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 811-21496
Macquarie/First Trust Global Infrastructure/Utilities
Dividend & Income Fund
(Exact name of registrant as specified in charter)
120 East Liberty Drive, Suite 400
Wheaton, IL 60187
(Address of principal executive offices) (Zip code)
W. Scott Jardine, Esq.
First Trust Portfolios L.P.
120 East Liberty Drive, Suite 400
Wheaton, IL 60187
(Name and address of agent for service)
registrant's telephone number, including area code: 630-765-8000
Date of fiscal year end: November 30
Date of reporting period: November 30, 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, 100 F Street, NE, Washington, DC 20549. The OMB has reviewed this collection of information under the clearance requirements of 44 U.S.C. § 3507.
Item 1. Reports to Stockholders.
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Explanatory Note
The Registrant is filing this amendment to its Form N-CSR for the period ended November 30, 2018, originally filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on January 29, 2019 (Accession Number 0001445546-19-000506) to correct a numerical error contained in Item 4(c). Item 1 to this Form N-CSR is incorporated by reference to the Form N-CSR filed on EDGAR on January 29, 2019 (Accession Number 0001445546-19-000506).
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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. |
(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. |
(f) | (1) See Item 13(a)(1). |
Item 3. Audit Committee Financial Expert.
As of the end of the period covered by the report, the Registrant’s board of trustees has determined that Thomas R. Kadlec and Robert F. Keith are qualified to serve as audit committee financial experts serving on its audit committee and that each of them is “independent,” as defined by Item 3 of Form N-CSR.
Item 4. Principal Accountant Fees and Services.
(a) Audit Fees (Registrant) -- 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 $49,000 for the fiscal year ended November 30, 2017 and $49,000 for the fiscal year ended November 30, 2018.
(b) Audit-Related Fees (Registrant) -- 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 were $0 for the fiscal year ended November 30, 2017 and $0 for the fiscal year ended November 30, 2018.
Audit-Related Fees (Investment Adviser) -- 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 were $0 for the fiscal year ended November 30, 2017 and $0 for the fiscal year ended November 30, 2018.
(c) Tax Fees (Registrant) -- 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 to the registrant were $16,600 for the fiscal year ended November 30, 2017 and $16,050 for the fiscal year ended November 30, 2018.
Tax Fees (Investment Adviser) -- 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 to the registrant’s adviser were $0 for the fiscal year ended November 30, 2017 and $0 for the fiscal year ended November 30, 2018.
(d) All Other Fees (Registrant) -- The aggregate fees billed in each of the last two fiscal years for products and services provided by the principal accountant to the registrant, other than the services reported in paragraphs (a) through (c) of this Item were $0 for the fiscal year ended November 30, 2017 and $0 for the fiscal year ended November 30, 2018.
All Other Fees (Investment Adviser) -- The aggregate fees billed in each of the last two fiscal years for products and services provided by the principal accountant to the registrant’s investment adviser, other than the services reported in paragraphs (a) through (c) of this Item were $0 for the fiscal year ended November 30, 2017 and $0 for the fiscal year ended November 30, 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.
Pursuant to its charter and its Audit and Non-Audit Services Pre-Approval Policy, the Audit Committee (the “Committee”) is responsible for the pre-approval of all audit services and permitted non-audit services (including the fees and terms thereof) to be performed for the registrant by its independent auditors. The Chairman of the Committee is authorized to give such pre-approvals on behalf of the Committee up to $25,000 and report any such pre-approval to the full Committee.
The Committee is also responsible for the pre-approval of the independent auditor’s engagements for non-audit services with the registrant’s adviser (not including a sub-adviser whose role is primarily portfolio management and is sub-contracted 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, if the engagement relates directly to the operations and financial reporting of the registrant, subject to the de minimis exceptions for non-audit services described in Rule 2-01 of Regulation S-X. If the independent auditor has provided non-audit services to the registrant’s adviser (other than any sub-adviser whose role is primarily portfolio management and is sub-contracted 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 its policies, the Committee will consider whether the provision of such non-audit services is compatible with the auditor’s independence.
(e)(2) | The percentage of services described in each of paragraphs (b) through (d) for the registrant and the registrant’s investment adviser of this Item that were approved by the audit committee pursuant to the pre-approval exceptions included in paragraph (c)(7)(i)(c) or paragraph (c)(7)(ii) of Rule 2-01 of Regulation S-X are as follows: |
(b) 0%
(c) 0%
(d) 0%
(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 the fiscal year ended November 30, 2017 were $5,200 for the registrant and $44,000 for the registrant’s investment adviser, and for the fiscal year ended November 30, 2018 were $16,050 for the registrant and $48,190 for the registrant’s investment adviser.
(h) The registrant’s audit committee of its Board of Trustees has determined that 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.
(a) | The Registrant has a separately designated audit committee consisting of all the independent directors of the Registrant. The members of the audit committee are: Thomas R. Kadlec, Niel B. Nielson, Richard E. Erickson and Robert F. Keith. |
Item 6. Investments.
(a) | Schedule of Investments in securities of unaffiliated issuers as of the close of the reporting period is 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.
The Proxy Voting Policies are included below.
First Trust Advisors L.P.
Macquarie/First Trust Global Infrastructure/Utilities Dividend & Income Fund
Proxy Voting Guidelines
First Trust Advisors L.P. (“First Trust”) serves as investment adviser providing discretionary investment advisory services for Macquarie/First Trust Global Infrastructure/Utilities Dividend & Income Fund (the “Fund”). Macquarie Capital Investment Management LLC (“MCIM”) serves as sub-adviser for the portion of the Fund’s investment portfolio invested, or to be invested, in equity securities as well as other securities and instruments issued by U.S. and non-U.S. issuers that manage, own and/or operate infrastructure and utility assets in a select group of countries (the “Core Component”). Four Corners Capital Management, LLC serves as sub-adviser for the portion of the Fund’s investment portfolio invested, or to be invested, in U.S. dollar denominated senior secured floating-rate loans issued by U.S. and non-U.S. issuers that manage, own and/or operate infrastructure and utility assets (the “Senior Loan Component”). As part of these services, First Trust has full responsibility for proxy voting and related duties with respect to the Senior Loan Component and the Core Component. In fulfilling these duties, First Trust and the Fund have adopted the following policies and procedures:
1. It is First Trust’s policy to seek to ensure that proxies for securities held by the Fund are voted consistently and solely in the best economic interests of the Fund.
2. First Trust shall be responsible for the oversight of the Fund’s proxy voting process and shall assign a senior member of its staff to be responsible for this oversight.
3. First Trust has engaged the services of Institutional Shareholder Services, Inc. (“ISS”) to make recommendations to First Trust on the voting of proxies related to securities held by the Fund. ISS provides voting recommendations based on established guidelines and practices. First Trust has adopted these ISS Proxy Voting Guidelines.
4. With respect to proxies received for the Core Component, First Trust shall review the ISS recommendations and forward such recommendations to MCIM for review. First Trust generally will vote the proxies in accordance with ISS recommendations. MCIM may request that First Trust not vote in accordance with the ISS guidelines and First Trust may review and follow such request, unless First Trust determines that it is unable to follow such request. With respect to proxies received for the Senior Loan Component, First Trust shall review the ISS recommendations and generally will vote the proxies in accordance with ISS recommendations. Notwithstanding the foregoing, First Trust may not vote in accordance with the ISS recommendations if First Trust believes that the specific ISS recommendation is not in the best interests of the Fund. In addition, if First Trust has actual knowledge of any other type of material conflict of interest between itself and the Fund with respect to the voting of a proxy, First Trust shall vote the applicable proxy in accordance with the ISS recommendations to avoid such conflict of interest. If there is a conflict of interest between Fund shareholders and First Trust, the Fund’s principal underwriter, or MCIM, if applicable, First Trust will vote the proxy based on the recommendations of ISS to avoid such conflict of interest.
5. If First Trust manages the assets or pension fund of a company and any of First Trust’s clients hold any securities in that company, First Trust will vote proxies relating to such company’s securities in accordance with the ISS recommendations to avoid any conflict of interest.
6. If the Fund requests First Trust to follow specific voting guidelines or additional guidelines, First Trust shall review the request and follow such guidelines, unless First Trust determines that it is unable to follow such guidelines. In such case, First Trust shall inform the Fund that it is not able to follow the Fund’s request.
7. First Trust may have clients in addition to the Fund which have provided First Trust with discretionary authority to vote proxies on their behalf. In such cases, First Trust shall follow the same policies and procedures.
Item 8. Portfolio Managers of Closed-End Management Investment Companies.
(a)(1) Identification of Portfolio Manager(s) or Management Team Members and Description of Role of Portfolio Manager(s) or Management Team Members
Information provided as of November 30, 2018
Macquarie Capital Investment Management LLC (“MCIM”) and Four Corners Capital Management, LLC (“Four Corners”) serve as the registrant’s sub-advisers. MCIM manages the Core Component of the registrant, while Four Corners manages the Senior Loan Component of the registrant.
MACQUARIE CAPITAL INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT LLC
Anthony Felton and Jonathon Ong are the co- portfolio managers responsible for the day-to-day management of the Core Component of the registrant.
Name | Title | Length of Service | Business Experience Past 5 Years |
Anthony Felton | Fund Co-Portfolio Manager | 19 years |
Anthony Felton joined Macquarie Group in February 2004 and the MAM Infrastructure Securities team in June 2004. He is a portfolio manager of several funds in the MAM Global Infrastructure Securities Strategy, including MFD for the past 5 years.
|
Jonathon Ong | Fund Co-Portfolio Manager | 25 years |
Jonathon Ong joined the MAM Infrastructure Securities team in Sydney as a Portfolio Manager in January 2008. He is a portfolio manager of several funds in the MAM Global Infrastructure Securities Strategy, including MFD for the past 5 years.
|
(a)(2) | Other Accounts Managed by Portfolio Manager(s) or Management Team Member and Potential Conflicts of Interest |
Information provided as of November 30, 2018
Other Accounts Managed by Portfolio Manager(s) or Management Team Member
Name of Portfolio Manager or Team Member
|
Type of Accounts
|
Total No. of Accounts
|
Total Assets
|
No. of Accounts where Advisory Fee is Based on Performance
|
Total Assets in Accounts where Advisory Fee is Based on Performance
|
Anthony Felton | Registered Investment Companies: | 0 | 0 | 0 | $0 |
Other Pooled Investment Vehicles: | 2 | $334,196,341 | 0 | $0 | |
Other Accounts: | 0 | 0 | 0 | $0 | |
Jonathon Ong | Registered Investment Companies: | 1 | $436,561,515 | 0 | $0 |
Other Pooled Investment Vehicles: | 2 | $334,196,341 | 0 | $0 | |
Other Accounts: | 0 | $0 | 0 | $0 |
Potential Conflicts of Interests
MCIM has policies and procedures in place that govern the manner in which allocations of trades will be handled should MCIM effect purchases or sales of the same security for different clients. These procedures address circumstances in which separate purchase or sale orders for the same security are placed for two or more clients, and additionally when purchase or sale orders for the same security are aggregated. MCIM policies detail specific conditions that must be met when aggregating purchase or sale orders for the same security for two or more clients. The Portfolio Manager is responsible for allocating investment opportunities and aggregating orders consistently with the procedures and a periodic, but at least quarterly, review by the Chief Compliance Officer of MCIM (or designee) is required.
(a)(3) | Compensation Structure of Portfolio Manager(s) or Management Team Members |
Information provided as of November 30, 2018
Compensation consists of fixed remuneration in the form of a base salary, variable (at risk) performance pay in the form of an annual profit share allocation and long term equity based incentives. Fixed remuneration takes into consideration the role of individuals and market conditions. Remuneration is reviewed on a yearly basis in March/May and takes effect from July 1st of that year.
Aggregate staff profit share is linked to Macquarie Group’s profitability and return on ordinary equity, with the allocation of individual profit share being based on factors including contribution to profit, use of capital, funding and risk. Macquarie Group operates profit share retention arrangements for employees meeting certain pay thresholds, to ensure an appropriate balance between short and longer-term incentives. Retained profit share is invested in the Macquarie Employee Retained Equity Plan (MEREP) to further align employee and shareholder interests as well as enhance Macquarie Group’s ability to attract and retain high caliber talent.
The base salary is fixed a year in advance, while the discretionary profit share varies according to the performance of the individual, the division and Macquarie Group. Discretionary profit share is allocated annually. Compensation is not directly based on the pre- or post-tax performance of the Fund over a certain period. However, performance of the Fund could be part of a number of factors taken into account in determining compensation.
If the Portfolio Manager’s or the Management Team’s bonus is over a certain amount, a portion of the bonus may be deferred and may be paid out in the future in up to four equal installments.
(a)(4) | Disclosure of Securities Ownership |
The information below is as of November 30, 2018
Name | Dollar ($) Range of Fund Shares Beneficially Owned |
Anthony Felton |
$0 |
Jonathan Ong | $0 |
FOUR CORNERS CAPITAL MANAGEMENT, LLC:
(a)(1) Identification of Portfolio Manager(s) or Management Team Members and Description of Role of Portfolio Manager(s) or Management Team Members
Information provided as of November 30, 2018
Adam H. Brown
Portfolio Manager
Adam H. Brown is a senior portfolio manager and co-head of the firm’s high yield strategies. He manages the bank loan portfolios and is a co-portfolio manager for the high yield, fixed rate multisector, and core plus strategies.
(a)(2) | Other Accounts Managed by Portfolio Managers or Management Team Member and Potential Conflicts of Interest |
Information provided as of November 30, 2018.
Name of Portfolio Manager or Team Member
|
Type of Accounts
|
Total # of Accounts
|
Total Assets
|
# of Accounts
|
Total Assets for which Advisory Fee is Based on Performance
|
1. Adam H. Brown | Registered Investment Companies: | 13 | $16.5B | 0 | $0 |
Other Pooled Investment Vehicles: | 1 | $354.4M | 0 | $0 | |
Other Accounts: | 3 | $846.9M | 0 | $0 |
Potential Conflicts of Interests
Individual portfolio managers may perform investment management services for other accounts similar to those provided to the Fund and the investment action for each account and fund may differ. For example, one account or the Fund may be selling a security, while another account or the Fund may be purchasing or holding the same security. As a result, transactions executed for one account and the Fund may adversely affect the value of securities held by another account. Additionally, the management of multiple accounts and the Fund may give rise to potential conflicts of interest, as a portfolio manager must allocate time and effort to multiple accounts and the Fund. A portfolio manager may discover an investment opportunity that may be suitable for more than one account or the Fund. The investment opportunity may be limited, however, so that all accounts and the Fund for which the investment would be suitable may not be able to participate. The Manager has adopted procedures designed to allocate investments fairly across multiple accounts.
A portfolio manager's management of personal accounts also may present certain conflicts of interest. While the Manager’s code of ethics is designed to address these potential conflicts, there is no guarantee that it will do so.
(a)(3) Compensation Structure of Portfolio Managers or Management Team Members
Portfolio Manager Compensation
Information provided as of November 30, 2018.
Compensation consists of (1) fixed remuneration that takes into consideration the role of the individuals and market conditions as well as (2) profit share retention arrangements. Remuneration is reviewed on a yearly basis in March/May and takes effect from July 1st of that year.
Macquarie Group operates profit share retention arrangements for employees meeting certain pay thresholds, to ensure an appropriate balance between short and longer-term incentives. Retained profit share is invested in the Macquarie Employee Retained Equity Plan (MEREP) to further align employee and shareholder interests as well as enhance Macquarie Group’s ability to attract and retain high caliber talent.
Aggregate staff profit share is linked to Macquarie Group’s profitability and return on ordinary equity, with the allocation of individual profit share being based on factors including contribution to profit, funding and risk.
Retained profit share is invested in the Macquarie Employee Retained Equity Plan (MEREP).
(a)(4) Disclosure of Securities Ownership
Information provided as of November 30, 2018
Name | Dollar
Range of Fund Shares Beneficially Owned |
Adam H. Brown |
$0 |
(b) | 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 the shareholders may recommend nominees to the registrant’s board of trustees, 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 period covered by this report that has materially affected, or is 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.
(a) | Not applicable. |
(b) | 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) | Macquarie/First Trust Global Infrastructure/Utilities Dividend & Income Fund |
By (Signature and Title)* | /s/ James M. Dykas | |
James M. Dykas, President and Chief Executive Officer (principal executive officer) |
Date: | February 14, 2019 |
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/ James M. Dykas | |
James M. Dykas, President and Chief Executive Officer (principal executive officer) |
Date: | February 14, 2019 |
By (Signature and Title)* | /s/ Donald P. Swade | |
Donald P. Swade, Treasurer, Chief Financial Officer and Chief Accounting Officer (principal financial officer) |
Date: | February 14, 2019 |
* Print the name and title of each signing officer under his or her signature.