N-CSR 1 d472717dncsr.htm TWEEDY, BROWNE FUND, INC. Tweedy, Browne Fund, Inc.

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        811-07458                

                               Tweedy, Browne Fund Inc.                              

(Exact name of registrant as specified in charter)

One Station Place, 5th Floor

                               Stamford, CT 06902                              

(Address of principal executive offices) (Zip code)

Elise M. Dolan

Tweedy, Browne Company LLC

One Station Place, 5th Floor

                                    Stamford, CT 06902                                   

(Name and address of agent for service)

Registrant’s telephone number, including area code:   203-703-0600

Date of fiscal year end:  March 31

Date of reporting period:  March 31, 2018

Form N-CSR is to be used by management investment companies to file reports with the Commission not later than 10 days after the transmission to stockholders of any report that is required to be transmitted to stockholders under Rule 30e-1 under the Investment Company Act of 1940 (17 CFR 270.30e-1). The Commission may use the information provided on Form N-CSR in its regulatory, disclosure review, inspection, and policymaking roles.

A registrant is required to disclose the information specified by Form N-CSR, and the Commission will make this information public. A registrant is not required to respond to the collection of information contained in Form N-CSR unless the Form displays a currently valid Office of Management and Budget (“OMB”) control number. Please direct comments concerning the accuracy of the information collection burden estimate and any suggestions for reducing the burden to Secretary, Securities and Exchange Commission, 450 Fifth Street, NW, Washington, DC 20549-0609. The OMB has reviewed this collection of information under the clearance requirements of 44 U.S.C. § 3507.


Item 1. Reports to Stockholders.

The Report to Shareholders is attached herewith.


 

LOGO

 

TWEEDY, BROWNE FUND INC.

ANNUAL REPORT

Tweedy, Browne Global Value Fund (TBGVX)

Tweedy, Browne Global Value Fund II – Currency Unhedged (TBCUX)

Tweedy, Browne Value Fund (TWEBX)

Tweedy, Browne Worldwide High Dividend Yield Value Fund (TBHDX)

 

March 31, 2018


TWEEDY, BROWNE FUND INC.

 

 

Annual Report

     II-1

Tweedy, Browne Fund Inc.

    

Investment Adviser’s Note

     II-2

Expense Information

     II-6

Tweedy, Browne Global Value Fund

    

Portfolio Highlights

     II-7

Perspective on Assessing Investment Results

     II-8

Portfolio of Investments

     II-9

Sector Diversification

     II-11

Portfolio Composition

     II-11

Schedule of Forward Exchange Contracts

     II-11

Tweedy, Browne Global Value Fund II – Currency Unhedged

    

Portfolio Highlights

     II-13

Perspective on Assessing Investment Results

     II-14

Portfolio of Investments

     II-15

Sector Diversification

     II-16

Portfolio Composition

     II-16

Tweedy, Browne Value Fund

    

Portfolio Highlights

     II-17

Perspective on Assessing Investment Results

     II-18

Portfolio of Investments

     II-19

Sector Diversification

     II-20

Portfolio Composition

     II-20

Schedule of Forward Exchange Contracts

     II-20

Tweedy, Browne Worldwide High Dividend Yield Value Fund

    

Portfolio Highlights

     II-22

Perspective on Assessing Investment Results

     II-23

Portfolio of Investments

     II-24

Sector Diversification

     II-24

Portfolio Composition

     II-24

Tweedy, Browne Fund Inc.

    

Statements of Assets and Liabilities

     II-25

Statements of Operations

     II-26

Statements of Changes in Net Assets

     II-27

Financial Highlights

     II-29

Notes to Financial Statements

     II-31

Report of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm

     II-40

Other Information

     II-41

Investment in the Fund by Managing Directors and Employees
of the Investment Adviser

     II-41


TWEEDY, BROWNE FUND INC.

 

Tweedy, Browne Global Value Fund

Tweedy, Browne Global Value Fund II – Currency Unhedged

Tweedy, Browne Value Fund

Tweedy, Browne Worldwide High Dividend Yield Value Fund

 

ANNUAL REPORT

 

 

March 31, 2018

 

 

 

II-1


TWEEDY, BROWNE FUND INC.

 

Investment Adviser’s Note (Unaudited)

 

Investment Performance

Presented below are the performance results of the Tweedy, Browne Funds for various periods with comparisons to their respective benchmark indexes.

 

                Annualized periods through March 31, 2018  
     YTD thru
3/31/18
    2017     1 year     5 years     10 years     Since
Inception(3)
 
Tweedy, Browne Global Value Fund*
(inception 6/15/93)
    -2.11     15.43     5.82     5.74     5.60     9.29
MSCI EAFE Index (Hedged to US$)(1)(2)     -3.76       16.84       7.07       8.90       5.02       6.06  
MSCI EAFE Index (in US$)(1)(2)     -1.53       25.03       14.80       6.50       2.74       5.47  
Total Annual Fund Operating Expense Ratio as of 3/31/17, as disclosed in the Fund’s most recent prospectus: 1.38% ††  
Total Annual Fund Operating Expense Ratio as of 3/31/18: 1.37%  
Tweedy, Browne Global Value Fund II –Currency Unhedged*
(inception 10/26/09)
    -0.64     21.60     12.08     4.81     -     6.72
MSCI EAFE Index (in US$)(1)(2)     -1.53       25.03       14.80       6.50       -       5.80  
Total Annual Fund Operating Expense Ratio as of 3/31/17, as disclosed in the Fund’s most recent prospectus: 1.38% ††    
Total Annual Fund Operating Expense Ratio as of 3/31/18: 1.39% (gross), 1.38% (net)§          
Tweedy, Browne Value Fund*
(inception 12/8/93)
    -2.77     16.46     8.19     6.45     6.65     8.33
MSCI World Index (Hedged to US$)(1)(5)     -2.00       19.13       10.61       10.88       6.99       7.53  
S&P 500/MSCI World Index (Hedged to  US$)(1)(4)(5)†¶     -2.00       19.13       10.61       10.88       6.99       8.36  
Total Annual Fund Operating Expense Ratio as of 3/31/17, as disclosed in the Fund’s most recent prospectus: 1.39% ††  
Total Annual Fund Operating Expense Ratio as of 3/31/18: 1.39% (gross), 1.38% (net)§  
¶ S&P 500 Index (12/8/93-12/31/06)/MSCI World Index (Hedged to US$) (1/1/07-present)  
Tweedy, Browne Worldwide High Dividend Yield Value Fund*
(inception 9/5/07)
    -0.87%       22.06     13.58     5.57     4.93     4.39
MSCI World Index (in US$)†(1)(5)     -1.28       22.40       13.59       9.70       5.90       4.88  
Total Annual Fund Operating Expense Ratio as of 3/31/17, as disclosed in the Fund’s most recent prospectus: 1.38% ††  
Total Annual Fund Operating Expense Ratio as of 3/31/18: 1.39% (gross), 1.38% (net)§  
30-day Standardized Yield as of 3/31/2018: 1.79% (unsubsidized); 1.80% (subsidized)  

* The performance data shown represents past performance and is not a guarantee of future results. Total 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. The returns shown do not reflect the deduction of taxes that a shareholder would pay on Fund distributions or the redemption of Fund shares. Current performance may be lower or higher than the performance data shown. Please visit www.tweedy.com to obtain performance data that is current to the most recent month end, or to obtain after-tax performance information. Please refer to footnotes 1 through 5 at the end of this letter for descriptions of the Funds’ indexes. Results are annualized for all periods greater than one year.

† Investors cannot invest directly in an index. Index returns are not adjusted to reflect the deduction of taxes that an investor would pay on distributions or the sale of securities comprising the index.

†† Each Fund’s expense ratio as disclosed in its most recent prospectus has been restated to reflect decreases in the Fund’s custody fees effective August 1, 2017.

§ Tweedy, Browne has voluntarily agreed, effective December 1, 2017 through at least July 31, 2019, to waive a portion of the Global Value Fund II’s, the Value Fund’s and the Worldwide High Dividend Yield Value Fund’s investment advisory fees and/or reimburse a portion of each Fund’s expenses to the extent necessary to keep each Fund’s expense ratio in line with the expense ratio of the Global Value Fund. (For purposes of this calculation, each Fund’s acquired fund fees and expenses, brokerage costs, interest, taxes and extraordinary expenses are disregarded, and each Fund’s expense ratio is rounded to two decimal points.) The net expense ratios set forth above reflect this limitation, while the gross expense ratios do not. Please refer to the Funds’ prospectus for additional information on the Funds’ expenses. The Global Value Fund II’s, Value Fund’s and Worldwide High Dividend Yield Value Fund’s performance data shown above would have been lower had certain fees and expenses not been waived and/or reimbursed.

The Funds do not impose any front-end or deferred sales charges. However, Global Value Fund, Global Value Fund II and Worldwide High Dividend Yield Value Fund each impose a 2% redemption fee on redemption proceeds for redemptions or exchanges made less than 15 days after purchase. Performance data does not reflect the deduction of the redemption fee, and, if reflected, the redemption fee would

 

 

 

II-2


reduce any performance data quoted for periods of 14 days or less. The expense ratios shown reflect the inclusion of acquired fund fees and expenses (i.e., the fees and expenses attributable to investing cash balances in money market funds) and may differ from those shown in the Funds’ financial statements.

 

                                                                                          

Our Fund Portfolios

Please note that the individual companies discussed herein were held in one or more of our Funds during the year ended March 31, 2018, but were not necessarily held in all four of our Funds. See the attached Portfolios of Investments for each Fund’s respective holdings in each of these companies as of March 31, 2018.

Our returns over the last fiscal year ending March 31, 2018 were led in large part by a number of our financial, industrial and technology holdings, including strong results in banks and insurers such as DBS Group, United Overseas Bank (UOB), CNP Assurances and Zurich Insurance; industrial companies such as Safran, Phoenix Mecano, LG Corp, and Teleperformance; and three of our technology holdings, Cisco, Alphabet (formerly known as Google), and its Chinese counterpart, Baidu. Safran, the jet engine manufacturer, parts and maintenance company that we have owned for the last several years, continues to flourish as the steady and growing stream of shop visits required for engine maintenance we forecasted years ago continues to materialize, increasing its earnings power. The Funds’ two Singapore-based bank holdings, DBS and UOB, delivered strong performances, fueled by rising net interest margins and an improving business environment. Cisco and Baidu, which remain very reasonably valued in our view, also performed well; as did Alphabet (the sole FAANG holding in our Funds), whose valuation is more elevated, but we would contend quite reasonable in light of its superior intrinsic value compound. The same goes for MasterCard, which is held in two of our Funds. We also had strong returns in Axel Springer, a long time German publishing holding, which continues to adapt extraordinarily well to a rapidly changing media landscape. We also had very solid results from Conoco, Royal Dutch, and Total as oil prices trended up, particularly late in the fiscal year, largely due to increasing demand for oil & gas, a reduction in inventory overhang, continued OPEC restraint, and fear of potential supply disruption as U.S./Iranian relations become increasingly strained.

In terms of price disappointments during the period, we faced continued weakness in our two Korean-based auto companies, Kia and Hyundai Motor, as they continue to adapt their model lineup and work to improve operating efficiency. Late in the first quarter of this year, the Hyundai Motor Group announced a restructuring plan in an effort to streamline its complex ownership structure in response to pressure from the Korean government to reform powerful chaebols (family run conglomerates). The plan consists of a series of complicated transactions that reorder the controlling family’s ownership interests. We are currently discussing with the Hyundai group the proposed transactions and evaluating the associated impact on the underlying intrinsic values of our holdings. Both companies remain in our view fundamentally very cheap and financially strong, and we believe are bound to benefit in the long run from their high quality ratings,

innovative new offerings including new SUVs and crossovers, and their strength in emerging markets, and thus appear to offer significant upside potential from today’s low valuations. The stock prices of several of our media and tobacco holdings also remained under pressure, including Mediaset España, the Spanish television broadcaster; UK-based publisher, the Daily Mail; and Imperial Brands, the UK-based tobacco company. In April, Philip Morris reported a larger than expected decline in cigarette volumes including poor results in its new “heat not burn” product, which had previously shown strong growth in Japan. We have been steadily taking advantage of pricing opportunities over the last couple of years in our tobacco holdings, and the Funds’ weighting in these stocks today is de minimis. We also faced weakness in two of our pharmaceutical holdings over the last year, Roche and GlaxoSmithKline. We took advantage of those declines to add to the Funds’ positions in those two stocks.

The Tweedy, Browne Worldwide High Dividend Yield Value Fund was our best relative and absolute performer over the last fiscal year through March 31, 2018, attributable in part to its significant weight in European equities, its unhedged posture, and a modestly more invested position (less cash). Returns were led in part by its overweight in financials and oil & gas companies, and by strong returns in a number of other individual holdings including Axel Springer, Cisco and Safran. As we mentioned in our Semi-Annual report, we also had a very nice return in Berendsen, the U.K.-based uniform and logistics company, which was the subject of a buyout at roughly a 47% premium over our cost by French-based Elis. The transaction closed in the early fall of last year. In terms of decliners, the Fund’s over-weighted position in pharmaceuticals, particularly Glaxo and Roche, were significant detractors from the year’s returns. In addition, the stock prices of Siemens, G4S, and newly purchased WPP finished in the red for the period.

The U.S. dollar significantly weakened against most major foreign currencies over the last fiscal year. When this happens, our unhedged Funds will typically produce stronger absolute results than our hedged Funds, and such was the case over the last year. For example, Global Value Fund II, which is unhedged, enjoyed a 626 basis point return advantage over the hedged Global Value Fund for the one-year period ending March 31, 2018. This differential was overwhelmingly associated with the Funds’ respective hedging postures and had very little if anything to do with the composition of their respective portfolios, which are quite similar. Had the unhedged Global Value Fund II been hedged, it would have likely performed more in line with the Global Value Fund. In our view, this could easily have gone in the other direction. For example, in 2014, the situation was reversed, and the hedged Global Value Fund returned 601 basis points more return than that of the unhedged Global Value Fund II. Later in this report, we address the difficulty of trying to time equity markets. Similarly, in our experience, trying to time when to hedge and when not to hedge in an attempt to take advantage

 

 

 

 

II-3


of currency movements is again an extraordinarily difficult proposition. Our advice is for investors to decide whether they want to be hedged with respect to foreign currency exposure or whether they would like to be unhedged, and then to commit to that decision absent unusual circumstances. As you can see in the following chart, using the MSCI EAFE Index as an indicator, over long

measurement periods for U.S.-based investors, the performance of hedged and unhedged portfolios has tended to come together and be quite similar, which is precisely what we would expect from our Global Value Fund and Global Value Fund II. (Of course, differences in portfolio holdings and expenses would also result in performance differences. There are no guarantees regarding future returns.)

 

MSCI EAFE Index in USD and Hedged to USD

(9/30/92 – 3/31/18)

 

LOGO

 

Portfolio activity was quite modest for fiscal year 2018, as reflected by low rates of portfolio turnover in all four of our funds: Global Value Fund (5%), Global Value Fund II (6%), Value Fund (6%), and Worldwide High Dividend Yield Value Fund (5%). Since we reported to you in the fall of 2017, we took advantage of pricing opportunities to sell and trim back a number of our holdings including Akzo Nobel, British American Tobacco (BAT), Baxter International, Signet Jewlers, AGCO, and Williams-Sonoma, among others. We decided to sell our position in Akzo after it made a failed bid for a U.S.-based coatings company at prices we felt were too high. This behavior, coupled with its past unwillingness to engage with PPG Industries, caused us to lose confidence and to take our profits while the stock was elevated. We also decided to sell our remaining shares in Signet Jewelers as statistics for declining mall traffic worsened and the company’s financial performance continued to deteriorate despite a strengthening economic environment. We also decided to take our modest profits in Williams-Sonoma (Worldwide High Dividend Yield Value Fund) as competition in the furniture market both direct and online became increasingly heated. In addition, BAT and Baxter traded up to our estimates of intrinsic value, and with uncertain futures ahead for them, we decided to take our gains and move on.

With equity valuations continuing to rise during the year, material new buys were limited; however, we did establish positions in AutoZone, the U.S. based auto parts retailer discussed at length in our semi-annual report, and two UK-based companies: Inchcape, an automobile distributor, and WPP, the world’s largest advertising agency. Inchcape is a smaller-to medium-capitalization ($4B) UK-based automotive

distributor and retailer that functions like a franchisee or outsourced country manager, allowing major automobile manufacturers to efficiently gain access to smaller markets (like Peru, Greece, Singapore, or even Hong Kong) that do not generate enough sales volume for the OEMs (original equipment manufacturers) to want to focus on them directly. In this role, Inchcape has the exclusive rights to sell a particular brand and its related parts in a particular country, controlling distribution and selecting and managing the dealer network in the country. It is an asset-light business and as such has generated high returns on invested capital. At purchase, it was trading at approximately 10 times earnings, 7-8 times enterprise value (EV) to earnings before interest, taxes, and amortization (EBITA), carried very little debt, and had a dividend yield of approximately 3.6%.

Thank you for investing with us, and for your continued confidence. We work hard to earn and keep your trust, and we believe it is critical to our mutual success.

Sincerely,

TWEEDY, BROWNE COMPANY LLC

William H. Browne

Thomas H. Shrager

John D. Spears

Robert Q. Wyckoff, Jr.

Managing Directors

April 2018

 

 

 

 

II-4


Footnotes:

 

(1)

Indexes are unmanaged, and the figures for the indexes shown include reinvestment of dividends and capital gains distributions and do not reflect any fees or expenses. Investors cannot invest directly in an index.

 

(2)

The MSCI EAFE Index is a free float-adjusted, market capitalization weighted index that is designed to measure the equity market performance of developed markets, excluding the US and Canada. The MSCI EAFE Index (in US$) reflects the return of the MSCI EAFE Index for a US dollar investor. The MSCI EAFE Index (Hedged to US$) consists of the results of the MSCI EAFE Index hedged 100% back into US dollars and accounts for interest rate differentials in forward currency exchange rates. Results for both indexes are inclusive of dividends and net of foreign withholding taxes.

 

(3)

Inception dates for the Global Value Fund, Global Value Fund II, Value Fund and Worldwide High Dividend Yield Value Fund are June 15, 1993, October 26, 2009, December 8, 1993, and September 5, 2007, respectively. Prior to 2004, information with respect to the MSCI EAFE and MSCI World Indexes used was available at month end only; therefore, the since-inception performance of the MSCI EAFE Indexes quoted for the Global Value Fund reflects performance from May 31, 1993, the closest month end to the Global Value Fund’s inception date, and the since inception performance of the MSCI World Index quoted for the Value Fund reflects performance from November 30, 1993, the closest month end to the Value Fund’s inception date.

 

(4)

The S&P 500/MSCI World Index (Hedged to US$) is a combination of the S&P 500 Index and the MSCI World Index (Hedged to US$), linked together by Tweedy, Browne, and represents the performance of the S&P 500 Index for the periods 12/8/93 – 12/31/06 and the performance of the MSCI World Index (Hedged to US$) beginning 1/01/07 and thereafter (beginning December 2006, the Fund was permitted to invest more significantly in non-US securities). The S&P 500 Index is a market capitalization weighted index composed of 500 widely held common stocks that assumes the reinvestment of dividends. The index is generally considered representative of US large capitalization stocks.

 

(5)

The MSCI World Index is a free float-adjusted market capitalization weighted index that is designed to measure the equity market performance of developed markets. The MSCI World Index (in US$) reflects the return of this index for a US dollar investor. The MSCI World Index (Hedged to US$) consists of the results of the MSCI World Index with its foreign currency exposure hedged 100% back into US dollars. The index accounts for interest rate differentials in forward currency exchange rates. Results for each index are inclusive of dividends and net of foreign withholding taxes.

Mention of a specific security should not be considered a recommendation to buy or a solicitation to sell that security. Holdings are subject to change at any time.

The views expressed represent the opinions of Tweedy, Browne Company LLC as of the date of this note, are not intended as a forecast or guarantee of future results, and are subject to change without notice.

Current and future portfolio holdings are subject to risk. Investing in foreign securities involves additional risks beyond the risks of investing in US securities markets. These risks include currency fluctuations; political uncertainty; different accounting and financial standards; different regulatory environments; and different market and economic factors in various non-US countries. In addition, the securities of small, less well known companies may be more volatile than those of larger companies. Value investing involves the risk that the market will not recognize a security’s intrinsic value for a long time, or that a security thought to be undervalued may actually be appropriately priced when purchased. Dividends are not guaranteed, and a company currently paying dividends may cease paying dividends at any time. Diversification does not guarantee a profit and does not protect against a loss in a declining market. Please refer to the Funds’ prospectus for a description of risk factors associated with investments in securities which may be held by the Funds.

Although the practice of hedging against currency exchange rate changes utilized by the Tweedy, Browne Global Value Fund and Tweedy, Browne Value Fund reduces the risk of loss from exchange rate movements, it also reduces the ability of the Funds to gain from favorable exchange rate movements when the US dollar declines against the currencies in which the Funds’ investments are denominated and in some interest rate environments may impose out-of-pocket costs on the Funds.

Stocks and bonds are subject to different risks. In general, stocks are subject to greater price fluctuations and volatility than bonds and can decline significantly in value in response to adverse issuer, political, regulatory, market or economic developments. Unlike stocks, if held to maturity, bonds generally offer to pay both a fixed rate of return and a fixed principal value. Bonds are subject to interest rate risk (as interest rates rise bond prices generally fall), the risk of issuer default, issuer credit risk, and inflation risk, although U.S. Treasuries are backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. Government.

Price/earnings (or P/E) ratio is a comparison of the company’s closing stock price and its trailing 12-month earnings per share. Enterprise Value (or EV) is a measure of a company’s total value (market value of common stock + market value of preferred equity + market value of debt + minority interest – cash and investments). Earnings before interest and tax (or EBIT) is an indicator of a company’s profitability, calculated as revenue minus expenses, excluding tax and interest. Earnings before interest, taxes and amortization (or EBITA) is used to gauge a company’s operating profitability (earnings before tax + interest expense + amortization expense).

Tweedy, Browne Global Value Fund, Tweedy, Browne Global Value Fund II – Currency Unhedged, Tweedy, Browne Value Fund, and Tweedy, Browne Worldwide High Dividend Yield Value Fund are distributed by AMG Distributors, Inc., Member FINRA/SIPC.

This material must be preceded or accompanied by a prospectus for Tweedy, Browne Fund Inc.

 

 

 

 

II-5


TWEEDY, BROWNE FUND INC.

 

Expense Information (Unaudited)

 

A shareholder of the Global Value Fund, Global Value Fund II – Currency Unhedged, Value Fund or Worldwide High Dividend Yield Value Fund (collectively, the “Funds”) incurs two types of costs: (1) transaction costs and (2) ongoing costs, including management fees and other Fund expenses. The Example below is intended to help a shareholder understand the ongoing costs (in U.S. dollars) of investing in the Funds and to compare these costs with the ongoing costs of investing in other mutual funds.

The Example is based on an investment of $1,000 invested at the beginning of the period and held for the entire period of October 1, 2017 to March 31, 2018.

Actual Expenses. The first part of the table presented below, under the heading “Actual Expenses,” provides information about actual account values and actual expenses. The information in this line may be used with the amount a shareholder invested to estimate the expenses that were paid by the shareholder over the period. Simply divide the shareholder’s 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 paid during this period.

Hypothetical Example for Comparison Purposes. The second part of the table presented below, under the heading “Hypothetical Expenses,” provides information about hypothetical account values and hypothetical expenses based on each Fund’s actual expense ratio and an assumed

rate of return of 5% per year before expenses, which is not each Fund’s actual return. The hypothetical account values and expenses may not be used to estimate the actual ending account balance or expenses paid by the shareholder of the Funds for the period. This information may be used to compare the ongoing costs of investing in the Funds to other funds. To do so, compare this 5% hypothetical example with the 5% hypothetical examples that appear in the shareholder reports of the other funds.

Please note that the expenses shown in the table below are meant to highlight a shareholder’s ongoing costs only and do not reflect redemption fees. Redemptions from the Global Value Fund, the Global Value Fund II – Currency Unhedged and the Worldwide High Dividend Yield Value Fund, including exchange redemptions, made less than 15 days after purchase are subject to a redemption fee equal to 2% of the redemption proceeds, which will be retained by the Funds. There are no other transactional expenses associated with the purchase and sale of shares charged by any of the Funds, such as commissions, sales loads and/or redemption fees on shares held longer than 14 days. Other mutual funds may have such transactional charges. Therefore, the second part of the table is useful in comparing ongoing costs only, and will not help a shareholder determine the relative total costs of owning different funds. In addition, if redemption fees were included, a shareholder’s costs (if the shareholder redeemed during the applicable redemption period) would have been higher.

 

 

    

Actual Expenses

       

Hypothetical Expenses

(5% Return before Expenses)

     Beginning
Account
Value
10/1/17
     Ending
Account
Value
3/31/18
       Expenses
Paid During
Period*
10/1/17 –
3/31/18
        Beginning
Account
Value
10/1/17
     Ending
Account
Value
3/31/18
     Expenses
Paid During
Period*
10/1/17 –
3/31/18
     Annualized
Expense
Ratio

Global Value Fund

  $1,000.00        $1,007.00        $6.81        $1,000.00      $1,018.15      $6.84      1.36%

Global Value Fund II –
Currency Unhedged

  $1,000.00        $1,032.90        $6.79        $1,000.00      $1,018.25      $6.74      1.34%

Value Fund

  $1,000.00        $1,015.30        $6.78        $1,000.00      $1,018.20      $6.79      1.35%

Worldwide High Dividend
Yield Value Fund

  $1,000.00        $1,036.40        $6.85        $1,000.00      $1,018.20      $6.79      1.35%

 

  *

Expenses are equal to each Fund’s annualized expense ratio, multiplied by the average account value over the period, multiplied by the number of days in the period (182), divided by 365 (to reflect the one-half year period).

 

 

 

 

II-6


 

Tweedy, Browne

Global Value Fund

Portfolio Highlights as of March 31, 2018 (Unaudited)

 

Hypothetical Illustration of $10,000 Invested in

Tweedy, Browne Global Value Fund vs.

MSCI EAFE Index

(Hedged to US$ and in US$)

6/15/93 through 3/31/18

 

LOGO

 

Average Annual Total Returns – For Periods Ended March 31, 2018  
     Tweedy, Browne
Global Value Fund
    MSCI EAFE
Index (Hedged to US$)
    MSCI EAFE
Index (in US$)
 
1 Year     5.82     7.07     14.80
5 Years     5.74       8.90       6.50  
10 Years     5.60       5.02       2.74  

Since Inception

(6/15/93)

    9.29       6.06       5.47  
Total Annual Fund Operating Expense Ratio as of 3/31/17, as disclosed in the Fund’s most recent prospectus: 1.38%.*  
Total Annual Fund Operating Expense Ratio as of 3/31/18: 1.37%.  
                         

The preceding performance data represents past performance and is not a guarantee of future results. Total 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. The graph and table do not reflect the deduction of taxes that a shareholder would pay on Fund distributions or the redemption of Fund shares. Current performance may be lower or higher than the performance data shown. Results are annualized for all periods greater than one year. Please visit www.tweedy.com to obtain performance data that is current to the most recent month end.

* The expense ratio has been restated to reflect decreases in the Fund’s custody fees effective August 1, 2017.

The Fund does not impose any front-end or deferred sales charges. However, the Fund imposes a 2% redemption fee on redemption proceeds for redemptions or exchanges made less than 15 days after purchase. Performance data does not reflect the deduction of the redemption fee, and, if reflected, the redemption fee would reduce the performance data quoted for periods of 14 days or less. The expense ratios shown above reflect the inclusion of acquired fund fees and expenses (i.e., the fees and expenses attributable to investing cash balances in money market funds) and may differ from those shown in the Fund’s financial statements.

The MSCI EAFE Index is a free float-adjusted market capitalization weighted index that is designed to measure the equity market performance of developed markets, excluding the U.S. and Canada. The MSCI EAFE Index (in US$) reflects the return of the MSCI EAFE Index for a U.S. dollar investor. The MSCI EAFE Index (Hedged to US$) consists of the results of the MSCI EAFE Index hedged 100% back into U.S. dollars and accounts for interest rate differentials in forward currency exchange rates. Results for each index are inclusive of dividends and net of foreign withholding taxes. The inception date for the Fund is June 15, 1993. Prior to 2004, information with respect to the MSCI EAFE indexes used was available at month end only; therefore, the closest month end to the Fund’s inception date, May 31, 1993, was used.

Indexes are unmanaged, and the figures for the indexes shown include reinvestment of dividends and capital gains distributions and do not reflect any fees or expenses. Investors cannot invest directly in an index.

 

 

 

II-7


Tweedy, Browne Global Value Fund

 

Perspective on Assessing Investment Results (Unaudited)

March 31, 2018

 

In accordance with rules and guidelines set out by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission, we have provided a comparison of the historical investment results of Tweedy, Browne Global Value Fund to the results of the MSCI EAFE Index (hedged to US$) and the MSCI EAFE Index (in US$) (non-U.S. currencies are unhedged). Although we believe this comparison may be useful, the historical results of the MSCI EAFE indexes in large measure represent the investment results of stocks that we do not own. Any portfolio that does not own exactly the same stocks in exactly the same proportions as the index to which the particular portfolio is being compared is not likely to have the same results as the index. The investment behavior of a diversified portfolio of undervalued stocks tends to be correlated to the investment behavior of a broad index; i.e., when the index is up, probably more than one-half of the stocks in the entire universe of public companies in all the countries that are included in the same index will be up, albeit in greater or lesser percentages than the index. Similarly, when the index declines, probably more than one-half of the stocks in the entire universe of public companies in all the countries that are included in the index will be down in greater or lesser percentages than the index. But it is almost a mathematical truth that “different stocks equal different results.”

We believe that favorable or unfavorable historical investment results in comparison to an index are not necessarily predictive of future comparative investment results. In 1986, V. Eugene Shahan, a Columbia University Business School alumnus and portfolio manager at U.S. Trust, wrote Are Short-Term Performance and Value Investing Mutually Exclusive? In this article, Mr. Shahan analyzed the

investment performance of seven money managers, about whom Warren Buffett wrote in his article, The Superinvestors of Graham and Doddsville. Over long periods of time, the seven managers significantly outperformed the market as measured by the Dow Jones Industrial Average (the DJIA) or the S&P 500 Index (the S&P 500) by between 7.7% and 16.5% annually. (The goal of most institutional money managers is to outperform the market by 2% to 3%.) However, for periods ranging from 13 years to 28 years, this group of managers underperformed the market between 7.7% and 42% of the years. Six of the seven investment managers underperformed the market between 28% and 42% of the years. In today’s environment, they would have lost many of their clients during their periods of underperformance. Longer term, it would have been the wrong decision to fire any of those money managers. In examining the seven long-term investment records, unfavorable investment results as compared to either index did not predict the future favorable comparative investment results that occurred, and favorable investment results in comparison to the DJIA or the S&P 500 were not always followed by future favorable comparative results. Stretches of consecutive annual underperformance ranged from one to six years.

Mr. Shahan concluded:

Unfortunately, there is no way to distinguish between a poor three-year stretch for a manager who will do well over 15 years, from a poor three-year stretch for a manager who will continue to do poorly. Nor is there any reason to believe that a manager who does well from the outset cannot continue to do well, and consistently.

 

 

 

 

II-8


Tweedy, Browne Global Value Fund

 

Portfolio of Investments

March 31, 2018

 

Shares

        Value
(Note 2)
 
 

COMMON STOCKS—91.9%

 
 

Canada—1.3%

 
  90,300    

E-L Financial Corp., Ltd.

    $56,592,903  
  1,500,000    

National Bank of Canada

    70,552,647  
   

 

 

 
      127,145,550  
   

 

 

 
 

Chile—2.0%

 
  15,195,200    

Antofagasta plc

    196,318,761  
   

 

 

 
 

China—1.8%

 
  783,858    

Baidu Inc., Sponsored ADR(a)

    174,949,267  
   

 

 

 
 

Czech Republic—0.0%(b)

 
  2,800    

Philip Morris CR a.s.

    2,327,828  
   

 

 

 
 

France—14.2%

 
  760,360    

Cie Generale des Etablissements Michelin

    112,121,563  
  7,135,610    

CNP Assurances

    179,901,864  
  4,304,900    

Safran SA

    455,209,384  
  5,998,250    

SCOR SE

    245,356,465  
  712,949    

Teleperformance SA

    110,478,993  
  4,782,031    

Total SA

    271,297,967  
   

 

 

 
      1,374,366,236  
   

 

 

 
 

Germany—8.3%

 
  3,792,735    

Axel Springer SE

    317,184,612  
  1,936,000    

Henkel AG & Company, KGaA

    243,574,424  
  652,000    

Krones AG

    87,723,432  
  42,354    

KSB AG

    23,492,091  
  228,337    

Linde AG(a)

    48,048,186  
  380,000    

Muenchener Rueckversicherungs AG

    88,257,431  
   

 

 

 
      808,280,176  
   

 

 

 
 

Hong Kong—1.1%

 
  26,265,000    

Emperor Entertainment Hotel Ltd.

    5,488,399  
  5,678,136    

Great Eagle Holdings Ltd.

    28,794,747  
  14,905,000    

Hang Lung Group Ltd.

    48,712,874  
  434,500    

Jardine Strategic Holdings Ltd.

    16,658,730  
  59,000    

Miramar Hotel & Investment

    116,372  
  2,561,000    

Tai Cheung Holdings Ltd.

    2,855,236  
   

 

 

 
      102,626,358  
   

 

 

 
 

Italy—0.7%

 
  144,268    

Buzzi Unicem SpA

    3,372,895  
  4,795,392    

SOL SpA(c)

    64,873,525  
   

 

 

 
      68,246,420  
   

 

 

 
 

Japan—1.7%

 
  2,126,200    

Ebara Corporation

    74,571,942  
  1,368,700    

Honda Motor Company Ltd.

    46,858,831  
  36,000    

Konishi Company Ltd.

    573,427  
  1,443,500    

NGK Spark Plug Company Ltd.

    34,326,389  
  164,400    

Nippon Kanzai Company Ltd.

    3,227,712  
  19,600    

Nitto Kogyo Corporation

    301,510  
  193,700    

Shizuoka Gas Company Ltd.

    1,739,384  
   

 

 

 
      161,599,195  
   

 

 

 

Shares

        Value
(Note 2)
 
 

Mexico—0.4%

 
  520,112    

Coca-Cola Femsa SA de CV, Sponsored ADR(e)

    $34,551,040  
   

 

 

 
 

Netherlands—6.6%

 
  3,160,000    

Heineken Holding NV

    325,284,402  
  7,534,860    

Royal Dutch Shell plc, Class A

    238,942,290  
  1,378,910    

Unilever NV, CVA

    77,788,493  
   

 

 

 
      642,015,185  
   

 

 

 
 

Norway—0.5%

 
  900,000    

Schibsted ASA

    25,105,242  
  900,000    

Schibsted ASA, Class B

    22,766,672  
   

 

 

 
    47,871,914  
   

 

 

 
 

Singapore—5.0%

 
  12,787,454    

DBS Group Holdings Ltd.

    268,172,794  
  10,089,655    

United Overseas Bank Ltd.

    211,595,754  
   

 

 

 
      479,768,548  
   

 

 

 
 

South Korea—4.7%

 
  150,900    

Daegu Department Store Company Ltd.

    1,410,042  
  210,000    

Hyundai Mobis Company Ltd.

    50,042,218  
  1,482,135    

Hyundai Motor Company

    199,536,891  
  3,919,300    

Kia Motors Corporation

    117,112,023  
  815,800    

LG Corporation

    66,510,010  
  132,553    

Samchully Company Ltd.

    13,990,255  
 

Miscellaneous Securities(d)

    5,094,733  
   

 

 

 
      453,696,172  
   

 

 

 
 

Spain—0.6%

 
  6,063,526    

Mediaset España Comunicacion SA

    61,641,237  
   

 

 

 
 

Sweden—0.0%(b)

 
  63,360    

Cloetta AB, B Shares

    240,736  
   

 

 

 
 

Switzerland—13.6%

 
  388,000    

CIE Financiere Richemont AG

    34,748,204  
  218,165    

Coltene Holding AG(c)

    20,777,619  
  4,000    

Daetwyler Holding AG, Bearer

    762,740  
  3,582,515    

Nestle SA, Registered

    282,904,954  
  80    

Neue Zuercher Zeitung(a)

    438,597  
  3,275,000    

Novartis AG, Registered

    264,229,845  
  68,640    

Phoenix Mecano AG(c)

    47,451,629  
  1,331,050    

Roche Holding AG

    304,545,797  
  106,000    

Siegfried Holding AG

    35,643,275  
  432,618    

Tamedia AG

    60,537,607  
  807,415    

Zurich Insurance Group AG

    264,247,975  
   

 

 

 
      1,316,288,242  
   

 

 

 
 

Taiwan—0.0%(b)

 
  665,100    

Lumax International Corp., Ltd.

    1,311,632  
  365,000    

Thinking Electronic Industrial Company Ltd.

    1,080,341  
   

 

 

 
      2,391,973  
   

 

 

 
 

 

  SEE NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS  

 

 

II-9


Tweedy, Browne Global Value Fund

 

Portfolio of Investments

March 31, 2018

 

Shares

        Value
(Note 2)
 
 

Thailand—0.9%

 
  14,267,700    

Bangkok Bank Public Company Ltd., NVDR

    $90,342,328  
   

 

 

 
 

United Kingdom—18.7%

 
  12,880,300    

BAE Systems plc

    105,050,170  
  5,424,025    

Daily Mail & General Trust plc, Class A

    49,152,991  
  7,854,302    

Diageo plc

    265,754,516  
  44,753,887    

G4S plc

    155,759,046  
  12,375,843    

GlaxoSmithKline plc

    242,010,004  
  22,568,214    

HSBC Holdings plc

    210,656,922  
  1,111,325    

Imperial Brands plc

    37,820,532  
  3,863,281    

Inchcape plc

    37,448,127  
  16,917,110    

Lookers plc

    20,693,713  
  486,757    

Shire plc

    24,380,185  
  25,976,349    

Standard Chartered plc

    259,705,187  
  2,725,044    

Unilever plc

    151,206,570  
  16,040,607    

Vertu Motors plc

    9,810,769  
  14,958,616    

WPP plc

    237,643,193  
   

 

 

 
      1,807,091,925  
   

 

 

 
 

United States—9.8%

 
  594,254    

AGCO Corp

    38,537,372  
  76,000    

Alphabet Inc., Class A(a)

    78,822,640  
  76,208    

Alphabet Inc., Class C(a)

    78,630,652  
  75,700    

American National Insurance Company

    8,853,872  
  396,719    

Avnet, Inc.

    16,566,985  
  1,315,780    

Bank of New York Mellon Corporation/The

    67,802,143  
  436    

Berkshire Hathaway Inc., Class A(a)

    130,407,600  
  301    

Berkshire Hathaway Inc., Class B(a)

    60,044  
  5,214,000    

Cisco Systems, Inc.

    223,628,460  
  587,000    

ConocoPhillips

    34,803,230  
  1,258,435    

Devon Energy Corporation

    40,005,649  
  1,852,170    

Halliburton Company

    86,940,860  
  865,835    

Johnson & Johnson

    110,956,755  
  293,500    

Phillips 66

    28,152,520  
   

 

 

 
      944,168,782  
   

 

 

 
  TOTAL COMMON STOCKS
(Cost $5,745,476,082)
    8,895,927,873  
   

 

 

 
 

PREFERRED STOCKS—0.6%

 

 

Chile—0.5%

 
  10,000,000    

Embotelladora Andina SA

    43,077,382  
   

 

 

 
 

Croatia—0.1%

 
  166,388    

Adris Grupa d.d.

    11,672,487  
   

 

 

 
 

Germany—0.0%(b)

 
  103,830    

Villeroy & Boch AG

    2,385,341  
   

 

 

 
  TOTAL PREFERRED STOCKS
(Cost $34,220,102)
    57,135,210  
   

 

 

 

Shares

        Value
(Note 2)
 
 

REGISTERED INVESTMENT COMPANY—6.1%

 

  588,316,133    

Dreyfus Treasury Securities Cash Management – Institutional Shares
(Cost $588,316,133)

    $588,316,133  
   

 

 

 

Face Value

           
 

U.S. TREASURY BILL—3.1%

 
  $300,000,000    

1.626%(f) due 07/19/2018(e)
(Cost $298,555,296)

    298,430,229  
   

 

 

 

INVESTMENTS IN SECURITIES
(Cost $6,666,567,613)

    101.7     9,839,809,445  

UNREALIZED DEPRECIATION ON FORWARD CONTRACTS (Net)

    (2.0     (195,395,759

OTHER ASSETS
AND LIABILITIES (Net)(g)

    0.3       27,858,195  
 

 

 

   

 

 

 

NET ASSETS

    100.0     $9,672,271,881  
 

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

(a)     Non-income producing security.
(b)     Amount represents less than 0.1% of net assets.
(c)     “Affiliated company” as defined by the Investment Company Act of 1940. See Note 4.
(d)     Represents one or more issuers where disclosure may be disadvantageous to the Fund’s accumulation or disposition program. Aggregate “Miscellaneous Securities” holdings amount to $5,094,733 which represent 0.1% of the net assets of the Fund.
(e)     All or a portion of this position has been segregated to cover certain open forward contracts. At March 31, 2018, liquid assets totaling $158,896,969 have been segregated to cover such open forward contracts.
(f)     Rate represents annualized yield at date of purchase.
(g)     As of March 31, 2018, cash in the amount of $8,330,000 was segregated with the counterparty as collateral for certain forward foreign currency contracts.
Abbreviations:
ADR         American Depositary Receipt
CVA         Certificaaten van aandelen (Share Certificates)
NVDR         Non Voting Depository Receipt
 

 

  SEE NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS  

 

 

II-10


Tweedy, Browne Global Value Fund

 

 

Sector Diversification (Unaudited)

March 31, 2018

 

Sector Diversification

   Percentage of
Net Assets
 

COMMON STOCKS:

  

Banks

     11.5

Pharmaceuticals, Biotechnology & Life Sciences

     10.1  

Insurance

     10.1  

Capital Goods

     9.0  

Media

     7.9  

Energy

     7.2  

Beverage

     6.5  

Automobiles & Components

     5.8  

Food

     5.3  

Materials

     3.3  

Technology Hardware & Equipment

     2.8  

Commercial Services & Supplies

     2.8  

Household & Personal Products

     2.5  

Software & Services

     1.8  

Internet Software & Services

     1.6  

Real Estate

     0.8  

Retailing

     0.7  

Diversified Financials

     0.7  

Tobacco

     0.4  

Consumer Durables & Apparel

     0.4  

Health Care Equipment & Services

     0.2  

Electronic Equipment & Instruments

     0.2  

Utilities

     0.2  

Consumer Services

     0.1  
  

 

 

 

Total Common Stocks

     91.9  

Preferred Stocks

     0.6  

Registered Investment Company

     6.1  

U.S. Treasury Bills

     3.1  

Unrealized Depreciation on Forward Contracts (Net)

     (2.0

Other Assets and Liabilities (Net)

     0.3  
  

 

 

 

Net Assets

     100.0
  

 

 

 

Portfolio Composition (Unaudited)

March 31, 2018

 

LOGO

 

 

 

 

Schedule of Forward Exchange Contracts

March 31, 2018

 

Contracts

        Counter-
party
    Settlement
Date
    Contract Value on
Origination Date
     Value 03/31/18
(Note 2)
     Unrealized
Appreciation
(Depreciation)
 
 

FORWARD EXCHANGE CONTRACTS TO SELL(a)

 
  56,000,000    

Canadian Dollar

    NTC       8/23/18       $(44,014,776      $(43,552,840      $461,936  
  15,000,000    

Canadian Dollar

    NTC       8/31/18       (12,032,729      (11,667,557      365,172  
  28,000,000    

Canadian Dollar

    NTC       9/25/18       (22,792,765      (21,790,392      1,002,373  
  35,000,000    

Canadian Dollar

    NTC       12/18/18       (27,352,746      (27,275,236      77,510  
  27,000,000    

Canadian Dollar

    SSB       12/20/18       (21,303,456      (21,041,616      261,840  
      18,000,000,000    

Chilean Peso

    SSB       12/12/18       (27,318,258      (29,772,057      (2,453,799
  8,000,000,000    

Chilean Peso

    SSB       3/11/19       (13,320,013      (13,217,728      102,285  
  150,000,000    

Chinese Yuan

    SSB       9/6/18       (22,358,027      (23,696,589      (1,338,562
  180,000,000    

Chinese Yuan

    SSB       10/9/18       (26,470,978      (28,397,073      (1,926,095
  540,000,000    

Chinese Yuan

    BNY       3/11/19       (83,337,192      (84,714,476      (1,377,284
  375,000,000    

Chinese Yuan

    JPM       4/1/19       (58,193,669      (58,784,597      (590,928
  115,000,000    

European Union Euro

    BNY       4/30/18       (125,821,500      (141,745,949      (15,924,449
  100,000,000    

European Union Euro

    NTC       5/2/18       (111,601,000      (123,275,377      (11,674,377
  100,000,000    

European Union Euro

    BNY       5/7/18       (110,846,000      (123,320,478      (12,474,478
  65,000,000    

European Union Euro

    JPM       9/25/18       (79,523,600      (81,075,687      (1,552,087
  100,000,000    

European Union Euro

    SSB       10/22/18       (121,061,000      (124,982,021      (3,921,021
  80,000,000    

European Union Euro

    SSB       10/31/18       (96,328,800      (100,064,157      (3,735,357
  200,000,000    

European Union Euro

    SSB       11/13/18       (237,715,000      (250,444,556      (12,729,556
  65,000,000    

European Union Euro

    SSB       11/19/18       (77,444,250      (81,437,176      (3,992,926
  100,000,000    

European Union Euro

    NTC       11/21/18       (119,455,000      (125,309,874      (5,854,874
  25,000,000    

European Union Euro

    NTC       11/23/18       (30,157,000      (31,332,948      (1,175,948
  40,000,000    

European Union Euro

    SSB       11/27/18       (48,137,200      (50,150,260      (2,013,060

 

 

  SEE NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS  

 

 

II-11


Tweedy, Browne Global Value Fund

 

Schedule of Forward Exchange Contracts

March 31, 2018

 

Contracts

        Counter-
party
    Settlement
Date
    Contract Value on
Origination Date
     Value 03/31/18
(Note 2)
     Unrealized
Appreciation
(Depreciation)
 
 

FORWARD EXCHANGE CONTRACTS TO SELL(a) (continued)

 
  100,000,000    

European Union Euro

    NTC       12/20/18       $(121,041,000      $(125,628,437      $(4,587,437
  40,000,000    

European Union Euro

    BNY       12/31/18       (48,668,000      (50,299,878      (1,631,878
  120,000,000    

European Union Euro

    NTC       1/17/19       (147,300,000      (151,125,068      (3,825,068
  100,000,000    

European Union Euro

    JPM       3/18/19       (127,049,200      (126,605,104      444,096  
  120,000,000    

European Union Euro

    NTC       3/20/19       (153,406,800      (151,952,973      1,453,827  
  125,000,000    

European Union Euro

    SSB       4/1/19       (158,507,500      (158,450,662      56,838  
  20,000,000    

Great Britain Pound Sterling

    SSB       4/19/18       (25,281,400      (28,080,282      (2,798,882
  35,000,000    

Great Britain Pound Sterling

    NTC       4/30/18       (45,333,925      (49,162,666      (3,828,741
  85,000,000    

Great Britain Pound Sterling

    BNY       5/2/18       (110,287,500      (119,404,327      (9,116,827
  75,000,000    

Great Britain Pound Sterling

    BNY       5/24/18       (98,160,000      (105,446,919      (7,286,919
  75,000,000    

Great Britain Pound Sterling

    NTC       7/10/18       (98,446,875      (105,669,587      (7,222,712
  65,000,000    

Great Britain Pound Sterling

    SSB       8/13/18       (85,656,350      (91,708,283      (6,051,933
  40,000,000    

Great Britain Pound Sterling

    NTC       10/22/18       (53,500,400      (56,602,237      (3,101,837
  70,000,000    

Great Britain Pound Sterling

    NTC       11/13/18       (93,184,000      (99,149,754      (5,965,754
  75,000,000    

Great Britain Pound Sterling

    SSB       11/27/18       (100,665,750      (106,297,328      (5,631,578
  75,000,000    

Great Britain Pound Sterling

    BNY       12/31/18       (101,775,000      (106,456,611      (4,681,611
  85,000,000    

Great Britain Pound Sterling

    JPM       2/25/19       (121,325,345      (120,949,337      376,008  
  85,000,000    

Great Britain Pound Sterling

    NTC       2/25/19       (121,312,000      (120,949,337      362,663  
  50,000,000    

Great Britain Pound Sterling

    NTC       3/18/19       (70,296,250      (71,212,741      (916,491
  60,000,000    

Great Britain Pound Sterling

    JPM       3/20/19       (85,302,000      (85,462,848      (160,848
  3,000,000,000    

Japanese Yen

    SSB       12/7/18       (27,942,327      (28,731,534      (789,207
  450,000,000    

Japanese Yen

    JPM       2/14/19       (4,216,211      (4,334,017      (117,806
  3,500,000,000    

Japanese Yen

    JPM       3/5/19       (32,734,755      (33,761,407      (1,026,652
  3,000,000,000    

Japanese Yen

    BNY       3/20/19       (27,894,003      (28,973,899      (1,079,896
  420,000,000    

Mexican Peso

    NTC       11/27/18       (20,745,658      (22,172,838      (1,427,180
  250,000,000    

Mexican Peso

    BNY       3/20/19       (12,714,882      (12,980,969      (266,087
  365,000,000    

Norwegian Krone

    JPM       1/17/19       (45,870,983      (46,989,558      (1,118,575
  80,000,000    

Singapore Dollar

    JPM       5/2/18       (57,607,835      (61,056,491      (3,448,656
  75,000,000    

Singapore Dollar

    JPM       5/24/18       (54,081,338      (57,268,666      (3,187,328
  40,000,000    

Singapore Dollar

    SSB       6/4/18       (28,999,166      (30,551,180      (1,552,014
  80,000,000    

Singapore Dollar

    JPM       6/12/18       (58,088,876      (61,114,286      (3,025,410
  45,000,000    

Singapore Dollar

    BNY       7/18/18       (32,641,811      (34,406,635      (1,764,824
  33,000,000    

Singapore Dollar

    SSB       8/23/18       (24,234,057      (25,253,216      (1,019,159
  40,000,000    

Singapore Dollar

    SSB       9/25/18       (29,806,481      (30,637,020      (830,539
  70,000,000    

Singapore Dollar

    JPM       12/12/18       (52,215,426      (53,704,757      (1,489,331
  65,000,000    

Singapore Dollar

    SSB       12/31/18       (48,618,123      (49,890,199      (1,272,076
  60,000,000    

Singapore Dollar

    NTC       3/11/19       (45,616,449      (46,125,743      (509,294
  45,000,000,000    

South Korean Won

    JPM       10/31/18       (39,945,674      (42,524,421      (2,578,747
  25,000,000,000    

South Korean Won

    SSB       12/31/18       (23,362,303      (23,675,196      (312,893
      100,000,000,000    

South Korean Won

    JPM       2/19/19       (92,988,655      (94,867,063      (1,878,408
  85,576,000,000    

South Korean Won

    SSB       3/4/19       (80,003,740      (81,220,516      (1,216,776
  60,000,000    

Swiss Franc

    NTC       6/12/18       (63,667,233      (63,051,702      615,531  
  60,000,000    

Swiss Franc

    BNY       8/23/18       (63,157,894      (63,465,134      (307,240
  65,000,000    

Swiss Franc

    BNY       11/13/18       (66,940,608      (69,282,150      (2,341,542
  80,000,000    

Swiss Franc

    JPM       11/19/18       (82,580,645      (85,319,657      (2,739,012
  100,000,000    

Swiss Franc

    BNY       11/21/18       (103,241,792      (106,670,137      (3,428,345
  60,000,000    

Swiss Franc

    SSB       11/23/18       (62,182,932      (64,014,426      (1,831,494
  70,000,000    

Swiss Franc

    JPM       11/27/18       (72,617,874      (74,712,316      (2,094,442
  80,000,000    

Swiss Franc

    JPM       12/18/18       (83,157,490      (85,558,838      (2,401,348
  60,000,000    

Swiss Franc

    BNY       12/20/18       (62,591,279      (64,181,537      (1,590,258
  100,000,000    

Swiss Franc

    NTC       3/20/19       (109,650,325      (107,908,218      1,742,107  
  65,000,000    

Swiss Franc

    NTC       4/1/19       (70,841,212      (70,222,257      618,955  
  725,000,000    

Thai Baht

    JPM       5/21/18       (20,796,282      (23,226,745      (2,430,463
  850,000,000    

Thai Baht

    BNY       6/11/18       (24,766,900      (27,250,338      (2,483,438
  500,000,000    

Thai Baht

    JPM       6/18/18       (14,639,145      (16,033,063      (1,393,918
  400,000,000    

Thai Baht

    BNY       8/31/18       (12,019,231      (12,860,456      (841,225
       

 

 

 
 

TOTAL

        $(5,236,263,849      $(5,431,659,608      $(195,395,759
       

 

 

 

 

(a) Primary risk exposure being hedged against is currency risk.

 

Counterparty Abbreviations:
BNY         The Bank of New York Mellon
JPM         JPMorgan Chase Bank NA
NTC         Northern Trust Company
SSB         State Street Bank and Trust Company

 

 

  SEE NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS  

 

 

II-12


 

Tweedy, Browne

Global Value Fund II – Currency Unhedged

Portfolio Highlights as of March 31, 2018 (Unaudited)

 

Hypothetical Illustration of $10,000 Invested in

Tweedy, Browne Global Value Fund II – Currency Unhedged vs.

MSCI EAFE Index (in US$)

10/26/09 through 3/31/18

 

LOGO

 

Average Annual Total Returns – For Periods Ended March 31, 2018  
     Tweedy, Browne
Global Value Fund II –
Currency Unhedged
    MSCI EAFE
Index (in US$)
 
1 Year     12.08     14.80
5 Years     4.81       6.50  

Since Inception

(10/26/09)

    6.72       5.80  
Total Annual Fund Operating Expense Ratio as of 3/31/17, as disclosed in the Fund’s most recent prospectus: 1.38%.*  
Total Annual Fund Operating Expense Ratios as of 3/31/18: 1.39% (gross), 1.38% (net).  
   

The preceding performance data represents past performance and is not a guarantee of future results. Total 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. The graph and table do not reflect the deduction of taxes that a shareholder would pay on Fund distributions or the redemption of Fund shares. Current performance may be lower or higher than the performance data shown. Results are annualized for all periods greater than one year. Please visit www.tweedy.com to obtain performance data that is current to the most recent month end.

* The expense ratio has been restated to reflect decreases in the Fund’s custody fees effective August 1, 2017.

The Fund does not impose any front-end or deferred sales charges. However, the Fund imposes a 2% redemption fee on redemption proceeds for redemptions or exchanges made less than 15 days after purchase. Performance data does not reflect the deduction of the redemption fee, and, if reflected, the redemption fee would reduce the performance data quoted for periods of 14 days or less. The expense ratios shown above reflect the inclusion of acquired fund fees and expenses (i.e., the fees and expenses attributable to investing cash balances in money market funds) and may differ from those shown in the Fund’s financial statements.

† Tweedy, Browne Company LLC has voluntarily agreed, effective December 1, 2017 through at least July 31, 2019, to waive a portion of the Fund’s investment advisory fees and/or reimburse a portion of the Fund’s expenses to the extent necessary to keep the Fund’s expense ratio in line with the expense ratio of the Global Value Fund. (For purposes of this calculation, the Fund’s acquired fund fees and expenses, brokerage costs, interest, taxes and extraordinary expenses are disregarded, and the Fund’s expense ratio is rounded to two decimal points.) The Fund’s performance data shown above would have been lower had certain fees and expenses not been waived and/or reimbursed.

The MSCI EAFE Index is a free float-adjusted market capitalization weighted index that is designed to measure the equity market performance of developed markets, excluding the U.S. and Canada. The MSCI EAFE Index (in US$) reflects the return of the MSCI EAFE Index for a U.S. dollar investor. Results for each index are inclusive of dividends and net of foreign withholding taxes.

Indexes are unmanaged, and the figures for the index shown include reinvestment of dividends and capital gains distributions and do not reflect any fees or expenses. Investors cannot invest directly in an index.

 

 

 

II-13


Tweedy, Browne Global Value Fund II – Currency Unhedged

 

Perspective On Assessing Investment Results (Unaudited)

March 31, 2018

 

In accordance with rules and guidelines set out by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission, we have provided a comparison of the historical investment results of Tweedy, Browne Global Value Fund II – Currency Unhedged to the results of the MSCI EAFE Index (in US$). Although we believe this comparison may be useful, the historical results of the MSCI EAFE Index (in US$) in large measure represent the investment results of stocks that we do not own. Any portfolio that does not own exactly the same stocks in exactly the same proportions as the index to which the particular portfolio is being compared is not likely to have the same results as the index. The investment behavior of a diversified portfolio of undervalued stocks tends to be correlated to the investment behavior of a broad index; i.e., when the index is up, probably more than one-half of the stocks in the entire universe of public companies in all the countries that are included in the same index will be up, albeit in greater or lesser percentages than the index. Similarly, when the index declines, probably more than one-half of the stocks in the entire universe of public companies in all the countries that are included in the index will be down in greater or lesser percentages than the index. But it is almost a mathematical truth that “different stocks equal different results.”

We believe that favorable or unfavorable historical investment results in comparison to an index are not necessarily predictive of future comparative investment results. In 1986, V. Eugene Shahan, a Columbia University Business School alumnus and portfolio manager at U.S. Trust, wrote Are Short-Term Performance and Value Investing Mutually Exclusive? In this article, Mr. Shahan analyzed the

investment performance of seven money managers, about whom Warren Buffett wrote in his article, The Superinvestors of Graham and Doddsville. Over long periods of time, the seven managers significantly outperformed the market as measured by the Dow Jones Industrial Average (the DJIA) or the S&P 500 Index (the S&P 500) by between 7.7% and 16.5% annually. (The goal of most institutional money managers is to outperform the market by 2% to 3%.) However, for periods ranging from 13 years to 28 years, this group of managers underperformed the market between 7.7% and 42% of the years. Six of the seven investment managers underperformed the market between 28% and 42% of the years. In today’s environment, they would have lost many of their clients during their periods of underperformance. Longer term, it would have been the wrong decision to fire any of those money managers. In examining the seven long-term investment records, unfavorable investment results as compared to either index did not predict the future favorable comparative investment results that occurred, and favorable investment results in comparison to the DJIA or the S&P 500 were not always followed by future favorable comparative results. Stretches of consecutive annual underperformance ranged from one to six years.

Mr. Shahan concluded:

Unfortunately, there is no way to distinguish between a poor three-year stretch for a manager who will do well over 15 years, from a poor three-year stretch for a manager who will continue to do poorly. Nor is there any reason to believe that a manager who does well from the outset cannot continue to do well, and consistently.

 

 

 

 

II-14


Tweedy, Browne Global Value Fund II – Currency Unhedged

 

Portfolio of Investments

March 31, 2018

 

Shares

        Value
(Note 2)
 
 

COMMON STOCKS—87.6%

 
 

Canada—0.6%

 
  3,500    

E-L Financial Corp., Ltd.

    $2,193,523  
   

 

 

 
 

China—1.7%

 
  29,386    

Baidu Inc., Sponsored ADR(a)

    6,558,661  
   

 

 

 
 

France—13.4%

 
  194,310    

CNP Assurances

    4,898,913  
  167,400    

Safran SA

    17,701,236  
  382,960    

SCOR SE

    15,664,854  
  218,433    

Total SA

    12,392,314  
   

 

 

 
    50,657,317  
   

 

 

 
 

Germany—8.5%

 
  171,538    

Axel Springer SE

    14,345,641  
  50,800    

Henkel AG & Company, KGaA

    6,391,312  
  26,726    

Krones AG

    3,595,853  
  13,543    

Muenchener Rueckversicherungs AG

    3,145,448  
  36,984    

Siemens AG

    4,708,568  
   

 

 

 
    32,186,822  
   

 

 

 
 

Hong Kong—1.2%

 
  4,870,000    

Emperor Entertainment Hotel Ltd.

    1,017,647  
  316,349    

Great Eagle Holdings Ltd.

    1,604,257  
  20,587    

Jardine Strategic Holdings Ltd.

    789,306  
  109,796    

Miramar Hotel & Investment

    216,562  
  655,000    

Tai Cheung Holdings Ltd.

    730,254  
   

 

 

 
    4,358,026  
   

 

 

 
 

Italy—0.9%

 
  113,408    

Buzzi Unicem SpA

    2,651,408  
  66,455    

SOL SpA

    899,024  
   

 

 

 
    3,550,432  
   

 

 

 
 

Japan—1.8%

 
  110,200    

Ebara Corporation

    3,865,031  
  27,700    

Konishi Company Ltd.

    441,221  
  83,600    

NGK Spark Plug Company Ltd.

    1,988,006  
  67,300    

Shizuoka Gas Company Ltd.

    604,339  
   

 

 

 
    6,898,597  
   

 

 

 
 

Netherlands—5.6%

 
  29,400    

Heineken NV

    3,156,547  
  29,000    

Heineken Holding NV

    2,985,205  
  181,407    

Royal Dutch Shell plc, Class A

    5,752,702  
  161,712    

Unilever NV, CVA

    9,122,664  
   

 

 

 
    21,017,118  
   

 

 

 
 

Singapore—6.4%

 
  657,813    

DBS Group Holdings Ltd.

    13,795,361  
  488,670    

United Overseas Bank Ltd.

    10,248,170  
   

 

 

 
    24,043,531  
   

 

 

 
 

South Korea—5.2%

 
  10,245    

Hyundai Mobis Company Ltd.

    2,441,345  
  56,125    

Hyundai Motor Company

    7,555,997  
  164,700    

Kia Motors Corporation

    4,921,376  
  32,000    

LG Corporation

    2,608,875  

Shares

        Value
(Note 2)
 
 

South Korea (continued)

 
  13,800    

Samchully Company Ltd.

    $1,456,516  
 

Miscellaneous Securities(b)

    661,781  
   

 

 

 
    19,645,890  
   

 

 

 
 

Switzerland—13.5%

 
  17,047    

Coltene Holding AG

    1,623,524  
  142,100    

Nestle SA, Registered

    11,221,389  
  161,339    

Novartis AG, Registered

    13,016,971  
  5,015    

Phoenix Mecano AG

    3,466,928  
  56,300    

Roche Holding AG

    12,881,506  
  665    

Tamedia AG

    93,056  
  26,799    

Zurich Insurance Group AG

    8,770,684  
   

 

 

 
    51,074,058  
   

 

 

 
 

Thailand—2.0%

 
  1,220,100    

Bangkok Bank Public Company Ltd., NVDR

    7,725,609  
   

 

 

 
 

United Kingdom—17.3%

 
  547,600    

BAE Systems plc

    4,466,159  
  238,503    

Daily Mail & General Trust plc, Class A

    2,161,335  
  344,873    

Diageo plc

    11,668,963  
  2,477,190    

G4S plc

    8,621,480  
  312,595    

GlaxoSmithKline plc

    6,112,805  
  838,652    

HSBC Holdings plc

    7,828,168  
  116,639    

Imperial Brands plc

    3,969,450  
  194,860    

Inchcape plc

    1,888,846  
  722,985    

Lookers plc

    884,385  
  831,653    

Standard Chartered plc

    8,314,663  
  1,656,123    

Vertu Motors plc

    1,012,919  
  540,645    

WPP plc

    8,589,070  
   

 

 

 
    65,518,243  
   

 

 

 
 

United States—9.5%

 
  89,387    

Avnet, Inc.

    3,732,801  
  212,500    

Cisco Systems, Inc.

    9,114,125  
  29,399    

ConocoPhillips

    1,743,067  
  70,900    

Halliburton Company

    3,328,046  
  78,600    

Johnson & Johnson

    10,072,590  
  36,100    

MasterCard, Inc., Class A

    6,323,276  
  14,700    

Phillips 66

    1,410,024  
   

 

 

 
    35,723,929  
   

 

 

 
  TOTAL COMMON STOCKS
(Cost $248,140,878)
    331,151,756  
   

 

 

 
 

PREFERRED STOCKS—1.2%

 
 

Chile—1.1%

 
  940,000    

Embotelladora Andina SA

    4,049,274  
   

 

 

 
 

Germany—0.1%

 
  648    

KSB AG

    355,435  
   

 

 

 
  TOTAL PREFERRED STOCKS
(Cost $3,051,153)
    4,404,709  
   

 

 

 
 

 

 

  SEE NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS  

 

 

II-15


Tweedy, Browne Global Value Fund II – Currency Unhedged

 

 

Portfolio of Investments

March 31, 2018

 

Shares

        Value
(Note 2)
 
 

REGISTERED INVESTMENT COMPANY—10.9%

 

  41,436,007    

Dreyfus Government Securities Cash
Management – Institutional Shares
(Cost $41,436,007)

    $41,436,007  
   

 

 

 

INVESTMENTS IN SECURITIES
(Cost $292,628,038)

    99.7     376,992,472  

OTHER ASSETS
AND LIABILITIES (Net)

    0.3       1,204,833  
 

 

 

   

 

 

 

NET ASSETS

    100.0     $378,197,305  
 

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

(a)     Non-income producing security.
(b)     Represents one or more issuers where disclosure may be disadvantageous to the Fund’s accumulation or disposition program. Aggregate “Miscellaneous Securities” holdings amount to $661,781 which represent 0.2% of the net assets of the Fund.
Abbreviations:
ADR         American Depositary Receipt
CVA         Certificaaten van aandelen (Share Certificates)
NVDR         Non Voting Depository Receipt

 

 

 

 

 

Sector Diversification (Unaudited)

March 31, 2018

 

Sector Diversification

   Percentage of
Net Assets
 

COMMON STOCKS:

  

Banks

     12.7

Pharmaceuticals, Biotechnology & Life Sciences

     11.1  

Capital Goods

     10.1  

Insurance

     9.2  

Media

     6.7  

Energy

     6.5  

Food

     5.4  

Beverage

     4.7  

Automobiles & Components

     4.5  

Software & Services

     3.4  

Technology Hardware & Equipment

     3.3  

Commercial Services & Supplies

     2.3  

Household & Personal Products

     1.7  

Materials

     1.2  

Tobacco

     1.0  

Retailing

     1.0  

Electronic Equipment & Instruments

     1.0  

Real Estate

     0.6  

Utilities

     0.5  

Health Care Equipment & Services

     0.4  

Consumer Services

     0.3  
  

 

 

 

Total Common Stocks

     87.6  

Preferred Stocks

     1.2  

Registered Investment Company

     10.9  

Other Assets and Liabilities (Net)

     0.3  
  

 

 

 

Net Assets

     100.0
  

 

 

 

Portfolio Composition (Unaudited)

March 31, 2018

 

LOGO

 

 

 

  SEE NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS  

 

 

II-16


 

Tweedy, Browne

Value Fund

Portfolio Highlights as of March 31, 2018 (Unaudited)

 

Hypothetical Illustration of $10,000 Invested in Tweedy, Browne

Value Fund vs. the MSCI World Index (Hedged to US$)

and S&P 500/MSCI World Index (Hedged to US$)

12/8/93 through 3/31/18

 

LOGO

 

Average Annual Total Returns – For Periods Ended March 31, 2018  
    

Tweedy, Browne

Value Fund

   

MSCI World Index

(Hedged to US$)

   

S&P 500/MSCI World

Index (Hedged to US$)

 
1 Year     8.19     10.61     10.61
5 Years     6.45       10.88       10.88  
10 Years     6.65       6.99       6.99  

Since Inception

(12/8/93)

    8.33       7.53       8.36  
Total Annual Fund Operating Expense Ratio as of 3/31/17, as disclosed in Fund’s most recent prospectus: 1.39%.*  
Total Annual Fund Operating Expense Ratio as of 3/31/18: 1.39% (gross), 1.38% (net).  
   

The preceding performance data represents past performance and is not a guarantee of future results. Total 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. The graph and table do not reflect the deduction of taxes that a shareholder would pay on Fund distributions or the redemption of Fund shares. Current performance may be lower or higher than the performance data shown. Results are annualized for all periods greater than one year. Please visit www.tweedy.com to obtain performance data that is current to the most recent month end.

* The expense ratio has been restated to reflect decreases in the Fund’s custody fees effective August 1, 2017.

The Fund does not impose any front-end or deferred sales charges. The expense ratios shown above reflect the inclusion of acquired fund fees and expenses (i.e., the fees and expenses attributable to investing cash balances in money market funds) and may differ from those shown in the Fund’s financial statements.

† Tweedy, Browne Company LLC has voluntarily agreed, effective December 1, 2017 through at least July 31, 2019, to waive a portion of the Fund’s investment advisory fees and/or reimburse a portion of the Fund’s expenses to the extent necessary to keep the Fund’s expense ratio in line with the expense ratio of the Global Value Fund. (For purposes of this calculation, the Fund’s acquired fund fees and expenses, brokerage costs, interest, taxes and extraordinary expenses are disregarded, and the Fund’s expense ratio is rounded to two decimal points.) The Fund’s performance data shown above would have been lower had certain fees and expenses not been waived and/or reimbursed.

The MSCI World Index is a free float-adjusted market capitalization weighted index that is designed to measure the equity market performance of developed markets. The MSCI World Index (Hedged to US$) consists of the results of the MSCI World Index with its foreign currency exposure hedged 100% back into U.S. dollars. The MSCI World Index (Hedged to US$) accounts for interest rate differentials in forward currency exchange rates. Results for each index are inclusive of dividends and net of foreign withholding taxes. The inception date for the Fund is December 8, 1993. Prior to 2004, information with respect to the MSCI World indexes used was available at month end only; therefore the closest month end to the Fund’s inception date, November 30, 1993, was used.

The S&P 500 Index is a market capitalization weighted index composed of 500 widely held common stocks. The S&P 500/MSCI World Index (Hedged to US$) is a combination of the S&P 500 Index and the MSCI World Index (Hedged to US$), linked together by Tweedy, Browne, and represents the performance of the S&P 500 Index for the periods 12/8/93 – 12/31/06 and the performance of the MSCI World Index (Hedged to US$) beginning 1/1/07 and thereafter. For the period from the Fund’s inception through 2006, the Investment Adviser chose the S&P 500 Index as the benchmark for the Fund. Starting in mid-December 2006, the Fund’s investment mandate changed from investing at least 80% of its assets in U.S. securities to investing no less than approximately 50% of its assets in U.S. securities, and the Investment Adviser chose the MSCI World Index (Hedged to US$) as the benchmark for the Fund starting January 1, 2007. Effective July 29, 2013, the Value Fund removed the 50% requirement, but continues to use the MSCI World Index (Hedged to US$) as its benchmark.

Indexes are unmanaged, and the figures for the indexes shown include reinvestment of dividends and capital gains distributions and do not reflect any fees or expenses. Investors cannot invest directly in an index.

 

 

 

II-17


Tweedy, Browne Value Fund

 

Perspective on Assessing Investment Results (Unaudited)

March 31, 2018

 

In accordance with rules and guidelines set out by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission, we have provided a comparison of the historical investment results of Tweedy, Browne Value Fund to the results of the MSCI World Index (Hedged to US$) and the S&P 500/MSCI World Index (Hedged to US$). For the period from the Fund’s inception through 2006, the Investment Adviser chose the S&P 500 Index (S&P 500) as the Fund’s benchmark. Starting in mid-December 2006, the Fund’s investment mandate changed from investing at least 80% of its assets in U.S. securities to investing no less than approximately 50% of its assets in U.S. securities, and so the Investment Adviser chose the MSCI World Index (Hedged to US$) as the benchmark for the Fund for periods starting January 1, 2007. (Effective July 29, 2013, the Fund removed the 50% requirement, but continues to use the MSCI World Index (hedged to US$) as its benchmark.) The S&P 500/MSCI World Index (Hedged to US$) is a combination of the S&P 500 and the MSCI World Index (Hedged to US$), linked together by the Investment Adviser, and represents the performance of the S&P 500 for the periods 12/8/93 – 12/31/06, and the performance of the MSCI World Index (Hedged to US$) beginning 1/1/07 and thereafter. Although we believe this comparison may be useful, the historical results of the S&P 500 and the MSCI World Index (hedged to US$) in large measure represent the investment results of stocks that we do not own. Any portfolio that does not own exactly the same stocks in exactly the same proportions as the index to which the particular portfolio is being compared is not likely to have the same results as the index. The investment behavior of a diversified portfolio of undervalued stocks tends to be correlated to the investment behavior of a broad index; i.e., when the index is up, probably more than one-half of the stocks in the entire universe of public companies that are included in the same index will be up, albeit in greater or lesser percentages than the index. Similarly, when the index declines, probably more than one-half of the stocks in the entire universe of public companies that are included in the index will be down in greater or lesser percentages than the index. But it is almost a mathematical truth that “different stocks equal different results.”

We believe that favorable or unfavorable historical investment results in comparison to an index are not necessarily predictive of future comparative investment results. In 1986, V. Eugene Shahan, a Columbia University Business School alumnus and portfolio manager at U.S. Trust, wrote Are Short-Term Performance and Value Investing Mutually Exclusive? In this article, Mr. Shahan analyzed the investment performance of seven money managers, about whom Warren Buffett wrote in his article, The Superinvestors of Graham and Doddsville. Over long periods of time, the seven managers significantly outperformed the market as measured by the Dow Jones Industrial Average (the DJIA) or the S&P 500 by between 7.7% and 16.5% annually. (The goal of most institutional money managers is to outperform the market by 2% to 3%.) However, for periods ranging from 13 years to 28 years, this group of managers underperformed the market between 7.7% and 42% of the years. Six of the seven investment managers underperformed the market between 28% and 42% of the years. In today’s environment, they would have lost many of their clients during their periods of underperformance. Longer term, it would have been the wrong decision to fire any of those money managers. In examining the seven long-term investment records, unfavorable investment results as compared to either index did not predict the future favorable comparative investment results that occurred, and favorable investment results in comparison to the DJIA or the S&P 500 were not always followed by future favorable comparative results. Stretches of consecutive annual underperformance ranged from one to six years.

Mr. Shahan concluded:

Unfortunately, there is no way to distinguish between a poor three-year stretch for a manager who will do well over 15 years, from a poor three-year stretch for a manager who will continue to do poorly. Nor is there any reason to believe that a manager who does well from the outset cannot continue to do well, and consistently.

 

 

 

 

II-18


Tweedy, Browne Value Fund

 

Portfolio of Investments

March 31, 2018

 

Shares

        Value
(Note 2)
 
 

COMMON STOCKS—92.0%

 
 

Chile—2.0%

 
  846,500    

Antofagasta plc

    $10,936,600  
   

 

 

 
 

China—2.1%

 
  49,610    

Baidu Inc., Sponsored ADR(a)

    11,072,456  
   

 

 

 
 

France—5.4%

 
  360,300    

CNP Assurances

    9,083,826  
  347,900    

Total SA

    19,737,338  
   

 

 

 
    28,821,164  
   

 

 

 
 

Germany—5.5%

 
  164,718    

Axel Springer SE

    13,775,287  
  84,400    

Henkel AG & Company, KGaA

    10,618,637  
  22,070    

Muenchener Rueckversicherungs AG

    5,125,899  
   

 

 

 
    29,519,823  
   

 

 

 
 

Japan—0.6%

 
  87,000    

Honda Motor Company Ltd.

    2,978,533  
   

 

 

 
 

Netherlands—10.6%

 
  268,400    

Heineken Holding NV

    27,628,587  
  593,310    

Royal Dutch Shell plc, Class A

    18,814,795  
  183,946    

Unilever NV, ADR

    10,372,715  
   

 

 

 
    56,816,097  
   

 

 

 
 

Singapore—2.2%

 
  550,917    

United Overseas Bank Ltd.

    11,553,586  
   

 

 

 
 

South Korea—3.2%

 
  92,075    

Hyundai Motor Company

    12,395,874  
  56,800    

LG Corporation

    4,630,753  
   

 

 

 
    17,026,627  
   

 

 

 
 

Switzerland—11.8%

 
  227,299    

Nestle SA, Registered, Sponsored ADR

    17,967,986  
  228,655    

Novartis AG, Registered

    18,448,084  
  78,498    

Roche Holding AG

    17,960,434  
  27,192    

Zurich Insurance Group AG

    8,899,303  
   

 

 

 
    63,275,807  
   

 

 

 
 

United Kingdom—11.4%

 
  136,490    

Diageo plc, Sponsored ADR

    18,483,476  
  453,495    

GlaxoSmithKline plc

    8,868,109  
  282,425    

Inchcape plc

    2,737,644  
  952,235    

Standard Chartered plc

    9,520,213  
  147,953    

Unilever plc, Sponsored ADR

    8,220,269  
  805,920    

WPP plc

    12,803,417  
   

 

 

 
    60,633,128  
   

 

 

 

Shares

        Value
(Note 2)
 
 

United States—37.2%

 
  69,575    

3M Company

    $15,273,104  
  6,150    

Alphabet Inc., Class A(a)

    6,378,411  
  6,166    

Alphabet Inc., Class C(a)

    6,362,017  
  11,155    

AutoZone, Inc.(a)

    7,236,137  
  356,435    

Bank of New York Mellon Corporation/The

    18,367,096  
  80    

Berkshire Hathaway Inc., Class A(a)

    23,928,000  
  433,594    

Cisco Systems, Inc.

    18,596,847  
  277,521    

Comcast Corporation, Class A

    9,482,893  
  161,695    

ConocoPhillips

    9,586,897  
  82,064    

Emerson Electric Company

    5,604,971  
  151,709    

Halliburton Company

    7,121,220  
  128,400    

Johnson & Johnson

    16,454,460  
  89,955    

MasterCard, Inc., Class A

    15,756,518  
  488,706    

MRC Global, Inc.(a)

    8,034,327  
  36,818    

National Western Life Insurance Company, Class A

    11,225,072  
  368,776    

Wells Fargo & Company

    19,327,550  
   

 

 

 
    198,735,520  
   

 

 

 
  TOTAL COMMON STOCKS
(Cost $245,185,256)
    491,369,341  
   

 

 

 
 

REGISTERED INVESTMENT COMPANY—6.3%

 

  33,250,465    

Dreyfus Government Securities Cash Management – Institutional Shares
(Cost $33,250,465)

    33,250,465  
   

 

 

 

Face Value

           
 

U.S. TREASURY BILL—2.6%

 
  $14,000,000    

1.455%(b) due 06/07/18(c)
(Cost $13,962,884)

    13,957,348  
   

 

 

 

INVESTMENTS IN SECURITIES
(Cost $292,398,605)

    100.9     538,577,154  

UNREALIZED DEPRECIATION
ON FORWARD CONTRACTS (Net)

    (1.2     (6,196,966

OTHER ASSETS
AND LIABILITIES (Net)

    0.3       1,638,441  
 

 

 

   

 

 

 

NET ASSETS

    100.0     $534,018,629  
 

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

 

(a)     Non-income producing security.
(b)     Rate represents annualized yield at date of purchase.
(c)     This security has been segregated to cover certain open forward contracts. At March 31, 2018, liquid assets totaling $13,957,348 have been segregated to cover such open forward contracts.
Abbreviations:
ADR         American Depositary Receipt
 

 

 

  SEE NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS  

 

 

II-19


Tweedy, Browne Value Fund

 

 

Sector Diversification (Unaudited)

March 31, 2018

 

Sector Diversification

   Percentage of
Net Assets
 

COMMON STOCKS:

  

Pharmaceuticals, Biotechnology & Life Sciences

     11.6

Insurance

     10.9  

Energy

     10.3  

Beverage

     8.6  

Banks

     7.6  

Software & Services

     7.4  

Food

     6.8  

Media

     6.8  

Capital Goods

     6.3  

Technology Hardware & Equipment

     3.5  

Diversified Financials

     3.4  

Automobiles & Components

     2.9  

Materials

     2.0  

Household & Personal Products

     2.0  

Retailing

     1.9  
  

 

 

 

Total Common Stocks

     92.0  

Registered Investment Company

     6.3  

U.S. Treasury Bill

     2.6  

Unrealized Depreciation on Forward Contracts (Net)

     (1.2

Other Assets and Liabilities (Net)

     0.3  
  

 

 

 

Net Assets

     100.0
  

 

 

 

Portfolio Composition (Unaudited)

March 31, 2018

 

LOGO

 

 

 

 

Schedule of Forward Exchange Contracts

March 31, 2018

 

Contracts

        Counter-
party
    Settlement
Date
    Contract Value on
Origination Date
     Value 03/31/18
(Note 2)
     Unrealized
Appreciation
(Depreciation)
 
 

FORWARD EXCHANGE CONTRACTS TO BUY(a)

 
  5,000,000    

Swiss Franc

    JPM       7/10/18       $5,346,084        $5,267,948        $(78,136
       

 

 

 
 

FORWARD EXCHANGE CONTRACTS TO SELL(a)

 
  20,000,000    

Chinese Yuan

    SSB       10/9/18       $(2,941,219      $(3,155,230      $(214,011
  35,000,000    

Chinese Yuan

    BNY       3/11/19       (5,401,485      (5,490,753      (89,268
  23,000,000    

Chinese Yuan

    JPM       4/1/19       (3,569,211      (3,605,455      (36,244
  14,000,000    

European Union Euro

    BNY       4/30/18       (15,317,400      (17,256,029      (1,938,629
  4,500,000    

European Union Euro

    JPM       7/10/18       (5,236,200      (5,577,468      (341,268
  6,000,000    

European Union Euro

    SSB       11/13/18       (7,131,450      (7,513,337      (381,887
  1,700,000    

European Union Euro

    SSB       11/27/18       (2,045,831      (2,131,386      (85,555
  7,000,000    

European Union Euro

    NTC       12/20/18       (8,472,870      (8,793,991      (321,121
  25,000,000    

European Union Euro

    NTC       3/20/19       (31,959,750      (31,656,869      302,881  
  4,500,000    

Great Britain Pound Sterling

    NTC       7/10/18       (5,906,812      (6,340,175      (433,363
  4,200,000    

Great Britain Pound Sterling

    BNY       8/23/18       (5,469,660      (5,928,202      (458,542
  1,500,000    

Great Britain Pound Sterling

    NTC       10/9/18       (2,031,435      (2,121,372      (89,937
  5,500,000    

Great Britain Pound Sterling

    NTC       11/13/18       (7,321,600      (7,790,338      (468,738
  2,200,000    

Great Britain Pound Sterling

    SSB       12/20/18       (2,998,820      (3,121,214      (122,394
  4,500,000    

Great Britain Pound Sterling

    JPM       2/19/19       (6,316,366      (6,401,503      (85,137
  6,000,000    

Great Britain Pound Sterling

    JPM       2/25/19       (8,564,142      (8,537,600      26,542  
  122,000,000    

Japanese Yen

    JPM       2/14/19       (1,143,062      (1,175,000      (31,938
  2,200,000    

Singapore Dollar

    BNY       8/23/18       (1,615,272      (1,683,548      (68,276
  1,250,000    

Singapore Dollar

    JPM       11/13/18       (922,237      (958,383      (36,146
  9,000,000    

Singapore Dollar

    SSB       12/31/18       (6,731,740      (6,907,874      (176,134
  7,500,000,000    

South Korean Won

    SSB       12/20/18       (6,917,543      (7,099,821      (182,278
      5,000,000,000    

South Korean Won

    JPM       2/19/19       (4,649,433      (4,743,353      (93,920
  5,000,000    

Swiss Franc

    JPM       7/10/18       (5,344,050      (5,267,948      76,102  
  3,000,000    

Swiss Franc

    BNY       8/23/18       (3,157,895      (3,173,257      (15,362
  6,000,000    

Swiss Franc

    NTC       10/9/18       (6,355,663      (6,373,783      (18,120
  7,000,000    

Swiss Franc

    BNY       11/13/18       (7,208,989      (7,461,155      (252,166

 

 

  SEE NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS  

 

 

II-20


Tweedy, Browne Value Fund

 

Schedule of Forward Exchange Contracts

March 31, 2018

 

Contracts

        Counter-
party
    Settlement
Date
    Contract Value on
Origination Date
     Value 03/31/18
(Note 2)
     Unrealized
Appreciation
(Depreciation)
 
 

FORWARD EXCHANGE CONTRACTS TO SELL(a) (continued)

 
  8,000,000    

Swiss Franc

    JPM       11/27/18       $(8,299,186      $(8,538,551      $(239,365
      13,000,000    

Swiss Franc

    BNY       12/20/18       (13,561,444      (13,906,000      (344,556
       

 

 

 
 

TOTAL

        $(186,590,765      $(192,709,595      $(6,118,830
       

 

 

 
 

Unrealized Depreciation on Forward Contracts (Net)

              $(6,196,966
             

 

 

 

 

(a) Primary risk exposure being hedged against is currency risk.

 

Counterparty Abbreviations:
BNY         The Bank of New York Mellon
JPM         JPMorgan Chase Bank NA
NTC         Northern Trust Company
SSB         State Street Bank and Trust Company

 

 

  SEE NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS  

 

 

II-21


 

Tweedy, Browne

Worldwide High Dividend Yield Value Fund

Portfolio Highlights as of March 31, 2018 (Unaudited)

 

Hypothetical Illustration of $10,000 Invested in

Tweedy, Browne Worldwide High Dividend Yield Value Fund vs.

MSCI World Index (in US$)

9/5/07 through 3/31/18

 

LOGO

 

Average Annual Total Returns – For Periods Ended March 31, 2018  
     Tweedy, Browne Worldwide
High Dividend Yield Value Fund
    MSCI World Index (in US$)  
1 Year     13.58     13.59
5 Years     5.57       9.70  
10 Years     4.93       5.90  

Since Inception

(9/5/07)

    4.39       4.88  
Total Annual Fund Operating Expense Ratio as of 3/31/17, as disclosed in Fund’s most recent prospectus: 1.38%.*  
Total Annual Fund Operating Expense Ratios as of 3/31/18: 1.39% (gross), 1.38% (net).  
                 

The preceding performance data represents past performance and is not a guarantee of future results. Total 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. The graph and table do not reflect the deduction of taxes that a shareholder would pay on Fund distributions or the redemption of Fund shares. Current performance may be lower or higher than the performance data shown. Results are annualized for all periods greater than one year. Please visit www.tweedy.com to obtain performance data that is current to the most recent month end.

* The expense ratio has been restated to reflect decreases in the Fund’s custody fees effective August 1, 2017.

The Fund does not impose any front-end or deferred sales charges. However, the Fund imposes a 2% redemption fee on redemption proceeds for redemptions or exchanges made less than 15 days after purchase. Performance data does not reflect the deduction of the redemption fee, and if reflected, the redemption fee would reduce the performance data quoted for periods of 14 days or less. The expense ratios shown above reflect the inclusion of acquired fund fees and expenses (i.e., the fees and expenses attributable to investing cash balances in money market funds) and may differ from those shown in the Fund’s financial statements.

† Tweedy, Browne Company LLC has voluntarily agreed, effective December 1, 2017 through at least July 31, 2019, to waive a portion of the Fund’s investment advisory fees and/or reimburse a portion of the Fund’s expenses to the extent necessary to keep the Fund’s expense ratio in line with the expense ratio of the Global Value Fund. (For purposes of this calculation, the Fund’s acquired fund fees and expenses, brokerage costs, interest, taxes and extraordinary expenses are disregarded, and the Fund’s expense ratio is rounded to two decimal points.) The Fund’s performance data shown above would have been lower had certain fees and expenses not been waived and/or reimbursed.

The MSCI World Index is a free float-adjusted market capitalization weighted index that is designed to measure the equity market performance of developed markets. The MSCI World Index (in US$) reflects the return of the MSCI World Index for a U.S. dollar investor. Results for each index are inclusive of dividends and net of foreign withholding taxes.

Indexes are unmanaged, and the figures for the index shown include reinvestment of dividends and capital gains distributions and do not reflect any fees or expenses. Investors cannot invest directly in an index.

 

 

 

II-22


Tweedy, Browne Worldwide High Dividend Yield Value Fund

 

Perspective on Assessing Investment Results (Unaudited)

March 31, 2018

 

In accordance with rules and guidelines set out by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission, we have provided a comparison of the historical investment results of Tweedy, Browne Worldwide High Dividend Yield Value Fund to the results of the MSCI World Index (in US$). Although we believe this comparison may be useful, the historical results of the MSCI World Index (in US$) in large measure represent the investment results of stocks that we do not own. Any portfolio that does not own exactly the same stocks in exactly the same proportions as the index to which the particular portfolio is being compared is not likely to have the same results as the index. The investment behavior of a diversified portfolio of undervalued stocks tends to be correlated to the investment behavior of a broad index; i.e., when the index is up, probably more than one-half of the stocks in the entire universe of public companies in all the countries that are included in the same index will be up, albeit in greater or lesser percentages than the index. Similarly, when the index declines, probably more than one-half of the stocks in the entire universe of public companies in all the countries that are included in the index will be down in greater or lesser percentages than the index. But it is almost a mathematical truth that “different stocks equal different results.”

We believe that favorable or unfavorable historical investment results in comparison to an index are not necessarily predictive of future comparative investment results. In 1986, V. Eugene Shahan, a Columbia University Business School alumnus and portfolio manager at U.S. Trust, wrote Are Short-Term Performance and Value Investing

Mutually Exclusive? In this article, Mr. Shahan analyzed the

investment performance of seven money managers, about whom Warren Buffett wrote in his article, The Superinvestors of Graham and Doddsville. Over long periods of time, the seven managers significantly outperformed the market as measured by the Dow Jones Industrial Average (the DJIA) or the S&P 500 Index (the S&P 500) by between 7.7% and 16.5% annually. (The goal of most institutional money managers is to outperform the market by 2% to 3%.) However, for periods ranging from 13 years to 28 years, this group of managers underperformed the market between 7.7% and 42% of the years. Six of the seven investment managers underperformed the market between 28% and 42% of the years. In today’s environment, they would have lost many of their clients during their periods of underperformance. Longer term, it would have been the wrong decision to fire any of those money managers. In examining the seven long-term investment records, unfavorable investment results as compared to either index did not predict the future favorable comparative investment results that occurred, and favorable investment results in comparison to the DJIA or the S&P 500 were not always followed by future favorable comparative results. Stretches of consecutive annual underperformance ranged from one to six years.

Mr. Shahan concluded:

Unfortunately, there is no way to distinguish between a poor three-year stretch for a manager who will do well over 15 years, from a poor three-year stretch for a manager who will continue to do poorly. Nor is there any reason to believe that a manager who does well from the outset cannot continue to do well, and consistently.

 

 

 

 

II-23


Tweedy, Browne Worldwide High Dividend Yield Value Fund

 

Portfolio of Investments

March 31, 2018

 

Shares

        Value
(Note 2)
 
 

COMMON STOCKS—92.6%

 
 

France—17.0%

 
  62,157    

Cie Generale des Etablissements Michelin

    $9,165,579  
  169,500    

CNP Assurances

    4,273,407  
  75,070    

Safran SA

    7,938,063  
  255,349    

SCOR SE

    10,444,968  
  236,846    

Total SA

    13,436,935  
   

 

 

 
      45,258,952  
   

 

 

 
 

Germany—8.9%

 
  122,784    

Axel Springer SE

    10,268,367  
  11,335    

Muenchener Rueckversicherungs AG

    2,632,626  
  85,500    

Siemens AG

    10,885,317  
   

 

 

 
    23,786,310  
   

 

 

 
 

Netherlands—5.1%

 
  431,515    

Royal Dutch Shell plc, Class A

    13,684,021  
   

 

 

 
 

Singapore—7.7%

 
  536,700    

DBS Group Holdings Ltd.

    11,255,434  
  444,600    

United Overseas Bank Ltd.

    9,323,953  
   

 

 

 
      20,579,387  
   

 

 

 
 

Switzerland—18.1%

 
  174,775    

Nestle SA, Registered

    13,801,677  
  144,618    

Novartis AG, Registered

    11,667,906  
  47,000    

Roche Holding AG

    10,753,655  
  37,052    

Zurich Insurance Group AG

    12,126,250  
   

 

 

 
      48,349,488  
   

 

 

 
 

Thailand—0.9%

 
  386,200    

Bangkok Bank Public Company Ltd., NVDR

    2,445,398  
   

 

 

 

Shares

        Value
(Note 2)
 
 

United Kingdom—19.9%

 
  411,100    

BAE Systems plc

    $3,352,882  
  475,800    

Diageo plc

    16,098,948  
  1,881,411    

G4S plc

    6,547,963  
  539,378    

GlaxoSmithKline plc

    10,547,554  
  1,027,395    

HSBC Holdings plc

    9,589,942  
  431,645    

WPP plc

    6,857,419  
   

 

 

 
      52,994,708  
   

 

 

 
 

United States—15.0%

 
  221,750    

Cisco Systems, Inc.

    9,510,857  
  44,581    

ConocoPhillips

    2,643,207  
  59,800    

Johnson & Johnson

    7,663,370  
  224,370    

Verizon Communications, Inc.

    10,729,373  
  178,605    

Wells Fargo & Company

    9,360,688  
   

 

 

 
      39,907,495  
   

 

 

 
  TOTAL COMMON STOCKS
(Cost $171,449,544)
    247,005,759  
   

 

 

 
 

REGISTERED INVESTMENT COMPANY—6.9%

 

  18,421,212    

Dreyfus Government Securities Cash Management – Institutional Shares
(Cost $18,421,212)

    18,421,212  
   

 

 

 

INVESTMENTS IN SECURITIES
(Cost $189,870,756)

    99.5     265,426,971  

OTHER ASSETS
AND LIABILITIES (Net)

    0.5       1,215,322  
 

 

 

   

 

 

 

NET ASSETS

    100.0     $266,642,293  
 

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

Abbreviations:
NVDR         Non Voting Depository Receipt
 

 

 

Sector Diversification (Unaudited)

March 31, 2018

 

Sector Diversification

   Percentage of
Net Assets
 

COMMON STOCKS:

  

Banks

     15.7

Pharmaceuticals, Biotechnology & Life Sciences

     15.2  

Energy

     11.2  

Insurance

     11.1  

Capital Goods

     8.3  

Media

     6.4  

Beverage

     6.0  

Food

     5.2  

Telecommunication Services

     4.0  

Technology Hardware & Equipment

     3.6  

Automobiles & Components

     3.4  

Commercial Services & Supplies

     2.5  
  

 

 

 

Total Common Stocks

     92.6  

Registered Investment Company

     6.9  

Other Assets and Liabilities (Net)

     0.5  
  

 

 

 

Net Assets

     100.0
  

 

 

 

Portfolio Composition (Unaudited)

March 31, 2018

 

LOGO

 

 

 

  SEE NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS  

 

 

II-24


TWEEDY, BROWNE FUND INC.

 

Statements of Assets and Liabilities

March 31, 2018

 

     Global Value
Fund
     Global Value
Fund II –
Currency
Unhedged
     Value Fund      Worldwide  High
Dividend Yield
Value Fund
 

ASSETS

           

Investments, at cost(a)

     $6,666,567,613        $292,628,038        $292,398,605        $189,870,756  
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Investments in unaffiliated issuers, at value (Note 2)

     $9,706,706,672        $376,992,472        $538,577,154        $265,426,971  

Investments in affiliated issuers, at value (Note 4)

     133,102,773                       

Cash segregated as collateral

     8,330,000                       

Dividends and interest receivable

     28,557,280        1,079,989        1,052,403        772,905  

Recoverable foreign withholding taxes

     22,843,966        1,033,704        1,224,067        1,144,904  

Receivable for Fund shares sold

     6,164,624        82,374        38,346        22,459  

Unrealized appreciation of forward exchange contracts (Note 2)

     7,941,141               405,525         

Prepaid expense

     64,253        2,357        3,729        1,965  
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total Assets

     $9,913,710,709        $379,190,896        $541,301,224        $267,369,204  
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

LIABILITIES

           

Unrealized depreciation of forward exchange contracts (Note 2)

     $203,336,900      $     —        $6,602,491      $     —  

Payable for Fund shares redeemed

     20,704,794        26,745        190,193        174,554  

Investment advisory fee payable (Note 3)

     6,631,944        258,044        365,053        181,844  

Payable for investment securities purchased

     4,585,097        249,939               207,070  

Shareholder servicing and administration fees payable (Note 3)

     103,537        4,124        5,248        4,188  

Due to custodian

     113        166,081                

Accrued foreign capital gains taxes

     3,990,404        210,413               92,760  

Accrued expenses and other payables

     2,086,039        78,245        119,610        66,495  
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total Liabilities

     241,438,828        993,591        7,282,595        726,911  
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

NET ASSETS

     $9,672,271,881        $378,197,305        $534,018,629        $266,642,293  
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

NET ASSETS consist of

           

Undistributed net investment income

     $8,737,163        $341,118        $1,114,271        $1,359,822  

Accumulated net realized gain (loss) on securities, forward exchange contracts and foreign currencies

     36,229,085        (8,392,116      28,773,954        13,012,489  

Net unrealized appreciation of securities, forward exchange contracts, foreign currencies and net other assets

     2,979,079,268        84,412,392        240,032,692        75,608,230  

Paid-in capital

     6,648,226,365        301,835,911        264,097,712        176,661,752  
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total Net Assets

     $9,672,271,881        $378,197,305        $534,018,629        $266,642,293  
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

CAPITAL STOCK (common stock outstanding)

     346,774,792        24,224,882        23,014,718        26,052,464  
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

NET ASSET VALUE, offering and redemption price per share(b)

     $27.89        $15.61        $23.20        $10.23  
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

 

 

(a) 

Includes investments in securities of affiliated issuers for Global Value Fund, Global Value Fund II – Currency Unhedged, Value Fund and Worldwide High Dividend Yield Value Fund of $44,009,194, $0, $0 and $0, respectively (Note 4).

(b) 

Global Value Fund, Global Value Fund II – Currency Unhedged and Worldwide High Dividend Yield Value Fund charge a redemption fee equal to 2% of the redemption proceeds on redemptions made less than 15 days after purchase. Application of the redemption fee would have the effect of reducing the redemption price per share.

 

 

  SEE NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS  

 

 

II-25


TWEEDY, BROWNE FUND INC.

 

Statements of Operations

For the Year Ended March 31, 2018

 

       Global Value
Fund
     Global Value
Fund II –
Currency
Unhedged
     Value Fund      Worldwide High
Dividend Yield
Value Fund
 

INVESTMENT INCOME

             

Dividends(a)

       $236,849,899        $8,987,891        $11,800,094        $9,200,816  

Less foreign withholding taxes

       (21,632,207      (868,842      (1,033,455      (752,071

Interest

       13,672,330        428,098        630,906        296,370  
    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total Investment Income

       228,890,022        8,547,147        11,397,545        8,745,115  
    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

EXPENSES

             

Investment advisory fee (Note 3)

       125,744,842        4,651,086        7,219,389        3,762,988  

Transfer agent fees (Note 3)

       3,652,526        81,018        237,869        96,416  

Custodian fees (Note 3)

       2,879,416        122,352        99,387        73,547  

Fund administration and accounting fees (Note 3)

       2,076,746        79,578        121,901        65,160  

Legal and audit fees

       824,295        34,479        55,437        28,295  

Directors’ fees and expenses (Note 3)

       708,980        25,441        40,809        21,362  

Shareholder servicing and administration fees (Note 3)

       422,256        15,587        24,042        13,119  

Other

       896,121        84,552        87,063        61,675  
    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total expenses before waivers

       137,205,182        5,094,093        7,885,897        4,122,562  
    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Investment advisory fees waived and/or expenses reimbursed (Note 3)

              (24,968      (30,396      (15,042
    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Net Expenses

       137,205,182        5,069,125        7,855,501        4,107,520  
    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

NET INVESTMENT INCOME

       91,684,840        3,478,022        3,542,044        4,637,595  
    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

REALIZED AND UNREALIZED GAIN (LOSS) ON INVESTMENTS

 

        

Net realized gain (loss) on:

             

Securities(a)

       319,261,178        8,651,581        38,285,440        21,284,706  

Forward exchange contracts

       (186,707,539             (7,894,894       

Foreign currencies and net other assets

       47,916        10,274        96,280        7,640  
    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Net realized gain on investments during the year

       132,601,555        8,661,855        30,486,826        21,292,346  
    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Net unrealized appreciation (depreciation) of:

             

Securities(b)(c)

       633,532,656        29,629,881        22,493,093        13,836,468  

Forward exchange contracts

       (290,277,289             (7,950,927       

Foreign currencies and net other assets

       1,059,945        34,875        30,268        69,716  
    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Net change in unrealized appreciation (depreciation) of investments

       344,315,312        29,664,756        14,572,434        13,906,184  
    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

NET REALIZED AND UNREALIZED GAIN ON INVESTMENTS

       476,916,867        38,326,611        45,059,260        35,198,530  
    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

NET INCREASE IN NET ASSETS RESULTING FROM OPERATIONS

       $568,601,707        $41,804,633        $48,601,304        $39,836,125  
    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

 

(a) 

Dividend income and net realized gain (loss) on securities from affiliated issuers on securities from affiliated issuers for Global Value Fund were $2,360,615 and $32,438,711, respectively. (Note 4).

(b) 

Net of increase in accrued foreign capital gain taxes of $1,386,770, $106,816, $0 and $36,164, respectively.

(c) 

Net unrealized appreciation from affiliated issuers for Global Value Fund was $18,087,813 (Note 4).

 

 

  SEE NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS  

 

 

II-26


TWEEDY, BROWNE FUND INC.

 

Statements of Changes in Net Assets

 

     Global Value Fund      Global Value Fund II –
Currency Unhedged
 
     Year Ended
3/31/2018
     Year Ended
3/31/2017
     Year Ended
3/31/2018
     Year Ended
3/31/2017
 

INVESTMENT ACTIVITIES:

           

Net investment income

     $91,684,840        $113,033,656        $3,478,022        $4,911,812  

Net realized gain on securities, forward exchange contracts and currency transactions

     132,601,555        249,121,111        8,661,855        3,990,002  

Net change in unrealized appreciation (depreciation) of securities, forward exchange contracts, foreign currencies and net other assets

     344,315,312        947,825,504        29,664,756        26,198,212  
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Net increase in net assets resulting from operations

     568,601,707        1,309,980,271        41,804,633        35,100,026  
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

DISTRIBUTIONS:

           

Dividends to shareholders from net investment income

     (111,972,219      (102,538,489      (4,606,757      (4,807,739

Distributions to shareholders from net realized gain on investments

     (35,657,899      (175,579,605              
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total distributions

     (147,630,118      (278,118,094      (4,606,757      (4,807,739
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Net decrease in net assets from Fund share transactions (Note 5)

     (328,420,392      (170,789,525      (12,619,381      (18,403,266
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Redemption fees

     50,243        118,743        678        1,905  
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Net increase in net assets

     92,601,440        861,191,395        24,579,173        11,890,926  

NET ASSETS

           

Beginning of year

     9,579,670,441        8,718,479,046        353,618,132        341,727,206  
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

End of year

     $9,672,271,881        $9,579,670,441        $378,197,305        $353,618,132  
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Undistributed net investment income at end of year

     $8,737,163        $27,195,352        $341,118        $1,065,438  
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

 

 

  SEE NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS  

 

 

II-27


TWEEDY, BROWNE FUND INC.

 

Statements of Changes in Net Assets

 

     Value Fund      Worldwide High Dividend
Yield Value Fund
 
     Year Ended
3/31/2018
     Year Ended
3/31/2017
     Year Ended
3/31/2018
     Year Ended
3/31/2017
 

INVESTMENT ACTIVITIES:

           

Net investment income

     $3,542,044        $5,160,471        $4,637,595        $7,537,079  

Net realized gain on securities, forward exchange contracts and currency transactions

     30,486,826        25,231,931        21,292,346        10,954,775  

Net change in unrealized appreciation (depreciation) of securities, forward exchange contracts, foreign currencies and net other assets

     14,572,434        51,668,025        13,906,184        17,719,892  
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Net increase in net assets resulting from operations

     48,601,304        82,060,427        39,836,125        36,211,746  
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

DISTRIBUTIONS:

           

Dividends to shareholders from net investment income

     (4,466,740      (4,923,187      (5,267,715      (7,822,186

Distributions to shareholders from net realized gain on investments

     (4,587,633      (18,915,402      (9,462,310      (4,773,837
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total distributions

     (9,054,373      (23,838,589      (14,730,025      (12,596,023
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Net increase (decrease) in net assets from Fund share transactions (Note 5)

     (82,260,162      12,357,832        (54,571,348      (62,133,540
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Redemption fees

                   355        3,674  
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Net increase (decrease) in net assets

     (42,713,231      70,579,670        (29,464,893      (38,514,143

NET ASSETS

           

Beginning of year

     576,731,860        506,152,190        296,107,186        334,621,329  
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

End of year

     $534,018,629        $576,731,860        $266,642,293        $296,107,186  
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Undistributed net investment income at end of year

     $1,114,271        $2,340,548        $1,359,822        $2,003,832  
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

 

 

  SEE NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS  

 

 

II-28


TWEEDY, BROWNE FUND INC.

 

Financial Highlights

 

Tweedy, Browne Global Value Fund

For a Fund share outstanding throughout each year.

 

   

Year

Ended

3/31/18

   

Year

Ended

3/31/17

   

Year

Ended

3/31/16

   

Year
Ended

3/31/15

   

Year
Ended

3/31/14

 
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net asset value, beginning of year

    $26.74       $23.89       $26.97       $26.98       $25.11  
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Income from investment operations:

         

Net investment income

    0.25       0.32       0.22       0.24       0.32  

Net realized and unrealized gain (loss) on investments

    1.31       3.32       (2.09     0.74       2.73  
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total from investment operations

    1.56       3.64       (1.87     0.98       3.05  
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Distributions:

         

Dividends from net investment income

    (0.31     (0.29     (0.21     (0.33     (0.32

Distributions from net realized gains

    (0.10     (0.50     (1.00     (0.66     (0.86
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total distributions

    (0.41     (0.79     (1.21     (0.99     (1.18
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Redemption fees(a)

    0.00       0.00       0.00       0.00       0.00  
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net asset value, end of year

    $27.89       $26.74       $23.89       $26.97       $26.98  
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total return(b)

    5.82     15.49     (7.08 )%      3.69 %(c)      12.25 %(c) 
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Ratios/Supplemental Data:

         

Net assets, end of year (in 000s)

    $9,672,272       $9,579,670       $8,718,479       $9,603,856       $7,977,755  

Ratio of operating expenses to average net assets

    1.36     1.38     1.37 %      1.36     1.37

Ratio of net investment income to average net assets

    0.91     1.25     0.83 %      0.94     1.30

Portfolio turnover rate

    5     3     1     8     4

 

(a) 

Amount represents less than $0.01 per share.

(b) 

Total return represents aggregate total return for the periods indicated.

(c) 

The net asset value (NAV) disclosed in the March 31, 2014 annual report reflects adjustments in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America and as such, differs from the NAV reported on March 31, 2014. The total return reported is based on the unadjusted NAV which was the official NAV for executing transactions on March 31, 2014.

 

 

Tweedy, Browne Global Value Fund II – Currency Unhedged

For a Fund share outstanding throughout each year.

 

   

Year

Ended

3/31/18

   

Year

Ended

3/31/17

   

Year

Ended

3/31/16

   

Year
Ended

3/31/15

   

Year
Ended

3/31/14

 
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net asset value, beginning of year

    $14.10       $12.88       $14.02       $14.90       $13.18  
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Income from investment operations:

         

Net investment income

    0.14       0.21       0.17       0.15       0.15  

Net realized and unrealized gain (loss) on investments

    1.56       1.21       (1.12     (0.84     1.72  
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total from investment operations

    1.70       1.42       (0.95     (0.69     1.87  
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Distributions:

         

Dividends from net investment income

    (0.19     (0.20     (0.19     (0.19     (0.15
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Redemption fees(a)

    0.00       0.00       0.00       0.00       0.00  
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net asset value, end of year

    $15.61       $14.10       $12.88       $14.02       $14.90  
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total return(b)

    12.08     11.17     (6.79 )%      (4.72 )%(c)      14.27 %(c) 
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Ratios/Supplemental Data:

         

Net assets, end of year (in 000s)

    $378,197       $353,618       $341,727       $447,103       $443,382  

Ratio of operating expenses to average net assets

    1.36     1.40     1.38     1.37     1.37

Ratio of operating expenses to average net assets excluding recoupments and/or waivers/reimbursements of expenses

    1.37     1.40     1.38 %      1.36     1.37

Ratio of net investment income to average net assets

    0.93     1.51     1.12 %      1.00     1.23

Portfolio turnover rate

    6     4     14     9     4

 

(a) 

Amount represents less than $0.01 per share.

(b) 

Total return represents aggregate total return for the periods indicated.

(c) 

The net asset value (NAV) disclosed in the March 31, 2014 annual report reflects adjustments in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America and as such, differs from the NAV reported on March 31, 2014. The total return reported is based on the unadjusted NAV which was the official NAV for executing transactions on March 31, 2014.

 

 

  SEE NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS  

 

 

II-29


TWEEDY, BROWNE FUND INC.

 

Financial Highlights

 

Tweedy, Browne Value Fund

For a Fund share outstanding throughout each year.

 

   

Year

Ended

3/31/18

   

Year

Ended

3/31/17

   

Year

Ended

3/31/16

   

Year
Ended

3/31/15

   

Year
Ended

3/31/14

 
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net asset value, beginning of year

    $21.78       $19.51       $22.14       $23.21       $21.68  
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Income from investment operations:

         

Net investment income

    0.16       0.20       0.20       0.24       0.27  

Net realized and unrealized gain (loss) on investments

    1.64       2.99       (1.97     0.47       2.81  
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total from investment operations

    1.80       3.19       (1.77     0.71       3.08  
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Distributions:

         

Dividends from net investment income

    (0.19     (0.19     (0.21     (0.26     (0.21

Distributions from net realized gains

    (0.19     (0.73     (0.65     (1.52     (1.34
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total distributions

    (0.38     (0.92     (0.86     (1.78     (1.55
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net asset value, end of year

    $23.20       $21.78       $19.51       $22.14       $23.21  
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total return(a)

    8.19     16.57     (8.09 )%      3.08     14.38
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Ratios/Supplemental Data:

         

Net assets, end of year (in 000s)

    $534,019       $576,732       $506,152       $619,158       $638,000  

Ratio of operating expenses to average net assets

    1.36     1.38     1.37     1.36     1.37

Ratio of operating expenses to average net assets excluding waivers and/or reimbursements of expenses

    1.37     1.38     1.37     1.36     1.37

Ratio of net investment income to average net assets

    0.61     0.97     0.91     0.98     1.17

Portfolio turnover rate

    6     8     7     6     7

 

(a) 

Total return represents aggregate total return for the periods indicated.

 

 

Tweedy, Browne Worldwide High Dividend Yield Value Fund

For a Fund share outstanding throughout each year.

 

   

Year

Ended

3/31/18

   

Year

Ended

3/31/17

   

Year

Ended

3/31/16

   

Year
Ended

3/31/15

   

Year
Ended

3/31/14

 
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net asset value, beginning of year

      $9.47       $8.75       $10.84       $12.01       $10.67  
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Income from investment operations:

         

Net investment income

    0.17       0.23       0.21 (c)      0.25       0.23  

Net realized and unrealized gain (loss) on investments

    1.10       0.87       (1.15     (0.50     1.33  
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total from investment operations

    1.27       1.10       (0.94     (0.25     1.56  
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Distributions:

         

Dividends from net investment income

    (0.18     (0.23     (0.26     (0.25     (0.20

Distributions from net realized gains

    (0.33     (0.15     (0.89     (0.67     (0.02
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total distributions

    (0.51     (0.38     (1.15     (0.92     (0.22
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Redemption fees(a)

    0.00       0.00       0.00       0.00       0.00  
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net asset value, end of year

    $10.23       $9.47       $8.75       $10.84       $12.01  
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total return(b)

    13.58 %(d)      13.04     (9.03 )%      (2.23 )%      14.81
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Ratios/Supplemental Data:

         

Net assets, end of year (in 000s)

    $266,642       $296,107       $334,621       $568,540       $754,786  

Ratio of operating expenses to average net assets

    1.36     1.38     1.37     1.35     1.36

Ratio of operating expenses to average net assets excluding waiver and/or reimbursements of expenses

    1.37     1.38     1.37     1.35     1.36

Ratio of net investment income to average net assets

    1.54     2.43     2.11     1.96     2.07

Portfolio turnover rate

    5     5     5     7     10

 

(a) 

Amount represents less than $0.01 per share.

(b) 

Total return represents aggregate total return for the periods indicated.

(c) 

Based on average shares outstanding.

(d) 

The net asset value (NAV) disclosed in the March 31, 2018 annual report reflects adjustments in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America and as such, differs from the NAV reported on March 31, 2018. The total return reported is based on the unadjusted NAV which was the official NAV for executing transactions on March 31, 2018.

 

 

  SEE NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS  

 

 

II-30


TWEEDY, BROWNE FUND INC.

 

Notes to Financial Statements

 

1. Organization

Tweedy, Browne Fund Inc. (the “Company”) is an open-end management investment company registered with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”). The Company was organized as a Maryland corporation on January 28, 1993. Tweedy, Browne Global Value Fund (“Global Value Fund”), Tweedy, Browne Global Value Fund II – Currency Unhedged (“Global Value Fund II – Currency Unhedged”), Tweedy, Browne Value Fund (“Value Fund”), and Tweedy, Browne Worldwide High Dividend Yield Value Fund (“Worldwide High Dividend Yield Value Fund”) (each a “Fund” and together, the “Funds”) are each diversified series of the Company.

The Funds commenced operations as follows:

 

Fund   Commencement of
Operations
 

Global Value Fund

    06/15/93  

Global Value Fund II – Currency Unhedged

    10/26/09  

Value Fund

    12/08/93  

Worldwide High Dividend Yield Value Fund

    09/05/07  

Global Value Fund and Global Value Fund II – Currency Unhedged seek long-term capital growth by investing primarily in foreign equity securities that Tweedy, Browne Company LLC (the “Investment Adviser”) believes are undervalued. Value Fund seeks long-term capital growth by investing primarily in U.S. and foreign equity securities that the Investment Adviser believes are undervalued. Worldwide High Dividend Yield Value Fund seeks long-term capital growth by investing primarily in U.S. and foreign equity securities that the Investment Adviser believes to have above-average dividend yields and valuations that are reasonable.

2. Significant Accounting Policies

The Funds are investment companies and, accordingly, follow the investment company accounting and reporting guidance of the Financial Accounting Standards Board Accounting Standards Codification Topic 946 – Investment Companies, which is part of U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (“U.S. GAAP”). The preparation of financial statements in accordance with U.S. GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. Actual results could differ from those estimates. The following is a summary of significant accounting policies consistently followed by the Funds in the preparation of their financial statements.

Portfolio Valuation. Portfolio securities and other assets listed on a U.S. national securities exchange, comparable

foreign securities exchange or through any system providing for contemporaneous publication of actual prices (and not subject to restrictions against sale by the Fund on such exchange or system) are valued at the last quoted sale price at or prior to the close of regular trading on the New York Stock Exchange or, if applicable, the NASDAQ Official Closing Price (“NOCP”). Portfolio securities and other assets that are readily marketable but for which there are no reported sales on the valuation date, whether because they are not traded in a system providing for same day publication of sales or because there were no sales reported on such date, are generally valued at the mean between the last asked price and the last bid price prior to the close of regular trading. Forward exchange contracts are valued at the forward rate. Securities and other assets for which current market quotations are not readily available, and those securities which are generally not readily marketable due to significant legal or contractual restrictions, are valued at fair value as determined in good faith by the Investment Adviser under the direction of the Company’s Board of Directors. Securities and other assets for which the most recent market quotations may not be reliable (including because the last sale price does not reflect current market value at the time of valuing the Fund’s assets due to developments since such last price) may be valued at fair value if the Investment Adviser concludes that fair valuation will likely result in a more accurate net asset valuation. The Funds’ use of fair value pricing may cause the net asset value of a Fund’s shares to differ from the net asset value that would be calculated using market quotations. Fair value pricing involves subjective judgments, and it is possible that the fair value determined for a security may be materially different than the value that could be realized upon the sale of that security. Debt securities purchased with a remaining maturity of more than 60 days are valued through pricing obtained by pricing services approved by the Company’s Board of Directors. Debt securities purchased with a remaining maturity of 60 days or less are valued at amortized cost, which approximates fair value, or by reference to other factors (i.e., pricing services or dealer quotations) by the Investment Adviser.

Fair Value Measurements. The inputs and valuation techniques used to determine fair value of the Funds’ investments are summarized into three levels as described in the hierarchy below:

 

   

Level 1 – quoted prices in active markets for identical securities

 

   

Level 2 – other significant observable inputs (including quoted prices for similar securities, interest rates, credit risk, etc.)

 

   

Level 3 – significant unobservable inputs (including a Fund’s own assumptions in determining the fair value of investments)

 

 

 

 

II-31


TWEEDY, BROWNE FUND INC.

 

Notes to Financial Statements

 

The inputs or methodology used for valuing securities are not necessarily an indication of the risk associated with investing in those securities. Transfers in and out of the levels are recognized utilizing values at the end of the period. The

following is a summary of the inputs used to value each Fund’s assets carried at fair value as of March 31, 2018. See each Fund’s respective Portfolio of Investments for details on portfolio holdings.

 

 

     Global Value Fund  
    

Total

Value at

March 31, 2018

   

Level 1

Quoted

Price

   

Level 2

Other

Significant

Observable

Inputs

   

Level 3

Significant

Unobservable

Inputs

 

Investments in Securities:

       

Common Stocks

       

Switzerland

  $ 1,316,288,242     $ 1,315,849,645     $ 438,597     $     —  

All Other Countries

    7,579,639,631       7,579,639,631              

Preferred Stocks

    57,135,210       57,135,210              

Registered Investment Company

    588,316,133       588,316,133              

U.S. Treasury Bills

    298,430,229             298,430,229        
 

 

 

 

Total Investments in Securities

    9,839,809,445       9,540,940,619       298,868,826        

Other Financial Instruments:

       

Asset

       

Unrealized appreciation of forward exchange contracts

    7,941,141             7,941,141        

Liability

       

Unrealized depreciation of forward exchange contracts

    (203,336,900           (203,336,900      
 

 

 

 

Total

  $ 9,644,413,686     $ 9,540,940,619     $ 103,473,067     $  
 

 

 

 
       
     Global Value Fund II – Currency Unhedged  
    

Total

Value at

March 31, 2018

   

Level 1

Quoted

Price

   

Level 2

Other

Significant

Observable

Inputs

   

Level 3

Significant

Unobservable

Inputs

 

Investments in Securities

  $ 376,992,472     $ 376,992,472     $     $  
 

 

 

 
       
     Value Fund  
     Total
Value at
March 31, 2018
    Level 1
Quoted
Price
    Level 2
Other
Significant
Observable
Inputs
    Level 3
Significant
Unobservable
Inputs
 

Investments in Securities:

       

Common Stocks

  $ 491,369,341     $ 491,369,341     $     $     —  

Registered Investment Company

    33,250,465       33,250,465              

U.S. Treasury Bill

    13,957,348             13,957,348        
 

 

 

 

Total Investments in Securities

    538,577,154       524,619,806       13,957,348        

Other Financial Instruments:

       

Asset

       

Unrealized appreciation of forward exchange contracts

    405,525             405,525        

Liability

       

Unrealized depreciation of forward exchange contracts

    (6,602,491           (6,602,491      
 

 

 

 

Total

  $ 532,380,188     $ 524,619,806     $ 7,760,382     $  
 

 

 

 
       
     Worldwide High Dividend Yield Value Fund  
     Total
Value at
March 31, 2018
    Level 1
Quoted
Price
    Level 2
Other
Significant
Observable
Inputs
    Level 3
Significant
Unobservable
Inputs
 

Investments in Securities

  $ 265,426,971     $ 265,426,971     $     —     $     —  
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

II-32


TWEEDY, BROWNE FUND INC.

 

Notes to Financial Statements

 

 

As of March 31, 2018, a security with an end of period value of $438,597 held by Global Value Fund was transferred from Level 1 to Level 2 due to no trading volume on that day. As of March 31, 2018, securities with end of period values of $43,077,382 and $4,049,274, held by Global Value Fund and Global Value Fund II – Currency Unhedged, respectively, were transferred from Level 2 to Level 1 due to active trading volume.

Foreign Currency. The books and records of the Funds are maintained in U.S. dollars. Foreign currencies, investments and other assets and liabilities are translated into U.S. dollars at the exchange rates prevailing at the end of the period, and purchases and sales of investment securities, income and expenses are translated on the respective dates of such transactions. Unrealized gains and losses from investments in securities that result from changes in foreign currency exchange rates, have been included in net unrealized appreciation/depreciation of securities. All other unrealized gains and losses that result from changes in foreign currency exchange rates have been included in net unrealized appreciation/depreciation of foreign currencies and net other assets. Net realized foreign currency gains and losses resulting from changes in exchange rates include foreign currency gains and losses between trade date and settlement date on investments, securities transactions, foreign currency transactions and the difference between the amounts of interest and dividends recorded on the books of a Fund and the amount actually received. The portion of foreign currency gains and losses related to fluctuation in the exchange rates between the initial purchase trade date and subsequent sale trade date is included in realized gains and losses on investment securities sold.

Forward Exchange Contracts. Global Value Fund and Value Fund enter into forward exchange contracts for hedging purposes in order to reduce their exposure to fluctuations in foreign currency exchange on their portfolio holdings. Forward exchange contracts are valued at the forward rate and are marked-to-market daily. The change in market value is recorded by each Fund as an unrealized gain or loss on the Fund’s Statement of Operations. When the contract is closed, each Fund records a realized gain or loss on the Statement of Operations equal to the difference between the value of the contract at the time that it was opened and the value of the contract at the time that it was closed. The difference between the value of a Fund’s open contracts at March 31, 2018 and the value of those contracts at the time they were opened is included on the Statement of Assets and Liabilities as unrealized appreciation of forward exchange contracts (for contracts with unrealized gains) or unrealized depreciation of forward exchange contracts (for contracts with unrealized losses). A Fund may be required to post collateral with respect to certain “non-deliverable” forward exchange contracts in an unrealized loss position, and may receive collateral from the counterparty for certain non-deliverable forward exchange

contracts in an unrealized gain position. Daily movement of collateral is subject to minimum threshold amounts. Collateral posted by a Fund is held in a segregated account at the Fund’s custodian bank, and is reported on the Statement of Assets and Liabilities as “Cash segregated as collateral.” Collateral received by a Fund is held in escrow in the Fund’s custodian bank, and is not reported on the Fund’s Statement of Assets and Liabilities, but would be disclosed in Note 8.

The use of forward exchange contracts does not eliminate fluctuations in the underlying prices of the Global Value Fund’s and Value Fund’s investment securities, but it does establish a rate of exchange that can be achieved in the future. Although forward exchange contracts limit the risk of loss due to a decline in the value of the hedged currency, they also limit any potential gain that might result should the value of the hedged currency increase. In addition, the Global Value and Value Funds could be exposed to risks if the counterparties to the contracts are unable to meet the terms of their contracts.

Securities Transactions and Investment Income. Securities transactions are recorded as of the trade date. Realized gains and losses from securities transactions are recorded on the identified cost basis. Dividend income and distributions to shareholders are recorded on the ex-dividend date. In the case of certain foreign securities, dividend income is recorded as soon after the ex-date as the Funds become aware of such dividend. Interest income and expenses are recorded on an accrual basis.

Foreign Taxes. The Funds may be subject to foreign taxes on dividend and interest income, gains on investments or currency purchase/repatriation, a portion of which may be recoverable. The Funds’ custodian applies for refunds on behalf of each Fund where available. The Funds will accrue such taxes and recoveries as applicable, based on their current interpretation of tax rules and regulations that exist in the markets in which they invest.

Dividends and Distributions to Shareholders. Dividends from net investment income, if any, will be declared and paid annually for Global Value Fund, Global Value Fund II – Currency Unhedged, and Value Fund and semi-annually for Worldwide High Dividend Yield Value Fund. Distributions from realized capital gains after utilization of capital loss carryforwards, if any, will be declared and paid annually for each of the Funds. Additional distributions of net investment income and capital gains from the Funds may be made at the discretion of the Board of Directors in order to avoid the application of a 4% non-deductible federal excise tax on certain undistributed amounts of ordinary income and capital gains. Income dividends and capital gain distributions are determined in accordance with income tax regulations which may differ from U.S. GAAP. These differences are primarily due to differing treatments of income and gains on various investment securities held by the Funds, timing differences and differing characterization of distributions made by the Funds.

 

 

 

 

II-33


TWEEDY, BROWNE FUND INC.

 

Notes to Financial Statements

 

Federal Income Taxes. Each Fund has qualified and intends to continue to qualify as a regulated investment company by complying with the requirements of the U.S. Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”), applicable to regulated investment companies and by distributing substantially all of its taxable income to its shareholders. Therefore, no federal income tax provision is required.

The Funds are not aware of any events that are reasonably possible to occur in the next twelve months that would result in the amounts of any unrecognized tax benefits significantly increasing or decreasing for the Funds. However, the Funds’ conclusions may be subject to future review based on changes in accounting standards or tax laws and regulations or the interpretation thereof. In addition, utilization of any capital loss carryforwards could be subject to limitations imposed by the Code related to share ownership changes. Each of the Funds’ tax positions for the tax years for which the applicable statutes of limitations have not expired are subject to examination by the Internal Revenue Service, state departments of revenue and by foreign tax authorities.

Expenses. Expenses directly attributable to each Fund as a diversified series of the Company are charged to such Fund. Other expenses of the Company are allocated to each series based on the average net assets of each series or other equitable allocation method.

3. Investment Advisory Fee, Other Related Party Transactions and Administration Fee

The Company, on behalf of each Fund, has entered into separate investment advisory agreements with the Investment Adviser (each, an “Advisory Agreement”). Under the Advisory Agreement with respect to Global Value Fund, Global Value Fund pays the Investment Adviser a fee at the annual rate of 1.25% on the Fund’s average daily net assets up to $10.3 billion, and 0.75% on the remaining amount, if any. (Prior to October 15, 2017, Global Value Fund’s advisory fee was 1.25% of the value of the Fund’s average daily net assets.) Under the Advisory Agreements with respect to each of Global Value Fund II – Currency Unhedged, Value Fund and Worldwide High Dividend Yield Value Fund, each Fund pays the Investment Adviser a fee at the annual rate of 1.25% of the Fund’s average daily net assets. The fee is payable monthly, provided that each Fund makes interim payments as may be requested by the Investment Adviser of up to 75% of the amount of the fee then accrued on the books of the Fund and unpaid. For the year ended March 31, 2018, the Investment Adviser earned $125,744,842, $4,651,086, $7,219,389 and $3,762,988 in fees, prior to any waivers and/or reimbursements, from Global Value Fund, Global Value Fund II – Currency Unhedged, Value Fund and Worldwide High Dividend Yield Value Fund, respectively.

With respect to Global Value Fund II – Currency Unhedged, Value Fund and Worldwide High Dividend Yield Value Fund, the Investment Adviser has voluntarily agreed,

effective December 1, 2017 and through at least July 31, 2019, to waive a portion of each Fund’s investment advisory fees and/or reimburse a portion of each Fund’s expenses to the extent necessary to keep each Fund’s expense ratio in line with the expense ratio of Global Value Fund. (For purposes of this calculation, each Fund’s acquired fund fees and expenses, brokerage costs, interest, taxes and extraordinary expenses are disregarded, and each Fund’s expense ratio is rounded to two decimal points.) For the year ended March 31, 2018, the Investment Adviser waived and/or reimbursed $24,968, $30,396 and $15,042 in fees from Global Value Fund II – Currency Unhedged, Value Fund and Worldwide High Dividend Yield Value Fund, respectively.

The Company pays the Investment Adviser for certain shareholder servicing and administration services provided to the Funds at an annual amount of $475,000, which is allocated pro-rata based on the relative average net assets of the Funds.

No officer, director or employee of the Investment Adviser, the Funds’ administrator, The Bank of New York Mellon (“BNY Mellon”) or any parent or subsidiary of those corporations receives any compensation from the Company for serving as a director or officer of the Company. The Company pays each Independent Director $130,000 annually, in quarterly increments of $32,500, plus out-of-pocket expenses for their services as directors. (Prior to January 1, 2018, such amounts were $125,000 and $31,250, respectively.) The Lead Independent Director receives an additional annual fee of $26,000. (Prior to January 1, 2018, such amount was $25,000.) These fees are allocated pro-rata based on the relative average net assets of the Funds.

The Company, on behalf of the Funds, has entered into an administration agreement (the “Administration Agreement”) with BNY Mellon, a subsidiary of The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation. Under the Administration Agreement, the Company pays BNY Mellon an administration fee and a fund accounting fee computed daily and payable monthly at the following annual rates of the aggregate average daily net assets of the Funds, allocated according to each Fund’s net assets:

 

     Up to
$1 Billion
    Between
$1 Billion
and
$5  Billion
    Between
$5 Billion
and
$10  Billion
    Exceeding
$10 Billion
 
Administration Fees     0.0300     0.0180     0.0100     0.0090
Accounting Fees     0.0075     0.0060     0.0050     0.0040
                                 

BNY Mellon, serves as the Funds’ custodian pursuant to a custody agreement. BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (US) Inc., a subsidiary of The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation, serves as the Funds’ transfer agent.

 

 

 

 

II-34


TWEEDY, BROWNE FUND INC.

 

Notes to Financial Statements

 

AMG Distributors, Inc., an affiliate of the Investment Adviser, serves as the distributor to the Funds. The Investment Adviser pays all distribution-related expenses. No distribution fees are paid by the Funds.

At March 31, 2018, one shareholder owned 12.1% of Global Value Fund II – Currency Unhedged’s outstanding

shares; four shareholders owned 28.4% of Value Fund’s outstanding shares; and three shareholders owned 31.3% of Worldwide High Dividend Yield Value Fund’s outstanding shares. Investment activities of these shareholders could have an impact on each respective Fund.

 

 

4. Securities Transactions

The 1940 Act defines “affiliated companies” to include securities in which a fund owns 5% or more of the outstanding voting shares of an issuer. The following chart lists the issuers owned by Global Value Fund that may be deemed “affiliated companies,” as well as transactions that occurred in the securities of such issuers during the year ended March 31, 2018:

 

Shares Held
at 3/31/17
     Name of Issuer†   Value at
3/31/17
    Purchase
Cost
    Sales
Proceeds
    Value at
3/31/18
    Shares Held
at 3/31/18
    Dividend
Income 4/1/17
to 3/31/18
    Net Realized Gain
4/1/17
to 3/31/18
    Change in
net Unrealized
Appreciation
4/1/17
to 3/31/18
 
  218,165     

Coltene Holding AG

  $ 17,360,350     $     —     $     —     $ 20,777,619       218,165     $     $     $ 3,417,269  
  68,640     

Phoenix Mecano AG

    35,316,050                   47,451,629       68,640       1,058,497             12,135,579  
  248,117     

Siegfried Holding AG*

    65,378,749             16,634,604       35,643,275       106,000       496,855       32,438,711       (13,100,870
  4,795,392     

SOL SpA

    49,237,690                   64,873,525       4,795,392       805,263             15,635,835  
     $ 167,292,839     $     $ 16,634,604     $ 168,746,048       $ 2,360,615     $ 32,438,711     $ 18,087,813  
                                                                          

 

*

As of March 31, 2018, Global Value Fund owns less than 5% of the outstanding voting shares.

Issuer countries: Switzerland, Switzerland, Switzerland and Italy, respectively.

None of the other Funds owned 5% or more of the outstanding voting shares of any issuer.

 

The cost of purchases and proceeds from sales of investment securities, excluding short-term investments, for the year ended March 31, 2018, are as follows:

 

     Global Value
Fund
    Global Value
Fund II  –
Currency
Unhedged
    Value Fund     Worldwide
High
Dividend
Yield
Value  Fund
 

Purchases

    $428,457,261       $20,812,932       $31,434,932       $12,204,093  

Sales

    $738,125,742       $26,658,376       $89,618,487       $67,844,319  
                                 

5. Capital Stock

The Company is authorized to issue 2.0 billion shares of $0.0001 par value capital stock, of which 600,000,000, 600,000,000, 400,000,000 and 400,000,000 shares have been designated as shares of Global Value Fund, Global Value Fund II – Currency Unhedged, Value Fund and Worldwide High Dividend Yield Value Fund, respectively. Redemptions from the Global Value Fund, Global Value Fund II – Currency Unhedged and Worldwide High Dividend Yield Value Fund, including exchange redemptions, made less than 15 days after purchase are subject to a redemption fee equal to 2% of the redemption proceeds, which is retained by each Fund.

Changes in shares outstanding for the year ended March 31, 2018 were as follows:

 

     Global Value Fund
     Shares   Amount
Sold       55,082,200       $1,544,766,563
Reinvested       4,530,676       128,898,345

Redeemed

      (71,025,934 )       (2,002,085,300 )

Net Decrease

      (11,413,058 )       $(328,420,392 )
                     
       
     Global Value Fund II –  Currency Unhedged
     Shares   Amount
Sold       2,906,498       $44,529,205
Reinvested       234,328       3,662,551

Redeemed

      (4,003,414 )       (60,811,137 )

Net Decrease

      (862,588 )       $(12,619,381 )
                     
       
     Value Fund
     Shares   Amount
Sold       1,707,343       $38,952,673
Reinvested       360,872       8,621,244

Redeemed

      (5,537,036 )       (129,834,079 )

Net Decrease

      (3,468,821 )       $(82,260,162 )
                     
       
     Worldwide High Dividend Yield Value  Fund
     Shares   Amount
Sold       3,091,091       $31,558,861
Reinvested       1,392,221       14,238,829

Redeemed

      (9,689,617 )       (100,369,038 )

Net Decrease

      (5,206,305 )       $(54,571,348 )
                     
 

 

 

 

II-35


TWEEDY, BROWNE FUND INC.

 

Notes to Financial Statements

 

Changes in shares outstanding for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2017 were as follows:

 

     Global Value Fund
     Shares   Amount
Sold       60,416,173       $1,516,843,063
Reinvested       9,794,620       244,278,440

Redeemed

      (76,909,801 )       (1,931,911,028 )

Net Decrease

      (6,699,008 )       $(170,789,525 )
                     
       
     Global Value Fund II –  Currency Unhedged
     Shares   Amount
Sold       4,620,257       $61,462,637
Reinvested       306,700       3,968,702

Redeemed

      (6,367,640 )       (83,834,605 )

Net Decrease

      (1,440,683 )       $(18,403,266 )
                     
       
     Value Fund
     Shares   Amount
Sold       2,139,437       $45,501,290
Reinvested       1,092,389       22,743,538

Redeemed

      (2,691,231 )       (55,886,996 )

Net Increase

      540,595       $12,357,832
                     
       
     Worldwide High Dividend Yield Value  Fund
     Shares   Amount
Sold       1,113,972       $9,984,880
Reinvested       1,396,389       12,265,513

Redeemed

      (9,475,818 )       (84,383,933 )

Net Decrease

      (6,965,457 )       $(62,133,540 )
                     

6. Income Tax Information

The character of distributions paid on a tax basis during the fiscal year ended March 31, 2018 is as follows:

 

Distributions

paid from:

 

Global

Value Fund

   

Global Value

Fund II –

Currency

Unhedged

   

Value Fund

   

Worldwide

High

Dividend

Yield

Value Fund

 
Investment income     $112,349,525       $4,606,757       $4,481,233       $5,289,319  
Short-term capital
gain
    14,695,738             975,470       2,014,226  
Ordinary income     127,045,263       4,606,757       5,456,703       7,303,545  
Long-term capital
gain
    20,584,855             3,597,670       7,426,480  
Total Distributions     $147,630,118       $4,606,757       $9,054,373       $14,730,025  
   

The character of distributions paid on a tax basis during the fiscal year ended March 31, 2017 is as follows:

 

Distributions

paid from:

  Global
Value Fund
   

Global Value
Fund II –

Currency
Unhedged

    Value Fund     Worldwide
High
Dividend
Yield
Value  Fund
 
Investment income     $102,538,489       $4,807,739       $4,923,187       $7,822,186  
Short-term capital
gain
    56,185,474             3,238,939        
Ordinary income     158,723,963       4,807,739       8,162,126       7,822,186  
Long-term capital
gain
    119,394,131             15,676,463       4,773,837  
Total Distributions     $278,118,094       $4,807,739       $23,838,589       $12,596,023  
   

As of March 31, 2018, the components of distributable earnings on a tax basis were as follows:

 

     Global
Value Fund
   

Global Value

Fund II –

Currency
Unhedged

    Value Fund    

Worldwide
High

Dividend
Yield
Value Fund

 
Undistributed
ordinary income
    $15,811,606       $886,885       $1,114,271       $1,378,786  
Undistributed
long-term
capital gain
                22,857,555       13,082,094  
Unrealized
appreciation/
(depreciation)
    3,142,374,411       83,669,628       245,949,091       75,538,625  
Accumulated
capital and
other losses
    (134,140,501     (8,193,522            
Total     $3,024,045,516       $76,362,991       $269,920,917       $89,999,505  
                                 

The Funds may have temporary or permanent book/tax differences. The temporary differences are due to capital loss carryforwards, mark-to-market on forward contracts, and mark-to-market on passive foreign investment companies. Temporary differences will reverse at some time in the future. Reclassifications are recorded to the Funds’ capital accounts for any permanent tax differences to reflect income and gains available for distribution (or available capital loss carryforwards) under income tax regulations. For the year ended March 31, 2018, permanent book and tax basis differences resulting primarily from differing treatments for foreign currency transactions, sales of passive foreign investment companies and distribution redesignations were

 

 

 

 

II-36


TWEEDY, BROWNE FUND INC.

 

Notes to Financial Statements

 

identified and reclassified among the components of each Fund’s net assets as follows:

 

     Global
Value Fund
   

Global Value
Fund II –

Currency
Unhedged

    Value Fund     Worldwide
High
Dividend
Yield
Value  Fund
 
Undistributed
ordinary income
    $1,829,190       $404,415       $(301,581     $(13,890
Accumulated
net realized
gain (loss)
    (1,829,190     (404,415     301,581       13,890  
Paid-in capital                        
                                 

Results of operations and net assets were not affected by these reclassifications.

As of March 31, 2018, Global Value Fund and Global Value Fund II – Currency Unhedged had short-term capital loss carryforward of $134,140,501 and $8,193,522, respectively, which under current federal income tax rules may be available to reduce future net realized gains on investments in any future period to the extent permitted by the Code. Utilization of these capital loss carryforwards could be subject to limitations imposed by the Code related to share ownership changes. During the year ended March 31, 2018, Global Value Fund II – Currency Unhedged utilized $8,257,440 in capital loss carry forwards.

As of March 31, 2018, the aggregate cost of securities in each Fund’s portfolio for federal tax purposes was as follows:

 

Global Value Fund

    $6,673,420,739  

Global Value Fund II – Currency Unhedged

    $293,370,802  

Value Fund

    $292,398,616  

Worldwide High Dividend Yield Value Fund

    $189,940,361  
         

The aggregate gross unrealized appreciation/depreciation and net unrealized appreciation as computed on a federal income tax basis at March 31, 2018 for each Fund is as follows:

 

     Gross
Appreciation
    Gross
Depreciation
    Net
Appreciation
 

Global Value Fund

    $3,523,500,402       $(381,125,991     $3,142,374,411  

Global Value Fund II – Currency Unhedged

    94,601,449       (10,931,821     83,669,628  

Value Fund

    251,071,495       (5,122,404     245,949,091  

Worldwide High Dividend Yield Value Fund

    78,252,971       (2,714,346     75,538,625  
                         

7. Foreign Securities

Investing in securities of foreign companies and foreign governments involves economic and political risks and considerations not typically associated with investing in U.S. companies and the U.S. Government. These considerations include changes in exchange rates and exchange rate controls (which may include suspension of the ability to transfer currency from a given country), costs incurred in conversions between currencies, non-negotiable brokerage commissions, less publicly available information, not generally being subject to uniform standards, practices and requirements with respect to accounting, auditing and financial reporting, lower trading volume, delayed settlements and greater market volatility, the difficulty of enforcing obligations in other countries, less securities regulation, different tax provisions (including withholding on dividends paid to a Fund), war, seizure, political and social instability and diplomatic developments.

8. Derivative Instruments

During the year ended March 31, 2018, Global Value Fund and Value Fund had derivative exposure to forward foreign currency exchange contracts. Global Value Fund II – Currency Unhedged and Worldwide High Dividend Yield Value Fund had no exposure to derivatives. For open contracts at March 31, 2018, see the Portfolio of Investments.

The following summarizes the volume of the Global Value and Value Funds’ forward foreign currency exchange contract activity during the year ended March 31, 2018:

 

       
          Global Value Fund     Value Fund  
Average Notional Amount     $(5,234,034,271)       $(178,357,953)  
Notional Amount at March 31, 2018     $(5,236,263,849)       $(181,244,681)  

The following table presents the value of derivatives held as of March 31, 2018, by their primary underlying risk exposure and respective location on the Statements of Assets and Liabilities:

 

 

Statement of Assets and Liabilities
 
Derivative   Assets Location   Global Value Fund     Value Fund  
Forward
exchange contracts
  Unrealized
appreciation of
forward exchange
contracts
    $7,941,141       $405,525  
Derivative   Liabilities Location   Global Value Fund     Value Fund  
Forward
exchange contracts
  Unrealized
depreciation of
forward exchange
contracts
    $203,336,900       $6,602,491  
                     
 

 

 

 

II-37


TWEEDY, BROWNE FUND INC.

 

Notes to Financial Statements

 

The following table presents the effect of derivatives on the Statements of Operations for the year ended March 31, 2018, by primary risk exposure:

 

 
Statement of Operations  
Derivative        Global Value Fund     Value Fund  
Forward
exchange contracts
  Net realized gain (loss)
on forward exchange
contracts
    $(186,707,539)       $(7,894,894)  
Derivative        Global Value Fund     Value Fund  
Forward
exchange contracts
  Net change in
unrealized appreciation
(depreciation) of forward
exchange contracts
    $(290,277,289)       $(7,950,927)  
                     

 

For financial reporting purposes, the Funds do not offset assets and liabilities across derivative types that are subject to master netting arrangements on the Statement of Assets and Liabilities.

The following table presents derivative assets net of amounts available for offset under a master netting agreement and any related collateral received by the Fund for forward currency contracts as of March 31, 2018:

 

Counterparty   Derivative
Assets – Gross(a)
    Derivatives
Available
for Offset
    Collateral
Received
    Derivative
Assets – Net(b)
 
Global Value Fund  

BNY

    $—       $—       $    —       $    —  

JPM

    820,104       820,104              

NTC

    6,700,074       6,700,074              

SSB

    420,963       420,963              

Total

    $7,941,141       $7,941,141       $    —       $    —  
                                 
Value Fund  

BNY

    $—       $—       $    —       $    —  

JPM

    102,644       102,644              

NTC

    302,881       302,881              

SSB

                       

Total

    $405,525       $405,525       $    —       $    —  
                                 

The following table presents derivative liabilities net of amounts available for offset under a master netting agreement and any related collateral posted by the Fund for forward currency contracts as of March 31, 2018:

 

Counterparty   Derivative
Liabilities – Gross(a)
    Derivatives
Available
for Offset
   

Collateral
Posted

    Derivative
Liabilities – Net(c)
 
Global Value Fund  

BNY

    $66,596,301       $—       $—       $66,596,301  

JPM

    31,233,959       820,104       4,470,000       25,943,855  

NTC

    50,089,713       6,700,074             43,389,639  

SSB

    55,416,927       420,963       3,860,000       51,135,964  

Total

    $203,336,900       $7,941,141       $8,330,000       $187,065,759  
                                 
Counterparty   Derivative
Liabilities – Gross(a)
    Derivatives
Available
for Offset
   

Collateral
Posted

    Derivative
Liabilities – Net(c)
 
Global Value Fund  
Value Fund  

BNY

    $3,166,799       $—       $    —       $3,166,799  

JPM

    942,154       102,644             839,510  

NTC

    1,331,279       302,881             1,028,398  

SSB

    1,162,259                   1,162,259  

Total

    $6,602,491       $405,525       $    —       $6,196,966  
                                 

 

(a)

As presented in the Statement of Assets and Liabilities.

(b) 

Net amount represents the net receivable due from counterparty in the event of default

(c) 

Net amount represents the net payable due to counterparty in the event of default

Counterparty Abbreviations:

BNY         The Bank of New York Mellon
JPM         JPMorgan Chase Bank NA
NTC         Northern Trust Company
SSB         State Street Bank and Trust Company

9. Indemnifications

Under the Company’s organizational documents, its directors and officers are indemnified against certain liabilities that may arise out of the performance of their duties to the Funds. Additionally, in the course of business, the Company enters into contracts that contain a variety of indemnification clauses. The Funds’ maximum exposure under these arrangements is unknown, as this would involve future claims that may be made against the Funds that have not yet occurred. However, the Investment Adviser believes the risk of loss under these arrangements to be remote.

10. Litigation

Certain holders of notes issued by Tribune Company initiated litigation against Value Fund and thousands of other public shareholders, seeking to recover payments made to Tribune Company shareholders in connection with the 2007 leveraged buyout of Tribune Company. A litigation trust arising out of the Tribune Company bankruptcy proceeding also initiated claims against a substantially similar group of public shareholders, including Value Fund. The claims were pursued in a consolidated multidistrict litigation format. Value Fund tendered its shares in a tender offer from Tribune Company and received proceeds of approximately $3.4 million (the “Transfers”). The plaintiffs’ claims allege that the shareholder payments were made in violation of various laws prohibiting constructive and/or actual fraudulent transfers. The complaints allege no misconduct by Value Fund or any member of the putative defendant class.

The Value Fund entered into a settlement agreement with the aforementioned plaintiffs, pursuant to which it paid approximately $1.2 million to settle all claims against it arising from its receipt of the Transfers. The settlement was

 

 

 

 

II-38


TWEEDY, BROWNE FUND INC.

 

Notes to Financial Statements

 

effective as of May 3, 2018 and resolved the matter in full. The settlement payment was recorded by the Value Fund as a realized loss on May 3, 2018, subsequent to the Value Fund’s fiscal year end.

11. New Accounting Pronouncement

In October 2016, the SEC issued a new rule, Investment Company Reporting Modernization, which among other provisions amended Regulation S-X to require standardized, enhanced disclosures, particularly related to derivatives, in investment company financial statements. Compliance with the rule was required for financial statements filed with the SEC on or after August 1, 2017. These amendments required certain additional disclosures reflected herein, but had no effect on the Funds’ net assets or results of operations.

 

 

 

 

II-39


TWEEDY, BROWNE FUND INC.

 

Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm

 

To the Board of Directors of Tweedy, Browne Fund Inc. and the Shareholders of Tweedy, Browne Global Value Fund, Tweedy, Browne Global Value Fund II – Currency Unhedged, Tweedy, Browne Value Fund and Tweedy, Browne Worldwide High Dividend Yield Value Fund

Opinion on the Financial Statements

We have audited the accompanying statements of assets and liabilities, including the portfolios of investments, of Tweedy, Browne Global Value Fund, Tweedy, Browne Global Value Fund II – Currency Unhedged, Tweedy, Browne Value Fund and Tweedy, Browne Worldwide High Dividend Yield Value Fund (constituting Tweedy, Browne Fund, Inc., hereafter collectively referred to as the “Funds”) as of March 31, 2018, the related statements of operations for the year ended March 31, 2018, the statements of changes in net assets for each of the two years in the period ended March 31, 2018, including the related notes, and the financial highlights for each of the five years in the period ended March 31, 2018 (collectively referred to as the “financial statements”). In our opinion, the financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of each of the Funds as of March 31, 2018, the results of each of their operations for the year then ended, the changes in each of their net assets for each of the two years in the period ended March 31, 2018 and each of the financial highlights for each of the five years in the period ended March 31, 2018 in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America.

Basis for Opinions

These financial statements are the responsibility of the Funds’ management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on the Funds’ financial statements 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 Funds 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 of these financial statements 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 are free of material misstatement, whether due to error or fraud.

Our audits included performing procedures to assess the risks of material misstatement of the financial statements, 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. 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. Our procedures included confirmation of securities owned as of March 31, 2018 by correspondence with the custodian, transfer agent 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 opinions.

LOGO

PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP

New York, New York

May 21, 2018

We have served as the auditor of one or more investment companies in Tweedy, Browne Fund Inc. since 2004.

 

 

 

II-40


TWEEDY, BROWNE FUND INC.

 

Other Information (Unaudited)

 

1. Investment in the Funds by Managing Directors and Employees of the Investment Adviser

As of March 31, 2018, the current and retired managing directors and their families, as well as employees of the Investment Adviser, have approximately $134.5 million, $6.5 million, $78.7 million and $8.3 million of their own money invested in Global Value Fund, Global Value Fund II – Currency Unhedged, Value Fund and Worldwide High Dividend Yield Value Fund, respectively.

2. Tax Information – Year Ended March 31, 2018

For shareholders who do not have a March 31, 2018 tax year end, this footnote is for informational purposes only. Form 1099-DIV will be sent to shareholders in February 2019 reporting the amounts and tax characterization of distributions for the 2018 calendar year.

For the fiscal year ended March 31, 2018, the amount of long-term capital gain designated by the Funds and taxable at the lower capital gain rate for federal income tax purposes was:

 

Fund       

Global Value Fund

    $20,584,855  

Global Value Fund II – Currency Unhedged

    $—  

Value Fund

    $22,875,459  

Worldwide High Dividend Yield Value Fund

    $19,270,406  
         

Of the ordinary income (including short-term capital gain) distributions made by the Funds during the fiscal year ended March 31, 2018, the percentage that qualifies for the dividend received deduction available to corporate shareholders was:

 

Fund       

Global Value Fund

    13.72%  

Global Value Fund II – Currency Unhedged

    15.37%  

Value Fund

    62.24%  

Worldwide High Dividend Yield Value Fund

    21.75%  
         

For the fiscal year ended March 31, 2018, the percentage of the distributions paid by the Funds that qualify for the lower tax rates (qualified dividend income) applicable to individual shareholders was:

 

Fund       

Global Value Fund

    100%  

Global Value Fund II – Currency Unhedged

    100%  

Value Fund

    100%  

Worldwide High Dividend Yield Value Fund

    100%  
         

If the Funds meet the requirements of Section 853 of the Internal Revenue Code, the Funds may elect to pass through to their shareholders credits for foreign taxes paid.

For the fiscal year ended March 31, 2018, the gross income derived from foreign sources and foreign taxes paid were:

 

     Global Value Fund
     Dollar Amount   Per Share

Foreign Source Income

      $219,066,192       $0.6317
Foreign Taxes       13,681,437       0.0395
                     
       
     Global Value Fund II –  Currency Unhedged
     Dollar Amount   Per Share

Foreign Source Income

      $8,240,121       $0.3402
Foreign Taxes       563,462       0.0233
                     
       
     Value Fund
     Dollar Amount   Per Share

Foreign Source Income

      $8,279,043       0.3597
Foreign Taxes       610,634       0.0265
                     
       
     Worldwide High Dividend Yield Value  Fund
     Dollar Amount   Per Share

Foreign Source Income

      $7,701,671       $0.2956
Foreign Taxes       359,749       0.0138
                     

3. Portfolio Information

The Company files each Fund’s complete schedule of portfolio holdings with the SEC for the first and third quarters of each fiscal year on Form N-Q. The Company’s Form N-Q is available (1) on the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov; (2) for review and copying at the SEC’s Public Reference Room (“PRR”) in Washington, DC; or (3) by calling the Fund at 800-432-4789. Information regarding the operation of the PRR may be obtained by calling 202-551-8090.

4. Proxy Voting Information

The policies and procedures that the Company uses to determine how to vote proxies relating to portfolio securities held by the Funds are included in the Company’s Statement of Additional Information, which is available without charge and upon request by calling the Funds at 800-432-4789 or by visiting the Funds’ website at www.tweedy.com. Information regarding how the Funds voted proxies relating to portfolio securities during the most recent twelve-month period ended June 30 is available, without charge, at www.sec.gov.

 

 

 

 

II-41


TWEEDY, BROWNE FUND INC.

 

Other Information (Unaudited)

 

NON-INTERESTED DIRECTORS
Name, Address1, Age and
Position(s) with Company
   Term of
Office and
Length of
Time Served2
  

Principal Occupation(s)

during at Least the Past 5 Years

   Number of
Portfolios in
Fund
Complex
Overseen by
Director
  

Other

Directorships

Held by

Director

                    

Paul F. Balser

Age: 76

Director

   Since 2000   

Partner, Ironwood Manufacturing Fund, LP (private

equity investments), since 2003; Partner, Ironwood

Management Fund (private equity investments),

since 2007; Partner, Ironwood Partners LLC (private

equity investments), since December 2001; Partner,

Generation Partners (private equity investments)

from August 1995 to September 30, 2004; Senior Advisor, Cheyenne Capital (private equity investments) since March 2015.

   4   

Director, Janus Capital

Group Inc. (asset

management) through April 2014

Bruce A. Beal

Age: 81

Director

   Since 1993   

Chairman, Related Beal (real estate development

and investment companies).

   4    None

Robert C. Elliott

Age: 72

Director

   Since 2016    Vice Chairman, 2014-2017, Market Street Trust Company; Board of Regents – Winthrop University Hospital since 2005; Senior Adviser, Bessemer Trust from 2011-2014; Senior Managing Director, Bessemer Trust from 1975-2011.    4    None

Jack E. Fockler

Age: 59

Director

   Since 2016    Managing Director and Vice President: Head of Sales, Client Service and Marketing from October 1989 to June 2015; Senior Advisor from July 2015 to December 2017, Royce & Associates, LP (Retired since January 2018).    4    None

John C. Hover II

Age: 74

Director

   Since 2003   

Former Executive Vice President, United States Trust

Company of New York (Retired since 2000).

   4   

Member of the Boards of

Managers of

Bank of America’s

Excelsior Funds

through July 2015

Richard B. Salomon

Age: 70

Director

   Since 1996    Of Counsel, Cozen O’Connor (law firm).    4    None
                     
          INTERESTED DIRECTORS3          

William H. Browne

Age: 73

Vice President and Director

   Vice President –
Since 2009;
Director –
Since 2009 and
from 1993-1997
   Managing Director, Tweedy, Browne Company LLC.    4    N/A

Thomas H. Shrager

Age: 60

President and Director

  

President –
Since 2009;

Director –
Since 2008

   Managing Director, Tweedy, Browne Company LLC.    4    N/A

Robert Q. Wyckoff, Jr.

Age: 65

Chairman, Vice President and Director

  

Chairman and
Vice President –
Since 2016;

Director –
Since 2015

   Managing Director, Tweedy, Browne Company LLC.    4    N/A

 

1

Each director may be reached c/o Tweedy, Browne Company LLC, One Station Place, Stamford, CT 06902. The Statement of Additional Information includes additional information about Fund directors and is available without charge, upon request at 800-432-4789.

2

Directors serve for a term until the next annual meeting of stockholders and the election and qualification of their successors, or until their earlier removal, resignation or death.

3

Messrs. William H. Browne, Thomas H. Shrager and Robert Q. Wyckoff, Jr. are each an “interested person” of the Company as defined in the 1940 Act because of their affiliation with Tweedy, Browne Company LLC, which acts as the Company’s Investment Adviser, and with AMG Distributors, Inc., the Funds’ distributor.

 

 

 

II-42


TWEEDY, BROWNE FUND INC.

 

Other Information (Unaudited)

 

OFFICERS WHO ARE NOT DIRECTORS
Name, Address1, Age and
Position(s) with Company
  

Term of

Office and

Length of

Time Served2

   Principal Occupation(s)
during at Least the Past 5 Years

Roger R. de Bree

Age: 55

Treasurer

   Since 2016    Research Analyst (since 2000) and member of the Investment Committee (since 2013), Tweedy, Browne Company LLC.

Elise M. Dolan

Age: 41

Chief Compliance Officer and Assistant Secretary

   Since 2013    General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer (since 2016) and Associate General Counsel (2013-2016), Tweedy, Browne Company LLC; Associate, Dechert LLP (2002-2013).

Patricia A. Rogers

Age: 51

Vice President and Secretary

   Since 2013    Associate General Counsel (since 2016 and 1998-2013) and General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer (2014-2016), Tweedy, Browne Company LLC; Chief Compliance Officer (2004-2013) and Chief Operating Officer (2013-2014), Tweedy, Browne Fund Inc.

John D. Spears

Age: 69

Vice President

   Since 1993    Managing Director, Tweedy, Browne Company LLC.

 

 

 

 

 

1

Each officer may be reached c/o Tweedy, Browne Company LLC, One Station Place, Stamford, CT 06902.

2

Officers serve for an indefinite term until the election and qualification of their successors, or until their earlier removal, resignation or death.

 

 

 

II-43


TWEEDY, BROWNE FUND INC.

One Station Place, Stamford, CT 06902

800-432-4789

www.tweedy.com

 

TB-ANN-0318


Item 2. Code of Ethics.

 

  (a)

The registrant, as of the end of the period covered by this report, has adopted a code of ethics that applies to the registrant’s principal executive officer, principal financial officer, principal accounting officer or controller, or persons performing similar functions, regardless of whether these individuals are employed by the registrant or a third party.

 

  (c)

There have been no amendments, during the period covered by this report, to a provision of the code of ethics that applies to the registrant’s principal executive officer, principal financial officer, principal accounting officer or controller, or persons performing similar functions, regardless of whether these individuals are employed by the registrant or a third party, and that relates to any element of the code of ethics description.

 

  (d)

The registrant has not granted any waivers, including an implicit waiver, from a provision of the code of ethics that applies to the registrant’s principal executive officer, principal financial officer, principal accounting officer or controller, or persons performing similar functions, regardless of whether these individuals are employed by the registrant or a third party, that relates to one or more of the items set forth in paragraph (b) of this item’s instructions.

Item 3. Audit Committee Financial Expert.

The registrant’s board of directors has determined that Paul Balser is qualified to serve as an audit committee financial expert serving on its audit committee and that he is “independent,” as defined by Item 3 of Form N-CSR.

Item 4. Principal Accountant Fees and Services.

Audit Fees

 

  (a)

The aggregate fees billed for each of the last two fiscal years for professional services rendered by the principal accountant for the audit of the registrant’s annual financial statements or services that are normally provided by the accountant in connection with statutory and regulatory filings or engagements for those fiscal years were $224,000 for 2017 and $227,400 for 2018.

Audit-Related Fees

 

  (b)

The aggregate fees billed in each of the last two fiscal years for assurance and related services by the principal accountant that are reasonably related to the performance of the audit of the registrant’s financial statements and are not reported under paragraph (a) of this Item are $0 for 2017 and $0 for 2018.

Tax Fees


  (c)

The aggregate fees billed in each of the last two fiscal years for professional services rendered by the principal accountant for tax compliance, tax advice, and tax planning were $47,625 for 2017 and $44,825 for 2018. These services included the review of each Fund’s federal and state income tax returns and procedures regarding each Fund’s annual excise tax distribution calculations.

All Other Fees

 

  (d)

The aggregate fees billed in each of the last two fiscal years for products and services provided by the principal accountant, other than the services reported in paragraphs (a) through (c) of this Item were $0 for 2017 and $0 for 2018.

 

  (e)(1)

Disclose the audit committee’s pre-approval policies and procedures described in paragraph (c)(7) of Rule 2-01 of Regulation S-X.

The Fund’s Audit Committee reviews, negotiates and approves in advance the scope of work, any related engagement letter and the fees to be charged by the independent auditors for audit services and, subject to any de minimis exceptions, permitted non-audit services for the Fund and permitted non-audit services for the Fund’s investment adviser and any affiliates thereof that provide services to the Fund, if such non-audit services have a direct impact on the operations or financial reporting of the Fund.

 

  (e)(2)

There were no amounts that were approved by the Audit Committee pursuant to the de minimis exception (Rule 2-01(c)(7)(i)(C) of Regulation S-X) for the last two fiscal years.

 

  (f)

The percentage of hours expended on the principal accountant’s engagement to audit the registrant’s financial statements for the most recent fiscal year that were attributed to work performed by persons other than the principal accountant’s full-time, permanent employees was less than fifty percent.

 

  (g)

The aggregate non-audit fees billed by the registrant’s accountant for services rendered to the registrant, and rendered to the registrant’s investment adviser (not including any sub-adviser whose role is primarily portfolio management and is subcontracted with or overseen by another investment adviser), and any entity controlling, controlled by, or under common control with the adviser that provides ongoing services to the registrant for each of the last two fiscal years of the registrant was $139,125 for 2017 and $140,100 for 2018.

 

  (h)

The registrant’s audit committee of the board of directors has considered whether the provision of non-audit services that were rendered to the registrant’s investment adviser (not including any sub-adviser whose role is primarily portfolio management and is subcontracted with or overseen by another investment adviser), and any entity controlling, controlled by, or under common control with the investment adviser that provides ongoing services to the registrant that were not pre-approved pursuant to paragraph (c)(7)(ii) of Rule 2-01 of Regulation S-X is compatible with maintaining the principal accountant’s independence.

Item 5. Audit Committee of Listed Registrants.

Not applicable.


Item 6. Investments.

 

(a) Schedules of Investments in securities of unaffiliated issuers as of the close of the reporting period are included as part of the report to shareholders filed under Item 1 of this form.

 

(b) Not applicable.

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

             Companies.

Not applicable.

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

Not applicable.

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

             Purchasers.

Not applicable.

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

There have been no material changes to the procedures by which shareholders may recommend nominees to the registrant’s board of directors, where those changes were implemented after the registrant last provided disclosure in response to the requirements of Item 407(c)(2)(iv) of Regulation S-K (17 CFR 229.407) (as required by Item 22(b)(15) of Schedule 14A (17 CFR 240.14a-101)), or this Item.

Item 11. Controls and Procedures.

 

  (a)

The registrant’s principal executive and principal financial officers, 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”) (17 CFR 270.30a-3(c))) are effective, 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 (17 CFR 270.30a-3(b)) and Rules 13a-15(b) or 15d-15(b) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (17 CFR 240.13a-15(b) or 240.15d-15(b)).

 

  (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 (17 CFR 270.30a-3(d)) 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 12. Disclosure of Securities Lending Activities for Closed-End Management Investment Companies.

 

           Not applicable.

Item 13. Exhibits.

 

  (a)(1)

Code of ethics, or any amendment thereto, that is the subject of disclosure required by Item 2 is attached hereto.

 

  (a)(2)

Certifications pursuant to Rule 30a-2(a) under the 1940 Act and Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 are attached hereto.

 

  (a)(3)

Not applicable.

 

  (a)(4)

Not applicable.

 

  (b)

Certifications pursuant to Rule 30a-2(b) under the 1940 Act and Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 are attached hereto.


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)    Tweedy, Browne Fund Inc.                                                                      

 

By (Signature and Title)*    /s/ Thomas H. Shrager                                                        
                                                   Thomas H. Shrager, President
                                                   (principal executive officer)

 

Date    May 23, 2018                                                                                                        

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

 

By (Signature and Title)*    /s/ Thomas H. Shrager                                                        
                                                   Thomas H. Shrager, President
                                                   (principal executive officer)

 

Date    May 23, 2018                                                                                                        

 

By (Signature and Title)*    /s/ Roger R. de Bree                                                           
                                                   Roger R. de Bree, Treasurer
                                                   (principal financial officer)

 

Date    May 23, 2018                                                                                                        

 

*  Print the name and title of each signing officer under his or her signature.