A “significant event”
is an event that the Board believes, with a reasonably high degree of certainty, has caused the closing market prices of a Fund’s or Portfolio's securities to no longer reflect their value at the time of the
Fund’s or Portfolio's NAV calculation. Fair value may be determined using an independent fair value service under valuation procedures approved by the Board. The independent fair value service takes into account
multiple factors including, but not limited to, movements in the U.S. securities markets, certain depositary receipts, futures contracts and foreign currency exchange rates that have occurred subsequent to the close
of foreign securities exchanges. The use of the independent fair value service or alternative fair valuation methods would result in the investments being classified within Level 2 of the fair value hierarchy.
Various inputs are used in
determining the value of the Portfolio's or Fund's investments.
The Portfolios or Funds value their
assets and liabilities at fair value using a fair value hierarchy consisting of three broad levels that prioritize the inputs to valuation techniques giving the highest priority to readily available unadjusted quoted
prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities (Level 1 measurements) and the lowest priority to unobservable inputs (Level 3 measurements) when market prices are not readily available or reliable. The
categorization of a value determined for an investment within the hierarchy is based upon the pricing transparency of the investment and is not necessarily an indication of the risk associated with investing in it.
The three levels of the fair value
hierarchy are as follows:
• Level 1 –
Unadjusted quoted prices in active markets for an identical asset or liability;
• Level 2 – Inputs other than quoted prices included within Level 1 that are observable for the asset or liability either directly or indirectly, including quoted prices for
similar assets or liabilities in active markets, quoted prices for identical or similar assets or liabilities in markets that are not considered to be active, inputs other than quoted prices that are observable for
the asset or liability (such as exchange rates, financing terms, interest rates, yield curves, volatilities, prepayment speeds, loss severities, credit risks and default rates) or other market-corroborated inputs;
and
• Level 3 – Unobservable inputs for the asset or liability, including the Committee’s assumptions used in determining the fair value of investments.
The value of each Portfolio's or
Fund's investments according to the fair value hierarchy as of March 31, 2024 is disclosed in each Portfolio's or Fund's respective Schedule of Investments.
Futures Contracts
Certain Portfolios or Funds may
enter into futures contracts to meet the Portfolios’ or Funds’ objectives. A futures contract is a standardized, exchange-traded agreement to buy or sell a financial instrument at a set price on a future
date. Upon entering into a futures contract, the Portfolio or Fund is required to deposit with the broker, cash or securities in an amount equal to the minimum initial margin requirements of the clearing house.
Securities deposited, if any, are designated on the Summary Schedule of Investments and cash deposited, if any, is shown as Cash at Broker on the Statement of Assets and Liabilities. Subsequent payments are made or
received by the Portfolio or Fund equal to the daily change in the contract value, accumulated, exchange rates, and or other transactional fees. The accumulation of those payments are recorded as variation margin
receivable or payable with a corresponding offset to unrealized gains or losses. The Portfolios or Funds recognize a realized gain or loss when the contract is closed.
For the period ended March 31,
2024, the State Street Equity 500 Index II Portfolio, State Street Global All Cap Equity ex-U.S. Index Portfolio, State Street Small/Mid Cap Equity Index Portfolio, State Street Emerging Markets Equity Index Fund and
the State Street International Developed Equity Index Portfolio each entered into futures contracts for cash equitization.
Losses may arise if the value of a
futures contract decreases due to unfavorable changes in the market rates or values of the underlying instrument during the term of the contract or if the counterparty does not perform under the contract. The use of
futures contracts also involves the risk that the movements in the price of the futures contracts do not correlate the movement of the assets underlying such contracts.
