For federal income tax purposes, the identified cost of securities at September 30, 2009 was $444,082,091 and net unrealized appreciation aggregated $221,020,249, of which the related gross unrealized appreciation and depreciation were $258,251,552 and $37,231,303, respectively.

The Corporation's investment decisions are made by a committee of management, and recommendations to that committee are made by the research staff.

The Corporation is subject to changes in the value of equity securities held (equity price risk) in the normal course of pursuing its investment objectives. The Corporation may purchase and write option contracts to increase or decrease its equity price risk exposure or may write option contracts to generate additional income. Option contracts generally entail risks associated with counterparty credit, illiquidity, and unfavorable equity price movements. The Corporation has mitigated counterparty credit and illiquidity risks by trading its options through an exchange. The risk of unfavorable equity price movements is limited for purchased options to the premium paid and for written options by writing only covered call or collateralized put option contracts, which require the Corporation to segregate certain securities or cash at its custodian when the option is written.

When the Corporation writes (purchases) an option, an amount equal to the premium received (paid) by the Corporation is recorded as a liability (asset) and is subsequently marked to market daily in the Statement of Assets and Liabilities, with any related change recorded as an unrealized gain or loss in the Statement of Operations. Premiums received (paid) from unexercised options are treated as realized gains (losses) on the expiration date. Upon the exercise of written put (purchased call) option contracts, premiums received (paid) are deducted from (added to) the cost basis of the underlying securities purchased. Upon the exercise of written call (purchased put) option contracts, premiums received (paid) are added to (deducted from) the proceeds from the sale of underlying securities in determining whether there is a realized gain or loss.

The Corporation makes loans of securities to approved brokers to earn additional income. It receives as collateral cash deposits, U.S. Government securities, or bank letters of credit valued at 102% of the value of the securities on loan. The market value of the loaned securities is calculated based upon the most recent closing prices and any additional required collateral is delivered to the Corporation on the next business day. Cash deposits are placed in a registered money market fund. The Corporation accounts for securities lending transactions as secured financing and receives compensation in the form of fees or retains a portion of interest on the investment of any cash received as collateral. The Corporation also continues to receive interest or dividends on the securities loaned. Gain or loss in the fair value of securities loaned that may occur during the term of the loan will be for the account of the Corporation. At September 30, 2009, the Corporation had securities on loan of $38,778,175 and held cash collateral of $40,143,319. The Corporation is indemnified by the Custodian, serving as lending agent, for loss of loaned securities and has the right under the lending agreement to recover the securities from the borrower on demand.

(a) The registrant's principal executive officer and principal financial officer have concluded that the registrant's disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Rule 30a-3(c) under the Investment Company Act of 1940) are effective based on their evaluation of the disclosure controls and procedures as of a date within 90 days of the filing date of this report.

(b) There have been no significant changes in the registrant's internal control over financial reporting (as defined in Rule 30 a-3(d) under the Investment Company Act of 1940 ) 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.

The certifications of the principal executive officer and principal financial officer pursuant to Rule 30 a-2(a) under the Investment Company Act of 1940 are attached hereto as Form N-Q Certifications.