0001145549-23-074763.txt : 20231204 0001145549-23-074763.hdr.sgml : 20231204 20231204144259 ACCESSION NUMBER: 0001145549-23-074763 CONFORMED SUBMISSION TYPE: N-CEN PUBLIC DOCUMENT COUNT: 2 CONFORMED PERIOD OF REPORT: 20230930 FILED AS OF DATE: 20231204 DATE AS OF CHANGE: 20231204 EFFECTIVENESS DATE: 20231204 FILER: COMPANY DATA: COMPANY CONFORMED NAME: Federated Hermes Equity Funds CENTRAL INDEX KEY: 0000745968 IRS NUMBER: 251470423 STATE OF INCORPORATION: MA FISCAL YEAR END: 1031 FILING VALUES: FORM TYPE: N-CEN SEC ACT: 1940 Act SEC FILE NUMBER: 811-04017 FILM NUMBER: 231462459 BUSINESS ADDRESS: STREET 1: 4000 ERICSSON DRIVE CITY: WARRENDALE STATE: PA ZIP: 15086-7561 BUSINESS PHONE: 8003417400 MAIL ADDRESS: STREET 1: 4000 ERICSSON DRIVE CITY: WARRENDALE STATE: PA ZIP: 15086-7561 FORMER COMPANY: FORMER CONFORMED NAME: FEDERATED EQUITY FUNDS DATE OF NAME CHANGE: 20200616 FORMER COMPANY: FORMER CONFORMED NAME: FEDERATED HERMES EQUITY FUNDS DATE OF NAME CHANGE: 20200615 FORMER COMPANY: FORMER CONFORMED NAME: FEDERATED EQUITY FUNDS DATE OF NAME CHANGE: 19950810 0000745968 S000023465 Federated Hermes Prudent Bear Fund C000068994 Class A Shares BEARX C000068995 Class C Shares PBRCX C000068996 Institutional Shares PBRIX 0000745968 S000024784 Federated Hermes Clover Small Value Fund C000073699 Class A Shares VSFAX C000073700 Class C Shares VSFCX C000073701 Institutional Shares VSFIX C000096922 Class R Shares VSFRX C000168179 Class R6 Shares VSFSX N-CEN 1 primary_doc.xml X0404 N-CEN LIVE 0000745968 XXXXXXXX true false false N-1A S000024784 true S000023465 true Federated Hermes Equity Funds 811-04017 0000745968 254900QLYYRKC7NVWP04 Federated Hermes Funds 4000 Ericsson Drive Warrendale 15086-7561 US-PA US 8003417400 Federated Hermes Equity Funds Federated Hermes Funds 4000 Ericsson Drive Warrendale 15086-7561 8003417400 Registrant - All records required to be maintained that are not maintained by other service providers. Federated Administrative Services 1001 Liberty Avenue Pittsburgh 15222-3779 4122881900 Administrator - Records include but are not limited to those related to calculation of NAV, income and expense accruals, securities pricing, preparation of regulatory documents, financial books and records, performance calculations and tax related documents. Federated Securities Corp. 1001 Liberty Avenue Pittsburgh 15222-3779 4122881900 Distributor - Records include but are not limited to trade blotters, asset and liability ledgers, income and expense ledgers, capital account ledgers, customer account ledgers, securities records, order tickets and trade confirmations. Federated Advisory Services Company 1001 Liberty Avenue Pittsburgh 15222-3779 4122881900 Advisor - All investment advisor records required to be maintained that are not maintained by other service providers. Federated Equity Management Company of Pennsylvania 1001 Liberty Avenue Pittsburgh 15222-3779 4122881900 Advisor - All investment advisor records required to be maintained that are not maintained by other service providers. State Street Bank and Trust Company 1 Iron Street Boston 02110 6177863000 Custodian - Fund securities and cash records SS&C GIDS, Inc. P.O. Box 219318 Kansas City 64121-9318 8168714100 Transfer Agent and Dividend Disbursing Agent - Fund shareholder records N N N-1A 8 Y J. Christopher Donahue 000814703 Y John T. Collins N/A N G. Thomas Hough N/A N Maureen Lally-Green N/A N Thomas M. O'Neill N/A N P. Jerome Richey N/A N John S. Walsh N/A N Madelyn A. Reilly N/A N John B. Fisher N/A Y Stephen Van Meter 006020413 1001 Liberty Avenue Pittsburgh 15222-3779 XXXXXX N N N N N N N Federated Securities Corp. 8-15561-1 000005009 254900FMT7XR4QROXG14 Y N KPMG LLP 00185 N/A N N N N N N N Federated Hermes Clover Small Value Fund S000024784 254900S0LSAF92Q6BC82 N 5 0 0 N/A N N Y N N Citibank N.A. E57ODZWZ7FF32TWEFA76 N N Revenue sharing split 441464.150000000000 6242.620000000000 Rule 12d1-1 (17 CFR 270.12d1-1) Rule 17a-7 (17 CFR 270.17a-7) Rule 22d-1 (17 CFR 270.22d-1) Rule 32a-4 (17 CFR 270.32a-4) Y Y N N Federated Advisory Services Company 801-62500 000128611 2549006YWZSXL9PUIY05 N Federated Equity Management Company of Pennsylvania 801-62501 000128610 549300P55NLAGQDWHS10 N SS&C GIDS, Inc. 084-00896 N/A N N N ICE Data Pricing & Reference Data, LLC 5493000NQ9LYLDBCTL34 N Bloomberg Finance L.P. 5493001KJTIIGC8Y1R12 N IHS Markit (Markit North America) 549300HLPTRASHS0E726 N JPMorgan PricingDirect 549300WIC0TOJ7N7GD54 N Refinitiv US Holdings Inc. 549300NF240HXJO7N016 N N State Street Bank & Trust Company 571474TGEMMWANRLN572 N N Bank - section 17(f)(1) (15 U.S.C. 80a-17(f)(1)) Royal Bank of Canada ES7IP3U3RHIGC71XBU11 CA N Y Foreign custodian - rule 17f-5 (17 CFR 270.17f-5) State Street Trust Company Canada 549300L71XG2CTQ2V827 CA N Y Foreign custodian - rule 17f-5 (17 CFR 270.17f-5) N SS&C GIDS, Inc. 084-00896 SEC File Number N N N Federated Administrative Services 801-48206 SEC File Number Y N N Federated Securities Corp. 8-15561-1 000005009 254900FMT7XR4QROXG14 0.000000000000 Barclays Capital Inc. 8-41342-1 000019714 AC28XWWI3WIBK2824319 21019.960000000000 BofA Securities, Inc. 8-69787-1 000283942 549300HN4UKV1E2R3U73 12270.240000000000 Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC 8-00129-1 000000361 FOR8UP27PHTHYVLBNG30 12911.710000000000 J.P. Morgan Securities LLC 8-35008-1 000000079 ZBUT11V806EZRVTWT807 22378.640000000000 KeyBanc Capital Markets Inc. 8-30177-1 000000566 2EQWV0180Z211YVAD813 14017.400000000000 Liquidnet, Inc. 8-52461-1 000103987 213800HSKBBO1GCVRG79 18205.980000000000 Nomura Securities International, Inc. 8-15255-1 000004297 OXTKY6Q8X53C9ILVV871 205255.040000000000 Piper Sandler & Co. 8-15204-1 000000665 549300GRQCWQ3XGH0H10 16676.480000000000 Raymond James & Associates, Inc. 8-10999-1 000000705 U4ONQX15J3RO8XCKE979 38621.040000000000 State Street Global Markets, LLC 8-69862-1 000285852 549300FDEDF5ORXCMQ56 66332.860000000000 468056.570000000000 Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC 8-15869-1 000008209 9R7GPTSO7KV3UQJZQ078 791955.000000000000 State Street Bank and Trust Company N/A N/A 571474TGEMMWANRLN572 183846052.360000000000 184638007.360000000000 Y 199531311.933076000000 0.000000000000 Committed 500000000.000000000000 N N N N Federated Hermes Prudent Bear Fund S000023465 DFLN6WC843HZPXL6CQ94 N 3 0 0 N/A N N Y N Citibank N.A. E57ODZWZ7FF32TWEFA76 N N Revenue sharing split N/A N/A Rule 12d1-1 (17 CFR 270.12d1-1) Rule 22d-1 (17 CFR 270.22d-1) Rule 32a-4 (17 CFR 270.32a-4) Y Y N N Federated Advisory Services Company 801-62500 000128611 2549006YWZSXL9PUIY05 N Federated Equity Management Company of Pennsylvania 801-62501 000128610 549300P55NLAGQDWHS10 N SS&C GIDS, Inc. 084-00896 N/A N N N ICE Data Pricing & Reference Data, LLC 5493000NQ9LYLDBCTL34 N Bloomberg Finance L.P. 5493001KJTIIGC8Y1R12 N IHS Markit (Markit North America) 549300HLPTRASHS0E726 N JPMorgan PricingDirect 549300WIC0TOJ7N7GD54 N Refinitiv US Holdings Inc. 549300NF240HXJO7N016 N Virtu ITG LLC 549300S41SMIODVIT266 N N State Street Bank & Trust Company 571474TGEMMWANRLN572 N N Bank - section 17(f)(1) (15 U.S.C. 80a-17(f)(1)) BNP Paribas R0MUWSFPU8MPRO8K5P83 FR N Y Foreign custodian - rule 17f-5 (17 CFR 270.17f-5) Citibank Europe Public Limited Company N1FBEDJ5J41VKZLO2475 IE N Y Foreign custodian - rule 17f-5 (17 CFR 270.17f-5) Citibank, National Association (Singapore, SG, Branch) E57ODZWZ7FF32TWEFA76 SG N Y Foreign custodian - rule 17f-5 (17 CFR 270.17f-5) Clearstream Banking S.A. 549300OL514RA0SXJJ44 LU N Y Foreign securities depository - rule 17f-7 (17 CFR 270.17f-7) First Abu Dhabi Bank P.J.S.C. 2138002Y3WMK6RZS8H90 AE N Y Foreign custodian - rule 17f-5 (17 CFR 270.17f-5) HSBC Bank (China) Company Limited 2CZOJRADNJXBLT55G526 CN N Y Foreign custodian - rule 17f-5 (17 CFR 270.17f-5) Intesa Sanpaolo S.p.A. 2W8N8UU78PMDQKZENC08 IT N Y Foreign custodian - rule 17f-5 (17 CFR 270.17f-5) Royal Bank of Canada ES7IP3U3RHIGC71XBU11 CA N Y Foreign custodian - rule 17f-5 (17 CFR 270.17f-5) Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken A/S F3JS33DEI6XQ4ZBPTN86 DK N Y Foreign custodian - rule 17f-5 (17 CFR 270.17f-5) Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB F3JS33DEI6XQ4ZBPTN86 SE N Y Foreign custodian - rule 17f-5 (17 CFR 270.17f-5) Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB (Helsinki, Uusimaa, FI, Branch) F3JS33DEI6XQ4ZBPTN86 FI N Y Foreign custodian - rule 17f-5 (17 CFR 270.17f-5) Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB (Oslo, Oslo, NO, Branch) F3JS33DEI6XQ4ZBPTN86 NO N Y Foreign custodian - rule 17f-5 (17 CFR 270.17f-5) Standard Chartered Bank (Taiwan) Limited 549300QJEO1B92LSHZ06 TW N Y Foreign custodian - rule 17f-5 (17 CFR 270.17f-5) State Street Bank and Trust Company (Edinburgh, GB, Branch) 571474TGEMMWANRLN572 GB N Y Foreign custodian - rule 17f-5 (17 CFR 270.17f-5) State Street Bank International GmbH ZMHGNT7ZPKZ3UFZ8EO46 DE N Y Foreign custodian - rule 17f-5 (17 CFR 270.17f-5) State Street Trust Company Canada 549300L71XG2CTQ2V827 CA N Y Foreign custodian - rule 17f-5 (17 CFR 270.17f-5) The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited 2HI3YI5320L3RW6NJ957 HK N Y Foreign custodian - rule 17f-5 (17 CFR 270.17f-5) The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited (Auckland, Auckland, NZ, Branch) 2HI3YI5320L3RW6NJ957 NZ N Y Foreign custodian - rule 17f-5 (17 CFR 270.17f-5) The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited (Chuo ku, Tokyo, JP, Branch) 2HI3YI5320L3RW6NJ957 JP N Y Foreign custodian - rule 17f-5 (17 CFR 270.17f-5) The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited (Jung-gu, Seoul, KR, Branch) 2HI3YI5320L3RW6NJ957 KR N Y Foreign custodian - rule 17f-5 (17 CFR 270.17f-5) The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited (Sydney, NSW, AU, Branch) 2HI3YI5320L3RW6NJ957 AU N Y Foreign custodian - rule 17f-5 (17 CFR 270.17f-5) UBS Switzerland AG 549300WOIFUSNYH0FL22 CH N Y Foreign custodian - rule 17f-5 (17 CFR 270.17f-5) UniCredit Bank Austria AG D1HEB8VEU6D9M8ZUXG17 AT N Y Foreign custodian - rule 17f-5 (17 CFR 270.17f-5) N SS&C GIDS, Inc. 084-00896 SEC File Number N N N Federated Administrative Services 801-48206 SEC File Number Y N N Federated Securities Corp. 8-15561-1 000005009 254900FMT7XR4QROXG14 0.000000000000 BofA Securities, Inc. 8-69787-1 000283942 549300HN4UKV1E2R3U73 1358590.280000000000 Cowen and Company 8-22522-1 000007616 549300WR155U7DVMIW58 5360.000000000000 Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC 8-00129-1 000000361 FOR8UP27PHTHYVLBNG30 41279.970000000000 J.P. Morgan Securities LLC 8-35008-1 000000079 ZBUT11V806EZRVTWT807 194559.900000000000 Jefferies LLC 8-15074-1 000002347 58PU97L1C0WSRCWADL48 17140.510000000000 JonesTrading 8-26089-1 000006888 2138008JJ5PA8H5UIL69 8874.640000000000 Liquidnet, Inc. 8-52461-1 000103987 213800HSKBBO1GCVRG79 25540.680000000000 Nomura Securities International, Inc. 8-15255-1 000004297 OXTKY6Q8X53C9ILVV871 453919.630000000000 Sanford C. Bernstein & Co., LLC 8-52942-1 000104474 549300I7JYZHT7D5CO04 3040.000000000000 State Street Global Markets, LLC 8-69862-1 000285852 549300FDEDF5ORXCMQ56 13289.800000000000 2137870.320000000000 Barclays Capital Inc. 8-41342-1 000019714 AC28XWWI3WIBK2824319 479440154.850000000000 Caceis Bank N/A N/A 96950023SCR9X9F3L662 FR 5553578.260000000000 Citigroup Global Markets Inc. 8-08177-1 000007059 MBNUM2BPBDO7JBLYG310 857483094.160000000000 Federal Reserve Bank of Boston N/A N/A 254900VDNU6M9QHIZS05 127091134.440000000000 Federated Securities Corp. 8-15561-1 000005009 254900FMT7XR4QROXG14 2658148747.670000000000 Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC 8-00129-1 000000361 FOR8UP27PHTHYVLBNG30 8250214.000000000000 J.P. Morgan Securities LLC 8-35008-1 000000079 ZBUT11V806EZRVTWT807 29437773.890000000000 Mizuho Securities USA LLC 8-37710-1 000019647 7TK5RJIZDFROZCA6XF66 123745229.170000000000 Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC 8-15869-1 000008209 9R7GPTSO7KV3UQJZQ078 2225861.130000000000 Wells Fargo Securities, LLC 8-65876-1 000126292 VYVVCKR63DVZZN70PB21 9953153.720000000000 4311442211.630000000000 Y 497282144.163076000000 0.000000000000 Committed 500000000.000000000000 N N N N true INTERNAL CONTROL RPT 2 icr_fhequityfunds.htm INTERNAL CONTROL REPORT - FEDERATED HERMES EQUITY FUNDS

Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm 

To the Board of Trustees of Federated Hermes Equity Funds and the Shareholders of
the Funds: 

In planning and performing our audits of the financial statements of Federated Hermes Clover Small Value Fund and Federated Hermes Prudent Bear Fund (the “Funds”), each a series of the Federated Hermes Equity Funds, as of and for the year ended September 30, 2023, in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States), we considered the Funds' internal control over financial reporting, including controls over safeguarding securities, as a basis for designing our auditing procedures for the purpose of expressing our opinion on the financial statements and to comply with the requirements of Form N-CEN, but not for the purpose of expressing an opinion on the effectiveness of the Funds' internal control over financial reporting. Accordingly, we express no such opinion. 

Management of the Funds is responsible for establishing and maintaining effective internal control over financial reporting. In fulfilling this responsibility, estimates and judgments by management are required to assess the expected benefits and related costs of controls. A company's internal control over financial reporting is a process designed to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP). A company's internal control over financial reporting includes those policies and procedures that (1) pertain to the maintenance of records that, in reasonable detail, accurately and fairly reflect the transactions and dispositions of the assets of the company; (2) provide reasonable assurance that transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of financial statements in accordance with GAAP, and that receipts and expenditures of the company are being made only in accordance with authorizations of management and trustees of the company; and (3) provide reasonable assurance regarding prevention or timely detection of unauthorized acquisition, use, or disposition of the company's assets that could have a material effect on the financial statements. 

Because of its inherent limitations, internal control over financial reporting may not prevent or detect misstatements. Also, projections of any evaluation of effectiveness to future periods are subject to the risk that controls may become inadequate because of changes in conditions, or that the degree of compliance with the policies or procedures may deteriorate. 

A deficiency in internal control over financial reporting exists when the design or operation of a control does not allow management or employees, in the normal course of performing their assigned functions, to prevent or detect misstatements on a timely basis. A material weakness is a deficiency, or a combination of deficiencies, in internal control over financial reporting, such that there is a reasonable possibility that a material misstatement of a company’s annual or interim financial statements will not be prevented or detected on a timely basis. 

Our consideration of the Funds' internal control over financial reporting was for the limited purpose described in the first paragraph and would not necessarily disclose all deficiencies in internal control that might be material weaknesses under standards established by the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States). However, we noted no deficiencies in the Funds' internal control over financial reporting and its operations, including controls over safeguarding securities, that we consider to be a material weakness as defined above as of September 30, 2023. 

This report is intended solely for the information and use of management and the Board of Trustees of Federated Hermes Clover Small Value Fund and Federated Hermes Prudent Bear Fund, each a series of the Federated Hermes Equity Funds, and the Securities and Exchange Commission and is not intended to be and should not be used by anyone other than these specified parties. 

/s/ KPMG LLP 

Boston, Massachusetts
November 22, 2023