N-CSR 1 ncsr0922.htm ANNUAL REPORT ncsr0922.htm - Generated by SEC Publisher for SEC Filing

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 811-03851

Nicholas II, Inc.
(Exact Name of Registrant as specified in charter)
 
411 East Wisconsin Avenue, Suite 2100, Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53202
(Address of Principal Executive Offices) (Zip Code)
 
Jennifer R. Kloehn, Senior Vice President and Treasurer
411 East Wisconsin Avenue, Suite 2100
Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53202
(Name and Address of Agent for Service)

 

Registrant's telephone number, including area code: 414-272-4650

Date of fiscal year end: 09/30/2022

Date of reporting period: 09/30/2022


 

Item 1. Report to Stockholders.


 

ANNUAL REPORT

September 30, 2022

NICHOLAS II, INC.


WWW.NICHOLASFUNDS.COM


 

NICHOLAS II, INC.

November 2022

Dear Fellow Shareholders,

     For the twelve-month period ended September 30, 2022, Nicholas II – Class I (the “Fund”) returned -18.51% compared to the Russell Midcap Growth Index of -29.50% (the “Index”).

     The past year marked a historic regime change from low inflation to high inflation which catalyzed turmoil across global financial markets. Years of easy money from global central banks, above-trend demand for goods spurred by fiscal stimulus, supply chain shortages caused by complications related to Covid-19, and a Russian invasion of Ukraine combined to create a perfect storm which drove inflation to elevated levels not experienced since the 1970s. The Federal Reserve, which had previously been labeling higher inflation levels as transitory, changed its tune and rapidly raised rates 300 bps to 3.25% with a promise of more to come until inflation appears to be under control. Unfortunately, inflation has remained stubbornly high which raises the risk of a repeat of the 1970-1981 period when inflation was entrenched in the economy and was not officially “defeated” until the Fed Chairman Paul Volcker raised the Fed Funds rate to 20% and put the US economy into a recession. The outcome of the current Fed’s battle with inflation will continue to have major impacts on the global financial markets and the Fund.

     While inflation and higher interest rates had negative impacts on the overall stock market and the Fund, this was not an unequivocally negative event. For many years, inflation and interest rates were extremely low which caused a narrow subset of stocks to drive a considerable portion of the performance of many U.S. indices. With low interest rates feeding into low discount rates, investors rewarded speculative, high growth, and long duration stocks whose free cash flows were generally not expected until many years in the future with exorbitant, and frequently non-sensical, valuations. As a result, the Fund struggled to keep pace with the performance of the Index and other active managers who owned many of these momentum-driven stocks and who seemingly disregarded valuation as an arbiter of stock prices. However, Benjamin Graham’s quote “In the short term the market behaves like a voting machine, but in the long-term it acts as a weighing machine” proved prescient as these speculative stocks came crashing down when the irrational growth, interest rate, and valuation assumptions built into their prices adjusted dramatically. This “reversion to reality” was a key component of the Fund’s outperformance versus the Index and its actively-managed peers over the year ended September 30, 2022.

     There remain plenty of risks for the overall stock market with the Fed’s actions at the forefront as it continues its quest to tame inflation. A few of the risks the market is grappling with are the potential for Russian escalation of the war in Ukraine, increasing Populism and the ramifications of upcoming mid-term elections, and historically high energy prices. While we never forecast short-term stock market moves, over the long-term we believe the vibrance of the US economy and the resulting positive corporate earnings growth will drive stocks higher, although the appreciation is unlikely to be as robust as recent years given higher inflation and discount rates.


 

     Returns for Nicholas II, Inc. (the “Fund”) Class I and Class N and selected indices are provided in the chart below for the periods ended September 30, 2022.

          Average Annual Total Returns  
    1 Year   3 Year   5 Year   10 Year   15 Year
Nicholas II, Inc. – Class I   -18.51 %   4.61 %   8.07 %   10.80 %   8.26 %
Nicholas II, Inc. – Class N   -18.75 %   4.30 %   7.73 %   10.43 %   7.90 %
Morningstar Mid-Cap                              
Growth Category   -29.18 %   5.10 %   7.27 %   10.14 %   7.29 %
Russell Midcap Growth Index   -29.50 %   4.26 %   7.62 %   10.85 %   8.01 %
Standard & Poor’s 500 Index   -15.47 %   8.16 %   9.24 %   11.70 %   8.03 %
Ending value of $10,000 invested in                              
Nicholas II, Inc. – Class I $ 8,149   $ 11,447   $ 14,742   $ 27,883   $ 32,901  
Ending value of $10,000 invested in                              
Nicholas II, Inc. – Class N $ 8,125   $ 11,346   $ 14,510   $ 26,975   $ 31,304  
Fund’s Class I Expense Ratio (from 01/28/22 Prospectus): 0.59%                    
Fund’s Class N Expense Ratio (from 04/30/22 Prospectus): 0.89%              

 

Performance data quoted represents past performance and is no guarantee of future results. The investment return and principal value of an investment will fluctuate so that an investor’s shares, when redeemed, may be worth more or less than their original cost. Current performance of the Fund may be lower or higher than the performance quoted. Performance data current to the most recent month-end may be obtained by visiting www.nicholasfunds.com/returns.html.

The Fund’s returns are reduced by expenses, while the market indices are not. The ending values above illustrate the performance of a hypothetical $10,000 investment made in the Fund over the timeframes listed. Assumes reinvestment of dividends and capital gains. Returns shown do not reflect the deduction of taxes that a shareholder would pay on Fund distributions or the redemption of Fund shares. These figures do not imply any future performance.

Class N of the Fund commenced operations on February 28, 2005. The annual returns shown for the Class I shares of this Fund would be substantially similar to the Class N because both classes of shares are invested in the same portfolio of securities. Annual returns will generally differ only to the extent that the classes do not have the same expenses. Please see the respective prospectus for details.

     The Fund’s relative outperformance versus the Russell Midcap Growth Index over the year ended September 30, 2022, was driven by favorable stock selection in most sectors in which it was invested, as only real estate stock selection underperformed. This reflects the Fund’s emphasis on owning companies that are both high quality and have reasonable valuations, as speculative, highly-valued stocks underperformed dramatically over this period. In terms of sector allocation, overweights in the outperforming consumer staples, financials, and industrials sectors along with underweights in the underperforming communication services, consumer discretionary, and technology sectors benefited relative performance. An overweight in the underperforming healthcare sector and an underweight in the outperforming energy sector detracted from the Fund’s relative performance. The Fund’s best-performing stocks in the period were First Horizon (+44%), BJ’s Wholesale Club (+33%), Lamb Weston (+28%), CyrusOne (+16%), and O’Reilly Automotive (+15%). The worst-performing stocks were Twilio (-78%), RingCentral (-71%), Burlington Stores (-60%), Charles River Laboratories (-52%), and PagSeguro Digital (-52%).

     As of September 30, 2022, the Fund owned 65 stocks and approximately 6% cash equivalents. The period-end sector weightings were technology 27%, industrials 22%, health care 18%, consumer discretionary 11%, consumer staples 6%, financials 6%, materials 3%, and real estate 1%.


 

     We remain focused on owning high-quality companies with sustainable competitive advantages, consistent revenue and earnings growth, and strong balance sheets and management teams that are trading at reasonable valuations. We believe that the recent stock market decline and substantial rotation toward more reasonably-valued stocks have created an increasingly favorable backdrop to own secular growth and “compounder” stocks trading at more reasonable valuations. We are increasingly excited about the increasing opportunity set of stocks that are meeting our investment parameters.

Thank you for your continued support.


David O. Nicholas Lead Portfolio Manager

Brian J. Janowski Co-Portfolio Manager

 

Mutual fund investing involves risk. Principal loss is possible. The Fund may invest in smaller companies, which involve additional risks such as limited liquidity and greater volatility. Diversification does not assure a profit or protect against loss in a declining market.

Earnings growth is not representative of the Fund’s future performance.

Opinions expressed are subject to change at any time, are not guaranteed, and should not be considered investment advice.

Please refer to the schedule of investments in the report for complete fund holdings information. Fund holdings and sector allocations are subject to change and should not be considered a recommendation to buy or sell any security.

Compounder stocks are high quality businesses that often possess several of the following characteristics: competitive advantages such as barriers to entry or intangible assets that protect them from competition, highly-recurring revenues and earnings, pricing power, low capital intensity, and superior returns on incremental invested capital and earnings per share growth.

The Russell Midcap Index measures the performance of the 800 smallest companies in the Russell 1000 Index, which represent approximately 31% of the total market capitalization of the Russell 1000 Index. The Russell Midcap Growth Index measures the performance of those Russell Midcap companies with higher price-to-book ratios and higher forecasted growth values. The Standard & Poor’s (“S&P”) 500 Index is a broad-based unmanaged index of 500 stocks, which is widely recognized as representative of the equity market in general. One cannot invest directly in an index. Each Morningstar Category average represents a universe of Funds with similar investment objectives.

Must be preceded or accompanied by a prospectus.

The Nicholas Funds are distributed by Quasar Distributors, LLC.


 

COMPARISON OF CHANGE IN VALUE OF $100,000 INVESTMENT IN
NICHOLAS II, INC. – CLASS I, RUSSELL MIDCAP INDEX AND
RUSSELL MIDCAP GROWTH INDEX (unaudited)

     The line graph which follows compares the initial account value and subsequent account values at the end of each of the most recently completed ten fiscal years of the Fund’s Class I, to the same investment over the same period in two peer group indices. The graph assumes a $100,000 investment in the Fund’s Class I and the indices at the beginning of the first fiscal year. The peer group in the graph includes the Russell Midcap Index and the Russell Midcap Growth Index. The Adviser believes the Russell Midcap Index and the Russell Midcap Growth Index are representative of the performance of small- and medium-capitalization growth companies in which the Fund primarily invests.


     The Fund’s Class I average annual total returns for the one-, five- and ten-year periods ended on the last day of the most recent fiscal year are as follows:

  One Year   Five Years   Ten Years  
  Ended   Ended   Ended  
  September 30,   September 30,   September 30,  
  2022   2022   2022  
Average Annual Total Return -18.51% 8.07% 10.80%

 

     Past performance is not predictive of future performance, and the above graph and table do not reflect deduction of taxes that a shareholder would pay on Fund distributions or the redemption of Fund shares.

– 4–


 

Financial Highlights Class I (NCTWX)
For a share outstanding throughout each period

          Years Ended September 30,        
    2022     2021     2020     2019     2018  
NET ASSET VALUE, BEGINNING OF PERIOD $ 35.98   $ 28.68   $ 29.61   $ 30.37   $ 28.79  
INCOME (LOSS) FROM                              
INVESTMENT OPERATIONS                              
Net investment income(1)   .05     .05     .07     .10     .18  
Net gain (loss) on securities                              
       (realized and unrealized)   (5.90 )   8.45     2.21     2.08     4.45  
Total from investment operations   (5.85 )   8.50     2.28     2.18     4.63  
LESS DISTRIBUTIONS                              
From net investment income   (.05 )   (.05 )   (.11 )   (.18 )   (.03 )
From net capital gain   (3.39 )   (1.15 )   (3.10 )   (2.76 )   (3.02 )
            Total distributions   (3.44 )   (1.20 )   (3.21 )   (2.94 )   (3.05 )
NET ASSET VALUE, END OF PERIOD $ 26.69   $ 35.98   $ 28.68   $ 29.61   $ 30.37  
 
TOTAL RETURN   (18.51 )%   30.26 %   7.85 %   9.97 %   17.10 %
 
SUPPLEMENTAL DATA:                              
Net assets, end of period (millions) $ 798.8   $ 1,031.3   $ 847.7   $ 828.6   $ 795.9  
Ratio of expenses to average net assets   .59 %   .59 %   .60 %   .60 %   .60 %
Ratio of net investment income                              
 to average net assets   .15 %   .15 %   .25 %   .34 %   .63 %
Portfolio turnover rate   15.76 %   19.57 %   22.89 %   19.75 %   26.63 %
 
(1) Computed based on average shares outstanding.                          

 

The accompanying notes to financial statements are an integral part of these highlights.

– 5–


 

Financial Highlights Class N (NNTWX)
For a share outstanding throughout each period

          Years Ended September 30,        
    2022     2021     2020     2019     2018  
NET ASSET VALUE, BEGINNING OF PERIOD $ 34.97   $ 27.94   $ 28.91   $ 29.72   $ 28.29  
INCOME (LOSS) FROM                              
       INVESTMENT OPERATIONS                              
Net investment income (loss)(1)   (.05 )   (.05 )   (.01 ) (.00 )(2)  .09
Net gain (loss) on securities                              
       (realized and unrealized)   (5.71 )   8.23     2.16     2.03     4.36  
Total from investment operations   (5.76 )   8.18     2.15     2.03     4.45  
LESS DISTRIBUTIONS                              
From net investment income           (.02 )   (.08 )    
From net capital gain   (3.39 )   (1.15 )   (3.10 )   (2.76 )   (3.02 )
             Total distributions   (3.39 )   (1.15 )   (3.12 )   (2.84 )   (3.02 )
NET ASSET VALUE, END OF PERIOD $ 25.82   $ 34.97   $ 27.94   $ 28.91   $ 29.72  
 
TOTAL RETURN   (18.75 )%   29.85 %   7.54 %   9.55 %   16.74 %
 
SUPPLEMENTAL DATA:                              
Net assets, end of period (millions) $ 70.1   $ 95.6   $ 85.0   $ 96.7   $ 101.2  
Ratio of expenses to average net assets   .89 %   .89 %   .90 %   .95 %   .93 %
Ratio of net investment income (loss)                              
 to average net assets   (.16 )%   (.15 )%   (.05 )%   (.01 )%   .31 %
Portfolio turnover rate   15.76 %   19.57 %   22.89 %   19.75 %   26.63 %

 

(1)     

Computed based on average shares outstanding.

(2)     

Amount rounds to $0.00.

The accompanying notes to financial statements are an integral part of these highlights.

– 6–


 

Top Ten Equity Portfolio Holdings
September 30, 2022 (unaudited)

  Percentage  
Name of Net Assets  
O’Reilly Automotive, Inc. 2.80 %
Paylocity Holding Corporation 2.26 %
BJ’s Wholesale Club, Inc. 2.26 %
Palo Alto Networks, Inc. 2.12 %
Ulta Beauty, Inc. 2.10 %
Verisk Analytics, Inc. 2.05 %
Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. 2.05 %
Republic Services, Inc. 1.91 %
Nordson Corporation 1.89 %
CDW Corporation 1.86 %
Total of top ten 21.30 %

 

Sector Diversification (as a percentage of portfolio)
September 30, 2022 (unaudited)


– 7–


 

Fund Expenses
For the six month period ended September 30, 2022 (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 operating expenses. The following table is intended to help you understand your ongoing costs (in dollars) of investing in the Fund and to compare these costs with those of other mutual funds.

The example is based on an investment of $1,000 made at the beginning of the period and held for the entire period.

The first line of the table below for each share class of the Fund provides information about the actual account values and actual expenses. You may use the information in this line, 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 line under the heading entitled “Expenses Paid During Period” to estimate the expenses you paid on your account during this period.

The second line of the table below provides information about hypothetical account values and hypothetical expenses based on the Fund’s actual expense ratios for each class of the Fund and an assumed rate of return of 5% per year before expenses, which are not the Fund’s actual returns. 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 with other funds. To do so, compare this 5% hypothetical example with the 5% hypothetical examples that appear in the shareholder reports of 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, such as wire fees. Therefore, the second line 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.

Class I            
    Beginning   Ending   Expenses Paid
    Account Value   Account Value   During Period*
    03/31/22   09/30/22   04/01/22 - 09/30/22
Actual $ 1,000.00 $ 822.20 $ 2.70
Hypothetical   1,000.00   1,022.04   2.99
(5% return before expenses)            

 

*     

Expenses are equal to the Class I six-month annualized expense ratio of 0.59%, multiplied by the average account value over the period, multiplied by 183 then divided by 365 to reflect the one- half year period.

– 8–


 

Fund Expenses (continued)
For the six month period ended September 30, 2022 (unaudited)

Class N            
    Beginning   Ending   Expenses Paid
    Account Value   Account Value   During Period**
    03/31/22   09/30/22   04/01/22 - 09/30/22
Actual $ 1,000.00 $ 820.70 $ 4.06
Hypothetical   1,000.00   1,020.54   4.51
(5% return before expenses)            

 

**     

Expenses are equal to the Class N six-month annualized expense ratio of 0.89%, multiplied by the average account value over the period, multiplied by 183 then divided by 365 to reflect the one-half year period.

– 9–


 

Schedule of Investments
September 30, 2022

Shares or      
Principal      
Amount     Value
COMMON STOCKS — 93.78%    
  Consumer Discretionary – Consumer Services — 4.05%    
4,730 Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc.* $ 7,108,055
28,890 Domino’s Pizza, Inc.   8,961,678
251,430 Service Corporation International   14,517,568
244,745 Wendy’s Company   4,574,284
      35,161,585
  Consumer Discretionary – Retailing — 6.68%    
58,770 Burlington Stores, Inc.*   6,575,775
135,195 CarMax, Inc.*   8,925,574
34,540 O’Reilly Automotive, Inc.*   24,293,709
45,450 Ulta Beauty Inc.*   18,234,085
      58,029,143
  Consumer Staples – Food & Staples Retailing — 2.26%    
269,706 BJ’s Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc.*   19,637,294
  Consumer Staples – Food, Beverage & Tobacco — 3.88%    
69,500 Constellation Brands, Inc. Class A   15,962,760
229,681 Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc.   17,772,716
      33,735,476
  Financials – Banks — 2.69%    
289,157 Citizens Financial Group, Inc.   9,935,435
297,680 Webster Financial Corporation   13,455,136
      23,390,571
  Financials – Diversified Financials — 2.99%    
138,050 Northern Trust Corporation   11,811,558
143,155 Raymond James Financial, Inc.   14,146,577
      25,958,135
  Health Care – Health Care Equipment & Services — 11.07%    
42,225 Cooper Companies, Inc.   11,143,177
209,455 Globus Medical Inc Class A*   12,477,234
138,310 Hologic, Inc.*   8,923,761
51,081 Insulet Corporation*   11,717,981
159,688 LivaNova Plc*   8,107,360
64,960 ResMed Inc.   14,180,768
82,515 STERIS Plc   13,720,594
20,058 Teleflex Incorporated   4,040,885
72,095 Veeva Systems Inc Class A*   11,887,024
      96,198,784

 

The accompanying notes to financial statements are an integral part of this schedule.

– 10 –


 

Schedule of Investments (continued)
September 30, 2022

Shares or      
Principal      
Amount     Value
COMMON STOCKS — 93.78% (continued)    
  Health Care – Pharmaceuticals,    
   Biotechnology & Life Sciences — 6.71%    
49,051 Charles River Laboratories International, Inc.* $ 9,653,237
75,840 IQVIA Holdings Inc*   13,737,658
11,990 Mettler-Toledo International Inc.*   12,998,599
99,020 PerkinElmer, Inc.   11,915,077
589,160 Stevanato Group SpA   9,980,370
      58,284,941
  Industrials – Capital Goods — 14.50%    
127,500 AMETEK, Inc.   14,459,775
234,370 Fastenal Company   10,790,395
238,700 Fortive Corp.   13,916,210
150,979 Fortune Brands Home & Security, Inc.   8,106,062
70,000 IDEX Corporation   13,989,500
66,430 L3Harris Technologies Inc   13,806,147
45,300 Lennox International Inc.   10,086,951
77,500 Nordson Corporation   16,450,925
197,850 A. O. Smith Corporation   9,611,553
181,487 Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies Corporation   14,763,967
      125,981,485
  Industrials – Commercial & Professional Services — 6.48%    
240,000 IAA, Inc.*   7,644,000
121,710 Republic Services, Inc.   16,557,428
240,500 TransUnion   14,307,345
104,510 Verisk Analytics Inc   17,822,090
      56,330,863
  Industrials – Transportation — 1.56%    
54,405 Old Dominion Freight Line, Inc.   13,534,332
  Information Technology – Semiconductors &    
  Semiconductor Equipment — 3.87%    
213,950 Microchip Technology Incorporated   13,057,368
157,915 Power Integrations, Inc.   10,157,093
122,060 Skyworks Solutions, Inc.   10,408,056
      33,622,517
  Information Technology – Software & Services — 19.97%    
99,065 Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc.   14,297,061
87,495 CrowdStrike Holdings, Inc. Class A*   14,420,051
89,040 CyberArk Software Ltd.*   13,350,658
326,673 Dynatrace, Inc.*   11,371,487
158,070 Elastic NV*   11,339,942

 

The accompanying notes to financial statements are an integral part of this schedule.

– 11 –


 

Schedule of Investments (continued)
September 30, 2022

Shares or      
Principal      
Amount     Value
COMMON STOCKS — 93.78% (continued)    
Information Technology – Software & Services — 19.97% (continued)
66,065 FLEETCOR Technologies, Inc.* $ 11,638,671
48,940 Gartner, Inc.*   13,541,209
81,867 Jack Henry & Associates, Inc.   14,921,898
136,315 Okta, Inc. Class A*   7,752,234
112,575 Palo Alto Networks, Inc.*   18,438,659
81,310 Paylocity Holding Corp.*   19,642,870
125,045 PTC Inc.*   13,079,707
140,277 Twilio, Inc. Class A*   9,698,752
      173,493,199
  Information Technology – Technology    
   Hardware & Equipment — 3.07%    
103,625 CDW Corp.   16,173,790
31,030 Teledyne Technologies Incorporated*   10,471,694
      26,645,484
  Materials – Materials — 2.77%    
93,725 AptarGroup, Inc.   8,906,687
96,460 Vulcan Materials Company   15,212,707
      24,119,394
  Real Estate – Real Estate — 1.23%    
158,175 CBRE Group, Inc. Class A*   10,678,394
       TOTAL COMMON STOCKS    
        (cost $512,767,551)   814,801,597

 

The accompanying notes to financial statements are an integral part of this schedule.

– 12 –


 

Schedule of Investments (continued)
September 30, 2022

  Shares or        
  Principal        
  Amount     Value  
 SHORT -TERM INVESTMENTS — 6.41%      
    U.S. Government Securities — 5.05%      
$ 10,000,000 U.S. Treasury Bills 10/06/2022, 1.424% $ 9,998,048  
  5,000,000 U.S. Treasury Bills 10/20/2022, 2.273%   4,994,091  
  10,000,000 U.S. Treasury Bills 11/03/2022, 2.538%   9,977,109  
  9,000,000 U.S. Treasury Bills 11/17/2022, 2.750%   8,968,241  
  10,000,000 U.S. Treasury Bills 12/01/2022, 2.850%   9,952,595  
        43,890,084  
    Money Market Fund — 1.36%      
  11,851,111 Morgan Stanley Liquidity Funds Government Portfolio      
    (Institutional Class), 7-day net yield, 2.81%   11,851,111  
    TOTAL SHORT-TERM INVESTMENTS      
    (cost $55,740,758)   55,741,195  
    TOTAL INVESTMENTS      
          (cost $568,508,309) — 100.19%   870,542,792  
    LIABILITIES, NET OF OTHER ASSETS — (0.19)%   (1,662,407 )
    TOTAL NET ASSETS      
    (basis of percentages disclosed above) — 100% $ 868,880,385  
 
  * Non-income producing      

 

The accompanying notes to financial statements are an integral part of this schedule.

– 13 –


 

Statement of Assets and Liabilities
September 30, 2022

ASSETS    
Investments in securities at value (cost $568,508,309) $ 870,542,792
Receivables —    
Dividend and interest   342,141
Capital stock subscription   36,531
Total receivables   378,672
Other   31,892
Total assets   870,953,356
 
LIABILITIES    
Payables —    
Investment securities purchased   1,311,470
Due to adviser —    
Management fee   396,372
Accounting and administrative fee   12,605
                   Total due to adviser   408,977
Capital stock redemption   230,311
12b-1 and servicing fee   28,007
Other payables and accrued expense   94,206
Total liabilities   2,072,971
Total net assets $ 868,880,385
 
NET ASSETS CONSIST OF    
Paid in capital $ 538,911,443
Accumulated distributable earnings   329,968,942
Total net assets $ 868,880,385
 
Class I    
Net assets $ 798,751,108
Shares outstanding   29,926,240
NET ASSET VALUE PER SHARE ($.01 par value,    
125,000,000 shares authorized), offering price and redemption price $ 26.69
 
Class N    
Net assets $ 70,129,277
Shares outstanding   2,715,665
NET ASSET VALUE PER SHARE ($.01 par value,    
75,000,000 shares authorized), offering price and redemption price $ 25.82

 

The accompanying notes to financial statements are an integral part of this statement.

– 14 –


 

Statement of Operations
For the year ended September 30, 2022

INCOME      
Dividend (net of foreign taxes of $4,894) $ 7,398,768  
Interest   320,929  
          Total income   7,719,697  
 
EXPENSES      
Management fee   5,393,546  
Accounting and administrative fees   261,155  
Transfer agent fees   182,627  
12b-1 fees – Class N   173,014  
Servicing fees – Class N   86,507  
Registration fees   58,379  
Custodian fees   52,211  
Audit and tax fees   40,918  
Insurance   35,380  
Directors’ fees   25,695  
Accounting system and pricing service fees   25,560  
Printing   21,990  
Postage and mailing   17,126  
Legal fees   14,620  
Other operating expenses   18,179  
         Total expenses   6,406,907  
Net investment income   1,312,790  
 
NET REALIZED GAIN ON INVESTMENTS   27,692,561  
 
CHANGE IN NET UNREALIZED      
APPRECIATION/DEPRECIATION ON INVESTMENTS   (228,196,887 )
Net realized and unrealized gain (loss) on investments   (200,504,326 )
Net increase (decrease) in net assets resulting from operations $ (199,191,536 )

 

The accompanying notes to financial statements are an integral part of this statement.

– 15 –


 

Statements of Changes in Net Assets
For the years ended September 30, 2022 and 2021

      2022     2021  
INCREASE (DECREASE) IN NET ASSETS              
FROM OPERATIONS              
Net investment income   $ 1,312,790   $ 1,345,290  
Net realized gain on investments     27,692,561     104,471,005  
Change in net unrealized appreciation/              
depreciation on investments     (228,196,887 )   167,112,421  
Net increase (decrease) in net assets              
          resulting from operations     (199,191,536 )   272,928,716  
 
DISTRIBUTIONS TO SHAREHOLDERS              
From investment operations – Class I     (97,747,796 )   (34,587,434 )
From investment operations – Class N     (9,016,996 )   (3,300,530 )
Total distributions     (106,764,792 )   (37,887,964 )
 
CAPITAL SHARE TRANSACTIONS              
Proceeds from shares issued – Class I              
(347,802 and 362,763 shares, respectively)     11,254,591     12,163,644  
Reinvestment of distributions – Class I              
(2,615,660 and 1,030,177 shares, respectively) .   91,129,589     32,399,070  
Cost of shares redeemed – Class I              
(1,698,790 and 2,288,498 shares, respectively) .   (54,517,385 )   (75,549,983 )
Proceeds from shares issued – Class N              
(46,615 and 52,515 shares, respectively)     1,417,684     1,723,913  
Reinvestment of distributions – Class N              
(264,192 and 106,732 shares, respectively)     8,927,047     3,270,264  
Cost of shares redeemed – Class N              
(330,292 and 466,567 shares, respectively)     (10,353,812 )   (14,763,216 )
Change in net assets derived              
          from capital share transactions     47,857,714     (40,756,308 )
Total increase (decrease) in net assets     (258,098,614 )   194,284,444  
 
NET ASSETS              
Beginning of period     1,126,978,999     932,694,555  
End of period   $ 868,880,385   $ 1,126,978,999  

 

The accompanying notes to financial statements are an integral part of these statements.

– 16 –


 

Notes to Financial Statements
September 30, 2022

(1) Summary of Significant Accounting Policies —

Nicholas II, Inc. (the “Fund”) is organized as a Maryland corporation and is registered as an open-end, diversified management investment company under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended. The primary objective of the Fund is long-term growth. The following is a summary of the significant accounting policies of the Fund:

(a) 

Equity securities traded on a stock exchange will ordinarily be valued on the basis of the last sale price on the date of valuation on the securities principal exchange, or if in the absence of any sale on that day, the closing bid price. For securities principally traded on the NASDAQ market, the Fund uses the NASDAQ Official Closing Price. Investments in shares of open-end mutual funds, including money market funds, are valued at their daily closing net asset value. Debt securities, excluding short-term investments, are valued at their current evaluated bid price as determined by an independent pricing service, which generates evaluations on the basis of dealer quotes for normal institutional-sized trading units, issuer analysis, bond market activity and various other factors. Short-term investments are valued using evaluated bid prices. Securities for which market quotations may not be readily available are valued at their fair value as determined in good faith by procedures adopted by the Board of Directors.The Board of Directors has delegated fair value responsibilities to Nicholas Company, Inc., the Fund’s adviser. The Fund did not maintain any positions in derivative instruments or engage in hedging activities during the year. Investment transactions for financial statement purposes are recorded on trade date.

 

In accordance with Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) 820-10, “Fair Value Measurement” (“ASC 820-10”), fair value is defined as the price that the Fund would receive upon selling an investment in a timely transaction to an independent buyer in the principal or most advantageous market of the investment. ASC 820-10 established a three-tier hierarchy to maximize the use of observable market data and minimize the use of unobservable inputs and to establish classification of fair value measurements for disclosure purposes. Inputs refer broadly to the assumptions that market participants would use in pricing the asset or liability, including assumptions about risk, for example, the risk inherent in a particular valuation technique used to measure fair value such as a pricing model and/or the risk inherent in the inputs to the valuation technique. Inputs may be observable or unobservable. Observable inputs are inputs that reflect the assumptions market participants would use in pricing the asset or liability based on market data obtained from sources independent of the reporting entity. Unobservable inputs are inputs that reflect the reporting entity’s own assumptions about the assumptions market participants would use in pricing the asset or liability based on the best information available in the circumstances. The three-tier hierarchy of inputs is summarized in the three broad levels listed below.

 

    

     Level 1 – quoted prices in active markets for identical investments

    

 

     

     Level 2 – other significant observable inputs (including quoted prices for similar investments, interest rates, benchmark yields, bids, offers, transactions, spreads and other relationships observed

   

– 17 –


 

Notes to Financial Statements (continued)
September 30, 2022

                    in the markets among market securities, underlying equity of the issuer, proprietary pricing models, credit risk, etc.)
 
     Level 3 – significant unobservable inputs (including the Fund’s own assumptions in determining the fair value of investments)
 
The inputs or methodology used for valuing securities are not necessarily an indication of the risk associated with investing in those securities. The following is a summary of the inputs used as of September 30, 2022 in valuing the Fund’s investments carried at value:

 

    Investments
Valuation Inputs   in Securities
Level 1 –    
Common Stocks(1) $ 814,801,597
Money Market Fund   11,851,111
Level 2 –    
U.S. Government Securities   43,890,084
Level 3 –    
None  
Total $ 870,542,792
(1) See Schedule of Investments for further detail by industry.    

 

 

The Fund did not hold any Level 3 investments during the year.

(b) 

Net realized gain (loss) on portfolio securities was computed on the basis of specific identification.

(c) 

Dividend income is recorded on the ex-dividend date, and interest income is recognized on an accrual basis. Non-cash dividends, if any, are recorded at value on date of distribution. Generally, discounts and premiums on long-term debt security purchases, if any, are amortized over the expected lives of the respective securities using the effective yield method.

 

Investment income, net capital gains (losses) and all expenses incurred by the Fund are allocated based on the relative net assets of each class, except for 12b-1 fees and shareholder servicing fees and certain other fees and expenses related to one class of shares.

 

Class N shares are subject to a 0.25% 12b-1 fee and a 0.10% servicing fee, as described in its prospectus. During the period, the 12b-1 fee was 0.20%. Income, expenses (other than expenses attributable to a specific class), and realized and unrealized gains and losses are allocated daily to each class of shares based upon the relative net asset value of outstanding shares.

(d) 

Provision has not been made for federal income taxes or excise taxes since the Fund has elected to be taxed as a “regulated investment company” and intends to distribute substantially all net investment income and net realized capital gains on sales of investments to its shareholders and otherwise comply with the provisions of Subchapter M of the Internal Revenue Code applicable to regulated investment companies.

– 18 –


 

Notes to Financial Statements (continued)
September 30, 2022

(e) 

Dividends and distributions paid to shareholders are recorded on the ex-dividend date. Distributions from net investment income are generally declared and paid at least annually. Distributions of net realized capital gain, if any, are declared and paid at least annually.

 

The amount of distributions from net investment income and net realized capital gain are determined in accordance with federal income tax regulations, which may differ from U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (“U.S. GAAP”) for financial reporting purposes. Financial reporting records are adjusted for permanent book-to-tax differences to reflect tax character. These reclassifications have no effect on net assets or net asset value per share. At September 30, 2022, reclassifications were recorded to increase undistributed ordinary income by $831 and decrease accumulated undistributed net realized capital gains by $831.

 

The tax character of distributions paid during the years ended September 30, was as follows:

    09/30/2022   09/30/2021
Distributions paid from:        
Ordinary income $ 1,924,092 $ 1,408,367
Long-term capital gain   104,840,700   36,479,597
Total distributions paid $ 106,764,792 $ 37,887,964

 

              As of September 30, 2022, investment cost for federal tax purposes was $568,508,309 and the tax basis components of net assets were as follows:

Unrealized appreciation $ 328,038,327  
Unrealized depreciation   (26,003,844 )
Net unrealized appreciation   302,034,483  
Undistributed ordinary income   1,250,838  
Accumulated undistributed net realized capital gains   26,683,621  
Paid in capital   538,911,443  
Net assets $ 868,880,385  

 

 

There were no differences between financial statement and tax-basis cost.

 

The Fund had no material uncertain tax positions and has not recorded a liability for unrecognized tax benefits as of September 30, 2022. Also, the Fund recognized no interest and penalties related to uncertain tax benefits during the year ended September 30, 2022. At September 30, 2022, the fiscal years 2019 through 2022 remain open to examination in the Fund’s major tax jurisdictions.

(f) 

The Fund is considered an investment company under U.S. GAAP and follows the accounting and reporting guidance applicable to investment companies in the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) ASC 946, “Financial Services – Investment Companies.” U.S. GAAP guidance requires management to make estimates and assumptions that effect the amounts reported in the financial statements and accompanying notes. Actual results could differ from estimates.

– 19 –


 

Notes to Financial Statements (continued)
September 30, 2022

(g) 

In the normal course of business the Fund enters into contracts that contain general indemnification clauses. The Fund’s maximum exposure under these arrangements is unknown, as this would involve future claims against the Fund that have not yet occurred. Based on experience, the Fund expects the risk of loss to be remote.

(h) 

In connection with the preparation of the Fund’s financial statements, management evaluated subsequent events after the date of the Statement of Assets and Liabilities of September 30, 2022. There have been no material subsequent events since September 30, 2022 that would require adjustment to or additional disclosure in these financial statements.

(2)     

Related Parties —

 (a) 

Investment Adviser and Management Agreement —

   

The Fund has an agreement with Nicholas Company, Inc. (with whom certain officers and directors of the Fund are affiliated) (the “Adviser”) to serve as investment adviser and manager. Under the terms of the agreement, a monthly fee is paid to the Adviser based on an annualized fee of 0.75% of the average net asset value up to and including $50 million, 0.60% of the average net asset value over $50 million up to and including $100 million and 0.50% of the average net asset value in excess of $100 million.

   

The Adviser may be paid for accounting and administrative services rendered by its personnel, subject to the following guidelines: (i) up to five basis points, on an annual basis, of the average net asset value of the Fund up to and including $2 billion and up to three basis points, on an annual basis, of the average net asset value of the Fund greater than $2 billion, based on the average net asset value of the Fund as determined by valuations made at the close of each business day of each month, and (ii) where the preceding calculation results in an annual payment of less than $50,000, the Adviser, in its discretion, may charge the Fund up to $50,000 for such services.

 (b)   

Legal Counsel —

   

A director of the Adviser is affiliated with a law firm that provides services to the Fund. The Fund incurred expenses of $8,875 for the year ended September 30, 2022 for legal services rendered by this law firm.

(3)     

Investment Transactions —

For the year ended September 30, 2022, the cost of purchases and the proceeds from sales of investment securities, other than short-term obligations, aggregated $158,788,518 and $230,376,470, respectively.
 

– 20 –


 

Report of Independent Registered

Public Accounting Firm

To the shareholders and the Board of Directors of Nicholas II, Inc.

Opinion on the Financial Statements and Financial Highlights

We have audited the accompanying statement of assets and liabilities of Nicholas II, Inc. (the "Fund"), including the schedule of investments, as of September 30, 2022, the related statements of operations for the year then ended, the statements of changes in net assets for each of the two years in the period then ended, the financial highlights for each of the five years in the period then ended, and the related notes. In our opinion, the financial statements and financial highlights present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the Fund as of September 30, 2022, and the results of its operations for the year then ended, the changes in its net assets for each of the two years in the period then ended, and the financial highlights for each of the five years in the period then ended in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America.

Basis for Opinion

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

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

Our audits included performing procedures to assess the risks of material misstatement of the financial statements and financial highlights, whether due to error or fraud, and performing procedures that respond to those risks. Such procedures included examining, on a test basis, evidence regarding the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements and financial highlights. Our audits also included evaluating the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall presentation of the financial statements and financial highlights. Our procedures included confirmation of securities owned as of September 30, 2022, by correspondence with the custodian and brokers; when replies were not received from brokers, we performed other auditing procedures. We believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinion.


Milwaukee, Wisconsin
November 28, 2022

We have served as the auditor of one or more Nicholas investment companies since 1977.

– 21 –


 

Historical Record Class I
(unaudited)

        Net              
        Investment         Dollar   Growth of
    Net   Income     Capital Gain   Weighted   an Initial
    Asset Value   Distributions     Distributions    Price/Earnings $10,000
Class I   Per Share   Per Share     Per Share   Ratio(2)   Investment(3)
October 17, 1983(1) $ 10.00 $   $   $ 10,000
September 30, 1984   11.66         12.6 times   11,660
September 30, 1985   14.39   0.0930     0.1860   11.7   14,742
September 30, 1986   16.90   0.1630     0.0610   15.0   17,581
September 30, 1987   21.01   0.4200     0.5130   20.9   23,108
September 30, 1988   18.58   0.3380     1.3030   15.0   22,766
September 30, 1989   21.76   0.3350     0.0800   17.1   27,291
September 30, 1990   17.39   0.3124     0.6686   14.8   22,888
September 30, 1991   23.87   0.3422     0.1434   17.8   32,250
September 30, 1992   24.53   0.2447     0.4042   17.3   34,052
September 30, 1993   26.94   0.2350     0.8000   18.1   38,885
September 30, 1994   26.71   0.2000     1.4700   18.5   41,020
September 30, 1995   30.07   0.2056     1.8944   20.8   50,205
September 30, 1996   33.34   0.1750     2.4979   28.9   60,922
September 30, 1997   40.65   0.0779     3.1621   31.4   82,206
September 30, 1998   34.78   0.0810     5.2282   28.6   80,845
September 30, 1999   31.83   0.1337     4.0049   29.0   82,864
September 30, 2000   36.58   0.0100     0.4701   35.1   96,527
September 30, 2001   17.54       13.1200   23.4   76,361
September 30, 2002   15.34       0.5766   22.2   68,730
September 30, 2003   18.97         22.9   84,994
September 30, 2004   21.88       0.0015   22.9   98,040
September 30, 2005   23.50       0.9146   23.3   109,547
September 30, 2006   23.11   0.0083     2.1472   22.4   118,142
September 30, 2007   25.18   0.0643     1.0460   23.4   134,908
September 30, 2008   19.15   0.0978     2.5678   17.5   115,141
September 30, 2009   17.02   0.1072     1.1206   19.2   111,845
September 30, 2010   19.31   0.0957       20.7   127,575
September 30, 2011   18.72   0.0867     0.3831   17.2   126,423
September 30, 2012   22.91   0.0992     0.4903   20.2   159,188
September 30, 2013   26.37   0.1428     1.8746   22.9   200,723
September 30, 2014   27.41   0.0889     2.0445   22.3   225,609
September 30, 2015   25.39   0.0997     3.4844   21.3   237,669
September 30, 2016   25.41   0.0931     1.4736   22.7   252,980
September 30, 2017   28.79   0.0752     1.1754   24.9   301,091
September 30, 2018   30.37   0.0277     3.0205   25.9   352,592
September 30, 2019   29.61   0.1821     2.7546   24.8   387,738
September 30, 2020   28.68   0.1133     3.1017   29.1   418,165
September 30, 2021   35.98   0.0487     1.1473   25.5   544,703
September 30, 2022   26.69   0.0495 (a)   3.3930 (a) 22.6   443,863

 

(1)     

Date of Initial Public Offering.

(2)     

Based on latest 12 months accomplished earnings.

(3)     

Assuming reinvestment of all distributions.

(a)     

Paid on December 28, 2021 to shareholders of record on December 27, 2021.

– 22 –


 

Historical Record Class N
(unaudited)

        Net            
        Investment       Dollar   Growth of
    Net   Income   Capital Gain   Weighted   an Initial
    Asset Value   Distributions   Distributions   Price/Earnings $10,000
Class N   Per Share   Per Share   Per Share   Ratio(2)   Investment(3)
February 28, 2005(1) $ 22.59 $ $   23.1 times $ 10,000
September 30, 2005   23.45       23.3   10,381
September 30, 2006   23.00     2.1340   22.4   11,158
September 30, 2007   25.03     1.0460   23.4   12,694
September 30, 2008   19.04   0.0067   2.5678   17.5   10,800
September 30, 2009   16.87   0.0969   1.1206   19.2   10,457
September 30, 2010   19.11   0.0666     20.7   11,890
September 30, 2011   18.49   0.0479   0.3831   17.2   11,741
September 30, 2012   22.63   0.0191   0.4903   20.2   14,732
September 30, 2013   26.04   0.0560   1.8746   22.9   18,516
September 30, 2014   27.03     2.0445   22.3   20,734
September 30, 2015   25.00   0.0002   3.4844   21.3   21,770
September 30, 2016   25.00     1.4736   22.7   23,091
September 30, 2017   28.29     1.1754   24.9   27,387
September 30, 2018   29.72     3.0205   25.9   31,972
September 30, 2019   28.91   0.0818   2.7546   24.8   35,025
September 30, 2020   27.94   0.0182   3.1017   29.1   37,666
September 30, 2021   34.97     1.1473   25.5   48,909
September 30, 2022   25.82     3.3930 (a) 22.6   39,738

 

(1)     

Date of Initial Public Offering.

(2)     

Based on latest 12 months accomplished earnings.

(3)     

Assuming reinvestment of all distributions.

(a)     

Paid on December 28, 2021 to shareholders of record on December 27, 2021.

– 23 –


 

Approval of Investment Advisory Contract
(unaudited)

A discussion of the Approval by the Board of Directors of the Fund’s Investment Advisory Contract can be found in the Fund’s Semiannual Report dated March 31, 2022.

Liquidity Risk Management Program
(unaudited)

The Fund has adopted and implemented a liquidity risk management program (the “Program”) in accordance with Rule 22e-4 under the 1940 Act. The Program seeks to assess and manage the Fund’s liquidity risk, i.e., the risk that the Fund is unable to satisfy redemption requests without significantly diluting remaining investors’ interests in the Fund. The Board of Directors of the Fund has designated Nicholas Company, Inc., the Fund’s investment adviser, to administer the Program. Certain aspects of the Program rely on third parties to perform certain functions, including the provision of market data and application of models.

The Program is comprised of various components designed to support the assessment and/or management of liquidity risk, including: (1) the periodic assessment (no less frequently than annually) of certain factors that influence the Fund’s liquidity risk; (2) the periodic classification (no less frequently than monthly) of the Fund’s investments into one of four liquidity categories that reflect an estimate of their liquidity under current market conditions; (3) a 15% limit on the acquisition of “illiquid investments” (as defined under Rule 22e-4); (4) for a Fund that does not invest primarily in “highly liquid investments” (as defined under Rule 22e-4), the determination of a minimum percentage of the Fund’s assets that will generally be invested in highly liquid investments (a “Highly Liquid Investment Minimum”); and (5) periodic reporting to the Board of Directors.

At a meeting of the Board of Directors on February 4, 2022, Nicholas Company, Inc. provided a written report to the Board addressing the operation, and the adequacy and effectiveness of the implementation, of the Program, including, as applicable, the operation of any Highly Liquid Investment Minimum and any material changes to the Program, for the period from January 1, 2021 through December 31, 2021 (the “Reporting Period”). Among other things, the annual report discussed: (1) the results of stress tests designed to assess liquidity under a hypothetical stressed scenario involving elevated redemptions; and (2) an assessment of the methodologies used to classify investments into one of four liquidity categories. The report concluded that the Program was reasonably designed to assess and manage liquidity risk and was adequately and effectively implemented during the Reporting Period.

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

– 24 –


 

Information on Proxy Voting
(unaudited)

A description of the policies and procedures that the Fund uses to determine how to vote proxies relating to portfolio securities is available, without charge, upon request by calling 800-544-6547 or 414-276-0535. It also appears in the Fund’s Statement of Additional Information, which can be found on the SEC’s website, www.sec.gov. A record of how the Fund voted its proxies for the most recent twelve-month period ended June 30, also is available on the Fund’s website, www.nicholasfunds.com, and the SEC’s website, www.sec.gov.

Quarterly Portfolio Schedule
(unaudited)

The Fund files its complete schedule of investments with the SEC for the first and third quarters of each fiscal year as an exhibit to its reports on Form N-PORT. The Fund’s Form N-PORT reports are available on the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov and may be reviewed and copied at the SEC’s Public Reference Room in Washington, D.C. Information on the operation of the Public Reference Room may be obtained by calling 800-SEC-0330.

– 25 –


 

Directors and Officers of the Fund
(unaudited)

The following table sets forth the pertinent information about the Fund’s directors and officers as of September 30, 2022. Unless otherwise listed, the business address of each director and officer is 411 East Wisconsin Avenue, Milwaukee, WI 53202.

          Number of  
      Term of   Portfolios  
    Positions Office and   in Fund Other
    Held Length of Principal Complex Directorships
    With Time Occupations Overseen Held
Name and Age   Fund Served During Past 5 Years by Director by Director
INTERESTED DIRECTOR            
David O. Nicholas, CFA   President, (2), 18 years President, Chief 4 None
61(1) Director   Executive Officer,    
    and Lead   Chief Investment    
    Portfolio   Officer and Director    
    Manager   Nicholas Company,    
        Inc., the Adviser to    
        the Fund. He is also    
        the Lead Portfolio    
        Manager of Nicholas    
        Fund, Inc. and    
        Nicholas Limited    
        Edition, Inc., and Co-    
        Portfolio Manager    
        of Nicholas Equity    
        Income Fund, Inc.    

 

– 26 –


 

Directors and Officers of the Fund (continued)
(unaudited)

          Number of  
    Term of     Portfolios  
  Positions Office and     in Fund Other
  Held Length of   Principal Complex Directorships
With Time   Occupations Overseen Held
Name and Age Fund Served   During Past 5 Years by Director by Director
DISINTERESTED DIRECTORS          
John A. Hauser Director (2), 6 years   Chaplain, Door County 4 None
63       Medical Center, 2019    
        to present. Private    
        Investor, January 2017    
        to present. Senior Vice    
        President Trust and    
        Community Relations,    
        Nicolet Bank, October    
        2016 to December 2016.  
        Senior Vice President –    
        Director of Wealth    
        Services, Nicolet Bank,    
        April 2016 to    
        October 2016. Prior to    
        its acquisition by Nicolet    
        Bank in April 2016,    
        Mr. Hauser served in    
        various senior    
        management roles for    
        Baylake Bank from    
        1984 to 2008 and from    
        2009 to April 2016.    
 
David P. Pelisek, CFA Director (2), 3 years   Private Investor, 4 None
63       September 2016 to    
        present. Managing Director,  
        Robert W. Baird & Co.,    
        Inc. and Partner, Baird    
        Capital Partners Buyout    
        Funds I-V, January 1994    
        to May 2016.    
 
Julie M. Van Cleave Director (2), Private Investor, 4 None
63   Appointed   July 2020 to present.    
    February 4,   Chief Investment Officer,  
    2022   University of Wisconsin    
        Foundation, July 2013    
        to June 2020.    

 

– 27 –


 

Directors and Officers of the Fund (continued)
(unaudited)

    Term of  
  Positions Office and  
  Held Length of  
  With Time  
Name and Age Fund Served Principal Occupations During Past 5 Years
OFFICERS      
Lawrence J. Pavelec, CFA Senior Vice Annual, Executive Vice President, Secretary and Chief
63 President 18 years Operating Officer, Nicholas Company, Inc., the
  and   Adviser to the Fund, and employed by the
  Secretary   Adviser since April 2003.
 
Jennifer R. Kloehn, CPA Senior Vice Annual, Executive Vice President, Treasurer, Chief
49 President, 6 years Financial Officer and Chief Compliance Officer,
  Treasurer   Nicholas Company, Inc., the Adviser to the Fund,
  and Chief   and employed by the Adviser since 1998.
  Compliance    
  Officer    
 
Brian J. Janowski, Senior Vice Annual, Senior Vice President, Nicholas Company, Inc., the
CFA, CPA President 5 years Adviser to the Fund and employed by the Adviser
49 and   since December 2016. He has been Co-Portfolio
  Co-Portfolio   Manager of the Fund since April 2018. He was
  Manager   Co-Portfolio Manager for BMO Small- and
      Mid-Cap Value Funds from 2008 to 2016.
 
Candace L. Lesak, CFP Vice Annual, Employee, Nicholas Company, Inc., the Adviser to
65 President 36 years the Fund.

 

(1)     

David O. Nicholas is the only director of the Fund who is an “interested person” of the Fund, as that term is defined in the 1940 Act. Mr. Nicholas is a Director of the Adviser and owns 60% of the outstanding voting securities of the Adviser.

(2)     

Until duly elected or re-elected at a subsequent annual meeting of the Fund.

The Fund’s Statement of Additional Information includes additional information about the Fund directors and is available, without charge, upon request, by calling 800-544-6547 or 414-276-0535.

– 28 –


 

Privacy Policy
(unaudited)

     Nicholas II, Inc. respects each shareholder’s right to privacy. We are committed to safeguarding the information that you provide us to maintain and execute transactions on your behalf.

We collect the following non-public personal information about you:

*     

Informationwe receive from you on applications or other forms, whether we receive the form in writing or electronically. This includes, but is not limited to, your name, address, phone number, tax identification number, date of birth, beneficiary information and investment selection.

*     

Informationabout your transactions with us and account history with us. This includes, but is not limited to, your account number, balances and cost basis information. This also includes transaction requests made through our transfer agent.

*     

Othergeneral information that we may obtain about you such as demographic information.

WE DO NOT SELL ANY NON-PUBLIC PERSONAL INFORMATION ABOUT CURRENT OR FORMER SHAREHOLDERS.

INFORMATION SHARED WITH OUR TRANSFER AGENT, A THIRD PARTY COMPANY, ALSO IS NOT SOLD.

     We may share, only as permitted by law, non-public personal information about you with third party companies. Listed below are some examples of third parties to whom we may disclose non-public personal information. While these examples do not cover every circumstance permitted by law, we hope they help you understand how your information may be shared.

We may share non-public personal information about you:

*     

With companies who work for us to service your accounts or to process transactions that you may request. This would include, but is not limited to, our transfer agent to process your transactions, mailing houses to send you required reports and correspondence regarding the Fund and its Adviser, the Nicholas Company, Inc., and our dividend disbursing agent to process fund dividend checks.

*     

With a party representing you, with your consent, such as your broker or lawyer.

*     

When required by law, such as in response to a subpoena or other legal process.

     The Fund and its Adviser maintain policies and procedures to safeguard your non-public personal information. Access is restricted to employees who the Adviser determines need the information in order to perform their job duties. To guard your non-public personal information we maintain physical, electronic, and procedural safeguards that comply with federal standards.

     In the event that you hold shares of the Fund with a financial intermediary, including, but not limited to, a broker-dealer, bank, or trust company, the privacy policy of your financial intermediary would govern how your non-public personal information would be shared with non-affiliated third parties.

– 29 –


 

Automatic Investment Plan – An Update
(unaudited)

The Nicholas Family of Funds’ Automatic Investment Plan provides a simple method to dollar cost average into the fund(s) of your choice.

Dollar cost averaging involves making equal systematic investments over an extended time period. A fixed dollar investment will purchase more shares when the market is low and fewer shares when the market is high. The automatic investment plan is an excellent way for you to become a disciplined investor.

The following table illustrates what dollar cost averaging can achieve. Please note that past performance is no guarantee of future results. Nicholas Company recommends dollar cost averaging as a practical investment method. It should be consistently applied for long periods so that investments are made through several market cycles.

    Nicholas II – Class I
$1,000 initial investment on   10/17/1983 *   9/30/2012
Number of years investing $100 each month          
following the date of initial investment   39     10
Total cash invested $ 47,800   $ 13,000
Total dividend and capital gain distributions reinvested $ 372,139   $ 8,747
Total full shares owned at 09/30/2022   16,751     788
Total market value at 09/30/2022 $ 447,105   $ 21,055

 

The results above assume purchase on the last day of the month. The Nicholas Automatic Investment Plan actually invests on the date specified by the investor. Total market value includes reinvestment of all distributions.

*     

Date of Initial Public Offering.

– 30 –


 

Nicholas Funds Services Offered
(unaudited)

IRAs  
  • Traditional • SIMPLE
  • Roth • SEP
Coverdell Education Accounts
Automatic Investment Plan
Direct Deposit of Dividend and Capital Gain Distributions
Systematic Withdrawal Plan
Monthly Automatic Exchange between Funds
Telephone Purchase and Redemption
Telephone Exchange  
24-hour Automated Account Information (800-544-6547)
24-hour Internet Account Access (www.nicholasfunds.com)

 

Please call a shareholder representative for further information on the above services or with any other questions you may have regarding the Nicholas Funds (800-544-6547).

– 31 –


 

Directors and Officers
DAVID O. NICHOLAS, President and Director

JOHN A. HAUSER, Director

DAVID P. PELISEK, Director

JULIE M. VAN CLEAVE, Director

BRIAN J. JANOWSKI, Senior Vice President

JENNIFER R. KLOEHN, Senior Vice President,
Treasurer and Chief Compliance Officer

LAWRENCE J. PAVELEC, Senior Vice President and Secretary

CANDACE L. LESAK, Vice President

Investment Adviser
NICHOLAS COMPANY, INC.
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
www.nicholasfunds.com
414-276-0535 or 800-544-6547

Accountant
Dividend Disbursing Agent
Transfer Agent
U.S. BANCORP FUND SERVICES, LLC
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
414-276-0535 or 800-544-6547

Distributor
QUASAR DISTRIBUTORS, LLC
Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Custodian
U.S. BANK N.A.
Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
DELOITTE & TOUCHE LLP
Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Counsel
MICHAEL BEST & FRIEDRICH LLP
Milwaukee, Wisconsin

This report is submitted for the information of shareholders of the Fund. It is not authorized for distribution to prospective investors unless preceded or accompanied by an effective prospectus.


 

Item 2. Code of Ethics.

(a) The registrant has adopted a Code of Ethics that applies to the registrant’s principal executive officer and principal financial officer.

(b) Not applicable.

(c) During the period covered by the report, there were no amendments to the provisions of the Code of Ethics adopted in Item 2(a) above.

(d) During the period covered by the report, no implicit or explicit waivers were made with respect to the provisions of the Code of Ethics adopted in Item 2(a) above.

(e) Not applicable.

(f) The registrant’s Code of Ethics is attached as Exhibit 13(a)(1) to this Form N-CSR.

Item 3. Audit Committee Financial Expert.

The Fund's Board of Directors has determined that Mr. David P. Pelisek, an independent director, qualifies as an audit committee financial expert as that term is defined for purposes of this item. He was selected as the Fund’s Audit Committee Financial Expert at the Fund’s Board of Directors Meeting held on February 3, 2020.

Item 4. Principal Accountant Fees and Services.

(a) Audit Fees. The aggregate fees billed for each of the last two fiscal years (the "Reporting Periods") for professional services rendered by the Fund's principal accountant (the "Auditor") for the audit of the Fund's annual financial statements, or services that are normally provided by the Auditor in connection with the statutory and regulatory filings or engagements for the Reporting Periods, were $34,700 in 2022 and $32,400 in 2021.

(b) Audit-Related Fees. There were no fees billed in each of the last two fiscal years for assurance and related services rendered by the Auditor to the Fund that are reasonably related to the performance of the audit of the Fund's financial statements and are not reported under paragraph (a) of this Item 4.

(c) Tax Fees. The aggregate fees billed in the Reporting Periods for professional services rendered by the Auditor for tax compliance, tax advice and tax planning ("Tax Services") were $5,875 in 2022 and $6,850 in 2021. These services consisted of (i) review or preparation of U.S. federal, state, local and excise tax returns; (ii) U.S. federal, state and local tax planning, advice and assistance regarding statutory, regulatory or administrative developments, (iii) tax advice regarding tax qualification matters and/or treatment of various financial instruments held or proposed to be acquired or held.

(d) All Other Fees. The aggregate fees billed for professional services rendered by the Auditor to the Fund's investment adviser were approximately $19,300 in 2021 and $18,700 in 2020. These services were for the audit of the investment adviser for the adviser's fiscal year ended 10/31/2021 and 10/31/2020, respectively.


 

(e) (1) Audit Committee Pre-Approval Policies and Procedures. The Fund's Board of Director's has not adopted any pre-approval policies and procedures as described in paragraph (c)(7) of Rule 2-01 of Regulation S-X. The Fund's Board of Directors meets with the Auditors and management to review and authorize the Auditor's engagements for audit and non-audit services to the Fund and its Adviser prior to each engagement.

(e) (2) The percentage of services described in each of paragraphs (b) through (d) of this Item that were approved by the audit committee pursuant to paragraph (c)(7)(i)(C) of Rule 2-01 of Regulation S-X are as follows:

(b)

 N/A

(c)

 N/A

(d)

 N/A

(f) No disclosures are required by this Item 4(f).

(g) There were no non-audit fees billed in each of the last two fiscal years by the Auditor for services rendered to the Fund or the Fund's investment adviser that provides ongoing services.

(h) No disclosures are required by this Item 4(h).

Item 5. Audit Committee of Listed Registrants.

Not applicable to this filing.

Item 6. Schedule of Investments.

The schedule of investments in securities of unaffiliated issuers is included as part of the report to shareholders filed under Item 1 of this Form N-CSR.

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

Applicable only to annual reports filed by closed-end funds.

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

Applicable only to annual reports filed by closed-end funds.

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

Applicable only to closed-end funds.

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

Not applicable to this filing.

Item 11. Controls and Procedures.

(a) The Fund’s principal executive officer and principal financial officer, or persons performing similar functions, have concluded that the registrant’s disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Rule 30a-3(c) under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”) are effective, based on their evaluation of these controls and procedures as of a date within 90 days of the filing date of the


 

report that includes the disclosure required by this paragraph, based on their evaluation of these controls and procedures required by Rule 30a-3(b) under the 1940 Act and Rules 13a-15(b) or 15d-15(b) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended.

(b) There were no changes in the registrant’s internal controls over financial reporting (as defined in Rule 30a-3(d) under the 1940 Act) that occurred during the period covered by this report that have materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, the registrant’s internal control over financial reporting.

Item 12. Disclosure of Securities Lending Activities for Closed-End Management Investment Companies.

Applicable only to closed-end funds.

Item 13. Exhibits.

(a)(1) Sarbanes-Oxley Code of Ethics for Principal Executive and Senior Financial Officers (that is the subject of the disclosure required by Item 2), attached hereto as EX-99.CODE ETH.

(a)(2) Certifications of Principal Executive Officer and Principal Financial Officer pursuant to Rule 30a-2(a) under the Investment Company Act of 1940, attached hereto as EX-99.CERT.

(a)(3) Any written solicitation to purchase securities under Rule 23c-1 under the Act sent or given during the period covered by the report by or on behalf of the registrant to 10 or more person. Applicable only to closed-end funds.

(a)(4) Change in the registrant’s independent public accountant.

Not applicable to this filing.

(b) Certifications of Principal Executive Officer and Principal Financial Officer pursuant to Rule 30a-2(b) under the Investment Company Act of 1940, attached hereto as EX-99.906 CERT.


 

SIGNATURES

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

(Registrant) Nicholas II, Inc.

By: /s/ David O. Nicholas
Name: David O. Nicholas
Title: Principal Executive Officer

Date: November 29, 2022

     Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and the Investment Company Act of 1940, this report has been signed by the following persons on behalf of the registrant and in the capacities and on the dates indicated.

By: /s/ David O. Nicholas
Name: David O. Nicholas
Title: Principal Executive Officer
Date: November 29, 2022

By: /s/ Jennifer R. Kloehn
Name: Jennifer R. Kloehn
Title: Principal Financial Officer
Date: November 29, 2022