Business Context and Reporting Period
This Form 13F-HR is a quarterly holdings report filed by ASA Limited (Institutional Investment Manager) for the period ended March 31, 2010. The report discloses equity and debt securities held by the manager, focusing primarily on the precious metals and mining sector.
Key Financial Metrics
The filing provides aggregate portfolio data rather than operational financial metrics (revenue, profit, cash flow) for the issuer or the manager.
- Total Portfolio Value: $304,419,000
- Total Number of Holdings: 13
- Top Holdings by Value:
- Randgold Resources Limited: $55,295,000
- Barrick Gold Corporation: $47,925,000
- Goldcorp Inc.: $40,287,000
- Compania de Minas Buenaventura: $39,765,000
- Agnico-Eagle Mines Limited: $33,402,000
- Debt Exposure: Includes $15,167,000 in NovaGold Resources Inc. Notes.
Material Changes and Voting Authority
The filing does not provide comparative data against the prior quarter to determine material changes in position size. However, it details the voting authority for the reported positions:
- Sole Discretion: 12 positions (including all equity holdings and the NovaGold note).
- Sold Discretion: 1 position (Kinross Gold Corporation, 1,125,000 shares).
- Shared Discretion: None reported.
Guidance, Outlook, and Risks
Form 13F filings are regulatory disclosures of holdings and do not contain management commentary, forward-looking guidance, risk factors, or contingency plans. The filing text does not provide a clear value for these qualitative items.
Investor Verification Checklist
- Verify the current market price of the top 5 holdings (Randgold, Barrick, Goldcorp, Buenaventura, Agnico-Eagle) to assess current portfolio valuation versus the $304.4M reported value.
- Confirm the status of the "Sold" voting authority for Kinross Gold Corporation to understand if this represents a partial or full liquidation of the position.
- Review the specific terms of the NovaGold Resources Inc. Note ($15.2M) to understand the debt maturity and interest profile.
- Check subsequent 13F filings to track changes in the precious metals sector allocation.