N-Q 1 mst.htm


UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

FORM N-Q

QUARTERLY SCHEDULE OF PORTFOLIO HOLDINGS OF REGISTERED
MANAGEMENT INVESTMENT COMPANY

Investment Company Act File Number: 811-04316

MIDAS SERIES TRUST
(Exact name of registrant as specified in charter)

11 Hanover Square, 12th Floor
New York, NY
 
10005
(Address of principal executive offices)
(Zip Code)


John F. Ramírez, Esq.
Midas Series Trust
11 Hanover Square
New York, NY 10005
(Name and address of agent for service)

Registrant's telephone number, including area code: 1-212-785-0900
 

 
 

Date of fiscal year end: December 31

Date of reporting period: September 30, 2015
 

 

 
 
MIDAS FUND
   
 
SCHEDULE OF PORTFOLIO INVESTMENTS
   
 
September 30, 2015
   
 
(Unaudited)
   
       
Common Stocks (100.54%)
   
Shares
     
Value
 
 
Major Precious Metals Producers (46.74%)
   
 
35,000
 
Agnico Eagle Mines Limited
 
$
886,200
 
 
55,000
 
AngloGold Ashanti Ltd. ADR (a) (b)
   
450,450
 
 
45,000
 
Compania de Minas Buenaventura S.A.A.
   
268,200
 
 
55,000
 
Goldcorp Inc. (a)
   
688,600
 
 
45,000
 
Newmont Mining Corporation
   
723,150
 
 
15,000
 
Randgold Resources Limited  ADR (a)
   
886,350
 
 
27,500
 
Rio Tinto plc ADR (a)
   
930,050
 
 
115,000
 
Yamana Gold Inc.
   
195,500
 
           
5,028,500
 
               
     
Intermediate Precious Metals Producers (22.03%)
       
 
200,000
 
B2Gold Corp. (b)
   
210,000
 
 
85,000
 
Detour Gold Corp. (a) (b)
   
902,178
 
 
225,000
 
Eldorado Gold Corp. Ltd. (a)
   
724,500
 
 
125,000
 
New Gold Inc. (b)
   
283,750
 
 
1,145,001
 
Resolute Mining Ltd. (a) (b)
   
249,265
 
           
2,369,693
 
               
     
Junior Precious Metals Producers (7.72%)
       
 
225,000
 
Alamos Gold Inc. (a)
   
830,250
 
               
               
     
Exploration and Project Development Companies (8.55%)
       
 
154,560
 
Ivanhoe Mines Ltd. Class A (b) (c)
   
59,947
 
 
33,935
 
Ivanhoe Mines Ltd. Class B (b) (c)
   
13,162
 
 
500,000
 
Northern Dynasty Minerals Ltd. (a) (b)
   
154,600
 
 
1,500,000
 
Platinum Group Metals Ltd. (a) (b)
   
345,000
 
 
1,000,000
 
Romarco Minerals Inc. (b)
   
347,250
 
           
919,959
 
               
     
Other Natural Resources Companies (15.50%)
       
 
43,970
 
AuRico Metals Inc. (b)
   
21,645
 
 
19,000
 
BHP Billiton Limited (a)
   
600,780
 
 
10,000
 
Franco-Nevada Corp.
   
440,200
 
 
8,000
 
Minerals Technologies Inc.
   
385,280
 
 
17,500
 
Osisko Gold Royalties Ltd.
   
184,046
 
 
7,600
 
South32 Limited (b)
   
36,176
 
           
1,668,127
 
               
Total common stocks (Cost $34,042,333)
   
10,816,529
 
               
Money Market Fund (0.30%)
       
 
31,950
 
SSgA Money Market Fund, 7 day annualized yield 0.00% (Cost $31,950)
   
31,950
 
               
Total investments (Cost $34,074,283) (100.84%)
   
10,848,479
 
               
Liabilities in excess of other assets (-0.84%)
   
(89,802
)
               
Net assets (100.00%)
 
$
10,758,677
 
               
               
(a) All or a portion of these securities, have been segregated as collateral pursuant to the Committed Facility Agreement.
 
As of September 30, 2015, the value of securities pledged as collateral was $5,776,730 and there were no
 
securities on loan under the lending agreement.
       
(b) Non-income producing.
       
(c) Illiquid and/or restricted security that has been fair valued.
       
               
ADR means "American Depositary Receipt."
       
 
 

 
MIDAS MAGIC
   
 
SCHEDULE OF PORTFOLIO INVESTMENTS
   
 
September 30, 2015
   
 
(Unaudited)
   
       
Common Stocks (101.88%)
   
Shares
     
Value
 
 
Cigarettes (2.49%)
   
 
4,000
 
Philip Morris International, Inc. (a)
  $
317,320
 
               
     
Computer Communications Equipment (4.12%)
       
 
20,000
 
Cisco Systems, Inc. (a)
   
525,000
 
               
     
Computer & Office Equipment (2.27%)
       
 
2,000
 
International Business Machines Corporation (a)
   
289,940
 
               
     
Electronic & Other Electrical Equipment (7.12%)
       
 
36,000
 
General Electric Company (a)
   
907,920
 
               
     
Fire, Marine & Casualty Insurance (12.78%)
       
 
10,000
 
Berkshire Hathaway, Inc. Class B (a) (b)
   
1,304,000
 
 
6,000
 
W.R. Berkley Corporation
   
326,220
 
           
1,630,220
 
               
     
Information Retrieval Services (9.01%)
       
 
1,800
 
Alphabet Inc. (a) (b)
   
1,149,066
 
               
     
Investment Advice (5.21%)
       
 
12,740
 
Apollo Global Management, LLC
   
218,873
 
 
40,000
 
Fortress Investment Group LLC
   
222,000
 
 
6,000
 
Franklin Resources, Inc. (a)
   
223,560
 
           
664,433
 
               
     
Leather & Leather Products (1.36%)
       
 
6,000
 
Coach, Inc. (a)
   
173,580
 
               
     
Motor Vehicles & Passenger Car Bodies (5.71%)
       
 
10,000
 
Daimler AG
   
728,500
 
               
     
National Commercial Banks (9.59%)
       
 
15,000
 
JPMorgan Chase & Co. (a)
   
914,550
 
 
6,000
 
Wells Fargo & Company (a)
   
308,100
 
           
1,222,650
 
               
     
Office Furniture (1.67%)
       
 
22,500
 
Kimball International Inc. Class B
   
212,850
 
               
     
Petroleum Refining (1.75%)
       
 
3,000
 
Exxon Mobil Corp. (a)
   
223,050
 
               
     
Pharmaceutical Preparations (9.17%)
       
 
11,000
 
Johnson & Johnson (a)
   
1,026,850
 
 
3,000
 
Sanofi ADR
   
142,410
 
           
1,169,260
 
               
     
Printed Circuit Boards (1.58%)
       
 
16,875
 
Kimball Electronics, Inc. (b)
   
201,319
 
               
     
Real Estate (1.13%)
       
 
10,000
 
NorthStar Asset Management Group Inc.
   
143,600
 
               
     
Real Estate Investment Trusts (2.07%)
       
 
8,000
 
Tanger Factory Outlet Centers, Inc. (a)
   
263,760
 
               
     
Retail -  Drug Stores and Proprietary Stores (2.54%)
       
 
4,000
 
Express Scripts Holding Company (a) (b)
   
323,840
 
               
     
Retail - Family Clothing Stores (1.73%)
       
 
7,750
 
The GAP, Inc. (a)
   
220,875
 
               
     
Services - Business Services (10.60%)
       
 
15,000
 
MasterCard Incorporated
   
1,351,800
 
               
     
Services - Medical Laboratories (2.38%)
       
 
2,800
 
Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings (a) (b)
   
303,716
 
               
     
Services - Prepackaged Software (2.14%)
       
 
10,000
 
CA, Inc. (a)
   
273,000
 
               
     
Surgical & Medical Instruments & Apparatus (3.12%)
       
 
3,000
 
Becton, Dickinson and Company (a)
   
397,980
 
               
     
Wholesale - Electronic Parts & Equipment (2.34%)
       
 
7,000
 
Avnet, Inc. (a)
   
298,760
 
               
Total common stocks (Cost $8,911,578)
   
12,992,439
 
               
Money Market Fund (0.02%)
       
 
1,979
 
SSgA Money Market Fund, 7 day annualized yield 0.00% (Cost $1,979)
   
1,979
 
               
Total investments (Cost $8,913,557) (101.90%)
   
12,994,418
 
               
Liabilities in excess of other assets (-1.90%)
   
(242,437
)
               
Net assets (100.00%)
 
$
12,751,981
 
               
               
(a) All or a portion of these securities, have been segregated as collateral pursuant to the Committed Facility Agreement.
 
As of September 30, 2015, the value of securities pledged as collateral was $9,444,867 and there were no
 
securities on loan under the lending agreement.
       
(b) Non-income producing.
       
               
ADR means "American Depositary Receipt."
       
 
 

 
 
MIDAS PERPETUAL PORTFOLIO
   
 
SCHEDULE OF PORTFOLIO INVESTMENTS
   
 
September 30, 2015
   
 
(Unaudited)
   
       
Shares
     
Value
 
Gold (26.69%)
       
 
11,600
 
SPDR Gold Trust (a) (b) (Cost $1,226,058)
 
$
1,239,576
 
               
Silver (7.36%)
           
 
24,643
 
iShares Silver Trust (a) (b) (Cost $302,396)
   
341,798
 
               
Swiss Franc Assets (29.87%) (c)
       
 
907,000
 
Switzerland Government 2.50% Notes, due 3/12/16
   
941,773
 
 
400,000
 
Switzerland Government 3.00% Notes, due 1/8/18
   
445,741
 
               
Total Swiss franc assets (Cost $1,369,916)
   
1,387,514
 
               
Hard Asset Securities (17.98%)
       
Agricultural Chemicals (3.68%)
       
 
2,678
 
Syngenta AG ADR(a)
   
170,803
 
               
Conglomerate (4.67%)
       
 
6,000
 
Loews Corp. (a)
   
216,840
 
               
Metal Mining (2.86%)
       
 
1,800
 
BHP Billiton Limited (a)
   
56,916
 
 
2,249
 
Rio Tinto plc ADR
   
76,061
 
           
132,977
 
               
Mining & Quarrying of Nonmetallic Minerals (0.84%)
       
 
2,694
 
Sociedad Quimica Y Minera De Chile S.A.
   
39,171
 
               
Other Natural Resources Companies (0.07%)
       
 
720
 
South32 Limited (b)
   
3,427
 
               
Petroleum Refining (1.60%)
       
 
1,000
 
Exxon Mobil Corp.
   
74,350
 
               
Real Estate Investment Trusts (1.42%)
       
 
2,000
 
Tanger Factory Outlet Centers, Inc.
   
65,940
 
               
Steel Works, Blast Furnaces & Rolling Mills (2.84%)
       
 
3,519
 
Nucor Corp. (a)
   
132,138
 
               
Total hard asset securities (Cost $1,211,925)
   
835,646
 
               
Large Capitalization Growth Stocks (20.62%)
       
Cable & Other Pay Television Services (4.30%)
       
 
7,400
 
Twenty-First Century Fox, Inc.
   
199,652
 
               
Cigarettes (1.71%)
       
 
1,000
 
Philip Morris International, Inc.
   
79,330
 
               
Finance Services (1.60%)
       
 
1,000
 
American Express Company (a)
   
74,130
 
               
Motor Vehicles & Passenger Car Bodies (2.59%)
       
 
5,000
 
Volkswagen AG
   
120,500
 
               
Pharmaceutical Preparations (5.81%)
       
 
4,500
 
Merck & Co., Inc.
   
222,255
 
 
1,000
 
Sanofi ADR
   
47,470
 
           
269,725
 
               
Retail - Variety Stores (4.61%)
       
 
3,300
 
Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (a)
   
213,972
 
               
Total large capitalization growth stocks (Cost $1,169,983)
   
957,309
 
               
Money Market Fund (0.05%)
       
 
2,345
 
SSgA Money Market Fund, 7 day annualized yield 0.00% (Cost $2,345)
   
2,345
 
               
Total investments (Cost $5,282,623) (102.57%)
   
4,764,188
 
               
Liabilities in excess of other assets (-2.57%)
   
(119,339
)
               
Net assets (100.00%)
 
$
4,644,849
 
               
               
(a) All or a portion of these securities, have been segregated as collateral pursuant to the Committed Facility Agreement.
 
As of September 30, 2015, the value of securities pledged as collateral was $2,275,198 and there were no
 
securities on loan under the lending agreement.
       
(b) Non-income producing.
       
(c) Principal amount denominated in Swiss francs.
       
               
ADR means "American Depositary Receipt."
       
 
 

 
Notes to Schedule of Portfolio Investments (Unaudited)

Valuation of Investments
Portfolio securities are valued by various methods depending on the primary market or exchange on which they trade. Most equity securities for which the primary market is in the United States are valued at the official closing price, last sale price or, if no sale has occurred, at the closing bid price. Most equity securities for which the primary market is outside the United States are valued using the official closing price or the last sale price in the principal market in which they are traded. If the last sale price on the local exchange is unavailable, the last evaluated quote or closing bid price normally is used. Gold and silver bullion are valued at 4:00 p.m. ET, at the mean between the last bid and asked quotations of the Bloomberg Composite (NY) Spot Price for that metal. Certain debt securities may be priced through pricing services that may utilize a matrix pricing system which takes into consideration factors such as yields, prices, maturities, call features, and ratings on comparable securities or according to prices quoted by a securities dealer that offers pricing services. Open end investment companies are valued at their net asset value. Foreign securities markets may be open on days when the U.S. markets are closed. For this reason, the value of any foreign securities owned by a Fund could change on a day when shareholders cannot buy or sell shares of the Fund. Securities for which market quotations are not readily available or reliable and other assets may be valued as determined in good faith by Midas Management Corporation, the Investment Manager under the direction of or pursuant to procedures approved by the Fund's Board of Trustees. Due to the inherent uncertainty of valuation, such fair value pricing values may differ from the values that would have been used had a readily available market for the securities existed. These differences in valuation could be material. A security's valuation may differ depending on the method used for determining value. The use of fair value pricing by a Fund may cause the net asset value of its shares to differ from the net asset value that would be calculated using market prices. A fair value price is an estimate and there is no assurance that such price will be at or close to the price at which a security is next quoted or next trades.

Value Measurements
Inputs to valuation methods are prioritized by a three level hierarchy as follows:
 
• Level 1 - unadjusted quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities including securities actively traded on a securities exchange.
 
• Level 2 - observable inputs other than quoted prices included in level 1 that are observable for the asset or liability which may include quoted prices for similar instruments, interest rates, prepayment speeds, credit risk, yield curves, default rates, and similar data.
 
• Level 3 - unobservable inputs for the asset or liability including the Fund's own assumptions about the assumptions a market participant would use in valuing the asset or liability.
 
The availability of observable inputs can vary from security to security and is affected by a wide variety of factors, including, for example, the type of security, whether the security is new and not yet established in the marketplace, the liquidity of markets for the security, and other characteristics particular to the security. To the extent that valuation is based on models or inputs that are less observable or unobservable in the market, the determination of fair value requires more judgment. Accordingly, the degree of judgment exercised in determining fair value is greatest for investments categorized in level 3. The inputs used to measure fair value may fall into different levels of the fair value hierarchy. In such cases, the level in the fair value hierarchy, within which the fair value measurement falls in its entirety, is determined based on the lowest level input that is significant to the fair value measurement in its entirety. The inputs and methodology used for valuing investments are not necessarily an indication of the risk associated with investing in those securities.
 
The following is a description of the valuation techniques applied to a Fund's major categories of assets and liabilities measured at fair value on a recurring basis:
 
Equity securities (common and preferred stock) – Most publicly traded equity securities are valued normally at the most recent official closing price, last sale price, evaluated quote, or closing bid price. To the extent these securities are actively traded and valuation adjustments are not applied, they may be categorized in level 1 of the fair value hierarchy. Equities on inactive markets or valued by reference to similar instruments may be categorized in level 2.
 

Bonds – The fair value of bonds is estimated using various techniques, which may consider, among other things, recently executed transactions in securities of the issuer or comparable issuers, market price quotations (where observable), bond spreads, and fundamental data relating to the issuer. Although most bonds may be categorized in level 2 of the fair value hierarchy, in instances where lower relative consideration is placed on transaction prices, quotations, or similar observable inputs, they may be categorized in level 3.
 
Restricted and/or illiquid securities – Restricted and/or illiquid securities for which quotations are not readily available or reliable may be valued with fair value pricing as determined in good faith by the Investment Manager under the direction of or pursuant to procedures approved by the Trust's Board of Trustees. Restricted securities issued by publicly traded companies are generally valued at a discount to similar publicly traded securities. Restricted or illiquid securities issued by nonpublic entities may be valued by reference to comparable public entities or fundamental data relating to the issuer or both or similar inputs. Depending on the relative significance of valuation inputs, these instruments may be categorized in either level 2 or level 3 of the fair value hierarchy.

The following is a summary of the inputs used as of September 30, 2015 in valuing each Fund's assets. Refer to each Fund's Schedule of Portfolio Investments for detailed information on specific investments

MIDAS FUND
Level 1
Level 2
Level 3
Total
Assets
       
 
Investments, at value
       
   
Common stocks
$ 10,743,420
$    73,109
$        -
$ 10,816,529
   
Money market fund
          31,950
-  
          -
          31,950
 
Total investments, at value
$ 10,775,370
$     73,109
$        -
$ 10,848,479


MIDAS MAGIC
Level 1
Level 2
Level 3
Total
Assets
       
 
Investments, at value
       
   
Common stocks
$ 12,992,439
$         -
$        -
$ 12,992,439
   
Money market fund
            1,979
           -
          -
            1,979
 
Total investments, at value
$ 12,994,418
$         -
$        -
$ 12,994,418


MIDAS PERPETUAL PORTFOLIO
Level 1
Level 2
Level 3
Total
Assets
       
 
Investments, at value
       
   
Gold
$ 1,239,576
$        -
$        -
$ 1,239,576
   
Silver
      341,798
          -
          -
      341,798
   
Swiss franc assets
            -
   1,387,514
          -
   1,387,514
   
Hard asset securities
      835,646
          -
          -
      835,646
   
Large capitalization growth stocks
      957,309
          -
          -
      957,309
   
Money market fund
          2,345
          -
          -
          2,345
 
Total investments, at value
$ 3,376,674
$ 1,387,514
$        -
$ 4,767,188
 
There were no securities that transferred from level 1 at December 31, 2014 to level 2 at September 30, 2015 for any of the Funds.


Cost for Federal Income Tax Purposes
The aggregate cost of investments for tax purposes will depend upon each Fund's investment experience during the entirety of its fiscal year and may be subject to changes based on tax regulations. As of September 30, 2015, for federal income tax purposes, subject to changes, the aggregate cost, gross unrealized appreciation (depreciation), and net unrealized appreciation (depreciation) of investments are summarized as follows:


 
Federal Income
Gross Unrealized
Net Unrealized
Tax Cost
Appreciation
(Depreciation)
Appreciation (Depreciation)
Midas Fund
$ 34,074,283
$    114,034
$ (23,339,838)
$ (23,225,804)
Midas Magic
$   8,913,557
$ 4,765,909
$ (     685,048)
$    4,080,861
Midas Perpetual Portfolio
$   5,282,623
$      85,954
$ (     604,389)
$     (518,435)

Illiquid and Restricted Securities
Midas Fund owns securities categorized in level 2 which have a limited trading market and/or certain restrictions on trading and, therefore, may be illiquid and/or restricted. Such securities have been valued using fair value pricing. Due to the inherent uncertainty of valuation, fair value pricing values may differ from the values that would have been used had a readily available market for the securities existed. These differences in valuation could be material. Illiquid and/or restricted securities owned as of September 30, 2015 were as follows:


 
Acquisition Date  
Cost
   
Value
 
Ivanhoe Mines Ltd. Class A
4/30/97
 
$
0
   
$
59,947
 
Ivanhoe Mines Ltd. Class B
4/30/97
   
0
     
13,162
 
Total
   
$
0
   
$
73,109
 
Percent of net assets
     
0.0
%
   
0.7
%

Portfolio Concentration
Each Fund operates as a "non-diversified" investment company, which means that the portion of the Fund's assets that may be invested in the securities of a single issuer is not limited by the Act and the amount of the outstanding voting securities of a particular issuer held by a Fund is not limited. Each Fund, however, currently intends to continue to conduct its operations so as to qualify as a "regulated investment company" for purposes of the IRC, which currently requires that, at the end of each quarter of the taxable year, with respect to 50% of a Fund's total assets, the Fund limits to 5% the portion of its total assets invested in the securities of a single issuer. There are no such limitations with respect to the balance of a Fund's portfolio, although no single investment can exceed 25% of a Fund's total assets at the time of purchase. A more concentrated portfolio may cause a Fund's net asset value to be more volatile and thus may subject shareholders to more risk. As of September 30, 2015, Midas Magic held approximately 10% and 11% of its net assets in Berkshire Hathaway, Inc. and MasterCard Incorporated, respectively, primarily as a result of market appreciation since the time of purchase. Thus, the volatility of the Fund's net assets value and its performance in general, depends disproportionately more on the respective performance of a single issuer than that of a more diversified fund.

Foreign Securities Risk
Investments in the securities of foreign issuers involve special risks which include changes in foreign exchange rates and the possibility of future adverse political and economic developments, which could adversely affect the value of such securities. Moreover, securities of foreign issuers and traded in foreign markets may be less liquid and their prices more volatile than those of U.S. issuers and markets.

 

 


Item 2.  Controls and Procedures

(a)  
The registrant's principal executive officer and principal financial officer 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 as of a date within 90 days of the filing date of this report that includes the disclosure required by this paragraph, based on their evaluation of the disclosure controls and procedures required by Rule 30a-3(b) under the 1940 Act and 15d-15(b) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.

(b)  
There were no changes in the registrant's internal control over financial reporting (as defined in Rule 30a-3(d) under the 1940 Act) that occurred during the registrant's last fiscal quarter that have materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, the registrant's internal control over financial reporting.

Item 3. Exhibits

(a)  
Certifications of the registrant's principal executive officer and principal financial officer as required by Rule 30a-2(a) under the 1940 Act.

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.
 
Midas Series Trust

By: /s/ Thomas B. Winmill
Thomas B. Winmill, President

Date: November 17, 2015
 
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and the Investment Company Act 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/ Thomas B. Winmill
Thomas B. Winmill, President

Date: November 17, 2015
 
By: /s/ Thomas O'Malley
Thomas O'Malley, Chief Financial Officer
 
Date: November 17, 2015
 
Exhibit Index
 
 
(a)
Certifications of the registrant's principal executive and principal financial officer as required by Rule 30a-2(a) under the 1940 Act. (EX-99.CERT)