MFS SPECIAL VALUE TRUST NCSR

N-CSR 1 f37215d1.htm MFS SPECIAL VALUE TRUST NCSR MFS SPECIAL VALUE TRUST NCSR

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 811-05912

MFS SPECIAL VALUE TRUST

(Exact name of registrant as specified in charter)

111 Huntington Avenue, Boston, Massachusetts 02199 (Address of principal executive offices) (Zip code)

Christopher R. Bohane

Massachusetts Financial Services Company

111Huntington Avenue Boston, Massachusetts 02199

(Name and address of agents for service)

Registrant's telephone number, including area code: (617) 954-5000

Date of fiscal year end: October 31

Date of reporting period: October 31, 2023

ITEM 1. REPORTS TO STOCKHOLDERS.

Item 1(a):

Annual Report

October 31, 2023

MFS^® Special Value Trust

MFV-ANN

MANAGED DISTRIBUTION POLICY DISCLOSURE

The MFS Special Value Trust’s (the fund) Board of Trustees adopted a managed distribution policy. The fund seeks to pay monthly distributions based on an annual rate of 10.00% of the fund’s average monthly net asset value. The primary purpose of the managed distribution policy is to provide shareholders with a constant, but not guaranteed, fixed rate of distribution each month. You should not draw any conclusions about the fund’s investment performance from the amount of the current distribution or from the terms of the fund’s managed distribution policy. The Board may amend or terminate the managed distribution policy at any time without prior notice to fund shareholders. The amendment or termination of the managed distribution policy could have an adverse effect on the market price of the fund’s shares.

With each distribution, the fund will issue a notice to shareholders and an accompanying press release which will provide detailed information regarding the amount and composition of the distribution and other related information. The amounts and sources of distributions reported in the notice to shareholders are only estimates and are not being provided for tax reporting purposes. The actual amounts and sources of the amounts for tax reporting purposes will depend upon the fund’s investment experience during its fiscal year and may be subject to changes based on tax regulations. The fund will send you a Form 1099-DIV for the calendar year that will tell you how to report these distributions for federal income tax purposes. Please refer to “Tax Matters and Distributions” under Note 2 of the Notes to Financial Statements for information regarding the tax character of the fund’s distributions.

Under a managed distribution policy the fund may at times distribute more than its net investment income and net realized capital gains; therefore, a portion of your distribution may result in a return of capital. A return of capital may occur, for example, when some or all of the money that you invested in the fund is paid back to you. Any such returns of capital will decrease the fund’s total assets and, therefore, could have the effect of increasing the fund’s expense ratio. In addition, in order to make the level of distributions called for under its managed distribution policy, the fund may have to sell portfolio securities at a less than opportune time. A return of capital does not necessarily reflect the fund’s investment performance and should not be confused with ‘yield’ or ‘income’. The fund’s total return in relation to changes in net asset value is presented in the Financial Highlights.

MFS^® Special Value Trust

New York Stock Exchange Symbol: MFV

Portfolio composition	1
Management review	3
Performance summary	7
Investment objective, principal investment strategies and principal risks	10
Portfolio managers’ profiles	20
Dividend reinvestment and cash purchase plan	21
Portfolio of investments	22
Statement of assets and liabilities	36
Statement of operations	37
Statements of changes in net assets	38
Financial highlights	39
Notes to financial statements	40
Report of independent registered public accounting firm	51
Results of shareholder meeting	53
Trustees and officers	54
Board review of investment advisory agreement	58
Proxy voting policies and information	62
Quarterly portfolio disclosure	62
Further information	62
Information about fund contracts and legal claims	62
Federal tax information	62
MFS^® privacy notice	64

Contact information

back cover

NOT FDIC INSURED • MAY LOSE VALUE • NO BANK GUARANTEE

Progressive Corp.	2.6%
Cigna Group	2.2%
JPMorgan Chase & Co.	2.0%
Northrop Grumman Corp.	1.9%
Pioneer Natural Resources Co.	1.9%
Marsh & McLennan Cos., Inc.	1.7%
Aon PLC	1.7%
Comcast Corp., “A”	1.7%
McKesson Corp.	1.7%
Nestle S.A., ADR	1.6%

Financials	12.9%
Health Care	6.0%
Utilities	4.4%
Industrials	4.3%
Energy	3.2%
Consumer Discretionary	2.7%
Information Technology	2.3%
Consumer Staples	2.3%
Communication Services	1.8%
Real Estate	1.3%

High Yield Corporates	47.4%
Emerging Markets Bonds	6.7%
U.S. Treasury Securities	0.6%
Investment Grade Corporates	0.5%

BBB	0.5%
BB	25.2%
B	22.7%
CCC	6.0%
U.S. Government	0.3%
Not Rated	0.5%
Non-Fixed Income	41.2%
Cash & Cash Equivalents	3.9%
Other	(0.3)%

	Inception Date	1-yr	5-yr	10-yr
Market Value (r)	11/16/1989	0.61%	2.84%	3.73%
Net Asset Value (r)	11/16/1989	3.30%	4.37%	4.73%


Bloomberg U.S. Corporate High-Yield 2% Issuer Capped Index (f)	6.23%	3.04%	3.86%
MFS Special Value Trust Blended Index (f)(w)	4.22%	4.24%	5.13%
JPMorgan Emerging Markets Bond Index Global (f)	6.94%	0.07%	1.82%
Russell 1000^® Value Index (f)	0.13%	6.60%	7.60%

(f)	Source: FactSet Research Systems Inc.
(r)	Includes reinvestment of all distributions. Market value references New York Stock Exchange Price.

	10/31/23
Bloomberg U.S. Corporate High-Yield 2% Issuer Capped Index	57.5%
Russell 1000^® Value Index	35.0%
JPMorgan Emerging Markets Bond Index Global	7.5%

Portfolio Manager	Primary Role	Since	Title and Five Year History
Ward Brown	Emerging Markets Debt Instruments Portfolio Manager	2012	Investment Officer of MFS; employed in the investment management area of MFS since 2005.
Katherine Cannan	Equity Securities Portfolio Manager	2019	Investment Officer of MFS; employed in the investment management area of MFS since 2013.
Nevin Chitkara	Equity Securities Portfolio Manager	2012	Investment Officer of MFS; employed in the investment management area of MFS since 1997.
David Cole	Below Investment Grade Debt Instruments Portfolio Manager	2006	Investment Officer of MFS; employed in the investment management area of MFS since 2004.
Matt Ryan	Emerging Markets Debt Instruments Portfolio Manager	2012	Investment Officer of MFS; employed in the investment management area of MFS since 1997.
Michael Skatrud	Below Investment Grade Debt Instruments Portfolio Manager	2018	Investment Officer of MFS; employed in the investment management area of MFS since 2013.

Issuer		Shares/Par	Value ($)
Bonds – 54.0%
Aerospace & Defense – 1.6%
Bombardier, Inc., 7.5%, 3/15/2025 (n)	$	13,000	$12,986
Bombardier, Inc., 7.125%, 6/15/2026 (n)		33,000	31,752
Bombardier, Inc., 7.5%, 2/01/2029 (n)		25,000	23,156
Moog, Inc., 4.25%, 12/15/2027 (n)		61,000	54,306
Spirit AeroSystems, Inc., 4.6%, 6/15/2028		65,000	51,425
TransDigm, Inc., 6.25%, 3/15/2026 (n)		57,000	55,658
TransDigm, Inc., 5.5%, 11/15/2027		64,000	59,581
TransDigm, Inc., 6.75%, 8/15/2028 (n)		48,000	46,607
TransDigm, Inc., 4.625%, 1/15/2029		55,000	47,423
TransDigm, Inc., 6.875%, 12/15/2030 (n)		101,000	97,522
			$480,416
Airlines – 0.4%
Air Canada, 3.875%, 8/15/2026 (n)	$	84,000	$76,429
American Airlines, Inc./AAdvantage Loyalty IP Ltd., 5.75%, 4/20/2029 (n)		35,527	32,047
			$108,476
Automotive – 0.9%
Clarios Global LP/Clarios U.S. Finance Co., 8.5%, 5/15/2027 (n)	$	55,000	$54,152
Clarios Global LP/Clarios U.S. Finance Co., 6.75%, 5/15/2028 (n)		25,000	24,372
Dana, Inc., 5.375%, 11/15/2027		46,000	42,320
Dana, Inc., 4.25%, 9/01/2030		32,000	25,327
Dornoch Debt Merger Sub, Inc., 6.625%, 10/15/2029 (n)		52,000	40,899
Real Hero Merger Sub 2, Inc., 6.25%, 2/01/2029 (n)		42,000	33,410
Wabash National Corp., 4.5%, 10/15/2028 (n)		50,000	41,375
			$261,855
Broadcasting – 0.7%
Midas OpCo Holdings LLC, 5.625%, 8/15/2029 (n)	$	64,000	$52,895
Summer (BC) Bidco B LLC, 5.5%, 10/31/2026 (n)		200,000	174,170
			$227,065
Brokerage & Asset Managers – 1.1%
AG Issuer LLC, 6.25%, 3/01/2028 (n)	$	10,000	$9,206
AG TTMT Escrow Issuer LLC, 8.625%, 9/30/2027 (n)		56,000	56,254
Aretec Escrow Issuer 2, Inc., 10%, 8/15/2030 (n)(w)		51,000	51,574
Aretec Escrow Issuer, Inc., 7.5%, 4/01/2029 (n)		61,000	51,752
LPL Holdings, Inc., 4%, 3/15/2029 (n)		35,000	30,095
LPL Holdings, Inc., 4.375%, 5/15/2031 (n)		40,000	33,501
NFP Corp., 4.875%, 8/15/2028 (n)		55,000	48,156

Issuer		Shares/Par	Value ($)
Bonds – continued
Brokerage & Asset Managers – continued
NFP Corp., 6.875%, 8/15/2028 (n)	$	56,000	$47,819
NFP Corp., 8.5%, 10/01/2031 (n)		15,000	14,749
			$343,106
Building – 1.7%
Foundation Building Materials LLC, 6%, 3/01/2029 (n)	$	62,000	$51,143
GYP Holding III Corp., 4.625%, 5/01/2029 (n)		78,000	63,960
Interface, Inc., 5.5%, 12/01/2028 (n)		75,000	63,053
MIWD Holdco II LLC/MIWD Finance Co., 5.5%, 2/01/2030 (n)		51,000	40,481
New Enterprise Stone & Lime Co., Inc., 5.25%, 7/15/2028 (n)		33,000	29,122
New Enterprise Stone & Lime Co., Inc., 9.75%, 7/15/2028 (n)		22,000	21,945
Patrick Industries, Inc., 7.5%, 10/15/2027 (n)		70,000	66,675
SRS Distribution, Inc., 6.125%, 7/01/2029 (n)		36,000	30,150
Standard Industries, Inc., 4.75%, 1/15/2028 (n)		33,000	29,532
Standard Industries, Inc., 4.375%, 7/15/2030 (n)		83,000	67,813
White Cap Buyer LLC, 6.875%, 10/15/2028 (n)		59,000	51,488
			$515,362
Business Services – 0.6%
Entegris Escrow Corp., 5.95%, 6/15/2030 (n)	$	31,000	$28,360
Iron Mountain, Inc., 4.875%, 9/15/2027 (n)		45,000	41,136
Iron Mountain, Inc., 5.25%, 3/15/2028 (n)		46,000	42,074
Verscend Escrow Corp., 9.75%, 8/15/2026 (n)		70,000	69,484
			$181,054
Cable TV – 4.2%
Cable One, Inc., 4%, 11/15/2030 (n)	$	89,000	$66,305
CCO Holdings LLC/CCO Holdings Capital Corp., 5.125%, 5/01/2027 (n)		46,000	42,352
CCO Holdings LLC/CCO Holdings Capital Corp., 4.75%, 3/01/2030 (n)		204,000	168,284
CCO Holdings LLC/CCO Holdings Capital Corp., 4.5%, 8/15/2030 (n)		108,000	86,598
CCO Holdings LLC/CCO Holdings Capital Corp., 4.25%, 2/01/2031 (n)		73,000	56,808
CCO Holdings LLC/CCO Holdings Capital Corp., 4.25%, 1/15/2034 (n)		50,000	36,115
CSC Holdings LLC, 5.375%, 2/01/2028 (n)		200,000	159,267
DISH DBS Corp., 7.75%, 7/01/2026		35,000	23,453
DISH DBS Corp., 5.25%, 12/01/2026 (n)		50,000	40,333
DISH DBS Corp., 5.125%, 6/01/2029		35,000	18,025
DISH Network Corp., 11.75%, 11/15/2027 (n)		25,000	24,764
Sirius XM Radio, Inc., 4%, 7/15/2028 (n)		47,000	39,970
Sirius XM Radio, Inc., 5.5%, 7/01/2029 (n)		115,000	101,899
Sirius XM Radio, Inc., 3.875%, 9/01/2031 (n)		37,000	27,868

Issuer		Shares/Par	Value ($)
Bonds – continued
Cable TV – continued
Ziggo Bond Finance B.V., 5.125%, 2/28/2030 (n)	$	200,000	$145,719
			$1,260,792
Chemicals – 2.3%
Axalta Coating Systems Ltd., 4.75%, 6/15/2027 (n)	$	150,000	$138,141
Chemours Co., 4.625%, 11/15/2029 (n)		16,000	12,358
Element Solutions, Inc., 3.875%, 9/01/2028 (n)		55,000	46,797
Ingevity Corp., 3.875%, 11/01/2028 (n)		86,000	69,818
LSF11 A5 HoldCo LLC, 6.625%, 10/15/2029 (n)		60,000	48,676
Sasol Financing (USA) LLC, 5.5%, 3/18/2031		200,000	153,124
SCIH Salt Holdings, Inc., 6.625%, 5/01/2029 (n)		51,000	42,749
SCIL IV LLC/SCIL USA Holdings LLC, 9.5%, 7/15/2028 (n)	EUR	100,000	106,996
Windsor Holdings III, LLC, 8.5%, 6/15/2030 (n)	$	76,000	73,983
			$692,642
Computer Software – 0.6%
Camelot Finance S.A., 4.5%, 11/01/2026 (n)	$	42,000	$38,824
Central Parent LLC/CDK Global II LLC/CDK Financing Co., Inc., 8%, 6/15/2029 (n)		30,000	29,632
Clarivate Science Holdings Corp., 3.875%, 7/01/2028 (n)		15,000	12,879
Dun & Bradstreet Corp., 5%, 12/15/2029 (n)		57,000	49,037
Neptune Bidco U.S., Inc., 9.29%, 4/15/2029 (n)		60,000	52,953
			$183,325
Computer Software - Systems – 0.9%
Fair Isaac Corp., 5.25%, 5/15/2026 (n)	$	108,000	$103,929
Sabre GLBL, Inc., 8.625%, 6/01/2027 (n)		24,000	19,904
Sabre GLBL, Inc., 11.25%, 12/15/2027 (n)		25,000	22,262
SS&C Technologies Holdings, Inc., 5.5%, 9/30/2027 (n)		101,000	94,766
Virtusa Corp., 7.125%, 12/15/2028 (n)		42,000	33,235
			$274,096
Conglomerates – 1.8%
BWX Technologies, Inc., 4.125%, 6/30/2028 (n)	$	68,000	$59,839
BWX Technologies, Inc., 4.125%, 4/15/2029 (n)		76,000	64,980
Chart Industries, Inc., 9.5%, 1/01/2031 (n)		60,000	61,798
Emerald Debt Merger, 6.625%, 12/15/2030 (n)		92,000	87,515
Gates Global LLC, 6.25%, 1/15/2026 (n)		44,000	43,094
Griffon Corp., 5.75%, 3/01/2028		63,000	56,893
Madison IAQ LLC, 5.875%, 6/30/2029 (n)		54,000	41,830
Regal Rexnord Corp., 6.3%, 2/15/2030 (n)		42,000	39,522
TriMas Corp., 4.125%, 4/15/2029 (n)

SEC Form N-CSR filed by MFS Special Value Trust