United States

Securities and Exchange Commission

Washington, D.C. 20549

Form N-CSR

Certified Shareholder Report of Registered Management Investment Companies

811-23174

(Investment Company Act File Number)

Federated Hermes Project and Trade Finance Tender Fund

_______________________________________________________________

(Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in Charter)

Federated Hermes Funds

4000 Ericsson Drive

Warrendale, Pennsylvania 15086-7561

(Address of Principal Executive Offices)

Peter J. Germain, Esquire

Federated Hermes, Inc.

1001 Liberty Avenue

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15222-3779

(Name and Address of Agent for Service)

(412) 288-1900

(Registrant's Telephone Number)

Date of Fiscal Year End: 03/31/2022

Date of Reporting Period: 03/31/2022

Item 1. Reports to Stockholders

Annual Shareholder Report

March 31, 2022

 

Federated Hermes Project and Trade Finance Tender Fund

Fund Established 2016

Dear Valued Shareholder,

We are pleased to present the Annual Shareholder Report for your fund covering the period from April 1, 2021 through March 31, 2022. This report includes Management’s Discussion of Fund Performance, a complete listing of your fund’s holdings, performance information and financial statements along with other important fund information.

As a global leader in active, responsible investment management, Federated Hermes is guided by our conviction that responsible investing is the best way to create wealth over the long term. The company provides capabilities across a wide range of asset classes to investors around the world.

In addition, FederatedInvestors.com offers quick and easy access to valuable resources that include timely fund updates, economic and market insights from our investment strategists and financial planning tools. You can also access many of those insights by following us on Twitter (@FederatedHermes) and LinkedIn.

Thank you for investing with us. We hope you find this information useful and look forward to keeping you informed.

Sincerely,
 

J. Christopher Donahue, President

Not FDIC Insured ▪ May Lose Value ▪ No Bank Guarantee

CONTENTS 

Management’s Discussion of Fund Performance	1
Portfolio of Investments Summary Table	6
Portfolio of Investments	7
Financial Highlights	18
Statement of Assets and Liabilities	19
Statement of Operations	20
Statement of Changes in Net Assets	22
Statement of Cash Flows	23
Notes to Financial Statements	24
Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm	33
Shareholder Expense Example	35
Board of Trustees and Fund Officers	36
Evaluation and Approval of Advisory Contract	43
Voting Proxies on Fund Portfolio Securities	53
Quarterly Portfolio Schedule	53

Management’s Discussion of Fund Performance (unaudited)

The total return of Federated Hermes Project and Trade Finance Tender Fund (the “Fund”),1 based on net asset value for the 12-month reporting period ended March 31, 2022, was 0.80% compared to a return of 0.10% for the ICE BofA U.S. Dollar 1-Month Deposit Offered Rate Constant Maturity Index (ICE1MDOR),2 the Fund’s benchmark. The Fund’s assets typically pay interest based on a spread to 1-month LIBOR, a global reference rate for short-term interest rates and the weighted average life of the Fund’s portfolio was 14.46 months as of the end of the reporting period. The Fund’s total return for the most recently completed fiscal year reflected actual cash flows, transaction costs and expenses which were not reflected in the total return of ICE1MDOR.

The following discussion will focus on Fund performance relative to the ICE1MDOR.

Market Overview

The beginning of the reporting period saw a continued global economic recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic and as the global economy recovered in the first half of 2021, so did global trade. In May 2021, the World Trade Organization (WTO) released its WTO Goods Trade Barometer for Q1 2021, a composite indicator for world trade, which provides an indication of the merchandise trade trajectory. It is based on a number of variables which impact deviation of trade volume from a baseline trend. With a baseline of 100, the level was at a strong 109.7 indicating significant expected growth of trade volumes for Q2 2021 and onwards. This compares to a level of 87.6 from May 2020, the lowest on record since the indicator was launched in 2016. Importantly, large gains were seen in such key drivers as export orders and air freight. Container shipping also held up well through the pandemic. The WTO maintained its growth forecast for global trade at 8% in 2021. Fund management expected this to lead to recovery in trade finance revenues, which decreased by 7.5% in 2020 according to industry research.

Congruent with the recovery of economic activity, there was a significant expansion in prices of primary goods, from crude oil and petroleum products to base metals, steel, grains and oilseeds. During the reporting period the price environment benefited producers, expanded margins available to supply chain participants, and, in some cases, negatively impacted operating margins of energy-intensive businesses. In Q3 2021, according to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, global merchandise trade value reached an all-time high of $5.6 trillion, continuing the recovery from last year’s drop. Looking at the volumes traded, there was a 0.8% drop in Q3 compared to the prior quarter, while year-to-date growth remained at a robust 11.9%. These numbers were a result of several significant factors at play during Q3 and Q4. Growth in trade value was driven primarily by higher prices

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in energy (up two-fold), basic materials and food (up 23% and 13%, respectively) when compared to last year, according to the WTO. In addition to inflation across the primary goods spectrum, there was a significant natural gas price increase and volatility in Europe, driven by lower stock levels, decreased supply from Russia and geopolitical tensions, which added to uncertainty over gas transit through Ukraine. While trading companies tend to thrive in volatile markets, price changes of this magnitude (+390% year-over-year) can have a significant impact on liquidity positions of trading companies due to increased margining requirements.

Unfortunately, the recovery in economic activity and trade growth was abruptly halted when Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022. The war in Ukraine had a significant impact on trade flows late in the reporting period. The CEO of Ukraine’s largest agricultural exporter, Kernel, confirmed unprecedented logistical challenges brought by the closure of Ukrainian Black Sea ports. In a Bloomberg TV interview on April 5, 2022, the Kernel CEO stated that only 5% of last year’s export volumes were being exported following the invasion, primarily by rail and trucks, and he expected 2022’s production to reduce by 40% compared to 2021. With Ukraine being the largest sunflower oil exporter and one of the largest grain exporters in the world, lower production and prolonged closure of seaborne export outlets were expected to have a significant negative impact on grains and oilseeds available in the global marketplace. Fund management did not expect a world-wide shortage of food and feed, however, we expected populations of some of the more vulnerable countries, either by way of geopolitics or concentration on Black Sea grain, would likely suffer.

Additionally, since the break-up of the Soviet Union in 1991, Russia has become an integral part of the international trade community. It is one of the largest natural resource producers in the world with leading positions in exports of fossil fuels, base and precious metals, fertilizer and, to a lesser extent, agricultural products. Imposition of sanctions by governments, and self-sanctioning by corporations, of an exporter of this size and scale, while warranted, was truly unprecedented. The complexity of the situation was further increased by the dynamic developments with new sanction packages announced regularly. The WTO halved 2022 global trade growth forecast to 2.5% (from 4.7%). In turn, the Russian economy was expected to shrink by 12.5% by mid-year according to JP Morgan, a decline worse than the 10% drop after the 1998 default. Financial and commodity markets reacted immediately through asset and physical goods prices, reflecting both higher uncertainty and lower supply of commodities.

Fund performance

During the reporting period, the most significant factors positively affecting the Fund’s performance relative to ICE1MDOR were the selection of individual securities within each sector and sector diversification. Factors that

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negatively affected performance were larger-than-usual cash balances due to large subscriptions made throughout the year and, toward the end of the year, the mark-to-market price volatility caused by the war in Ukraine.

The Fund was invested in a portfolio of trade finance-related assets that was widely diversified over geographic regions and sectors. Regionally, the Fund, as of the end of the reporting period, was invested 23.84% in Sub-Saharan Africa, 18.45% in Eastern Europe, 18.30% in Latin America, 14.96% in Asia, 10.30% in Middle East/North Africa, 4.95% in Western Europe, 4.63% in North America and held a 4.56% cash position. The countries represented in those regions in which the Fund held investments include: Angola, Argentina, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Benin, Brazil, Burkina Faso, China, Congo, Republic of Cyprus, Ecuador, Egypt, Ghana, Iraq, Ireland, Ivory Coast, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mexico, Moldova, Nigeria, Oman, Pakistan, Russia, Senegal, Singapore, South Africa, Suriname, Switzerland, Tanzania, Turkey, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States, Uzbekistan, Vietnam and Zambia.

The sector diversification of the Fund at the end of the reporting period was as follows: 26.68% Banking, 23.57% Energy, 15.50% Foreign Sovereign, 9.31% Basic Industry, 5.79% Consumer Goods, 4.27% Telecommunications, 3.69% Transportation, 3.03% Supranational, 2.00% Utilities, 1.56% Automotive and 4.56% cash.

The Fund’s broad diversification on both a regional and sector basis made a positive contribution to Fund performance on both an absolute basis and relative to ICE1MDOR. The valuation effect of the Russia invasion of Ukraine and an above-average cash position due to large inflows were the largest detractors from Fund performance during the reporting period.

market spreads

Spreads in the market remained stable during the reporting period, resulting in an average coupon of 2.97% for transactions in the Fund.

1

The Fund is a continuously-offered, non-diversified, closed-end management company. The Fund will not list shares on any securities exchange, and it is not expected that any secondary market will develop for the shares. Shareholders will not be able to tender their shares for repurchase on a daily basis. At the discretion of the Fund’s Board of Trustees, and provided that it is in the best interests of the Fund and shareholders to do so, the Fund intends to provide a limited degree of liquidity to shareholders by conducting repurchase offers, generally quarterly.

2

Please see the footnotes to the line graphs under “Fund Performance and Growth of a $10,000 Investment” below for the definition of, and more information about, the ICE1MDOR.

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FUND PERFORMANCE AND GROWTH OF A $10,000 INVESTMENT

The graph below illustrates the hypothetical investment of $10,0001 in the Federated Hermes Project and Trade Finance Tender Fund (the “Fund”) from February 2, 2017 to March 31, 2022, compared to the ICE BofA U.S. Dollar 1-Month Deposit Offered Rate Constant Maturity Index(ICE1MDOR).2 The Average Annual Total Return table below shows returns averaged over the stated periods.

Growth of a $10,000 Investment

Growth of $10,000 as of March 31, 2022
  

Average Annual Total Returns for the Period Ended 3/31/2022 

	1 Year	5 Years	Since Inception 2/2/2017
Fund	0.80%	2.85%	2.80%
ICE1MDOR	0.10%	1.20%	1.18%

 

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Performance data quoted represents past performance which is no guarantee of future results. Investment return , price and net asset value will vary. An investor’s shares, when repurchased, may be worth more or less than their original cost. Fund performance changes over time and current performance may be lower or higher than what is stated. For current to the most recent month-end performance, current shareholders may call 1-800-341-7400. Returns shown do not reflect the deduction of taxes that a shareholder would pay on Fund distributions or the redemption of Fund shares.

1

The Fund’s performance assumes the reinvestment of all dividends and distributions.

2

ICE1MDOR is an independent calculation of the ICE BofA 1-Month LIBOR. ICE1MDOR is a widely used benchmark for short-term interest rates, providing an indication of the average rates at which LIBOR panel banks could obtain wholesale, unsecured funding for set periods in particular currencies. ICE1MDOR is not adjusted to reflect sales charges, expenses or other fees that the SEC requires to be reflected in the Fund’s performance. The index is unmanaged and unlike the Fund, is not affected by cash flows. It is not possible to invest directly in an index.

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Portfolio of Investments Summary Table (unaudited)

At March 31, 2022, the Fund’s portfolio composition1 was as follows: 

Security Type	Percentage of Total Net Assets
Trade Finance Agreements	91.6%
Derivative Contracts2	0.3%
Cash Equivalents3	4.4%
Other Assets and Liabilities—Net4	3.7%
TOTAL	100%

 

1	See the Fund’s Prospectus for a description of the principal types of securities in which the Fund invests.
2	Based upon net unrealized appreciation (depreciation) or value of the derivative contracts as applicable. Derivative contracts may consist of futures, forwards, options and swaps. The impact of a derivative contract on the Fund’s performance may be larger than its unrealized appreciation (depreciation) or value may indicate. In many cases, the notional value or amount of a derivative contract may provide a better indication of the contract’s significance to the portfolio. More complete information regarding the Fund’s direct investments in derivative contracts, including unrealized appreciation (depreciation), value and notional values or amounts of such contracts, can be found in the table at the end of the Portfolio of Investments included in this Report.
3	Cash Equivalents include any investments in money market mutual funds and/or overnight repurchase agreements.
4	Assets, other than investments in securities and derivative contracts, less liabilities. See Statement of Assets and Liabilities.

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Portfolio of Investments

March 31, 2022 

Foreign Currency Par Amount, Principal Amount or Shares			Acquisition Date1	Acquisition Cost in U.S. Dollars1	Value in U.S. Dollars
	1	TRADE FINANCE AGREEMENTS—   91.6%
		Automotive—   1.5%
$ 8,540,797	2	VINFAST Trading and Production LLC, 3.625% (3-month USLIBOR +3.500%), 4/30/2023	2/16/2021- 7/2/2021	$ 8,507,541	$  8,522,144
		Banking—   24.9%
8,000,000	2	Access Bank PLC, 2.945% (6-month USLIBOR +2.550%), 7/14/2022	7/13/2021	7,932,000	7,954,429
3,000,000		African Export-Import Bank, 2.462%, 9/23/2022	9/9/2021	3,000,000	2,991,219
7,500,000	2	Agrobank, 3.657% (6-month USLIBOR +3.500%), 10/14/2022	10/14/2021	7,500,000	7,387,976
10,000,000		Banco Bradesco SA, 0.739%, 4/20/2022	10/29/2021	10,000,000	10,000,000
588,235	2	Banco del Pacifico, 6.256% (3-month USLIBOR +5.750%), 5/15/2024	5/21/2019	588,235	587,961
9,000,000		Banco Santander Brasil SA, 0.690%, 4/20/2022	10/29/2021	9,000,000	9,000,000
10,000,000	2	Banco Santander, 0.969% (3-month USLIBOR +0.550%), 5/18/2022	12/29/2021	10,000,000	10,000,000
EUR 10,000,000		Denizbank AS, 1.850%, 6/13/2022	9/15/2021	11,769,166	11,051,293
$20,000,000		Itau Unibanco SA, 0.728%, 4/4/2022	10/29/2021- 12/29/2021	20,000,000	20,000,000
10,000,000	2	National Bank of Egypt, 2.196% (3-month USLIBOR +1.200%), 9/30/2022	9/29/2021	10,000,000	10,000,000
2,500,000	2	QNB Finansbank AS/Turkey, 2.305% (3-month USLIBOR +2.150%), 5/27/2022	7/9/2021	2,472,500	2,493,990
EUR 5,000,000		QNB Finansbank AS/Turkey, 2.614%, 5/27/2022	9/15/2021	5,892,260	5,531,249
6,000,000	2	The National Bank for Foreign Economic Activity of the Republic of Uzbekistan (“NBU”), 3.400% (6-month EURIBOR +3.400%), 6/18/2024	6/25/2021	7,167,284	6,334,573

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Foreign Currency Par Amount, Principal Amount or Shares			Acquisition Date1	Acquisition Cost in U.S. Dollars1	Value in U.S. Dollars
	1	TRADE FINANCE AGREEMENTS—   continued
		Banking—   continued
$ 5,000,000		Turkiye Vakiflar Bankasi T.A.O., 2.200%, 6/10/2022	9/14/2021	$ 4,912,815	$  4,958,227
7,500,000	2	Turkiye Vakiflar Bankasi T.A.O., 2.436% (3-month USLIBOR +2.070%), 5/12/2022	6/8/2021	7,372,500	7,486,809
8,000,000		Uzbek Industrial and Construction Bank ATB, 4.750%, 6/18/2024	7/13/2021	8,000,000	7,502,837
EUR 7,500,000		Yapi ve Kredi Bankasi A.S., 1.880%, 6/6/2022	9/15/2021	8,826,874	8,296,873
$ 6,101,586		Ziraat Bankasi, 2.200%, 6/13/2022	9/14/2021	5,993,968	6,038,527
2,000,000	2	Ziraat Bankasi, 2.318% (6-month USLIBOR +0.000%), 4/21/2022	6/9/2021	1,968,000	1,997,385
		TOTAL			139,613,348
		Basic Industry - Forestry/ Paper—   0.1%
450,000	2	Bahia Cellulose, 3.468% (1-month USLIBOR +3.000%), 7/18/2023	11/20/2017	450,675	450,000
		Basic Industry - Metals/Mining Excluding Steel—   7.6%
7,500,000		Arconic Corp., 1.940%, 6/2/2022	3/31/2022	7,484,744	7,484,744
1,398,619	2	Central Asia Metals PLC, 1.528% (1-month USLIBOR+1.320%), 11/ 3/2022	8/2/2021	1,398,619	1,308,842
349,655	2	Central Asia Metals PLC, 4.058% (1-month USLIBOR+3.850%), 11/ 3/2022	8/2/2021	349,655	327,211
8,000,000	2	China Hongqiao Group Ltd., 3.921% (1-month USLIBOR +3.800%), 3/30/2024	6/3/2021	8,000,000	8,000,000
6,829,545	2	Harmony Gold Mining Co. Ltd., 3.264% (3-month USLIBOR +3.050%), 10/5/2023	7/31/2018- 7/6/2021	6,848,795	6,863,693
10,000,000	2	PJSC Acron, 1.931% (1-month USLIBOR +1.700%), 5/18/2026	11/26/2021	10,000,000	8,775,109
10,000,000	2	PJSC MMC Norilsk Nickel, 1.857% (SOFR +1.400%), 2/20/2025	11/30/2020- 10/22/2021	9,956,125	8,240,568

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Foreign Currency Par Amount, Principal Amount or Shares			Acquisition Date1	Acquisition Cost in U.S. Dollars1	Value in U.S. Dollars
	1	TRADE FINANCE AGREEMENTS—   continued
		Basic Industry - Metals/Mining Excluding Steel—   continued
$ 1,000,000		Tasiast Mauritanie Ltd. SA, 4.545%, 12/15/2027	10/15/2020	$ 1,000,000	$  1,000,000
500,000	2	Uralkali PJSC, 4.655% (1-month USLIBOR +2.200%), 5/20/2025	9/9/2020	497,500	335,337
		TOTAL			42,335,504
		Basic Industry - Steel Producers/Products—   1.4%
8,000,000		Companhia Siderurgica Nacional SA, 4.238%, 5/17/2022	2/18/2022	7,920,888	7,956,338
		Building & Development—   0.8%
4,500,000	2	IHS Zambia Ltd., 5.239% (3-month USLIBOR +5.000%), 12/15/2027	11/26/2021	4,494,250	4,518,896
		Capital Goods - Aerospace & Defense—   0.0%
185,182	2	Gulf Air BSC, 3.718% (1-month USLIBOR +3.250%), 4/19/2022	3/27/2017	185,460	185,183
		Consumer Goods - Food - Wholesale—   5.4%
6,214,286	2	Ghana Cocoa Board, 1.557% (1-month USLIBOR +1.100%), 8/31/2022	10/12/2021- 2/24/2022	6,214,286	6,185,424
412,500	2	Ghana Cocoa Board, 4.615% (6-month USLIBOR +4.400%), 11/12/2024	5/13/2020- 8/11/2021	412,500	412,379
5,750,000	2	International Beverage Tashkent, 5.483% (3-month USLIBOR +4.500%), 12/29/2026	12/28/2021- 3/8/2022	5,750,000	5,710,482
10,000,000		JBS SA, 2.100%, 9/23/2022	10/26/2021	10,000,000	10,000,000
7,500,000		TOI Commodities SA, 4.957%, 7/1/2022	9/29/2021- 1/26/2022	7,500,000	7,396,858
500,000	2	Ulker Biskuvi Sanayi AS, 3.266% (6-month USLIBOR +3.100%), 4/20/2023	2/18/2021	500,750	481,182
894,737	2,3,4,5	Vicentin SAIC II, 6.241% (3-month USLIBOR +6.000%), 1/15/2024	1/8/2018- 2/21/2018	894,737	134,210
		TOTAL			30,320,535

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Foreign Currency Par Amount, Principal Amount or Shares			Acquisition Date1	Acquisition Cost in U.S. Dollars1	Value in U.S. Dollars
	1	TRADE FINANCE AGREEMENTS—   continued
		Energy - Exploration & Production—   7.7%
$ 8,000,000	2	Chrysaor E&P Finance Ltd., 4.146% (1-month USLIBOR +3.140%), 11/23/2027	8/2/2021	$ 7,976,000	$  8,000,000
670,546	2	FPF005 PTE Ltd. Singapore, Inc., 3.606% (3-month USLIBOR +2.600%), 8/13/2024	12/19/2019	667,193	669,698
474,953		Prime Oil and Gas BV, 4.207%, 12/5/2024	9/17/2019	471,391	472,536
538,461	2	SOCAR Energy ’18, 2.562% (12-month USLIBOR +2.200%), 11/8/2023	11/26/2019	536,039	527,843
5,000,000	2	SOCAR Energy, 4.114% (6-month USLIBOR +3.450%), 8/11/2026	8/11/2021	4,957,500	4,965,752
5,355,847	2	Sonangol Finance Ltd., 4.707% (2-month USLIBOR +4.250%), 12/20/2023	5/14/2021- 6/16/2021	5,250,852	5,355,847
5,300,000	2	Sonangol Finance Ltd., 5.707% (1-month USLIBOR +5.250%), 9/30/2026	9/15/2021	5,247,000	5,300,000
3,333,333		State Oil Co. Of The Azer, 3.481%, 2/22/2024	5/4/2021	3,312,833	3,262,554
8,000,000		Vitol S.A., 1.148%, 4/1/2022	3/18/2022	7,997,193	7,999,760
6,750,000	2	Yibal Export Pdo, 1.831% (1-month USLIBOR +1.600%), 6/30/2023	3/20/2019- 6/8/2021	6,747,177	6,750,000
		TOTAL			43,303,990
		Energy - Gas Distribution—    1.8%
9,738,805		Venture Global Calcasieu Pass LLC, 2.820% - 2.896%, 8/19/2026	1/28/2021- 3/24/2022	9,723,805	9,738,805
		Energy - Integrated Energy—    3.1%
9,000,000		Puma International Financing SA, 5.870%, 1/20/2023	9/30/2019- 9/24/2021	8,895,250	8,802,756
5,999,509	2	Staatsolie Maatschappij Suriname NV, 3.000% (0.50% Base rate + 2.500%), 5/23/2025	6/30/2021	5,999,509	5,950,098

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Foreign Currency Par Amount, Principal Amount or Shares			Acquisition Date1	Acquisition Cost in U.S. Dollars1	Value in U.S. Dollars
	1	TRADE FINANCE AGREEMENTS—   continued
		Energy - Integrated Energy—    continued
$ 2,657,702	2	Staatsolie Maatschappij Suriname NV, 5.750% (0.50% Base rate + 5.250%), 5/23/2025	6/21/2019	$ 2,657,702	$  2,635,813
		TOTAL			17,388,667
		Energy - Oil Refining and Marketing—   14.6%
487,500	2	Dangote, 7.304% (6-month USLIBOR +6.500%), 8/31/2023	2/6/2017	481,621	484,475
8,000,000		Monroe Energy LLC, 2.340%, 4/4/2022	3/21/2022	7,993,240	8,000,000
7,499,999		Pakistan, Government of, 2.695% - 2.740%, 9/23/2022	6/14/2021- 9/27/2021	7,499,999	7,322,761
7,500,000		Pakistan, Government of, 3.693%, 2/24/2023	11/9/2021- 2/28/2022	7,500,000	7,022,035
EUR 1,921,924		Societe Natio D Electr Du Sen 2021 Eur Term Loan, 3.825%, 10/5/2023	3/31/2022	2,126,127	2,126,127
$ 6,000,000		Trafigura Pte Ltd. (“Sierra” and “Carrizal”), 1.860%, 4/21/2022	6/25/2021	6,000,000	5,986,006
4,093,750		Trafigura Pte Ltd., 1.868%, 4/21/2022	1/28/2022	4,093,750	4,089,300
8,500,000	2	Trafigura Pte Ltd., 2.255% (1-month USLIBOR +1.800%), 9/23/2022	12/16/2021	8,500,000	8,427,558
8,999,423	2	Trafigura Pte Ltd., 2.459% (1-month USLIBOR +0.025%), 3/31/2025	2/28/2022- 3/16/2022	8,999,423	8,999,423
5,238,200	2	Trafigura Pte Ltd., 3.147% (1-month USLIBOR +2.750%), 4/14/2022	9/29/2021	5,238,200	5,233,948
7,534,884	2	Trafigura Pte Ltd., 3.756% (3-month USLIBOR +2.750%), 12/30/2022	9/29/2021	7,534,884	7,454,240
6,329,025	2	Tupi Nordeste SARL, 2.103% (3-month USLIBOR +1.900%), 6/15/2023	12/28/2021	6,329,025	6,316,326
10,465,414	2	Yinson Bornia Production, 3.549% (3-month USLIBOR +3.250%), 8/11/2026	12/17/2021- 3/21/2022	10,465,414	10,465,414
		TOTAL			81,927,613

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Foreign Currency Par Amount, Principal Amount or Shares			Acquisition Date1	Acquisition Cost in U.S. Dollars1	Value in U.S. Dollars
	1	TRADE FINANCE AGREEMENTS—   continued
		Foreign Sovereign—   10.9%
EUR 706,000	2	Bank of Industry Ltd. - Central Bank of Nigeria, 4.500% (3-month EURIBOR +4.500%), 2/14/2025	3/10/2020- 3/17/2020	$   782,297	$    781,012
$ 4,666,800	2	Bank of Industry Ltd. - Central Bank of Nigeria, 6.803% (3-month USLIBOR +6.000%), 12/11/2023	4/21/2021	4,713,468	4,686,463
EUR 4,800,000		Benin, Government of, 1.870%, 12/21/2026	12/21/2021	5,415,841	5,053,937
5,200,000	2	Benin, Government of, 4.300% (6-month EURIBOR +4.300%), 12/21/2026	12/23/2021	5,893,941	5,698,195
4,444,440		Burkina Faso, Government of, 3.300%, 12/10/2022	3/7/2022	4,830,881	4,916,661
6,222,300		Cote D’Ivoire, Government of, 4.950%, 12/31/2025	9/4/2019- 8/25/2021	7,245,506	6,853,009
$ 7,492,161		Egypt, Government of, 2.475%, 3/13/2023	7/7/2021- 3/15/2022	7,492,161	7,440,081
5,847,145		Egypt, Government of, 3.680%, 3/27/2023	11/26/2021- 3/30/2022	5,847,145	5,814,389
46,841		Egypt, Government of, 4.140%, 5/10/2022	4/16/2021- 5/7/2021	46,841	46,623
6,000,000	2	Energy Development Oman, 3.965% (3-month USLIBOR + 3.000%), 8/14/2028	11/2/2021- 11/5/2021	5,969,544	6,000,000
EUR 3,500,000	2	Minister of Finance of Ukraine, 4.100% (3-month EURIBOR +4.100%), 9/15/2023	8/26/2021	4,114,075	3,155,317
$   142,857	2	Ministry of Finance Tanzania, 5.526% (6-month USLIBOR +5.200%), 6/23/2022	6/26/2017	142,000	142,857
EUR 2,000,000	2	Senegal, Government of, 4.350% (6-month EURIBOR +4.350%), 10/7/2026	2/23/2022	2,260,901	2,183,779
$   500,000	2	Sharjah Govt., 1.843% (3-month USLIBOR +1.200%), 3/4/2024	9/21/2020	497,500	500,000
8,000,000	2	Turkiye Ihracat Kredi Bankasi A.S., 2.394% (6-month USLIBOR +2.150%), 5/24/2022	5/21/2021	8,000,000	8,000,000
		TOTAL			61,272,323

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12

Foreign Currency Par Amount, Principal Amount or Shares			Acquisition Date1	Acquisition Cost in U.S. Dollars1	Value in U.S. Dollars
	1	TRADE FINANCE AGREEMENTS—   continued
		Lease—   3.3%
$ 9,568,647		AerCap Holdings NV, 2.456%, 12/31/2025	11/23/2021	$ 9,571,091	$  9,475,540
9,000,000	2	Far East Horizon Ltd., 2.285% (3-month USLIBOR +1.400%), 9/10/2024	9/15/2021	9,000,000	8,730,997
		TOTAL			18,206,537
		Supranational—   4.0%
9,000,000	2	Africa Finance Corp., 1.896% (3-month USLIBOR +0.900%), 1/17/2025	3/11/2022	9,000,000	9,000,000
5,753,657		African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), 2.462%, 3/6/2023	3/10/2022	5,753,657	5,753,658
7,500,000		Eastern and Southern African Trade and Development Bank, 2.377% - 2.407%, 12/17/2022	12/16/2020- 8/4/2021	7,474,750	7,500,000
		TOTAL			22,253,658
		Telecommunications - Wireless—   2.1%
5,200,000		IHS Towers NG Ltd., 4.576%, 9/18/2024	9/14/2021	5,200,000	5,209,558
EUR 6,000,000	2	PTI Iberica IV, Spanish, Inc., 3.250% (3-month EURIBOR +3.250%), 6/26/2028	9/28/2021	7,008,904	6,605,342
		TOTAL			11,814,900
		Transportation - Airlines—   0.3%
$ 1,547,575		Avolon Aerospace, 2.817% - 3.138%, 3/31/2025	11/27/2019	1,554,926	1,491,458
		Transportation - Transport Infrastructure/Services—   0.2%
610,897	2	Armenia International Airports CJSC, 5.761% (6-month USLIBOR +5.500%), 6/15/2024	12/28/2017	617,006	600,415
308,901	2	Asyaport, 4.767% (6-month USLIBOR +4.400%), 1/10/2024	1/31/2017	308,901	308,901
213,911	2	Autopistas Urbanas SA (AUSA), 4.006% (3-month USLIBOR +3.500%), 11/15/2022	11/13/2017	210,702	212,767
		TOTAL			1,122,083

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Foreign Currency Par Amount, Principal Amount or Shares			Acquisition Date1	Acquisition Cost in U.S. Dollars1	Value in U.S. Dollars
	1	TRADE FINANCE AGREEMENTS—   continued
		Utility - Electric-Generation—    1.9%
$ 5,700,000	2	Karadeniz Powership Osman Khan Co., Ltd., 6.631% (6-month USLIBOR +5.500%), 9/15/2026	10/14/2021	$ 5,643,000	$  5,667,603
3,603,139	2	Karpowership, 5.326% (6-month USLIBOR +4.500%), 2/28/2025	7/30/2020- 7/9/2021	3,572,947	3,624,330
466,576	2	SMN Barka Power Co. S.A.O.C., 1.258% (6-month USLIBOR +1.100%), 3/28/2024	12/2/2020	429,250	450,830
1,000,000	2	The Sharjah Electricity and Water Authority, 2.933% (1-month USLIBOR +1.950%), 12/23/2025	12/21/2020- 1/12/2021	998,425	1,000,000
92,541		Tunisia, Government of, 2.462% -2.636%, 5/6/2022	3/23/2022	92,541	92,541
		TOTAL			10,835,304
		TOTAL TRADE FINANCE AGREEMENTS (IDENTIFIED COST $524,240,324)			513,257,286
		INVESTMENT COMPANY—   4.4%
24,866,783		Federated Hermes Institutional Prime Value Obligations Fund, Institutional Shares, 0.34%6 (IDENTIFIED COST $24,855,876)			24,856,836
		TOTAL INVESTMENT IN SECURITIES—96.0% (IDENTIFIED COST $549,096,200)7			538,114,122
		OTHER ASSETS AND LIABILITIES - NET—4.0%8			22,571,029
		TOTAL NET ASSETS—100%			$560,685,151

At March 31, 2022, the Fund had the following outstanding foreign exchange contracts: 

Settlement Date	Counterparty	Foreign Currency Units to Deliver/Receive		In Exchange For	Net Unrealized Appreciation/ (Depreciation)
Contracts Purchased:
4/14/2022	JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A.	3,525,000	EUR	$4,112,061	$(211,438)
4/14/2022	Morgan Stanley	3,542,000	EUR	$4,136,541	$(209,002)

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Settlement Date	Counterparty	Foreign Currency Units to Deliver/Receive		In Exchange For	Net Unrealized Appreciation/ (Depreciation)
Contracts Sold:
4/14/2022	State Street Bank & Trust Co.	1,000,000	EUR	$1,116,519	$9,959
4/14/2022	State Street Bank & Trust Co.	2,000,000	EUR	$2,271,780	$58,660
4/14/2022	State Street Bank & Trust Co.	3,250,000	EUR	$3,547,733	$(48,586)
6/1/2022	Morgan Stanley	5,050,000	EUR	$6,009,507	$411,542
6/8/2022	Morgan Stanley	7,580,000	EUR	$9,020,567	$615,499
6/8/2022	State Street Bank & Trust Co.	3,525,000	EUR	$4,108,033	$207,410
6/8/2022	State Street Bank & Trust Co.	3,542,000	EUR	$4,132,490	$204,950
6/15/2022	Morgan Stanley	10,100,000	EUR	$12,022,267	$818,966
6/15/2022	State Street Bank & Trust Co.	32,464,500	EUR	$35,804,928	$(118,985)
NET UNREALIZED APPRECIATION ON FOREIGN EXCHANGE CONTRACTS					$1,738,975

Net Unrealized Appreciation on Foreign Exchange Contracts is included in “Other Assets and Liabilities—Net.”

Affiliated fund holdings are investment companies which are managed by the Adviser or an affiliate of the Adviser. Transactions with affiliated fund holdings during the period ended March 31, 2022, were as follows: 

	Federated Hermes Institutional Prime Value Obligations Fund, Institutional Shares
Value as of 3/31/2021	$352,628
Purchases at Cost	$684,859,515
Proceeds from Sales	$(660,313,109)
Change in Unrealized Appreciation/Depreciation	$960
Net Realized Gain/(Loss)	$(43,158)
Value as of 3/31/2022	$24,856,836
Shares Held as of 3/31/2022	24,866,783
Dividend Income	$46,604
Gain Distributions Received	$12,960

 

1	Denotes a restricted security that either: (a) cannot be offered for public sale without first being registered, or availing of an exemption from registration, under the Securities Act of 1933; or (b) is subject to a contractual restriction on public sales. At March 31, 2022, these restricted securities amounted to $513,257,286, which represented 91.6% of total net assets.
2	Floating/variable note with current rate and current maturity or next reset date shown.
3	Fair value determined by a valuation committee using significant unobservable inputs in accordance with procedures established by and under the general supervision of the Fund’s Board of Trustees (the “Trustees”).
4	Issuer in default.
5	Non-income-producing security.
6	7-day net yield.

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15

7	The cost of investments for federal tax purposes amounts to $549,115,662.
8	Assets, other than investments in securities, less liabilities. See Statement of Assets and Liabilities.

Note: The categories of investments are shown as a percentage of total net assets at March 31, 2022.

Various inputs are used in determining the value of the Fund’s investments. These inputs are summarized in the three broad levels listed below:

Level 1—quoted prices in active markets for identical securities.

Level 2—other significant observable inputs (including quoted prices for similar securities, interest rates, prepayment speeds, credit risk, etc.). Also includes securities valued at amortized cost.

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

The inputs or methodology used for valuing securities are not an indication of the risk associated with investing in those securities.

The following is a summary of the inputs used, as of March 31, 2022, in valuing the Fund’s assets carried at fair value: 

Valuation Inputs
	Level 1— Quoted Prices	Level 2— Other Significant Observable Inputs	Level 3— Significant Unobservable Inputs	Total
Debt Securities:
Trade Finance Agreements	$—	$—	$513,257,286	$513,257,286
Investment Company	24,856,836	—	—	24,856,836
TOTAL SECURITIES	$24,856,836	$—	$513,257,286	$538,114,122
Other Financial Instruments1
Assets	$—	$2,326,986	$—	$2,326,986
Liabilities	—	(588,011)	—	(588,011)
TOTAL OTHER FINANCIAL INSTRUMENTS	$—	$1,738,975	$—	$1,738,975

 

1 Other financial instruments are foreign exchange contracts.

Trade finance agreements’ fair values are primarily derived from discounted cash flow methodologies utilizing unobservable inputs due to the lack of market transactions. The discount rate used within the methodologies to discount the future anticipated cash flows is considered a significant unobservable input. Increases/(decreases) in the discount rate would result in a (decrease)/increase to an investment’s fair value. The discount rates used as of March 31, 2022, as inputs for valuing Fund investments ranged from (0.470)% to 85% and the weighted average discount rate based on the Value in U.S. Dollars is 4.17%.

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16

Following is a reconciliation of assets in which significant unobservable inputs (Level 3) were used in determining fair value: 

	Investments in Trade Finance Agreements
Balance as of 3/31/2021	$38,053,890
Accreted/amortized discount/premiums	1,211,726
Realized gain (loss)	(1,240,563)
Change in unrealized appreciation/depreciation	(10,536,160)
Purchases	717,873,064
(Sales)	(232,104,671)
Balance as of 3/31/2022	$513,257,286
Total change in unrealized appreciation/depreciation attributable to investments still held at 3/31/2022	$(10,560,203)

 

The following acronym(s) are used throughout this portfolio:
CJSC	—Closed Joint Stock Company
EUR	—Euro Currency
EURIBOR	—Euro Interbank Offered Rate
LIBOR	—London Interbank Offered Rate
SOFR	—Secured Overnight Financing Rate

See Notes which are an integral part of the Financial Statements

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Financial Highlights

(For a Share Outstanding Throughout Each Period) 

	Year Ended March 31,
	2022	2021	2020	2019	2018
Net Asset Value, Beginning of Period	$9.92	$9.71	$9.98	$10.00	$10.02
Income From Investment Operations:
Net investment income (loss)	0.191	0.251	0.391	0.45	0.281
Net realized and unrealized gain (loss)	(0.11)	0.22	(0.27)	(0.01)	0.02
TOTAL FROM INVESTMENT OPERATIONS	0.08	0.47	0.12	0.44	0.30
Less Distributions:
Distributions from net investment income	(0.20)	(0.26)	(0.38)	(0.45)	(0.32)
Distributions from net realized gain	(0.00)2	(0.00)2	(0.01)	(0.01)	(0.00)2
TOTAL DISTRIBUTIONS	(0.20)	(0.26)	(0.39)	(0.46)	(0.32)
Net Asset Value, End of Period	$9.80	$9.92	$9.71	$9.98	$10.00
Total Return3	0.80%	4.91%	1.13%	4.42%	3.04%
Ratios to Average Net Assets:
Net expenses4	0.41%	0.71%	0.71%	0.70%	0.67%
Net investment income	1.94%	2.57%	3.94%	4.44%	2.74%
Expense waiver/reimbursement5	0.22%	0.44%	0.32%	0.29%	0.34%
Supplemental Data:
Net assets, end of period (000 omitted)	$560,685	$39,835	$63,873	$51,680	$49,484
Portfolio turnover6	36%	47%	73%	57%	39%

 

1	Per share numbers have been calculated using the average shares method.
2	Represents less than $0.01.
3	Based on net asset value.
4	Amount does not reflect net expenses incurred by investment companies in which the Fund may invest.
5	This expense decrease is reflected in both the net expense and the net investment income ratios shown above. Amount does not reflect expense waiver/reimbursement recorded by investment companies in which the Fund may invest.
6	Securities that mature are considered sales for purposes of this calculation.

See Notes which are an integral part of the Financial Statements

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18

Statement of Assets and Liabilities
March 31, 2022

 

Assets:
Investment in securities, at value including $24,856,836 of investments in an affiliated holding* (identified cost $549,096,200)	$538,114,122
Cash	1,474,165
Income receivable	2,678,474
Income receivable from an affiliated holding	12,024
Receivable for investments sold	9,000,617
Receivable for shares sold	10,000,000
Unrealized appreciation on foreign exchange contracts	2,326,986
Total Assets	563,606,388
Liabilities:
Payable for investments purchased	2,126,127
Unrealized depreciation on foreign exchange contracts	588,011
Bank overdraft denominated in foreign currencies (identified cost $40,517)	40,827
Due to broker	5,126
Payable for investment adviser fee (Note 5)	4,017
Payable for auditing fees	25,274
Accrued expenses (Note 5)	131,855
Total Liabilities	2,921,237
Net assets for 57,184,401 shares outstanding	$560,685,151
Net Assets Consist of:
Paid-in capital	$569,138,321
Total distributable earnings (loss)	(8,453,170)
Total Net Assets	$560,685,151
Net Asset Value, Offering Price and Redemption Proceeds Per Share:
$560,685,151 ÷ 57,184,401 shares outstanding, no par value, unlimited shares authorized	$9.80

 

* See information listed after the Fund’s Portfolio of Investments.

See Notes which are an integral part of the Financial Statements

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19

Statement of Operations
Year Ended March 31, 2022

 

Investment Income:
Interest	$10,652,824
Dividends received from an affiliated holding*	46,604
TOTAL INCOME	10,699,428
Expenses:
Investment adviser fee (Note 5)	2,283,481
Administrative fee (Note 5)	1,504
Custodian fees	24,118
Transfer agent fees	110,959
Directors’/Trustees’ fees (Note 5)	8,303
Auditing fees	46,682
Legal fees	12,408
Portfolio accounting fees	280,000
Share registration costs	38,089
Printing and postage	18,090
Miscellaneous (Note 5)	30,083
TOTAL EXPENSES	2,853,717
Waivers and Reimbursements:
Waiver/reimbursement of investment adviser fee (Note 5)	(982,825)
Reimbursement of other operating expenses (Note 5)	(11,067)
TOTAL WAIVERS AND REIMBURSEMENTS	(993,892)
Net expenses	1,859,825
Net investment income	8,839,603

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20

Statement of Operations–continued

Realized and Unrealized Gain (Loss) on Investments, Foreign Currency Transactions and Foreign Exchange Contracts:
Net realized loss on investments (including net realized loss of $(43,158) on sales of investments in an affiliated holding*)	$(1,283,721)
Net realized loss on foreign currency transactions	(891,202)
Net realized gain on foreign exchange contracts	4,596,672
Realized gain distribution from affiliated investment company shares*	12,960
Net change in unrealized depreciation of investments (including net change in unrealized appreciation of $960 on investments in an affiliated holding*)	(10,535,200)
Net change in unrealized appreciation of translation of assets and liabilities in foreign currency	852
Net change in unrealized appreciation of foreign exchange contracts	1,643,285
Net realized and unrealized gain (loss) on investments, foreign currency transactions and foreign exchange contracts	(6,456,354)
Change in net assets resulting from operations	$2,383,249

 

* See information listed after the Fund’s Portfolio of Investments.

See Notes which are an integral part of the Financial Statements

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Statement of Changes in Net Assets 

 

Year Ended March 31	2022	2021
Increase (Decrease) in Net Assets
Operations:
Net investment income	$8,839,603	$1,431,570
Net realized gain (loss)	2,434,709	(172,132)
Net change in unrealized appreciation/depreciation	(8,891,063)	1,525,080
CHANGE IN NET ASSETS RESULTING FROM OPERATIONS	2,383,249	2,784,518
Distributions to Shareholders	(10,523,247)	(1,299,952)
Share Transactions:
Proceeds from sale of shares	540,000,000	—
Net asset value of shares issued to shareholders in payment of distributions declared	5,378,588	986,668
Cost of shares redeemed	(16,388,482)	(26,509,539)
CHANGE IN NET ASSETS RESULTING FROM SHARE TRANSACTIONS	528,990,106	(25,522,871)
Change in net assets	520,850,108	(24,038,305)
Net Assets:
Beginning of period	39,835,043	63,873,348
End of period	$560,685,151	$39,835,043

See Notes which are an integral part of the Financial Statements

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Statement of Cash Flows
Year Ended March 31, 2022

 

Operating Activities:
Change in net assets resulting from operations	$2,383,249
Adjustments to Reconcile Change in Net Assets Resulting From Operations to Net Cash Used By Operating Activities:
Purchase of investment securities	(717,873,064)
Proceeds from disposition of investment securities	232,104,671
Purchase of short-term investments, net	(24,546,406)
Amortization/accretion of premium/discount, net	(1,211,726)
Increase in income receivable	(2,391,226)
Increase in receivable for investments sold	(7,885,102)
Increase in payable for investments purchased	2,126,127
Increase in accrued expenses	69,106
Net realized loss on investments	1,283,721
Net change in unrealized appreciation/depreciation of investments	10,535,200
Net change in unrealized appreciation of foreign exchange contracts	(1,643,285)
Net Cash Used By Operating Activities	(507,048,735)
Financing Activities:
Increase in cash overdraft	40,827
Proceeds from sale of shares	530,000,000
Income distributions to participants	(5,144,659)
Payments for units redeemed	(16,388,482)
Net Cash Provided By Financing Activities	508,507,686
Increase in cash	1,458,951
Cash at beginning of year	15,214
Cash at end of year	$1,474,165

Non-cash financing activities not included herein consist of reinvestment of dividends and distributions to participants of $5,378,588.See Notes which are an integral part of the Financial Statements

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Notes to Financial Statements

March 31, 2022

1. ORGANIZATION

Federated Hermes Project and Trade Finance Tender Fund (the “Fund”) was organized as a Delaware statutory trust on June 30, 2016, as a continuously offered, non-diversified, closed-end management investment company. The Fund is registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, and the Securities Act of 1933, as amended. The Fund’s investment objective is to provide total return primarily from income.

2. SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES

The following is a summary of significant accounting policies consistently followed by the Fund in the preparation of its financial statements. These policies are in conformity with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP).

Investment Valuation

In calculating its net asset value (NAV), the Fund generally values investments as follows:

◾

Fixed-income securities are fair valued using price evaluations provided by a pricing service approved by the Trustees.

◾

Shares of other mutual funds or non-exchange-traded investment companies are valued based upon their reported NAVs, or NAV per share practical expedient, as applicable.

◾

Equity securities listed on an exchange or traded through a regulated market system are valued at their last reported sale price or official closing price in their principal exchange or market.

◾

Derivative contracts listed on exchanges are valued at their reported settlement or closing price, except that options are valued at the mean of closing bid and asked quotations.

◾

Over-the-counter (OTC) derivative contracts are fair valued using price evaluations provided by a pricing service approved by the Trustees.

◾

For securities that are fair valued in accordance with procedures established by and under the general supervision of the Trustees, certain factors may be considered, such as: the last traded or purchase price of the security, information obtained by contacting the issuer or dealers, analysis of the issuer’s financial statements or other available documents, fundamental analytical data, the nature and duration of restrictions on disposition, the movement of the market in which the security is normally traded, public trading in similar securities or derivative contracts of the issuer or comparable issuers, movement of a relevant index, or other factors including but not limited to industry changes and relevant government actions.

If any price, quotation, price evaluation or other pricing source is not readily available when the NAV is calculated, if the Fund cannot obtain price evaluations from a pricing service or from more than one dealer for an investment within a reasonable period of time as set forth in the Fund’s valuation policies and procedures, or if information furnished by a pricing service, in the opinion of the valuation committee (“Valuation Committee”), is deemed not representative of the fair value of such security, the Fund uses the fair value of the investment determined in accordance with the procedures described below. There can be no assurance that the Fund could obtain the fair value assigned to an investment if it sold the investment at approximately the time at which the Fund determines its NAV per share, and the actual value obtained could be materially different.

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Fair Valuation and Significant Events Procedures

The Trustees have ultimate responsibility for determining the fair value of investments for which market quotations are not readily available. The Trustees have appointed a Valuation Committee comprised of officers of the Fund, Federated Investment Management Company (the “Adviser”) and certain of the Adviser’s affiliated companies to assist in determining fair value and in overseeing the calculation of the NAV. The Trustees have also authorized the use of pricing services recommended by the Valuation Committee to provide fair value evaluations of the current value of certain investments for purposes of calculating the NAV. The Valuation Committee employs various methods for reviewing third-party pricing-service evaluations including periodic reviews of third-party pricing services’ policies, procedures and valuation methods (including key inputs, methods, models and assumptions), transactional back-testing, comparisons of evaluations of different pricing services, and review of price challenges by the Adviser based on recent market activity. In the event that market quotations and price evaluations are not available for an investment, the Valuation Committee determines the fair value of the investment in accordance with procedures adopted by the Trustees. The Trustees periodically review and approve the fair valuations made by the Valuation Committee and any changes made to the procedures.

The Fund’s investments in trade finance agreements are primarily determined by applying discounted cash flow methodologies utilizing various inputs such as available or implied credit ratings, loan characteristics, seniority, collateral, comparable debt instruments, yield curves or indices, broader loan data, bond data and bond sector curves. When appropriate, other considerations may include asset liquidation analyses, internal credit assessments and general market conditions. The Fund utilizes third-party pricing specialists in determining its valuations. Typically, there are no other sources of evaluations for these investments and the inputs utilized are less observable. Additionally, trade finance agreements are typically held to maturity by investors and therefore do not trade on a consistent basis. Accordingly, executed trade prices are usually unavailable and thus, generally cannot be relied upon to support valuations of these investments. Therefore, inputs unobservable in active markets must be relied upon more heavily and as such, the Fund’s management has determined these to be Level 3 investments. The prices realized for these investments upon sale may be different than prices used by the Fund to value them and the differences could be material.

Some pricing services provide a single price evaluation reflecting the bid-side of the market for an investment (a “bid” evaluation). Other pricing services offer both bid evaluations and price evaluations indicative of a price between the prices bid and asked for the investment (a “mid” evaluation). The Fund normally uses bid evaluations for any U.S. Treasury and Agency securities, mortgage-backed securities and municipal securities. The Fund normally uses mid evaluations for any other types of fixed-income securities and any OTC derivative contracts. In the event that market quotations and price evaluations are not available for an investment, the fair value of the investment is determined in accordance with procedures adopted by the Trustees.

The Trustees also have adopted procedures requiring an investment to be priced at its fair value whenever the Adviser determines that a significant event affecting the value of the investment has occurred between the time as of which the price of the investment would otherwise be determined and the time as of which the NAV is computed. An event is considered significant if there is both an affirmative expectation

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25

that the investment’s value will change in response to the event and a reasonable basis for quantifying the resulting change in value. Examples of significant events that may occur after the close of the principal market on which a security is traded, or after the time of a price evaluation provided by a pricing service or a dealer, include:

◾

With respect to securities traded principally in foreign markets, significant trends in U.S. equity markets or in the trading of foreign securities index futures contracts;

◾

Political or other developments affecting the economy or markets in which an issuer conducts its operations or its securities are traded;

◾

Announcements concerning matters such as acquisitions, recapitalizations, litigation developments, or a natural disaster affecting the issuer’s operations or regulatory changes or market developments affecting the issuer’s industry.

The Trustees have adopted procedures whereby the Valuation Committee uses a pricing service to provide factors to update the fair value of equity securities traded principally in foreign markets from the time of the close of their respective foreign stock exchanges to the pricing time of the Fund. For other significant events, the Fund may seek to obtain more current quotations or price evaluations from alternative pricing sources. If a reliable alternative pricing source is not available, the Fund will determine the fair value of the investment in accordance with the fair valuation procedures approved by the Trustees. The Trustees have ultimate responsibility for any fair valuations made in response to a significant event.

Investment Income, Gains and Losses, Expenses and Distributions

Investment transactions are accounted for on a trade-date basis. Realized gains and losses from investment transactions are recorded on an identified-cost basis. Interest income and expenses are accrued daily. Dividend income and distributions to shareholders are recorded on the ex-dividend date. Foreign dividends are recorded on the ex-dividend date or when the Fund is informed of the ex-dividend date. Distributions of net investment income, if any, are declared and paid quarterly. Non-cash dividends included in dividend income, if any, are recorded at fair value. Amortization/accretion of premium and discount is included in investment income. The detail of the total fund expense waiver and reimbursements of $993,892 is disclosed in Note 5.

Federal Taxes

It is the Fund’s policy to comply with the Subchapter M provision of the Internal Revenue Code and to distribute to shareholders each year substantially all of its income. Accordingly, no provision for federal income tax is necessary. As of and during the year ended March 31, 2022, the Fund did not have a liability for any uncertain tax positions. The Fund recognizes interest and penalties, if any, related to tax liabilities as income tax expense in the Statement of Operations. As of March 31, 2022, tax years 2019 through 2022 remain subject to examination by the Fund’s major tax jurisdictions, which include the United States of America and the State of Delaware.

The Fund may be subject to taxes imposed by governments of countries in which it invests. Such taxes are generally based on either income or gains earned or repatriated. The Fund accrues and applies such taxes to net investment income, net realized gains and net unrealized gains as income and/or gains are earned.

Foreign Exchange Contracts

The Fund may enter into foreign exchange contracts to seek to increase returns and to manage currency risk. Purchased contracts are used to acquire exposure to foreign currencies, whereas, contracts to sell are used to hedge the Fund’s securities against currency fluctuations. Risks may arise upon entering into these transactions from the

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potential inability of counterparties to meet the terms of their commitments and from unanticipated movements in security prices or foreign exchange rates. The foreign exchange contracts are adjusted by the daily exchange rate of the underlying currency and any gains or losses are recorded for financial statement purposes as unrealized until the settlement date.

Foreign exchange contracts are subject to Master Netting Agreements which are agreements between the Fund and its counterparties that provide for the net settlement of all transactions and collateral with the Fund, through a single payment, in the event of default or termination. Amounts presented on the Portfolio of Investments and Statement of Assets and Liabilities are not net settlement amounts but gross.

Foreign exchange contracts outstanding at period end, including net unrealized appreciation/depreciation or net settlement amount, are listed after the Fund’s Portfolio of Investments.

The average value at settlement date payable and receivable of foreign exchange contracts purchased and sold by the Fund throughout the period was $156,956 and $1,477,796, respectively. This is based on the contracts held as of each month-end throughout the fiscal period.

Foreign Currency Translation

The accounting records of the Fund are maintained in U.S. dollars. All assets and liabilities denominated in foreign currencies are translated into U.S. dollars based on the rates of exchange of such currencies against U.S. dollars on the date of valuation. Purchases and sales of securities, income and expenses are translated at the rate of exchange quoted on the respective date that such transactions are recorded. The Fund does not isolate that portion of the results of operations resulting from changes in foreign exchange rates on investments from the fluctuations arising from changes in market prices of securities held. Such fluctuations are included with the net realized and unrealized gain or loss from investments.

Reported net realized foreign exchange gains or losses arise from sales of foreign currencies, currency gains or losses realized between the trade and settlement dates on securities transactions, the difference between the amounts of dividends, interest and foreign withholding taxes recorded on the Fund’s books, and the U.S. dollar equivalent of the amounts actually received or paid. Net unrealized foreign exchange gains and losses arise from changes in the value of assets and liabilities other than investments in securities at period end, resulting from changes in the exchange rate.

Restricted Securities

The Fund may purchase securities which are considered restricted. Restricted securities are securities that either: (a) cannot be offered for public sale without first being registered, or being able to take advantage of an exemption from registration, under the Securities Act of 1933; or (b) are subject to contractual restrictions on public sales. In some cases, when a security cannot be offered for public sale without first being registered, the issuer of the restricted security has agreed to register such securities for resale, at the issuer’s expense, either upon demand by the Fund or in connection with another registered offering of the securities. Many such restricted securities may be resold in the secondary market in transactions exempt from registration. Restricted securities may be determined to be liquid under criteria established by the Trustees. The Fund will not incur any registration costs upon such resales. The Fund’s restricted securities, like other securities, are priced in accordance with procedures established by and under the general supervision of the Trustees.

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Additional Disclosure Related to Derivative Instruments 

Fair Value of Derivative Instruments
	Assets		Liabilities
	Statement of Assets and Liabilities Location	Fair Value	Statement of Assets and Liabilities Location	Fair Value
Derivatives not accounted for as hedging instruments under ASC Topic 815
Foreign exchange contracts	Unrealized appreciation on foreign exchange contracts	$2,326,986	Unrealized depreciation on foreign exchange contracts	$588,011

The Effect of Derivative Instruments on the Statement of Operations for the Year Ended March 31, 2022 

Amount of Realized Gain or (Loss) on Derivatives Recognized in Income
	Foreign Exchange Contracts
Foreign exchange contracts	$4,596,672

 

Change in Unrealized Appreciation or (Depreciation) on Derivatives Recognized in Income
	Foreign Exchange Contracts
Foreign exchange contracts	$1,643,285

Other

The preparation of financial statements in conformity with GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the amounts of assets, liabilities, expenses and revenues reported in the financial statements. Actual results could differ materially from those estimated. The Fund applies investment company accounting and reporting guidance.

3. SHARES OF BENEFICIAL INTEREST

The following table summarizes share activity: 

	Year Ended 3/31/2022	Year Ended 3/31/2021
Shares sold	54,268,215	—
Shares issued to shareholders in payment of distributions declared	544,214	99,983
Shares redeemed	(1,641,945)	(2,662,522)
NET CHANGE RESULTING FROM FUND SHARE TRANSACTIONS	53,170,484	(2,562,539)

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Each Shareholder will automatically be a participant under the Fund’s Dividend Reinvestment Plan (DRP) and have all income dividends and/or capital gains distributions automatically reinvested in Shares. Election not to participate in the DRP and to receive all income dividends and/or capital gains distributions, if any, in cash may be made by notice to the Fund or, if applicable, to a Shareholder’s broker or other intermediary (who should be directed to inform the Fund).

4. FEDERAL TAX INFORMATION

The tax character of distributions as reported on the Statement of Changes in Net Assets for the years ended March 31, 2022 and 2021, was as follows: 

	2022	2021
Ordinary income1	$10,518,307	$1,296,093
Long-term capital gains	$4,940	$3,859

 

1 For tax purposes, short-term capital gain distributions are considered ordinary income distributions.

As of March 31, 2022, the components of distributable earnings on a tax-basis were as follows: 

Undistributed ordinary income1	$2,535,106
Net unrealized depreciation	$(11,000,755)
Undistributed long-term capital gains	$12,479

 

1 For tax purposes, short-term capital gains are considered ordinary income in determining distributable earnings.

The difference between book-basis and tax-basis net unrealized depreciation is attributable to differing treatments for defaulted securities and mark-to-market on foreign exchange contracts.

At March 31, 2022, the cost of investments for federal tax purposes was $549,115,662. The net unrealized depreciation of investments for federal tax purposes was $11,001,540. This consists of net unrealized appreciation from investments for those securities having an excess of value over cost of $423,159 and net unrealized depreciation from investments for those securities having an excess of cost over value of $11,424,699. The amounts presented are inclusive of derivative contracts.

The Fund used capital loss carryforwards of $8,251 to offset capital gains realized during the year ended March 31, 2022.

5. INVESTMENT ADVISER FEE AND OTHER TRANSACTIONS WITH AFFILIATES

Investment Adviser Fee

The advisory agreement between the Fund and the Adviser provides for an annual fee equal to 0.50% of the Fund’s average daily net assets. The Adviser and certain of its affiliates on their own initiative have agreed to waive their fees (if any), and/or reimburse expenses of the Fund for competitive reasons such as to maintain the Fund’s expense ratio, or as and when appropriate, to maintain positive or zero net yields. Total annual fund operating expenses (as shown in the financial highlights, excluding interest expense, extraordinary expenses, proxy-related expenses, premiums for risk insurance policies on portfolio securities and certain legal fees related to specific investments paid by the Fund, if any) paid by the Fund (after the voluntary waivers and reimbursements)

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will not exceed 0.40% of the Fund’s average daily net assets (the “Fee Limit”), up to but not including the later of (the “Termination Date”): (a) June 1, 2023; or (b) the date of the Fund’s next effective Prospectus. While the Adviser and its applicable affiliates currently do not anticipate terminating or increasing these arrangements prior to the Termination Date, these arrangements may only be terminated or the Fee Limit increased prior to the Termination Date with the agreement of the Trustees. For the year ended March 31, 2022, the Adviser voluntarily waived $888,585 of its fee and reimbursed $11,067 of certain operating expenses.

The Adviser has agreed to reimburse the Fund for certain investment adviser fees as a result of transactions in other affiliated investment companies. For the year ended March 31, 2022, the Adviser reimbursed $94,240.

Certain of the Fund’s assets are managed by Federated Hermes (UK) LLP (the “Sub-Adviser”) an affiliate of the Adviser. Under the terms of a sub-advisory agreement between the Adviser and the Sub-Adviser, the Sub-Adviser receives an annual fee equal to 0.39% of the daily net assets of the Fund. The fee is paid by the Adviser out of its resources and is not an incremental Fund expense. For the year ended March 31, 2022, the Sub-Adviser earned a fee of $1,781,115.

Administrative Services

Federated Administrative Services (FAS), under the Administrative Services Agreement, provides the Fund with administrative personnel and services. FAS does not charge the Fund an administrative services fee but is entitled to reimbursement for certain out-of-pocket expenses incurred in providing administrative services to the Fund.

Directors’/Trustees’ and Miscellaneous Fees

Certain Officers and Trustees of the Fund are Officers and Directors or Trustees of certain of the above companies. To efficiently facilitate payment, Independent Directors’/Trustees’ fees and certain expenses related to conducting meetings of the Directors/Trustees and other miscellaneous expenses are paid by an affiliate of the Adviser which in due course are reimbursed by the Fund. These expenses related to conducting meetings of the Directors/Trustees and other miscellaneous expenses may be included in Accrued and Miscellaneous Expenses on the Statement of Assets and Liabilities and Statement of Operations, respectively.

6. INVESTMENT TRANSACTIONS

Purchases and sales of investments, excluding long-term U.S. government securities and short-term obligations, for the year ended March 31, 2022, were as follows: 

Purchases	$348,053,027
Sales	$76,373,010

7. CONCENTRATION OF RISK

A substantial part of the Fund’s portfolio may be comprised of entities in the Energy and Banking sectors. As a result, the Fund may be more susceptible to any economic, business, political or other developments which generally affect these entities.

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The Fund invests in securities of non-U.S. issuers. Political or economic developments may have an effect on the liquidity and volatility of portfolio securities and currency holdings. At March 31, 2022, the diversification of countries was as follows: 

Country	Percentage of Total Net Assets
Brazil	15.0%
Turkey	9.7%
Egypt	5.7%
Nigeria	5.1%
Uzbekistan	4.7%
Angola	3.5%
Russia	3.1%
China	3.0%
Pakistan	2.6%
Oman	2.4%
Ghana	2.4%
Singapore	2.2%
Zambia	2.1%
Ireland	2.0%
Benin	1.7%
Azerbaijan	1.6%
Iraq	1.6%
Suriname	1.5%
Vietnam	1.5%
United Kingdom	1.4%
Switzerland	1.4%
Mauritius	1.3%
Moldova, Republic Of	1.3%
Tanzania, United Republic Of	1.3%
South Africa	1.2%
Cyprus	1.1%
Ivory Coast	1.1%
Mexico	1.1%
Senegal	1.0%
Congo, Republic Of	0.9%
Burkina Faso	0.8%
Ukraine	0.5%
Kazakhstan	0.3%
United Arab Emirates	0.3%
Mauritania	0.2%
Malaysia	0.1%
Armenia	0.1%
Ecuador	0.1%

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Country	Percentage of Total Net Assets
Argentina	0.1%
Bahrain	0.0%1
Philippines	0.0%1
Tunisia	0.0%1

 

1 Represents less than 0.1%.

8. OTHER MATTERS

An outbreak of respiratory disease caused by a novel coronavirus was first detected in China in late 2019 and subsequently spread globally. As of the date of the issuance of these financial statements, this coronavirus has resulted in closing borders, enhanced health screenings, disruptions to healthcare service preparation and delivery, quarantines, cancellations, and disruptions to supply chains, workflow operations and consumer activity, as well as general concern and uncertainty. The impact of this coronavirus may continue for an extended period of time and has resulted in substantial economic volatility. Health crises caused by outbreaks, such as the coronavirus outbreak, may exacerbate other pre-existing political, social and economic risks. The impact of this outbreak, and other epidemics and pandemics that may arise in the future, could continue to negatively affect the worldwide economy, as well as the economies of individual countries, individual companies (including certain Fund service providers and issuers of the Fund’s investments) and the markets in general in significant and unforeseen ways. Any such impact could adversely affect the Fund’s performance.

9. Recent Accounting Pronouncements

In January 2021, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) issued Accounting Standards Update (ASU) No. 2021-01 “Reference Rate Reform (Topic 848)”. ASU No. 2021-01 updates and clarifies ASU No. 2020-04, which provides optional, temporary relief with respect to the financial reporting of contracts subject to certain types of modifications due to the planned discontinuation of LIBOR and other interbank-offered reference rates. The temporary relief provided by ASU No. 2021-01 is effective immediately for certain reference rate-related contract modifications that occur through December 31, 2022. Management does not expect ASU No. 2021-01 to have a material impact on the financial statements.

10. FEDERAL TAX INFORMATION (UNAUDITED)

For the year ended March 31, 2022, the amount of long-term capital gains designated by the Fund was $4,940.

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Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm

To the Board of Trustees AND THE SHAREHOLDERS OF FEDERATED HERMES Project and Trade Finance Tender Fund:

Opinion on the Financial Statements

We have audited the accompanying statement of assets and liabilities of the Federated Hermes Project and Trade Finance Tender Fund (the Fund), including the portfolio of investments, as of March 31, 2022, the related statements of operations and cash flows for the year then ended, the statements of changes in net assets for each of the years in the two-year period then ended, and the related notes (collectively, the financial statements) and the financial highlights for each of the years in the five-year period then ended. In our opinion, the financial statements and financial highlights present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the Fund as of March 31, 2022, the results of its operations and its cash flows for the year then ended, the changes in its net assets for each of the years in the two-year period then ended, and the financial highlights for each of the years in the five-year period then ended, in conformity with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles.

Basis for Opinion

These financial statements and financial highlights are the responsibility of the Fund’s management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on these financial statements and financial highlights 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 Fund in accordance with the U.S. federal securities laws and the applicable rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the PCAOB.

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We conducted our audits in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audits to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements and financial highlights are free of material misstatement, whether due to error or fraud. Our audits included performing procedures to assess the risks of material misstatement of the financial statements and financial highlights, 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 and financial highlights. Such procedures also included confirmation of securities owned as of March 31, 2022, by correspondence with custodians and brokers; when replies were not received from brokers, we performed other auditing procedures. 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 and financial highlights. We believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinion.

 

We have served as the auditor of one or more of Federated Hermes’ investment companies since 2006.

Boston, Massachusetts
May 25, 2022

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Shareholder Expense Example (unaudited)

As a shareholder of the Fund, you incur ongoing costs, including management fees and to the extent applicable, distribution (12b-1) fees and/or other service fees and other Fund expenses. This Example is intended to help you to understand your ongoing costs (in dollars) of investing in the Fund and to compare these costs with the ongoing costs of investing in other mutual funds. It is based on an investment of $1,000 invested at the beginning of the period and held for the entire period from October 1, 2021 to March 31, 2022.

ACTUAL EXPENSES

The first section of the table below provides information about actual account values and actual expenses. You may use the information in this section, together with the amount you invested, to estimate the expenses that you incurred over the period. Simply divide your account value by $1,000 (for example, an $8,600 account value divided by $1,000 = 8.6), then multiply the result by the number in the first section under the heading entitled “Expenses Paid During Period” to estimate the expenses attributable to your investment during this period.

HYPOTHETICAL EXAMPLE FOR COMPARISON PURPOSES

The second section of the table below provides information about hypothetical account values and hypothetical expenses based on the Fund’s actual expense ratio and an assumed rate of return of 5% per year before expenses, which is not the Fund’s actual return. Thus, you should not use the hypothetical account values and expenses to estimate the actual ending account balance or your expenses for the period. Rather, these figures are required to be provided to enable you to compare the ongoing costs of investing in the Fund with other funds. To do so, compare this 5% hypothetical example with the 5% hypothetical examples that appear in the shareholder reports of the other funds.

Please note that the expenses shown in the table are meant to highlight your ongoing costs only. Therefore, the second section of the table is useful in comparing ongoing costs only, and will not help you determine the relative total costs of owning different funds. 

	Beginning Account Value 10/1/2021	Ending Account Value 3/31/2022	Expenses Paid During Period1
Actual	$1,000	$999.60	$2.04
Hypothetical (assuming a 5% return before expenses)	$1,000	$1,022.89	$2.07

 

1 Expenses are equal to the Fund’s annualized net expense ratio of 0.41%, multiplied by the average account value over the period, multiplied by 182/365 (to reflect the one-half-year period).

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Board of Trustees and Fund Officers

The Board of Trustees is responsible for managing the Fund’s business affairs and for exercising all the Fund’s powers except those reserved for the shareholders. The following tables give information about each Trustee and the senior officers of the Fund. Where required, the tables separately list Trustees who are “interested persons” of the Fund (i.e., “Interested” Trustees) and those who are not (i.e., “Independent” Trustees). Unless otherwise noted, the address of each person listed is 1001 Liberty Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15222-3779. The address of all Independent Trustees listed is 4000 Ericsson Drive, Warrendale, PA 15086-7561; Attention: Mutual Fund Board. As of December 31, 2021, the Fund comprised one portfolio(s), and the Federated Hermes Fund Family consisted of 33 investment companies (comprising 102 portfolios). Unless otherwise noted, each Officer is elected annually. Unless otherwise noted, each Trustee oversees all portfolios in the Federated Hermes Fund Family and serves for an indefinite term. The Fund’s Statement of Additional Information includes additional information about Fund Trustees and is available, without charge and upon request, by calling 1-800-341-7400, Option #4.

Interested Trustees Background 

Name Birth Date Positions Held with Fund Date Service Began

Principal Occupation(s) for Past Five Years, Other Directorships Held and Previous Position(s)

J. Christopher Donahue* Birth Date: April 11, 1949 President and Trustee Indefinite Term Began serving: August 2016

Principal Occupations: Principal Executive Officer and President of certain of the Funds in the Federated Hermes Fund Family; Director or Trustee of the Funds in the Federated Hermes Fund Family; President, Chief Executive Officer and Director, Federated Hermes, Inc.; Chairman and Trustee, Federated Investment Management Company; Trustee, Federated Investment Counseling; Chairman and Director, Federated Global Investment Management Corp.; Chairman and Trustee, Federated Equity Management Company of Pennsylvania; Trustee, Federated Shareholder Services Company; Director, Federated Services Company. Previous Positions: President, Federated Investment Counseling; President and Chief Executive Officer, Federated Investment Management Company, Federated Global Investment Management Corp. and Passport Research, Ltd; Chairman, Passport Research, Ltd.

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Name Birth Date Positions Held with Fund Date Service Began

Principal Occupation(s) for Past Five Years, Other Directorships Held and Previous Position(s)

Thomas R. Donahue* Birth Date: October 20, 1958 Trustee Indefinite Term Began serving: August 2016

Principal Occupations: Director or Trustee of certain of the funds in the Federated Hermes Fund Family; Chief Financial Officer, Treasurer, Vice President and Assistant Secretary, Federated Hermes, Inc.; Chairman and Trustee, Federated Administrative Services; Chairman and Director, Federated Administrative Services, Inc.; Trustee and Treasurer, Federated Advisory Services Company; Director or Trustee and Treasurer, Federated Equity Management Company of Pennsylvania, Federated Global Investment Management Corp., Federated Investment Counseling, and Federated Investment Management Company; Director, MDTA LLC; Director, Executive Vice President and Assistant Secretary, Federated Securities Corp.; Director or Trustee and Chairman, Federated Services Company and Federated Shareholder Services Company; and Director and President, FII Holdings, Inc. Previous Positions: Director, Federated Hermes, Inc.; Assistant Secretary, Federated Investment Management Company, Federated Global Investment Management Company and Passport Research, LTD; Treasurer, Passport Research, LTD; Executive Vice President, Federated Securities Corp.; and Treasurer, FII Holdings, Inc.

*

Family relationships and reasons for “interested” status: J. Christopher Donahue and Thomas R. Donahue are brothers. Both are “interested” due to their beneficial ownership of shares of Federated Hermes, Inc. and the positions they hold with Federated Hermes, Inc. and its subsidiaries.

INDEPENDENT Trustees Background 

Name Birth Date Positions Held with Fund Date Service Began

Principal Occupation(s) for Past Five Years, Other Directorships Held, Previous Position(s) and Qualifications

John T. Collins Birth Date: January 24, 1947 Trustee Indefinite Term Began serving: August 2016

Principal Occupations: Director or Trustee, and Chair of the Board of Directors or Trustees, of the Federated Hermes Fund Family; formerly, Chairman and CEO, The Collins Group, Inc. (a private equity firm) (Retired). Other Directorships Held: Director, KLX Energy Services Holdings, Inc. (oilfield services); former Director of KLX Corp. (aerospace). Qualifications: Mr. Collins has served in several business and financial management roles and directorship positions throughout his career. Mr. Collins previously served as Chairman and CEO of The Collins Group, Inc. (a private equity firm) and as a Director of KLX Corp. Mr. Collins serves as Chairman Emeriti, Bentley University. Mr. Collins previously served as Director and Audit Committee Member, Bank of America Corp.; Director, FleetBoston Financial Corp.; and Director, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (Harvard University Affiliate Hospital).

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Name Birth Date Positions Held with Fund Date Service Began	Principal Occupation(s) for Past Five Years, Other Directorships Held, Previous Position(s) and Qualifications
G. Thomas Hough Birth Date: February 28, 1955 Trustee Indefinite Term Began serving: August 2016	Principal Occupations: Director or Trustee, Chair of the Audit Committee of the Federated Hermes Fund Family; formerly, Vice Chair, Ernst & Young LLP (public accounting firm) (Retired). Other Directorships Held: Director, Chair of the Audit Committee, Equifax, Inc.; Lead Director, Member of the Audit and Nominating and Corporate Governance Committees, Haverty Furniture Companies, Inc.; formerly, Director, Member of Governance and Compensation Committees, Publix Super Markets, Inc. Qualifications: Mr. Hough has served in accounting, business management and directorship positions throughout his career. Mr. Hough most recently held the position of Americas Vice Chair of Assurance with Ernst & Young LLP (public accounting firm). Mr. Hough serves on the President’s Cabinet and Business School Board of Visitors for the University of Alabama. Mr. Hough previously served on the Business School Board of Visitors for Wake Forest University, and he previously served as an Executive Committee member of the United States Golf Association.
Maureen Lally-Green Birth Date: July 5, 1949 Trustee Indefinite Term Began serving: August 2016	Principal Occupations: Director or Trustee of the Federated Hermes Fund Family; Adjunct Professor Emerita of Law, Duquesne University School of Law; formerly, Dean of the Duquesne University School of Law and Professor of Law and Interim Dean of the Duquesne University School of Law; formerly, Associate General Secretary and Director, Office of Church Relations, Diocese of Pittsburgh. Other Directorships Held: Director, CNX Resources Corporation (formerly known as CONSOL Energy Inc.). Qualifications: Judge Lally-Green has served in various legal and business roles and directorship positions throughout her career. Judge Lally-Green previously held the position of Dean of the School of Law of Duquesne University (as well as Interim Dean). Judge Lally-Green previously served as a member of the Superior Court of Pennsylvania and as a Professor of Law, Duquesne University School of Law. Judge Lally-Green was appointed by the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania to serve on the Supreme Court’s Board of Continuing Judicial Education and the Supreme Court’s Appellate Court Procedural Rules Committee. Judge Lally-Green also currently holds the positions on not for profit or for profit boards of directors as follows: Director and Chair, UPMC Mercy Hospital; Regent, Saint Vincent Seminary; Member, Pennsylvania State Board of Education (public); Director, Catholic Charities, Pittsburgh; and Director CNX Resources Corporation (formerly known as CONSOL Energy Inc.). Judge Lally-Green has held the positions of: Director, Auberle; Director, Epilepsy Foundation of Western and Central Pennsylvania; Director, Ireland Institute of Pittsburgh; Director, Saint Thomas More Society; Director and Chair, Catholic High Schools of the Diocese of Pittsburgh, Inc.; Director, Pennsylvania Bar Institute; Director, St. Vincent College; Director and Chair, North Catholic High School, Inc.; Director and Vice Chair, Our Campaign for the Church Alive!, Inc.; and Director, Saint Francis University.

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Name Birth Date Positions Held with Fund Date Service Began	Principal Occupation(s) for Past Five Years, Other Directorships Held, Previous Position(s) and Qualifications
Thomas M. O’Neill Birth Date: June 14, 1951 Trustee Indefinite Term Began serving: August 2016	Principal Occupations: Director or Trustee of the Federated Hermes Fund Family; Sole Proprietor, Navigator Management Company (investment and strategic consulting). Other Directorships Held: None. Qualifications: Mr. O’Neill has served in several business, mutual fund and financial management roles and directorship positions throughout his career. Mr. O’Neill serves as Director, Medicines for Humanity. Mr. O’Neill previously served as Chief Executive Officer and President, Managing Director and Chief Investment Officer, Fleet Investment Advisors; President and Chief Executive Officer, Aeltus Investment Management, Inc.; General Partner, Hellman, Jordan Management Co., Boston, MA; Chief Investment Officer, The Putnam Companies, Boston, MA; Credit Analyst and Lending Officer, Fleet Bank; Director and Consultant, EZE Castle Software (investment order management software); Director, The Golisano Children’s Museum of Naples, Florida; and Director, Midway Pacific (lumber).
Madelyn A. Reilly Birth Date: February 2, 1956 Trustee Indefinite Term Began serving: November 2020	Principal Occupations: Director or Trustee of the Federated Hermes Fund Family; formerly, Senior Vice President for Legal Affairs, General Counsel and Secretary to the Board of Directors, Duquesne University. Other Directorships Held: None. Qualifications: Ms. Reilly has served in various business and legal management roles throughout her career. Ms. Reilly previously served as Senior Vice President for Legal Affairs, General Counsel and Secretary to the Board of Directors and Assistant General Counsel and Director of Risk Management, Duquesne University. Prior to her work at Duquesne University, Ms. Reilly served as Assistant General Counsel of Compliance and Enterprise Risk as well as Senior Counsel of Environment, Health and Safety, PPG Industries.
P. Jerome Richey Birth Date: February 23, 1949 Trustee Indefinite Term Began serving: August 2016	Principal Occupations: Director or Trustee of the Federated Hermes Fund Family; Management Consultant; Retired; formerly, Senior Vice Chancellor and Chief Legal Officer, University of Pittsburgh and Executive Vice President and Chief Legal Officer, CONSOL Energy Inc. (now split into two separate publicly traded companies known as CONSOL Energy Inc. and CNX Resources Corp.). Other Directorships Held: None. Qualifications: Mr. Richey has served in several business and legal management roles and directorship positions throughout his career. Mr. Richey most recently held the positions of Senior Vice Chancellor and Chief Legal Officer, University of Pittsburgh. Mr. Richey previously served as Chairman of the Board, Epilepsy Foundation of Western Pennsylvania and Chairman of the Board, World Affairs Council of Pittsburgh. Mr. Richey previously served as Chief Legal Officer and Executive Vice President, CONSOL Energy Inc. and CNX Gas Company; and Board Member, Ethics Counsel and Shareholder, Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney PC (a law firm).

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Name Birth Date Positions Held with Fund Date Service Began

Principal Occupation(s) for Past Five Years, Other Directorships Held, Previous Position(s) and Qualifications

John S. Walsh Birth Date: November 28, 1957 Trustee Indefinite Term Began serving: August 2016

Principal Occupations: Director or Trustee of the Federated Hermes Fund Family; President and Director, Heat Wagon, Inc. (manufacturer of construction temporary heaters); President and Director, Manufacturers Products, Inc. (distributor of portable construction heaters); President, Portable Heater Parts, a division of Manufacturers Products, Inc. Other Directorships Held: None. Qualifications: Mr. Walsh has served in several business management roles and directorship positions throughout his career. Mr. Walsh previously served as Vice President, Walsh & Kelly, Inc. (paving contractors).

OFFICERS 

Name Birth Date Positions Held with Fund Date Service Began

Principal Occupation(s) for Past Five Years and Previous Position(s)

Lori A. Hensler Birth Date: January 6, 1967 TREASURER Officer since: June 2016

Principal Occupations: Principal Financial Officer and Treasurer of the Federated Hermes Fund Family; Senior Vice President, Federated Administrative Services; Financial and Operations Principal for Federated Securities Corp.; and Assistant Treasurer, Federated Investors Trust Company. Ms. Hensler has received the Certified Public Accountant designation. Previous Positions: Controller of Federated Hermes, Inc.; Senior Vice President and Assistant Treasurer, Federated Investors Management Company; Treasurer, Federated Investors Trust Company; Assistant Treasurer, Federated Administrative Services, Federated Administrative Services, Inc., Federated Securities Corp., Edgewood Services, Inc., Federated Advisory Services Company, Federated Equity Management Company of Pennsylvania, Federated Global Investment Management Corp., Federated Investment Counseling, Federated Investment Management Company, Passport Research, Ltd., and Federated MDTA, LLC; Financial and Operations Principal for Federated Securities Corp., Edgewood Services, Inc. and Southpointe Distribution Services, Inc.

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Name Birth Date Positions Held with Fund Date Service Began	Principal Occupation(s) for Past Five Years and Previous Position(s)
Peter J. Germain Birth Date: September 3, 1959 CHIEF LEGAL OFFICER, SECRETARY and EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT Officer since: November 2016	Principal Occupations: Mr. Germain is Chief Legal Officer, Secretary and Executive Vice President of the Federated Hermes Fund Family. He is General Counsel, Chief Legal Officer, Secretary and Executive Vice President, Federated Hermes, Inc.; Trustee and Senior Vice President, Federated Investors Management Company; Trustee and President, Federated Administrative Services; Director and President, Federated Administrative Services, Inc.; Director and Vice President, Federated Securities Corp.; Director and Secretary, Federated Private Asset Management, Inc.; Secretary, Federated Shareholder Services Company; and Secretary, Retirement Plan Service Company of America. Mr. Germain joined Federated Hermes, Inc. in 1984 and is a member of the Pennsylvania Bar Association. Previous Positions: Deputy General Counsel, Special Counsel, Managing Director of Mutual Fund Services, Federated Hermes, Inc.; Senior Vice President, Federated Services Company; and Senior Corporate Counsel, Federated Hermes, Inc.
Stephen Van Meter Birth Date: June 5, 1975 CHIEF COMPLIANCE OFFICER AND SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT Officer since: June 2016	Principal Occupations: Senior Vice President and Chief Compliance Officer of the Federated Hermes Fund Family; Vice President and Chief Compliance Officer of Federated Hermes, Inc. and Chief Compliance Officer of certain of its subsidiaries. Mr. Van Meter joined Federated Hermes, Inc. in October 2011. He holds FINRA licenses under Series 3, 7, 24 and 66. Previous Positions: Mr. Van Meter previously held the position of Compliance Operating Officer, Federated Hermes, Inc. Prior to joining Federated Hermes, Inc., Mr. Van Meter served at the United States Securities and Exchange Commission in the positions of Senior Counsel, Office of Chief Counsel, Division of Investment Management and Senior Counsel, Division of Enforcement.
Robert J. Ostrowski Birth Date: April 26, 1963 Chief Investment Officer Officer since: November 2016	Principal Occupations: Robert J. Ostrowski joined Federated Hermes, Inc. in 1987 as an Investment Analyst and became a Portfolio Manager in 1990. He was named Chief Investment Officer of Federated Hermes’ taxable fixed-income products in 2004 and also serves as a Senior Portfolio Manager. Mr. Ostrowski became an Executive Vice President of the Fund’s Adviser in 2009 and served as a Senior Vice President of the Fund’s Adviser from 1997 to 2009. Mr. Ostrowski has received the Chartered Financial Analyst designation. He received his M.S. in Industrial Administration from Carnegie Mellon University.
Ihab Salib Birth Date: December 14, 1964 VICE PRESIDENT Officer since: November 2016 Portfolio Manager since: December 2016	Principal Occupations: Ihab Salib has been the Portfolio Manager of the Fund since December 2016. He is Vice President of the Fund. Mr. Salib joined Federated Hermes in April 1999 as a Senior Fixed- Income Trader/Assistant Vice President of the Fund’s Adviser. In July 2000, he was named a Vice President of the Fund’s Adviser and in January 2007 he was named a Senior Vice President of the Fund’s Adviser. He has served as a Portfolio Manager since January 2002. From January 1994 through March 1999, Mr. Salib was employed as a Senior Global Fixed-Income Analyst with UBS Brinson, Inc. Mr. Salib received his B.A. with a major in Economics from Stony Brook University.

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Name Birth Date Positions Held with Fund Date Service Began	Principal Occupation(s) for Past Five Years and Previous Position(s)
Chris McGinley Birth Date: July 28, 1978 Vice President Officer since: November 2016 Portfolio Manager since: December 2016	Principal Occupations: Chris McGinleyhas been the Fund’s Portfolio Manager since December 2016. He is Vice President of the Fund. Mr. McGinley joined Federated Hermes in 2004 as an associate research analyst in the international fixed-income department. He became an Assistant Vice President of the Fund’s Adviser in 2005 and Vice President in 2013. Mr. McGinley joined the Sub-Adviser in 2013. Mr. McGinley worked in Senator Rick Santorum’s office in 2001 and from 2002 to 2004 he served as Legislative Correspondent for Senator Santorum. Mr. McGinley earned his B.S. and received his M.P.I.A. from the University of Pittsburgh.
Maarten Offeringa Birth Date: February 1, 1976 Vice President Officer since: August 2019 Portfolio Manager since: July 2019	Principal Occupations: Maarten Offeringa has been the Fund’s portfolio manager since July 2019. He is Vice President of the Fund. Mr. Offeringa joined Federated Hermes in 2018. Mr. Offeringa is responsible for providing research and advice on sector allocation and security selection. He has worked in financial services since 2002; has worked in investment management since 2018; has managed investment portfolios since 2019. Previous associations: Director, Bank of America Merrill Lynch; Vice President, J.P. Morgan. Education: MA, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam.

 

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Evaluation and Approval of Advisory Contract–May 2021

Federated Hermes Project and Trade Finance Tender Fund (the “Fund”)

At its meetings in May 2021 (the “May Meetings”), the Fund’s Board of Trustees (the “Board”), including those Trustees who are not “interested persons” of the Fund, as defined in the Investment Company Act of 1940 (the “Independent Trustees”), reviewed and unanimously approved the continuation of the investment advisory contract between the Fund and Federated Investment Management Company (the “Adviser”) and the investment sub-advisory contract between the Adviser and Federated Hermes (UK) LLP (the “Sub-Adviser” and together with the Adviser, the “Advisers”) with respect to the Fund (together, the “Contracts”) for an additional one-year term. The Board’s determination to approve the continuation of the Contracts reflects the exercise of its business judgment after considering all of the information and factors believed to be relevant and appropriate on whether to approve the continuation of the existing arrangements. The information, factors and conclusions that formed the basis for the Board’s approval are summarized below.

Information Received and Review Process

At the request of the Independent Trustees, the Fund’s Chief Compliance Officer (the “CCO”) furnished to the Board in advance of its May Meetings an independent written evaluation presenting on the topics discussed below. The Board considered the CCO’s independent written evaluation (the “CCO Fee Evaluation Report”), along with other information, in evaluating the reasonableness of the Fund’s management fee and in determining to approve the continuation of the Contracts. The CCO, in preparing the CCO Fee Evaluation Report, has the authority to retain consultants, experts or staff as reasonably necessary to assist in the performance of his duties, reports directly to the Board, and can be terminated only with the approval of a majority of the Independent Trustees. At the request of the Independent Trustees, the CCO Fee Evaluation Report followed the same general approach and covered the same topics as that of the report that had previously been delivered by the CCO in his capacity as “Senior Officer” prior to the elimination of the Senior Officer position in December 2017.

In addition to the extensive materials that comprise and accompany the CCO Fee Evaluation Report, the Board considered information specifically prepared in connection with the approval of the continuation of the Contracts that was presented at the May Meetings. In this regard, in the months preceding the May Meetings, the Board requested and reviewed written responses and supporting materials prepared by the Advisers and their affiliates (collectively, “Federated Hermes”) in response to requests posed to Federated Hermes on behalf of the Independent Trustees encompassing a wide variety of topics,

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including those summarized below. The Board also considered such additional matters as the Independent Trustees deemed reasonably necessary to evaluate the Contracts, which included detailed information about the Fund and Federated Hermes furnished to the Board at its meetings throughout the year and in between regularly scheduled meetings on particular matters as the need arose.

The Board’s consideration of the Contracts included review of materials and information covering the following matters, among others: the Advisers’ investment philosophy, revenue, profitability, personnel and processes; investment and operating strategies; the Fund’s short-term and long-term performance (in absolute terms, both on a gross basis and net of expenses, and relative to the Fund’s particular investment program and a group of its peer funds and/or its benchmark, as appropriate) and comments on the reasons for the Fund’s performance; the Fund’s investment objectives; the Fund’s expenses, including the advisory fee and the overall expense structure of the Fund (both in absolute terms and relative to a group of its peer funds), with due regard for contractual or voluntary expense limitations (if any); the use and allocation of brokerage commissions derived from trading the Fund’s portfolio securities (if any); and the nature, quality and extent of the advisory and other services provided to the Fund by the Advisers and their affiliates. The Board also considered the preferences and expectations of Fund shareholders; the entrepreneurial and other risks assumed by the Adviser in sponsoring and managing the Fund; the continuing state of competition in the registered fund industry and market practices; the range of comparable fees for similar funds in the registered fund industry; the Fund’s relationship to the other funds advised by Federated Hermes (each, a “Federated Hermes Fund” and, collectively, the “Federated Hermes Funds”), which include a comprehensive array of funds with different investment objectives, policies and strategies, and the benefits to shareholders of being part of the family of Federated Hermes Funds, which include the general right to exchange investments between the same class of shares without the incurrence of additional sales charges; compliance and audit reports concerning the Federated Hermes Funds and Federated Hermes’ affiliates that service them (including communications from regulatory agencies), as well as Federated Hermes’ responses to any issues raised therein; and relevant developments in the registered fund industry and how the Federated Hermes Funds and/or Federated Hermes may be responding to them. The Board noted that its evaluation process is evolutionary and that the criteria considered and the emphasis placed on relevant criteria may change in recognition of changing circumstances in the registered fund marketplace.

The Board also considered judicial decisions concerning allegedly excessive investment advisory fees in determining to approve the Contracts. Using these judicial decisions as a guide, the Board observed that the following factors may be relevant to an adviser’s fiduciary duty with respect to its receipt of compensation from a fund: (1) the nature and quality of the services provided

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by an adviser to a fund and its shareholders (including the performance of the fund, its benchmark, and comparable funds); (2) an adviser’s cost of providing the services (including the profitability to an adviser of providing advisory services to a fund); (3) the extent to which an adviser may realize “economies of scale” as a fund grows larger and, if such economies of scale exist, whether they have been appropriately shared with a fund and its shareholders or the family of funds; (4) any “fall-out” benefits that accrue to an adviser because of its relationship with a fund (including research services received from brokers that execute fund trades and any fees paid to affiliates of an adviser for services rendered to a fund); (5) comparative fee and expense structures (including a comparison of fees paid to an adviser with those paid by similar funds both internally and externally as well as management fees charged to institutional and other advisory clients of the adviser for what might be viewed as like services); and (6) the extent of care, conscientiousness and independence with which the fund’s board members perform their duties and their expertise (including whether they are fully informed about all facts the board deems relevant to its consideration of an adviser’s services and fees). The Board noted that the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) disclosure requirements regarding the basis for a fund board’s approval of the fund’s investment advisory contract generally align with the factors listed above. The Board was guided by these factors in its review of the Contracts to the extent it considered them to be appropriate and relevant, as discussed further below. The Board considered and weighed these factors in light of its substantial accumulated experience in governing the Fund and working with Federated Hermes on matters relating to the Federated Hermes Funds.

In addition to considering the above-referenced factors, the Board was mindful of the potential disruptions of the Fund’s operations and various risks, uncertainties and other effects that could occur as a result of a decision to terminate or not renew the Contracts. In particular, the Board recognized that many shareholders have invested in the Fund on the strength of Federated Hermes’ industry standing and reputation and with the expectation that Federated Hermes will have a continuing role in providing advisory services to the Fund. Thus, the Board observed that in the marketplace there are a range of investment options available to the Fund’s shareholders and such shareholders, having had the opportunity to consider other investment options, have effectively selected Federated Hermes by virtue of investing in the Fund.

In determining to approve the continuation of the Contracts, the members of the Board reviewed and evaluated information and factors they believed to be relevant and appropriate through the exercise of their reasonable business judgment. While individual members of the Board may have weighed certain factors differently, the Board’s determination to approve the continuation of the Contracts was based on a comprehensive consideration of all information provided to the Board throughout the year and specifically with respect to the continuation of the Contracts. The Independent Trustees were assisted

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throughout the evaluation process by independent legal counsel. In connection with their deliberations at the May Meetings, the Independent Trustees met separately in executive session with their independent legal counsel and without management present to review the relevant materials and consider their responsibilities under applicable laws. In addition, senior management representatives of Federated Hermes also met with the Independent Trustees and their independent legal counsel to discuss the materials and presentations furnished to the Board at the May Meetings. The Board considered the approval of the Contracts for the Fund as part of its consideration of agreements for funds across the Federated Hermes Funds family, but its approvals were made on a fund-by-fund basis.

Nature, Extent and Quality of Services

The Board considered the nature, extent and quality of the services provided to the Fund by the Advisers and the resources of the Advisers and their affiliates dedicated to the Fund. In this regard, the Board evaluated, among other things, the terms of the Contracts and the range of services provided to the Fund by the Advisers and their affiliates. The Board considered the Adviser’s personnel, investment philosophy and process, investment research capabilities and resources, trade execution capabilities, experience and performance track record. The Board reviewed the qualifications, backgrounds and responsibilities of the portfolio management team primarily responsible for the day-to-day management of the Fund and the Advisers’ ability and experience in attracting and retaining qualified personnel to service the Fund. The Fund’s ability to deliver competitive performance when compared to its Performance Peer Group (as defined below) was also deemed to be relevant by the Board as a useful indicator of how the Advisers are executing the Fund’s investment program.

In addition, the Board considered the financial resources and overall reputation of Federated Hermes and its willingness to consider and make investments in personnel, infrastructure, technology, cybersecurity, business continuity planning and operational enhancements that are designed to benefit the Federated Hermes Funds. The Board noted the significant acquisition of Hermes Fund Managers Limited by Federated Hermes in 2018, which has deepened the organization’s investment management expertise and capabilities and expanded the investment process for all of the Federated Hermes Funds to have access to analytical resources related to environmental, social and governance (“ESG”) factors and issuer engagement on ESG matters.

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The Board considered the quality of the Advisers’ communications with the Board and responsiveness to Board inquiries and requests made from time to time with respect to the Fund and other Federated Hermes Funds. In this regard, the Board took into account the Advisers’ communications with the Board in light of the market volatility amidst the pandemic. The Board also considered that Federated Hermes is responsible for providing the Federated Hermes Funds’ officers.

The Board received and evaluated information regarding the Advisers’ regulatory and compliance environment. The Board considered the Advisers’ compliance program, compliance history, and reports from the CCO about the Advisers’ compliance with applicable laws and regulations, including responses to regulatory developments and any compliance or other issues raised by regulatory agencies. The Board also noted Federated Hermes’ support of the Federated Hermes Funds’ compliance control structure and, in particular, the compliance-related resources devoted by the Advisers and their affiliates in support of the Fund’s obligations pursuant to Rule 38a-1 under the Investment Company Act of 1940, including the Advisers’ commitment to respond to rulemaking and other regulatory initiatives of the SEC. The Board considered Federated Hermes’ day-to-day oversight of the Federated Hermes Funds’ compliance with their investment objectives and policies as well as with applicable laws and regulations, noting that regulatory and other developments had over time led to an increase in the scope of Federated Hermes’ oversight in this regard, including in connection with the designation of the Federated Hermes Funds’ investment advisers as the administrators of the Federated Hermes Funds’ liquidity risk management program.

The Board also considered discussions with Federated Hermes regarding the implementation of its business continuity plans and recognized steps taken by Federated Hermes to continue to provide the same nature, extent and quality of services to the Federated Hermes Funds during the pandemic. In addition, the Board noted Federated Hermes’ commitment to maintaining high quality systems and expending substantial resources to prepare for and respond to ongoing changes due to the market, regulatory and control environments in which the Fund and its service providers operate, including changes associated with the pandemic.

Based on these considerations, the Board concluded that the nature, extent and quality of the Advisers’ investment management and related services warrant the continuation of the Contracts.

Fund Investment Performance

In evaluating the Fund’s investment performance, the Board considered performance results in light of the Fund’s investment objective, strategies and risks, as disclosed in the Fund’s prospectus. The Board considered detailed investment reports on, and the Advisers’ analysis of, the Fund’s performance over different time periods that were provided to the Board throughout the year

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and in connection with the May Meetings. These reports include, among other items, information on the Fund’s gross and net returns, the Fund’s investment performance compared to one or more relevant investment categories and the Fund’s benchmark index, portfolio attribution information and commentary on the effect of current and recent market conditions.

The Board also reviewed comparative information regarding the performance of an appropriate group of peer funds compiled by Federated Hermes using data supplied by Morningstar, Inc. (the “Morningstar”), an independent fund ranking organization (the “Performance Peer Group”), noting the CCO’s view that comparisons to fund peer groups may be helpful, though not conclusive, in evaluating the performance of the Advisers in managing the Fund. The Board considered, in evaluating such comparisons, that in some cases there may be differences in the funds’ objectives or investment management techniques, or the costs to implement the funds, even within the same Performance Peer Group.

For the periods ended December 31, 2020, the Fund’s performance for the one-year and three-year periods was above the median of the Performance Peer Group, and the Fund’s performance fell below the median of the Performance Peer Group for the five-year period. The Board discussed the Fund’s performance with the Advisers and recognized the efforts being taken by the Advisers in the context of other factors considered relevant by the Board.

Following such evaluation and full deliberations, the Board concluded that the performance of the Fund supported renewal of the Contracts.

Fund Expenses

The Board considered the advisory fee, sub-advisory fee, and overall expense structure of the Fund and the comparative fee and expense information that had been provided in connection with the May Meetings. In this regard, the Board was presented with, and considered, information regarding the contractual advisory fee rates and total expense ratios relative to the category of peer funds selected by Morningstar (the “Expense Peer Group”).

While mindful that courts have cautioned against giving too much weight to comparative information concerning fees charged by other advisers for managing funds with comparable investment programs, the Board has found the use of such comparisons to be relevant to its deliberations. The Board focused on comparisons with other similar registered funds more heavily than non-registered fund products or services because such comparisons are believed to be more relevant. The Board considered that other registered funds are the products most like the Fund, in that they are readily available to Fund shareholders as alternative investment vehicles, and they are the type of investment vehicle, in fact, chosen and maintained by the Fund’s shareholders. The Board noted that the range of such other registered funds’ fees and expenses, therefore, appears to be a relevant indicator of what consumers have found to be reasonable in the marketplace in which the Fund competes.

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The Board reviewed the contractual advisory fee rate, net advisory fee rate and other expenses of the Fund and noted the position of the Fund’s fee rates relative to its Expense Peer Group. In this regard, the Board noted that the contractual advisory fee rate was below the median of the Expense Peer Group, and the Board was satisfied that the overall expense structure of the Fund remained competitive.

The Board also received and considered information about the fees charged by Federated Hermes for providing advisory services to other types of clients with investment strategies similar to those of the Federated Hermes Funds, including non-registered fund clients (such as institutional separate accounts) and third-party unaffiliated registered funds for which any of the Advisers or their affiliates serve as sub-adviser. The Board noted the CCO’s conclusion that non-registered fund clients are inherently different products due to the following differences, among others: (i) different types of targeted investors; (ii) different applicable laws and regulations; (iii) different legal structures; (iv) different average account sizes and portfolio management techniques made necessary by different cash flows and different associated costs; (v) the time spent by portfolio managers and their teams (among other personnel across various departments, including legal, compliance and risk management) in reviewing securities pricing, addressing different administrative responsibilities, and addressing different degrees of risk associated with management; and (vi) a variety of different costs. The Board also considered information regarding the differences in the nature of the services required for Federated Hermes to manage its proprietary registered fund business versus managing a discrete pool of assets as a sub-adviser to another institution’s registered fund, noting the CCO’s view that Federated Hermes generally performs significant additional services and assumes substantially greater risks in managing the Fund and other Federated Hermes Funds than in its role as sub-adviser to an unaffiliated third-party registered fund. The Board noted that the CCO did not consider the fees for providing advisory services to other types of clients to be determinative in judging the appropriateness of the Federated Hermes Funds’ advisory fees.

Following such evaluation and full deliberations, the Board concluded that the fees and expenses of the Fund are reasonable and supported renewal of the Contracts.

Profitability and Other Benefits

The Board also received financial information about Federated Hermes, including information regarding the compensation and ancillary (or “fall-out”) benefits that Federated Hermes derived from its relationships with the Federated Hermes Funds. This information covered not only the fees under the Federated Hermes Funds’ investment advisory contracts, but also fees received by Federated Hermes’ affiliates for providing other services to the Federated Hermes Funds under separate contracts (e.g., for serving as the Federated

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Hermes Funds’ administrator and distributor). In this regard, the Board considered that certain of Federated Hermes’ affiliates provide distribution and shareholder services to the Federated Hermes Funds, for which they may be compensated through distribution and servicing fees paid pursuant to Rule 12b-1 plans or otherwise. The Board also received and considered information detailing any indirect benefit that Federated Hermes may derive from its receipt of research services from brokers who execute portfolio trades for the Federated Hermes Funds. In addition, the Board considered that, in order for the Federated Hermes Funds to remain competitive in the marketplace, the Adviser and its affiliates frequently waived fees and/or reimbursed expenses and have disclosed to Federated Hermes Fund shareholders and/or reported to the Board their intention to do so (or continue to do so) in the future. Moreover, the Board received and considered regular reports from Federated Hermes throughout the year as to the institution, adjustment or elimination of these voluntary waivers and/or reimbursements. The Board considered Federated Hermes’ previous reductions in contractual management fees to certain Federated Hermes Funds during the prior year, including in response to the CCO’s recommendations in the prior year’s CCO Fee Evaluation Report.

The Board received and considered information furnished by Federated Hermes, as requested by the CCO, that reported revenues on a fund-by-fund basis and made estimates of the allocation of expenses on a fund-by-fund basis, using allocation methodologies specified by the CCO and described to the Board. The Board considered the CCO’s view that, while these cost allocation reports apply consistent allocation processes, the inherent difficulties in allocating costs continues to cause the CCO to question the precision of the process and to conclude that such reports may be unreliable, because a single change in an allocation estimate may dramatically alter the resulting estimate of cost and/or profitability of a Federated Hermes Fund and may produce unintended consequences. The allocation information, including the CCO’s view that cost allocations on a fund-by-fund basis may be unreliable was considered in the evaluation by the Board. In addition, the Board considered the CCO’s view that the allocation methodologies used by Federated Hermes in estimating profitability for purposes of reporting to the Board in connection with the continuation of the Contracts are consistent with the methodologies previously reviewed by an independent consultant. The Board noted that the independent consultant had previously conducted a review of the allocation methodologies and reported that, although there is no single best method to allocate expenses, the methodologies used by Federated Hermes are reasonable.

The Board also reviewed information compiled by Federated Hermes comparing its profitability information to other publicly held fund management companies, including information regarding profitability trends over time. The Board considered the CCO’s conclusion that, based on such profitability

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information, Federated Hermes’ profit margins did not appear to be excessive. The Board also considered the CCO’s view that Federated Hermes appeared financially sound, with the resources necessary to fulfill its obligations under its contracts with the Federated Hermes Funds.

Economies of Scale

The Board received and considered information about the notion of possible realization of “economies of scale” as a fund grows larger, the difficulties of calculating economies of scale at an individual fund level, and the extent to which potential scale benefits are shared with shareholders. In this regard, the Board considered that Federated Hermes has made significant and long-term investments in areas that support all of the Federated Hermes Funds, such as personnel and processes for the portfolio management (including market data on which portfolio managers make investment decisions), trading operations, issuer engagement (including with respect to ESG matters), shareholder services, compliance, business continuity, internal audit and risk management functions, as well as systems technology (including technology relating to cybersecurity) and use of data. The Board noted that Federated Hermes’ investments in these areas are extensive and are designed to provide enhanced services to the Federated Hermes Funds and their shareholders. The Board considered that the benefits of these investments (as well as the benefits of any economies of scale, should they exist) are likely to be shared with the family of Federated Hermes Funds as a whole. In addition, the Board considered that the Adviser and its affiliates have frequently waived fees and/or reimbursed expenses for the Federated Hermes Funds and that such waivers and reimbursements are another means for potential economies of scale to be shared with shareholders and can provide protection from an increase in expenses if a Federated Hermes Fund’s assets decline. The Board also considered reports on adviser-paid fees (commonly referred to as “revenue sharing”) that were provided to the Board throughout the year and in connection with the May Meetings. The Board considered the beliefs of Federated Hermes and the CCO that this information should be viewed to determine if there was an incentive to either not apply breakpoints, or to apply breakpoints at higher levels, and should not be viewed to determine the appropriateness of advisory fees. The Board also noted the absence of any applicable regulatory or industry guidelines on this subject, which is compounded by the lack of any common industry practice or general pattern with respect to structuring fund advisory fees with “breakpoints” that serve to reduce the fees as a fund attains a certain size.

Conclusions

The Board considered: (i) the CCO’s conclusion that his observations and the information accompanying the CCO Fee Evaluation Report show that the management fee for the Fund was reasonable; and (ii) the CCO’s recommendation that the Board approve the management fee. The Board noted

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that, under these circumstances, no changes were recommended to, and no objection was raised to the continuation of, the Contracts by the CCO. The CCO also recognized that the Board’s evaluation of the Federated Hermes Funds’ advisory and sub-advisory arrangements is a continuing and ongoing process that is informed by the information that the Board requests and receives from management throughout the course of the year and, in this regard, the CCO noted certain items for future reporting to the Board or further consideration by management as the Board continues its ongoing oversight of the Federated Hermes Funds.

On the basis of the information and factors summarized above, among other information and factors deemed relevant by the Board, and the evaluation thereof, the Board, including the Independent Trustees, unanimously voted to approve the continuation of the Contracts. The Board based its determination to approve the Contracts on the totality of the circumstances and relevant factors and with a view of past and future long-term considerations. Not all of the factors and considerations identified above were necessarily deemed to be relevant to the Fund, nor did the Board consider any one of them to be determinative. With respect to the factors that were deemed to be relevant, the Board’s determination to approve the continuation of the Contracts reflects its view that Federated Hermes’ performance and actions provided a satisfactory basis to support the determination to approve the continuation of the existing arrangements.

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Voting Proxies on Fund Portfolio Securities

A description of the policies and procedures that the Fund uses to determine how to vote proxies, if any, relating to securities held in the Fund’s portfolio is available, without charge and upon request, by calling 1-800-341-7400, Option #4. A report on “Form N-PX” of how the Fund voted any proxies during the most recent 12-month period ended June 30 is available via the Proxy Voting Record (Form N-PX) link associated with the Fund and share class name at FederatedInvestors.com/FundInformation. Form N-PX filings are also available at the SEC’s website at sec.gov.

Quarterly Portfolio Schedule

For each fiscal quarter, the Fund will file with the SEC a complete schedule of its monthly portfolio holdings on “Form N-PORT.” The Fund’s holdings as of the end of the third month of every fiscal quarter, as reported on Form N-PORT, will be publicly available on the SEC’s website at sec.govwithin 60 days of the end of the fiscal quarter upon filing. You may also access this information via the link to the Fund and share class name at FederatedInvestors.com.

 
IMPORTANT NOTICE ABOUT FUND DOCUMENT DELIVERY 

In an effort to reduce costs and avoid duplicate mailings, the Fund(s) intend to deliver a single copy of certain documents to each household in which more than one shareholder of the Fund(s) resides (so-called “householding”), as permitted by applicable rules. The Fund’s “householding” program covers its/their Prospectus and Statement of Additional Information, and supplements to each, as well as Semi-Annual and Annual Shareholder Reports and any Proxies or information statements. Shareholders must give their written consent to participate in the “householding” program. The Fund is also permitted to treat a shareholder as having given consent (“implied consent”) if (i) shareholders with the same last name, or believed to be members of the same family, reside at the same street address or receive mail at the same post office box, (ii) the Fund gives notice of its intent to “household” at least sixty (60) days before it begins “householding” and (iii) none of the shareholders in the household have notified the Fund(s) or their agent of the desire to “opt out” of “householding.” Shareholders who have granted written consent, or have been deemed to have granted implied consent, can revoke that consent and opt out of “householding” at any time: shareholders who purchased shares through an intermediary should contact their representative; other shareholders may call the Fund at 1-800-730-6001 or email CEinfo@federatedinvestors.com.

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Closed-end funds are not bank deposits or obligations, are not guaranteed by any bank and are not insured or guaranteed by the U.S. government, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Federal Reserve Board or any other government agency. Investment in closed-end funds involves investment risk, including the possible loss of principal.

This Overview and Report is for shareholder information. This is not a Prospectus intended for use in the sale of Fund Shares. Statements and other information contained in this Overview and Report are as dated and subject to change.
  

 

Federated Hermes Project and Trade Finance Tender Fund
Federated Hermes Funds
4000 Ericsson Drive
Warrendale, PA 15086-7561

Contact us at FederatedInvestors.com
or call 1-800-341-7400.

CUSIP 31424D104

Q453325 (5/22)

© 2022 Federated Hermes, Inc.

 

Item 2. Code of Ethics

(a) As of the end of the period covered by this report, the registrant has adopted a code of ethics (the "Section 406 Standards for Investment Companies - Ethical Standards for Principal Executive and Financial Officers") that applies to the registrant's Principal Executive Officer and Principal Financial Officer; the registrant's Principal Financial Officer also serves as the Principal Accounting Officer.

(c),(d) [There were no amendments to or waivers from the Section 406 Standards for Investment Companies – Ethical Standards for Principal Executive and Financial Officers during the period covered by this report.]

(f)(3) The registrant hereby undertakes to provide any person, without charge, upon request, a copy of the code of ethics. To request a copy of the code of ethics, contact the registrant at 1-800-341-7400, and ask for a copy of the Section 406 Standards for Investment Companies - Ethical Standards for Principal Executive and Financial Officers.

Item 3. Audit Committee Financial Expert

The registrant's Board has determined that each of the following members of the Board's audit committee (the “Audit Committee”) is an “audit committee financial expert,” and is "independent," for purposes of this Item:  G. Thomas Hough and Thomas M. O’Neill.

Item 4. Principal Accountant Fees and Services

(a)       Audit Fees billed to the registrant for the two most recent fiscal years:

Fiscal year ended 2022 – $78,330

Fiscal year ended 2021 - $54,321

(b)       Audit-Related Fees billed to the registrant for the two most recent fiscal years:

Fiscal year ended 2022 - $0

Fiscal year ended 2021 - $0

Amount requiring approval of the registrant’s Audit Committee pursuant to paragraph (c)(7)(ii) of Rule 2-01 of Regulation S-X, $0 and $0 respectively.

(c)        Tax Fees billed to the registrant for the two most recent fiscal years:

Fiscal year ended 2022 - $0

Fiscal year ended 2021 - $0

Amount requiring approval of the registrant’s Audit Committee pursuant to paragraph (c)(7)(ii) of Rule 2-01 of Regulation S-X, $0 and $0 respectively.

(d)       All Other Fees billed to the registrant for the two most recent fiscal years:

Fiscal year ended 2022 - $0

Fiscal year ended 2021 - $0

Amount requiring approval of the registrant’s Audit Committee pursuant to paragraph (c)(7)(ii) of Rule 2-01 of Regulation S-X, $0 and $0 respectively.

(e)(1) Audit Committee Policies regarding Pre-approval of Services.

The Audit Committee is required to pre-approve audit and non-audit services performed by the independent auditor in order to assure that the provision of such services do not impair the auditor’s independence. Unless a type of service to be provided by the independent auditor has received general pre-approval, it will require specific pre-approval by the Audit Committee. Any proposed services exceeding pre-approved cost levels will require specific pre-approval by the Audit Committee.

Certain services have the general pre-approval of the Audit Committee. The term of the general pre-approval is 12 months from the date of pre-approval, unless the Audit Committee specifically provides for a different period. The Audit Committee will annually review the services that may be provided by the independent auditor without obtaining specific pre-approval from the Audit Committee and may grant general pre-approval for such services. The Audit Committee will revise the list of general pre-approved services from time to time, based on subsequent determinations. The Audit Committee will not delegate to management its responsibilities to pre-approve services performed by the independent auditor.

The Audit Committee has delegated pre-approval authority to its chairman (the “Chairman”) for services that do not exceed a specified dollar threshold. The Chairman or Chief Audit Executive will report any such pre-approval decisions to the Audit Committee at its next scheduled meeting. The Committee will designate another member with such pre-approval authority when the Chairman is unavailable.

AUDIT SERVICES

The annual audit services engagement terms and fees will be subject to the specific pre-approval of the Audit Committee. The Audit Committee will approve, if necessary, any changes in terms, conditions and fees resulting from changes in audit scope, registered investment company (RIC) structure or other matters.

In addition to the annual audit services engagement specifically approved by the Audit Committee, the Audit Committee may grant general pre-approval for other audit services, which are those services that only the independent auditor reasonably can provide. The Audit Committee has pre-approved certain audit services; with limited exception, all other audit services must be specifically pre-approved by the Audit Committee.

AUDIT-RELATED SERVICES

Audit-related services are assurance and related services that are reasonably related to the performance of the audit or review of the RIC’s financial statements or that are traditionally performed by the independent auditor. The Audit Committee believes that the provision of audit-related services does not impair the independence of the auditor, and has pre-approved certain audit-related services; all other audit-related services must be specifically pre-approved by the Audit Committee.

TAX SERVICES

The Audit Committee believes that the independent auditor can provide tax services to the RIC such as tax compliance, tax planning and tax advice without impairing the auditor’s independence. However, the Audit Committee will not permit the retention of the independent auditor in connection with a transaction initially recommended by the independent auditor, the purpose of which may be tax avoidance and the tax treatment of which may not be supported in the Internal Revenue Code and related regulations. The Audit Committee has pre-approved certain tax services; with limited exception, all tax services involving large and complex transactions must be specifically pre-approved by the Audit Committee.

ALL OTHER SERVICES

With respect to the provision of permissible services other than audit, review or attest services the pre-approval requirement is waived if:

(1) With respect to such services rendered to the Funds, the aggregate amount of all such services provided constitutes no more than five percent of the total amount of revenues paid by the audit client to its accountant during the fiscal year in which the services are provided; and,

(2) With respect to such services rendered to the Fund’s investment adviser ( the “Adviser”)and any entity controlling, controlled by to under common control with the Adviser such as affiliated non-U.S. and U.S. funds not under the Audit Committee’s purview and which do not fall within a category of service which has been determined by the Audit Committee not to have a direct impact on the operations or financial reporting of the RIC, the aggregate amount of all services provided constitutes no more than five percent of the total amount of revenues paid to the RIC’s auditor by the RIC, its Adviser and any entity controlling, controlled by, or under common control with the Adviser during the fiscal year in which the services are provided; and

(3) Such services were not recognized by the issuer or RIC at the time of the engagement to be non-audit services; and

(4) Such services are promptly brought to the attention of the Audit Committee and approved prior to the completion of the audit by the Audit Committee or by one or more members of the Audit Committee who are members of the Board of Directors to whom authority to grant such approvals has been delegated by the Audit Committee.

The Audit Committee may grant general pre-approval to those permissible non-audit services which qualify for pre-approval and which it believes are routine and recurring services, and would not impair the independence of the auditor.

The Securities and Exchange Commission’s (the “SEC”) rules and relevant guidance should be consulted to determine the precise definitions of these services and applicability of exceptions to certain of the prohibitions.

PRE-APPROVAL FEE LEVELS

Pre-approval fee levels for all services to be provided by the independent auditor will be established annually by the Audit Committee. Any proposed services exceeding these levels will require specific pre-approval by the Audit Committee.

PROCEDURES

Requests or applications to provide services that require specific approval by the Audit Committee will be submitted to the Audit Committee by the Fund’s Principal Accounting Officer and/or the Chief Audit Executive of Federated Hermes, Inc., only after those individuals have determined that the request or application is consistent with the SEC’s rules on auditor independence.

(e)(2) Percentage of services identified in items 4(b) through 4(d) that were approved by the registrant’s Audit Committee pursuant to paragraph (c)(7)(i)(C) of Rule 2-01 of Regulation S-X:

4(b)

Fiscal year ended 2022 – 0%

Fiscal year ended 2021 - 0%

Percentage of services provided to the registrant’s Adviser and any entity controlling, controlled by, or under common control with the Adviser that provides ongoing services to the registrant that were approved by the registrant’s Audit Committee pursuant to paragraph (c)(7)(i)(C) of Rule 2-01 of Regulation S-X, 0% and 0% respectively.

4(c)

Fiscal year ended 2022 – 0%

Fiscal year ended 2021 – 0%

Percentage of services provided to the registrant’s Adviser and any entity controlling, controlled by, or under common control with the Adviser that provides ongoing services to the registrant that were approved by the registrant’s Audit Committee pursuant to paragraph (c)(7)(i)(C) of Rule 2-01 of Regulation S-X, 0% and 0% respectively.

4(d)

Fiscal year ended 2022 – 0%

Fiscal year ended 2021 – 0%

Percentage of services provided to the registrant’s Adviser and any entity controlling, controlled by, or under common control with the Adviser that provides ongoing services to the registrant that were approved by the registrant’s Audit Committee pursuant to paragraph (c)(7)(i)(C) of Rule 2-01 of Regulation S-X, 0% and 0% respectively.

(f) NA

(g) Non-Audit Fees billed to the registrant, the registrant’s Adviser, and certain entities controlling, controlled by or under common control with the Adviser:

Fiscal year ended 2022 - $6,214

Fiscal year ended 2021 - $7,962

(h) The registrant’s Audit Committee has considered that the provision of non-audit services that were rendered to the registrant’s 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 that were not pre-approved pursuant to paragraph (c)(7)(ii) of Rule 2-01 of Regulation S-X is compatible with maintaining the principal accountant’s independence.

Item 5. Audit Committee of Listed Registrants

The registrant has established an Audit Committee of the Board as described in Section 3(a)(58)(A) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. The Audit Committee consists of the following Board members: G. Thomas Hough, Maureen Lally-Green, Thomas M. O’Neill and P. Jerome Richey.

Item 6. Investments

(a) The registrant’s Schedule of Investments is included as part of the Report to Stockholders filed under Item 1 of this form.

(b) Not Applicable; Fund had no divestments during the reporting period covered since the previous Form N-CSR filing.

Item 7. Disclosure of Proxy Voting Policies and Procedures for Closed-End Management Investment Companies

Voting Proxies On Fund Portfolio Securities

The Board has delegated to the Adviser authority to vote proxies on the securities held in the Fund's portfolio. The Board has also approved the Adviser's policies and procedures for voting the proxies, which are described below.

Proxy Voting Policies

As an investment adviser with a fiduciary duty to the Fund and its shareholders, the Adviser's general policy is to cast proxy votes in favor of management proposals and shareholder proposals that the Adviser anticipates will enhance the long-term value of the securities being voted in a manner that is consistent with the investment objectives of the Fund. Generally, this will mean voting for proposals that the Adviser believes will improve the management of a company, increase the rights or preferences of the voted securities, or increase the chance that a premium offer would be made for the company or for the voted securities. This approach to voting proxy proposals will be referred to hereafter as the “General Policy.”

The Adviser generally votes consistently on the same matter when securities of an issuer are held by multiple client portfolios. However, the Adviser may vote differently if a client’s investment objectives differ from those of other clients or if a client explicitly instructs the Adviser to vote differently.

The following examples illustrate how the General Policy may apply to the most common management proposals and shareholder proposals. However, whether the Adviser supports or opposes a proposal will always depend on a thorough understanding of the registrant’s investment objectives and the specific circumstances described in the proxy statement and other available information.

On matters related to the board of directors, generally the Adviser will vote to elect nominees to the board in uncontested elections except in certain circumstances, such as where the director: (1) had not attended at least 75% of the board meetings during the previous year; (2) serves as the company’s chief financial officer, unless the company is headquartered in the UK where this is market practice; (3) has become over-boarded (more than five boards for retired executives and more than two boards for CEOs); (4) is the chair of the nominating or governance committee when the roles of chairman of the board and CEO are combined and there is no lead independent director; (5) served on the compensation committee during a period in which compensation appears excessive relative to performance and peers; or (6) served on a board that did not implement a shareholder proposal that the Adviser supported and received more than 50% shareholder support the previous year. In addition, the Adviser will generally vote in favor of: (7) a full slate of directors, where the directors are elected as a group and not individually, unless more than half of the nominees are not independent; (8) shareholder proposals to declassify the board of directors; (9) shareholder proposals to require a majority voting standard in the election of directors; (10) shareholder proposals to separate the roles of chairman of the board and CEO; (11) a proposal to require a company’s audit committee to be comprised entirely of independent directors; and (12) shareholder proposals to eliminate supermajority voting requirements in company bylaws.

On other matters of corporate governance, generally the Adviser will vote: (1) in favor of proposals to grant shareholders the right to call a special meeting if owners of at least 15% of the outstanding stock agree; (2) against proposals to allow shareholders to act by written consent; (3) on a case-by-case basis for proposals to adopt or amend shareholder rights plans (also known as “poison pills”); (4) in favor of shareholder proposals to eliminate supermajority requirements in company bylaws; and (5) in favor of shareholder proposals calling for “Proxy Access,” that is, a bylaw change allowing shareholders owning at least 3% of the outstanding common stock for at least three years to nominate candidates for election to the board of directors.

Generally, the Adviser will vote every shareholder proposal of an environmental or social nature on a case-by-case basis. The quality of these shareholder proposals varies widely across markets. Similarly, company disclosures of their business practices related to environmental and social risks are not always adequate for investors to make risk assessments. Thus, the Adviser places great importance on company-specific analyses to determine how to vote. Above all, the Adviser will vote in a manner that would enhance the long-term value of the investment within the framework of the client’s investment objectives.

The Adviser’s general approach to analyzing these proposals calls for considering the literal meaning of the written proposal, the financial materiality of the proposal’s objective, and the practices followed by industry peers. This analysis utilizes research reports from the Adviser’s proxy advisors, company filings, as well as reports published by the company and other outside organizations.

On matters of capital structure, generally, the Adviser will vote proxies for U.S. issuers on a case-by-case basis for proposals to authorize the issuance of new shares if not connected to an M&A transaction and the potential dilution is more than 10%, against proposals to create multiple-class voting structures where one class has superior voting rights to the other classes, in favor of proposals to authorize reverse stock splits unless the amount of authorized shares is not also reduced proportionately. Generally, the Adviser will vote proxies for non-U.S. issuers in favor of proposals to authorize issuance of shares with and without pre-emptive rights unless the size of the authorities would threaten to unreasonably dilute existing shareholders.

Votes on executive compensation come in many forms, including advisory votes on U.S. executive compensation plans (“Say On Pay”), advisory and binding votes on the design or implementation of non-U.S. executive remuneration plans, and votes to approve new equity plans or amendment to existing plans. Generally, the Adviser will support compensation arrangements that are aligned with the client’s long-term investment objectives. With respect to Say On Pay proposals, the Adviser will generally vote in favor unless the compensation plan has failed to align executive compensation with corporate performance, or the design of the plan is likely to lead to misalignment in the future. The Adviser supports the principle of an annual shareholder vote on executive pay and will generally vote accordingly on proposals which set the frequency of the Say On Pay vote.

In some markets, especially Europe, shareholders are provided a vote on the remuneration policy, which sets out the structural elements of a company’s executive remuneration plan on a forward-looking basis. The Adviser will generally support these proposals unless the design of the remuneration policy fails to appropriately link executive compensation with corporate performance, total compensation appears excessive relative to the company’s industry peer group, with local market dynamics also taken into account; or there is insufficient disclosure to enable an informed judgment, particularly as it relates to the disclosure of the maximum amounts of compensation that may be awarded.

The Adviser will generally vote in favor of equity plan proposals unless they result in unreasonable dilution to existing shareholders, permit replacement of “underwater” options with new options on more favorable terms for the recipient, or omit the criteria for determining the granting or vesting of awards.

On matters relating to corporate transactions, the Adviser will generally vote in favor of mergers, acquisitions, and sales of assets if the Adviser’s analysis of the proposed business strategy and the transaction price would have a positive impact on the total return for shareholders.

If a shareholders meeting is contested, that is, shareholders are presented with a set of director candidates nominated by company management and a set of director candidates nominated by a dissident shareholder, the Adviser will study the proposed business strategies of both groups and vote in a way that maximizes expected total return for the registrant.

In addition, the Adviser will not vote any proxy if it determines that the consequences or costs of voting outweigh the potential benefit of voting. For example, if a foreign market requires shareholders voting proxies to retain the voted shares until the meeting date (thereby rendering the shares “illiquid” for some period of time), the Adviser will not vote proxies for such shares. In addition, the Adviser is not obligated to incur any expense to send a representative to a shareholder meeting or to translate proxy materials into English.

To the extent that the Adviser is permitted to loan securities, the Adviser does not have the right to vote on securities while they are on loan. However, the Adviser will take all reasonable steps to recall shares prior to the record date when the meeting raises issues that the Adviser believes materially affect shareholder value, provided that the Adviser considers that the benefits of voting on the securities are greater than the associated costs, including the opportunity cost of the lost revenue that would otherwise be generated by the loan. However, there can be no assurance that the Adviser will have sufficient notice of such matters to be able to terminate the loan in time to vote thereon.

The Adviser will take into account feedback from issuers on the voting recommendations of the Adviser’s proxy advisory firm if the feedback is provided at least five days before the voting cut-off date. In certain circumstances, primarily those where the Adviser’s voting policy is absolute and without exception, issuer feedback will not be part of the voting decision. For example, it is the Adviser’s policy to always support a shareholder proposal to separate the roles of chairman of the board and CEO. Thus, any comments from the issuer opposing this proposal would not be considered.

If proxies are not delivered in a timely or otherwise appropriate basis, the Adviser may not be able to vote a particular proxy.

For an Adviser that employs a quantitative investment strategy for certain funds or accounts that does not make use of qualitative research (“Non-Qualitative Accounts”), the Adviser may not have the kind of research to make decisions about how to vote proxies for them. Therefore, the Adviser will vote the proxies of these Non-Qualitative Accounts as follows: (a) in accordance with the Standard Voting Instructions (defined below); (b) if the Adviser is casting votes for the same proxy on behalf of a regular qualitative account and a Non-Qualitative Account, the Non-Qualitative Account would vote in the same manner as the regular qualitative account; (c) if neither of the first two conditions apply, as the proxy advisory firm is recommending; and (d) if none of the previous conditions apply, as recommended by the Proxy Voting Committee.

Proxy Voting Procedures

The Adviser has established a Proxy Voting Committee (“Proxy Committee”), to exercise all voting discretion granted to the Adviser by the Board in accordance with the proxy voting policies. To assist it in carrying out the day-to-day operations related to proxy voting, the Proxy Committee has created the Proxy Voting Management Group (PVMG). The day-to-day operations related to proxy voting are carried out by the Proxy Voting Operations Team (PVOT) and overseen by the PVMG. Besides voting the proxies, this work includes engaging with investee companies on corporate governance matters, managing the proxy advisory firm, soliciting voting recommendations from the Adviser's investment professionals, bringing voting recommendations to the Proxy Committee for approval, filing with regulatory agencies any required proxy voting reports, providing proxy voting reports to clients and investment companies as they are requested from time to time, and keeping the Proxy Committee informed of any issues related to corporate governance, and proxy voting.

The Adviser has compiled a list of specific voting instructions based on the General Policy (the “Standard Voting Instructions”). The Standard Voting Instructions and any modifications to them are approved by the Proxy Committee. The Standard Voting Instructions sometimes call for an investment professional to review the ballot question and provide a voting recommendation to the Proxy Committee (a “case-by-case vote”). The foregoing notwithstanding, the Proxy Committee always has the authority to determine a final voting decision.

The Adviser has hired a proxy advisory firm to perform various proxy voting related administrative services such as ballot reconciliation, vote processing, and recordkeeping functions. Currently this service is provided by Glass Lewis & Co. LLC. The Proxy Committee has supplied the proxy advisory firm with the Standard Voting Instructions. The Proxy Committee retains the right to modify the Standard Voting Instructions at any time or to vote contrary to them at any time in order to cast proxy votes in a manner that the Proxy Committee believes is in accordance with the General Policy. The proxy advisory firm may vote any proxy as directed in the Standard Voting Instructions without further direction from the Proxy Committee. However, if the Standard Voting Instructions require case-by-case handling for a proposal, the PVOT will work with the investment professionals and the proxy advisory firm to develop a voting recommendation for the Proxy Committee and to communicate the Proxy Committee's final voting decision to the proxy advisory firm. Further, if the Standard Voting Instructions require the PVOT to analyze a ballot question and make the final voting decision, the PVOT will report such votes to the Proxy Committee on a quarterly basis for review.

Conflicts of Interest

The Adviser has adopted procedures to address situations where a matter on which a proxy is sought may present a potential conflict between the interests of the registrant (and its shareholders) and those of the Adviser or the Distributor. This may occur where a significant business relationship exists between the Adviser (or its affiliates) and a company involved with a proxy vote.

A company that is a proponent, opponent or the subject of a proxy vote, and which to the knowledge of the Proxy Committee has this type of significant business relationship, is referred to below as an “Interested Company.”

The Adviser has implemented the following procedures in order to avoid concerns that the conflicting interests of the Adviser or its affiliates have influenced proxy votes. Any employee of the Adviser or its affiliates who is contacted by an Interested Company regarding proxies to be voted by the Adviser must refer the Interested Company to a member of the Proxy Committee, and must inform the Interested Company that the Proxy Committee has exclusive authority to determine how the proxy will be voted. Any Proxy Committee member contacted by an Interested Company must report it to the full Proxy Committee and provide a written summary of the communication. This requirement includes engagement meetings with investee companies and does not include communications with proxy solicitation firms. Under no circumstances will the Proxy Committee or any member of the Proxy Committee make a commitment to an Interested Company regarding the voting of proxies or disclose to an Interested Company how the Proxy Committee has directed such proxies to be voted. If the Standard Voting Instructions already provide specific direction on the proposal in question, the Proxy Committee shall not alter or amend such directions. If the Standard Voting Instructions require the Proxy Committee to provide further direction, the Proxy Committee shall do so in accordance with the proxy voting policies, without regard for the interests of the Adviser with respect to the Interested Company. If the Proxy Committee provides any direction as to the voting of proxies relating to a proposal affecting an Interested Company, it must disclose annually to the Fund's Board information regarding: the significant business relationship; any material communication with the Interested Company; the matter(s) voted on; and how, and why, the Adviser voted as it did. In certain circumstances it may be appropriate for the Adviser to vote in the same proportion as all other shareholders, so as to not affect the outcome beyond helping to establish a quorum at the shareholders' meeting. This is referred to as “proportional voting.” If the registrant owns shares of another Federated Hermes, Inc. (“Federated Hermes”) mutual fund, generally the Adviser will proportionally vote the client's proxies for that fund or seek direction from the Board or the client on how the proposal should be voted. If the registrant owns shares of an unaffiliated mutual fund, the Adviser may proportionally vote the registrant's proxies for that fund depending on the size of the position. If the registrant owns shares of an unaffiliated exchange-traded fund, the Adviser will proportionally vote the registrant's proxies for that fund.

Downstream Affiliates

If the Proxy Committee gives further direction, or seeks to vote contrary to the Standard Voting Instructions, for a proxy relating to a portfolio company in which the registrant owns more than 10% of the portfolio company's outstanding voting securities at the time of the vote (“Downstream Affiliate”), the Proxy Committee must first receive guidance from counsel to the Proxy Committee as to whether any relationship between the Adviser and the portfolio company, other than such ownership of the portfolio company's securities, gives rise to an actual conflict of interest. If counsel determines that an actual conflict exists, the Proxy Committee must address any such conflict with the executive committee of the board of directors or trustees of any investment company client prior to taking any action on the proxy at issue.

Proxy Advisers' Conflicts of Interest

Proxy advisory firms may have significant business relationships with the subjects of their research and voting recommendations. For example, a proxy advisory firm board member also sits on the board of a public company for which the proxy advisory firm will write a research report. This and similar situations give rise to an actual or apparent conflict of interest.

In order to avoid concerns that the conflicting interests of the engaged proxy advisory firm have influenced proxy voting recommendations, the Adviser will take the following steps:

1.

A due diligence team made up of employees of the Adviser and/or its affiliates will meet with the proxy advisory firm on an annual basis and determine through a review of their policies and procedures and through inquiry that the proxy advisory firm has established a system of internal controls that provide reasonable assurance that their voting recommendations are not influenced by the business relationships they have with the subjects of their research.

2.

Whenever the standard voting guidelines call for voting a proposal in accordance with the proxy advisory firm recommendation and the proxy advisory firm has disclosed that they have a conflict of interest with respect to that issuer, the PVOT will take the following steps: (a) the PVOT will obtain a copy of the research report and recommendations published by another proxy advisory firm for that issuer; (b) the Director of Proxy Voting, or his designee, will review both the engaged proxy advisory firm research report and the research report of the other proxy advisory firm and determine what vote will be cast. The PVOT will report all proxies voted in this manner to the Proxy Committee on a quarterly basis. Alternatively, the PVOT may seek direction from the Committee on how the proposal shall be voted.

Proxy Voting Report

A report on “Form N-PX” of how the registrant voted any proxies during the most recent 12-month period ended June 30 is available via the Proxy Voting Record (Form N-PX) link associated with the registrant at www.FederatedInvestors.com/FundInformation. Form N-PX filings are also available at the SEC's website at www.sec.gov.

Item 8. Portfolio Managers of Closed-End Management Investment Companies

As of the date of filing of the report, the Portfolio Managers listed below are jointly and primarily responsible for managing the registrant’s assets.

Portfolio Manager Information

As a general matter, certain conflicts of interest may arise in connection with a portfolio manager's management of a fund's investments, on the one hand, and the investments of other funds/pooled investment vehicles or accounts (collectively, including the Fund, as applicable, “accounts”) for which the portfolio manager is responsible, on the other. For example, it is possible that the various accounts managed could have different investment strategies that, at times, might conflict with one another to the possible detriment of the registrant. Alternatively, to the extent that the same investment opportunities might be desirable for more than one account, possible conflicts could arise in determining how to allocate them. Other potential conflicts can include, for example, conflicts created by specific portfolio manager compensation arrangements (including, for example, the allocation or weighting given to the performance of the Fund or other accounts or activities for which the portfolio manager is responsible in calculating the portfolio manager's compensation), and conflicts relating to selection of brokers or dealers to execute Fund portfolio trades and/or specific uses of commissions from Fund portfolio trades (for example, research or “soft dollars”). The Adviser has adopted policies and procedures and has structured the portfolio managers' compensation in a manner reasonably designed to safeguard the registrant from being negatively affected as a result of any such potential conflicts.

The following information about the registrant's Portfolio Managers is provided as of the end of the registrant's most recently completed fiscal year unless otherwise indicated.

Ihab L. Salib, Senior Portfolio Manager

Ihab L. Salib, Senior Portfolio Manager, has been the registrant’s portfolio manager since its inception December of 2016.

Mr. Salib is a Senior Portfolio Manager, Head of the International Fixed Income Group and Chairman of the Currency Management Committee. He is responsible for day to day management of the Fund focusing on asset allocation, interest rate strategy and security selection. He has been with the Adviser or an affiliate since 1999; has worked in investment management since 1992; has managed investment portfolios since 2002. Education: B.A., State University of New York at Stony Brook.

Types of Accounts Managed by Ihab Salib	Total Number of Additional Accounts Managed/Total Assets*	Additional Accounts/Assets Managed that are Subject to Advisory Fee Based on Account Performance
Registered Investment Companies	15/$2.7 billion	0/$0
Other Pooled Investment Vehicles	7/$620.3 million	0/$0
Other Accounts	0/$0	2/$380.0 million

* None of the Accounts has an advisory fee that is based on the performance of the account.

Dollar value range of shares owned in the Fund: None.

Ihab Salib is paid a fixed base salary and a variable annual incentive. Base salary is determined within a market competitive, position-specific salary range, based on the portfolio manager's experience and performance. The annual incentive amount is determined based primarily on Investment Product Performance (IPP), and may also include a discretionary component based on a variety of factors deemed relevant, such as financial measures and performance and may be paid entirely in cash, or in a combination of cash and restricted stock of Federated Hermes, Inc. (“Federated Hermes”). The total combined annual incentive opportunity is intended to be competitive in the market for this portfolio manager role.

IPP is measured on a rolling one and two calendar year pre-tax gross total return basis versus the Fund's benchmark (i.e., ICE BofA US Dollar 1-Month Deposit Offered Rate Constant Maturity Index). Performance periods are adjusted if a portfolio manager has been managing an account for less than five years; accounts with less than one year of performance history under a portfolio manager may be excluded.

As noted above, Mr. Salib is also the portfolio manager for other accounts in addition to the Fund. Such other accounts may have different benchmarks and performance measures. The allocation or weighting given to the performance of the Fund or other accounts or activities for which Mr. Salib is responsible when his compensation is calculated may be equal or can vary.

In addition, Mr. Salib has oversight responsibility for other portfolios that he does not personally manage and serves on one or more Investment Teams that establish guidelines on various performance drivers (e.g., currency, duration, sector, volatility and/or yield curve) for taxable, fixed-income funds. A portion of the IPP score is based on Federated Hermes' senior management's assessment of team contributions.

For purposes of calculating the annual incentive amount, each account managed by the portfolio manager currently is categorized into one of two IPP groups (which may be adjusted periodically). Within each performance measurement period and IPP group, IPP currently is calculated on the basis of an assigned weighting to each account managed or activity engaged in by the portfolio manager and included in the IPP groups. At the account level, the weighting assigned to the Fund is lesser than or equal to the weighting assigned to other accounts or activities used to determine IPP (but can be adjusted periodically). A portion of the bonus tied to the IPP score may be adjusted based on management's assessment of overall contributions to fund performance and any other factors as deemed relevant.

Any individual allocations from the discretionary pool may be determined, by executive management on a discretionary basis using various factors, such as, for example, on a product, strategy or asset class basis, and considering overall contributions and any other factors deemed relevant (and may be adjusted periodically).

Christopher P. McGinley, Portfolio Manager

Christopher P. McGinley has been the registrant’s portfolio manager since December of 2016.

Mr. McGinley is Head of the Trade Finance Team and is responsible for day to day management of the Fund focusing on asset allocation, interest rate strategy and security selection. He has been with the Adviser or an affiliate since 2004; has worked in investment management since 2005; has managed investment portfolios since 2009. Education: B.S., University of Pittsburgh; M.P.I.A., University of Pittsburgh.

Types of Accounts Managed by Christopher McGinley	Total Number of Additional Accounts Managed/Total Assets*
Registered Investment Companies	9/$986.0 million
Other Pooled Investment Vehicles	1/$1.1 million
Other Accounts	0/$0

* None of the Accounts has an advisory fee that is based on the performance of the account.

Dollar value range of shares owned in the Fund: None.

Christopher McGinley is paid a fixed base salary and a variable annual incentive. Base salary is determined within a market competitive position-specific salary range, based on the portfolio manager's experience and performance. The annual incentive amount is determined based primarily on Investment Product Performance (IPP), and may also include a discretionary component based on a variety of factors deemed relevant, such as financial measures and performance and may be paid entirely in cash, or in a combination of cash and restricted stock of Federated Hermes, Inc. (“Federated Hermes”). The total combined annual incentive opportunity is intended to be competitive in the market for this portfolio manager role.

IPP is measured on a rolling one and two calendar year pre-tax gross total return basis versus the Fund's benchmark (i.e., ICE BofA US Dollar 1-Month Deposit Offered Rate Constant Maturity Index). Performance periods are adjusted if a portfolio manager has been managing an account for less than five years; accounts with less than one year of performance history under a portfolio manager may be excluded.

As noted above, Mr. McGinley is also the portfolio manager for other accounts in addition to the Fund. Such other accounts may have different benchmarks and performance measures. The allocation or weighting given to the performance of the Fund or other accounts for which Mr. McGinley is responsible when his compensation is calculated may be equal or can vary.

For purposes of calculating the annual incentive amount, each account managed by the portfolio manager currently is categorized into one of two IPP groups (which may be adjusted periodically). Within each performance measurement period and IPP group, IPP currently is calculated on the basis of an assigned weighting to each account managed by the portfolio manager and included in the IPP groups. At the account level, the weighting assigned to the Fund is greater than or equal to the weighting assigned to other accounts used to determine IPP (but can be adjusted periodically). A portion of the bonus tied to the IPP score may be adjusted based on management's assessment of overall contributions to fund performance and any other factors as deemed relevant.

Any individual allocations from the discretionary pool may be determined, by executive management on a discretionary basis using various factors, such as, for example, on a product, strategy or asset class basis, and considering overall contributions and any other factors deemed relevant (and may be adjusted periodically).

Maarten Offeringa, Portfolio Manager

Maarten Offeringa, Portfolio Manager, has been the registrant’s portfolio manager since July of 2019.

Mr. Offeringa is responsible for providing research and advice on sector allocation and security selection. He has been with the Adviser or an affiliate since 2018; has worked in financial services since 2002; has worked in investment management since 2018; has managed investment portfolios since 2019. Previous associations: Director, Bank of America Merrill Lynch; Vice President, J.P. Morgan. Education: MA, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam.

Types of Accounts Managed by Maarten Offeringa	Total Number of Additional Accounts Managed/Total Assets*
Registered Investment Companies	4/$986.0 million
Other Pooled Investment Vehicles	0/$0
Other Accounts	0/$0

*None of the Accounts has an advisory fee that is based on the performance of the account.

Dollar value range of shares owned in the Fund: None.

Maarten Offeringa is paid a fixed base salary and a variable annual incentive. Base salary is determined within a market competitive position-specific salary range, based on the portfolio manager's experience and performance. The annual incentive amount is determined based primarily on Investment Product Performance (IPP), and may also include a discretionary component based on a variety of factors deemed relevant, such as financial measures and performance and is paid entirely in cash. The total combined annual incentive opportunity is intended to be competitive in the market for this portfolio manager role.

IPP is measured on a rolling one and two calendar year pre-tax gross total return basis versus the Fund's benchmark (i.e., ICE BofA US Dollar 1-Month Deposit Offered Rate Constant Maturity Index). Performance periods are adjusted if a portfolio manager has been managing an account for less than five years; accounts with less than one year of performance history under a portfolio manager may be excluded.

As noted above, Mr. Offeringa is also the portfolio manager for other accounts in addition to the Fund. Such other accounts may have different benchmarks and performance measures. The allocation or weighting given to the performance of the Fund or other accounts for which Mr. Offeringa is responsible when his compensation is calculated may be equal or can vary.

For purposes of calculating the annual incentive amount, each account managed by the portfolio manager currently is categorized into one of two IPP groups (which may be adjusted periodically). Within each performance measurement period and IPP group, IPP currently is calculated on the basis of an assigned weighting to each account managed by the portfolio manager and included in the IPP groups. At the account level, the weighting assigned to the Fund is greater than or equal to the weighting assigned to other accounts used to determine IPP (but can be adjusted periodically). Additionally, a portion of Mr. Offeringa’s IPP score is based on the performance of the accounts for which he provides research and analytic support. A portion of the bonus tied to the IPP score may be adjusted based on management's assessment of overall contributions to fund performance and any other factors as deemed relevant.

Any individual allocations from the discretionary pool may be determined, by executive management on a discretionary basis using various factors, such as, for example, on a product, strategy or asset class basis, and considering overall contributions and any other factors deemed relevant (and may be adjusted periodically).

Item 9. Purchases of Equity Securities by Closed-End Management Investment Company and Affiliated Purchasers

No such purchases this period.

Item 10. Submission of Matters to a Vote of Security Holders

No changes to report.

Item 11. Controls and Procedures

(a) The registrant’s President and Treasurer have concluded that the

registrant’s disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in rule 30a-3(c) under the Act) are effective in design and operation and are sufficient to form the basis of the certifications required by Rule 30a-(2) under the Act, based on their evaluation of these disclosure controls and procedures within 90 days of the filing date of this report on Form N-CSR.

(b) There were no changes in the registrant’s internal control over financial reporting (as defined in rule 30a-3(d) under the Act) during the second fiscal quarter of the period covered by this report that have materially affected, or are 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. The registrant does not currently participate in a securities lending program and did not engage in any securities lending activities during the period of this report.

Item 13. Exhibits

(a)(1) Code of Ethics- Not Applicable to this Report.

(a)(2) Certifications of Principal Executive Officer and Principal Financial Officer.

(a)(3) Not Applicable.

(b) Certifications pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 1350.

SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.

Registrant Federated Hermes Project and Trade Finance Tender Fund

By /S/ Lori A. Hensler

Lori A. Hensler, Treasurer and Principal Financial Officer

Date ___May 25, 2022____

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, 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/ J. Christopher Donahue

J. Christopher Donahue, President and Principal Executive Officer

Date ___May 25, 2022____

By /S/ Lori A. Hensler

Lori A. Hensler, Treasurer and Principal Financial Officer

Date ___May 25, 2022____