NPORT-EX 2 edgar.htm
Ariel Fund schedule of investments
12/31/19 (UNAUDITED)
Number of shares Common stocks—99.30% Value
  Consumer discretionary & services—32.23%  
7,378,700 Mattel, Inc.(a) $99,981,385
3,558,866 Interpublic Group of Cos., Inc. 82,209,805
1,794,865 ViacomCBS, Inc. 75,330,496
3,642,135 Nielsen Holdings plc 73,935,340
551,440 Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. 73,622,754
539,404 Mohawk Industries, Inc.(a) 73,563,917
4,370,752 TEGNA, Inc. 72,947,851
3,843,484 MSG Networks, Inc.(a)(b) 66,876,622
1,222,149 Adtalem Global Education, Inc.(a) 42,738,550
1,103,227 Meredith Corp. 35,821,781
    697,028,501
  Consumer staples—5.59%  
662,245 J.M. Smucker Co. 68,959,572
963,200 Molson Coors Brewing Co. 51,916,480
    120,876,052
  Financial services—28.63%  
3,945,339 KKR & Co., Inc. 115,085,539
2,399,203 Lazard Ltd., Class A 95,872,152
500,299 JLL 87,097,053
1,369,153 CBRE Group, Inc., Class A(a) 83,915,387
785,700 Northern Trust Corp. 83,472,768
1,041,788 First American Financial Corp. 60,757,076
476,500 Affiliated Managers Group, Inc. 40,378,610
1,159,249 Janus Henderson Group plc 28,343,638
907,154 Western Union Co. 24,293,584
    619,215,807
  Health care—5.94%  
304,600 Laboratory Corp. of America Holdings(a) 51,529,182
262,706 Charles River Laboratories Intl, Inc.(a) 40,130,969
99,481 Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc.(a) 36,810,954
    128,471,105
  Materials & processing—6.05%  
627,697 Simpson Manufacturing Co., Inc. 50,360,130
978,400 Masco Corp. 46,953,416
5,477,884 U.S. Silica Holdings, Inc.(b) 33,688,987
    131,002,533
  Producer durables—19.69%  
1,485,800 Stericycle, Inc.(a) 94,808,898
359,800 Zebra Technologies Corp.(a) 91,907,312
1,994,541 Kennametal, Inc. 73,578,617
387,163 Snap-on, Inc. 65,585,412
562,385 Keysight Technologies, Inc.(a) 57,717,573
881,565 MTS Systems Corp. 42,341,567
    425,939,379
  Technology—1.17%  
1,196,265 Knowles Corp.(a) 25,301,005
  Total common stocks (Cost $1,403,764,378) 2,147,834,382
800.292.7435    1
Ariel Fund schedule of investments (continued)
12/31/19 (UNAUDITED)
Number of shares Short-term investments—0.90% Value
19,425,058 Northern Institutional Treasury Portfolio, 1.51%(c) $19,425,058
  Total short-term investments (Cost $19,425,058) 19,425,058
  Total Investments—100.20% (Cost $1,423,189,436) 2,167,259,440
  Other Assets less Liabilities—(0.20)% (4,381,408)
  Net Assets—100.00% $2,162,878,032
(a) Non-income producing.
(b) Affiliated company (See Note Three, Transactions with Affiliated Companies).
(c) The rate presented is the rate in effect at December 31, 2019.
A category may contain multiple industries as defined by the Global Industry Classification Standards.
See Notes to Schedules of Investments.
2    ARIELINVESTMENTS.COM
Ariel Appreciation Fund
schedule of investments
12/31/19 (UNAUDITED)
Number of shares Common stocks—99.50% Value
  Consumer discretionary & services—27.50%  
2,438,230 Interpublic Group of Cos., Inc. $56,323,113
1,123,900 BorgWarner, Inc. 48,754,782
1,013,499 ViacomCBS, Inc. 42,536,532
2,756,500 Mattel, Inc.(a) 37,350,575
1,967,837 MSG Networks, Inc.(a) 34,240,364
402,300 Omnicom Group, Inc. 32,594,346
298,500 CarMax, Inc.(a) 26,169,495
1,265,624 Nielsen Holdings plc 25,692,167
388,500 Carnival Corp. 19,747,455
383,100 Nordstrom, Inc. 15,680,283
98,500 Tiffany & Co. 13,164,525
31,366 The Madison Square Garden Co., Class A(a) 9,227,564
    361,481,201
  Consumer staples—5.49%  
440,075 J.M. Smucker Co. 45,825,010
489,600 Molson Coors Brewing Co. 26,389,440
    72,214,450
  Energy—1.99%  
1,043,300 National Oilwell Varco 26,134,665
  Financial services—31.42%  
566,800 Northern Trust Corp. 60,216,832
1,026,200 Aflac, Inc. 54,285,980
823,900 First American Financial Corp. 48,049,848
1,190,420 Lazard Ltd., Class A 47,569,183
539,489 BOK Financial Corp. 47,151,339
587,500 Progressive Corp. 42,529,125
174,854 Willis Towers Watson plc 35,310,017
696,652 Houlihan Lokey, Inc. 34,045,383
602,368 KKR & Co., Inc. 17,571,075
176,650 CBRE Group, Inc., Class A(a) 10,826,878
48,080 JLL 8,370,247
127,450 Blackstone Group, Inc. 7,129,553
    413,055,460
  Health care—10.75%  
304,000 Laboratory Corp. of America Holdings(a) 51,427,680
287,000 Zimmer Biomet Holdings, Inc. 42,958,160
162,480 Charles River Laboratories Intl, Inc.(a) 24,820,445
437,415 Cardinal Health, Inc. 22,124,451
    141,330,736
  Materials & processing—0.70%  
1,509,080 U.S. Silica Holdings, Inc. 9,280,842
  Producer durables—20.60%  
365,499 Stanley Black & Decker, Inc. 60,577,804
1,438,900 Kennametal, Inc. 53,081,021
620,000 Stericycle, Inc.(a) 39,562,200
203,200 Snap-on, Inc. 34,422,080
318,815 Keysight Technologies, Inc.(a) 32,719,983
149,050 Illinois Tool Works, Inc. 26,773,851
123,600 Littelfuse, Inc. 23,644,680
    270,781,619
800.292.7435    3
Ariel Appreciation Fund
schedule of investments (continued)
12/31/19 (UNAUDITED)
Number of shares Common stocks—99.50% Value
  Technology—1.05%  
652,100 Knowles Corp.(a) $13,791,915
  Total common stocks (Cost $818,930,128) 1,308,070,888
Number of shares Short-term investments—0.54% Value
7,167,535 Northern Institutional Treasury Portfolio, 1.51%(b) $7,167,535
  Total short-term investments (Cost $7,167,535) 7,167,535
  Total Investments—100.04% (Cost $826,097,663) 1,315,238,423
  Other Assets less Liabilities—(0.04)% (581,272)
  Net Assets—100.00% $1,314,657,151
(a) Non-income producing.
(b) The rate presented is the rate in effect at December 31, 2019.
A category may contain multiple industries as defined by the Global Industry Classification Standards.
See Notes to Schedules of Investments.
4    ARIELINVESTMENTS.COM
Ariel Focus Fund schedule of investments
12/31/19 (UNAUDITED)
Number of shares Common stocks—97.14% Value
  Consumer discretionary & services—15.02%  
78,473 ViacomCBS, Inc. $3,293,496
62,200 BorgWarner, Inc. 2,698,236
97,400 Nielsen Holdings plc 1,977,220
10,700 Mohawk Industries, Inc.(a) 1,459,266
    9,428,218
  Consumer staples—2.42%  
14,600 J.M. Smucker Co. 1,520,298
  Energy—5.82%  
19,300 Exxon Mobil Corp. 1,346,754
47,800 Apache Corp. 1,223,202
43,300 National Oilwell Varco 1,084,665
    3,654,621
  Financial services—33.66%  
126,600 Western Union Co. 3,390,348
114,600 KKR & Co., Inc. 3,342,882
76,600 Lazard Ltd., Class A 3,060,936
10,900 Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. 2,506,237
23,800 BOK Financial Corp. 2,080,120
34,600 Blackstone Group, Inc. 1,935,524
31,700 First American Financial Corp. 1,848,744
20,700 Progressive Corp. 1,498,473
29,200 Bank of New York Mellon Corp. 1,469,636
    21,132,900
  Health care—14.87%  
20,500 Zimmer Biomet Holdings, Inc. 3,068,440
88,600 Hanger, Inc.(a) 2,446,246
13,900 Johnson & Johnson 2,027,593
10,600 Laboratory Corp. of America Holdings(a) 1,793,202
    9,335,481
  Materials & processing—3.38%  
98,100 Mosaic Co. 2,122,884
  Producer durables—17.19%  
19,300 Snap-on, Inc. 3,269,420
6,956 Lockheed Martin Corp. 2,708,527
9,400 Zebra Technologies Corp.(a) 2,401,136
8,100 Stanley Black & Decker, Inc. 1,342,494
67,200 Team, Inc.(a) 1,073,185
    10,794,762
  Technology—4.78%  
56,700 Oracle Corp. 3,003,966
  Total common stocks (Cost $48,032,985) 60,993,130
800.292.7435    5
Ariel Focus Fund
schedule of investments (continued)
12/31/19 (UNAUDITED)
Number of shares Short-term investments—2.30% Value
1,443,137 Northern Institutional Treasury Portfolio, 1.51%(b) $1,443,137
  Total short-term investments (Cost $1,443,137) 1,443,137
  Total Investments—99.44% (Cost $49,476,122) 62,436,267
  Other Assets less Liabilities—0.56% 349,902
  Net Assets—100.00% $62,786,169
(a) Non-income producing.
(b) The rate presented is the rate in effect at December 31, 2019.
A category may contain multiple industries as defined by the Global Industry Classification Standards.
See Notes to Schedules of Investments.
6    ARIELINVESTMENTS.COM
Ariel International Fund
schedule of investments
12/31/19 (UNAUDITED)
Number of shares Common stocks—90.55% Value
  Belgium—0.25%  
8,702 Galapagos N.V.(a) $1,820,433
  Canada—1.96%  
198,062 Suncor Energy, Inc. 6,491,486
170,313 IGM Financial, Inc. 4,889,506
36,799 Magna International, Inc. 2,017,703
2,271 Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd. 1,066,358
    14,465,053
  China—7.55%  
3,950,000 China Mobile Ltd. 33,202,649
134,457 Baidu, Inc. ADR(a) 16,995,365
133,430 China Mobile Ltd. ADR 5,640,086
    55,838,100
  Finland—2.27%  
3,505,423 Nokia Corp. ADR 13,005,119
837,846 Nokia Corp. 3,099,083
22,818 Nokian Renkaat Corp. 656,289
    16,760,491
  France—5.39%  
258,625 Michelin (CGDE) 31,649,876
38,296 Safran SA 5,912,980
18,678 Thales SA 1,938,397
6,852 TOTAL SA 378,146
    39,879,399
  Germany—10.68%  
372,302 Deutsche Boerse AG 58,381,665
6,363,376 Telefonica Deutschland Holding 18,459,579
87,431 Rocket Internet SE(a) 2,161,159
    79,002,403
  Hong Kong—0.40%  
17,125,302 Li & Fung Ltd. 1,868,063
101,000 CLP Holdings Ltd. 1,062,520
    2,930,583
  Italy—2.80%  
3,802,208 Snam SpA 19,991,255
120,175 Italgas SpA 734,714
    20,725,969
  Japan—22.82%  
113,800 Nintendo Co., Ltd. 45,515,465
1,007,300 NTT DOCOMO, Inc. 28,059,488
937,200 Nippon Telegraph & Telephone Corp. 23,686,503
817,600 Japan Tobacco, Inc. 18,229,663
650,100 Subaru Corp. 16,102,867
417,200 Bridgestone Corp. 15,499,027
67,500 Daito Trust Construction Co., Ltd. 8,341,399
146,400 Mabuchi Motor Co., Ltd. 5,527,414
60,800 Secom Co., Ltd. 5,425,959
73,400 Ono Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. 1,675,745
87,000 Shizuoka Bank Ltd. 647,128
    168,710,658
800.292.7435    7
Ariel International Fund
schedule of investments (continued)
12/31/19 (UNAUDITED)
Number of shares Common stocks—90.55% Value
  Luxembourg—0.97%  
164,372 Tenaris ADR $3,721,382
69,953 RTL Group 3,446,713
    7,168,095
  Netherlands—4.89%  
1,445,577 Koninklijke Ahold Delhaize N.V. 36,151,428
  Singapore—0.32%  
356,200 Singapore Exchange Ltd. 2,346,505
  Spain—3.44%  
491,233 Endesa SA 13,108,673
462,574 Tecnicas Reunidas SA(a) 12,349,089
    25,457,762
  Switzerland—10.76%  
164,306 Roche Holding AG 53,399,913
36,927 Swisscom AG 19,548,263
25,959 Kuehne & Nagel Intl, AG 4,378,418
57,153 UBS AG(a) 721,236
7,508 Novartis AG 710,932
4,147 Nestle SA 448,976
134 SGS SA 366,982
    79,574,720
  United Arab Emirates—0.14%  
4,048,694 Dubai Financial Market(a) 1,069,173
  United Kingdom—9.15%  
2,013,273 GlaxoSmithKline plc 47,442,047
164,254 Reckitt Benckiser Group plc 13,334,919
469,304 National Grid plc 5,870,148
222,498 Kingfisher plc 639,544
188,637 Vodafone Group plc 366,707
    67,653,365
  United States—6.76%  
429,037 Philip Morris Intl, Inc. 36,506,758
40,057 Pioneer Natural Resources Co. 6,063,428
68,926 EOG Resources, Inc. 5,773,242
88,422 Fluor Corp. 1,669,407
    50,012,835
  Total common stocks (Cost $621,905,773) 669,566,972
Number of shares Short-term investments—2.96% Value
21,879,538 Northern Institutional Treasury Portfolio, 1.51%(b) $21,879,538
  Total short-term investments (Cost $21,879,538) 21,879,538
  Total Investments—93.51% (Cost $643,785,311) 691,446,510
  Cash, Foreign Currency, Other Assets less Liabilities—6.49% 47,985,609
  Net Assets—100.00% $739,432,119
8    ARIELINVESTMENTS.COM
Ariel International Fund
schedule of investments (continued)
12/31/19 (UNAUDITED)
At December 31, 2019, the open forward currency contracts are:
Contract
settlement
date 		Counterparty Currency to
be received 		Amount to
be received 		Currency to
be delivered 		Amount to
be delivered 		Unrealized
appreciation
(depreciation)
Open forward currency contracts with unrealized appreciation    
02/14/2020 UBS AG NOK 10,357,673 EUR 1,021,694 $30,707
02/14/2020 UBS AG SEK 23,410,889 EUR 2,217,036 11,057
02/14/2020 UBS AG AUD 51,049,259 USD 34,681,386 1,183,016
02/14/2020 UBS AG GBP 31,675,079 USD 40,869,309 1,141,036
02/14/2020 UBS AG JPY 562,126,116 USD 5,171,558 15,134
02/14/2020 UBS AG NOK 27,684,015 USD 3,019,205 134,677
02/14/2020 UBS AG SEK 110,655,136 USD 11,586,224 253,836
Subtotal UBS AG           2,769,463
02/14/2020 Northern Trust CNH 12,433,637 USD 1,771,456 12,891
02/14/2020 Northern Trust SEK 34,778,657 USD 3,641,687 79,617
02/14/2020 Northern Trust SGD 7,640,122 USD 5,599,518 83,194
Subtotal Northern Trust           175,702
02/14/2020 JPMorgan Chase AUD 6,441,406 CAD 5,812,106 48,672
02/14/2020 JPMorgan Chase GBP 873,158 CAD 1,496,703 5,243
02/14/2020 JPMorgan Chase AUD 1,928,407 CHF 1,301,000 6,186
02/14/2020 JPMorgan Chase AUD 5,908,477 EUR 3,629,600 68,107
02/14/2020 JPMorgan Chase AUD 4,203,820 USD 2,855,857 97,516
Subtotal JPMorgan Chase           225,724
Subtotal - Open forward currency contracts with unrealized appreciation   $3,170,889
Open forward currency contracts with unrealized depreciation    
02/14/2020 UBS AG USD 28,443,437 CNH 200,290,946 $(300,240)
Subtotal UBS AG           (300,240)
02/14/2020 Northern Trust USD 3,044,812 CAD 4,039,888 (66,862)
02/14/2020 Northern Trust USD 8,937,860 CNH 62,894,383 (88,088)
Subtotal Northern Trust           (154,950)
02/14/2020 JPMorgan Chase USD 7,157,689 CAD 9,503,113 (161,970)
02/14/2020 JPMorgan Chase JPY 1,034,461,661 CNH 66,915,731 (58,157)
02/14/2020 JPMorgan Chase JPY 811,107,161 EUR 6,742,348 (100,313)
Subtotal JPMorgan Chase           (320,440)
Subtotal - Open forward currency contracts with unrealized depreciation   $(775,630)
Net unrealized appreciation (depreciation) on forward currency contracts     $2,395,259
(a) Non-income producing.
(b) The rate presented is the rate in effect at December 31, 2019.
    
ADR American Depositary Receipt
A category may contain multiple industries as defined by the Global Industry Classification Standards.
See Notes to Schedules of Investments.
800.292.7435    9
Ariel Global Fund
schedule of investments
12/31/19 (UNAUDITED)
Number of shares Common stocks—92.10% Value
  Canada—1.04%  
21,102 Suncor Energy, Inc. $691,618
10,003 IGM Financial, Inc. 287,176
2,121 Magna International, Inc. 116,295
    1,095,089
  Chile—0.06%  
2,946 Banco Santander-Chile ADR 67,964
  China—8.70%  
674,500 China Mobile Ltd. 5,669,667
27,954 Baidu, Inc. ADR(a) 3,533,386
    9,203,053
  Finland—1.77%  
280,515 Nokia Corp. ADR 1,040,711
225,709 Nokia Corp. 834,868
    1,875,579
  France—3.85%  
27,854 Michelin (CGDE) 3,408,702
3,601 Safran SA 556,002
1,056 Thales SA 109,591
    4,074,295
  Germany—3.85%  
22,548 Deutsche Boerse AG 3,535,812
185,496 Telefonica Deutschland Holding 538,107
    4,073,919
  Hong Kong—0.04%  
428,000 Li & Fung Ltd. 46,687
  Italy—0.23%  
45,488 Snam SpA 239,167
  Japan—12.77%  
8,950 Nintendo Co., Ltd. 3,579,643
103,700 NTT DOCOMO, Inc. 2,888,682
84,600 Nippon Telegraph & Telephone Corp. 2,138,154
63,000 Subaru Corp. 1,560,499
65,600 Japan Tobacco, Inc. 1,462,654
34,000 Bridgestone Corp. 1,263,104
2,900 Daito Trust Construction Co., Ltd. 358,371
2,800 Secom Co., Ltd. 249,880
    13,500,987
  Mexico—0.30%  
111,675 Wal-Mart de Mexico SAB de CV 319,831
  Netherlands—0.92%  
38,712 Koninklijke Ahold Delhaize N.V. 968,121
  South Korea—0.64%  
8,312 KT&G Corp. 672,504
  Spain—0.59%  
23,357 Endesa SA 623,287
10    ARIELINVESTMENTS.COM
Ariel Global Fund
schedule of investments (continued)
12/31/19 (UNAUDITED)
Number of shares Common stocks—92.10% Value
  Switzerland—7.89%  
23,013 Roche Holding AG $7,479,290
1,421 Swisscom AG 752,243
636 Kuehne & Nagel Intl, AG 107,272
    8,338,805
  Taiwan—0.04%  
6,000 Catcher Technology Co., Ltd. 45,435
  Thailand—0.65%  
136,900 Kasikornbank PCL 688,854
  United Kingdom—7.00%  
278,964 GlaxoSmithKline plc 6,573,685
40,730 National Grid plc 509,459
3,198 Reckitt Benckiser Group plc 259,629
27,721 Vodafone Group plc 53,889
    7,396,662
  United States—41.76%  
65,784 Microsoft Corp. 10,374,137
64,877 Philip Morris Intl, Inc. 5,520,384
79,132 Gilead Sciences, Inc. 5,141,997
27,920 Johnson & Johnson 4,072,690
17,372 Berkshire Hathaway, Inc., Class B(a) 3,934,758
44,808 Verizon Communications, Inc. 2,751,211
55,045 Schlumberger Ltd. 2,212,809
29,182 Amdocs Ltd. 2,106,649
21,466 EOG Resources, Inc. 1,797,992
8,277 Pioneer Natural Resources Co. 1,252,890
10,177 Quest Diagnostics, Inc. 1,086,802
32,508 Tapestry, Inc. 876,741
42,044 Fluor Corp. 793,791
8,902 U.S. Bancorp 527,800
13,317 Foot Locker, Inc. 519,230
1,403 Costco Wholesale Corp. 412,370
84,927 Acacia Research Corp.(a) 225,906
2,104 Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. 194,725
1,232 QUALCOMM, Inc. 108,699
1,553 Acacia Communications, Inc.(a) 105,309
2,876 Equity Commonwealth 94,419
948 InterDigital, Inc. 51,657
    44,162,966
  Total common stocks (Cost $79,558,159) 97,393,205
Number of shares Short-term investments—7.43% Value
7,853,901 Northern Institutional Treasury Portfolio, 1.51%(b) $7,853,901
  Total short-term investments (Cost $7,853,901) 7,853,901
  Total Investments—99.53% (Cost $87,412,060) 105,247,106
  Cash, Foreign Currency, Other Assets less Liabilities—0.47% 499,859
  Net Assets—100.00% $105,746,965
800.292.7435    11
Ariel Global Fund
schedule of investments (continued)
12/31/19 (UNAUDITED)
At December 31, 2019, the open forward currency contracts are:
Contract
settlement
date 		Counterparty Currency to
be received 		Amount to
be received 		Currency to
be delivered 		Amount to
be delivered 		Unrealized
appreciation
(depreciation)
Open forward currency contracts with unrealized appreciation    
02/14/2020 UBS AG CAD 1,117,023 EUR 761,334 $3,964
02/14/2020 UBS AG NOK 1,881,393 EUR 185,583 5,578
02/14/2020 UBS AG SEK 3,471,904 EUR 328,793 1,640
02/14/2020 UBS AG CAD 505,027 USD 380,597 8,394
Subtotal UBS AG           19,576
02/14/2020 Northern Trust AUD 361,094 GBP 190,026 1,655
02/14/2020 Northern Trust SGD 744,104 USD 545,361 8,103
Subtotal Northern Trust           9,758
02/14/2020 JPMorgan Chase AUD 508,412 CHF 343,000 1,631
02/14/2020 JPMorgan Chase AUD 1,699,070 EUR 1,043,745 19,585
Subtotal JPMorgan Chase           21,216
Subtotal - Open forward currency contracts with unrealized appreciation   $50,550
Open forward currency contracts with unrealized depreciation    
02/14/2020 UBS AG JPY 46,064,085 CNH 2,984,063 $(3,212)
02/14/2020 UBS AG USD 4,502,146 CNH 31,702,888 (47,523)
02/14/2020 UBS AG USD 665,903 GBP 516,024 (18,495)
Subtotal UBS AG           (69,230)
02/14/2020 Northern Trust SEK 2,281,126 GBP 185,007 (1,293)
02/14/2020 Northern Trust USD 415,132 GBP 321,420 (11,165)
Subtotal Northern Trust           (12,458)
02/14/2020 JP Morgan Chase CAD 545,205 CHF 407,753 (2,736)
02/14/2020 JP Morgan Chase USD 517,233 EUR 467,703 (8,877)
Subtotal JPMorgan Chase           (11,613)
Subtotal - Open forward currency contracts with unrealized depreciation   $(93,301)
Net unrealized appreciation (depreciation) on forward currency contracts   $(42,751)
(a) Non-income producing.
(b) The rate presented is the rate in effect at December 31, 2019.
    
ADR American Depositary Receipt
A category may contain multiple industries as defined by the Global Industry Classification Standards.
See Notes to Schedules of Investments.
12    ARIELINVESTMENTS.COM
Notes to the schedules of investments
12/31/19 (UNAUDITED)
NOTE One  |  ORGANIZATION
Ariel Investment Trust (the “Trust”) is a Massachusetts business trust registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”), as an open-end management investment company. Ariel Fund, Ariel Appreciation Fund, Ariel Focus Fund, Ariel International Fund and Ariel Global Fund (each, a “Fund” and collectively, the “Funds”) are series of the Trust. Ariel Focus Fund is a non-diversified Fund, all other Funds are diversified. The Funds issue two classes of shares: an Investor Class and an Institutional Class.
The Northern Trust Company (“Northern Trust”) provides fund administration and tax reporting services for the Funds in its role as sub-fund administrator engaged by the Adviser for Ariel Fund, Ariel Appreciation Fund and Ariel Focus Fund and as fund administrator engaged by the Trust for Ariel International Fund and Ariel Global Fund. Northern Trust also acts as the Funds' accounting agent and custodian. U.S. Bank Global Fund Services serves as the Funds' transfer agent.
NOTE Two  |  SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES
The following is a summary of significant accounting policies related to investments of the Funds held at December 31, 2019.
Securities valuation—Securities for which market quotations are readily available are valued at the last sale price on the national securities exchange on which such securities are primarily traded and, in the case of securities reported on the Nasdaq system, are valued based on the Nasdaq Official Closing Price. If a last sale price or a closing price is not reported, a security shall be valued using i) the closing price on another exchange on which the security traded (if such price is made available by the pricing vendor) or ii) the mean between the bid and ask prices for securities for which reliable bid and ask quotations are available.
Certain common stocks that trade on foreign exchanges are subject to valuation adjustments to account for the market movement between the close of a foreign market in which the security is traded and the close of the New York Stock Exchange. In the event the Funds become aware of a significant event that may materially affect the value of a security, a fair value of such security will be determined in accordance with procedures established by the Board of Trustees.
Investments in money market funds are valued at their closing net asset value each business day.
Debt securities having a maturity over 60 days are valued using evaluated prices or matrix pricing methods determined by a pricing service which take into consideration factors such as yield, maturity, ratings, and traded prices in identical or similar securities. Short-term debt obligations having a maturity of 60 days or less are valued at amortized cost, so long as it approximates fair value.
Securities and assets for which market quotations are not readily available are valued at fair value as determined in good faith by or under the direction of the Board of Trustees.
Fair value measurements—Accounting Standards CodificationTM 820-10 (ASC 820-10) establishes a three-tier framework for measuring fair value based on a hierarchy of inputs. The hierarchy distinguishes between market data obtained from independent sources (observable inputs) and the Funds’ own market assumptions (unobservable inputs). These inputs are used in determining the value of the Funds’ investments and are summarized below:
Level 1 – quoted prices in active markets for identical securities
Level 2 – other significant observable inputs (including quoted prices for similar securities, “quoted” prices in inactive markets, dealer indications, and inputs corroborated by observable market data)
Level 3 – significant unobservable inputs (including the Funds’ 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 tables summarize the inputs used as of December 31, 2019 in valuing the Funds’ investments carried at fair value:
  Ariel Fund    Ariel Appreciation Fund    Ariel Focus Fund 
Level 1   $2,167,259,440     $ 1,315,238,423     $62,436,267  
Level 2   —     —     —  
Level 3   —     —     —  
Total Investments $2,167,259,440     $ 1,315,238,423     $62,436,267  
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Notes to the schedules of investments (continued)
12/31/19 (UNAUDITED)
  Industry classifications for Ariel Fund, Ariel Appreciation Fund, and Ariel Focus Fund are included in the Schedules of Investments for the   respective Fund.
Ariel International Fund  Level 1    Level 2*    Level 3    Total 
Common stocks              
Communication services $56,204,807     $138,716,011     $—     $194,920,818  
Consumer discretionary 36,175,186     34,419,342     —     70,594,528  
Consumer staples 85,993,105     18,678,639     —     104,671,744  
Energy 34,776,773     —     —     34,776,773  
Financials 9,371,542     59,750,029     —     69,121,571  
Health care 49,973,412     55,075,658     —     105,049,070  
Industrials 9,520,784     15,698,773     —     25,219,557  
Information technology 13,005,119     3,099,083     —     16,104,202  
Real estate —     8,341,399     —     8,341,399  
Utilities 20,041,341     20,725,969     —     40,767,310  
Total common stocks $315,062,069     $354,504,903     $—     $669,566,972  
Short-term investments 21,879,538     —     —     21,879,538  
Total investments $336,941,607     $354,504,903     $—     $691,446,510  
Other financial instruments              
Forward currency contracts^ $—     $2,395,259     $—     $2,395,259  
Ariel Global Fund  Level 1    Level 2*    Level 3    Total 
Common stocks              
Communication services $12,008,153     $9,896,829     $—     $21,904,982  
Consumer discretionary 4,967,655     2,823,603     —     7,791,258  
Consumer staples 7,480,335     2,135,158     —     9,615,493  
Energy 5,955,309     —     —     5,955,309  
Financials 5,012,423     4,224,666         9,237,089  
Health care 16,875,174     7,479,290     —     24,354,464  
Industrials 1,685,290     357,152     —     2,042,442  
Information technology 13,832,597     834,868     —     14,667,465  
Real estate 94,419     358,371     —     452,790  
Utilities 1,132,746     239,167     —     1,371,913  
Total common stocks $69,044,101     $28,349,104     $—     $97,393,205  
Short-term investments 7,853,901     —     —     7,853,901  
Total investments $76,898,002     $28,349,104     $—     $105,247,106  
Other financial instruments              
Forward currency contracts^ $—   $(42,751)     $—     $(42,751)  
* As of December 31, 2019, the Level 2 investments held were securities fair valued due to market holidays and forward currency contracts. See Schedules of Investments.
^Forward currency contracts derive their value from underlying exchange rates. These instruments are normally valued by pricing vendors using pricing models. The pricing models typically use inputs that are observed from trading in active forward foreign currency markets. As such, forward currency contracts are categorized as Level 2. The value of forward currency contracts that is disclosed in this table is equal to the difference between Open forward currency contracts with unrealized appreciation and Open forward currency contracts with unrealized depreciation shown in the Schedules of Investments.
Foreign currency—Securities and other assets and liabilities denominated in foreign currencies are translated into U.S. dollars on a daily basis using exchange rates obtained from an independent third party.
Forward currency contracts—Ariel International Fund and Ariel Global Fund enter into forward currency contracts to provide the appropriate currency exposure related to protecting the value of securities and related receivables and payables against changes in foreign exchange rates. The primary risk associated with a Fund’s use of these contracts is that a counterparty will fail to fulfill its obligation to pay
14    ARIELINVESTMENTS.COM
Notes to the schedules of investments (continued)
12/31/19 (UNAUDITED)
gains due to the Fund under the contracts. This counterparty risk is mitigated by entering into forward currency contracts only with highly rated counterparties. Forward currency contracts are “marked-to-market” daily, and as noted above, any resulting unrealized gain (loss) is recorded as Net unrealized appreciation (depreciation) on forward currency contracts as disclosed in the Schedules of Investments.
Securities transactions—Securities transactions are accounted for on a trade date basis.
NOTE Three  |  TRANSACTIONS WITH AFFILIATED COMPANIES
If a Fund’s holding represents ownership of 5% or more of the voting securities of a company, the company is deemed to be an affiliate as defined in the 1940 Act. The following transactions were made during the period ended December 31, 2019, with securities that are or were affiliated companies:
    Share activity    Three months ended December 31, 2019   
Security name    Balance 
September 30, 
2019  		Purchases  Sales  Balance 
December 31, 
2019  		  Value    Dividends 
credited to 
income  		  Amount of gain 
(loss) realized on 
sale of shares  		  Amount of 
change in 
unrealized gain 
(loss) on shares  		Percent 
of net 
assets  		 
Ariel Fund                              
MSG Networks,
Inc. (Consumer
discretionary &
services) 		  3,692,684   150,800   —   3,843,484     $66,876,622     $—     $—     $4,337,324   3.1%  
U.S. Silica
Holdings, Inc.
(Materials &
processing) 		  5,143,389   334,495   —   5,477,884     33,688,987     342,368     —     (18,073,358)  1.6    
              $100,565,609     $342,368     $—     $(13,736,034)   4.7%  
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