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: | 811-21901 | |
| Exact name of registrant as specified in charter: | abrdn Global Dynamic Dividend Fund | |
| Address of principal executive offices: | 1900 Market Street, Suite 200 | |
| Philadelphia, PA 19103 | ||
| Name and address of agent for service: | Andrea Melia | |
| abrdn Inc. | ||
| 1900 Market Street Suite 200 | ||
| Philadelphia, PA 19103 | ||
| Registrant’s telephone number, including area code: | 1-800-522-5465 | |
| Date of fiscal year end: | October 31 | |
| Date of reporting period: | October 31, 2022 |
Item 1. Reports to Stockholders.
| 1 | Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Investment returns and principal value will fluctuate and shares, when sold, may be worth more or less than original cost. Current performance may be lower or higher than the performance quoted. Net asset value return data include investment management fees, custodial charges and administrative fees (such as Director and legal fees) and assumes the reinvestment of all distributions. |
| 2 | Assuming the reinvestment of dividends and distributions. |
| 3 | The Fund’s total return is based on the reported net asset value (“NAV”) for each financial reporting period end and may differ from what is reported on the Financial Highlights due to financial statement rounding or adjustments. |
| 4 | The Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI) All Country (AC) World Index Net Daily Total Return (DTR) is an unmanaged index considered representative of developed and emerging market stock markets. The index is calculated net of withholding taxes to which the Fund is generally subject. Indexes are unmanaged and have been provided for comparison purposes only. No fees or expenses are reflected. You cannot invest directly in an index. |
| abrdn Global Dynamic Dividend Fund | 1 |
| 2 | abrdn Global Dynamic Dividend Fund |
| 1 | If the price of a stock moves significantly over a short period of time it is said to be 'volatile' or has 'high volatility'. If the price remains relatively stable it is said to have 'low volatility'. Volatility can be used as a measure of risk. |
| 2 | A portfolio holding less of a particular security (or sector or region) than the security’s weight in the benchmark portfolio. |
| 3 | Industries associated with goods and services that rely upon consumers and are sensitive to changes in the economy. Examples include retailers and media companies. |
| 4 | A portfolio holding an excess amount of a particular security (or sector or region) compared to the security’s weight in the benchmark portfolio. |
| abrdn Global Dynamic Dividend Fund | 3 |
| 5 | Also abbreviated as 'xd', this is a share sold without the right to receive the declared dividend payment which is marked as due to those shareholders who are on the share register. The stock market authorities usually specify the date on which a share will begin trading 'xd'. The share price invariably drops when the share goes 'xd' taking the known income of the dividend out of the share price. |
| 4 | abrdn Global Dynamic Dividend Fund |
| 1 Year | 3 Years | 5 Years | 10 Years | |
| Net Asset Value (NAV) | -16.28% | 4.31% | 5.26% | 8.17% |
| Market Price | -19.88% | 4.69% | 4.27% | 5.65% |
| MSCI AC World Index (Net DTR) | -19.96% | 4.85% | 5.24% | 7.98% |
| abrdn Global Dynamic Dividend Fund | 5 |
| Sectors | |
| Information Technology | 16.9% |
| Financials | 15.7% |
| Health Care | 14.1% |
| Consumer Discretionary | 10.4% |
| Industrials | 8.6% |
| Consumer Staples | 7.9% |
| Utilities | 7.2% |
| Materials | 5.6% |
| Energy | 4.5% |
| Communication Services | 4.2% |
| Real Estate | 3.6% |
| Short-Term Investment | -% |
| Assets in Excess of Other Liabilities | 1.3% |
| 100.0% |
| Countries | |
| United States | 55.5% |
| France | 6.7% |
| United Kingdom | 4.6% |
| Germany | 3.8% |
| Switzerland | 3.5% |
| Netherlands | 3.1% |
| Canada | 2.4% |
| South Korea | 2.3% |
| Brazil | 2.2% |
| China | 2.0% |
| Other, less than 2% each | 12.6% |
| Short-Term Investment | 0.0% |
| Assets in Excess of Other Liabilities | 1.3% |
| 100.0% |
| Top Ten Holdings | |
| Apple, Inc. | 3.6% |
| Microsoft Corp. | 2.5% |
| Alphabet, Inc. | 1.7% |
| AbbVie, Inc. | 1.6% |
| Coca-Cola Co. (The) | 1.6% |
| Genuine Parts Co. | 1.6% |
| Eli Lilly & Co. | 1.5% |
| Mondelez International, Inc. | 1.5% |
| Enel SpA | 1.5% |
| TotalEnergies SE, ADR | 1.5% |
| 6 | abrdn Global Dynamic Dividend Fund |
| abrdn Global Dynamic Dividend Fund | 7 |
| 8 | abrdn Global Dynamic Dividend Fund |
| At October 31, 2022, the Fund held the following forward foreign currency contracts: |
| Sale Contracts Settlement Date | Counterparty | Amount Purchased | Amount Sold | Fair Value | Unrealized Appreciation/ (Depreciation) | |||
| United States Dollar/Euro | ||||||||
| 01/19/2023 | Royal Bank of Canada (UK) | USD | 2,646,491 | EUR | 2,700,000 | $2,685,895 | $(39,404) | |
| abrdn Global Dynamic Dividend Fund | 9 |
| Assets | |
| Investments, at value (cost $115,154,711) | $124,421,663 |
| Short-term investments, at value (cost $75,762) | 75,762 |
| Foreign currency, at value (cost $12,730) | 12,665 |
| Cash | 114,586 |
| Receivable for investments sold | 943,028 |
| Interest and dividends receivable | 497,557 |
| Tax reclaim receivable | 330,730 |
| Prepaid expenses | 2,879 |
| Total assets | 126,398,870 |
| Liabilities | |
| Payable for investments purchased | 114,586 |
| Investment management fees payable (Note 3) | 78,828 |
| Unrealized depreciation on forward foreign currency exchange contracts | 39,404 |
| Administration fees payable (Note 3) | 8,317 |
| Investor relations fees payable (Note 3) | 8,254 |
| Interest expense on line of credit | 1,401 |
| Other accrued expenses | 53,662 |
| Total liabilities | 304,452 |
| Net Assets | $126,094,418 |
| Composition of Net Assets | |
| Paid-in capital in excess of par | $133,241,721 |
| Distributable accumulated loss | (7,147,303) |
| Net Assets | $126,094,418 |
| Net asset value per share based on 12,549,582 shares issued and outstanding | $10.05 |
| 10 | abrdn Global Dynamic Dividend Fund |
| Net Investment Income | |
| Investment Income: | |
| Dividends (net of taxes withheld of $1,068,484) | $10,316,418 |
| Interest and other income | 466 |
| Total investment income | 10,316,884 |
| Expenses: | |
| Investment management fee (Note 3) | 1,466,006 |
| Administration fee (Note 3) | 117,280 |
| Investor relations fees and expenses (Note 3) | 74,272 |
| Custodian’s fees and expenses | 62,136 |
| Trustees' fees and expenses | 56,932 |
| Reports to shareholders and proxy solicitation | 56,255 |
| Independent auditors’ fees and expenses | 45,311 |
| Legal fees and expenses | 23,736 |
| Transfer agent’s fees and expenses | 16,794 |
| Insurance expense | 8,500 |
| Miscellaneous | 53,975 |
| Total operating expenses, excluding interest expense | 1,981,197 |
| Interest expense (Note 7) | 27,095 |
| Total operating expenses before reimbursed/waived expenses | 2,008,292 |
| Less: Investor relations fee waiver (Note 3) | (972) |
| Expenses waived (Note 3) | (280,631) |
| Net expenses | 1,726,689 |
| Net Investment Income | 8,590,195 |
| Net Realized/Unrealized Gain/(Loss) from Investments and Foreign Currency Related Transactions: | |
| Net realized gain/(loss) from: | |
| Investment transactions | (2,150,520) |
| Forward foreign currency exchange contracts | 585,094 |
| Foreign currency transactions | (106,749) |
| (1,672,175) | |
| Net change in unrealized appreciation/(depreciation) on: | |
| Investments | (33,482,954) |
| Forward foreign currency exchange contracts | (37,312) |
| Foreign currency translation | (42,530) |
| (33,562,796) | |
| Net realized and unrealized loss from investments, forward foreign currency exchange contracts and foreign currencies | (35,234,971) |
| Net Decrease in Net Assets Resulting from Operations | $(26,644,776) |
| abrdn Global Dynamic Dividend Fund | 11 |
| For the Year Ended October 31, 2022 | For the Year Ended October 31, 2021 | |
| Increase/(Decrease) in Net Assets: | ||
| Operations: | ||
| Net investment income | $8,590,195 | $10,346,808 |
| Net realized gain/(loss) from investments, forward foreign currency exchange contracts and foreign currency transactions | (1,672,175) | 4,575,620 |
| Net change in unrealized appreciation/(depreciation) on investments, forward foreign currency exchange contracts and foreign currency translation | (33,562,796) | 29,881,808 |
| Net increase/(decrease) in net assets resulting from operations | (26,644,776) | 44,804,236 |
| Distributions to Shareholders From: | ||
| Distributable earnings | (9,164,069) | (9,788,674) |
| Tax return of capital | (624,605) | – |
| Net decrease in net assets from distributions | (9,788,674) | (9,788,674) |
| Change in net assets | (36,433,450) | 35,015,562 |
| Net Assets: | ||
| Beginning of year | 162,527,868 | 127,512,306 |
| End of year | $126,094,418 | $162,527,868 |
| 12 | abrdn Global Dynamic Dividend Fund |
| For the Fiscal Years Ended October 31, | |||||
| 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | |
| PER SHARE OPERATING PERFORMANCE(a): | |||||
| Net asset value per common share, beginning of year | $12.95 | $10.16 | $11.14 | $10.80 | $11.43 |
| Net investment income | 0.68 | 0.82 | 0.70 | 0.76 | 0.61 |
| Net realized and unrealized gains/(losses) on investments,
forward foreign currency exchange contracts and foreign currency transactions | (2.80) | 2.75 | (0.90) | 0.36 | (0.46) |
| Total from investment operations applicable to common shareholders | (2.12) | 3.57 | (0.20) | 1.12 | 0.15 |
| Distributions to common shareholders from: | |||||
| Net investment income | (0.73) | (0.78) | (0.76) | (0.78) | (0.77) |
| Tax return of capital | (0.05) | – | (0.02) | – | (0.01) |
| Total distributions | (0.78) | (0.78) | (0.78) | (0.78) | (0.78) |
| Net asset value per common share, end of year | $10.05 | $12.95 | $10.16 | $11.14 | $10.80 |
| Market price, end of year | $8.92 | $12.01 | $8.58 | $9.78 | $9.25 |
| Total Investment Return Based on(b): | |||||
| Market price | (19.88%) | 49.84% | (4.43%) | 14.71% | (6.37%) |
| Net asset value | (16.28%) | 36.44% | (0.65%) | 11.91% | 1.76% |
| Ratio to Average Net Assets Applicable to Common Shareholders/Supplementary Data: | |||||
| Net assets applicable to common shareholders, end of year (000 omitted) | $126,094 | $162,528 | $127,512 | $139,776 | $135,582 |
| Average net assets applicable to common shareholders (000 omitted) | $146,601 | $157,694 | $132,667 | $134,835 | $146,106 |
| Net operating expenses, net of fee waivers | 1.18% | 1.18% | 1.18% | 1.21% | 1.19% |
| Net operating expenses, excluding fee waivers | 1.37% | 1.31% | 1.36% | 1.34% | 1.27% |
| Net operating expenses, net of fee waivers and excluding interest expense | 1.16% | 1.17% | 1.17% | 1.16% | 1.16% |
| Net Investment income | 5.86% | 6.56% | 6.59% | 7.06% | 5.20% |
| Portfolio turnover | 81% | 71% | 105% | 119% | 80% |
| Line of credit payable outstanding (000 omitted) | $– | $311 | $– | $211 | $– |
| Asset coverage ratio on revolving credit facility at year end(c) | – | 52,338% | – | 66,335% | – |
| Asset coverage per $1,000 on line of credit payable at year end | $– | $523,384 | $– | $663,350 | $– |
| (a) | Based on average shares outstanding. |
| (b) | Total investment return is calculated assuming a purchase of common stock on the first day and a sale on the last day of each reporting period. Dividends and distributions, if any, are assumed, for purposes of this calculation, to be reinvested at prices obtained under the Fund’s dividend reinvestment plan. Total investment return does not reflect brokerage commissions. |
| (c) | Asset coverage ratio is calculated by dividing net assets plus the amount of any borrowings, for investment purposes by the amount of the Line of Credit. |
| abrdn Global Dynamic Dividend Fund | 13 |
October 31, 2022
| 14 | abrdn Global Dynamic Dividend Fund |
October 31, 2022
| Security Type | Standard Inputs |
| Foreign equities utilizing a fair value factor | Depositary receipts, indices, futures, sector indices/ETFs, exchange rates, and local exchange opening and closing prices of each security. |
| Forward foreign currency contracts | Forward exchange rate quotations. |
| Investments, at Value | Level 1 – Quoted Prices | Level 2 – Other Significant Observable Inputs | Level 3 – Significant Unobservable Inputs | Total |
| Assets | ||||
| Investments in Securities | ||||
| Common Stocks | $81,740,453 | $41,171,386 | $– | $122,911,839 |
| Preferred Stocks | – | 1,509,824 | – | 1,509,824 |
| Short-Term Investment | 75,762 | – | – | 75,762 |
| Total Investments | $81,816,215 | $42,681,210 | $– | $124,497,425 |
| Total Assets | $81,816,215 | $42,681,210 | $– | $124,497,425 |
| Liabilities | ||||
| Other Financial Instruments | ||||
| Foreign Currency Exchange Contracts | $– | $(39,404) | $– | $(39,404) |
| Total Liabilities | $– | $(39,404) | $– | $(39,404) |
| abrdn Global Dynamic Dividend Fund | 15 |
October 31, 2022
| 16 | abrdn Global Dynamic Dividend Fund |
October 31, 2022
| Risk Exposure Category | ||||||
| Interest Rate Contracts | Foreign Currency Contracts | Credit Contracts | Equity Contracts | Commodity Contracts | Total | |
| Liabilities: | ||||||
| Unrealized depreciation on: | ||||||
| Forward Foreign Currency Exchange Contracts | $– | $39,404 | $– | $– | $– | $39,404 |
| Total | $– | $39,404 | $– | $– | $– | $39,404 |
| Gross Amounts Not Offset in the Statement of Assets and Liabilities | Gross Amounts Not Offset in the Statement of Assets and Liabilities | |||||||
| Gross Amounts of Assets Presented in Statement of Assets and Liabilities | Financial Instruments | Collateral Received(1) | Net Amount(2) | Gross Amounts of Liabilities Presented in Statement of Assets and Liabilities | Financial Instruments | Collateral Pledged(1) | Net Amount(2) | |
| Description | Assets | Liabilities | ||||||
| Foreign Currency Exchange Contracts(3) | ||||||||
| Royal Bank of Canada (UK) | $– | $– | $– | $– | $39,404 | $– | $– | $39,404 |
| (1) | In some instances, the actual collateral received and/or pledged may be more than the amount shown here due to overcollateralization. |
| (2) | Net amounts represent the net receivables/(payable) that would be due from/to the counterparty in the event of default. Exposure from financial derivative instruments can only be netted across transactions governed under the same master netting agreement with the same legal entity. |
| (3) | Includes financial instrument which are not subject to a master netting arrangement across funds, or another similar arrangement. |
| abrdn Global Dynamic Dividend Fund | 17 |
October 31, 2022
| Risk Exposure Category | ||||||
| Interest Rate Contracts | Foreign Currency Contracts | Credit Contracts | Equity Contracts | Commodity Contracts | Total | |
| Realized Gain (Loss) on Derivatives Recognized as a Result of Operations: | ||||||
| Net realized gain (loss) on: | ||||||
| Forward Currency Contracts | $– | $585,094 | $– | $– | $– | $585,094 |
| Total | $– | $585,094 | $– | $– | $– | $585,094 |
| Net Change in Unrealized Appreciation (Depreciation) on Derivatives Recognized as a Result of Operations: | ||||||
| Net change in unrealized appreciation (depreciation) of: | ||||||
| Forward Currency Contracts | $– | $(37,312) | $– | $– | $– | $(37,312) |
| Total | $– | $(37,312) | $– | $– | $– | $(37,312) |
| 18 | abrdn Global Dynamic Dividend Fund |
October 31, 2022
| abrdn Global Dynamic Dividend Fund | 19 |
October 31, 2022
| 20 | abrdn Global Dynamic Dividend Fund |
October 31, 2022
| abrdn Global Dynamic Dividend Fund | 21 |
October 31, 2022
| Tax Cost of Securities | Unrealized Appreciation | Unrealized Depreciation | Net Unrealized Appreciation/ (Depreciation) |
| $117,700,382 | $9,266,954 | $(2,469,911) | $6,797,043 |
| 22 | abrdn Global Dynamic Dividend Fund |
October 31, 2022
| October 31, 2022 | October 31, 2021 | |
| Distributions paid from: | ||
| Ordinary Income | $9,164,069 | $9,788,674 |
| Return of Capital | 624,605 | - |
| Total tax character of distributions | $9,788,674 | $9,788,674 |
| Undistributed Ordinary Income | $- |
| Undistributed Long-Term Capital Gains | - |
| Total undistributed earnings | $- |
| Capital loss carryforward | $(13,868,104)* |
| Other currency gains | — |
| Other Temporary Differences | - |
| Unrealized Appreciation/(Depreciation) | 6,720,801** |
| Total accumulated earnings/(losses) – net | $(7,147,303) |
| * | On October 31, 2022, the Fund had a net capital loss carryforward of $(13,868,104) which will be available to offset like amounts of any future taxable gains. The Fund is permitted to carry forward capital losses for an unlimited period and capital losses that are carried forward will retain their character as either short-term or long-term capital losses. The breakdown of capital loss carryforwards are as follows: |
| Amounts | Expires |
| $13,868,104 | Unlimited (Short-Term) |
| abrdn Global Dynamic Dividend Fund | 23 |
October 31, 2022
| 24 | abrdn Global Dynamic Dividend Fund |
abrdn Global Dynamic Dividend Fund:
December 29, 2022
| abrdn Global Dynamic Dividend Fund | 25 |
| 26 | abrdn Global Dynamic Dividend Fund |
| Votes For | Votes Against/ Withheld | Votes Abstained |
| 6,515,118 | 594,880 | 231,261 |
| abrdn Global Dynamic Dividend Fund | 27 |
| • | the effect of any market and economic volatility on the performance, asset levels and expense ratios of the Fund. |
| • | whether the Fund has operated in accordance with its investment objective and the Fund’s record of compliance with its investment restrictions, and the compliance programs of the Adviser. The Trustees also considered the compliance-related resources the Adviser and its affiliates were providing to the Fund. |
| • | so-called “fallout benefits” to the Adviser and its affiliates, including indirect benefits. The Trustees considered any possible conflicts of interest associated with these fallout and other benefits, and the reporting, disclosure and other processes in place to disclose and monitor such possible conflicts of interest. |
| • | the nature, quality, cost and extent of administrative services provided by abrdn Inc., an affiliate of the Adviser, under a separate agreement covering administrative services. |
| 28 | abrdn Global Dynamic Dividend Fund |
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| abrdn Global Dynamic Dividend Fund | 49 |
| Name, Address and Year of Birth | Position(s) Held with the Fund | Term of Office and Length of Time Served | Principal Occupation(s) During Past Five Years | Number of Funds in Fund Complex* Overseen by Trustee | Other Directorships Held by Trustee** |
| Interested Trustees | |||||
| Stephen Bird† c\o abrdn Inc. 1900 Market Street Suite 200 Philadelphia, PA 19103 Year of Birth: 1967 | Class III Trustee | Term as Trustee expires 2023; Trustee since 2021 | Mr. Bird joined the Board of abrdn plc in July 2020 as Chief Executive-Designate, and was formally appointed Chief Executive Officer in September 2020. Previously, Mr. Bird served as chief executive officer of global consumer banking at Citigroup from 2015, retiring from the role in November 2019. His responsibilities encompassed all consumer and commercial banking businesses in 19 countries, including retail banking and wealth management, credit cards, mortgages, and operations and technology supporting these businesses. Prior to this, Mr. Bird was chief executive for all of Citigroup’s Asia Pacific business lines across 17 markets in the region, including India and China. Mr. Bird joined Citigroup in 1998, and during his 21 years with the company he held a number of leadership roles in banking, operations and technology across its Asian and Latin American businesses. Before this, he held management positions in the UK at GE Capital – where he was director of UK operations from 1996 to 1998 – and at British Steel. | 28 | None. |
| Independent Trustees | |||||
| Nancy Yao Maasbach c\o abrdn Inc. 1900 Market Street Suite 200 Philadelphia, PA 19103 Year of Birth: 1972 | Class III Trustee | Term expires 2023; Trustee since 2018 | Nancy Yao Maasbach has served as the President of the Museum of Chinese in America since 2015. Previously, she served as the executive director of the Yale-China Association and managing director of the corporate program at the Council on Foreign Relations. Prior to her work in non-profit, Ms. Maasbach launched the Asia coverage at the Center for Financial Research and Analysis (currently known as RiskMetrics), served as the inaugural director of policy research of Goldman Sachs' Global Markets Institute, and was an investment banker at Goldman Sachs (Asia) L.L.C. Ms. Maasbach is an independent director of the abrdn-managed India Fund and Asian Emerging Markets Fund. Ms. Maasbach is a board member of the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations, a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, and a lecturer on governance at Yale University. | 7 | None. |
| 50 | abrdn Global Dynamic Dividend Fund |
| Name, Address and Year of Birth | Position(s) Held with the Fund | Term of Office and Length of Time Served | Principal Occupation(s) During Past Five Years | Number of Funds in Fund Complex* Overseen by Trustee | Other Directorships Held by Trustee** |
| P. Gerald Malone c\o abrdn Inc. 1900 Market Street Suite 200 Philadelphia, PA 19103 Year of Birth: 1950 | Chairman of the Board; Class II Trustee | Term expires 2025; Trustee since 2018 | Mr. Malone is, by profession, a lawyer of over 40 years. Currently, he is a non-executive director of a number of U.S. companies, including Medality Medical (medical technology company) since 2018. He is also Chairman of many of the open and closed end funds in the Fund Complex. He previously served as a non-executive director of U.S. healthcare company Bionik Laboratories Corp. (2018 - July 2022), as Independent Chairman of UK companies Crescent OTC Ltd (pharmaceutical services) until February 2018; and fluidOil Ltd. (oil services) until June 2018; U.S. company Rejuvenan llc (wellbeing services) until September 2017 and as chairman of UK company Ultrasis plc (healthcare software services company) until October 2014. Mr. Malone was previously a Member of Parliament in the U.K. from 1983 to 1997 and served as Minister of State for Health in the U.K. government from 1994 to 1997. | 28 | None. |
| John Sievwright c\o abrdn Inc. 1900 Market Street Suite 200 Philadelphia, PA 19103 Year of Birth: 1955 | Class I Trustee | Term expires 2024; Trustee since 2018 | Mr. Sievwright is a Non-Executive Director of Burford Capital Ltd (since May 2020) (provider of legal, finance, complex strategies, post-settlement finance and asset management services and products) and Revolut Limited, a UK-based digital banking firm (since August 2021). Previously, he was a Non-Executive Director for the UK company : NEX Group plc (2017-2018) (financial). | 8 | Non-Executive Director of Burford Capital Ltd (provider of legal finance, complex strategies, post-settlement finance and asset management services and products) since May 2020. |
| * | As of October 31, 2022, the Fund Complex consists of: abrdn Income Credit Strategies Fund, abrdn Asia-Pacific Income Fund, Inc., abrdn Global Income Fund, Inc., abrdn Australia Equity Fund, Inc., abrdn Emerging Markets Equity Income Fund, Inc., abrdn Japan Equity Fund, Inc., The India Fund, Inc., abrdn Global Dynamic Dividend Fund, abrdn Total Dynamic Dividend Fund, abrdn Global Premier Properties Fund, abrdn Global Infrastructure Income Fund, abrdn Funds (which consists of 19 portfolios) and abrdn ETFs (which consists of 3 portfolios). For the purposes of listing the number of funds in the Fund Complex overseen by each Board member, each portfolio of abrdn Funds and abrdn ETFs is counted individually. |
| ** | Current directorships (excluding Fund Complex) as of October 31, 2022 held in (1) any other investment companies registered under the 1940 Act, (2) any company with a class of securities registered pursuant to Section 12 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “1934 Act”) or (3) any company subject to the requirements of Section 15(d) of the Exchange Act. |
| † | Mr. Bird is considered to be an “interested person” of the Fund as defined in the 1940 Act because of his affiliation with the Adviser. |
| abrdn Global Dynamic Dividend Fund | 51 |
| Name, Address and Year of Birth | Position(s) Held with the Fund | Term of Office* and Length of Time Served | Principal Occupation(s) During Past Five Years |
| Joseph Andolina** c\o abrdn Inc. 1900 Market Street Suite 200 Philadelphia, PA 19103 Year of Birth: 1978 | Chief Compliance Officer and Vice President –Compliance | Since 2018 | Currently, Chief Risk Officer – Americas for abrdn Inc. and serves as the Chief Compliance Officer for abrdn Inc. Prior to joining the Risk and Compliance Department, he was a member of abrdn Inc.'s Legal Department, where he served as US Counsel since 2012. |
| Martin Connaghan** c\o abrdn Inc. 1900 Market Street Suite 200 Philadelphia, PA 19103 Year of Birth: 1980 | Vice President | Since 2018 | Currently an Investment Director on the Global Equity Team at abrdn. Martin joined abrdn in 2001, via the acquisition of Murray Johnstone. |
| Chris Demetriou** c\o abrdn Inc. 1900 Market Street Suite 200 Philadelphia, PA 19103 Year of Birth: 1983 | Vice President | Since 2020 | Currently, Chief Executive Officer – UK, EMEA and Americas. Mr. Demetriou joined abrdn Inc. in 2013, as a result of the acquisition of SVG, a FTSE 250 private equity investor based in London. |
| Joshua Duitz** c\o abrdn Inc. 1900 Market Street Suite 200 Philadelphia, PA 19103 Year of Birth: 1970 | Vice President | Since 2018 | Currently, Deputy Head of the Global Equities Team. Mr. Duitz is responsible for managing abrdn Global Infrastructure Fund, abrdn Global Infrastructure Income Fund, abrdn Total Dynamic Dividend Fund, abrdn Global Dynamic Dividend Fund and abrdn Dynamic Dividend Fund (AIFRX, ASGI, AOD,AGD and ADVDX). He joined abrdn Inc. in 2018 from Alpine Woods Capital Investors LLC where he was a Portfolio Manager. Previously, Mr. Duitz worked for Bear Stearns where he was a Managing Director, Principal and traded international equities. Prior to that, he worked for Arthur Andersen where he was a senior auditor. |
| Sharon Ferrari** c\o abrdn Inc. 1900 Market Street Suite 200 Philadelphia, PA 19103 Year of Birth: 1977 | Vice President | Since 2018 | Currently, Senior Product Manager for abrdn Inc. Prior to that she was a Senior Fund Administration Manager for abrdn Inc. Ms. Ferrari joined the company in June 2008. |
| Alan Goodson** c\o abrdn Inc. 1900 Market Street Suite 200 Philadelphia, PA 19103 Year of Birth: 1974 | Vice President | Since 2018 | Currently, Executive Director, Product & Client Solutions – Americas for abrdn Inc., overseeing Product Management & Governance , Product Development and Client Solutions for registered and unregistered investment companies in the U.S., Brazil and Canada. Mr. Goodson is Director and Vice President of abrdn Inc. and joined abrdn Inc. in 2000. |
| Heather Hasson** c\o abrdn Inc. 1900 Market Street Suite 200 Philadelphia, PA 19103 Year of Birth: 1982 | Vice President | Since 2018 | Currently, Senior Product Solutions and Implementation Manager for abrdn Inc. Ms. Hasson joined the company in November 2006. |
| Robert Hepp** c\o abrdn Inc. 1900 Market Street Suite 200 Philadelphia, PA 19103 Year of Birth: 1986 | Vice President | Since 2021 | Currently, Senior Product Governance Manager – US for abrdn Inc. Mr. Hepp joined abrdn Inc. as a Senior Paralegal in 2016. |
| Megan Kennedy** c\o abrdn Inc. 1900 Market Street Suite 200 Philadelphia, PA 19103 Year of Birth: 1974 | Vice President and Secretary | Since 2018 | Currently, Director, Senior Product Governance for abrdn Inc. Ms. Kennedy joined abrdn Inc. in 2005. |
| 52 | abrdn Global Dynamic Dividend Fund |
| Name, Address and Year of Birth | Position(s) Held with the Fund | Term of Office* and Length of Time Served | Principal Occupation(s) During Past Five Years |
| Andrew Kim** c\o abrdn Inc. 1900 Market Street Suite 200 Philadelphia, PA 19103 Year of Birth: 1983 | Vice President | Since 2021 | Currently, Senior Product Governance Manager – US for abrdn Inc. Mr. Kim joined abrdn Inc. as a Product Manager in 2013. |
| Brian Kordeck** c\o abrdn Inc. 1900 Market Street Suite 200 Philadelphia, PA 19103 Year of Birth: 1978 | Vice President | Since 2021 | Currently, Senior Product Manager – US for abrdn Inc. Mr. Kordeck joined abrdn Inc. as a Senior Fund Administrator in 2013. |
| Michael Marsico** c\o abrdn Inc. 1900 Market Street Suite 200 Philadelphia, PA 19103 Year of Birth: 1980 | Vice President | Since 2021 | Currently, Senior Product Manager – US for abrdn Inc. Mr. Marsico joined abrdn Inc. as a Fund Administrator in 2014. |
| Andrea Melia** c\o abrdn Inc. 1900 Market Street Suite 200 Philadelphia, PA 19103 Year of Birth: 1969 | Treasurer and Principal Accounting Officer | Since 2018 | Currently, Vice President and Senior Director, Product Management for abrdn Inc. Ms. Melia joined abrdn Inc. in September 2009. |
| Christian Pittard** c/o abrdn Investments Limited 280 Bishopsgate London, EC2M 4AG Year of Birth: 1973 | President | Since 2018 | Currently, Group Head of Product Opportunities at abrdn and a Director of Aberdeen Asset Management PLC since 2010. Mr. Pittard joined abrdn from KPMG in 1999. |
| Lucia Sitar** c\o abrdn Inc. 1900 Market Street Suite 200 Philadelphia, PA 19103 Year of Birth: 1971 | Vice President | Since 2018 | Currently, Vice President and Head of Product Management and Governance for abrdn Inc. since 2020. Previously, Ms. Sitar was Managing U.S. Counsel for abrdn Inc. She joined abrdn Inc. as U.S. Counsel in July 2007. |
| * | Officers hold their positions with the Fund until a successor has been duly elected and qualifies. Officers are elected annually at a meeting of the Board of Trustees. |
| ** | Each officer may hold officer position(s) in one or more other funds which are part of the Fund Complex. |
| abrdn Global Dynamic Dividend Fund | 53 |
Item 2. Code of Ethics.
| (a) | As of October 31, 2022, abrdn Global Dynamic Dividend Fund (the “Fund” or the “Registrant”) had adopted a Code of Ethics that applies to the Registrant’s principal executive officer, principal financial officer, principal accounting officer or controller, or persons performing similar functions, regardless of whether these individuals are employed by the Registrant or a third party (the “Code of Ethics”). |
| (b) | Definitional. |
| (c) | There have been no amendments, during the period covered by this report, to a provision of the Code of Ethics. |
| (d) | During the period covered by this report, there were no waivers to the provisions of the Code of Ethics. |
| (e) | Not applicable |
| (f) | A copy of the Code of Ethics has been filed as an exhibit to this Form N-CSR. |
Item 3. Audit Committee Financial Expert.
The Registrant's Board of Trustees has determined that John Sievwright, a member of the Board of Trustees’ Audit Committee, possesses the attributes, and has acquired such attributes through means, identified in instruction 2 of Item 3 to Form N-CSR to qualify as an “audit committee financial expert,” and has designated Mr. Sievwright as the Audit Committee’s financial expert. Mr. Sievwright is considered to be an “independent” trustee, as such term is defined in paragraph (a)(2) of Item 3 to Form N-CSR.
Item 4. Principal Accountant Fees and Services.
(a) – (d) Below is a table reflecting the fee information requested in Items 4(a) through (d):
| Fiscal Year Ended | (a) Audit Fees1 | (b) Audit-Related Fees2 | (c) Tax Fees3 | (d) All Other Fees4 | ||||||||||||
| October 31, 2022 | $ | 51,100 | $ | 0 | $ | 0 | $ | 0 | ||||||||
| Percentage approved pursuant to pre-approval exception5 | 0 | % | 0 | % | 0 | % | 0 | % | ||||||||
| October 31, 2021 | $ | 35,711 | $ | 0 | $ | 8,370 | $ | 0 | ||||||||
| Percentage approved pursuant to pre-approval exception5 | 0 | % | 0 | % | 0 | % | 0 | % | ||||||||
1 “Audit Fees” are the aggregate fees billed for professional services for the audit of the Fund’s annual financial statements and services provided in connection with statutory and regulatory filings or engagements.
2 “Audit Related Fees” are the aggregate fees billed for assurance and related services reasonably related to the performance of the audit or review of financial statements that are not reported under “Audit Fees”. These fees include offerings related to the Fund’s common shares.
3 “Tax Fees” are the aggregate fees billed for professional services for tax advice, tax compliance, and tax planning. These fees include: federal and state income tax returns, review of excise tax distribution calculations and federal excise tax return.
4 “All Other Fees” are the aggregate fees billed for products and services other than “Audit Fees”, “Audit-Related Fees” and “Tax Fees”.
5 Pre-approval exception under Rule 2-01 of Regulation S-X. The pre-approval exception for services provided directly to the Fund waives the pre-approval requirement for services other than audit, review or attest services if: (A) the aggregate amount of all such services provided constitutes no more than 5% of the total amount of revenues paid by the Fund to its accountant during the fiscal year in which the services are provided; (B) the Fund did not recognize the services as non-audit services at the time of the engagement; and (C) the services are promptly brought to the Audit Committee’s attention, and the Committee (or its delegate) approves the services before the audit is completed.
| (e)(1) | The Registrant’s Audit Committee (the “Committee”) has adopted a Charter that provides that the Committee shall annually select, retain or terminate, and recommend to the Independent Trustees for their ratification, the selection, retention or termination, the Registrant’s independent auditor and, in connection therewith, to evaluate the terms of the engagement (including compensation of the independent auditor) and the qualifications and independence of the independent auditor, including whether the independent auditor provides any consulting, auditing or tax services to the Registrant’s investment adviser (the “Adviser”) or any sub-adviser, and to receive the independent auditor’s specific representations as to their independence, delineating all relationships that may affect the independent auditor’s independence, including the disclosures required by PCAOB Rule 3526 or any other applicable auditing standard. PCAOB Rule 3526 requires that, at least annually, the auditor: (1) disclose to the Committee in writing all relationships between the auditor and its related entities and the Registrant and its related entities that in the auditor’s professional judgment may reasonably be thought to bear on independence; (2) confirm in the letter that, in its professional judgment, it is independent of the Registrant within the meaning of the Securities Acts administered by the SEC; and (3) discuss the auditor’s independence with the audit committee. The Committee is responsible for actively engaging in a dialogue with the independent auditor with respect to any disclosed relationships or services that may impact the objectivity and independence of the independent auditor and for taking, or recommending that the full Board take, appropriate action to oversee the independence of the independent auditor. The Committee Charter also provides that the Committee shall review in advance, and consider approval of, any and all proposals by Management or the Adviser that the Registrant, the Adviser or their affiliated persons, employ the independent auditor to render “permissible non-audit services” to the Registrant and to consider whether such services are consistent with the independent auditor’s independence. “Permissible non-audit services” include any professional services, including tax services, provided to the Registrant by the independent auditor, other than those provided to the Registrant in connection with an audit or a review of the financial statements of the Registrant. Permissible non-audit services may not include: (i) bookkeeping or other services related to the accounting records or financial statements of the Registrant; (ii) financial information systems design and implementation; (iii) appraisal or valuation services, fairness opinions or contribution-in-kind reports; (iv) actuarial services; (v) internal audit outsourcing services; (vi) management functions or human resources; (vii) broker or dealer, investment adviser or investment banking services; (viii) legal services and expert services unrelated to the audit; and (ix) any other service the PCAOB determines, by regulation, is impermissible. Pre-approval by the Committee of any permissible non-audit services is not required so long as: (i) the aggregate amount of all such permissible non-audit services provided to the Registrant constitutes not more than 5% of the total amount of revenues paid by the Registrant to its auditor during the fiscal year in which the permissible non-audit services are provided; (ii) the permissible non-audit services were not recognized by the Registrant at the time of the engagement to be non-audit services; and (iii) such services are promptly brought to the attention of the Committee and approved by the Committee or its Delegate(s) prior to the completion of the audit. The Committee may delegate to one or more of its members (“Delegates”) authority to pre-approve permissible non-audit services to be provided to the Registrant. Any pre-approval determination of a Delegate shall be presented to the full Committee at its next meeting. Any pre-approval determination of a Delegate shall be presented to the full Committee at its next meeting. Pursuant to this authority, the Registrant’s Committee delegates to the Committee Chair, subject to subsequent ratification by the full Committee, up to a maximum amount of $25,000, which includes any professional services, including tax services, provided to the Registrant by its independent registered public accounting firm other than those provided to the Registrant in connection with an audit or a review of the financial statements of the Registrant. The Committee shall communicate any pre-approval made by it or a Delegate to the Adviser, who will ensure that the appropriate disclosure is made in the Registrant’s periodic reports required by Section 30 of the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, and other documents as required under the federal securities laws. |
| (e)(2) | None of the services described in each of paragraphs (b) through (d) of this Item involved a waiver of the pre-approval requirement by the Audit Committee pursuant to Rule 2-01 (c)(7)(i)(C) of Regulation S-X. |
| (f) | Not applicable. |
| (g) | Non-Audit Fees |
| The following table shows the amount of fees that KPMG LLP billed during the Fund’s last two fiscal years for non-audit services to the Registrant, and to the Adviser, and any entity controlling, controlled by or under common control with the Adviser that provides ongoing services to the Fund (“Affiliated Fund Service Provider”): |
| Fiscal Year Ended | Total Non-Audit Fees Billed to Fund |
Total Non-Audit Fees billed to Adviser and Affiliated Fund Service Providers (engagements related directly to the operations and financial reporting of the Fund) |
Total Non-Audit Fees billed to Adviser and Affiliated Fund Service Providers (all other engagements) |
Total | ||||||||||||
| October 31, 2022 | $ | 0 | $ | 0 | $ | 1,108,929 | $ | 1,108,929 | ||||||||
| October 31, 2021 | $ | 8,370 | $ | 0 | $ | 1,547,556 | $ | 1,555,926 | ||||||||
“Non-Audit Fees billed to Fund” for both fiscal years represent “Tax Fees” and “All Other Fees” billed to Fund in their respective amounts from the previous table.
| (h) | Not applicable. |
| (i) | Not applicable. |
| (j) | Not applicable. |
Item 5. Audit Committee of Listed Registrants.
| (a) | The Registrant has a separately-designated standing Audit Committee established in accordance with Section 3(a)(58)(A) of the Exchange Act (15 U.S.C. 78c(a)(58)(A)). |
As of the fiscal year ended October 31, 2022, the Audit Committee members were:
Nancy Yao Maasbach
P. Gerald Malone
John Sievwright
| (b) | Not applicable. |
Item 6. Schedule of Investments.
(a) Included as part of the Report to Shareholders filed under Item 1 of this Form N-CSR.
(b) Not applicable.
Item 7. Disclosure of Proxy Voting Policies and Procedures for Closed-End Management Investment Companies.
Pursuant to the Registrant's Proxy Voting Policy and Procedures, the Registrant has delegated responsibility for its proxy voting to its Adviser, provided that the Registrant's Board of Trustees has the opportunity to periodically review the Adviser's proxy voting policies and material amendments thereto.
The proxy voting policies of the Registrant are included herewith as Exhibit (c) and policies of the Adviser are included as Exhibit (d).
Item 8. Portfolio Managers of Closed-End Management Investment Companies.
(a)(1) PORTFOLIO MANAGER BIOGRAPHIES
The Fund is managed by abrdn’s Global Equity team. The Global Equity team works in a truly collaborative fashion; all team members have both portfolio management and research responsibilities. The team is responsible for the day-to-day management of the Fund. As of the date of filing this report, the following individuals have primary responsibility for the day-to-day management of the Fund’s portfolio:
| Individual & Position | Past Business Experience |
|
Dominic Byrne Head of Global Equities |
Dominic Byrne is Head of Global Equities and is portfolio manager on abrdn’s global and responsible range of equity funds. He joined the firm in 2000 as part of the UK Equity Team. In December 2008, he joined the Global Equity Team and has managed a range of global equity strategies. In 2018, he was appointed Deputy Head of Global Equities and in 2020, he became Head of Global Equity at abrdn. He graduated with a MEng in Engineering Science and is a CFA® charterholder. |
|
Bruce Stout Senior Investment Director, Global Equities |
Currently, a Senior Investment Director on the Global Equity Team. He joined abrdn in 2001, via the acquisition of Murray Johnstone. Bruce has held a number of roles including Investment Manager on the Emerging Markets Team. Bruce graduated with a BA in Economics from the University of Strathclyde and completed a graduate training course with General Electric Company UK. |
|
Martin Connaghan Investment Director, Global Equities |
Currently, an Investment Director on the Global Equity Team at abrdn. Mr. Connaghan joined Murray Johnstone in 1998, which was subsequently acquired by abrdn in 2001. He has held a number of roles, including Trader and ESG Analyst on the Global Equity Team; he also spent two years as a Portfolio Analyst on the Fixed Income Team in London. He primarily focuses on global and global income mandates. |
|
Josh Duitz Deputy Head of the Global Equities Team |
Josh Duitz is Deputy Head of Global Equities and Head of Infrastructure (public markets) at abrdn. He joined abrdn in 2018 from Alpine Woods Capital Investors LLC where he was a Portfolio Manager of its Global Dynamic Dividend and Global Infrastructure strategies. The management contracts of the funds he managed at Alpine Woods were acquired by abrdn in April 2018, which he continues to manage. Previously, Mr. Duitz worked for Bear Stearns where he was a Managing Director, Principal and traded international equities. Prior to that, he worked for Arthur Andersen where he was a senior auditor. |
(a)(2) OTHER ACCOUNTS MANAGED BY PORTFOLIO MANAGERS.
The following chart summarizes information regarding other accounts for which each portfolio manager has day-to-day management responsibilities. Accounts are grouped into the following three categories: (1) registered investment companies; (2) other pooled investment vehicles; and (3) other accounts. To the extent that any of these accounts pay advisory fees that are based on account performance (“performance-based fees”), information on those accounts is provided separately. The figures in the chart below for the category of “registered investment companies” include the Fund. The “Other Accounts Managed” represents the accounts managed by the teams of which the portfolio manager is a member. The information in the table below is as of October 31, 2022.
| Name of Portfolio Manager | Type of Accounts | Other Accounts Managed | Total Assets ($M) | Number of Accounts Managed for Which Advisory Fee is Based on Performance | Total Assets for Which Advisory Fee is Based on Performance ($M) | |||||||||||
| Dominic Byrne1 | Registered Investment Companies | 7 | $ | 1,589.65 | 0 | $ | 0 | |||||||||
| Pooled Investment Vehicles | 33 | $ | 4,901.38 | 0 | $ | 0 | ||||||||||
| Other Accounts | 8 | $ | 2,563.13 | 0 | $ | 0 | ||||||||||
| Bruce Stout1 | Registered Investment Companies | 7 | $ | 1,589.65 | 0 | $ | 0 | |||||||||
| Pooled Investment Vehicles | 33 | $ | 4,901.38 | 0 | $ | 0 | ||||||||||
| Other Accounts | 8 | $ | 2,563.13 | 0 | $ | 0 | ||||||||||
| Martin Connaghan1 | Registered Investment Companies | 7 | $ | 1,589.65 | 0 | $ | 0 | |||||||||
| Pooled Investment Vehicles | 33 | $ | 4,901.38 | 0 | $ | 0 | ||||||||||
| Other Accounts | 8 | $ | 2,563.13 | 0 | $ | 0 | ||||||||||
| Josh Duitz1 | Registered Investment Companies | 7 | $ | 1,589.65 | 0 | $ | 0 | |||||||||
| Pooled Investment Vehicles | 33 | $ | 4,901.38 | 0 | $ | 0 | ||||||||||
| Other Accounts | 8 | $ | 2,563.13 | 0 | $ | 0 | ||||||||||
1 Includes accounts managed by the Global Equities Team, of which the portfolio manager is a member.
POTENTIAL CONFLICTS OF INTEREST
The Adviser and its affiliates (collectively referred to herein as “abrdn”) serve as investment advisers for multiple clients, including the Registrant and other investment companies registered under the 1940 Act and private funds (such clients are also referred to below as “accounts”). The portfolio managers’ management of “other accounts” may give rise to potential conflicts of interest in connection with their management of the Registrant’s investments, on the one hand, and the investments of the other accounts, on the other. The other accounts may have the same investment objective as the Registrant. Therefore, a potential conflict of interest may arise as a result of the identical investment objectives, whereby the portfolio manager could favor one account over another. However, the Adviser believes that these risks are mitigated by the fact that: (i) accounts with like investment strategies managed by a particular portfolio manager are generally managed in a similar fashion, subject to exceptions to account for particular investment restrictions or policies applicable only to certain accounts, differences in cash flows and account sizes, and similar factors; and (ii) portfolio manager personal trading is monitored to avoid potential conflicts. In addition, the Adviser has adopted trade allocation procedures that require equitable allocation of trade orders for a particular security among participating accounts.
In some cases, another account managed by the same portfolio manager may compensate Aberdeen based on the performance-based fees with qualified clients. The existence of such a performance-based fee may create additional conflicts of interest for the portfolio manager in the allocation of management time, resources and investment opportunities.
Another potential conflict could include instances in which securities considered as investments for the Registrant also may be appropriate for other investment accounts managed by the Adviser or its affiliates. Whenever decisions are made to buy or sell securities for the Registrant and one or more of the other accounts simultaneously, the Adviser may aggregate the purchases and sales of the securities and will allocate the securities transactions in a manner that it believes to be equitable under the circumstances. As a result of the allocations, there may be instances where the Registrant will not participate in a transaction that is allocated among other accounts. While these aggregation and allocation policies could have a detrimental effect on the price or amount of the securities available to the Registrant from time to time, it is the opinion of the Adviser that the benefits from the policies outweigh any disadvantage that may arise from exposure to simultaneous transactions. The Registrant has adopted policies that are designed to eliminate or minimize conflicts of interest, although there is no guarantee that procedures adopted under such policies will detect each and every situation in which a conflict arises.
With respect to non-discretionary model delivery accounts (including UMA accounts) and discretionary SMA accounts, abrdn Inc. will utilize a third party service provider to deliver model portfolio recommendations and model changes to the Sponsors. abrdn Inc. seeks to treat clients fairly and equitably over time, by delivering model changes to our service provider and investment instructions for our other discretionary accounts to our trading desk, simultaneously or approximately at the same time. The service provider will then deliver the model changes to each Sponsor on a when-traded, randomized full rotation schedule. All Sponsors will be included in the rotation schedule, including SMA and UMA.
UMA Sponsors will be responsible for determining how and whether to implement the model portfolio or model changes and implementation of any client specific investment restrictions. The Sponsors are solely responsible for determining the suitability of the model portfolio for each model delivery client, executing trades and seeking best execution for such clients.
As it relates to SMA accounts, abrdn Inc. will be responsible for managing the account on the basis of each client’s financial situation and objectives, the day to day investment decisions, best execution, accepting or rejecting client specific investment restrictions and performance. The SMA Sponsors will collect suitability information and will provide a summary questionnaire for our review and approval or rejection. For dual contract SMAs, abrdn Inc. will collect a suitability assessment from the client, along with the Sponsor suitability assessment. Our third party service provider will monitor client specific investment restrictions on a day to day basis. For SMA accounts, model trades will be traded by the Sponsor or may be executed through a “step-out transaction,”- or traded away- from the client’s Sponsor if doing so is consistent with abrdn’s obligation to obtain best execution. When placing trades through Sponsor Firms (instead of stepping them out), we will generally aggregate orders where it is possible and in the client’s best interests. In the event we are not comfortable that a Sponsor can obtain best execution for a specific security and trading away is infeasible, we may exclude the security from the model.
Trading costs are not covered by the Wrap Program fee and may result in additional costs to the client. In some instances, step-out trades are executed without any additional commission, mark-up, or mark-down, but in many instances, the executing broker-dealer may impose a commission or a mark-up or mark-down on the trade. Typically, the executing broker will embed the added costs into the price of the trade execution, making it difficult to determine and disclose the exact added cost to clients. In this instance, these additional trading costs will be reflected in the price received for the security, not as a separate commission, on trade confirmations or on account statements. In determining best execution for SMA accounts, abrdn Inc. takes into consideration that the client will not pay additional trading costs or commission if executing with the Sponsor.
While UMA accounts are invested in the same strategies as and may perform similarly to SMA accounts, there are expected to be performance differences between them. There will be performance dispersions between UMAs and other types of accounts because abrdn does not have discretion over trading and there may be client specific restrictions for SMA accounts.
abrdn may have already commenced trading for its discretionary client accounts before the model delivery accounts have executed abrdn's recommendations. In this event, trades placed by the model delivery clients may be subject to price movements, particularly with large orders or where securities are thinly traded, that may result in model delivery clients receiving less favorable prices than our discretionary clients. abrdn has no discretion over transactions executed by model delivery clients and is unable to control the market impact of those transactions.
Timing delays or other operational factors associated with the implementation of trades may result in non-discretionary and model delivery clients receiving materially different prices relative to other client accounts. In addition, the constitution and weights of stocks within model portfolios may not always be exactly aligned with similar discretionary accounts. This may create performance dispersions within accounts with the same or similar investment mandate.
(a)(3)
DESCRIPTION OF COMPENSATION STRUCTURE
abrdn’s remuneration policies are designed to support its business strategy as a leading international asset manager. The objective is to attract, retain and reward talented individuals for the delivery of sustained, superior returns for abrdn’s clients and shareholders. abrdn operates in a highly competitive international employment market, and aims to maintain its strong track record of success in developing and retaining talent.
abrdn’s policy is to recognize corporate and individual achievements each year through an appropriate annual bonus scheme. The bonus is a single, fully discretionary variable pay award. The aggregate value of awards in any year is dependent on the group’s overall performance and profitability. Consideration is also given to the levels of bonuses paid in the market. Individual awards, which are payable to all members of staff, are determined by a rigorous assessment of achievement against defined objectives.
The variable pay award is composed of a mixture of cash and a deferred award, the portion of which varies based on the size of the award. Deferred awards are by default abrdn plc shares, with an option to put up to 50% of the deferred award into funds managed by abrdn. Overall compensation packages are designed to be competitive relative to the investment management industry.
Base Salary
abrdn’s policy is to pay a fair salary commensurate with the individual’s role, responsibilities and experience, and having regard to the market rates being offered for similar roles in the asset management sector and other comparable companies. Any increase is generally to reflect inflation and is applied in a manner consistent with other abrdn employees; any other increases must be justified by reference to promotion or changes in responsibilities.
Annual Bonus
The Remuneration Committee determines the key performance indicators that will be applied in considering the overall size of the bonus pool. In line with practices amongst other asset management companies, individual bonuses are not subject to an absolute cap. However, the aggregate size of the bonus pool is dependent on the group’s overall performance and profitability. Consideration is also given to the levels of bonuses paid in the market. Individual awards are determined by a rigorous assessment of achievement against defined objectives, and are reviewed and approved by the Remuneration Committee.
abrdn has a deferral policy which is intended to assist in the retention of talent and to create additional alignment of executives’ interests with abrdn’s sustained performance and, in respect of the deferral into funds managed by abrdn, to align the interest of portfolio managers with our clients.
Staff performance is reviewed formally at least once a year. The review process evaluates the various aspects that the individual has contributed to abrdn, and specifically, in the case of portfolio managers, to the relevant investment team. Discretionary bonuses are based on client service, asset growth and the performance of the respective portfolio manager. Overall participation in team meetings, generation of original research ideas and contribution to presenting the team externally are also evaluated.
In the calculation of a portfolio management team’s bonus, abrdn takes into consideration investment matters (which include the performance of funds, adherence to the company investment process, and quality of company meetings) as well as more subjective issues such as team participation and effectiveness at client presentations through key performance indicator scorecards. To the extent performance is factored in, such performance is not judged against any specific benchmark and is evaluated over the period of a year - January to December. The pre- or after-tax performance of an individual account is not considered in the determination of a portfolio manager’s discretionary bonus; rather the review process evaluates the overall performance of the team for all of the accounts the team manages.
Portfolio manager performance on investment matters is judged over all of the accounts the portfolio manager contributes to and is documented in the appraisal process. A combination of the team’s and individual’s performance is considered and evaluated.
Although performance is not a substantial portion of a portfolio manager’s compensation, abrdn also recognizes that fund performance can often be driven by factors outside one’s control, such as (irrational) markets, and as such pays attention to the effort by portfolio managers to ensure integrity of our core process by sticking to disciplines and processes set, regardless of momentum and ‘hot’ themes. Short-terming is thus discouraged and trading-oriented managers will thus find it difficult to thrive in the abrdn environment. Additionally, if any of the aforementioned undue risks were to be taken by a portfolio manager, such trend would be identified via abrdn’s dynamic compliance monitoring system.
In rendering investment management services, the Adviser may use the resources of additional investment adviser subsidiaries of abrdn plc. These affiliates have entered into a memorandum of understanding (“MOU”) pursuant to which investment professionals from each affiliate may render portfolio management, research or trading services to abrdn clients. Each investment professional who renders portfolio management, research or trading services under a MOU or personnel sharing arrangement (“Participating Affiliate”) must comply with the provisions of the Advisers Act, the 1940 Act, the Securities Act of 1933, the Exchange Act, and the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, and the laws of states or countries in which the Adviser does business or has clients. No remuneration is paid by the Fund with respect to the MOU/personnel sharing arrangements.
(a)(4)
| Dollar Range of Equity Securities in the Registrant Beneficially Owned by the Portfolio Manager as of October 31, 2022 | ||||
| Dominic Byrne | None | |||
| Bruce Stout | None | |||
| Martin Connaghan | None | |||
| Josh Duitz | $10,001-$50,000 |
(b) Not applicable.
Item 9. Purchases of Equity Securities by Closed-End Management Investment Company and Affiliated Purchasers.
No such purchases were made by or on behalf of the Registrant during the period covered by the report.
Item 10. Submission of Matters to a Vote of Security Holders.
During the period ended October 31, 2022, there were no material changes to the procedures by which shareholders may recommend nominees to the Registrant’s Board of Trustees.
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 Investment Company Act of 1940 (the “Act”) (17 CFR 270.30a-3(c)) are effective, as of a date within 90 days of the filing date of the report that includes the disclosure required by this paragraph, based on the evaluation of these controls and procedures required by Rule 30a-3(b) under the Act (17 CFR 270.30a3(b)) and Rule 13a-15(b) or 15d-15(b) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (17 CFR 240.13a-15(b) or 240.15d15(b)). |
| (b) | There were no changes in the Registrant’s internal control over financial reporting (as defined in Rule 30a-3(d) under the Act (17 CFR 270.30a-3(d))) that occurred during the second fiscal quarter of 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. |
Item 12. Disclosure of Securities Lending Activities for Closed-End Management Investment Companies
Not applicable
Item 13. Exhibits.
| (a)(1) | Code of Ethics of the Registrant for the period covered by this report as required pursuant to Item 2 of this Form N-CSR. |
| (a)(2) | The certifications of the registrant as required by Rule 30a-2(a) under the Act are exhibits to this Form N-CSR. |
| (a)(3) | Any written solicitation to purchase securities under Rule 23c-1 under the 1940 Act (17 CFR 270.23c-1) sent or given during the period covered by the report by or on behalf of the registrant to 10 or more persons. Not applicable. |
| (a)(4) | Change in Registrant’s independent public accountant. Not applicable. |
| (b) | The certifications of the registrant as required by Rule 30a-2(b) under the Act are exhibits to this Form N-CSR. |
| (c) | Proxy Voting Policy of Registrant |
| (d) | Proxy Voting Policies and Procedures of Adviser. |
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.
abrdn Global Dynamic Dividend Fund
| By: | /s/ Christian Pittard | ||
| Christian Pittard, | |||
| Principal Executive Officer of | |||
| abrdn Global Dynamic Dividend Fund | |||
| Date: January 9, 2023 | |||
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and the Investment Company Act of 1940, this report has been signed below by the following persons on behalf of the Registrant and in the capacities and on the dates indicated.
| By: | /s/ Christian Pittard | ||
| Christian Pittard, | |||
| Principal Executive Officer of | |||
| abrdn Global Dynamic Dividend Fund | |||
| Date: January 9, 2023 | |||
| By: | /s/ Andrea Melia | ||
| Andrea Melia, | |||
| Principal Financial Officer of | |||
| abrdn Global Dynamic Dividend Fund | |||
| Date: January 9, 2023 | |||
