N-CSRS 1 d198905dncsrs.htm GREAT-WEST INTERNATIONAL INDEX FUND Great-West International Index Fund
UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
FORM N-CSR
CERTIFIED SHAREHOLDER REPORT OF REGISTERED
MANAGEMENT INVESTMENT COMPANIES
Investment Company Act file number: 811-03364
GREAT-WEST FUNDS, INC.
(Exact name of registrant as specified in charter)
8515 E. Orchard Road, Greenwood Village, Colorado 80111
(Address of principal executive offices)
Jonathan D. Kreider
President and Chief Executive Officer
Great-West Funds, Inc.
8515 E. Orchard Road
Greenwood Village, Colorado 80111
(Name and address of agent for service)
Registrant's telephone number, including area code: (866) 831-7129
Date of fiscal year end: December 31
Date of reporting period: June 30, 2021

 


Item 1. REPORTS TO STOCKHOLDERS
GREAT-WEST FUNDS, INC.
Great-West International Index Fund
(Institutional Class and Investor Class)
Semi-Annual Report
June 30, 2021
On June 5, 2018 the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) adopted new rule 30e-3 under the Investment Company Act of 1940. Subject to conditions, new rule 30e-3 will provide certain registered investment companies with an optional method to satisfy their obligations to transmit shareholder reports by making such reports and other materials accessible at a website address specified in a notice to investors.
Beginning on January 1, 2021, as permitted by regulations adopted by the SEC, paper copies of the Fund’s annual and semi-annual shareholder reports will no longer be sent by mail, unless you specifically request paper copies of the reports. Instead, the reports will be made available on the Fund’s website (www.greatwestfunds.com), and you will be notified by mail each time a report is posted and provided with a website link to access the report.
If you already elected to receive shareholder reports electronically, you will not be affected by this change and you need not take any action. You may elect to receive shareholder reports and other communications from your financial intermediary electronically by contacting your financial intermediary.
You may elect to receive all future reports in paper free of charge. You can contact (866) 345-5954 or make elections online at www.fundreports.com to let your financial intermediary know you wish to continue to receive paper copies of your shareholder reports. Your election to receive reports in paper will apply to all funds held in your account.
This report and the financial statements attached are submitted for general information and are not authorized for distribution to prospective investors unless preceded or accompanied by an effective prospectus. Nothing herein is to be considered an offer of the sale of shares of the Fund. Such offering is made only by the prospectus of the Fund, which includes details as to offering price and other information.

 


Summary of Investments by Sector as of June 30, 2021 (unaudited)
Sector Percentage of
Fund Investments
Consumer, Non-cyclical 24.96%
Financial 19.34
Industrial 13.79
Consumer, Cyclical 13.74
Basic Materials 6.89
Technology 6.18
Communications 5.45
Energy 3.46
Utilities 3.24
Government Money Market Mutual Funds 1.36
Diversified 0.22
Short Term Investments 1.37
Total 100.00%
Shareholder Expense Example (unaudited)
As a shareholder of the Fund, you incur two types of costs: (1) transaction costs, and (2) ongoing costs, including management fees and other Fund expenses. This Example is intended to help you 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.
The Example is based on an investment of $1,000 invested at the beginning of the period and held for the entire period (January 1, 2021 to June 30, 2021).
Actual Expenses
The first row of the table below provides information about actual account values and actual expenses. You may use the information in this row, together with the amount you invested, to estimate the expenses that you paid 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 row under the heading entitled “Expenses Paid During Period” to estimate the expenses you paid on your account during this period.
Hypothetical Example for Comparison Purposes
The second row 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. The hypothetical account values and expenses may not be used to estimate the actual ending account balance or expenses you paid for the period. You may use this information to compare the ongoing costs of investing in the Fund and 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 and do not reflect any transactional costs. Therefore, the second row of the table is useful in comparing ongoing costs only, and will not help you determine the relative total costs of owning different funds. In addition, if these transactional costs were included, your costs would have been higher.

 


  Beginning
Account Value
  Ending
Account Value
  Expenses Paid
During Period*
  (01/01/21)   (06/30/21)   (01/01/21 – 06/30/21)
Institutional Class          
Actual $1,000.00   $1,088.60   $1.45
Hypothetical
(5% return before expenses)
$1,000.00   $1,023.40   $1.40
Investor Class          
Actual $1,000.00   $1,086.40   $3.47
Hypothetical
(5% return before expenses)
$1,000.00   $1,021.50   $3.36
* Expenses are equal to the Fund's annualized expense ratio of 0.28% for the Institutional Class shares and 0.67% for the Investor Class shares, multiplied by the average account value over the period, multiplied by 181/365 days to reflect the one-half year period.
  Performance does not include any fees or expenses of variable insurance contracts, IRAs, qualified retirement plans or college savings programs, if applicable. If such fees or expenses were included, returns would be lower.

 


GREAT-WEST FUNDS, INC.
GREAT-WEST INTERNATIONAL INDEX FUND
Schedule of Investments
As of June 30, 2021 (Unaudited)
Shares   Fair Value
COMMON STOCK
Basic Materials — 6.87%
27,688 Air Liquide SA $    4,855,081
11,148 Akzo Nobel NV     1,380,352
75,694 Anglo American PLC     3,011,652
23,458 Antofagasta PLC        466,319
42,185 ArcelorMittal SA     1,298,749
4,022 Arkema SA        505,500
75,100 Asahi Kasei Corp 825,438
53,688 BASF SE 4,238,109
172,192 BHP Group Ltd 6,264,409
123,456 BHP Group PLC 3,652,321
28,528 BlueScope Steel Ltd 468,765
15,994 Boliden AB 615,441
9,277 Brenntag SE 863,431
6,139 Chr Hansen Holding A/S 554,064
12,200 Clariant AG 242,930
11,102 Covestro AG(a) 717,837
8,053 Croda International PLC 821,135
483 EMS-Chemie Holding AG 474,744
102,135 Evolution Mining Ltd 345,087
11,734 Evonik Industries AG 393,949
31,245 Evraz PLC 256,254
98,985 Fortescue Metals Group Ltd 1,729,165
540 Givaudan SA 2,513,815
588,154 Glencore PLC 2,523,998
11,300 Hitachi Metals Ltd(b) 215,942
44,162 ICL Group Ltd 299,660
26,800 JFE Holdings Inc 314,415
11,913 Johnson Matthey PLC 507,045
11,100 Kansai Paint Co Ltd 283,339
9,844 Koninklijke DSM NV 1,840,165
4,714 Lanxess AG 323,516
73,700 Mitsubishi Chemical Holdings Corp 620,112
9,200 Mitsubishi Gas Chemical Co Inc 194,947
10,200 Mitsui Chemicals Inc 352,592
29,203 Mondi PLC 768,662
47,299 Newcrest Mining Ltd 896,971
41,500 Nippon Paint Holdings Co Ltd(c) 561,416
8,000 Nippon Sanso Holdings Corp 164,225
50,174 Nippon Steel Corp 848,352
6,900 Nissan Chemical Corp 337,272
9,000 Nitto Denko Corp 670,234
76,837 Norsk Hydro ASA 490,558
62,046 Northern Star Resources Ltd 455,674
12,446 Novozymes A/S Class B 939,046
47,400 Oji Holdings Corp 272,395
21,763 Rio Tinto Ltd 2,063,257
65,600 Rio Tinto PLC 5,416,824
20,800 Shin-Etsu Chemical Co Ltd 3,479,022
13,885 Smurfit Kappa Group PLC 755,111
4,344 Solvay SA 552,918
286,111 South32 Ltd 627,438
32,753 Stora Enso OYJ Class R 598,098
85,900 Sumitomo Chemical Co Ltd 456,547
15,000 Sumitomo Metal Mining Co Ltd 583,361
Shares   Fair Value
Basic Materials — (continued)
35,658 Svenska Cellulosa AB SCA Class B $      584,869
7,700 Symrise AG     1,073,045
79,100 Toray Industries Inc        527,278
16,500 Tosoh Corp        284,507
11,646 Umicore SA        712,479
31,603 UPM-Kymmene OYJ     1,196,420
7,326 voestalpine AG        298,822
10,149 Yara International ASA 534,795
    70,119,874
Communications — 5.45%
16,602 Adevinta ASA(b) 318,476
59,246 Auto Trader Group PLC(a)(b) 518,712
47,361 Bollore SA(b) 254,061
518,654 BT Group PLC(b) 1,393,443
23,900 CyberAgent Inc 511,868
9,060 Delivery Hero SE(a)(b) 1,197,060
12,200 Dentsu Group Inc(c) 437,709
194,823 Deutsche Telekom AG 4,120,498
8,273 Elisa OYJ 493,695
12,500 Hakuhodo DY Holdings Inc 194,682
1,100 Hikari Tsushin Inc 193,321
227,900 HKT Trust & HKT Ltd 310,417
916 Iliad SA(c) 134,211
89,633 Informa PLC(b) 622,679
10,748 Just Eat Takeaway.com NV(a)(b)(c) 994,012
7,200 Kakaku.com Inc 216,606
94,200 KDDI Corp 2,934,866
198,794 Koninklijke KPN NV 621,757
25,600 M3 Inc(b) 1,865,174
5,927 Mercari Inc(b) 313,321
14,600 MonotaRO Co Ltd 344,043
3,614 Nice Ltd(b) 892,056
75,300 Nippon Telegraph & Telephone Corp 1,968,733
318,694 Nokia OYJ(b) 1,707,481
116,615 Orange SA 1,330,899
43,521 Pearson PLC 501,063
28,490 Prosus NV 2,791,091
8,933 Proximus SADP(c) 172,666
12,915 Publicis Groupe SA(c) 826,494
49,400 Rakuten Group Inc 557,783
3,905 Schibsted ASA Class A 188,382
5,882 Schibsted ASA Class B 244,977
5,123 Scout24 AG(a) 432,246
800 Sea Ltd ADR(b) 219,680
19,298 SEEK Ltd 479,729
471,800 Singapore Telecommunications Ltd 803,467
168,100 SoftBank Corp 2,197,906
73,200 SoftBank Group Corp 5,105,101
113,311 Spark New Zealand Ltd 380,349
1,555 Swisscom AG 888,509
27,591 Tele2 AB Class B(c) 376,174
967,412 Telecom Italia SpA 494,421
 
See Notes to Financial Statements.

Semi-Annual Report - June 30, 2021

 


GREAT-WEST FUNDS, INC.
GREAT-WEST INTERNATIONAL INDEX FUND
Schedule of Investments
As of June 30, 2021 (Unaudited)
Shares   Fair Value
Communications — (continued)
172,156 Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson Class B $    2,164,674
65,599 Telefonica Deutschland Holding AG        173,163
316,825 Telefonica SA(c)     1,478,771
39,534 Telenor ASA        666,743
152,050 Telia Co AB        675,325
242,153 Telstra Corp Ltd        682,966
8,300 Trend Micro Inc        434,617
6,569 United Internet AG 268,652
41,750 Vivendi SE(c) 1,402,761
1,568,522 Vodafone Group PLC 2,628,452
3,280 Wix.com Ltd(b) 952,118
15,661 Wolters Kluwer NV(b) 1,574,144
70,036 WPP PLC 946,541
156,000 Z Holdings Corp 780,696
6,700 ZOZO Inc 227,168
    55,606,609
Consumer, Cyclical — 13.45%
2,100 ABC-Mart Inc(b) 120,783
10,696 Accor SA(b) 400,068
11,131 adidas AG 4,153,611
38,500 Aeon Co Ltd 1,033,523
8,700 Aisin Corp 373,034
9,400 ANA Holdings Inc(b) 220,920
33,267 Aristocrat Leisure Ltd 1,073,945
11,300 Bandai Namco Holdings Inc 782,067
60,535 Barratt Developments PLC 582,704
19,146 Bayerische Motoren Werke AG 2,029,769
7,097 Berkeley Group Holdings PLC 451,162
33,800 Bridgestone Corp 1,536,290
20,203 Bunzl PLC 668,060
23,837 Burberry Group PLC 681,388
118,000 Chow Tai Fook Jewellery Group Ltd 269,609
30,513 Cie Financiere Richemont SA 3,699,049
9,939 Cie Generale des Etablissements Michelin SCA 1,586,215
27,700 City Developments Ltd 150,427
104,938 Compass Group PLC(b) 2,210,096
6,422 Continental AG(b) 944,810
1,200 Cosmos Pharmaceutical Corp 176,317
23,402 Crown Resorts Ltd(b) 208,885
50,028 Daimler AG 4,470,424
32,900 Daiwa House Industry Co Ltd 989,254
25,700 Denso Corp 1,752,522
18,499 Deutsche Lufthansa AG(b)(c) 208,032
3,561 Domino's Pizza Enterprises Ltd 322,015
12,694 Electrolux AB Class B 351,775
34,260 Entain PLC(b) 827,608
10,009 Evolution AB(a) 1,583,244
Shares   Fair Value
Consumer, Cyclical — (continued)
3,400 Fast Retailing Co Ltd $    2,555,740
6,807 Faurecia SE        334,633
13,161 Ferguson PLC     1,830,140
7,394 Ferrari NV     1,526,461
9,626 Flutter Entertainment PLC(b)     1,745,442
125,000 Galaxy Entertainment Group Ltd(b)        999,511
363,105 Genting Singapore Ltd        226,168
45,175 H & M Hennes & Mauritz AB Class B(b)(c) 1,072,880
1,852 Hermes International 2,702,639
16,700 Hino Motors Ltd 147,713
95,500 Honda Motor Co Ltd 3,071,590
3,300 Hoshizaki Corp 280,344
7,856 Iida Group Holdings Co Ltd 202,072
64,122 Industria de Diseno Textil SA 2,263,939
10,982 InterContinental Hotels Group PLC(b) 731,804
31,200 Isuzu Motors Ltd 414,013
70,200 ITOCHU Corp 2,025,600
9,400 Japan Airlines Co Ltd(b) 203,541
31,141 JD Sports Fashion PLC 396,203
4,395 Kering SA 3,850,968
121,012 Kingfisher PLC 610,591
5,800 Koito Manufacturing Co Ltd 360,892
5,463 La Francaise des Jeux SAEM(a)(c) 321,320
3,000 Lawson Inc 138,950
16,228 LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SE 12,765,841
92,800 Marubeni Corp 808,144
31,400 Mazda Motor Corp(b) 296,243
4,600 McDonald's Holdings Co Japan Ltd(c) 202,707
12,687 Melco Resorts & Entertainment Ltd ADR(b) 210,224
76,700 Mitsubishi Corp 2,095,157
93,600 Mitsui & Co Ltd 2,108,406
11,544 Moncler SpA 782,542
7,569 Next PLC(b) 823,552
14,300 NGK Insulators Ltd 240,666
6,500 Nintendo Co Ltd 3,761,374
138,700 Nissan Motor Co Ltd(b) 690,960
4,800 Nitori Holdings Co Ltd 847,666
11,900 Oriental Land Co Ltd 1,695,341
24,800 Pan Pacific International Holdings Corp 515,716
128,200 Panasonic Corp 1,476,162
5,885 Pandora A/S 793,969
18,152 Persimmon PLC 743,319
9,162 Porsche Automobil Holding SE 983,546
6,038 Puma SE 720,639
52,855 Qantas Airways Ltd(b) 184,516
280 Rational AG(c) 253,673
16,998 Reece Ltd 301,014
11,202 Renault SA(b) 454,100
16,100 Ryohin Keikaku Co Ltd 337,747
143,600 Sands China Ltd(b) 604,435
 
See Notes to Financial Statements.

Semi-Annual Report - June 30, 2021

 


GREAT-WEST FUNDS, INC.
GREAT-WEST INTERNATIONAL INDEX FUND
Schedule of Investments
As of June 30, 2021 (Unaudited)
Shares   Fair Value
Consumer, Cyclical — (continued)
1,584 SEB SA $      286,550
21,900 Sekisui Chemical Co Ltd        374,972
35,100 Sekisui House Ltd        720,771
13,300 Sharp Corp        219,420
4,400 Shimano Inc     1,046,865
82,800 Singapore Airlines Ltd(b)(c)        298,587
132,000 SJM Holdings Ltd(b)        144,088
5,041 Sodexo SA(b) 471,129
73,800 Sony Group Corp 7,156,184
8,200 Stanley Electric Co Ltd 236,908
119,605 Stellantis NV 2,346,875
35,100 Subaru Corp 695,664
68,600 Sumitomo Corp 919,819
45,100 Sumitomo Electric Industries Ltd 666,124
21,500 Suzuki Motor Corp 911,161
4,736 Swatch Group AG 790,931
136,105 Tabcorp Holdings Ltd 528,081
210,560 Taylor Wimpey PLC 463,241
7,000 Toho Co Ltd 288,624
8,800 Toyota Industries Corp 760,982
124,055 Toyota Motor Corp 10,844,156
12,300 Toyota Tsusho Corp 583,804
2,400 Tsuruha Holdings Inc 279,324
13,700 USS Co Ltd 239,482
13,197 Valeo 398,067
1,919 Volkswagen AG 630,707
11,730 Volvo AB Class A 291,137
83,890 Volvo AB Class B(c) 2,021,701
6,200 Welcia Holdings Co Ltd 202,731
66,442 Wesfarmers Ltd 2,945,582
11,642 Whitbread PLC(b) 503,098
97,200 Wynn Macau Ltd(b) 152,886
43,400 Yamada Holdings Co Ltd 200,687
7,600 Yamaha Corp 412,584
15,500 Yamaha Motor Co Ltd 421,014
9,490 Zalando SE(a)(b) 1,147,717
    137,170,072
Consumer, Non-Cyclical — 24.86%
40,248 a2 Milk Co Ltd(b) 181,098
9,000 Adecco Group AG 612,376
1,155 Adyen NV(a)(b) 2,832,436
12,534 Afterpay Ltd(b) 1,112,522
27,200 Ajinomoto Co Inc 706,646
29,362 Alcon Inc 2,059,379
26,333 Amadeus IT Group SA(b) 1,856,384
9,952 Ambu A/S Class B(c) 382,933
6,956 Amplifon SpA 343,930
44,539 Anheuser-Busch InBev SA 3,210,756
2,721 Argenx SE(b)(c) 820,966
26,300 Asahi Group Holdings Ltd(c) 1,229,229
12,100 Asahi Intecc Co Ltd 289,293
26,264 Ashtead Group PLC 1,951,428
20,854 Associated British Foods PLC 639,862
108,800 Astellas Pharma Inc 1,896,021
Shares   Fair Value
Consumer, Non-Cyclical — (continued)
76,731 AstraZeneca PLC $    9,217,712
29,020 Atlantia SpA(b)        526,944
205 Barry Callebaut AG        476,436
57,483 Bayer AG     3,494,685
6,003 Beiersdorf AG        724,596
2,327 BioMerieux        270,376
87,522 Brambles Ltd        751,111
127,399 British American Tobacco PLC 4,945,451
102,900 Budweiser Brewing Co APAC Ltd(a) 324,007
16,787 Bureau Veritas SA 531,534
2,437 Carl Zeiss Meditec AG 471,084
5,946 Carlsberg AS Class B 1,109,619
36,613 Carrefour SA 720,521
71 Chocoladefabriken Lindt & Spruengli AG 1,369,813
39,900 Chugai Pharmaceutical Co Ltd 1,581,500
12,082 Coca-Cola Europacific Partners PLC 711,296
11,271 Coca-Cola HBC AG(b) 407,816
3,866 Cochlear Ltd 729,388
76,956 Coles Group Ltd 985,789
6,922 Coloplast A/S Class B 1,136,476
26,597 CSL Ltd 5,688,271
12,900 Dai Nippon Printing Co Ltd 272,983
99,400 Daiichi Sankyo Co Ltd 2,144,366
38,454 Danone SA 2,705,423
32,017 Davide Campari-Milano NV 429,161
6,764 Demant A/S(b) 381,181
136,762 Diageo PLC 6,553,845
1,561 DiaSorin SpA(c) 295,365
14,214 Edenred 810,434
14,500 Eisai Co Ltd 1,425,020
72,923 Endeavour Group Ltd(b) 343,992
16,699 EssilorLuxottica SA(c) 3,084,853
35,910 Essity AB Class B 1,191,141
2,809 Etablissements Franz Colruyt NV 157,079
7,900 Eurofins Scientific SE 903,590
53,620 Experian PLC 2,069,478
32,899 Fisher & Paykel Healthcare Corp Ltd 715,696
12,397 Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co KGaA 1,030,142
24,626 Fresenius SE & Co KGaA 1,285,226
3,890 Genmab A/S(b) 1,593,900
294,074 GlaxoSmithKline PLC 5,780,407
2,300 GMO Payment Gateway Inc 298,710
7,488 GN Store Nord AS 654,825
17,142 Grifols SA(c) 464,837
6,645 Heineken Holding NV(c) 670,537
15,174 Heineken NV 1,842,111
9,448 HelloFresh SE(b) 918,430
6,311 Henkel AG & Co KGaA 581,174
10,834 Hikma Pharmaceuticals PLC 366,493
2,900 Hisamitsu Pharmaceutical Co Inc 143,186
 
See Notes to Financial Statements.

Semi-Annual Report - June 30, 2021

 


GREAT-WEST FUNDS, INC.
GREAT-WEST INTERNATIONAL INDEX FUND
Schedule of Investments
As of June 30, 2021 (Unaudited)
Shares   Fair Value
Consumer, Non-Cyclical — (continued)
5,468 ICA Gruppen AB $      254,485
55,784 Imperial Brands PLC     1,202,468
9,706 Intertek Group PLC        742,573
2,358 Ipsen SA        245,366
3,200 Ito En Ltd        189,920
95,847 J Sainsbury PLC        360,623
69,000 Japan Tobacco Inc(c)     1,303,984
5,040 JDE Peet's NV(b)(c) 182,935
15,608 Jeronimo Martins SGPS SA 284,640
27,800 Kao Corp(c) 1,714,150
9,469 Kerry Group PLC Class A 1,323,863
16,062 Kesko OYJ Class B 593,111
8,500 Kikkoman Corp 560,561
47,700 Kirin Holdings Co Ltd(c) 930,905
3,000 Kobayashi Pharmaceutical Co Ltd(c) 256,514
7,800 Kobe Bussan Co Ltd(b) 245,750
62,272 Koninklijke Ahold Delhaize NV 1,854,429
52,103 Koninklijke Philips NV 2,586,084
2,000 Kose Corp 314,194
15,100 Kyowa Kirin Co Ltd 537,039
14,100 Lion Corp 239,004
4,353 Lonza Group AG 3,086,089
14,727 L'Oreal SA 6,576,973
10,800 Medipal Holdings Corp 206,480
7,100 MEIJI Holdings Co Ltd 425,467
7,506 Merck KGaA 1,440,220
26,104 Mowi ASA 664,596
168,401 Nestle SA 20,990,693
25,268 Nexi SpA(a)(b) 555,270
4,800 NH Foods Ltd(b) 186,587
18,200 Nihon M&A Center Inc 471,387
2,700 Nippon Shinyaku Co Ltd 214,806
10,325 Nisshin Seifun Group Inc 151,371
3,900 Nissin Foods Holdings Co Ltd 280,827
7,190 NMC Health PLC(b) 497
129,785 Novartis AG 11,839,842
100,651 Novo Nordisk A/S Class B 8,425,359
28,137 Ocado Group PLC(b) 779,227
67,700 Olympus Corp 1,346,616
22,000 Ono Pharmaceutical Co Ltd 490,604
5,771 Orion OYJ Class B 248,120
42,723 Orkla ASA 435,396
3,220 Orpea SA(b) 409,948
22,500 Otsuka Holdings Co Ltd(c) 934,245
5,900 PeptiDream Inc(b) 288,338
12,322 Pernod Ricard SA 2,738,710
11,400 Persol Holdings Co Ltd 225,110
6,100 Pigeon Corp(c) 172,044
6,000 Pola Orbis Holdings Inc(c) 158,207
13,616 QIAGEN NV(b) 658,176
10,642 Ramsay Health Care Ltd 502,099
6,891 Randstad NV 528,265
41,663 Reckitt Benckiser Group PLC 3,680,354
5,850 Recordati Industria Chimica e Farmaceutica SpA 334,632
79,400 Recruit Holdings Co Ltd 3,893,680
Shares   Fair Value
Consumer, Non-Cyclical — (continued)
112,953 RELX PLC $    2,994,356
1,257 Remy Cointreau SA        259,598
111,717 Rentokil Initial PLC        765,015
42,986 Roche Holding AG     16,256,070
24,649 Ryman Healthcare Ltd(b)        226,194
66,231 Sanofi     6,958,385
19,600 Santen Pharmaceutical Co Ltd        270,512
1,652 Sartorius Stedim Biotech 781,874
12,300 Secom Co Ltd 937,513
17,385 Securitas AB Class B 274,630
44,100 Seven & i Holdings Co Ltd 2,112,427
352 SGS SA 1,086,788
15,800 Shionogi & Co Ltd 823,433
23,300 Shiseido Co Ltd 1,718,579
15,390 Siemens Healthineers AG(a) 943,609
51,112 Smith & Nephew PLC 1,108,122
4,500 Sohgo Security Services Co Ltd 205,023
27,130 Sonic Healthcare Ltd 781,764
3,253 Sonova Holding AG 1,225,258
621 Straumann Holding AG 990,522
10,700 Sumitomo Dainippon Pharma Co Ltd 224,424
7,500 Suntory Beverage & Food Ltd 282,692
95,160 Swedish Match AB 811,536
9,800 Sysmex Corp 1,162,620
2,400 Taisho Pharmaceutical Holdings Co Ltd 128,478
92,052 Takeda Pharmaceutical Co Ltd 3,089,318
37,300 Terumo Corp 1,510,743
453,415 Tesco PLC 1,400,366
62,277 Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd Sponsored ADR(b) 616,542
16,300 Toppan Inc 262,134
5,400 Toyo Suisan Kaisha Ltd 208,130
160,045 Transurban Group 1,706,897
44,531 Treasury Wine Estates Ltd 389,927
7,561 UCB SA 791,874
23,800 Unicharm Corp 958,671
153,684 Unilever PLC 8,979,234
2,788 Vifor Pharma AG 361,235
555,000 WH Group Ltd(a) 498,169
110,400 Wilmar International Ltd 370,144
146,071 Wm Morrison Supermarkets PLC 498,279
74,458 Woolworths Group Ltd 2,130,725
14,152 Worldline SA(a)(b) 1,326,104
7,800 Yakult Honsha Co Ltd 441,654
    253,545,670
Diversified — 0.22%
158,424 CK Hutchison Holdings Ltd 1,233,301
12,679 Jardine Matheson Holdings Ltd 812,851
 
See Notes to Financial Statements.

Semi-Annual Report - June 30, 2021

 


GREAT-WEST FUNDS, INC.
GREAT-WEST INTERNATIONAL INDEX FUND
Schedule of Investments
As of June 30, 2021 (Unaudited)
Shares   Fair Value
Diversified — (continued)
29,500 Swire Pacific Ltd Class A $      199,880
    2,246,032
Energy — 3.46%
13,321 Ampol Ltd        281,948
67,708 APA Group        451,791
1,189,339 BP PLC     5,214,886
5,578 DCC PLC        456,765
183,150 ENEOS Holdings Inc 767,545
145,691 Eni SpA 1,776,194
57,241 Equinor ASA 1,211,707
28,707 Galp Energia SGPS SA 312,121
12,056 Idemitsu Kosan Co Ltd 291,281
61,200 Inpex Corp(c) 458,045
4,344 Koninklijke Vopak NV 197,468
11,768 Lundin Energy AB(c) 417,205
24,730 Neste OYJ 1,516,985
115,768 Oil Search Ltd 330,738
8,350 OMV AG 476,513
86,710 Repsol SA(c) 1,089,323
243,482 Royal Dutch Shell PLC Class A 4,880,615
218,530 Royal Dutch Shell PLC Class B 4,241,666
110,502 Santos Ltd 586,934
13,678 Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy SA(b) 457,305
146,034 TotalEnergies SE(c) 6,615,588
59,388 Vestas Wind Systems A/S 2,320,409
55,232 Woodside Petroleum Ltd 919,708
    35,272,740
Financial — 19.34%
58,552 3i Group PLC 949,826
22,775 ABN AMRO Bank NV(a)(b) 275,972
129,896 Abrdn PLC 487,126
25,100 Acom Co Ltd(b) 109,520
10,788 Admiral Group PLC 469,259
104,217 Aegon NV(c) 433,451
10,251 Ageas SA 569,659
707,000 AIA Group Ltd 8,770,744
24,100 Allianz SE 6,014,309
3,322 Amundi SA(a) 292,996
57,329 Aroundtown SA(c) 447,293
180,040 Ascendas REIT 395,642
63,577 Assicurazioni Generali SpA 1,276,414
11,228 ASX Ltd 654,545
166,328 Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Ltd 3,510,843
232,401 Aviva PLC 1,304,366
113,089 AXA SA 2,871,588
2,627 Azrieli Group Ltd 185,102
2,686 Baloise Holding AG 419,386
390,864 Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria SA 2,424,515
106,001 Banco Espirito Santo SA(b) 390
1,013,598 Banco Santander SA(b) 3,877,064
Shares   Fair Value
Financial — (continued)
64,378 Bank Hapoalim BM(b) $      516,867
86,786 Bank Leumi Le-Israel BM(b)        659,463
83,520 Bank of East Asia Ltd        155,115
1,878 Banque Cantonale Vaudoise        168,754
1,023,094 Barclays PLC     2,427,595
65,749 BNP Paribas SA     4,126,375
222,000 BOC Hong Kong Holdings Ltd        752,427
48,721 British Land Co PLC REIT 333,214
259,889 CaixaBank SA 800,123
257,969 CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust REIT(b) 401,637
163,157 CapitaLand Ltd 450,677
33,500 Chiba Bank Ltd(b) 202,474
114,424 CK Asset Holdings Ltd 787,582
8,999 CNP Assurances 153,373
61,718 Commerzbank AG(b) 438,300
103,700 Commonwealth Bank of Australia 7,765,344
65,100 Concordia Financial Group Ltd 239,228
3,126 Covivio REIT 267,608
70,799 Credit Agricole SA 992,571
143,381 Credit Suisse Group AG 1,500,902
62,700 Dai-ichi Life Holdings Inc 1,153,631
3,800 Daito Trust Construction Co Ltd 414,590
124 Daiwa House REIT Investment Corp(b) 364,891
81,900 Daiwa Securities Group Inc 449,925
41,451 Danske Bank A/S 729,990
106,781 DBS Group Holdings Ltd 2,375,586
122,069 Deutsche Bank AG(b) 1,591,494
11,106 Deutsche Boerse AG 1,938,506
19,813 Deutsche Wohnen SE 1,212,317
62,763 Dexus REIT 500,330
75,015 Direct Line Insurance Group PLC 295,771
53,368 DNB ASA 1,163,114
13,455 EQT AB(c) 488,764
16,129 Erste Group Bank AG 592,923
113,800 ESR Cayman Ltd(a)(b) 383,704
2,279 Eurazeo SE 198,699
6,235 Exor NV 500,379
6,299 Fastighets AB Balder Class B(b) 394,870
35,199 FinecoBank Banca Fineco SpA(b) 614,268
2,900 Futu Holdings Ltd ADR(b) 519,361
2,578 Gecina SA REIT 394,979
10,956 Gjensidige Forsikring ASA 241,563
249 GLP J-REIT 429,438
96,657 Goodman Group REIT 1,529,665
120,405 GPT Group REIT 440,459
6,800 Groupe Bruxelles Lambert SA 761,403
129,000 Hang Lung Properties Ltd 312,862
46,100 Hang Seng Bank Ltd 919,590
3,511 Hannover Rueck SE 587,768
 
See Notes to Financial Statements.

Semi-Annual Report - June 30, 2021

 


GREAT-WEST FUNDS, INC.
GREAT-WEST INTERNATIONAL INDEX FUND
Schedule of Investments
As of June 30, 2021 (Unaudited)
Shares   Fair Value
Financial — (continued)
20,828 Hargreaves Lansdown PLC $      458,163
82,830 Henderson Land Development Co Ltd        391,972
70,412 Hong Kong Exchanges & Clearing Ltd     4,191,611
64,400 Hongkong Land Holdings Ltd        306,701
1,190,599 HSBC Holdings PLC     6,870,720
18,300 Hulic Co Ltd(b)        205,579
5,679 Industrivarden AB Class A        220,874
9,966 Industrivarden AB Class C(b)(c) 364,816
228,003 ING Groep NV 3,026,585
148,917 Insurance Australia Group Ltd(b) 575,782
965,390 Intesa Sanpaolo SpA 2,670,590
106,606 Investor AB Class B 2,457,312
69,540 Israel Discount Bank Ltd Class A(b) 331,277
30,900 Japan Exchange Group Inc 688,327
424 Japan Metropolitan Fund Invest REIT 459,603
24,400 Japan Post Bank Co Ltd 205,213
89,900 Japan Post Holdings Co Ltd 738,415
13,900 Japan Post Insurance Co Ltd 257,193
77 Japan Real Estate Investment Corp REIT 472,895
13,359 Julius Baer Group Ltd 872,520
14,760 KBC Group NV 1,126,943
14,462 Kinnevik AB Class B 579,115
11,880 Klepierre SA REIT 306,073
4,831 L E Lundbergforetagen AB Class B 311,796
39,577 Land Securities Group PLC REIT 369,249
4,130 LEG Immobilien SE 594,540
346,245 Legal & General Group PLC 1,234,778
122,595 Link REIT 1,186,148
4,164,007 Lloyds Banking Group PLC 2,693,221
19,074 London Stock Exchange Group PLC 2,107,345
146,009 M&G PLC 462,340
20,252 Macquarie Group Ltd 2,372,758
7,998 Magellan Financial Group Ltd(b) 323,021
128,600 Mapletree Commercial Trust REIT 206,858
179,127 Mapletree Logistics Trust REIT 273,836
155,023 Medibank Pvt Ltd 367,533
35,537 Mediobanca Banca di Credito Finanziario SpA(b) 415,787
285,989 Melrose Industries PLC 615,399
233,577 Mirvac Group REIT 509,282
69,500 Mitsubishi Estate Co Ltd 1,123,369
39,100 Mitsubishi HC Capital Inc 209,674
714,600 Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc 3,849,020
53,700 Mitsui Fudosan Co Ltd 1,241,741
8,171 Mizrahi Tefahot Bank Ltd(b) 251,704
141,010 Mizuho Financial Group Inc 2,021,026
Shares   Fair Value
Financial — (continued)
26,800 MS&AD Insurance Group Holdings Inc $      774,847
8,265 Muenchener Rueckversicherungs-Gesellschaft AG in Muenchen     2,265,107
192,725 National Australia Bank Ltd     3,788,752
56,664 Natixis SA        269,199
291,628 Natwest Group PLC        820,317
86,108 New World Development Co Ltd        446,552
91 Nippon Building Fund Inc REIT(c)        566,980
117 Nippon Prologis REIT Inc 372,074
17,826 NN Group NV(c) 842,080
183,000 Nomura Holdings Inc 931,376
7,000 Nomura Real Estate Holdings Inc 177,302
237 Nomura Real Estate Master Fund Inc REIT 379,303
190,211 Nordea Bank Abp 2,118,174
75,900 ORIX Corp 1,282,832
154 Orix J-REIT Inc 295,636
196,285 Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp Ltd 1,749,241
1,323 Partners Group Holding AG 2,005,597
36,094 Phoenix Group Holdings PLC 337,777
153,002 Prudential PLC 2,909,918
85,104 QBE Insurance Group Ltd 686,753
9,351 Raiffeisen Bank International AG 212,253
3,063 REA Group Ltd 388,111
120,300 Resona Holdings Inc 463,835
29,601 Sampo OYJ Class A 1,361,186
14,740 SBI Holdings Inc 348,169
303,927 Scentre Group REIT 621,934
7,140 Schroders PLC 347,146
8,690 SCOR SE(c) 276,647
69,742 Segro PLC REIT 1,055,290
25,100 Shizuoka Bank Ltd(b) 194,781
44,800 Singapore Exchange Ltd 373,133
196,812 Sino Land Co Ltd 310,261
95,942 Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB Class A 1,240,156
46,726 Societe Generale SA 1,382,218
943 Sofina SA 407,427
18,550 Sompo Holdings Inc 687,059
31,426 St James's Place PLC 642,340
157,927 Standard Chartered PLC 1,007,639
136,362 Stockland REIT(b) 474,848
76,200 Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc 2,626,765
19,086 Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc 608,847
17,900 Sumitomo Realty & Development Co Ltd 640,190
76,000 Sun Hung Kai Properties Ltd 1,129,508
74,771 Suncorp Group Ltd 622,490
90,260 Svenska Handelsbanken AB Class A 1,018,850
52,526 Swedbank AB Class A 977,873
 
See Notes to Financial Statements.

Semi-Annual Report - June 30, 2021

 


GREAT-WEST FUNDS, INC.
GREAT-WEST INTERNATIONAL INDEX FUND
Schedule of Investments
As of June 30, 2021 (Unaudited)
Shares   Fair Value
Financial — (continued)
72,800 Swire Properties Ltd $      216,848
1,831 Swiss Life Holding AG        890,696
4,202 Swiss Prime Site AG        417,036
17,793 Swiss Re AG     1,607,111
30,200 T&D Holdings Inc        391,902
36,600 Tokio Marine Holdings Inc     1,685,806
2,700 Tokyo Century Corp        145,163
20,595 Tryg A/S 505,870
214,291 UBS Group AG 3,282,344
8,213 Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield REIT(b) 712,033
123,407 UniCredit SpA 1,459,000
70,106 United Overseas Bank Ltd 1,350,059
157 United Urban Investment Corp REIT 226,754
30,406 UOL Group Ltd(b) 165,358
237,809 Vicinity Centres REIT 274,185
31,509 Vonovia SE 2,036,281
6,169 Washington H Soul Pattinson & Co Ltd(b)(c) 156,006
1,418 Wendel SE 190,820
214,436 Westpac Banking Corp 4,149,730
96,300 Wharf Real Estate Investment Co Ltd 559,796
8,794 Zurich Insurance Group AG 3,532,246
    197,293,000
Industrial — 13.78%
101,389 ABB Ltd 3,444,656
13,981 ACS Actividades de Construccion y Servicios SA 374,809
4,291 Aena SME SA(a)(b) 704,071
1,810 Aeroports de Paris(b)(c) 236,262
10,800 AGC Inc(c) 452,417
34,377 Airbus SE(b) 4,429,564
18,278 Alfa Laval AB 646,040
16,052 Alstom SA(b) 811,037
193 AP Moller - Maersk A/S Class A 536,849
363 AP Moller - Maersk A/S Class B 1,045,044
58,699 Assa Abloy AB Class B 1,769,653
39,586 Atlas Copco AB Class A 2,430,912
22,910 Atlas Copco AB Class B 1,206,588
71,879 Auckland International Airport Ltd(b) 365,168
105,804 Aurizon Holdings Ltd 294,702
7,100 Azbil Corp 294,201
186,602 BAE Systems PLC 1,347,871
13,355 Bouygues SA 494,667
14,400 Brother Industries Ltd 287,617
12,100 Casio Computer Co Ltd 203,034
30,023 Cellnex Telecom SA(a) 1,914,901
8,300 Central Japan Railway Co 1,261,189
29,615 Cie de Saint-Gobain 1,954,463
40,500 CK Infrastructure Holdings Ltd 241,255
Shares   Fair Value
Industrial — (continued)
58,577 CNH Industrial NV $      971,654
46,056 CRH PLC     2,329,107
6,000 Daifuku Co Ltd        544,369
14,600 Daikin Industries Ltd     2,720,707
146 Dassault Aviation SA        171,985
57,941 Deutsche Post AG     3,946,047
1,600 Disco Corp        486,479
12,126 DSV Panalpina A/S 2,830,669
17,600 East Japan Railway Co 1,255,127
4,806 Eiffage SA 489,522
1,630 Elbit Systems Ltd 211,161
37,492 Epiroc AB Class A 853,455
21,804 Epiroc AB Class B 428,070
11,300 FANUC Corp 2,709,715
28,046 Ferrovial SA(b) 824,234
7,800 Fuji Electric Co Ltd 364,082
8,561 GEA Group AG(b) 346,892
2,145 Geberit AG 1,611,263
25,921 Getlink SE 404,811
22,353 Halma PLC 832,456
13,000 Hankyu Hanshin Holdings Inc(b) 401,282
2,500 Harmonic Drive Systems Inc 137,396
8,982 HeidelbergCement AG 771,162
115,156 Hexagon AB Class B 1,706,194
2,079 Hirose Electric Co Ltd 304,146
6,700 Hitachi Construction Machinery Co Ltd 205,194
56,600 Hitachi Ltd 3,243,586
30,774 Holcim Ltd 1,849,767
21,900 Hoya Corp 2,896,721
25,388 Husqvarna AB Class B 337,413
5,800 Ibiden Co Ltd 312,176
19,224 Infrastrutture Wireless Italiane SpA(a)(c) 217,086
11,709 InPost SA(b) 234,999
8,803 Investment AB Latour Class B 289,022
26,669 James Hardie Industries PLC 904,937
11,500 JSR Corp 349,337
24,800 Kajima Corp 314,707
5,800 Keio Corp 341,420
7,200 Keisei Electric Railway Co Ltd 230,173
79,700 Keppel Corp Ltd 325,002
11,360 Keyence Corp 5,721,162
8,791 Kingspan Group PLC 830,864
9,700 Kintetsu Group Holdings Co Ltd(b) 340,947
4,003 KION Group AG 427,362
4,342 Knorr-Bremse AG 499,574
51,400 Komatsu Ltd 1,273,361
19,945 Kone OYJ Class B 1,627,792
59,800 Kubota Corp(c) 1,209,736
3,094 Kuehne + Nagel International AG 1,058,950
5,900 Kurita Water Industries Ltd 283,605
18,700 Kyocera Corp 1,155,293
15,415 Legrand SA 1,633,729
 
See Notes to Financial Statements.

Semi-Annual Report - June 30, 2021

 


GREAT-WEST FUNDS, INC.
GREAT-WEST INTERNATIONAL INDEX FUND
Schedule of Investments
As of June 30, 2021 (Unaudited)
Shares   Fair Value
Industrial — (continued)
40,220 Lendlease Corp Ltd $      345,601
14,800 Lixil Corp        382,985
13,300 Makita Corp        626,258
20,800 MINEBEA MITSUMI Inc        549,564
16,700 MISUMI Group Inc        565,157
106,900 Mitsubishi Electric Corp     1,551,893
18,400 Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd        543,209
5,200 Miura Co Ltd 225,799
88,702 MTR Corp Ltd 493,892
3,135 MTU Aero Engines AG 777,304
33,700 Murata Manufacturing Co Ltd 2,567,093
6,500 Nabtesco Corp(c) 245,226
81,541 Nibe Industrier AB Class B 859,230
26,100 Nidec Corp 3,001,245
4,400 Nippon Express Co Ltd 335,520
9,300 Nippon Yusen KK 471,958
24,000 NSK Ltd 203,002
40,800 Obayashi Corp 325,289
17,000 Odakyu Electric Railway Co Ltd 429,994
11,200 Omron Corp 886,781
25,181 Orica Ltd 250,433
29,431 Poste Italiane SpA(a) 389,535
15,214 Prysmian SpA 545,969
2,300 Rinnai Corp 218,919
521 ROCKWOOL International A/S Class B 253,739
499,306 Rolls-Royce Holdings PLC(b) 683,489
20,003 Safran SA 2,776,069
66,592 Sandvik AB 1,702,735
1,498 Sartorius AG 779,720
3,586 Schindler Holding AG 1,081,502
31,490 Schneider Electric SE 4,964,215
17,900 SG Holdings Co Ltd 470,040
13,600 Shimadzu Corp 525,515
29,600 Shimizu Corp 227,476
44,716 Siemens AG 7,099,936
22,786 Siemens Energy AG(b) 686,383
8,337 Sika AG 2,731,518
96,500 Singapore Technologies Engineering Ltd 278,443
20,261 Skanska AB Class B 537,912
22,286 SKF AB Class B 568,030
3,300 SMC Corp 1,952,263
23,411 Smiths Group PLC 515,437
4,357 Spirax-Sarco Engineering PLC 820,325
78,989 Sydney Airport(b) 342,735
10,600 Taisei Corp 347,896
7,500 TDK Corp 907,910
81,500 Techtronic Industries Co Ltd 1,420,298
28,291 Tenaris SA 309,511
6,239 Thales SA 637,480
7,800 THK Co Ltd 232,773
11,600 Tobu Railway Co Ltd 300,255
30,600 Tokyu Corp 416,468
24,600 Toshiba Corp(c) 1,062,745
8,000 TOTO Ltd 414,507
Shares   Fair Value
Industrial — (continued)
14,700 Venture Corp Ltd $      210,297
31,118 Vinci SA     3,326,441
26,779 Wartsila OYJ Abp        397,859
9,500 West Japan Railway Co        542,878
102,000 Xinyi Glass Holdings Ltd        415,594
17,300 Yamato Holdings Co Ltd        491,562
14,300 Yaskawa Electric Corp        698,345
12,200 Yokogawa Electric Corp 182,457
    140,617,484
Technology — 6.18%
11,900 Advantest Corp 1,068,463
2,801 ASM International NV 923,844
24,521 ASML Holding NV 16,927,279
5,579 Atos SE 339,718
6,293 AVEVA Group PLC 322,907
1,567 Bechtle AG(b) 291,242
59,600 Canon Inc(c) 1,347,078
9,600 Capcom Co Ltd 280,595
9,481 Capgemini SE(c) 1,823,321
6,378 Check Point Software Technologies Ltd(b) 740,677
30,316 Computershare Ltd 384,231
2,097 CyberArk Software Ltd(b) 273,176
7,770 Dassault Systemes SE 1,885,745
15,002 Embracer Group AB(b) 405,630
21,100 FUJIFILM Holdings Corp 1,560,736
11,500 Fujitsu Ltd 2,151,638
8,000 Hamamatsu Photonics KK 481,914
76,334 Infineon Technologies AG 3,070,395
5,800 Itochu Techno-Solutions Corp 179,427
3,770 Koei Tecmo Holdings Co Ltd(b) 183,287
5,200 Konami Holdings Corp 311,428
4,400 Lasertec Corp(b) 851,070
10,302 Logitech International SA 1,251,099
14,300 NEC Corp 735,798
3,597 Nemetschek SE 275,337
27,900 Nexon Co Ltd 620,901
20,569 Nomura Research Institute Ltd 679,325
36,300 NTT Data Corp 566,672
4,100 Obic Co Ltd 762,515
2,200 Oracle Corp Japan 168,099
6,400 Otsuka Corp 335,490
71,400 Renesas Electronics Corp(b) 770,575
40,600 Ricoh Co Ltd 456,995
5,000 Rohm Co Ltd 460,139
62,460 Sage Group PLC 591,462
61,038 SAP SE 8,573,363
3,300 SCSK Corp 196,626
17,800 Seiko Epson Corp 312,889
29,330 Sinch AB(a)(b) 493,542
5,700 Square Enix Holdings Co Ltd 281,494
40,439 STMicroelectronics NV 1,470,625
16,300 SUMCO Corp(c) 399,286
8,917 TeamViewer AG(b) 334,895
 
See Notes to Financial Statements.

Semi-Annual Report - June 30, 2021

 


GREAT-WEST FUNDS, INC.
GREAT-WEST INTERNATIONAL INDEX FUND
Schedule of Investments
As of June 30, 2021 (Unaudited)
Shares   Fair Value
Technology — (continued)
3,461 Teleperformance $    1,405,473
3,910 Temenos AG        628,629
14,100 TIS Inc(b)        359,850
8,800 Tokyo Electron Ltd     3,804,982
5,199 Ubisoft Entertainment SA(b)        363,241
8,762 WiseTech Global Ltd        209,383
7,553 Xero Ltd(b)       776,901
    63,089,387
Utilities — 3.24%
38,422 AGL Energy Ltd 236,059
114,571 AusNet Services Ltd 150,165
37,000 Chubu Electric Power Co Inc 452,682
93,500 CLP Holdings Ltd 924,046
131,233 E.On SE 1,518,320
162,676 EDP - Energias de Portugal SA 862,230
16,860 EDP Renovaveis SA 390,638
36,136 Electricite de France SA 493,837
1,820 Elia Group SA 192,112
15,130 Enagas SA(c) 349,698
18,036 Endesa SA(c) 437,837
475,412 Enel SpA(b) 4,417,935
107,271 Engie SA 1,470,959
25,140 Fortum OYJ(b) 693,522
174,000 HK Electric Investments & HK Electric Investments Ltd(a) 176,319
645,229 Hong Kong & China Gas Co Ltd 1,001,863
332,295 Iberdrola SA(b) 4,052,208
39,800 Kansai Electric Power Co Inc 379,764
42,044 Mercury NZ Ltd 195,941
69,603 Meridian Energy Ltd 259,512
207,457 National Grid PLC 2,638,495
16,541 Naturgy Energy Group SA 425,706
98,177 Origin Energy Ltd 331,566
11,134 Orsted AS(a) 1,562,783
21,000 Osaka Gas Co Ltd 391,837
82,000 Power Assets Holdings Ltd 503,157
24,698 Red Electrica Corp SA(c) 458,547
37,779 RWE AG 1,369,758
13,348 Severn Trent PLC 461,892
120,874 Snam SpA 699,225
61,954 SSE PLC 1,286,278
19,754 Suez SA(c) 469,974
84,921 Terna SPA 633,313
4,800 Toho Gas Co Ltd 235,651
23,500 Tohoku Electric Power Co Inc 184,250
87,700 Tokyo Electric Power Co Holdings Inc(b) 261,151
21,600 Tokyo Gas Co Ltd 407,412
5,163 Uniper SE 190,222
39,547 United Utilities Group PLC 533,664
32,224 Veolia Environnement SA 974,158
Shares   Fair Value
Utilities — (continued)
3,723 Verbund AG(c) $      342,966
    33,017,652
TOTAL COMMON STOCK — 96.85%
(Cost $747,207,190)
$ 987,978,520
PREFERRED STOCK
Basic Materials — 0.02%
4,398 Fuchs Petrolub SE       214,025
Consumer, Cyclical — 0.30%
3,408 Bayerische Motoren Werke AG 306,580
10,847 Volkswagen AG 2,719,679
    3,026,259
Consumer, Non-Cyclical — 0.11%
10,503 Henkel AG & Co KGaA 1,109,261
TOTAL PREFERRED STOCK — 0.43%
(Cost $3,547,967)
$ 4,349,545
RIGHTS
Industrial — 0.00%(d)
13,981 ACS Actividades de Construccion y Servicios SA(b)(c) 19,553
TOTAL RIGHTS — 0.00%(d)
(Cost $47,646)
$ 19,553
GOVERNMENT MONEY MARKET MUTUAL FUNDS
2,505,000 BlackRock FedFund Institutional Class(e), 0.03%(f) 2,505,000
1,925,000 Federated Hermes Government Obligations Fund Premier Shares(e), 0.01%(f) 1,925,000
1,925,000 Goldman Sachs Financial Square Government Fund Institutional Class(e), 0.02%(f) 1,925,000
2,505,000 Invesco Government & Agency Portfolio Institutional Class(e), 0.03%(f) 2,505,000
2,505,000 JPMorgan U.S. Government Money Market Fund Capital Shares(e), 0.03%(f) 2,505,000
 
See Notes to Financial Statements.

Semi-Annual Report - June 30, 2021

 


GREAT-WEST FUNDS, INC.
GREAT-WEST INTERNATIONAL INDEX FUND
Schedule of Investments
As of June 30, 2021 (Unaudited)
Shares   Fair Value
Government Money Market Mutual Funds — (continued)
2,460,000 Morgan Stanley Institutional Liquidity Government Portfolio Institutional Class(e), 0.03%(f) $    2,460,000
TOTAL GOVERNMENT MONEY MARKET MUTUAL FUNDS — 1.36%
(Cost $13,825,000)
$ 13,825,000
Principal Amount    
SHORT TERM INVESTMENTS
Repurchase Agreements — 1.37%
$  783,388 Repurchase agreement (principal amount/value $783,388 with a maturity value of $783,401) with TD Securities (USA) Inc, 0.06%, dated 6/30/21 to be repurchased at $783,388 on 7/1/21 collateralized by various U.S. Government Agency securities, 2.00% - 4.50%, 3/1/32 - 7/1/51, with a value of $799,068.(e)        783,388
6,608,479 Undivided interest of 7.91% in a repurchase agreement (principal amount/value $83,554,867 with a maturity value of $83,554,983) with RBC Capital Markets Corp, 0.05%, dated 6/30/21 to be repurchased at $6,608,479 on 7/1/21 collateralized by U.S. Treasury securities and various U.S. Government Agency securities, 0.00% - 8.00%, 8/1/21 - 4/15/62, with a value of $85,225,967.(e)      6,608,479
Principal Amount   Fair Value
Repurchase Agreements — (continued)
$6,608,479 Undivided interest of 8.08% in a repurchase agreement (principal amount/value $81,757,663 with a maturity value of $81,757,799) with Citigroup Global Markets Inc, 0.06%, dated 6/30/21 to be repurchased at $6,608,479 on 7/1/21 collateralized by U.S. Treasury securities and various U.S. Government Agency securities, 0.00% - 6.50%, 7/1/21 - 1/15/59, with a value of $83,392,816.(e) $    6,608,479
TOTAL SHORT TERM INVESTMENTS — 1.37%
(Cost $14,000,346)
$ 14,000,346
TOTAL INVESTMENTS — 100.01%
(Cost $778,628,149)
$1,020,172,964
OTHER ASSETS & LIABILITIES, NET — (0.01)% $ (68,895)
TOTAL NET ASSETS — 100.00% $1,020,104,069
 
(a) Represents securities sold under Rule 144A, which are exempt from registration under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.
(b) Non-income producing security.
(c) All or a portion of the security is on loan at June 30, 2021.
(d) Represents less than 0.005% of net assets.
(e) Collateral received for securities on loan.
(f) Rate shown is the 7-day yield as of June 30, 2021.
ADR American Depositary Receipt
REIT Real Estate Investment Trust
See Notes to Financial Statements.

Semi-Annual Report - June 30, 2021

 


GREAT-WEST FUNDS, INC.
GREAT-WEST INTERNATIONAL INDEX FUND
Schedule of Investments
As of June 30, 2021 (Unaudited)
At June 30, 2021, the Fund held the following outstanding exchange traded futures contracts:
Description Number of
Contracts
  Notional
Amount
Expiration
Date
Fair Value and
Net Unrealized
Depreciation
Long          
MSCI EMINI Index 241 USD 27,764,405 September 2021 $(369,461)
        Net Depreciation $(369,461)
At June 30, 2021, the Fund held the following over-the-counter (OTC) forward foreign currency contracts:
Counterparty Currency
Purchased
Quantity of
Currency
Purchased
Currency
Sold
Quantity of
Currency
Sold
Settlement Date Net Unrealized
Appreciation
CIT USD 74,968 AUD 96,684 July 02, 2021 $2,458
CIT USD 96,775 EUR 80,865 July 01, 2021 889
CIT USD 26,615 EUR 21,955 July 06, 2021 578
CIT USD 82,593 EUR 68,965 August 06, 2021 743
CIT USD 14,151 GBP 9,982 July 06, 2021 343
CIT USD 13,847 GBP 9,805 July 09, 2021 284
CIT USD 21,509 GBP 15,227 July 16, 2021 446
CIT USD 8,498 GBP 6,015 July 22, 2021 178
CIT USD 15,956 GBP 11,401 July 30, 2021 185
CIT USD 7,594 GBP 5,377 August 03, 2021 156
CIT USD 4,527 GBP 3,235 August 06, 2021 53
CIT USD 92,623 GBP 65,336 August 18, 2021 2,243
CIT USD 8,149 HKD 63,240 July 06, 2021 4
CIT USD 8,943 HKD 69,375 July 07, 2021 7
CIT USD 5,221 JPY 572,050 July 30, 2021 70
CIT USD 2,668 JPY 291,720 August 05, 2021 41
CIT USD 8,166 JPY 892,770 August 13, 2021 126
CIT USD 5,113 NZD 7,237 July 07, 2021 54
MEL USD 76,001 AUD 97,056 July 01, 2021 3,214
MEL USD 47,134 AUD 60,672 July 02, 2021 1,633
MEL USD 22,138 AUD 29,247 August 23, 2021 199
MEL USD 9,328 AUD 12,323 August 26, 2021 84
MEL USD 9,288 AUD 12,270 August 30, 2021 83
MEL USD 29,431 AUD 38,881 August 31, 2021 264
MEL USD 11,762 AUD 15,538 September 15, 2021 105
MEL USD 6,016 CHF 5,551 July 02, 2021 17
MEL USD 1,237,358 CHF 1,138,988 July 15, 2021 5,848
MEL USD 24,015 EUR 20,138 July 01, 2021 136
MEL USD 18,147 EUR 15,268 July 02, 2021 42
MEL USD 16,482 EUR 13,867 July 06, 2021 37
MEL USD 12,070 EUR 9,954 July 07, 2021 265
MEL USD 1,581,313 EUR 1,323,540 July 15, 2021 11,330
MEL USD 12,746 EUR 10,720 July 20, 2021 28
MEL USD 10,971 GBP 7,752 July 01, 2021 248
MEL USD 36,832 GBP 26,024 July 02, 2021 833
MEL USD 77,908 GBP 55,046 July 08, 2021 1,763
MEL USD 21,503 GBP 15,230 July 23, 2021 436
MEL USD 14,029 GBP 10,130 August 06, 2021 17
MEL USD 11,200 HKD 86,927 July 20, 2021 4
MEL USD 23,428 HKD 181,857 August 12, 2021 4
MEL USD 29,752 JPY 3,297,150 August 27, 2021 56
MEL USD 99,761 JPY 11,055,100 September 01, 2021 189
MEL USD 11,720 JPY 1,298,715 September 02, 2021 22
MEL USD 21,004 JPY 2,327,512 September 03, 2021 40
MEL USD 8,630 JPY 956,250 September 07, 2021 16
MEL USD 5,799 JPY 642,600 September 08, 2021 11
MEL USD 7,923 JPY 877,922 September 15, 2021 15
MEL USD 2,473 JPY 274,040 September 30, 2021 5
MEL USD 20,772 JPY 2,300,100 December 01, 2021 30
MEL USD 98,690 SEK 842,487 July 06, 2021 238
MEL USD 4,477 SEK 38,110 July 07, 2021 24
          Net Appreciation $36,094
See Notes to Financial Statements.

Semi-Annual Report - June 30, 2021

 


GREAT-WEST FUNDS, INC.
GREAT-WEST INTERNATIONAL INDEX FUND
Schedule of Investments
As of June 30, 2021 (Unaudited)
Counterparty Abbreviations:  
CIT Citigroup Global Markets
MEL Mellon Capital
Currency Abbreviations  
AUD Australian Dollar
CHF Swiss Franc
EUR Euro Dollar
GBP British Pound
HKD Hong Kong Dollar
JPY Japanese Yen
NZD New Zealand Dollar
SEK Swedish Krona
USD U.S. Dollar
Summary of Investments by Country as of June 30, 2021.
Country Fair Value   Percentage of
Fund Investments
Japan $ 229,973,235   22.54%
United Kingdom 127,825,375   12.53
France 110,908,074   10.87
Switzerland 101,720,893   9.97
Germany 92,219,679   9.04
Australia 73,180,669   7.17
Netherlands 55,773,674   5.47
Sweden 34,975,069   3.43
Hong Kong 32,276,587   3.16
United States 28,045,026   2.75
Denmark 25,756,726   2.53
Spain 24,664,462   2.42
Italy 20,404,042   2.00
Finland 12,552,444   1.23
Singapore 10,404,563   1.02
Belgium 8,655,317   0.85
Ireland 8,346,090   0.82
Norway 6,160,306   0.60
Israel 5,929,804   0.58
New Zealand 3,100,860   0.30
Luxembourg 2,959,143   0.29
Austria 1,923,476   0.19
Portugal 1,459,381   0.14
Chile 466,319   0.05
Russia 256,254   0.03
Poland 234,999   0.02
United Arab Emirates 497   0.00
Total $1,020,172,964   100.00%
See Notes to Financial Statements.

Semi-Annual Report - June 30, 2021

 


GREAT-WEST FUNDS, INC.
Statement of Assets and Liabilities
As of June 30, 2021 (Unaudited)
  Great-West
International Index
Fund
ASSETS:  
Investments in securities, fair value  (including $24,814,996 of securities on loan)(a) $1,006,172,618
Repurchase agreements, fair value(b) 14,000,346
Cash 18,923,091
Cash denominated in foreign currencies, fair value(c) 1,592,273
Dividends receivable 4,457,330
Subscriptions receivable 1,779,286
Receivable for investments sold 968
Cash pledged on futures contracts 2,343,622
Unrealized appreciation on forward foreign currency contracts 36,094
Total Assets 1,049,305,628
LIABILITIES:  
Payable for director fees 2,943
Payable for investments purchased 138,286
Payable for other accrued fees 199,266
Payable for shareholder services fees 75,250
Payable to investment adviser 229,139
Payable upon return of securities loaned 27,825,346
Redemptions payable 538,643
Variation margin on futures contracts 192,686
Total Liabilities 29,201,559
NET ASSETS $1,020,104,069
NET ASSETS REPRESENTED BY:  
Capital stock, $0.10 par value $8,525,817
Paid-in capital in excess of par 717,774,793
Undistributed/accumulated earnings 293,803,459
NET ASSETS $1,020,104,069
NET ASSETS BY CLASS  
Investor Class $235,227,013
Institutional Class $784,877,056
CAPITAL STOCK:  
Authorized  
Investor Class 85,000,000
Institutional Class 250,000,000
Issued and Outstanding  
Investor Class 17,322,206
Institutional Class 67,935,965
NET ASSET VALUE, REDEMPTION PRICE AND OFFERING PRICE PER SHARE:  
Investor Class $13.58
Institutional Class $11.55
(a) Cost of investments $764,627,803
(b) Cost of repurchase agreements $14,000,346
(c) Cost of cash denominated in foreign currencies $1,599,919
See Notes to Financial Statements.

Semi-Annual Report - June 30, 2021

 


GREAT-WEST FUNDS, INC.
Statement of Operations
For the period ended June 30, 2021 (Unaudited)
  Great-West
International Index
Fund
INVESTMENT INCOME:  
Interest $337
Income from securities lending 77,713
Dividends 16,651,249
Foreign withholding tax (2,068,936)
Total Income 14,660,363
EXPENSES:  
Management fees 1,237,906
Shareholder services fees – Investor Class 424,098
Audit and tax fees 37,281
Custodian fees 76,672
Director's fees 7,112
Legal fees 8,020
Pricing fees 24,724
Registration fees 28,023
Shareholder report fees 20,015
Transfer agent fees 4,559
Other fees 2,735
Total Expenses 1,871,145
NET INVESTMENT INCOME 12,789,218
NET REALIZED AND UNREALIZED GAIN (LOSS):  
Net realized gain on investments and foreign currency transactions 25,173,040
Net realized gain on futures contracts 2,538,837
Net realized gain on forward foreign currency contracts 1,653
Net Realized Gain 27,713,530
Net change in unrealized appreciation on investments and foreign currency translations 44,666,535
Net change in unrealized depreciation on futures contracts (825,170)
Net change in unrealized appreciation on forward foreign currency contracts 128,194
Net Change in Unrealized Appreciation 43,969,559
Net Realized and Unrealized Gain 71,683,089
NET INCREASE IN NET ASSETS RESULTING FROM OPERATIONS $84,472,307
See Notes to Financial Statements.

Semi-Annual Report - June 30, 2021

 


GREAT-WEST FUNDS, INC.
Statement of Changes in Net Assets
For the period ended June 30, 2021 and fiscal year ended December 31, 2020
Great-West International Index Fund 2021
(Unaudited)
  2020
OPERATIONS:      
Net investment income $12,789,218   $18,390,886
Net realized gain 27,713,530   29,442,366
Net change in unrealized appreciation 43,969,559   35,076,903
Net Increase in Net Assets Resulting from Operations 84,472,307   82,910,155
DISTRIBUTIONS TO SHAREHOLDERS:      
From net investment income and net realized gains      
Investor Class -   (6,214,440)
Class L(a) -   (811,147)
Institutional Class -   (23,533,004)
From Net Investment Income and Net Realized Gains 0   (30,558,591)
CAPITAL SHARE TRANSACTIONS:      
Shares sold      
Investor Class 46,692,882   188,268,379
Class L(a) -   26,917,511
Institutional Class 71,547,849   122,501,992
Shares issued in reinvestment of distributions      
Investor Class -   6,214,440
Class L(a) -   811,147
Institutional Class -   23,533,004
Shares redeemed      
Investor Class (103,451,505)   (139,087,100)
Class L(a) -   (126,537,527)
Institutional Class (89,991,860)   (216,712,007)
Net Decrease in Net Assets Resulting from Capital Share Transactions (75,202,634)   (114,090,161)
Total Increase (Decrease) in Net Assets 9,269,673   (61,738,597)
NET ASSETS:      
Beginning of Period 1,010,834,396   1,072,572,993
End of Period $1,020,104,069   $1,010,834,396
CAPITAL SHARE TRANSACTIONS - SHARES:      
Shares sold      
Investor Class 3,542,089   17,203,589
Class L(a) -   3,079,904
Institutional Class 6,286,036   14,249,281
Shares issued in reinvestment of distributions      
Investor Class -   507,072
Class L(a) -   86,201
Institutional Class -   2,269,156
Shares redeemed      
Investor Class (7,952,260)   (12,520,242)
Class L(a) -   (13,594,266)
Institutional Class (8,020,969)   (22,649,743)
Net Decrease (6,145,104)   (11,369,048)
(a) Class L ceased operations on October 2, 2020.
See Notes to Financial Statements.

Semi-Annual Report - June 30, 2021

 


GREAT-WEST FUNDS, INC.
GREAT-WEST INTERNATIONAL INDEX FUND
Financial Highlights
Selected data for a share of capital stock of the Fund throughout the periods indicated.
    Income (Loss) from Investment Operations:   Less Distributions:    
  Net asset value,
beginning of period
Net
investment
income(a)
Net realized
and unrealized
gain (loss)
Total from
investment
operations
From net
investment
income
From net
realized
gains
Total
Distributions
Net asset value,
end of period
Total
Return(b)(c)
Investor Class
6/30/2021(Unaudited) $12.50 0.15 0.93 1.08 $13.58 8.64% (d)
12/31/2020 $11.92 0.19 0.69 0.88 (0.19) (0.11) (0.30) $12.50 7.52%
12/31/2019 $10.09 0.29 1.86 2.15 (0.28) (0.04) (0.32) $11.92 21.25%
12/31/2018 $12.13 0.27 (1.95) (1.68) (0.22) (0.14) (0.36) $10.09 (13.84%)
12/31/2017 $ 9.99 0.23 2.23 2.46 (0.24) (0.08) (0.32) $12.13 24.62%
12/31/2016 $10.10 0.21 (0.15) 0.06 (0.17) (0.00) (e) (0.17) $ 9.99 0.65%
Institutional Class
6/30/2021(Unaudited) $10.61 0.15 0.79 0.94 $11.55 8.86% (d)
12/31/2020 $10.16 0.21 0.57 0.78 (0.22) (0.11) (0.33) $10.61 7.84%
12/31/2019 $ 8.64 0.28 1.61 1.89 (0.33) (0.04) (0.37) $10.16 21.80%
12/31/2018 $10.46 0.27 (1.69) (1.42) (0.26) (0.14) (0.40) $ 8.64 (13.56%)
12/31/2017 $ 8.65 0.24 1.93 2.17 (0.28) (0.08) (0.36) $10.46 25.10%
12/31/2016 $ 8.80 0.21 (0.13) 0.08 (0.23) (0.00) (e) (0.23) $ 8.65 0.93%
  Net assets,
end of period
(000)
Ratio of expenses
to average net assets
(before reimbursement
and/or waiver, if applicable)
Ratio of expenses
to average net assets
(after reimbursement
and/or waiver, if applicable)
  Ratio of net investment income
to average net assets
(after reimbursement
and/or waiver, if applicable)
Portfolio
turnover
rate(f)
Investor Class
06/30/2021(Unaudited) $235,227 0.67% (g) 0.67% (g)   2.23% (g) 5% (d)
12/31/2020 $271,563 0.65% 0.65%   1.76% 6%
12/31/2019 $197,206 0.64% 0.64%   2.57% 8%
12/31/2018 $183,743 0.65% 0.65%   2.28% 10%
12/31/2017 $193,453 0.68% 0.68%   2.02% 7%
12/31/2016 $152,267 0.70% 0.70%   2.16% 7%
Institutional Class
06/30/2021(Unaudited) $784,877 0.28% (g) 0.28% (g)   2.69% (g) 5% (d)
12/31/2020 $739,271 0.28% 0.28%   2.22% 6%
12/31/2019 $769,900 0.27% 0.27%   2.91% 8%
12/31/2018 $668,667 0.30% 0.30%   2.66% 10%
12/31/2017 $777,648 0.33% 0.33%   2.40% 7%
12/31/2016 $667,848 0.35% 0.35%   2.43% 7%
(a) Per share amounts are based upon average shares outstanding.
(b) Total return does not include any fees or expenses of variable insurance contracts, if applicable. If such fees or expenses were included, the return shown would have been lower.
(c) Total return shown net of expenses reimbursed and/or waived, if applicable. Without the expense reimbursement and/or waiver, the return shown would have been lower.
(d) Not annualized for periods less than one full year.
(e) Amount was less than $0.01 per share.
(f) Portfolio turnover is calculated at the Fund level.
(g) Annualized.
See Notes to Financial Statements.

Semi-Annual Report - June 30, 2021

 


GREAT-WEST FUNDS, INC.
GREAT-WEST INTERNATIONAL INDEX FUND
Notes to Financial Statements (Unaudited)

1.  ORGANIZATION AND SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES
Great-West Funds, Inc. (Great-West Funds), a Maryland corporation, was organized on December 7, 1981 and is registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940 (the 1940 Act) as an open-end management investment company. Great-West Funds presently consists of fifty-five funds. Interests in the Great-West International Index Fund (the Fund) are included herein. The investment objective of the Fund is to seek investment results that track the total return of the common stocks that comprise the MSCI EAFE Index. The Fund is diversified as defined in the 1940 Act. The Fund is available as an investment option to insurance company separate accounts for certain variable annuity contracts and variable life insurance policies, to individual retirement account custodians or trustees, to plan sponsors of qualified retirement plans, to college savings programs, and to asset allocation funds that are a series of Great-West Funds.
The Fund offers two share classes, referred to as Investor Class and Institutional Class shares. Class L shares were previously offered but ceased operations on October 2, 2020. All shares of the Fund represent an equal pro rata interest in the net assets of the class to which such shares belong, and have identical voting, dividend, liquidation and other rights and the same terms and conditions, except for class specific expenses and exclusive rights to vote on matters affecting only individual classes. Income, expenses (other than those attributable to a specific class) and realized and unrealized gains and losses are allocated daily to each class of shares based on the relative proportion of net assets represented by such class. Operating expenses directly attributable to a specific class are charged against operations of that class. Expenses incurred by Great-West Funds, which are not Fund specific, are allocated based on relative net assets or other appropriate allocation methods.
The outbreak of the novel strain of coronavirus, specifically identified as "COVID-19", has resulted in governments worldwide enacting emergency measures to combat the spread of the virus. These measures, which include the implementation of travel bans, self-imposed quarantine periods and social distancing, have caused material disruption to businesses globally resulting in an economic slowdown. Global equity markets have experienced significant volatility and weakness. Governments and central banks have reacted with significant monetary and fiscal interventions designed to stabilize economic conditions. The duration and impact of the COVID-19 outbreak is unknown at this time, as is the efficacy of the government and central bank interventions. It is not possible to reliably estimate the length and severity of these developments and the impact on the financial results and condition of the Fund in future periods.
The preparation of financial statements in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (U.S. GAAP) requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of revenue and expenses during the reporting period. Actual results could differ from those estimates. The Great-West Funds are also investment companies and accordingly follow the investment company accounting and reporting guidance of U.S. GAAP. The following is a summary of the significant accounting policies of the Fund.
Security Valuation
The Board of Directors of the Fund has adopted policies and procedures for the valuation of the Fund’s securities and assets, and has appointed the Fair Value Pricing Committee of the investment adviser, Great-West Capital Management, LLC, to complete valuation determinations under those policies and procedures.
The Fund generally values its securities based on market prices determined at the close of regular trading on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) on each day the NYSE is open for trading. The net asset value (NAV) of each class of the Fund's shares is determined by dividing the net assets attributable to each class of shares of the Fund by the number of issued and outstanding shares of each class of the Fund on each valuation date.

Semi-Annual Report - June 30, 2021

 


For securities that are traded on only one exchange, the last sale price as of the close of business of that exchange will be used. If the closing price is not available, the current bid as of the close of business will be used. For securities traded on more than one exchange, or upon one or more exchanges and in the over-the-counter (OTC) market, the last sale price as of the close of business on the market which the security is traded most extensively will be used. If the closing price is not available, the current bid as of the close of business will be used. For securities that principally trade on the NASDAQ National Market System, the NASDAQ official closing price will be used.
For private equity securities that are not traded on an exchange, an appropriate source, which may include the use of an internally developed or approved valuation model, a different external pricing vendor, or sourcing a price from a broker will be used. Valuation of these securities will be reviewed regularly by the Fair Value Pricing Committee.
Short term securities purchased with less than 60 days remaining until maturity and all U.S. Treasury Bills are valued on the basis of amortized cost, which has been determined to approximate fair value. Short term securities purchased with more than 60 days remaining until maturity are valued using pricing services, or in the event a price is not available from a pricing service, may be priced using other methodologies approved by the Board of Directors, including model pricing or pricing on the basis of quotations from brokers or dealers, and will continue to be priced until final maturity.
Investments in shares of the underlying mutual funds are valued at the net asset value as reported by the underlying mutual fund, which may be obtained from pricing services or other pricing sources.
Foreign equity securities are generally valued using an adjusted systematic fair value price from an independent pricing service. Foreign exchange rates are determined at a time that corresponds to the closing of the NYSE.
For derivatives that are traded on an exchange, the last sale price as of the close of business of the exchange will be used. For derivatives traded over-the-counter (OTC), independent pricing services will be utilized when possible. If a price cannot be located from the primary source, other appropriate sources, which may include the use of an internally developed valuation model, another external pricing vendor or sourcing a price from a broker, may be used.
Independent pricing services are approved by the Board of Directors and are utilized for all investment types when available. In some instances valuations from independent pricing services are not available or do not reflect events in the market between the time the market closed and the valuation time and therefore fair valuation procedures are implemented. The fair value for some securities may be obtained from pricing services or other pricing sources. The inputs used by the pricing services are reviewed quarterly or when the pricing vendor issues updates to its pricing methodologies. Broker quotes are analyzed through an internal review process, which includes a review of known market conditions and other relevant data. Developments that might trigger fair value pricing could be natural disasters, government actions or fluctuations in domestic and foreign markets.
The following table provides examples of the inputs that are commonly used for valuing particular classes of securities. These classifications are not exclusive, and any inputs may be used to value any other security class.
Class Inputs
Common Stock Exchange traded close price, bids, evaluated bids, open and close price of the local exchange, exchange rates, fair values based on significant market movement and various index data.
Preferred Stock Benchmark yields, reported trades, broker/dealer quotes, issuer spreads, two-sided markets, benchmark securities, bids, evaluated bids, offers and reference data including market research publications. Inputs also may include exchange prices.
Rights Exchange traded close price, bids and evaluated bids.
Government Money Market Mutual Funds Net asset value of underlying mutual fund.
Short Term Investments Maturity date, credit quality and interest rates.
Futures Contracts Exchange traded close price.
Forward Foreign Currency Contracts Foreign currency spot and forward rates.
The Fund classifies its valuations into three levels based upon the observability of inputs to the valuation of the Fund’s investments. The valuation levels are not necessarily an indication of the risk or liquidity associated with the underlying investment. Classification is based on the lowest level of input significant to the fair value measurement. The three levels are defined as follows:

Semi-Annual Report - June 30, 2021

 


Level 1 – Unadjusted quoted prices for identical securities in active markets.
Level 2 – Inputs other than quoted prices included in Level 1 that are observable either directly or indirectly. These may include quoted prices for similar assets in active markets.
Level 3 – Unobservable inputs to the extent observable inputs are not available and may include prices obtained from single broker quotes. Unobservable inputs reflect the Fund’s own assumptions and would be based on the best information available under the circumstances.
As of June 30, 2021, the inputs used to value the Fund’s investments are detailed in the following table. More information regarding the sector or geography classifications, as applicable, are included in the Schedule of Investments.
  Level 1   Level 2   Level 3   Total
Assets              
Investments, at fair value:              
Common Stock $ 10,439,059   $ 977,539,461   $   $ 987,978,520
Preferred Stock   4,349,545     4,349,545
Rights   19,553     19,553
Government Money Market Mutual Funds 13,825,000       13,825,000
Short Term Investments   14,000,346     14,000,346
Total investments, at fair value: 24,264,059   995,908,905   0   1,020,172,964
Other Financial Investments:              
Forward Foreign Currency Contracts(a)   36,094     36,094
Total Assets $ 24,264,059   $ 995,944,999   $ 0   $ 1,020,209,058
Liabilities              
Other Financial Investments:              
Futures Contracts(a) $ (369,461)   $   $   $ (369,461)
Total Liabilities $ (369,461)   $ 0   $ 0   $ (369,461)
(a) Forward Foreign Currency Contracts and Futures Contracts are reported at the security's unrealized appreciation (depreciation), which represents the change in the contract's value from trade date.
Repurchase Agreements
The Fund may engage in repurchase agreement transactions with institutions that the Fund’s investment adviser has determined are creditworthy. The Fund will purchase securities at a specified price with an agreement to sell the securities to the same counterparty at a specified time, price and interest rate. The Fund’s custodian and/or securities lending agent receives delivery of the underlying securities collateralizing a repurchase agreement. Collateral is at least equal to the value of the repurchase obligation including interest. A repurchase agreement transaction involves certain risks in the event of default or insolvency of the counterparty. These risks include possible delays or restrictions upon a Fund’s ability to dispose of the underlying securities and a possible decline in the value of the underlying securities during the period while the Fund seeks to assert its rights.
Foreign Currency Translations and Transactions
The accounting records of the Fund are maintained in U.S. dollars. Investment securities, and other assets and liabilities denominated in a foreign currency are translated into U.S. dollars at the current exchange rate. Purchases and sales of securities, income receipts and expense payments are translated into U.S. dollars at the exchange rate on the dates of the transactions.
The Fund does not isolate the 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.
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, and the difference between the amounts of dividends, interest, and foreign withholding taxes recorded by the Fund and the U.S. dollar equivalent of the amounts actually received

Semi-Annual Report - June 30, 2021

 


or paid. Net unrealized foreign exchange gains and losses arise from changes in the fair values of assets and liabilities, other than investments in securities at fiscal period end, resulting from changes in exchange rates. These gains and losses are included in net realized gain or loss and change in net unrealized appreciation or depreciation on the Statement of Operations.
Security Transactions
Security transactions are accounted for on the date the security is purchased or sold (trade date). Realized gains and losses from investments sold are determined on a specific lot selection. Dividend income for the Fund is accrued as of the ex-dividend date and interest income, including amortization of discounts and premiums, is recorded daily.
Federal Income Taxes and Distributions to Shareholders
The Fund intends to comply with provisions under Subchapter M of the Internal Revenue Code applicable to regulated investment companies and to distribute substantially all of its net taxable income, including any net realized gain on investments not offset by capital loss carryforwards, if any, to shareholders. Therefore, no federal income or excise tax provision is required. The Fund files income tax returns in U.S. federal and applicable state jurisdictions. The statute of limitations on the Fund’s tax return filings generally remains open for the three preceding fiscal reporting period ends. State tax returns may remain open for an additional fiscal year.
Distributions to shareholders from net investment income of the Fund, if any, are declared and paid annually. Capital gain distributions of the Fund, if any, are declared and paid at least annually. Distributions are reinvested in additional shares of the Fund at net asset value and are declared separately for each class. Distributions are determined in accordance with income tax regulations, which may differ from U.S. generally accepted accounting principles.
Net investment income (loss) and net realized gain (loss) for federal income tax purposes may differ from those reported on the financial statements because of temporary and permanent book-tax basis differences. Book-tax differences may include but are not limited to the following: wash sales, distribution adjustments, adjustments for passive foreign investment corporations and foreign currency reclassifications.
The aggregate cost of securities and other investments and the composition of unrealized appreciation and depreciation for federal income tax purposes as of June 30, 2021 were as follows:
Federal tax cost of investments $778,951,537
Gross unrealized appreciation on investments 313,761,931
Gross unrealized depreciation on investments (72,873,871)
Net unrealized appreciation on investments $240,888,060
2.  DERIVATIVE FINANCIAL INSTRUMENTS
The Fund's investment objective allows the Fund to enter into various types of derivative contracts, including futures contracts and forward foreign currency contracts. Derivatives are investments whose value is primarily derived from underlying assets, indices or reference rates.
In pursuit of the Fund's investment objectives, the Fund may seek to use derivatives to increase or decrease its exposure to the following market risks:
Equity Risk - The risk that relates to the change in value of equity securities as they relate to increases or decreases in the general market.
Foreign Exchange Risk - The risk that adverse fluctuations in exchange rates between the U.S. Dollar and other currencies may cause the Fund to lose money on investments denominated in foreign currencies.
The Fund is also exposed to additional risks from investing in derivatives, such as liquidity and counterparty credit risk. Liquidity risk is the risk that the Fund will be unable to sell or close out the derivative in the open market in a timely manner. Counterparty credit risk is the risk that the counterparty will not be able to fulfill its obligations to the Fund. Investing in derivatives may also involve greater risks than investing directly in the underlying assets, such as losses in excess of any initial investment and collateral received. In addition, there may be the risk that the change in value of the derivative contract does not correspond to the change in value of the underlying instrument.

Semi-Annual Report - June 30, 2021

 


Futures Contracts
The Fund uses futures contracts to equitize cash. A futures contract is an agreement between two parties to buy or sell a specified underlying investment for a fixed price at a specified future date. Futures contracts are generally entered into on a regulated futures exchange and cleared through a clearinghouse associated with the exchange. The use of futures contracts may involve risks such as the possibility of illiquid markets or imperfect correlation between the value of the contracts and the underlying securities that comprise the index, or that the clearinghouse will fail to perform its obligations.
Futures contracts are reported in a table following the Schedule of Investments. Upon entering into a futures contract, the Fund is required to pledge to the broker an amount of cash and/or other assets equal to a certain percentage of the contract amount (initial margin deposit). Receipts or payments, known as variation margin, are made or received by the Fund each day, depending on the daily fluctuations in the fair value of the underlying security. This is recorded as variation margin on futures contracts on the Statement of Assets and Liabilities. When the Fund enters into a closing transaction, it will realize, for book purposes, a gain or loss equal to the difference between the value of the futures contract at the time it was opened or purchased and its value at the time it was closed, and is reflected in net realized gain or loss on the Statement of Operations. The Fund held an average of 168 futures contracts for the reporting period.
Forward Foreign Currency Contracts
The Fund enters into OTC forward foreign currency contracts (forward contracts) primarily to capture potential returns from changes in currency exchange rates or to reduce the risk of undesired currency exposure. A forward contract is a commitment to purchase or sell a foreign currency at a future date at a negotiated rate.
Forward contracts are reported in a table following the Schedule of Investments. The unrealized appreciation or depreciation is reported on the Statement of Assets and Liabilities and on the Statement of Operations within the net change in unrealized appreciation or depreciation. Upon the closing of such contract the difference between the U.S. dollar cost of the original contract and the value of the foreign currency in U.S. dollars is recorded as net realized gain or loss on the Statement of Operations. The Fund held an average foreign currency contracts amount of $5,714,903 in forward contracts for the reporting period.
Derivative Financial Instruments Categorized by Risk Exposure
Valuation of derivative investments as of June 30, 2021 is as follows:
    Asset Derivatives   Liability Derivatives
Risk Exposure   Statement of Assets and Liabilities Location   Fair Value   Statement of Assets and Liabilities Location   Fair Value
Equity contracts (futures contracts)           Net unrealized depreciation on futures contracts   $(369,461) (a)
Foreign exchange contracts (forwards)   Unrealized appreciation on forward foreign currency contracts   $36,094        
(a)Includes cumulative depreciation of futures contracts as reported in the Fund’s Schedule of Investments. Only current day’s variation margin is reported within the Statement of Assets and Liabilities.
The effect of derivative investments for the period ended June 30, 2021 is as follows:
    Realized Gain or (Loss)   Change in Unrealized Appreciation or (Depreciation)
Risk Exposure   Statement of Operations Location   Statement of Operations Location
Equity contracts (futures contracts)   Net realized gain on futures contracts $2,538,837   Net change in unrealized depreciation on futures contracts $(825,170)
Foreign exchange contracts (forwards)   Net realized gain on forward foreign currency contracts $ 1,653   Net change in unrealized appreciation on forward foreign currency contracts $ 128,194

Semi-Annual Report - June 30, 2021

 


Concentration of Risk
The Fund may have elements of risk due to concentrated investments in foreign issuers located in a specific country. Such concentrations may subject the Fund to additional risks resulting from future political or economic conditions and/or possible impositions of adverse foreign governmental laws or currency exchange restrictions. Investments in securities of non-U.S. issuers have unique risks not present in securities of U.S. issuers, such as greater price volatility and less liquidity.
3.  INVESTMENT ADVISORY AGREEMENT AND OTHER TRANSACTIONS WITH AFFILIATES
Great-West Funds entered into an investment advisory agreement with Great-West Capital Management, LLC (GWCM) (the Adviser), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Great-West Life & Annuity Insurance Company (GWL&A). As compensation for its services to Great-West Funds, the Adviser receives monthly compensation at the annual rate of 0.25% of the Fund’s average daily net assets up to $1 billion dollars, 0.20% of the Fund’s average daily net assets over $1 billion dollars and 0.15% of the Fund’s average daily net assets over $2 billion dollars. Certain administration and accounting services fees for the Fund are included in the investment advisory agreement.
The Adviser contractually agreed to waive fees or reimburse expenses that exceed an annual rate of 0.32% of the Fund's average daily net assets attributable to each Class, including management fees and expenses paid directly by the Fund, excluding shareholder service fees and certain extraordinary expenses (the "Expense Limit"). The agreement's current term ends on April 30, 2022 and automatically renews for one-year unless terminated upon written notice within 90 days of the end of the current term or upon termination of the investment advisory agreement. The amount waived or reimbursed, if any, is reflected in the Statement of Operations.
The Adviser is permitted upon approval by the Board of Directors to recoup amounts waived or reimbursed by the Fund in future periods, not exceeding three years following the particular waiver/reimbursement, provided the total annual operating expenses of each Class of the Fund plus such recoupment do not exceed the lesser of the Expense Limit that was in place at the time of the waiver/reimbursement or the Expense Limit in place at the time of recoupment. At June 30, 2021, the amounts subject to recoupment were as follows: 
Expires December 31, 2021   Expires December 31, 2022   Expires December 31, 2023   Expires June 30, 2024   Recoupment of
Past Reimbursed Fees
by the Adviser
$18,792   $5,118   $18,462   $0   $0
The Adviser and Great-West Funds entered into a sub-advisory agreement with Irish Life Investment Managers Limited (ILIM), an affiliate of the Adviser and GWL&A. The Adviser is responsible for compensating the Sub-Adviser for its services.
GWCM is responsible for compensating ILIM, which receives monthly compensation for its services at the annual rate of 0.02% of the Fund's net assets.
Great-West Funds entered into a shareholder services agreement with Empower Retirement, LLC (Empower), an affiliate of GWCM and subsidiary of GWL&A. Pursuant to the shareholder services agreement, Empower provides various recordkeeping, administrative and shareholder services to shareholders and receives from the Investor Class shares of the Fund a fee equal to 0.35% of the average daily net asset value of the applicable share class.
GWFS Equities, Inc. (the Distributor), is a wholly-owned subsidiary of GWL&A and the principal underwriter to distribute and market the Fund.
Certain officers of Great-West Funds are also directors and/or officers of GWL&A or its subsidiaries. No officer or interested director of Great-West Funds receives any compensation directly from Great-West Funds. The total compensation paid to the independent directors with respect to all fifty-five funds for which they serve as directors was $595,500 for the fiscal period ended June 30, 2021.
4.  PURCHASES AND SALES OF INVESTMENTS
For the period ended June 30, 2021, the aggregate cost of purchases and proceeds from sales of investments (excluding all U.S. Government securities and short-term securities) were $44,245,723 and $116,504,520, respectively. For the same period, there were no purchases or sales of long-term U.S. Government securities.

Semi-Annual Report - June 30, 2021

 


5.  SECURITIES LOANED
The Fund has entered into a securities lending agreement with its custodian as securities lending agent. Under the terms of the agreement the Fund receives income after deductions of other amounts payable to the securities lending agent or to the borrower from lending transactions. In exchange for such fees, the securities lending agent is authorized to loan securities on behalf of the Fund against receipt of cash collateral at least equal in value at all times to the value of the securities loaned plus accrued interest. The fair value of the loaned securities is determined daily at the close of business of the Fund and necessary collateral adjustments are made between the Fund and its counterparties on the next business day through the delivery or receipt of additional collateral. The Fund also continues to receive interest or dividends on the securities loaned. Cash collateral is invested in securities approved by the Board of Directors. The Fund bears the risk of any deficiency in the amount of collateral available for return to a borrower due to a loss in an approved investment. As of June 30, 2021, the Fund had securities on loan valued at $24,814,996 and received collateral as reported on the Statement of Assets and Liabilities of $27,825,346 for such loan which was invested in Repurchase Agreements collateralized by U.S. Government or U.S. Government Agency securities and Government Money Market Mutual Funds.The Repurchase Agreements can be jointly purchased with other lending agent clients and in the event of a default by the counterparty, all lending agent clients would share ratably in the collateral.
Under the securities lending agreement, the collateral pledged is, by definition, the securities loaned against the cash borrowed. At June 30, 2021, the class of securities loaned consisted entirely of common stock. The remaining contractual maturity of all of the securities lending transactions is overnight and continuous. Additional information regarding the Fund's securities on loan is included in the Schedule of Investments.
6.  INDEMNIFICATIONS
The Fund’s organizational documents provide current and former officers and directors with a limited indemnification against liabilities arising in connection with the performance of their duties to the Fund. In the normal course of business, the Fund may also enter into contracts that provide general indemnifications. The Fund’s maximum exposure under these arrangements is unknown as this would be dependent on future claims that may be made against the Fund. The risk of material loss from such claims is considered remote.
7.  SUBSEQUENT EVENTS
Management has reviewed all events subsequent to June 30, 2021, including the estimates inherent in the process of preparing these financial statements through the date the financial statements were issued. No subsequent events requiring adjustments or disclosures have occurred.

Semi-Annual Report - June 30, 2021

 


Availability of Quarterly Portfolio Schedule
Great-West Funds files its complete schedule of portfolio holdings with the Securities and Exchange Commission for the first and third quarters of each fiscal year on Form NPORT-EX. Great-West Funds’ Forms NPORT-EX are available on the Commission’s website at http://www.sec.gov, and may be reviewed and copied at the Commission’s Public Reference Room in Washington, D.C. Information on the operation of the Public Reference Room may be obtained by calling 1-800-SEC-0330.
Availability of Proxy Voting Policies and Procedures
A description of the policies and procedures that Great-West Funds uses to determine how to vote proxies relating to portfolio securities is available without charge, upon request, by calling 1-866-831-7129, and on the SEC website at http://www.sec.gov.
Availability of Proxy Voting Record
Information regarding how Great-West Funds voted proxies relating to portfolio securities during the most recent 12-month period ended June 30 is available without charge, upon request, by calling 1-866-831-7129, and on the SEC website at http://www.sec.gov.
Funds' Liquidity Risk Management Program
The Funds have adopted and implemented a written liquidity risk management program as required by Rule 22e-4 under the Investment Company Act. The program is designed to assess and manage each Fund’s liquidity risk, taking into consideration the Fund’s investment strategy and the liquidity of its portfolio investments during normal and reasonably foreseeable stressed conditions, its short and long-term cash flow projections, and its cash holdings and access to other funding sources. The Funds’ Board of Directors approved the designation of the Great-West Capital Management, LLC (the “Adviser”) Liquidity Risk Management Committee as the administrator of the liquidity risk management program. The Liquidity Risk Management Committee includes representatives from the Adviser’s Risk, Trading, Investment Valuation, and Regulatory Compliance departments and is responsible for the program’s administration and oversight and for reporting to the Board on at least an annual basis regarding, among other things, the program’s operation, adequacy and effectiveness. The Liquidity Risk Management Committee reassessed each Fund’s liquidity risk profile, considering additional data gathered through May 2021 and the adequacy and effectiveness of the liquidity risk management program’s operations since its inception in December 2018 (the “covered period”) in order to prepare a written report to the Board of Directors for review at its meeting held on June 10, 2021. The report stated that:
(i) the program performed well during the covered period and meets the needs and profile of the Funds,
(ii) the Funds benefit from the stability of their shareholder base,
(iii) the selection of two vendors to supply liquidity measurement products has proven to be extremely helpful,
(iv) no changes were proposed to the program as of the date of the report, and
(v) no Fund approached the internal triggers set by the Liquidity Risk Management Committee or the regulatory percentage limitation (15%) on holdings in illiquid investments.
The report also stated that it continues to be appropriate to not set a “highly liquid investment minimum” for any Funds because the Funds primarily hold “highly liquid investments” and reviewed the changes to the program since inception.
Investment Advisory Contract Approval
The Board of Directors (the “Board”) of Great-West Funds, Inc. (the “Company”), including the Directors who are not interested persons of the Company (the “Independent Directors”), at a meeting held on April 20, 2021 (the “April Meeting”), unanimously approved the continuation of (i) the investment advisory agreement (the “Advisory Agreement”) Great-West Capital Management, LLC (“GWCM”) and the Company, on behalf of Great-West International Index Fund, a series of the Company (the “Fund,” and together with the Company’s other series, the “Great-West Funds”), and (ii) the investment sub-advisory agreement (the “Sub-Advisory Agreement”) by and among the Company, GWCM and Irish Life Investment Managers Limited (“ILIM” or the “Sub-Adviser”), with respect to the Fund. (GWCM is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Great-West Life & Annuity Insurance Company (“GWL&A”). ILIM is an affiliate of GWCM and GWL&A.)

 


Pursuant to the Advisory Agreement, GWCM acts as investment adviser and, subject to oversight by the Board, directs the investments of the Fund in accordance with its investment objective, policies and limitations. GWCM also provides, subject to oversight by the Board, the management and administrative services necessary for the Fund’s operation. GWCM is also responsible for monitoring and evaluating the performance of the Sub-Adviser and for recommending the hiring, termination and replacement of the Sub-Adviser to the Board.
Pursuant to the Sub-Advisory Agreement, the Sub-Adviser, subject to general supervision and oversight by GWCM and the Board, is responsible for the day-to-day management of the investment and reinvestment of the Fund’s assets, which includes making decisions to buy, sell or hold any particular security.
On March 30, 2021 (the “March Meeting”), the Independent Directors met separately with independent legal counsel in advance of the April Meeting to evaluate information encompassing a wide variety of topics and furnished by GWCM and the Sub-Adviser in connection with the proposed continuation of the Advisory Agreement and Sub-Advisory Agreement (collectively, the “Agreements” or each, an “Agreement”), and met separately with representatives of Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. (“Broadridge”), an independent provider of investment company data, and with GWCM to review comparative information on the Fund’s investment performance, fees and expenses. In addition, at the March Meeting, the Independent Directors met separately with representatives of an independent provider of mutual fund advisory contract renewal consulting services (the “Independent Fee Consultant”) to review comparative information regarding the Fund’s investment performance, fees and expenses, and further discussed such information with GWCM. The Independent Directors also considered additional information provided in response to their requests made following the March Meeting. The Independent Directors further discussed continuation of the Agreements separately with independent legal counsel at the April Meeting. The Independent Directors weighed and considered the information provided in light of their substantial accumulated experience in governing the Fund and the other Great-West Funds. Although the Board considered the approval of the Agreements for the Fund as part of its multi-faceted annual review process of agreements across the Great-West Funds, the Board’s approvals were made on a fund-by-fund basis.
In approving the continuation of each of the Agreements, the Board considered such information as the Board deemed reasonably necessary to evaluate the terms of the Agreements. The Board noted that performance information is provided to the Board on an ongoing basis at regular Board meetings held throughout the year. Furthermore, at each of its meetings, the Board covers an extensive agenda of topics and materials and considers factors that are relevant to its annual consideration of advisory agreements for the Great-West Funds, including the services and support provided to each of the Great-West Funds, including the Fund and its shareholders.
In its deliberations, the Board did not identify any single factor as being determinative. Rather, the Board’s approvals were based on each Director’s business judgment after a comprehensive consideration of the information as a whole. Individual Directors may have weighed certain factors differently and assigned varying degrees of materiality to information considered by the Board. The Independent Directors were assisted throughout the evaluation process by independent legal counsel.
Based upon its review of the Agreements and the information provided to it, the Board concluded that each Agreement was reasonable in light of the services performed, fees charged and such other matters as the Directors considered relevant in the exercise of their business judgment. The principal factors and conclusions that formed the basis for the Directors’ determinations to approve the continuation of the Agreements are discussed below.
Nature, Extent and Quality of Services
The Board considered the nature, extent and quality of services provided and to be provided to the Fund by GWCM and the Sub-Adviser (each, an “adviser”). Among other things, the Board considered, as applicable, each adviser’s organizational history, personnel, experience, resources and performance track record, its ability to provide or obtain such services as may be necessary in managing, acquiring and disposing of investments on behalf of the Fund, and its ability to provide research and to obtain and evaluate the economic, statistical and financial data relevant to the investment policies of the Fund. The Board also reviewed, as applicable, the qualifications, education, experience, tenure and responsibilities of the senior personnel serving the Fund and the portfolio management team responsible for the day-to-day management of the Fund, as well as each adviser’s efforts to attract, retain and motivate capable personnel to serve the Fund. In addition, the Board considered, as applicable, each adviser’s reputation for management of its investment strategies, its disaster recovery procedures, including cybersecurity risk mitigation, its overall financial condition and ability to carry out its obligations to the Fund, its technical resources, operational capabilities and safeguards, and compliance policies and procedures, including for liquidity risk management oversight, as well as the Sub-Adviser’s practices regarding the selection and compensation of

 


brokers and dealers for the execution of portfolio transactions and the procedures it uses for obtaining best execution of portfolio transactions. With respect to GWCM, the Board noted recent and anticipated system and process enhancements, such as the implementation of a new trade order management system and compliance tool, use of an industry leading portfolio and risk analytics program, enhancements to investment applications, and GWCM’s efforts generally to ensure that third-party programs used to service the Fund are monitored effectively and upgraded as needed.
Consideration also was given to the fact that the Board meets with representatives of the Sub-Adviser each year to discuss portfolio management strategies and performance. Additionally, the quality of each adviser’s communications with the Board, as well as the adviser’s responsiveness to the Board, were taken into account. Also considered was each adviser’s response to market volatility and economic developments and changing circumstances in the mutual fund industry. In this regard, the Board received and considered information furnished by each adviser on the impacts of the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak on each adviser generally and the Fund in particular, including, among other information, the current and anticipated impacts on the management, operations and performance of the Fund.
The Board concluded that it was satisfied with the nature, extent and quality of the services provided to the Fund by GWCM and the Sub-Adviser.
Investment Performance
The Board received and considered information regarding the investment performance of the Fund. In assessing the Fund’s performance, the Board considered that the Fund’s investment objective is to seek investment results that, before fees and expenses, track the total return of the common stocks that comprise the MSCI EAFE (Europe, Australia, Far East) Index (the “Index”). Therefore, the Board evaluated the performance information for the Fund’s Investor Class and Institutional Class as compared to the Index and a “performance universe” of peer funds compiled by Broadridge, based on Lipper fund classifications. This performance data included, among other things, annualized returns for the one-, three- and five-year periods ended December 31, 2020. The Board noted that it had also received and discussed at periodic intervals information comparing the Fund’s performance to that of the Index and to a peer group of funds.
The Board observed that the annualized returns of the Fund’s Investor Class were in the third quintile of its performance universe for each of the one, three and five-year periods ended December 31, 2020 (the first quintile being the best performers and the fifth quintile being the worst performers), which, for the three-year period ended December 31, 2020, equaled the performance universe median. The Board further observed that although the annualized returns of the Investor Class were below its performance universe median for each of the one- and five-year periods ended December 31, 2020, the specific rankings were in the 55th and 58th percentiles, respectively. The Board also noted similar performance for the Fund’s Institutional Class, with its annualized returns in the third quintile of its performance universe for each of the one-, three- and five-year periods ended December 31, 2020, exceeding the performance universe median for the three- and five-year periods and falling just below the performance universe median (ranking in the 51st percentile) for the one-year period ended December 31, 2020.
In evaluating the performance data, the Board considered the expectations of shareholders and that the Fund is not actively managed, and thus, the investment performance of the Fund in absolute terms and relative to the performance universe was not of the importance that normally attaches to the performance of actively managed funds. Of more importance to the Board was the extent to which the Fund achieved its objective to provide investment results that, before fees and expenses, track the total return of the Index. Therefore, the Board focused its attention primarily on the Fund’s performance relative to the Index. In this regard, the Board observed that each class of the Fund outperformed the Index for each period reviewed.
The Board also took into account the Sub-Adviser’s approach to managing indexed investment portfolios, the organization, composition and experience of its investment personnel and its operational risk controls, among other things. In addition, the Board considered GWCM’s processes for overseeing and analyzing the Sub-Adviser’s performance, including GWCM’s systematic approach to performance monitoring.
The Board determined that it was satisfied with the explanations for, oversight of and information provided regarding the Fund’s investment performance.

 


Costs and Profitability
The Board considered the costs of services provided by GWCM and the Sub-Adviser from their relationships with the Fund. The Board also reviewed an analysis prepared by Broadridge regarding the actual net advisory fee, sub-advisory fee and advisory fee retained by GWCM for the Fund’s Investor Class and Institutional Class, as compared to share classes of other sub-advised Funds within the same Lipper investment classification and publicly disclosed sub-advisory fees.
With respect to the costs of services, the Board considered the structure and the level of the investment management fees and other expenses payable by the Fund. In this regard, the Board noted that, effective May 1, 2017, the structure of the investment management fee payable by the Fund changed to a structure in which GWCM is no longer responsible for paying the Fund’s operating expenses as part of the investment management fee. The Board noted that commensurate with this new fee structure, GWCM’s investment management fee decreased as much as, or more than, the cost of the Fund’s operating expenses as of December 31, 2015, and that the operating expenses of the Fund are paid directly by the Fund effective May 1, 2017, which should allow Fund shareholders to participate in potential economies of scale over time as the Fund’s assets grow and its expense ratio declines due to fixed operating expenses. The Board further noted that the new investment management fee would include breakpoints. In addition, the Board noted that GWCM has contractually agreed for a one-year renewable term, through April 30, 2022, to limit the fees and expenses of the Fund to the total expense ratio of the Fund as of December 31, 2015, and that in the future GWCM may increase the expense limit only with the approval of the Board.
The Board noted that GWCM, not the Fund, pays the sub-advisory fee to the Sub-Adviser. In evaluating the management fee and total expense ratio of the Fund’s Investor and Institutional Classes, the Board considered the fees payable by and the total expense ratios of peer groups of funds managed by other investment advisers, as determined by Broadridge, based on Lipper fund classifications. Specifically, for each class the Board considered (i) the Fund’s management fee as provided in the Advisory Agreement (the “Contractual Management Fee”) in comparison to the contractual management fees of the peer group of funds and (ii) the Fund’s total expense ratio in comparison to the peer group funds’ total expense ratios (in all cases, net of any waivers, if applicable). In addition, the Board considered the Fund’s total expense ratio in comparison to the median expense ratio for all funds in the peer group. As part of its comprehensive evaluation, the Board also reviewed a report from the Independent Fee Consultant assessing expenses in the context of performance.
As to each class of the Fund, the Board observed that the Contractual Management Fee was equal to the median contractual management fee of its respective peer group of funds. The Board also observed that although the total annual operating expense ratio of the Investor Class was higher than the peer group median expense ratio, the total annual operating expense ratio of the Institutional Class was equal to the peer group median expense ratio, ranking in the fourth and third quintiles, respectively (with the first quintile being the lowest expenses and the fifth quintile being the highest expenses).
The Board received information regarding the fees charged by GWCM to separate accounts and other products managed by GWCM and noted that GWCM does not manage other client accounts in the same investment style as the Fund. Although not identified specifically as accounts or products comparable to the Fund, the Board noted that the information provided by the Sub-Adviser included the fees charged by ILIM to GWCM for the other series of the Company sub-advised by ILIM, including other equity index funds and an international equity fund (as to a sleeve of the fund managed similarly to the Fund) (collectively, the “ILIM Sub-Advised Funds”). The Board also noted the Sub-Adviser’s statement that the sub-advisory fee charged to GWCM for the Fund is consistent with pricing for mandates of similar size and services.
The Board further considered the overall financial soundness of GWCM and the Sub-Adviser and the profits estimated to have been realized by GWCM and its affiliates and by the Sub-Adviser. The Board reviewed the financial statements and profitability information from GWCM and the Sub-Adviser.
With respect to GWCM’s profitability information, the Board considered the review undertaken by management in 2020 of the organization’s expense allocation methodology following an internal corporate restructuring and, following such review, GWCM’s determination to adjust the methodology used in determining profitability. In this connection, the Board took into account its discussions with management regarding the methodology as well as the analysis performed by an independent auditor, including the auditor’s conclusion that the methodology was reasonable. The Board also considered that there is no recognized standard or uniform methodology for determining profitability for this purpose. Furthermore, the Board noted that there are limitations inherent in allocating costs and calculating profitability for an organization such as GWCM, and that it is difficult to make comparisons of profitability between advisers because comparative information is not generally publicly available. The Board also reviewed a report from Broadridge comparing pre-tax investment management profitability margins for the latest fiscal year for certain publicly-traded advisers to fund complexes as compared to GWCM’s estimated

 


complex-level profits. The Board considered that, while GWCM’s overall profitability is not unreasonable, profitability information is affected by numerous factors, including the adviser’s organization, capital structure and cost of capital, the types of funds it manages, its mix of business and the adviser’s assumptions regarding allocations of revenue and expenses. In evaluating the information provided by the Sub-Adviser, the Board noted that the Sub-Adviser’s profitability was based on the Sub-Adviser’s aggregate profitability for providing sub-advisory services to the ILIM Sub-Advised Funds (i.e., including the Fund).
Based on the information provided, the Board concluded that the costs of the services provided and the profits estimated to have been realized by GWCM and its affiliates and the Sub-Adviser were not unreasonable in relation to the nature, extent and quality of the services provided.
Economies of Scale
The Board received and considered information about the potential for GWCM to experience economies of scale in the provision of services to the Fund and the extent to which potential scale benefits are shared with shareholders. In evaluating economies of scale, the Board considered, among other things, the current level of management and sub-advisory fees payable by the Fund and GWCM, respectively, and whether those fees include breakpoints, as well as comparative fee information, the profitability and financial condition of GWCM, and the current level of Fund assets. The Board noted that GWCM shares potential economies of scale from its business in a variety of ways, including through services that benefit shareholders, competitive management fee rates set at the outset and investments in the business intended to enhance services available to shareholders. In its evaluation, the Board noted that the management fee schedule contained breakpoints that would reduce the management fee rate on assets above specified levels as the Fund’s assets increased. The Board also reviewed data provided by Broadridge regarding the percentage of the management fee retained by GWCM, which indicated that such percentage was above the median of the Fund’s Lipper investment classification. In this regard, the Board took into account that the sub-advisory fee under the Sub-Advisory Agreement is paid by GWCM out of the management fee it receives under the Advisory Agreement and that, as observed by the Board, the Contractual Management Fee for each class was equal to the median contractual management fee of its respective peer group and the management fee schedule includes breakpoints.
Based on the information provided, the Board concluded that GWCM’s arrangements with respect to the Fund constituted a reasonable approach to sharing potential economies of scale with the Fund and its shareholders.
Other Factors
The Board received and considered information regarding ancillary benefits derived or to be derived by GWCM or the Sub-Adviser from their relationships with the Fund as part of the total mix of information evaluated by the Board. In this regard, the Board noted the Sub-Adviser’s statement that its primary “fall-out” benefit from managing the Fund is the reputational value associated with serving as Sub-Adviser which may support its business growth in the U.S. and elsewhere in the future.
The Board also noted where services were provided to the Fund by affiliates of GWCM and the Sub-Adviser, including, in particular, the various recordkeeping, administrative and shareholder services provided by Empower Retirement, LLC (“Empower”) pursuant to a shareholder services agreement, effective April 29, 2020. (GWL&A, the parent company of Empower and GWCM, previously provided shareholder services pursuant to an agreement dated May 1, 2015.) In addition to the foregoing arrangements, the Board took into account the fact that the Fund is used as a funding vehicle under variable life and annuity contracts offered by insurance companies affiliated with GWCM and as a funding vehicle under retirement plans for which affiliates of GWCM may provide various retirement plan services. Additionally, the Board considered the extent to which GWL&A and/or its affiliated insurance companies may receive benefits under the federal income tax laws with respect to tax deductions and credits.
The Board concluded that the Fund’s management and sub-advisory fees were reasonable, taking into account any ancillary benefits derived by GWCM or the Sub-Adviser.
Conclusion
Based upon all the information considered and the conclusions reached, the Board determined that the terms of each Agreement continue to be reasonable and that the continuation of the Agreements is in the best interests of the Fund.

 


1 In 2015, Broadridge acquired the fiduciary services and competitive intelligence business unit from Lipper, Inc. (“Lipper”).

 


ITEM 2. CODE OF ETHICS.
Not required in filing.
ITEM 3. AUDIT COMMITTEE FINANCIAL EXPERT.
Not required in filing.
ITEM 4. PRINCIPAL ACCOUNTANT FEES AND SERVICES.
Not required in filing.
ITEM 5. AUDIT COMMITTEE OF LISTED REGISTRANTS.
Not applicable.
ITEM 6. INVESTMENTS.
(a)  The schedule is included as part of the report to shareholders filed under Item 1 of this Form.
(b)  Not applicable.
ITEM 7. DISCLOSURE OF PROXY VOTING POLICIES AND PROCEDURES FOR CLOSED-END MANAGEMENT INVESTMENT COMPANIES.
Not applicable.
ITEM 8. PORTFOLIO MANAGERS OF CLOSED-END MANAGEMENT INVESTMENT COMPANIES.
Not applicable.
ITEM 9. PURCHASE OF EQUITY SECURITIES BY CLOSED-END MANAGEMENT INVESTMENT COMPANY AND AFFILIATED PURCHASERS.
Not applicable.
ITEM 10. SUBMISSION OF MATTERS TO A VOTE OF SECURITY HOLDERS.
There have been no material changes to the procedures by which shareholders may recommend nominees to the registrant’s board of directors since the registrant last provided disclosure in response to the requirements of Item 407(c)(2)(iv) of Regulation S-K.
ITEM 11. CONTROLS AND PROCEDURES.
(a)   The registrant's principal executive officer and principal financial officer have concluded, based upon their evaluation of the registrant's disclosure controls and procedures as conducted within 90 days of the filing date of this report, that these disclosure controls and procedures provide reasonable assurance that material information required to be disclosed by the registrant in the report it files or submits on Form N-CSR is recorded, processed, summarized and reported, within

 


the time periods specified in the commission's rules and forms and that such material information is accumulated and communicated to the registrant's management, including its principal executive officer and principal financial officer, as appropriate, in order to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure.
(b)   The registrant's principal executive officer and principal financial officer are aware of no changes in the registrant's internal control over financial reporting that occurred during the registrant's most recent fiscal half-year that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, the registrant's internal control over financial reporting.
ITEM 12. DISCLOSURE OF LENDING ACTIVITIES FOR CLOSED-END MANAGEMENT INVESTMENT COMPANIES.
Not applicable.
ITEM 13. EXHIBITS.
(3) Not applicable.
(4) Not applicable.

 


SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and the Investment Company Act of 1940, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.
GREAT-WEST FUNDS, INC.
By: /s/ Jonathan D. Kreider

Jonathan D. Kreider
President & Chief Executive Officer
Date:August 18, 2021
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and the Investment Company Act of 1940, this report has been signed below by the following persons on behalf of the registrant and in the capacities and on the dates indicated.
By: /s/ Jonathan D. Kreider

Jonathan D. Kreider
President & Chief Executive Officer
Date:August 18, 2021
By: /s/ Kelly B. New

Kelly B. New
Treasurer
Date:August 18, 2021