to the procedures by which shareholders may recommend nominees to the Registrant’s Board of Trustees during the period covered by this report.

 

Item 11.

Controls and Procedures.

(a) The Registrant’s principal executive and principal financial officers, or persons performing similar functions, have concluded that the Registrant’s disclosure controls and procedures, as defined in Rule 30a-3(c) under the Act (17 CFR § 270.30a-3(c)), as of a date within 90 days of the filing date of the report, are effective based on the evaluation of these controls and procedures required by Rule 30a-3(b) under the Act (17 CFR § 270.30a-3(b)) and Rule 13a-15(b) or Rule 15d-15(b) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR § 240.13a-15(b) or § 240.15d-15(b)).

(b) There has been no change in the Registrant’s internal control over financial reporting (as defined in Rule 30a-3(d) under the Act (17 CFR § 270.3a-3(d)) that occurred during the period covered by this report that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, the Registrant’s internal control over financial reporting.

 

Items 12.

Disclosure of Securities Lending Activities for Closed-End Management Investment Companies.

Not applicable to open-end management investment companies.


Items 13.

Exhibits.

(a)(1) A copy of the Registrant’s Code of Ethics, as required by Item 2 of this Form, accompanies this filing as an exhibit.

(a)(2) A separate certification for the principal executive officer and the principal financial officer of the Registrant, as required by Rule 30a-2(a) under the Act (17 CFR § 270.30a-2(a)), is filed herewith.

(b) Officer certifications, as required by Rule 30a-2(b) under the Act (17 CFR § 270.30a-2(b)), also accompany this filing as an exhibit.


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)       The Advisors’ Inner Circle Fund
By (Signature and Title)*      

/s/ Michael Beattie

     

Michael Beattie,

President

Date: January 8, 2021      

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 (Signature and Title)*      

/s/ Michael Beattie

     

Michael Beattie,

President

Date: January 8, 2021      
By (Signature and Title)*      

/s/ Stephen Connors

      Stephen Connors,
      Treasurer, Controller, and CFO
Date: January 8, 2021      

 

*

Print the name and title of each signing officer under his or her signature.

Policy Statement: Sarbanes-Oxley effected sweeping corporate disclosure and financial reporting reform on public companies, including mutual funds, to address corporate malfeasance and assure investors that the companies in which the investors invest are accurately and completely disclosing financial information. Under Sarbanes-Oxley, all public companies (including the Funds) must either have a code of ethics for their senior financial officers, or disclose why the company does not have a code of ethics. Sarbanes-Oxley was intended to foster corporate environments which encourage employees to question and report unethical and potentially illegal business practices.

Each Fund has chosen to adopt a code of ethics (“Code of Ethics for Financial Officers”) to encourage the Fund’s Principal Executive Officer, Principal Financial, and Accounting Officer and Controller (the “Financial Officers”) for the purpose of promoting:

 

   

Honest and ethical conduct, including the ethical handling of actual or apparent conflicts of interest between personal and professional relationships.

 

   

Full, fair, accurate, timely, and understandable disclosure in reports and documents that a registrant files with, or submits to, the SEC and in other public communications made by the Funds.

 

   

Compliance with applicable laws and governmental rules and regulations.

 

   

Prompt internal reporting of violations of the Code of Ethics for Financial Officers to an appropriate person or persons identified in the Code of Ethics of Financial Officers.

 

   

Accountability for adherence to the Code of Ethics for Financial Officers.

Procedures: The Funds have adopted the following procedures regarding this matter:

A compliance officer is responsible for monitoring compliance with these procedures.

FINANCIAL OFFICER CODE OF ETHICS

 

I.

Introduction

The reputation and integrity of Series Trusts, (each a “Trust” and, collectively, the “Trusts”) are valuable assets that are vital to the each Trust’s success. The Trusts’ senior financial officers (“SFOs”) are responsible for conducting the Trusts’ business in a manner that demonstrates a commitment to the highest standards of integrity. The Trusts’ SFOs include the principal executive officer, the principal financial officer, comptroller or principal accounting officer, and any person who performs a similar function.

The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (the “Act”) effected sweeping corporate disclosure and financial reporting reform on public companies, including mutual funds, to address corporate malfeasance and assure investors that the companies in which the investors invest are accurately and completely disclosing financial information. Under the Act, all public companies (including


the Trusts) must either have a code of ethics for their SFOs, or disclose why the company does not have a code of ethics. The Act was intended to foster corporate environments which encourage employees to question and report unethical and potentially illegal business practices. Each Trust has chosen to adopt this Financial Officer Code of Ethics (the “Code”) to encourage the Trust’s SFOs to act in a manner consistent with the highest principles of ethical conduct.

 

II.

Purposes of the Code

The purposes of this Code are:

 

  1.

To promote honest and ethical conduct by each Trust’s SFOs, including the ethical handling of actual or apparent conflicts of interest between personal and professional relationships;

 

  2.

To assist each Trust’s SFOs in recognizing and avoiding conflicts of interest, including disclosing to an appropriate person any material transaction or relationship that reasonably could be expected to give rise to such a conflict;

 

  3.

To promote full, fair, accurate, timely, and understandable disclosure in reports and documents that the Trusts file with, or submit to, the SEC and in other public communications made by the Trusts;

 

  4.

To promote compliance with applicable laws, rules, and regulations;

 

  5.

To encourage the prompt internal reporting to an appropriate person of violations of this Code; and

 

  6.

To establish accountability for adherence to this Code.

 

III.

Questions about this Code

Each Trust’s compliance officer designated to oversee compliance with the Trust’s Code of Ethics adopted pursuant to Rule 17j-1 shall serve as Compliance Officer for the implementation and administration of this Code. You should direct your questions about this Code to the Compliance Officer.

 

IV.

Conduct Guidelines

Each Trust has adopted the following guidelines under which the Trust’s SFOs must perform their official duties and conduct the business affairs of the Trust.

 

  1.

Ethical and honest conduct is of paramount importance. Each Trust’s SFOs must act with honesty and integrity and avoid violations of this Code, including the avoidance of actual or apparent conflicts of interest with the Trust in personal and professional relationships.

 

  2.

SFOs must disclose material transactions or relationships. Each Trust’s SFOs must disclose to the Compliance Officer any actual or apparent conflicts of interest the SFO may have with the Trust that reasonably could be expected to give rise to any violations of this Code. Such conflicts of interest may arise as a result of material transactions or business or personal relationships to which the SFO may be a party. If it is not possible to disclose the matter to the Compliance Officer, the matter should be disclosed to the


  Trust’s Chief Financial Officer, Chief Executive Officer, or another appropriate person. In addition to disclosing any actual or apparent conflicts of interest in which an SFO is personally involved, the Trusts’ SFOs have an obligation to report any other actual or apparent conflicts which the SFOs discover or of which the SFOs otherwise become aware. If you are unsure whether a particular fact pattern gives rise to a conflict of interest, or whether a particular transaction or relationship is “material,” you should bring the matter to the attention of the Compliance Officer.

 

  3.

Standards for quality of information shared with service providers of the Trusts. Each Trust’s SFOs must at all times seek to provide information to the Trust’s service providers (adviser, administrator, outside auditor, outside counsel, custodian, etc.) that is accurate, complete, objective, relevant, timely, and understandable.

 

  4.

Standards for quality of information included in periodic reports. Each Trust’s SFOs must at all times endeavor to ensure full, fair, timely, accurate, and understandable disclosure in the Trust’s periodic reports.

 

  5.

Compliance with laws. Each Trust’s SFOs must comply with the federal securities laws and other laws and rules applicable to the Trusts, such as the Internal Revenue Code.

 

  6.

Standard of care. Each Trust’s SFOs must at all times act in good faith and with due care, competence, and diligence, without misrepresenting material facts or allowing your independent judgment to be subordinated. Each Trust’s SFOs must conduct the affairs of the Trust in a responsible manner, consistent with this Code.

 

  7.

Confidentiality of information. Each Trust’s SFOs must respect and protect the confidentiality of information acquired in the course of their professional duties, except when authorized by the Trust to disclose this information or where disclosure is otherwise legally mandated. You may not use confidential information acquired in the course of your work for personal advantage.

 

  8.

Sharing of information and educational standards. Each Trust’s SFOs should share information with relevant parties to keep these parties informed of the business affairs of the Trust, as appropriate, and to maintain skills important and relevant to the Trust’s needs.

 

  9.

Promote ethical conduct. Each Trust’s SFOs at all times should proactively promote ethical behavior among peers in the SFOs work environment.

 

  10.

Standards for recordkeeping. Each Trust’s SFOs at all times must endeavor to ensure that the Trust’s financial books and records are thoroughly and accurately maintained to the best of the SFOs knowledge in a manner consistent with applicable laws and this Code.

 

V.

Waivers of this Code

You may request a waiver of a provision of this Code by submitting your request in writing to the Compliance Officer for appropriate review. For example, if a family member works for a service provider that prepares a Trust’s financial statements, you may have a potential conflict of interest in reviewing those statements and should seek a waiver of this Code to review the work. An executive officer of each Trust, or another appropriate person (such as a designated Board or Audit Committee member), will decide whether to grant a waiver. All waivers of this code must be disclosed to the applicable Trust’s shareholders and the designated Board to the extent required by SEC rules.


VI.

Affirmation of the Code

Upon adoption of the Code, each Trust’s SFOs must affirm in writing that the SFO has received, has read, and understands the Code, and annually thereafter must affirm that they have complied with the requirements of the Code. To the extent necessary, each Trust’s Compliance Officer will provide guidance on the conduct required by this Code and the manner in which violations or suspected violations must be reported and waivers must be requested.

 

VII.

Reporting Violations

In the event that an SFO discovers or, in good faith, suspects a violation of this Code, the SFO must immediately report the violation or suspected violation to the Compliance Officer. The Compliance Officer, in his or her discretion, may consult with another member of the Trust’s senior management or the Board in determining how to address the suspected violation. For example, a Code violation may occur when a periodic report or financial statement of a Trust omits a material fact, or is technically accurate but, in the view of the SFO, is written in a way that obscures the report’s or financial statement’s meaning.

SFOs who report violations or suspected violations in good faith will not be subject to retaliation of any kind. Reported violations will be investigated and addressed promptly and will be treated as confidential to the extent possible.

 

VIII.

Violations of the Code

Dishonest or unethical conduct or conduct that is illegal will constitute a violation of this Code, regardless of whether this Code specifically refers to such particular conduct. A violation of this Code may result in disciplinary action, up to and including removal as an SFO of the Trust. A variety of laws apply to the Trusts and their operations, including the Securities Act of 1933, the Investment Company Act of 1940, state laws relating to duties owed by Trust officers, and criminal laws. The Trusts will report any suspected criminal violations to the appropriate authorities, and will investigate, address, and report, as appropriate, non-criminal violations.

CERTIFICATION

Pursuant to Rule 30a-2(a) under the Investment Company Act of 1940

and Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002

I, Michael Beattie, certify that:

1. I have reviewed this report on Form N-CSR of The Advisors’ Inner Circle Fund (the “Registrant”);

2. Based on my knowledge, this report does not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary to make the statements made, in light of the circumstances under which such statements were made, not misleading with respect to the period covered by this report;

3. Based on my knowledge, the financial statements, and other financial information, included in this report fairly present in all material respects the financial condition, results of operations, changes in net assets, and cash flows (if the financial statements are required to include a statement of cash flows) of the Registrant as of, and for, the periods presented in this report;

4. The Registrant’s other certifying officer(s), if any, and I are responsible for establishing and maintaining disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Rule 30a-3(c) under the Investment Company Act of 1940) and internal control over financial reporting (as defined in Rule 30a-3(d) under the Investment Company Act of 1940) for the Registrant and have:

(a) Designed such disclosure controls and procedures, or caused such disclosure controls and procedures to be designed under our supervision, to ensure that material information relating to the Registrant, including its consolidated subsidiaries, is made known to us by others within those entities, particularly during the period in which this report is being prepared;

(b) Designed such internal control over financial reporting, or caused such internal control over financial reporting to be designed under our supervision, to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles;

(c) Evaluated the effectiveness of the Registrant’s disclosure controls and procedures and presented in this report our conclusions about the effectiveness of the disclosure controls and procedures, as of a date within 90 days prior to the filing date of this report, based on such evaluation; and

(d) Disclosed in this report any change in the Registrant’s internal control over financial reporting that occurred during the period covered by this report that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, the Registrant’s internal control over financial reporting; and

5. The Registrant’s other certifying officer(s) and I have disclosed to the Registrant’s auditors and the audit committee of the Registrant’s board of directors (or persons performing the equivalent functions):

(a) All significant deficiencies and material weaknesses in the design or operation of internal control over financial reporting which are reasonably likely to adversely affect the Registrant’s ability to record, process, summarize, and report financial information; and

(b) Any fraud, whether or not material, that involves management or other employees who have a significant role in the Registrant’s internal control over financial reporting.

Date: January 8, 2021

 

/s/ Michael Beattie
Michael Beattie
President


CERTIFICATION

Pursuant to Rule 30a-2(a) under the Investment Company Act of 1940

and Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002

I, Stephen Connors, certify that:

1. I have reviewed this report on Form N-CSR of The Advisors’ Inner Circle Fund (the “Registrant”);

2. Based on my knowledge, this report does not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary to make the statements made, in light of the circumstances under which such statements were made, not misleading with respect to the period covered by this report;

3. Based on my knowledge, the financial statements, and other financial information, included in this report fairly present in all material respects the financial condition, results of operations, changes in net assets, and cash flows (if the financial statements are required to include a statement of cash flows) of the Registrant as of, and for, the periods presented in this report;

4. The Registrant’s other certifying officer(s), if any, and I are responsible for establishing and maintaining disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Rule 30a-3(c) under the Investment Company Act of 1940) and internal control over financial reporting (as defined in Rule 30a-3(d) under the Investment Company Act of 1940) for the Registrant and have:

(a) Designed such disclosure controls and procedures, or caused such disclosure controls and procedures to be designed under our supervision, to ensure that material information relating to the Registrant, including its consolidated subsidiaries, is made known to us by others within those entities, particularly during the period in which this report is being prepared;

(b) Designed such internal control over financial reporting, or caused such internal control over financial reporting to be designed under our supervision, to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles;

(c) Evaluated the effectiveness of the Registrant’s disclosure controls and procedures and presented in this report our conclusions about the effectiveness of the disclosure controls and procedures, as of a date within 90 days prior to the filing date of this report, based on such evaluation; and

(d) Disclosed in this report any change in the Registrant’s internal control over financial reporting that occurred during the period covered by this report that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, the Registrant’s internal control over financial reporting; and

5. The Registrant’s other certifying officer(s) and I have disclosed to the Registrant’s auditors and the audit committee of the Registrant’s board of directors (or persons performing the equivalent functions):

(a) All significant deficiencies and material weaknesses in the design or operation of internal control over financial reporting which are reasonably likely to adversely affect the Registrant’s ability to record, process, summarize, and report financial information; and

(b) Any fraud, whether or not material, that involves management or other employees who have a significant role in the Registrant’s internal control over financial reporting.

Date: January 8, 2021

 

/s/ Stephen Connors
Stephen Connors
Treasurer, Controller, and CFO

CERTIFICATION

Pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 1350,

As Adopted Pursuant to Section 906

of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002

The undersigned, the President of The Advisors’ Inner Circle Fund (the “Fund”), with respect to the Fund’s Form N-CSR for the period ended October 31, 2020, as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, hereby certifies, pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 1350, as adopted pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, that, to the best of my knowledge:

1. such Form N-CSR fully complies with the requirements of Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934; and

2. the information contained in such Form N-CSR fairly presents, in all material respects, the financial condition and results of operations of the Fund.

Dated: January 8, 2021

 

/s/ Michael Beattie

Michael Beattie

President


CERTIFICATION

Pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 1350,

As Adopted Pursuant to Section 906

of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002

The undersigned, the Treasurer, Controller, and CFO of The Advisors’ Inner Circle Fund (the “Fund”), with respect to the Fund’s Form N-CSR for the period ended October 31, 2020, as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, hereby certifies, pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 1350, as adopted pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, that, to the best of my knowledge:

1. such Form N-CSR fully complies with the requirements of Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934; and

2. the information contained in such Form N-CSR fairly presents, in all material respects, the financial condition and results of operations of the Fund.

Dated: January 8, 2021

 

/s/ Stephen Connors

Stephen Connors

Treasurer, Controller, and CFO