N-CSR 1 d788463dncsr.htm BARINGS GLOBAL SHORT DURATION HIGH YIELD FUND

As filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on March 11, 2024

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM N-CSR

CERTIFIED SHAREHOLDER REPORT OF REGISTERED

MANAGEMENT INVESTMENT COMPANIES

811-22562

Investment Company Act file number

Barings Global Short Duration High Yield Fund

(Exact name of registrant as specified in charter)

300 South Tryon Street, Suite 2500, Charlotte, NC 28202

(Address of principal executive offices) (Zip code)

Corporation Service Company (CSC)

251 Little Falls Drive

Wilmington, DE 19808

United States

(Name and address of agent for service)

704-805-7200

Registrant’s telephone number, including area code

Date of fiscal year end: December 31

Date of reporting period: December 31, 2023

Item 1. Reports to Stockholders.

| (a) |

Barings Global Short Duration High Yield Fund

c/o Barings LLC

300 S Tryon St.

Suite 2500

Charlotte, NC 28202

704.805.7200

http://www.Barings.com/bgh

ADVISER

Barings LLC

300 S Tryon St.

Suite 2500

Charlotte, NC 28202

SUB-ADVISOR

Baring International Investment Limited

20 Old Bailey

London EC4M 78F UK

COUNSEL TO THE FUND

Dechert LLP

Three Bryant Park

1095 Avenue of the Americas

New York, NY, 10036-6797

INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM

Deloitte & Touche LLP

30 Rockefeller Plaza

New York, NY 10112

CUSTODIAN

US Bank

MK-WI-S302

1555 N. River Center Drive

Milwaukee, WI 53212

TRANSFER AGENT & REGISTRAR

U.S. Bancorp Fund Services, LLC, d/b/a

U.S. Bank Global Fund Services

615 E. Michigan St.

Milwaukee, WI 53202

FUND ADMINISTRATION/ACCOUNTING

U.S. Bancorp Fund Services, LLC, d/b/a

U.S. Bank Global Fund Services

615 E. Michigan St.

Milwaukee, WI 53202

PROXY VOTING POLICIES & PROCEDURES

The Trustees of Barings Global Short Duration High Yield Fund (the “Fund”) have delegated proxy voting responsibilities relating to the voting of securities held by the Fund to Barings LLC (“Barings”). A description of Barings’ proxy voting policies and procedures is available (1) without charge, upon request, by calling, toll-free 1-866-399-1516; (2) on the Fund’s website at http://www.barings.com/bgh; and (3) on the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s (“SEC”) website at http://www.sec.gov.

FORM N-PORT PART F

The Fund will file its complete schedule of portfolio holdings with the SEC for the first and third quarters of each fiscal year on Part F of Form N-PORT. This information is available (1) on the SEC’s website at http://www.sec.gov; and (2) at the SEC’s Public Reference Room in Washington, DC (which information on their operation may be obtained by calling 1-800-SEC-0330). A complete schedule of portfolio holdings as of each quarter-end is available on the Fund’s website at http://www.barings.com/bgh or upon request by calling, toll-free, 1-866-399-1516.

CERTIFICATIONS

The Fund’s President has submitted to the NYSE the annual CEO Certification as required by Section 303A.12(a) of the NYSE Listed Company Manual.

LEGAL MATTERS

The Fund has entered into contractual arrangements with an investment adviser, transfer agent and custodian (collectively “service providers”) who each provide services to the Fund. Shareholders are not parties to, or intended beneficiaries of, these contractual arrangements, and these contractual arrangements are not intended to create any shareholder right to enforce them against the service providers or to seek any remedy under them against the service providers, either directly or on behalf of the Fund.

Under the Fund’s Bylaws, any claims asserted against or on behalf of the Fund, including claims against Trustees and officers must be brought in courts located within the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

The Fund’s registration statement and this shareholder report are not contracts between the Fund and its shareholders and do not give rise to any contractual rights or obligations or any shareholder rights other than any rights conferred explicitly by federal or state securities laws that may not be waived.

Barings Global Short Duration High Yield Fund 2023 Annual Report

OFFICERS OF THE FUND

Sean Feeley

President

Christopher Hanscom

Chief Financial Officer

Andrea Nitzan

Treasurer

Gregory MacCordy

Chief Compliance Officer

Ashlee Steinnerd

Chief Legal Officer

Alexandra Pacini

Secretary

Matthew Curtis

Tax Officer

Barings Global Short Duration High Yield Fund is a closed-end investment company, first offered to the public in 2012, whose shares are traded on the New York Stock Exchange.

INVESTMENT OBJECTIVE & POLICY

Barings Global Short Duration High Yield Fund (the “Fund”) was organized as a business trust under the laws of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The Fund is registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, as a de facto diversified, closed-end management investment company with its own investment objective. The Fund’s common shares are listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “BGH”.

The Fund’s primary investment objective is to seek as high a level of current income as the Adviser (as defined herein) determines is consistent with capital preservation. The Fund seeks capital appreciation as a secondary investment objective when consistent with its primary investment objective. There can be no assurance that the Fund will achieve its investment objectives.

The Fund seeks to take advantage of inefficiencies between geographies, primarily the North American and Western European high yield bond and loan markets and within capital structures between bonds and loans. For example, the Fund seeks to take advantage of differences in pricing between bonds and loans of an issuer denominated in U.S. dollars and substantially similar bonds and loans of the same issuer denominated in Euros, potentially allowing the Fund to achieve a higher relative return for the same credit risk exposure.

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Barings Global Short Duration High Yield Fund 2023 Annual Report

Dear Fellow Shareholders,

We present the 2023 Annual Report for the Barings Global Short Duration High Yield Fund (the “Fund”) to recap portfolio performance and positioning. We believe our Global High Yield Investments Group is one of the largest teams in the market primarily focused on North American and Western European credit. Utilizing the Group’s unparalleled expertise, deep resources and time-tested process, we believe we can provide investors with an attractive level of current income while navigating the challenging times that may still lie ahead and continuing to uncover compelling opportunities across the global high yield market.

The Fund’s strategy focuses primarily on North American and Western European high yield companies, with the flexibility to dynamically shift the geographic weighting in order to capture, in our opinion, the best risk-adjusted investment opportunities. Inflationary, economic, and geopolitical dynamics are poised to evolve in coming periods, and Barings’ global capabilities on the ground in major markets allow for us to be nimble in these times and take advantage of unique opportunities as they arise. In addition, the strategy focuses closely on limiting the duration of the Fund, while maintaining what we consider to be a reasonable amount of leverage.

Market Review

After a challenging 2022, an improved market environment supported strong absolute returns across fixed income markets in 2023. A supportive macroeconomic backdrop drove spreads tighter, while moderating inflation in the second half of the year led government rates lower, reversing a primary headwind from the preceding 18 months. Returns were particularly strong in the fourth quarter, as nearly half of the 13.6% total return of the global high yield bond market generated in this period through both the tailwind of lower interest rates as well as spread compression. While corporate fundamentals in both the U.S. and Europe moderated from record high levels, earnings continued to beat forecasts.

Credit spreads in the U.S. peaked at 516 bps in the first quarter following stress in the regional banking system, before rallying through the remainder of the year to close at 323 bps. Similarly, index yields reached a low of 7.6% at year-end, driven by the decline in base rates. While all sectors generated strong absolute returns, pro-cyclical parts of the market, such as Leisure, led the way. Triple-C rated assets also outperformed given spread compression as well as reduced exposure to interest rates. New issuance of $190 bn increased from the prior year but remained muted versus historical levels. European markets experienced similar dynamics. The option-adjusted spread for the European market tightened 123 bps to close at 422 bps, while yield-to-worst fell 128 bps to 6.88%. New issue activity totaled €57 billion for the year.

Barings Global Short Duration High Yield Fund Overview and Performance

The Fund ended December 2023 with a portfolio of 191 issuers, slightly above prior year-end levels of 174. From a regional perspective, exposure remained relative similar from the prior year-end, with exposure to the United States decreasing to 80.1% from 81.4; the United Kingdom remains the second largest exposure at 6.6% (See Country Composition chart below). The Fund’s exposure to Rest of World issuers, whose country of risk is outside of the U.S. and Europe but fit within the Fund’s developed market focus, increased from the previous year-end to 5.9% from 4.2%. The Fund’s primary exposure continues to be in the North American market, which features the most robust opportunity set across fixed income markets.

As of December 31, 2023, the Fund’s positioning across the credit quality spectrum was as follows: 45.1% double-B rated and above, 31.6% single-B rated, and 21.3% triple-C rated and below, with approximately 36% of the portfolio consisting of secured obligations. Compared to the end of the prior period, the Fund’s exposure to higher-rated credits increased, primarily sourced from lower-rated triple-C and below securities. Non-publicly rated securities represented 2.1%.1

The distribution per share was constant throughout the year at $0.1056 per share in addition to a onetime special dividend payment of $0.1666 per share in August. The special dividend was paid to allow the Fund to meet its 2022 distribution requirements as a regulated investment company under Subchapter M of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended. The Fund’s share price and net asset value (“NAV”) ended the reporting period at $15.20 and $13.44, respectively, or at an 11.6% discount to NAV. Based on the Fund’s share price and NAV on December 31, 2023, the Fund’s market price and NAV distribution rates—using the most recent monthly dividend, on an annualized basis—were 9.43% and 8.30%, respectively. Assets acquired through leverage, which represented 25.7% of the Fund’s total assets at the end of December, were accretive to net investment income and benefited shareholders.

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Barings Global Short Duration High Yield Fund 2023 Annual Report

For fiscal year 2023, the NAV total return for the Fund was 19.23%, outperforming the global high yield bond market, as measured by the ICE Bank of America Non-Financial Developed Markets High Yield Constrained Index (HNDC), which returned 13.60% on a hedged to the U.S. dollar basis. From a market value perspective, the total return year-to-date through December 31, 2023, was 18.09%.2 Performance during the year was driven by strong credit selection and overweight allocations in Energy and an underweight allocation in Media & Broadcasting. The Fund’s floating rate exposure through allocations to second lien senior secured loans and collateralized loan obligations continued to benefit in the high-income capture in the current interest rate environment.

Market Outlook

Despite a strong rebound in 2023, value remains in the high yield market. While current spread levels are tight and may move wider should the macroeconomic environment deteriorate beyond expectations, a significant discount to par remains priced and provides potential for strong prospective total returns. In addition, investors demonstrated a willingness throughout 2023 to support the asset class at elevated yield levels and we expect this support to continue in the new year, providing a backstop for spread widening. Finally, while maturity walls inch closer, capital markets should be receptive considering the higher-quality nature of near-term debt and minimal distress priced into markets.

At Barings, we remain committed to focusing on corporate fundamentals as market sentiment can change quickly and unexpectedly. Our focused and disciplined approach emphasizes our fundamental bottom-up research, with the goal of preserving investor capital while seeking to capture attractive capital appreciation opportunities that may exist through market and economic cycles. On behalf of the Barings team, we continue to take a long-term view of investing despite the recent economic challenges and look forward to helping you achieve your investment goals.

Sincerely,

Sean Feeley

1. | Ratings are based on Moody’s, S&P and Fitch. If securities are rated differently by the rating agencies, the higher rating is applied and all ratings are converted to the equivalent Moody’s major rating category for purposes of the category shown. Credit ratings are based largely on the rating agency’s investment analysis at the time of rating and the rating assigned to any particular security is not necessarily a reflection of the issuer’s current financial condition. The rating assigned to a security by a rating agency does not necessarily reflect its assessment of the volatility of the security’s market value or of the liquidity of an investment in the security. Ratings of Baa3 or higher by Moody’s and BBB- or higher by S&P and Fitch are considered to be investment grade quality.

2. | Past performance is not necessarily indicative of future results. Current performance may be lower or higher. All performance is net of fees, which is inclusive of advisory fees, administrator fees and interest expenses.

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Barings Global Short Duration High Yield Fund 2023 Annual Report

PORTFOLIO COMPOSITION (% OF ASSETS*)

* | The percentages shown above represent a percentage of the assets as of December 31, 2023.

COUNTRY COMPOSITION (% OF ASSETS*)

* | The percentages shown above represent a percentage of the assets as of December 31, 2023.

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Barings Global Short Duration High Yield Fund 2023 Annual Report

AVERAGE ANNUAL RETURNS DECEMBER 31, 2023 |  | 1 YEAR |  |  | 5 YEAR |  |  | 10 YEAR |
Barings Global Short Duration High Yield Fund (BGH) |  |  | 18.09 | % |  |  | 6.29 | % |  |  | 4.69 | %
ICE Bank of America Non-Financial Developed Markets High Yield Constrained Index (HNDC) |  |  | 13.60 | % |  |  | 4.65 | % |  |  | 5.63 | %

Data for Barings Global Short Duration High Yield Fund (the “Fund”) represents returns based on the change in the Fund’s net asset value assuming the reinvestment of all dividends and distributions. These returns differ from the total investment return based on market value of the Fund’s shares due to the difference between the Fund’s net asset value of its shares outstanding (See the Fund’s Financial Highlights within this report for total investment return based on market value). Past performance is no guarantee of future results.

ICE Bank of America Non-Financial Developed Markets High Yield Constrained Index (HNDC) contains all securities in the ICE Bank of America Global High Yield Index that are non-financials and from developed markets countries, but caps issuer exposure at 2%. Developed markets is defined as an FX G10 member, a Western European nation, or a territory of the U.S. or a Western European nation. Indices are unmanaged. It is not possible to invest directly in an index.

The graph and table do not reflect the deduction of taxes that a shareholder would pay on Fund distributions or the redemption of the Fund shares.

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Barings Global Short Duration High Yield Fund 2023 Annual Report

FINANCIAL REPORT

Statement of Assets and Liabilities |  | 7
Statement of Operations |  | 8
Statement of Cash Flows |  | 9
Statements of Changes in Net Assets |  | 10
Financial Highlights |  | 11
Schedule of Investments |  | 12-23
Notes to the Financial Statements |  | 24-37
Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm |  | 38
Results of Shareholder Meeting |  | 39
Interested Trustee |  | 40
Officers of the Fund |  | 42
Approval of Investment Management Agreement and Sub-Advisory Agreement |  | 44
Fund Dividend Reinvestment Plan |  | 46
Joint Privacy Notice |  | 47

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Barings Global Short Duration High Yield Fund 2023 Annual Report

STATEMENT OF ASSETS AND LIABILITIES

|  | DECEMBER 31, 2023 |
Assets |  |  |  |
Investments, at fair value (cost $434,470,378) |  | $ | 402,010,748 |
Cash and cash equivalents |  |  | 14,287,905 |
Foreign currency, at fair value (cost $353,640) |  |  | 363,876 |
Interest receivable |  |  | 9,019,428 |
Receivable for investments sold |  |  | 1,730,229 |
Prepaid expenses and other assets |  |  | 79,506 |
Total assets |  |  | 427,491,692 |
Liabilities |  |  |  |
Credit facility |  |  | 109,500,000 |
Payable for investments purchased |  |  | 7,628,999 |
Dividend payable |  |  | 2,118,791 |
Payable to adviser |  |  | 294,057 |
Excise tax payable on undistributed income |  |  | 1,038,466 |
Unrealized depreciation on forward foreign exchange contracts |  |  | 1,043,070 |
Accrued expenses and other liabilities |  |  | 885,053 |
Total liabilities |  |  | 122,508,436 |
Total net assets |  | $ | 304,983,256 |
Net assets: |  |  |  |
Common shares, $0.00001 par value |  | $ | 201 |
Additional paid-in capital |  |  | 465,778,590 |
Total accumulated loss |  |  | (160,795,535 | )
Total net assets |  | $ | 304,983,256 |
Common shares issued and outstanding (unlimited shares authorized) |  |  | 20,064,313 |
Net asset value per share |  | $ | 15.20 |

See accompanying Notes to the Financial Statements.

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Barings Global Short Duration High Yield Fund 2023 Annual Report

STATEMENT OF OPERATIONS

|  | YEAR ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2023 |
Investment Income |  |  |  |
Interest income |  | $ | 40,916,370 |
Dividend income (net of foreign taxes withheld of $55) |  |  | 87,862 |
Other income |  |  | 2,988 |
Total investment income |  |  | 41,007,220 |
Operating Expenses |  |  |  |
Interest expense |  |  | 6,105,722 |
Advisory fees |  |  | 3,401,105 |
Accounting and administration fees |  |  | 444,469 |
Other operating expenses |  |  | 225,706 |
Professional fees |  |  | 284,171 |
Trustee fees |  |  | 126,250 |
Excise tax on undistributed income |  |  | 1,038,466 |
Total expenses |  |  | 11,625,889 |
Net investment income |  |  | 29,381,331 |
Realized losses and unrealized appreciation/depreciation on investments and foreign currency related transactions |  |  |  |
Net realized loss on investments |  |  | (13,785,967 | )
Net realized loss on forward foreign exchange contracts |  |  | (116,212 | )
Net realized loss on foreign currency related transactions |  |  | (432,359 | )
Net realized loss on investments, forward foreign exchange contracts and foreign currency transactions |  |  | (14,334,538 | )
Net change in unrealized appreciation/depreciation on investments |  |  | 33,510,950 |
Net change in unrealized appreciation/depreciation on forward foreign exchange contracts |  |  | (839,727 | )
Net change in unrealized appreciation/depreciation on foreign currency transactions |  |  | (20,089 | )
Net change in unrealized appreciation/depreciation on investments, forward foreign exchange contracts and foreign currency transactions |  |  | 32,651,134 |
Net realized loss and unrealized appreciation/depreciation on investments and foreign currency transactions |  |  | 18,316,596 |
Net increase in net assets resulting from operations |  | $ | 47,697,927 |

See accompanying Notes to the Financial Statements.

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Barings Global Short Duration High Yield Fund 2023 Annual Report

STATEMENT OF CASH FLOWS

|  | YEAR ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2023 |
Cash flows from operating activities |  |  |  |
Net increase in net assets resulting from operations |  | $ | 47,697,927 |
Adjustments to reconcile net increase in net assets resulting from operations to net cash provided by operating activities: |  |  |  |
Purchases of long-term investments |  |  | (203,761,227 | )
Proceeds from sales of long-term investments |  |  | 197,716,353 |
Proceeds from short-term investments |  |  | 15,000,000 |
Net change in unrealized appreciation on investments |  |  | (33,510,950 | )
Net change in unrealized depreciation on foreign currency transactions |  |  | 20,089 |
Net realized loss on investments |  |  | 12,731,850 |
Net realized loss on forward foreign exchange contracts |  |  | 116,212 |
Net realized loss on foreign currency related transactions |  |  | 432,359 |
Amortization and accretion |  |  | (1,719,158 | )
Net change in unrealized depreciation on forward foreign exchange contracts |  |  | 839,727 |
Changes in assets and liabilities: |  |  |  |
Increase in interest and dividend receivable |  |  | (180,976 | )
Increase in prepaid expenses and other assets |  |  | (52,485 | )
Increase in payable to Adviser |  |  | 4,632 |
Increase in excise tax payable on undistributed income |  |  | 20,988 |
Decrease in accrued expenses and other liabilities |  |  | (28,938 | )
Net cash provided by operating activities |  |  | 35,326,403 |
Cash flows from financing activities |  |  |  |
Advances from credit facility |  |  | 19,000,000 |
Repayments on credit facility |  |  | (18,000,000 | )
Distributions paid to common shareholders |  |  | (28,756,173 | )
Net cash used in financing activities |  |  | (27,756,173 | )
Net change in cash and cash equivalents |  |  | 7,570,230 |
Cash and cash equivalents (including foreign currency), beginning of year |  |  | 7,081,551 |
Cash and cash equivalents (including foreign currency), end of year |  | $ | 14,651,781 |
Supplemental disclosure of cash flow information |  |  |  |
Excise taxes paid |  | $ | 1,017,478 |
Interest paid |  |  | 6,000,128 |

See accompanying Notes to the Financial Statements.

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Barings Global Short Duration High Yield Fund 2023 Annual Report

STATEMENTS OF CHANGES IN NET ASSETS

|  | YEAR ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2023 |  |  | YEAR ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2022 |
Operations |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Net investment income |  | $ | 29,381,331 |  |  | $ | 29,393,217 |
Net realized loss on investments, forward foreign exchange contracts and foreign currency transactions |  |  | (14,334,538 | ) |  |  | (8,537,949 | )
Net change in unrealized appreciation/depreciation on investments, forward foreign exchange contracts and foreign currency translation |  |  | 32,651,134 |  |  |  | (68,060,177 | )
Net increase (decrease) in net assets resulting from operations |  |  | 47,697,927 |  |  |  | (47,204,909 | )
Distributions to common shareholders |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
From distributable earnings |  |  | (28,756,173 | ) |  |  | (25,425,498 | )
Total Distributions to common shareholders |  |  | (28,756,173 | ) |  |  | (25,425,498 | )
Total increase (decrease) in net assets |  |  | 18,941,754 |  |  |  | (72,630,407 | )
Net assets |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Beginning of year |  |  | 286,041,502 |  |  |  | 358,671,909 |
End of year |  | $ | 304,983,256 |  |  | $ | 286,041,502 |

See accompanying Notes to the Financial Statements.

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Barings Global Short Duration High Yield Fund 2023 Annual Report

FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS

|  | YEAR ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2023 |  |  | YEAR ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2022 |  |  | YEAR ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2021 |  |  | YEAR ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2020 |  |  | YEAR ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2019 |
Per Common Share Data |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Net asset value, beginning of year |  | $ | 14.26 |  |  | $ | 17.88 |  |  | $ | 16.68 |  |  | $ | 18.32 |  |  | $ | 18.28 |
Income from investment operations: |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Net investment income |  |  | 1.49 |  |  |  | 1.46 |  |  |  | 1.72 |  |  |  | 1.59 |  |  |  | 1.87 |
Net realized gain (loss) and unrealized appreciation/depreciation on investments and foreign currency transactions |  |  | 0.88 |  |  |  | (3.81 | ) |  |  | 0.75 |  |  |  | (1.86 | ) |  |  | (0.05 | )
Total increase (decrease) from investment operations |  |  | 2.37 |  |  |  | (2.35 | ) |  |  | 2.47 |  |  |  | (0.27 | ) |  |  | 1.82 |
Less distributions to common stockholders: |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Net investment income |  |  | (1.43 | ) |  |  | (1.27 | ) |  |  | (1.27 | ) |  |  | (1.37 | ) |  |  | (1.78 | )
Total distributions to common stockholders |  |  | (1.43 | ) |  |  | (1.27 | ) |  |  | (1.27 | ) |  |  | (1.37 | ) |  |  | (1.78 | )
Net asset value, end of year |  | $ | 15.20 |  |  | $ | 14.26 |  |  | $ | 17.88 |  |  | $ | 16.68 |  |  | $ | 18.32 |
Per common share market value, end of year |  | $ | 13.44 |  |  | $ | 12.68 |  |  | $ | 17.34 |  |  | $ | 15.09 |  |  | $ | 17.53 |
Total investment return based on net asset value (1) |  |  | 19.23 | % |  |  | (12.88 | )% |  |  | 15.71 | % |  |  | 0.79 | % |  |  | 10.77 | %
Total investment return based on market value (1) |  |  | 18.09 | % |  |  | (19.98 | )% |  |  | 23.97 | % |  |  | (4.65 | )% |  |  | 21.45 | %
Supplemental Data and Ratios |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Net assets, end of year (000’s) |  | $ | 304,983 |  |  | $ | 286,042 |  |  | $ | 358,672 |  |  | $ | 334,576 |  |  | $ | 367,649 |
Ratio of expenses (before reductions and reimbursements) to average net assets |  |  | 3.95 | % |  |  | 2.73 | % |  |  | 2.17 | % |  |  | 2.32 | % |  |  | 3.00 | %
Ratio of expenses (after reductions and reimbursements) to average net assets |  |  | 3.95 | % |  |  | 2.60 | % |  |  | 1.95 | % |  |  | 2.23 | % |  |  | 3.00 | %
Ratio of net investment income (before reductions and reimbursements) to average net assets |  |  | 9.98 | % |  |  | 9.17 | % |  |  | 8.54 | % |  |  | 10.53 | % |  |  | 10.22 | %
Ratio of net investment income (after reductions and reimbursements) to average net assets |  |  | 9.98 | % |  |  | 9.31 | % |  |  | 8.76 | % |  |  | 10.61 | % |  |  | 10.22 | %
Portfolio turnover rate |  |  | 49.94 | % |  |  | 34.04 | % |  |  | 52.08 | % |  |  | 42.21 | % |  |  | 52.25 | %

(1) |  | Total investment return calculation assumes reinvestment of dividends at actual prices pursuant to the Fund’s dividend reinvestment plan. Total investment return does not reflect brokerage commissions.

See accompanying Notes to the Financial Statements.

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Barings Global Short Duration High Yield Fund 2023 Annual Report

SCHEDULE OF INVESTMENTS

December 31, 2023

|  |  |  |  |  |  |  | SHARES |  |  | COST |  |  | FAIR VALUE |
Equities* — 0.60%: |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Common Stocks — 0.56%: |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Flint Group Ordinary A Shares Stapled to 2L¤+ |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | 1,395,572 |  |  |  | $149 |  |  |  | $0 |
ESC CB 144A High Ridge |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | 2,982 |  |  |  | 0 |  |  |  | 0 |
KCA Deutag Ordinary A Shares |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | 25,580 |  |  |  | 1,103,387 |  |  |  | 1,711,302 |
Travelex Private Equity Stapled to 12.5% New Money Notes¤+ |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | 16,764 |  |  |  | 1 |  |  |  | 0 |
Naviera Armas Class B2 Shares Stapled to 1.5L SSNS¤+ |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | 169 |  |  |  | 0 |  |  |  | 0 |
Naviera Armas Class B3 Shares¤+ |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | 1,194 |  |  |  | 0 |  |  |  | 0 |
Naviera Armas Class A3 Shares¤+ |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | 937 |  |  |  | 0 |  |  |  | 0 |
Naviera Armas Class A2 Shares Stapled to 1.5L SSNS¤+ |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | 133 |  |  |  | 0 |  |  |  | 0 |
Total Common Stocks |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | 1,443,331 |  |  |  | 1,103,537 |  |  |  | 1,711,302 |
Warrant — 0.04%: |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Travelex Topco Limited+ |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | 2,218 |  |  |  | 0 |  |  |  | 113,087 |
Total Warrant |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | 2,218 |  |  |  | 0 |  |  |  | 113,087 |
Total Equities |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | 1,445,549 |  |  |  | 1,103,537 |  |  |  | 1,824,389 |
|  | EFFECTIVE INTEREST RATE ‡ |  |  | DUE DATE |  |  | PRINCIPAL |  |  | COST |  |  | FAIR VALUE |
Fixed Income — 131.21%: |
Asset-Backed Securities — 14.55%: |
CDO/CLO — 14.55%: |
610 FDG 2016-2R CLO LTD, 3M SOFR + 7.250%+~^# |  |  | 12.93 | % |  |  | 1/20/2034 |  |  |  | $1,550,000 |  |  |  | $1,534,190 |  |  |  | $1,483,386 |
Anchorage Capital 2016-9A ER2, 3M SOFR + 6.820%+~^# |  |  | 12.48 |  |  |  | 7/15/2032 |  |  |  | 1,500,000 |  |  |  | 1,485,000 |  |  |  | 1,466,607 |
Anchorage Capital CLO LTD 2013-1R, 3M SOFR + 6.800%+~^# |  |  | 12.46 |  |  |  | 10/13/2030 |  |  |  | 1,000,000 |  |  |  | 977,213 |  |  |  | 1,000,235 |
Anchorage Capital CLO LTD 2021-20 E, 3M SOFR + 7.350%+~^# |  |  | 13.03 |  |  |  | 1/20/2035 |  |  |  | 1,000,000 |  |  |  | 980,000 |  |  |  | 940,113 |
Ares CLO LTD 2013-27R2, 3M SOFR + 6.750%+~^# |  |  | 12.40 |  |  |  | 10/28/2034 |  |  |  | 1,700,000 |  |  |  | 1,683,000 |  |  |  | 1,679,802 |
Bain CAP CR CLO 2020-2R LTD, 3M SOFR + 6.610%+~^# |  |  | 12.27 |  |  |  | 7/19/2034 |  |  |  | 1,000,000 |  |  |  | 990,000 |  |  |  | 930,152 |
Ballyrock CLO LTD 2019-2R, 3M SOFR + 6.500%+~^# |  |  | 12.13 |  |  |  | 11/20/2030 |  |  |  | 2,000,000 |  |  |  | 2,000,000 |  |  |  | 2,000,100 |
BlueMountain CLO LTD 2018-23A, 3M SOFR + 5.650%+~^# |  |  | 11.33 |  |  |  | 10/20/2031 |  |  |  | 1,000,000 |  |  |  | 1,000,000 |  |  |  | 953,055 |
Canyon CLO LTD 2019-2R, 3M SOFR + 6.750%+~^# |  |  | 12.41 |  |  |  | 10/15/2034 |  |  |  | 1,000,000 |  |  |  | 1,000,000 |  |  |  | 950,629 |
Carbone CLO, LTD 2017-1A, 3M SOFR + 5.900%+~^# |  |  | 11.58 |  |  |  | 1/20/2031 |  |  |  | 750,000 |  |  |  | 750,000 |  |  |  | 723,648 |
Carlyle US CLO LTD 2019-3R, 3M SOFR + 6.750%+~^# |  |  | 12.43 |  |  |  | 10/20/2032 |  |  |  | 1,000,000 |  |  |  | 1,000,000 |  |  |  | 997,196 |

See accompanying Notes to the Financial Statements.

12

Barings Global Short Duration High Yield Fund 2023 Annual Report

SCHEDULE OF INVESTMENTS (CONTINUED)

December 31, 2023

|  | EFFECTIVE INTEREST RATE ‡ |  |  | DUE DATE |  |  | PRINCIPAL |  |  | COST |  |  | FAIR VALUE |
Asset-Backed Securities (Continued) |
CDO/CLO — (Continued) |
Carlyle Global Market Strategies 2017-5A, 3M SOFR + 5.300%+~^# |  |  | 10.98 | % |  |  | 1/20/2030 |  |  | $ | 700,000 |  |  | $ | 700,000 |  |  | $ | 641,103 |
CIFC Funding 2020-1 LTD, 3M SOFR + 6.250%+~^# |  |  | 11.91 |  |  |  | 7/15/2036 |  |  |  | 1,900,000 |  |  |  | 1,900,000 |  |  |  | 1,878,566 |
Galaxy CLO LTD 2017-24A, 3M SOFR + 5.500%+~^# |  |  | 11.16 |  |  |  | 1/15/2031 |  |  |  | 1,000,000 |  |  |  | 1,000,000 |  |  |  | 950,153 |
GoldenTree Loan Management 2018-3A, 3M SOFR + 6.500%+~^# |  |  | 12.18 |  |  |  | 4/20/2030 |  |  |  | 1,500,000 |  |  |  | 1,471,617 |  |  |  | 1,253,293 |
GoldenTree Loan Opportunities XI LTD 2015-11A, 3M SOFR + 5.400%+~^# |  |  | 11.06 |  |  |  | 1/18/2031 |  |  |  | 500,000 |  |  |  | 500,000 |  |  |  | 492,522 |
KKR Financial CLO LTD 2017-20, 3M SOFR + 5.500%+~^# |  |  | 11.16 |  |  |  | 10/16/2030 |  |  |  | 1,500,000 |  |  |  | 1,500,000 |  |  |  | 1,402,443 |
KKR Financial CLO LTD 34-2, 3M SOFR + 6.850%+~^# |  |  | 12.51 |  |  |  | 7/15/2034 |  |  |  | 2,000,000 |  |  |  | 1,980,000 |  |  |  | 1,928,814 |
KVK 2016-1A ER2, 3M SOFR + 7.350%+~^# |  |  | 13.01 |  |  |  | 10/15/2034 |  |  |  | 3,000,000 |  |  |  | 2,970,000 |  |  |  | 2,483,400 |
LCM LTD 2031-30, 3M SOFR + 6.500%+~^# |  |  | 12.18 |  |  |  | 4/20/2031 |  |  |  | 1,100,000 |  |  |  | 1,100,000 |  |  |  | 1,054,560 |
Madison Park Funding LTD 2015-19A, 3M SOFR + 4.350%+~^# |  |  | 10.02 |  |  |  | 1/22/2028 |  |  |  | 1,000,000 |  |  |  | 1,000,000 |  |  |  | 1,000,000 |
Madison Park Funding LTD 2018-29A, 3M SOFR + 7.570%+~^ |  |  | 13.23 |  |  |  | 10/18/2030 |  |  |  | 2,000,000 |  |  |  | 1,960,000 |  |  |  | 1,886,678 |
Madison Park Funding LTD XXXV 2019-35R E-R, 3M SOFR + 6.100%+~^# |  |  | 11.78 |  |  |  | 4/20/2032 |  |  |  | 1,400,000 |  |  |  | 1,400,000 |  |  |  | 1,399,951 |
Madison Park Funding LTD 2019-32R E-R, 3M SOFR + 6.200%+~^# |  |  | 11.87 |  |  |  | 1/22/2031 |  |  |  | 1,000,000 |  |  |  | 1,000,000 |  |  |  | 999,074 |
Magnetite CLO LTD 2016-18A, 3M SOFR + 7.600%+~^# |  |  | 13.24 |  |  |  | 11/15/2028 |  |  |  | 1,400,000 |  |  |  | 1,386,000 |  |  |  | 1,341,080 |
Octagon 2021-57 LTD, 3M SOFR + 6.600%+~^# |  |  | 12.26 |  |  |  | 10/15/2034 |  |  |  | 1,500,000 |  |  |  | 1,500,000 |  |  |  | 1,456,252 |
OHA Credit Partners LTD 2015-11A, 3M LSOFR + 7.900%+~^# |  |  | 13.58 |  |  |  | 1/20/2032 |  |  |  | 2,000,000 |  |  |  | 1,970,323 |  |  |  | 1,827,162 |
OHA Loan Funding LTD 2013-1A, 3M SOFR + 7.900%+~^# |  |  | 13.57 |  |  |  | 7/23/2031 |  |  |  | 1,500,000 |  |  |  | 1,477,500 |  |  |  | 1,461,349 |
Sound Point CLO XVIII 2018-18D, 3M SOFR + 5.500%+~^# |  |  | 11.18 |  |  |  | 1/21/2031 |  |  |  | 2,000,000 |  |  |  | 2,000,000 |  |  |  | 1,341,486 |
Sound Point CLO LTD 2020-27R, 3M SOFR + 6.560% E-R+~^# |  |  | 12.20 |  |  |  | 10/25/2034 |  |  |  | 1,400,000 |  |  |  | 1,372,000 |  |  |  | 1,198,431 |
Sound Point CLO LTD Series 2020-1A Class ER, 3M SOFR + 6.860%+~^# |  |  | 12.54 |  |  |  | 7/20/2034 |  |  |  | 1,600,000 |  |  |  | 1,584,000 |  |  |  | 1,376,813 |
TICP CLO LTD 2018-10A, 3M SOFR + 5.500%+~^# |  |  | 11.18 |  |  |  | 4/20/2031 |  |  |  | 1,000,000 |  |  |  | 966,216 |  |  |  | 962,019 |
Wellfleet CLO LTD 2017-3A, 3M SOFR + 5.550%+~^# |  |  | 11.21 |  |  |  | 1/17/2031 |  |  |  | 1,500,000 |  |  |  | 1,500,000 |  |  |  | 1,143,091 |

See accompanying Notes to the Financial Statements.

13

Barings Global Short Duration High Yield Fund 2023 Annual Report

SCHEDULE OF INVESTMENTS (CONTINUED)

December 31, 2023

|  | EFFECTIVE INTEREST RATE ‡ |  |  | DUE DATE |  |  | PRINCIPAL |  |  | COST |  |  | FAIR VALUE |
Asset-Backed Securities (Continued) |
CDO/CLO — (Continued) |
Wind River 2017-1A ER, 3M SOFR + 7.060%+~^# |  |  | 12.72 | % |  |  | 4/18/2036 |  |  | $ | 2,000,000 |  |  | $ | 1,960,000 |  |  | $ | 1,784,024 |
Total CDO/CLO |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | 48,000,000 |  |  |  | 47,597,059 |  |  |  | 44,387,187 |
Total Asset-Backed Securities |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | 48,000,000 |  |  |  | 47,597,059 |  |  |  | 44,387,187 |
Bank Loans§ — 15.76%: |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Beverage, Food and Tobacco — 0.73%: |
8th Avenue Food & Provisions, 3M SOFR + 7.7500%~ |  |  | 13.22 |  |  |  | 10/1/2026 |  |  |  | 368,204 |  |  |  | 256,941 |  |  |  | 290,653 |
Dessert Holdings, 3M SOFR + 7.2500%~ |  |  | 12.71 |  |  |  | 6/8/2029 |  |  |  | 1,000,000 |  |  |  | 982,700 |  |  |  | 835,000 |
Florida Food Products 2nd Lien T/L, 3M SOFR + 8.0000%¤~ |  |  | 13.46 |  |  |  | 10/18/2029 |  |  |  | 1,500,000 |  |  |  | 1,463,333 |  |  |  | 1,095,000 |
Total Beverage, Food and Tobacco |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | 2,868,204 |  |  |  | 2,702,974 |  |  |  | 2,220,653 |
Broadcasting and Entertainment — 0.48%: |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Learfield Communications, Inc., 3M SOFR + 5.5000% |  |  | 10.85 |  |  |  | 6/30/2028 |  |  |  | 1,524,000 |  |  |  | 1,466,850 |  |  |  | 1,466,850 |
Total Broadcasting and Entertainment |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | 1,524,000 |  |  |  | 1,466,850 |  |  |  | 1,466,850 |
Cargo Transport — 0.83%: |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Worldwide Express 2nd Lien T/L, 3M SOFR + 7.0000%~ |  |  | 12.50 |  |  |  | 7/26/2029 |  |  |  | 3,000,000 |  |  |  | 2,955,227 |  |  |  | 2,535,000 |
Total Cargo Transport |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | 3,000,000 |  |  |  | 2,955,227 |  |  |  | 2,535,000 |
Chemicals, Plastics and Rubber — 0.38%: |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Flint Group 2L, 3M EURIBOR + 6.9000% PIK and 0.1000% Cash~¤+ |  |  | 10.93 |  |  |  | 12/31/2027 |  |  |  | 1,544,116 |  |  |  | 265,461 |  |  |  | 154,412 |
LSF 11 A5 Holdco LLC, 3M SOFR + 3.5000%~ |  |  | 8.96 |  |  |  | 9/29/2028 |  |  |  | 994,937 |  |  |  | 988,718 |  |  |  | 995,564 |
Total Chemicals, Plastics and Rubber |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | 2,539,053 |  |  |  | 1,254,179 |  |  |  | 1,149,976 |
Diversified/Conglomerate Manufacturing — 1.78%: |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Belfor, 3M SOFR + 3.7500%~ |  |  | 9.10 |  |  |  | 10/31/2030 |  |  |  | 813,954 |  |  |  | 805,814 |  |  |  | 815,484 |
CP Iris Holdco I 2nd Lien T/L (IPS), 3M SOFR + 7.0000%~ |  |  | 12.45 |  |  |  | 9/21/2029 |  |  |  | 2,398,019 |  |  |  | 2,374,039 |  |  |  | 2,152,222 |
SunSource, Inc., 3M SOFR + 8.0000%~ |  |  | 13.45 |  |  |  | 4/30/2026 |  |  |  | 2,500,000 |  |  |  | 2,507,245 |  |  |  | 2,468,750 |
Total Diversified/Conglomerate Manufacturing |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | 5,711,973 |  |  |  | 5,687,098 |  |  |  | 5,436,456 |
Diversified/Conglomerate Service — 1.91%: |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Evertec, 3M SOFR + 3.5000%¤~ |  |  | 8.85 |  |  |  | 10/31/2030 |  |  |  | 1,983,471 |  |  |  | 1,953,719 |  |  |  | 1,985,950 |
Internet Brands, Inc., 3M SOFR + 4.2500%~ |  |  | 9.60 |  |  |  | 4/20/2028 |  |  |  | 1,423,706 |  |  |  | 1,383,168 |  |  |  | 1,397,410 |
Quest Software, 3M SOFR + 7.5000%~ |  |  | 9.77 |  |  |  | 1/19/2029 |  |  |  | 724,620 |  |  |  | 515,339 |  |  |  | 550,508 |
Quest Software, 3M SOFR + 7.5000%~ |  |  | 13.18 |  |  |  | 1/18/2030 |  |  |  | 879,573 |  |  |  | 868,578 |  |  |  | 519,572 |
Sonicwall, Inc., 3M SOFR + 7.5000%~ |  |  | 13.01 |  |  |  | 5/18/2026 |  |  |  | 1,506,038 |  |  |  | 1,498,508 |  |  |  | 1,369,079 |
Total Diversified/Conglomerate Service |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | 6,517,408 |  |  |  | 6,219,312 |  |  |  | 5,822,519 |

See accompanying Notes to the Financial Statements.

14

Barings Global Short Duration High Yield Fund 2023 Annual Report

SCHEDULE OF INVESTMENTS (CONTINUED)

December 31, 2023

|  | EFFECTIVE INTEREST RATE ‡ |  |  | DUE DATE |  |  | PRINCIPAL |  |  | COST |  |  | FAIR VALUE |
Bank Loans§ (Continued) |
Ecological — 0.39%: |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Patriot Container 2nd Lien T/L, 3M SOFR + 7.7500%~ |  |  | 13.20 | % |  |  | 3/20/2026 |  |  | $ | 1,400,000 |  |  | $ | 1,346,008 |  |  | $ | 1,204,000 |
Total Ecological |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | 1,400,000 |  |  |  | 1,346,008 |  |  |  | 1,204,000 |
Electronics — 1.44%: |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
McAfee Enterprise 2nd Lien T/L, 3M SOFR + 8.2500%~ |  |  | 13.89 |  |  |  | 5/3/2029 |  |  |  | 11,567,000 |  |  |  | 11,488,073 |  |  |  | 4,395,460 |
Total Electronics |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | 11,567,000 |  |  |  | 11,488,073 |  |  |  | 4,395,460 |
Finance — 1.02%: |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Cetera Financial Group, 3M SOFR + 4.5000%~ |  |  | 10.06 |  |  |  | 8/9/2030 |  |  |  | 1,963,922 |  |  |  | 1,905,454 |  |  |  | 1,959,680 |
GIP Pilot Acquisition Partners, L.P., 3M SOFR + 3.0000%~ |  |  | 8.39 |  |  |  | 9/30/2030 |  |  |  | 1,166,975 |  |  |  | 1,161,140 |  |  |  | 1,166,006 |
Total Finance |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | 3,130,897 |  |  |  | 3,066,594 |  |  |  | 3,125,686 |
Healthcare, Education and Childcare — 1.72%: |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Bausch Health Cos Inc., 3M SOFR + 4.0000%~ |  |  | 9.35 |  |  |  | 9/14/2028 |  |  |  | 3,145,034 |  |  |  | 3,113,584 |  |  |  | 3,133,240 |
LifePoint Health, 3M SOFR + 5.5000%~ |  |  | 11.17 |  |  |  | 11/16/2028 |  |  |  | 876,552 |  |  |  | 875,457 |  |  |  | 872,827 |
Medical Solutions T/L, 3M SOFR + 7.0000%~ |  |  | 12.52 |  |  |  | 9/22/2027 |  |  |  | 1,473,684 |  |  |  | 1,458,947 |  |  |  | 1,236,053 |
Total Healthcare, Education and Childcare |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | 5,495,270 |  |  |  | 5,447,988 |  |  |  | 5,242,120 |
Hotels, Motels, Inns and Gaming — 0.61%: |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Four Seasons Holdings, Inc., 3M SOFR + 3.2500%~ |  |  | 7.92 |  |  |  | 11/30/2029 |  |  |  | 1,851,439 |  |  |  | 1,824,564 |  |  |  | 1,856,530 |
Total Hotels, Motels, Inns and Gaming |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | 1,851,439 |  |  |  | 1,824,564 |  |  |  | 1,856,530 |
Machinery Non-Agricultural, Non-Construction, Non-Electronic — 0.50%: |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Barnes Group, Inc., 3M SOFR + 3.0000%~ |  |  | 8.45 |  |  |  | 8/12/2030 |  |  |  | 1,520,767 |  |  |  | 1,510,424 |  |  |  | 1,523,808 |
Total Machinery Non-Agricultural, Non-Construction, Non-Electronic |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | 1,520,767 |  |  |  | 1,510,424 |  |  |  | 1,523,808 |
Mining, Steel, Iron and Non Precious Metals — 0.38%: |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Arsenal AIC Parent LLC, 3M SOFR + 4.5000%~ |  |  | 9.85 |  |  |  | 7/26/2030 |  |  |  | 1,151,700 |  |  |  | 1,140,183 |  |  |  | 1,154,936 |
Total Mining, Steel, Iron and Non Precious Metals |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | 1,151,700 |  |  |  | 1,140,183 |  |  |  | 1,154,936 |
Packaging and Containers — 0.99%: |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Pretium Package Holdings 2nd Lien T/L (9/21), 3M SOFR + 6.7500%~ |  |  | 12.21 |  |  |  | 9/21/2029 |  |  |  | 2,770,637 |  |  |  | 2,763,527 |  |  |  | 1,035,027 |
Valcour Packaging (MOLD-RITE) 2nd Lien T/L, 3M SOFR + 7.0000%~ |  |  | 12.46 |  |  |  | 9/30/2029 |  |  |  | 5,000,000 |  |  |  | 4,950,000 |  |  |  | 1,975,000 |
Total Packaging and Containers |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | 7,770,637 |  |  |  | 7,713,527 |  |  |  | 3,010,027 |
Personal Transportation — 0.05%: |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Anarafe SLU Facility C, 3M EURIBOR + 10.0000% Cash, 5.00% PIK¤+~ |  |  | 15.00 |  |  |  | 6/30/2025 |  |  |  | 40,015 |  |  |  | 43,465 |  |  |  | 41,966 |

See accompanying Notes to the Financial Statements.

15

Barings Global Short Duration High Yield Fund 2023 Annual Report

SCHEDULE OF INVESTMENTS (CONTINUED)

December 31, 2023

|  | EFFECTIVE INTEREST RATE ‡ |  |  | DUE DATE |  |  | PRINCIPAL |  |  | COST |  |  | FAIR VALUE |
Bank Loans§ (Continued) |
Personal Transportation — (Continued) |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Anarafe SLU Facility F, 3M EURIBOR + 10.0000% Cash, 5.00% PIK¤+~ |  |  | 15.00 | % |  |  | 6/30/2025 |  |  | $ | 88,869 |  |  | $ | 88,888 |  |  | $ | 85,059 |
Anarafe SLU Facility A, 3M EURIBOR + 10.0000% Cash, 5.00% PIK¤+~ |  |  | 15.00 |  |  |  | 6/30/2025 |  |  |  | 19,213 |  |  |  | 19,896 |  |  |  | 20,149 |
Total Personal Transportation |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | 148,097 |  |  |  | 152,249 |  |  |  | 147,174 |
Printing and Publishing — 0.30%: |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Nielsen Holdings Ltd., 3M SOFR + 5.0000%~ |  |  | 10.40 |  |  |  | 4/11/2029 |  |  |  | 993,758 |  |  |  | 903,317 |  |  |  | 905,562 |
Total Printing and Publishing |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | 993,758 |  |  |  | 903,317 |  |  |  | 905,562 |
Telecommunication — 1.58%: |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
BMC Software, 3M SOFR + 4.2500%~ |  |  | 9.60 |  |  |  | 12/31/2028 |  |  |  | 3,816,155 |  |  |  | 3,798,619 |  |  |  | 3,838,098 |
BMC Software~ |  |  | 10.40 |  |  |  | 6/28/2029 |  |  |  | 1,000,000 |  |  |  | 987,126 |  |  |  | 990,630 |
Total Telecommunication |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | 4,816,155 |  |  |  | 4,785,745 |  |  |  | 4,828,728 |
Utilities — 0.67%: |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Invenergy Thermal Operating I LLC, 3M SOFR + 4.5000%~ |  |  | 9.93 |  |  |  | 8/4/2029 |  |  |  | 1,881,912 |  |  |  | 1,844,489 |  |  |  | 1,879,560 |
Invenergy Thermal Operating I LLC, 3M SOFR + 4.5000%~ |  |  | 9.93 |  |  |  | 8/4/2029 |  |  |  | 155,530 |  |  |  | 152,437 |  |  |  | 155,336 |
Total Utilities |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | 2,037,442 |  |  |  | 1,996,926 |  |  |  | 2,034,896 |
Total Bank Loans |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | 64,043,800 |  |  |  | 61,661,238 |  |  |  | 48,060,381 |
Corporate Bonds — 100.90%: |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Aerospace and Defense — 2.12%: |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
American Airlines^# |  |  | 8.50 |  |  |  | 5/15/2029 |  |  |  | 858,000 |  |  |  | 858,000 |  |  |  | 905,937 |
Spirit AeroSystems Inc^ |  |  | 9.75 |  |  |  | 11/15/2030 |  |  |  | 1,696,000 |  |  |  | 1,696,000 |  |  |  | 1,823,716 |
Triumph Group, Inc.^ |  |  | 9.00 |  |  |  | 3/15/2028 |  |  |  | 886,000 |  |  |  | 886,000 |  |  |  | 941,950 |
Triumph Group, Inc. |  |  | 7.75 |  |  |  | 8/15/2025 |  |  |  | 2,789,000 |  |  |  | 2,764,212 |  |  |  | 2,781,969 |
Total Aerospace and Defense |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | 6,229,000 |  |  |  | 6,204,212 |  |  |  | 6,453,572 |
Automobile — 3.70%: |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Adient PLC+^ |  |  | 8.25 |  |  |  | 4/15/2031 |  |  |  | 870,000 |  |  |  | 870,000 |  |  |  | 921,088 |
Faurecia SE+# |  |  | 7.25 |  |  |  | 6/15/2026 |  |  |  | 721,000 |  |  |  | 788,409 |  |  |  | 842,708 |
Ford Motor Company |  |  | 9.63 |  |  |  | 4/22/2030 |  |  |  | 5,000,000 |  |  |  | 5,842,432 |  |  |  | 5,898,468 |
INA-Holding Schaeffler GmbH & Co KG+# |  |  | 8.75 |  |  |  | 5/15/2028 |  |  |  | 2,350,000 |  |  |  | 2,530,941 |  |  |  | 2,821,095 |
RAC Group Holdings Limited+# |  |  | 8.25 |  |  |  | 11/6/2028 |  |  |  | 575,000 |  |  |  | 701,127 |  |  |  | 788,953 |
Total Automobile |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | 9,516,000 |  |  |  | 10,732,909 |  |  |  | 11,272,312 |
Banking — 0.37%: |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Macquarie Airfinance Holdings Ltd.+^ |  |  | 8.13 |  |  |  | 3/30/2029 |  |  |  | 281,000 |  |  |  | 281,000 |  |  |  | 293,708 |
Macquarie Airfinance Holdings Ltd.+^ |  |  | 8.38 |  |  |  | 5/1/2028 |  |  |  | 788,000 |  |  |  | 788,000 |  |  |  | 825,312 |
Total Banking |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | 1,069,000 |  |  |  | 1,069,000 |  |  |  | 1,119,020 |

See accompanying Notes to the Financial Statements.

16

Barings Global Short Duration High Yield Fund 2023 Annual Report

SCHEDULE OF INVESTMENTS (CONTINUED)

December 31, 2023

|  | EFFECTIVE INTEREST RATE ‡ |  |  | DUE DATE |  |  | PRINCIPAL |  |  | COST |  |  | FAIR VALUE |
Corporate Bonds (Continued) |
Broadcasting and Entertainment — 5.45%: |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Banijay+ |  |  | 6.50 | % |  |  | 3/1/2026 |  |  | $ | 3,700,000 |  |  | $ | 3,901,405 |  |  | $ | 4,072,067 |
Clear Channel Worldwide Holdings Inc.^ |  |  | 9.00 |  |  |  | 9/15/2028 |  |  |  | 708,000 |  |  |  | 708,000 |  |  |  | 738,773 |
Clear Channel Worldwide Holdings Inc.^# |  |  | 7.75 |  |  |  | 4/15/2028 |  |  |  | 3,337,000 |  |  |  | 3,402,977 |  |  |  | 2,875,734 |
Dish Dbs Corporation# |  |  | 7.38 |  |  |  | 7/1/2028 |  |  |  | 6,000,000 |  |  |  | 5,484,608 |  |  |  | 3,586,667 |
Dish Network Corporation^ |  |  | 11.75 |  |  |  | 11/15/2027 |  |  |  | 1,770,000 |  |  |  | 1,765,944 |  |  |  | 1,853,082 |
iHeartCommunications, Inc. |  |  | 8.38 |  |  |  | 5/1/2027 |  |  |  | 607,000 |  |  |  | 610,230 |  |  |  | 393,989 |
Inmarsat Finance PLC+^ |  |  | 6.75 |  |  |  | 10/1/2026 |  |  |  | 1,500,000 |  |  |  | 1,453,420 |  |  |  | 1,491,225 |
Reorganized ISA SA+^ |  |  | 6.50 |  |  |  | 3/15/2030 |  |  |  | 1,000,000 |  |  |  | 914,639 |  |  |  | 952,683 |
Townsquare Media, LLC^ |  |  | 6.88 |  |  |  | 2/1/2026 |  |  |  | 659,000 |  |  |  | 668,189 |  |  |  | 645,556 |
Total Broadcasting and Entertainment |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | 19,281,000 |  |  |  | 18,909,412 |  |  |  | 16,609,776 |
Buildings and Real Estate — 6.07%: |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
BlueLinx^# |  |  | 6.00 |  |  |  | 11/15/2029 |  |  |  | 1,101,000 |  |  |  | 1,000,067 |  |  |  | 1,018,899 |
Knife River Corporation^ |  |  | 7.75 |  |  |  | 5/1/2031 |  |  |  | 2,107,000 |  |  |  | 2,123,450 |  |  |  | 2,243,140 |
Maison Hold Limited+ |  |  | 6.00 |  |  |  | 10/31/2027 |  |  |  | 1,045,000 |  |  |  | 1,419,991 |  |  |  | 1,148,191 |
New Enterprise Stone & Lime Co.^ |  |  | 9.75 |  |  |  | 7/15/2028 |  |  |  | 11,859,000 |  |  |  | 12,029,606 |  |  |  | 11,859,000 |
Service Properties Trust^ |  |  | 8.63 |  |  |  | 11/15/2031 |  |  |  | 545,000 |  |  |  | 537,316 |  |  |  | 570,972 |
Smyrna Ready Mix Concrete^ |  |  | 8.88 |  |  |  | 11/15/2031 |  |  |  | 1,583,000 |  |  |  | 1,583,000 |  |  |  | 1,664,225 |
Total Buildings and Real Estate |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | 18,240,000 |  |  |  | 18,693,430 |  |  |  | 18,504,427 |
Cargo Transport — 4.16%: |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Atlas Corporation+^# |  |  | 5.50 |  |  |  | 8/1/2029 |  |  |  | 4,786,000 |  |  |  | 3,978,132 |  |  |  | 4,003,869 |
Carriage Purchaser Inc.^# |  |  | 7.88 |  |  |  | 10/15/2029 |  |  |  | 7,106,000 |  |  |  | 6,387,665 |  |  |  | 5,817,784 |
Railworks Hldgs Lp / Railworks Sr^ |  |  | 8.25 |  |  |  | 11/15/2028 |  |  |  | 2,881,000 |  |  |  | 2,821,297 |  |  |  | 2,852,190 |
Total Cargo Transport |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | 14,773,000 |  |  |  | 13,187,094 |  |  |  | 12,673,843 |
Chemicals, Plastics and Rubber — 5.45%: |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Consolidated Energy Finance SA+^ |  |  | 6.50 |  |  |  | 5/15/2026 |  |  |  | 492,000 |  |  |  | 447,955 |  |  |  | 444,030 |
LSF11 A5 Holdco LLC^# |  |  | 6.63 |  |  |  | 10/15/2029 |  |  |  | 4,448,000 |  |  |  | 3,985,515 |  |  |  | 3,761,387 |
Monitchem HoldCo+# |  |  | 8.75 |  |  |  | 5/1/2028 |  |  |  | 300,000 |  |  |  | 328,904 |  |  |  | 337,332 |
Monitchem HoldCo, 3M EURIBOR + 5.2500%+~# |  |  | 9.18 |  |  |  | 5/1/2028 |  |  |  | 215,000 |  |  |  | 230,517 |  |  |  | 239,129 |
Olympus Water US Holding Corporation^ |  |  | 7.13 |  |  |  | 10/1/2027 |  |  |  | 1,500,000 |  |  |  | 1,482,940 |  |  |  | 1,501,680 |
Olympus Water US Holding Corporation^# |  |  | 6.25 |  |  |  | 10/1/2029 |  |  |  | 2,348,000 |  |  |  | 2,179,250 |  |  |  | 2,084,651 |
Prince^# |  |  | 9.00 |  |  |  | 2/15/2030 |  |  |  | 3,689,000 |  |  |  | 3,687,540 |  |  |  | 2,895,274 |
Proman AG+^ |  |  | 5.63 |  |  |  | 10/15/2028 |  |  |  | 3,427,000 |  |  |  | 2,993,686 |  |  |  | 2,901,915 |
SI Group^# |  |  | 6.75 |  |  |  | 5/15/2026 |  |  |  | 1,176,000 |  |  |  | 1,035,449 |  |  |  | 376,320 |
Windsor Holdings III LLC^ |  |  | 8.50 |  |  |  | 6/15/2030 |  |  |  | 2,000,000 |  |  |  | 2,000,000 |  |  |  | 2,090,056 |
Total Chemicals, Plastics and Rubber |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | 19,595,000 |  |  |  | 18,371,756 |  |  |  | 16,631,774 |
Containers, Packaging and Glass — 5.42%: |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Ardagh Packaging+ |  |  | 4.75 |  |  |  | 7/15/2027 |  |  |  | 100,000 |  |  |  | 108,367 |  |  |  | 92,161 |
Novolex Holdings, Inc.^ |  |  | 8.75 |  |  |  | 4/15/2030 |  |  |  | 7,423,000 |  |  |  | 6,791,026 |  |  |  | 6,920,958 |
Packaging Holdings Ltd.^# |  |  | 7.13 |  |  |  | 8/15/2028 |  |  |  | 1,775,000 |  |  |  | 1,558,148 |  |  |  | 1,597,500 |
SCI Packaging Inc.^ |  |  | 7.88 |  |  |  | 8/15/2026 |  |  |  | 5,197,000 |  |  |  | 5,197,000 |  |  |  | 5,288,436 |

See accompanying Notes to the Financial Statements.

17

Barings Global Short Duration High Yield Fund 2023 Annual Report

SCHEDULE OF INVESTMENTS (CONTINUED)

December 31, 2023

|  | EFFECTIVE INTEREST RATE ‡ |  |  | DUE DATE |  |  | PRINCIPAL |  |  | COST |  |  | FAIR VALUE |
Corporate Bonds (Continued) |
Containers, Packaging and Glass — (Continued) |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
SCI Packaging Inc.^ |  |  | 9.25 | % |  |  | 4/15/2027 |  |  | $ | 1,327,000 |  |  | $ | 1,228,600 |  |  | $ | 1,302,480 |
Titan Holdings II+ |  |  | 5.13 |  |  |  | 7/15/2029 |  |  |  | 113,000 |  |  |  | 133,866 |  |  |  | 106,658 |
Trident Parent, LLC^ |  |  | 12.75 |  |  |  | 12/31/2028 |  |  |  | 1,151,000 |  |  |  | 1,156,032 |  |  |  | 1,231,570 |
Total Containers, Packaging, and Glass |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | 17,086,000 |  |  |  | 16,173,039 |  |  |  | 16,539,763 |
Diversified/Conglomerate Manufacturing — 0.62%: |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Heat Exchangers+ |  |  | 7.78 |  |  |  | 10/9/2025 |  |  |  | 652,344 |  |  |  | 707,298 |  |  |  | 667,841 |
United Site Services^# |  |  | 8.00 |  |  |  | 11/15/2029 |  |  |  | 2,397,000 |  |  |  | 2,374,500 |  |  |  | 1,222,470 |
Total Diversified/Conglomerate Manufacturing |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | 3,049,344 |  |  |  | 3,081,798 |  |  |  | 1,890,311 |
Diversified/Conglomerate Service — 8.48%: |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Albion Fing 1 S A R L & Aggre Sr+^ |  |  | 8.75 |  |  |  | 4/15/2027 |  |  |  | 1,800,000 |  |  |  | 1,807,263 |  |  |  | 1,773,000 |
AMS Osram AG+# |  |  | 10.50 |  |  |  | 3/30/2029 |  |  |  | 2,000,000 |  |  |  | 2,148,336 |  |  |  | 2,395,015 |
Apcoa Parking Holdings+ |  |  | 4.63 |  |  |  | 1/15/2027 |  |  |  | 385,000 |  |  |  | 455,648 |  |  |  | 398,547 |
Engineering Group+# |  |  | 11.13 |  |  |  | 5/15/2028 |  |  |  | 1,485,000 |  |  |  | 1,627,861 |  |  |  | 1,749,973 |
Global Infrastructure Solutions, Inc.^ |  |  | 7.50 |  |  |  | 4/15/2032 |  |  |  | 5,298,000 |  |  |  | 4,767,074 |  |  |  | 4,885,435 |
Libra Group Bhd+ |  |  | 5.00 |  |  |  | 5/15/2027 |  |  |  | 700,000 |  |  |  | 850,082 |  |  |  | 743,785 |
Presidio, Inc.^ |  |  | 8.25 |  |  |  | 2/1/2028 |  |  |  | 5,462,000 |  |  |  | 5,423,255 |  |  |  | 5,518,248 |
Sabre Holdings Corporation^ |  |  | 11.25 |  |  |  | 12/15/2027 |  |  |  | 317,000 |  |  |  | 312,101 |  |  |  | 311,462 |
Summer BC Holdco+ |  |  | 9.25 |  |  |  | 10/31/2027 |  |  |  | 1,666,932 |  |  |  | 2,084,645 |  |  |  | 1,637,783 |
Verisure Midholding AB+# |  |  | 7.13 |  |  |  | 2/1/2028 |  |  |  | 915,000 |  |  |  | 994,381 |  |  |  | 1,060,501 |
Verisure Midholding+ |  |  | 5.25 |  |  |  | 2/15/2029 |  |  |  | 3,575,000 |  |  |  | 4,323,356 |  |  |  | 3,759,149 |
Veritas Bermuda Ltd.^ |  |  | 7.50 |  |  |  | 9/1/2025 |  |  |  | 1,958,000 |  |  |  | 1,834,398 |  |  |  | 1,616,467 |
Total Diversified/Conglomerate Service |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | 25,561,932 |  |  |  | 26,628,400 |  |  |  | 25,849,365 |
Finance — 9.17%: |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Avolon Holdings+^ |  |  | 6.50 |  |  |  | 9/15/2024 |  |  |  | 3,214,964 |  |  |  | 3,002,493 |  |  |  | 3,022,066 |
Cerved Group, 3M EURIBOR + 5.250%+~ |  |  | 9.18 |  |  |  | 2/15/2029 |  |  |  | 477,000 |  |  |  | 542,554 |  |  |  | 508,837 |
Cetera Financial Group^ |  |  | 10.00 |  |  |  | 8/15/2030 |  |  |  | 1,107,000 |  |  |  | 1,107,000 |  |  |  | 1,176,354 |
CPUK FINANCE LTD+# |  |  | 5.88 |  |  |  | 8/28/2027 |  |  |  | 235,000 |  |  |  | 292,809 |  |  |  | 306,486 |
Galaxy Bidco Ltd.+ |  |  | 6.50 |  |  |  | 7/31/2026 |  |  |  | 500,000 |  |  |  | 664,453 |  |  |  | 615,018 |
GTCR W Dutch Finance Sub B.V.^ |  |  | 7.50 |  |  |  | 1/15/2031 |  |  |  | 434,000 |  |  |  | 434,000 |  |  |  | 458,617 |
Hannon Armstrong Sustainable Infrastructure Capital, Inc. (HASI)^# |  |  | 8.00 |  |  |  | 6/15/2027 |  |  |  | 428,000 |  |  |  | 428,000 |  |  |  | 445,670 |
Icahn Enterprises LP# |  |  | 6.38 |  |  |  | 12/15/2025 |  |  |  | 5,451,000 |  |  |  | 5,316,678 |  |  |  | 5,351,531 |
Icahn Enterprises LP# |  |  | 6.25 |  |  |  | 5/15/2026 |  |  |  | 1,762,000 |  |  |  | 1,662,398 |  |  |  | 1,680,944 |
OneMain Finance Corporation# |  |  | 7.88 |  |  |  | 3/15/2030 |  |  |  | 600,000 |  |  |  | 596,478 |  |  |  | 617,697 |
OneMain Finance Corporation+# |  |  | 4.50 |  |  |  | 8/28/2027 |  |  |  | 965,000 |  |  |  | 1,021,190 |  |  |  | 1,082,397 |
PRA Group^# |  |  | 5.00 |  |  |  | 10/1/2029 |  |  |  | 3,835,000 |  |  |  | 2,830,983 |  |  |  | 3,162,690 |
PRA Group^ |  |  | 7.38 |  |  |  | 9/1/2025 |  |  |  | 473,000 |  |  |  | 431,197 |  |  |  | 468,294 |
PRA Group^# |  |  | 8.38 |  |  |  | 2/1/2028 |  |  |  | 4,518,000 |  |  |  | 4,268,396 |  |  |  | 4,349,546 |
Travelex(12.50%PIK)¤+ |  |  | 12.50 |  |  |  | 8/5/2025 |  |  |  | 3,037,988 |  |  |  | 3,923,064 |  |  |  | 4,511,307 |
Travelex¤+#> |  |  | 8.00 |  |  |  | 5/15/2024 |  |  |  | 4,600,000 |  |  |  | 5,097,344 |  |  |  | 0 |
TVL FINANCE PLC, 3M EURIBOR + 5.5000%+~# |  |  | 9.45 |  |  |  | 4/28/2028 |  |  |  | 200,000 |  |  |  | 217,342 |  |  |  | 224,786 |
Total Finance |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | 31,837,952 |  |  |  | 31,836,379 |  |  |  | 27,982,240 |

See accompanying Notes to the Financial Statements.

18

Barings Global Short Duration High Yield Fund 2023 Annual Report

SCHEDULE OF INVESTMENTS (CONTINUED)

December 31, 2023

|  | EFFECTIVE INTEREST RATE ‡ |  |  | DUE DATE |  |  | PRINCIPAL |  |  | COST |  |  | FAIR VALUE |
Corporate Bonds (Continued) |
Healthcare, Education and Childcare — 6.84%: |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
AdaptHealth LLC^# |  |  | 4.63 | % |  |  | 8/1/2029 |  |  | $ | 602,000 |  |  | $ | 499,899 |  |  | $ | 464,442 |
AdaptHealth LLC^# |  |  | 5.13 |  |  |  | 3/1/2030 |  |  |  | 2,729,000 |  |  |  | 2,341,280 |  |  |  | 2,130,093 |
Bausch Health Companies Inc.+^ |  |  | 8.38 |  |  |  | 10/1/2028 |  |  |  | 296,000 |  |  |  | 296,000 |  |  |  | 312,262 |
Bausch Health Companies Inc.+^ |  |  | 9.00 |  |  |  | 12/15/2025 |  |  |  | 846,000 |  |  |  | 844,943 |  |  |  | 790,494 |
Bausch Health Companies Inc.+^ |  |  | 9.00 |  |  |  | 1/30/2028 |  |  |  | 337,000 |  |  |  | 673,270 |  |  |  | 328,609 |
Bausch Health Companies Inc.+^ |  |  | 11.00 |  |  |  | 9/30/2028 |  |  |  | 598,000 |  |  |  | 1,036,213 |  |  |  | 434,734 |
Bausch Health Companies Inc.+^ |  |  | 14.00 |  |  |  | 10/15/2030 |  |  |  | 118,000 |  |  |  | 151,158 |  |  |  | 64,810 |
Cidron Aida Finco+ |  |  | 6.25 |  |  |  | 4/1/2028 |  |  |  | 1,650,000 |  |  |  | 2,275,266 |  |  |  | 1,975,255 |
Community Health System Inc.^# |  |  | 10.88 |  |  |  | 1/15/2032 |  |  |  | 1,650,000 |  |  |  | 1,650,000 |  |  |  | 1,728,248 |
Community Health System Inc.^ |  |  | 6.88 |  |  |  | 4/15/2029 |  |  |  | 286,000 |  |  |  | 286,000 |  |  |  | 187,390 |
Consensus Cloud Solutions Inc.^ |  |  | 6.50 |  |  |  | 10/15/2028 |  |  |  | 717,000 |  |  |  | 625,060 |  |  |  | 650,359 |
LifePoint Health Inc.^ |  |  | 9.88 |  |  |  | 8/15/2030 |  |  |  | 2,140,000 |  |  |  | 2,138,189 |  |  |  | 2,162,214 |
LifePoint Health Inc.^ |  |  | 11.00 |  |  |  | 10/15/2030 |  |  |  | 1,785,000 |  |  |  | 1,785,000 |  |  |  | 1,880,205 |
Neogen Corporation^ |  |  | 8.63 |  |  |  | 7/20/2030 |  |  |  | 2,298,000 |  |  |  | 2,315,601 |  |  |  | 2,458,906 |
Nidda BondCo GmbH+# |  |  | 7.50 |  |  |  | 8/21/2026 |  |  |  | 500,000 |  |  |  | 514,818 |  |  |  | 567,836 |
Radiology Partners Inc.^ |  |  | 9.25 |  |  |  | 2/1/2028 |  |  |  | 6,061,000 |  |  |  | 6,355,465 |  |  |  | 3,103,535 |
RP Escrow Issuer LLC^# |  |  | 5.25 |  |  |  | 12/15/2025 |  |  |  | 2,035,000 |  |  |  | 1,532,609 |  |  |  | 1,628,188 |
Total Healthcare, Education and Childcare |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | 24,648,000 |  |  |  | 25,320,771 |  |  |  | 20,867,580 |
Home and Office Furnishings, Housewares, and Durable Consumer Products — 0.83%: |  |  |  |  |
Staples Inc.^ |  |  | 10.75 |  |  |  | 4/15/2027 |  |  |  | 3,478,000 |  |  |  | 3,550,446 |  |  |  | 2,534,878 |
Total Home and Office Furnishings, Housewares, and Durable Consumer Products |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | 3,478,000 |  |  |  | 3,550,446 |  |  |  | 2,534,878 |
Hotels, Motels, Inns and Gaming — 0.07%: |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
SANI/IKOS Financial Holdings+# |  |  | 5.63 |  |  |  | 12/15/2026 |  |  |  | 215,000 |  |  |  | 253,957 |  |  |  | 223,583 |
Total Lodging |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | 215,000 |  |  |  | 253,957 |  |  |  | 223,583 |
Leisure, Amusement, Entertainment — 3.13%: |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Allegiant Travel Co.^ |  |  | 7.25 |  |  |  | 8/15/2027 |  |  |  | 2,810,000 |  |  |  | 2,778,907 |  |  |  | 2,749,420 |
Carnival Corp.+^ |  |  | 7.00 |  |  |  | 8/15/2029 |  |  |  | 183,000 |  |  |  | 183,000 |  |  |  | 191,168 |
Carnival Corp.+^# |  |  | 6.00 |  |  |  | 5/1/2029 |  |  |  | 1,873,000 |  |  |  | 1,530,516 |  |  |  | 1,801,648 |
Center Parcs+# |  |  | 6.50 |  |  |  | 8/28/2026 |  |  |  | 825,000 |  |  |  | 1,151,050 |  |  |  | 1,014,721 |
Center Parcs+# |  |  | 6.14 |  |  |  | 8/28/2031 |  |  |  | 235,000 |  |  |  | 292,798 |  |  |  | 310,971 |
Motion Topco Limited+# |  |  | 7.38 |  |  |  | 6/15/2030 |  |  |  | 1,600,000 |  |  |  | 1,723,284 |  |  |  | 1,801,791 |
Ontario Gaming GTA LP+^ |  |  | 8.00 |  |  |  | 8/1/2030 |  |  |  | 694,000 |  |  |  | 700,680 |  |  |  | 715,687 |
Silk TopCo AS+ |  |  | 3.38 |  |  |  | 2/24/2025 |  |  |  | 950,000 |  |  |  | 874,584 |  |  |  | 954,153 |
Total Leisure, Amusement, Entertainment |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | 9,170,000 |  |  |  | 9,234,819 |  |  |  | 9,539,559 |
Machinery (Non-Agriculture, Non-Construct, Non-Electronic) — 1.03%: |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Emerald JV Holdings LP^ |  |  | 6.63 |  |  |  | 12/15/2030 |  |  |  | 2,371,000 |  |  |  | 2,371,000 |  |  |  | 2,421,668 |
Harsco Corp.^# |  |  | 5.75 |  |  |  | 7/31/2027 |  |  |  | 793,000 |  |  |  | 704,566 |  |  |  | 739,415 |
Total Machinery (Non-Agriculture, Non-Construct, Non-Electronic) |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | 3,164,000 |  |  |  | 3,075,566 |  |  |  | 3,161,083 |

See accompanying Notes to the Financial Statements.

19

Barings Global Short Duration High Yield Fund 2023 Annual Report

SCHEDULE OF INVESTMENTS (CONTINUED)

December 31, 2023

|  | EFFECTIVE INTEREST RATE ‡ |  |  | DUE DATE |  |  | PRINCIPAL |  |  | COST |  |  | FAIR VALUE |
Corporate Bonds (Continued) |
Mining, Steel, Iron and Non-Precious Metals — 7.23%: |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Arsenal AIC Parent LLC^ |  |  | 8.00 | % |  |  | 10/1/2030 |  |  | $ | 1,182,000 |  |  | $ | 1,180,155 |  |  | $ | 1,233,252 |
Coronado Global Resources Inc.+^ |  |  | 10.75 |  |  |  | 5/15/2026 |  |  |  | 4,846,000 |  |  |  | 5,072,157 |  |  |  | 5,048,624 |
First Quantum Minerals+^ |  |  | 7.50 |  |  |  | 4/1/2025 |  |  |  | 7,774,000 |  |  |  | 7,649,906 |  |  |  | 7,427,408 |
First Quantum Minerals+^ |  |  | 6.88 |  |  |  | 10/15/2027 |  |  |  | 200,000 |  |  |  | 200,000 |  |  |  | 169,969 |
First Quantum Minerals+^ |  |  | 8.63 |  |  |  | 6/1/2031 |  |  |  | 4,045,000 |  |  |  | 4,045,000 |  |  |  | 3,429,675 |
Hecla Mining Company |  |  | 7.25 |  |  |  | 2/15/2028 |  |  |  | 4,699,000 |  |  |  | 4,956,582 |  |  |  | 4,730,378 |
Total Mining, Steel, Iron and Non-Precious Metals |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | 22,746,000 |  |  |  | 23,103,800 |  |  |  | 22,039,306 |
Oil and Gas — 17.60%: |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
AmeriGas Partners LP^ |  |  | 9.38 |  |  |  | 6/1/2028 |  |  |  | 1,273,000 |  |  |  | 1,273,000 |  |  |  | 1,314,834 |
Calumet Specialty Products^ |  |  | 9.25 |  |  |  | 7/15/2024 |  |  |  | 2,850,000 |  |  |  | 2,832,042 |  |  |  | 2,850,000 |
CGG SA+ |  |  | 7.75 |  |  |  | 4/1/2027 |  |  |  | 1,500,000 |  |  |  | 1,787,033 |  |  |  | 1,520,063 |
Energy Transfer LP~# |  |  | 6.50 |  |  |  | 11/15/2172 |  |  |  | 3,440,000 |  |  |  | 3,147,600 |  |  |  | 3,268,963 |
Energy Transfer LP~# |  |  | 7.13 |  |  |  | 5/15/2172 |  |  |  | 2,211,000 |  |  |  | 1,890,405 |  |  |  | 2,037,389 |
Enlink Midstream Partners LP |  |  | 5.60 |  |  |  | 4/1/2044 |  |  |  | 5,413,000 |  |  |  | 3,631,396 |  |  |  | 4,707,354 |
Enlink Midstream Partners LP# |  |  | 5.45 |  |  |  | 6/1/2047 |  |  |  | 3,000,000 |  |  |  | 2,402,234 |  |  |  | 2,617,500 |
Genesis Energy LP |  |  | 7.75 |  |  |  | 2/1/2028 |  |  |  | 3,408,000 |  |  |  | 3,213,780 |  |  |  | 3,419,850 |
Genesis Energy LP |  |  | 8.00 |  |  |  | 1/15/2027 |  |  |  | 2,639,000 |  |  |  | 2,639,388 |  |  |  | 2,684,953 |
Genesis Energy LP |  |  | 8.88 |  |  |  | 4/15/2030 |  |  |  | 1,000,000 |  |  |  | 979,463 |  |  |  | 1,033,626 |
Harvest Midstream I LP^ |  |  | 7.50 |  |  |  | 9/1/2028 |  |  |  | 4,015,000 |  |  |  | 3,973,948 |  |  |  | 3,992,820 |
IMTT^# |  |  | 6.50 |  |  |  | 8/1/2029 |  |  |  | 6,018,000 |  |  |  | 5,663,686 |  |  |  | 5,323,764 |
KCA Deutag+ |  |  | 9.88 |  |  |  | 12/1/2025 |  |  |  | 1,179,286 |  |  |  | 1,179,286 |  |  |  | 1,192,621 |
KCA Deutag International Limited(15.00%PIK)+ |  |  | 15.00 |  |  |  | 12/1/2027 |  |  |  | 991,351 |  |  |  | 991,352 |  |  |  | 1,001,265 |
KCA Deutag, 3M SOFR + 9.0000%+~ |  |  | 14.46 |  |  |  | 12/1/2025 |  |  |  | 1,343,874 |  |  |  | 1,343,874 |  |  |  | 1,357,313 |
Nabors Industries LTD^ |  |  | 9.13 |  |  |  | 1/31/2030 |  |  |  | 246,000 |  |  |  | 246,000 |  |  |  | 246,999 |
NGL Energy Finance Corp.^ |  |  | 7.50 |  |  |  | 2/1/2026 |  |  |  | 4,203,000 |  |  |  | 4,236,766 |  |  |  | 4,245,215 |
Occidental Pete Corp. |  |  | 8.50 |  |  |  | 7/15/2027 |  |  |  | 4,523,000 |  |  |  | 4,553,376 |  |  |  | 4,933,568 |
Var Energi+~# |  |  | 7.86 |  |  |  | 11/15/2083 |  |  |  | 1,350,000 |  |  |  | 1,440,675 |  |  |  | 1,585,010 |
Waldorf Production UK LD+# |  |  | 9.75 |  |  |  | 10/1/2024 |  |  |  | 1,139,956 |  |  |  | 1,136,139 |  |  |  | 1,108,607 |
Weatherford Intl Ltd Bermuda Sr Glbl+^ |  |  | 8.63 |  |  |  | 4/30/2030 |  |  |  | 3,092,000 |  |  |  | 3,105,579 |  |  |  | 3,227,652 |
Total Oil and Gas |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | 54,835,467 |  |  |  | 51,667,022 |  |  |  | 53,669,366 |
Personal, Food, and Miscellaneous — 0.44%: |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Brinker International^ |  |  | 8.25 |  |  |  | 7/15/2030 |  |  |  | 998,000 |  |  |  | 997,288 |  |  |  | 1,043,988 |
Raising Cane’s Restaurants LLC^ |  |  | 9.38 |  |  |  | 5/1/2029 |  |  |  | 296,000 |  |  |  | 296,000 |  |  |  | 315,901 |
Total Personal, Food, and Miscellaneous |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | 1,294,000 |  |  |  | 1,293,288 |  |  |  | 1,359,889 |
Personal Transportation — 0.12%: |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Naviera Armas¤+ |  |  | 15.64 |  |  |  | 3/31/2026 |  |  |  | 542,950 |  |  |  | 677,933 |  |  |  | 377,615 |
Total Personal Transportation |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | 542,950 |  |  |  | 677,933 |  |  |  | 377,615 |

See accompanying Notes to the Financial Statements.

20

Barings Global Short Duration High Yield Fund 2023 Annual Report

SCHEDULE OF INVESTMENTS (CONTINUED)

December 31, 2023

|  | EFFECTIVE INTEREST RATE ‡ |  |  | DUE DATE |  |  | PRINCIPAL |  |  | COST |  |  | FAIR VALUE |
Corporate Bonds (Continued) |
Printing and Publishing — 2.63%: |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Cimpress PLC+ |  |  | 7.00 | % |  |  | 6/15/2026 |  |  | $ | 2,069,000 |  |  | $ | 2,069,000 |  |  | $ | 2,022,447 |
Getty Images Inc.^ |  |  | 9.75 |  |  |  | 3/1/2027 |  |  |  | 5,972,000 |  |  |  | 6,081,919 |  |  |  | 6,006,835 |
Total Printing and Publishing |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | 8,041,000 |  |  |  | 8,150,919 |  |  |  | 8,029,282 |
Retail Store — 2.37%: |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Bath & Body Works Inc.# |  |  | 6.88 |  |  |  | 11/1/2035 |  |  |  | 262,000 |  |  |  | 238,394 |  |  |  | 265,322 |
Bath & Body Works Inc.# |  |  | 7.60 |  |  |  | 7/15/2037 |  |  |  | 1,471,000 |  |  |  | 1,315,322 |  |  |  | 1,500,420 |
Life Time, Inc.^ |  |  | 8.00 |  |  |  | 4/15/2026 |  |  |  | 861,000 |  |  |  | 834,254 |  |  |  | 869,166 |
Marcolin S.p.A+ |  |  | 6.13 |  |  |  | 11/15/2026 |  |  |  | 475,000 |  |  |  | 578,239 |  |  |  | 500,302 |
Nordstrom Inc.# |  |  | 5.00 |  |  |  | 1/15/2044 |  |  |  | 2,000,000 |  |  |  | 1,200,488 |  |  |  | 1,426,882 |
PetSmart LLC^# |  |  | 4.75 |  |  |  | 2/15/2028 |  |  |  | 616,000 |  |  |  | 565,776 |  |  |  | 581,159 |
PetSmart LLC^ |  |  | 7.75 |  |  |  | 2/15/2029 |  |  |  | 1,108,000 |  |  |  | 1,092,328 |  |  |  | 1,077,639 |
Tapestry, INC |  |  | 7.05 |  |  |  | 11/27/2025 |  |  |  | 988,000 |  |  |  | 988,989 |  |  |  | 1,010,604 |
Total Retail Store |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | 7,781,000 |  |  |  | 6,813,790 |  |  |  | 7,231,494 |
Telecommunications — 5.17%: |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Altice France Holding S.A.+# |  |  | 4.00 |  |  |  | 7/15/2029 |  |  |  | 643,000 |  |  |  | 508,331 |  |  |  | 550,977 |
Altice France Holding S.A.+^# |  |  | 5.13 |  |  |  | 7/15/2029 |  |  |  | 957,000 |  |  |  | 681,257 |  |  |  | 743,201 |
Altice France Holding S.A.+^ |  |  | 10.50 |  |  |  | 5/15/2027 |  |  |  | 2,240,000 |  |  |  | 2,081,820 |  |  |  | 1,450,667 |
BMC Software^ |  |  | 7.13 |  |  |  | 10/2/2025 |  |  |  | 103,000 |  |  |  | 100,891 |  |  |  | 103,552 |
British Telecom+# |  |  | 8.38 |  |  |  | 12/20/2083 |  |  |  | 600,000 |  |  |  | 732,312 |  |  |  | 806,348 |
C&W Senior Financing Designated Activity Co+^# |  |  | 6.88 |  |  |  | 9/15/2027 |  |  |  | 1,572,000 |  |  |  | 1,437,342 |  |  |  | 1,464,632 |
Commscope Inc.^ |  |  | 8.25 |  |  |  | 3/1/2027 |  |  |  | 1,173,000 |  |  |  | 1,142,045 |  |  |  | 619,344 |
Digicel Limited ¤+^> |  |  | 8.25 |  |  |  | 9/30/2025 |  |  |  | 2,500,000 |  |  |  | 2,491,364 |  |  |  | 0 |
Frontier Communications Corporation^ |  |  | 8.75 |  |  |  | 5/15/2030 |  |  |  | 774,000 |  |  |  | 774,000 |  |  |  | 796,220 |
Frontier Communications Hldgs Sr Sec Glbl^# |  |  | 6.00 |  |  |  | 1/15/2030 |  |  |  | 3,976,000 |  |  |  | 3,369,219 |  |  |  | 3,393,689 |
Level III^# |  |  | 4.25 |  |  |  | 7/1/2028 |  |  |  | 550,000 |  |  |  | 326,696 |  |  |  | 272,250 |
Telecom Italia+# |  |  | 7.88 |  |  |  | 7/31/2028 |  |  |  | 600,000 |  |  |  | 651,878 |  |  |  | 734,567 |
Telefonica SA+# |  |  | 7.13 |  |  |  | 11/23/2172 |  |  |  | 1,400,000 |  |  |  | 1,524,573 |  |  |  | 1,666,866 |
Uniti Group LP / Uniti Group Finance Inc.^ |  |  | 6.50 |  |  |  | 2/15/2029 |  |  |  | 330,000 |  |  |  | 330,000 |  |  |  | 238,015 |
Viasat^# |  |  | 6.50 |  |  |  | 7/15/2028 |  |  |  | 2,239,000 |  |  |  | 1,825,089 |  |  |  | 1,838,779 |
Vodafone Group PLC+# |  |  | 8.00 |  |  |  | 8/30/2086 |  |  |  | 400,000 |  |  |  | 538,600 |  |  |  | 543,765 |
Vodafone Group PLC+ |  |  | 6.25 |  |  |  | 10/3/2078 |  |  |  | 550,000 |  |  |  | 542,025 |  |  |  | 546,623 |
Total Telecommunications |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | 20,607,000 |  |  |  | 19,057,442 |  |  |  | 15,769,495 |
Utilities — 2.43%: |  |  |  |
Electricite de France SA+ |  |  | 9.13 |  |  |  | 12/15/2172 |  |  |  | 350,000 |  |  |  | 350,000 |  |  |  | 390,740 |
Electricite de France SA+# |  |  | 4.00 |  |  |  | 10/4/2172 |  |  |  | 700,000 |  |  |  | 715,783 |  |  |  | 766,156 |
Enbridge Inc.+ |  |  | 8.25 |  |  |  | 1/15/2084 |  |  |  | 1,624,000 |  |  |  | 1,624,000 |  |  |  | 1,675,687 |
Talen Energy Supply, LLC^ |  |  | 8.63 |  |  |  | 6/1/2030 |  |  |  | 3,837,000 |  |  |  | 3,880,495 |  |  |  | 4,093,807 |

See accompanying Notes to the Financial Statements.

21

Barings Global Short Duration High Yield Fund 2023 Annual Report

SCHEDULE OF INVESTMENTS (CONTINUED)

December 31, 2023

|  | EFFECTIVE INTEREST RATE ‡ |  |  | DUE DATE |  |  | PRINCIPAL |  |  | COST |  |  | FAIR VALUE |
Corporate Bonds (Continued) |
Utilities — (Continued) |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Techem+# |  |  | 6.00 | % |  |  | 7/30/2026 |  |  | $ | 439,599 |  |  | $ | 451,084 |  |  | $ | 482,868 |
Total Utilities |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | 6,950,599 |  |  |  | 7,021,362 |  |  |  | 7,409,258 |
Total Corporate Bonds |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | 329,711,244 |  |  |  | 324,108,544 |  |  |  | 307,738,791 |
Total Fixed Income |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | 441,755,044 |  |  |  | 433,366,841 |  |  |  | 400,186,359 |
Total Investments |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | $434,470,378 |  |  |  | $402,010,748 |
Other assets and liabilities — (31.81%) |  |  |  | (97,027,492 | )
Net Assets — 100.00% |  |  |  | $304,983,256 |

Percentages are calculated as a percent of net assets applicable to common shareholders.

| EURIBOR | – Euro Interbank Offered Rate

| SOFR | – Secured Overnight Financing Rate

* | Securities are non-income producing.

‡ | The effective interest rates are based on settled commitment amount.

¤ | Value determined using significant unobservable inputs, security is categorized as Level 3.

+ | Foreign security.

^ | Security exempt from registration under Rule 144a of the Securities Act of 1933. These securities may only be resold in transactions exempt from registration, normally to qualified institutional buyers.

~ | Variable rate security. The interest rate shown is the rate in effect at December 31, 2023.

# | All or a portion of the security is segregated as collateral for the credit facility.

§ | Bank loans are exempt from registration under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, but contain certain restrictions on resale and cannot be sold publicly. These loans pay interest at rates which adjust periodically. The interest rates shown for bank loans are the current interest rates at December 31, 2023. Bank loans are also subject to mandatory and/or optional prepayment which cannot be predicted. As a result, the remaining maturity may be substantially less than the stated maturity shown.

> | Defaulted security.

| PIK | – Payment-in-kind

Distributions of investments by country of risk. Percentage of assets are expressed by market value excluding cash and accrued income as of December 31, 2023.

|  | United States of America |  |  | 80.1% |
|  | United Kingdom |  |  | 6.6% |
|  | Zambia |  |  | 2.7% |
|  | Germany |  |  | 1.4% |
|  | Australia |  |  | 1.3% |
|  | France |  |  | 1.2% |
|  | Sweden |  |  | 1.2% |
|  | Italy |  |  | 1.1% |
|  | Hong Kong |  |  | 1.0% |
|  | (Individually less than 1%) |  |  | 3.4% |
|  |  |  |  | 100.0% |

See accompanying Notes to the Financial Statements.

22

Barings Global Short Duration High Yield Fund 2023 Annual Report

SCHEDULE OF INVESTMENTS (CONTINUED)

December 31, 2023

A summary of outstanding derivatives at December 31, 2023 is as follows:

Schedule of Open Forward Foreign Exchange Contracts

December 31, 2023

CURRENCY TO BE RECEIVED |  |  |  |  | CURRENCY TO BE DELIVERED(1) |  |  |  |  |  | COUNTERPARTY OF CONTRACT |  | FORWARD SETTLEMENT DATE |  |  | UNREALIZED APPRECIATION / (DEPRECIATION) |
| 33,690,790 |  |  | USD |  |  | 34,507,851 |  |  |  | EUR |  |  | Morgan Stanley |  |  | 1/18/2024 |  |  | $ | (817,061 | )
| 14,711,862 |  |  | USD |  |  | 14,937,871 |  |  |  | GBP |  |  | Morgan Stanley |  |  | 1/18/2024 |  |  |  | (226,009 | )
|  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | $ | (1,043,070 | )

(1) Values are listed in U.S. dollars.

See accompanying Notes to the Financial Statements.

23

Barings Global Short Duration High Yield Fund 2023 Annual Report

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

December 31, 2023

1. | Organization

Barings Global Short Duration High Yield Fund (the “Fund”) was organized as a business trust under the laws of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts on May 20, 2011 and commenced operations on October 26, 2012. The Fund is registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”), as a de facto diversified, closed-end management investment company.

Barings LLC (the “Adviser”), a wholly owned indirect subsidiary of Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company, is a registered investment adviser under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, as amended, and serves as investment adviser to the Fund.

Baring International Investment Limited (the “Sub-Adviser”), an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of the Adviser, serves as sub-adviser with respect to the Fund’s European investments.

The Fund’s primary investment objective is to seek as high a level of current income as the Adviser determines is consistent with capital preservation. The Fund seeks capital appreciation as a secondary investment objective when consistent with its primary investment objective. There can be no assurance that the Fund will achieve its investment objectives. The Fund seeks to take advantage of inefficiencies between geographies, primarily the North American and Western European high yield bond and loan markets and within capital structures between bonds and loans. Under normal market conditions, the Fund will invest at least 80% of its Managed Assets in bonds, loans and other income-producing instruments that are, at the time of purchase, rated below investment grade (below Baa3 by Moody’s Investors Service, Inc. (“Moody’s”) or below BBB- by either Standard & Poor’s Rating Services, a division of the McGraw-Hill Company, Inc. (“S&P”) or Fitch, Inc. (“Fitch”), or unrated but judged by the Adviser or Sub-Adviser to be of comparable quality).

2. | Significant Accounting Policies

The Fund is an investment company and follows accounting and reporting guidance in Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) Accounting Standards Codification Topic 946. The following is a summary of significant accounting policies followed consistently by the Fund in the preparation of its financial statements in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“U.S. GAAP”).

A | Valuation of Investments

Pursuant to Rule 2a-5, the Board of Trustees (the “Board”) has designated the Adviser as valuation designee to perform the fair value determinations relating to the value of the assets held by the Fund and making fair value determinations on any day on which the net asset value (“NAV”) per share of the Fund is determined, in accordance with the 1940 Act and the rules and regulations thereunder, and the registration statement for the Fund, subject to the oversight of the Board.

Valuation of the Fund’s securities is based on the market price whenever market quotations are readily available and all securities of the same class held by the Fund can be readily sold in such market. Market prices are obtained from reputable pricing services using market pricing conventions, to the extent such a price is available. Where a market price quotation for a security is not readily available or if the investment is not a security, the security will be fair valued as determined in good faith by the Adviser, subject to the oversight of the Board.

The pricing services may use valuation models or matrix pricing, which consider yield or prices with respect to comparable bond quotations from bond dealers or by reference to other securities that are considered comparable in such characteristics as credit rating, interest rates and maturity date, to determine the current value. The closing prices of domestic or foreign securities may not reflect their market values at the time the Fund calculates its NAV if an event that materially affects the value of those securities has occurred since the closing prices were established on the domestic or foreign exchange market, but before the Fund’s NAV calculation. Under certain conditions, the Board has approved an independent pricing service to fair value foreign securities. This is generally accomplished by adjusting the closing price for movements in correlated indices, securities or derivatives. Fair value pricing may cause the value of the security on the books of the Fund to be different from the closing value on the non-U.S. exchange and may affect the calculation of the Fund’s NAV. The Fund may fair value securities in other situations, for example, when a particular foreign market is closed but the Fund is pricing their shares.

The Fund’s investments in bank loans are normally valued at the bid quotation obtained from dealers in loans by an independent pricing service in accordance with the Fund’s valuation policies and procedures approved by the

24

Barings Global Short Duration High Yield Fund 2023 Annual Report

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED)

December 31, 2023

Board. Forward foreign exchange contracts are normally valued on the basis of independent pricing service providers.

Where market quotations are not readily available or deemed unreliable, a Valuation Committee, made up of officers of the Fund and employees of the Adviser, is responsible for determining the fair value of investments, in accordance with the Fund’s valuation policies and procedures as approved by the Board: The Valuation Committee is subject to the oversight of the Board and is responsible for the approval, implementation, and oversight of the processes and methodologies that relate to the pricing and valuation of assets held by the Fund. In certain cases, authorized pricing service vendors may not provide prices for a security held by the Fund, or the price provided by such pricing service vendor is deemed unreliable by the Adviser. In such cases, the Fund may use market maker quotations provided by an established market maker for that security (i.e. broker quotes) to value the security if the Adviser has experience obtaining quotations from the market maker and the Adviser determines that quotations obtained from the market maker in the past have generally been reliable (or, if the Adviser has no such experience with respect to a market maker, it determines based on other information available to it that quotations obtained by it from the market maker are reasonably likely to be reliable). In any such case, the Adviser will review any market quotations so obtained in light of other information in its possession for their general reliability.

Bank loans in which the Fund may invest have similar risks to lower-rated fixed income securities. Changes in the financial condition of the borrower or economic conditions or other circumstances may reduce the capacity of the borrower to make principal and interest payments on such instruments and may lead to defaults. Senior secured bank loans are supported by collateral; however, the value of the collateral may be insufficient to cover the amount owed to the Fund. By relying on a third party to administer a loan, the Fund is subject to the risk that the third party will fail to perform it obligations. The loans in which the Fund will invest are largely floating rate instruments; therefore, the interest rate risk generally is lower than for fixed-rate debt obligations. However, from the perspective of the borrower, an increase in interest rates may adversely affect the borrower’s financial condition. Due to the unique and customized nature of loan agreements evidencing loans and the private syndication thereof, loans are not as easily purchased or

sold as publicly traded securities. Although the range of investors in loans has broadened in recent years, there can be no assurance that future levels of supply and demand in loan trading will provide the degree of liquidity which currently exists in the market. In addition, the terms of the loans may restrict their transferability without borrower consent. These factors may have an adverse effect on the market price and the Fund’s ability to dispose of particular portfolio investments. A less liquid secondary market also may make it more difficult for the Fund to obtain precise valuations of the high yield loans in its portfolio.

The Fund may invest in collateralized debt obligations (“CDOs”), which include collateralized bond obligations (“CBOs”) and collateralized loan obligations (“CLOs”). CBOs and CLOs are types of asset-backed securities. A CDO is an entity that is backed by a diversified pool of debt securities (CBOs) or syndicated bank loans (CLOs). The cash flows of the CDO can be split into multiple segments, called “tranches,” which will vary in risk profile and yield. The riskiest segment is the subordinated or “equity” tranche. This tranche bears the greatest risk of defaults from the underlying assets in the CDO and serves to protect the other, more senior, tranches from default in all but the most severe circumstances. Since it is shielded from defaults by the more junior tranches, a “senior” tranche will typically have higher credit ratings and lower yields than their underlying securities, and often receive investment grade ratings from one or more of the nationally recognized rating agencies. Despite the protection from the more junior tranches, senior tranches can experience substantial losses due to actual defaults, increased sensitivity to future defaults and the disappearance of one or more protecting tranches as a result of changes in the credit profile of the underlying pool of assets.

Fair value is defined as the price that would be received to sell an asset or paid to transfer a liability in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement date. A three-tier hierarchy is utilized to maximize the use of observable market data and minimize the use of unobservable inputs and to establish classification of fair value measurements for disclosure purposes. Inputs refer broadly to the assumptions that market participants would use in pricing the asset or liability, including assumptions about risk. For example, market participants would consider the risk inherent in a particular valuation technique used to measure fair value, such as a pricing model, and/or the risk inherent in the

25

Barings Global Short Duration High Yield Fund 2023 Annual Report

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED)

December 31, 2023

inputs to the valuation technique. Inputs may be observable or unobservable. Observable inputs are inputs that reflect the assumptions market participants would use in pricing the asset or liability and are developed based on market data obtained from sources independent of the reporting entity. Unobservable inputs are inputs that reflect the reporting entity’s own assumptions about the assumptions market participants would use in pricing the asset or liability and are developed based on the best information available in the circumstances. The three-tier hierarchy of inputs is summarized in the three broad levels listed below.

Level 1 – quoted prices in active markets for identical securities

Level 2 – other significant observable inputs (including quoted prices for similar securities, interest rates, prepayment speeds, credit risk, etc.)

Level 3 – significant unobservable inputs (including the Fund’s own assumptions in determining the fair value of investments)

The availability of observable inputs can vary from security to security and is affected by a wide variety of factors, including, for example, the type of security, whether the security is new and not yet established in the marketplace, the liquidity of markets, and other characteristics particular to the security. To the extent that valuation is based on models or inputs that are less observable or unobservable in the market, the determination of fair value requires more judgment. Accordingly, the degree of judgment exercised in determining fair value is greatest for instruments categorized in Level 3.

The inputs used to measure fair value may fall into different levels of the fair value hierarchy. In such cases, for disclosure purposes, the level in the fair value hierarchy within which the fair value measurement falls in its entirety is determined based on the lowest level input that is significant to the fair value measurement in its entirety. The following is a summary of the inputs used as of December 31, 2023 in valuing the Fund’s investments:

DESCRIPTION |  | LEVEL 1 |  |  | LEVEL 2 |  |  | LEVEL 3 |  |  | TOTAL INVESTMENTS |
Assets: |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Equities: |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Common Stocks |  | $ | — |  |  | $ | 1,711,302 |  |  | $ | — |  |  | $ | 1,711,302 |
Warrants |  |  | — |  |  |  | 113,087 |  |  |  | — |  |  |  | 113,087 |
Total Equities: |  |  | — |  |  |  | 1,824,389 |  |  |  | — |  |  |  | 1,824,389 |
Fixed Income: |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Asset-Backed Securities |  |  | — |  |  |  | 44,387,187 |  |  |  | — |  |  |  | 44,387,187 |
Bank Loans |  |  | — |  |  |  | 44,677,845 |  |  |  | 3,382,536 |  |  |  | 48,060,381 |
Corporate Bonds |  |  | — |  |  |  | 302,849,869 |  |  |  | 4,888,922 |  |  |  | 307,738,791 |
Total Fixed Income |  |  | — |  |  |  | 391,914,901 |  |  |  | 8,271,458 |  |  |  | 400,186,359 |
Forward Foreign Exchange Contracts |  |  | — |  |  |  | — |  |  |  | — |  |  |  | — |
Total Assets: |  | $ | — |  |  | $ | 393,739,290 |  |  | $ | 8,271,458 |  |  | $ | 402,010,748 |
Liabilities: |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Forward Foreign Exchange Contracts: |  | $ | — |  |  | $ | 1,043,070 |  |  | $ | — |  |  | $ | 1,043,070 |
Total Liabilities: |  | $ | — |  |  | $ | 1,043,070 |  |  | $ | — |  |  | $ | 1,043,070 |

26

Barings Global Short Duration High Yield Fund 2023 Annual Report

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED)

December 31, 2023

As of December 31, 2023, the Fund held no Level 3 financial instruments with values based on significant unobservable valuation inputs and Level 3 financial instruments in the amount of $8,271,458 had values based on unadjusted third-party pricing information.

Although the Fund believes the valuation method described above is appropriate, the use of different methodologies or assumptions to determine fair value could result in different estimates of fair value at the reporting date. The Fund discloses transfers between levels based on valuations at the end of the reporting period. The following is a reconciliation of Level 3 investments based upon the inputs used to determine fair value:

|  | BALANCE AT DECEMBER 31, 2022 |  |  | TRANSFERS INTO LEVEL 3 |  |  | TRANSFERS OUT OF LEVEL 3 |  |  | PURCHASES |  |  | SALES |  |  | ACCRETION OF DISCOUNT |  |  | REALIZED GAIN / (LOSS) |  |  | CHANGE IN UNREALIZED APPRECIATION / (DEPRECIATION) ON INVESTMENTS |  |  | BALANCE AT DECEMBER 31, 2023 |  |  | CHANGE IN UNREALIZED APPRECIATION / (DEPRECIATION) FROM INVESTMENTS HELD AS OF DECEMBER 31, 2023 |
Equities |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Flint Group Ordinary A Shares Stapled to 2L |  | $ | — |  |  | $ | — |  |  | $ | — |  |  | $ | 149 |  |  | $ | — |  |  | $ | — |  |  | $ | — |  |  | $ | (149 | ) |  | $ | — |  |  | $ | (149 | )
ESC CB 144A High Ridge |  |  | 41,748 |  |  |  | — |  |  |  | — |  |  |  | — |  |  |  | — |  |  |  | — |  |  |  | — |  |  |  | (41,748 | ) |  |  | — |  |  |  | (41,748 | )
Travelex Private Equity |  |  | — |  |  |  | — |  |  |  | — |  |  |  | — |  |  |  | — |  |  |  | — |  |  |  | — |  |  |  | — |  |  |  | — |  |  |  | — |
Naviera Armas Class B2 Shares Stapled to 1.5L SSNS |  |  | — |  |  |  | — |  |  |  | — |  |  |  | — |  |  |  | — |  |  |  | — |  |  |  | — |  |  |  | — |  |  |  | — |  |  |  | — |
Naviera Armas Class B3 Shares |  |  | — |  |  |  | — |  |  |  | — |  |  |  | — |  |  |  | — |  |  |  | — |  |  |  | — |  |  |  | — |  |  |  | — |  |  |  | — |
Naviera Armas Class A3 Shares |  |  | — |  |  |  | — |  |  |  | — |  |  |  | — |  |  |  | — |  |  |  | — |  |  |  | — |  |  |  | — |  |  |  | — |  |  |  | — |
Naviera Armas Class A2 Shares Stapled to 1.5L SSNS |  |  | — |  |  |  | — |  |  |  | — |  |  |  | — |  |  |  | — |  |  |  | — |  |  |  | — |  |  |  | — |  |  |  | — |  |  |  | — |
Common Stocks |  |  | 41,748 |  |  |  | — |  |  |  | — |  |  |  | 149 |  |  |  | — |  |  |  | — |  |  |  | — |  |  |  | (41,897 | ) |  |  | — |  |  |  | (41,897 | )
Travelex Topco Limited |  |  | 120,666 |  |  |  | — |  |  |  | (120,666 | ) |  |  | — |  |  |  | — |  |  |  | — |  |  |  | — |  |  |  | — |  |  |  | — |  |  |  | — |
Warrants |  |  | 120,666 |  |  |  | — |  |  |  | (120,666 | ) |  |  | — |  |  |  | — |  |  |  | — |  |  |  | — |  |  |  | — |  |  |  | — |  |  |  | — |
Total Equities |  |  | 162,414 |  |  |  | — |  |  |  | (120,666 | ) |  |  | 149 |  |  |  | — |  |  |  | — |  |  |  | — |  |  |  | (41,897 | ) |  |  | — |  |  |  | (41,897 | )
Bank Loans |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Anarafe SLU Facility F |  |  | — |  |  |  | — |  |  |  | — |  |  |  | 97,569 |  |  |  | (13,233 | ) |  |  | 3,072 |  |  |  | 1,481 |  |  |  | (3,830 | ) |  |  | 85,059 |  |  |  | (3,830 | )
Anarafe SLU Facility A |  |  | — |  |  |  | — |  |  |  | — |  |  |  | 19,656 |  |  |  | — |  |  |  | 240 |  |  |  | — |  |  |  | 253 |  |  |  | 20,149 |  |  |  | 253 |
Anarafe SLU Facility C |  |  | — |  |  |  | — |  |  |  | — |  |  |  | 43,465 |  |  |  | — |  |  |  | — |  |  |  | — |  |  |  | (1,499 | ) |  |  | 41,966 |  |  |  | (1,499 | )
Evertec |  |  | — |  |  |  | — |  |  |  | — |  |  |  | 2,170,799 |  |  |  | (220,386 | ) |  |  | — |  |  |  | 3,306 |  |  |  | 32,231 |  |  |  | 1,985,950 |  |  |  | 32,231 |
Flint Group |  |  | — |  |  |  | — |  |  |  | — |  |  |  | 250,147 |  |  |  | — |  |  |  | 15,315 |  |  |  | — |  |  |  | (111,050 | ) |  |  | 154,412 |  |  |  | (111,050 | )
Dessert Holdings |  |  | 900,000 |  |  |  | — |  |  |  | (900,000 | ) |  |  | — |  |  |  | — |  |  |  | — |  |  |  | — |  |  |  | — |  |  |  | — |  |  |  | — |
CP Iris Holdco I 2nd Lien T/L (IPS) |  |  | 2,014,336 |  |  |  | — |  |  |  | (2,014,336 | ) |  |  | — |  |  |  | — |  |  |  | — |  |  |  | — |  |  |  | — |  |  |  | — |  |  |  | — |
Florida Food Products 2nd Lien T/L |  |  | 1,350,000 |  |  |  | — |  |  |  | — |  |  |  | — |  |  |  | — |  |  |  | 3,762 |  |  |  | — |  |  |  | (258,762 | ) |  |  | 1,095,000 |  |  |  | (368,333 | )
Koppers T/L |  |  | — |  |  |  | — |  |  |  | — |  |  |  | 1,251,613 |  |  |  | (1,290,322 | ) |  |  | 1,791 |  |  |  | 36,918 |  |  |  | — |  |  |  | — |  |  |  | — |
Valcour Packaging (MOLD-RITE) 2nd Lien T/L |  |  | 3,750,000 |  |  |  | — |  |  |  | (3,750,000 | ) |  |  | — |  |  |  | — |  |  |  | — |  |  |  | — |  |  |  | — |  |  |  | — |  |  |  | — |
Bank Loans |  |  | 8,014,336 |  |  |  | — |  |  |  | (6,664,336 | ) |  |  | 3,833,249 |  |  |  | (1,523,941 | ) |  |  | 24,180 |  |  |  | 41,705 |  |  |  | (342,657 | ) |  |  | 3,382,536 |  |  |  | (452,228 | )

27

Barings Global Short Duration High Yield Fund 2023 Annual Report

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED)

December 31, 2023

|  | BALANCE AT DECEMBER 31, 2022 |  |  | TRANSFERS INTO LEVEL 3 |  |  | TRANSFERS OUT OF LEVEL 3 |  |  | PURCHASES |  |  | SALES |  |  | ACCRETION OF DISCOUNT |  |  | REALIZED GAIN / (LOSS) |  |  | CHANGE IN UNREALIZED APPRECIATION / (DEPRECIATION) ON INVESTMENTS |  |  | BALANCE AT DECEMBER 31, 2023 |  |  | CHANGE IN UNREALIZED APPRECIATION / (DEPRECIATION) FROM INVESTMENTS HELD AS OF DECEMBER 31, 2023 |
Corporate Bonds |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Naviera Armas |  | $ | 357,193 |  |  | $ | — |  |  | $ | — |  |  | $ | 91,189 |  |  | $ | — |  |  | $ | (22,402 | ) |  | $ | — |  |  | $ | (48,365 | ) |  | $ | 377,615 |  |  | $ | (300,318 | )
Digicel Limited |  |  | — |  |  |  | — |  |  |  | — |  |  |  | — |  |  |  | — |  |  |  | — |  |  |  | — |  |  |  | — |  |  |  | — |  |  |  | — |
Travelex |  |  | — |  |  |  | — |  |  |  | — |  |  |  | — |  |  |  | — |  |  |  | — |  |  |  | — |  |  |  | — |  |  |  | — |  |  |  | — |
Travelex |  |  | 4,011,338 |  |  |  | — |  |  |  | — |  |  |  | 683,223 |  |  |  | (95,519 | ) |  |  | 53,387 |  |  |  | 15,466 |  |  |  | (156,588 | ) |  |  | 4,511,307 |  |  |  | 588,243 |
Corporate Bonds |  |  | 4,368,531 |  |  |  | — |  |  |  | — |  |  |  | 774,412 |  |  |  | (95,519 | ) |  |  | 30,985 |  |  |  | 15,466 |  |  |  | (204,953 | ) |  |  | 4,888,922 |  |  |  | 287,925 |
Total |  | $ | 12,545,281 |  |  | $ | — |  |  | $ | (6,785,002 | ) |  | $ | 4,607,810 |  |  | $ | (1,619,460 | ) |  | $ | 55,165 |  |  | $ | 57,171 |  |  | $ | (589,507 | ) |  | $ | 8,271,458 |  |  | $ | (206,200 | )

During the period, transfers into and out of Level 3 resulted from observable market data for the security.

| B. | Cash and Cash Equivalents

Cash and cash equivalents consist principally of short-term investments that are readily convertible into cash and have original maturities of three months or less. As of December 31, 2023, the Fund held no cash equivalents and all cash is held by U.S. Bank, N.A.

| C. | Investment Transactions, Related Investment Income and Expenses

Investment transactions are accounted for on a trade-date basis. Interest income is recorded on the accrual basis, including the amortization of premiums and accretion of discounts on bonds held using the yield-to-maturity method.

Interest income from securitized investments in which the Fund has a beneficial interest, such as the “equity” security class of a CLO vehicle (typically in the form of income or subordinated notes), is recorded upon receipt. The accrual of interest income related to these types of securities is periodically reviewed and adjustments are made as necessary.

Realized gains and losses on investment transactions and unrealized appreciation and depreciation of investments are reported for financial statement and Federal income tax purposes on the identified cost method.

Expenses are recorded on the accrual basis as incurred.

| D. | Use of Estimates

The preparation of financial statements in conformity with U.S. GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported

amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting period. Actual results could differ from those estimates.

| E. | Federal Income Taxation

The Fund has elected to be taxed as a Regulated Investment Company (“RIC”) under sub-chapter M of the U.S. Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, and intends to maintain this qualification and to distribute substantially all of its net taxable income to its shareholders.

| F. | Dividends and Distributions

The Fund declares and pays dividends monthly from net investment income. To the extent that these distributions exceed net investment income, they may be classified as return of capital. The Fund also pays a distribution at least annually from its net realized capital gains, if any. Dividends and distributions are recorded on the ex-dividend date. All common shares have equal dividend and other distribution rights. A notice disclosing the source(s) of a distribution will be provided if payment is made from any source other than net investment income. Any such notice would be provided only for informational purposes in order to comply with the requirements of Section 19(a) of the 1940 Act and not for tax reporting purposes. The tax composition of the Fund’s distributions for each calendar year is reported on Internal Revenue Service Form 1099-DIV.

Dividends from net investment income and distributions from realized gains from investment transactions have been determined in accordance with Federal income tax regulations and may differ from net investment income and realized gains recorded by the Fund for financial reporting purposes. These differences, which could be temporary or permanent in nature may result in reclassification of distributions; however, net investment income, net realized gains and losses, and net assets are not affected.

28

Barings Global Short Duration High Yield Fund 2023 Annual Report

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED)

December 31, 2023

| G. | Derivative Instruments

The following is a description of the derivative instruments that the Fund utilizes as part of its investment strategy, including the primary underlying risk exposures related to the instrument.

Forward Foreign Exchange Contracts – The Fund is subject to foreign currency exchange rate risk in the normal course of pursuing its investment objectives. The Fund transacted in and currently holds forward foreign exchange contracts to hedge against changes in the value of foreign currencies. The Fund entered into forward foreign exchange contracts obligating the Fund to deliver or receive a currency at a specified future date. Forward foreign exchange contracts are valued daily, and unrealized appreciation or depreciation is recorded daily as the difference between the contract exchange rate and the closing forward rate applied to the face amount of the contract. A realized gain or loss is recorded at the time the forward contract expires. Credit risk may arise as a result of the failure of the counterparty to comply with the terms of the contract. The Fund considers the creditworthiness of each counterparty to a contract in evaluating potential credit risk quarterly. The Fund is also subject to credit risk with respect to the counterparties to the derivative contracts which are not cleared through a central counterparty but instead are traded over-the-counter between two counterparties. If a counterparty to an over-the-counter derivative becomes bankrupt or otherwise fails to perform its obligations under a derivative contract due to financial difficulties, the Fund may experience significant delays in obtaining any recovery under the derivative contract in a bankruptcy or other reorganization proceeding. The Fund may obtain only a limited recovery or may obtain no recovery in such circumstances. The counterparty risk for cleared derivatives is generally lower than for uncleared over-the-counter derivative transactions since generally a clearing organization becomes substituted for each counterparty to a cleared derivative contract and, in effect, guarantees the parties’ performance under the contract as each party to a trade looks only to the clearing house for performance of financial obligations. However, there can be no assurance that the clearing house, or its members, will satisfy its obligations to the Fund. In addition, in the event of a bankruptcy of a clearing house, the Fund could experience a loss of the funds deposited with such clearing house as margin and any profits on its open positions. The counterparty risk to the Fund is limited to the net unrealized gain, if any, on the contract.

The use of forward foreign exchange contracts does not eliminate fluctuations in the underlying prices of the Fund’s investment securities; however, it does establish a rate of exchange that can be achieved in the future. The use of forward foreign exchange contracts involves the risk that anticipated currency movements will not be accurately predicted. A forward foreign exchange contract would limit the risk of loss due to a decline in the value of a particular currency; however, it would also limit any potential gain that might result should the value of the currency increase instead of decrease. These contracts may involve market risk in excess of the amount of receivable or payable reflected on the Statement of Assets and Liabilities.

The Fund recognized an asset and a liability on the Statement of Assets and Liabilities as a result of forward foreign exchange contracts with Morgan Stanley. The Fund’s policy is to recognize an asset equal to the net value of all forward foreign exchange contracts with an unrealized gain and a liability equal to the net value of all forward foreign exchange contracts with an unrealized loss. The Fund has recognized a liability of $1,043,070 in net unrealized depreciation on forward foreign exchange contracts. Outstanding forward foreign exchange contracts as of December 31, 2023 are indicative of the volume of activity during the year.

For the year ended December 31, 2023, the Fund’s direct investment in derivatives consisted of forward foreign exchange contracts.

The following is a summary of the fair value of derivative instruments held by the Fund as of December 31, 2023. These derivatives are presented in the Schedule of Investments.

29

Barings Global Short Duration High Yield Fund 2023 Annual Report

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED)

December 31, 2023

Fair values of derivative instruments on the Statement of Assets and Liabilities as of December 31, 2023:

DERIVATIVES |  | STATEMENT OF ASSETS AND LIABILITIES LOCATION |  |  | FAIR VALUE |
Asset Derivatives |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Forward Foreign Exchange Contracts |  |  | Unrealized appreciation on forward foreign exchange contracts |  |  | $ | – |
Total Asset Derivatives |  |  |  |  |  | $ | – |
Liability Derivatives |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Forward Foreign Exchange Contracts |  |  | Unrealized depreciation on forward foreign exchange contracts |  |  | $ | 1,043,070 |
Total Liability Derivatives |  |  |  |  |  | $ | 1,043,070 |

The effect of derivative instruments on the Statement of Operations for the period ended December 31, 2023:

DERIVATIVES |  | STATEMENT OF OPERATIONS LOCATION |  |  | REALIZED GAIN/ (LOSS) ON DERIVATIVES |
Forward Foreign Exchange Contracts |  |  | Net realized loss on forward foreign exchange contracts |  |  | $ | (116,212 | )
Total |  |  |  |  |  | $ | (116,212 | )
DERIVATIVES |  | STATEMENT OF OPERATIONS LOCATION |  |  | CHANGE IN UNREALIZED APPRECIATION/ (DEPRECIATION) ON DERIVATIVES |
Forward Foreign Exchange Contracts |  |  | Net change in unrealized depreciation of forward foreign exchange contracts |  |  | $ | (839,727 | )
Total |  |  |  |  |  | $ | (839,727 | )

| H. | Disclosures about Offsetting Assets and Liabilities

The following is a summary by counterparty of the fair value of derivative investments subject to Master Netting Agreements and collateral pledged (received), if any, as of December 31, 2023.

|  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | AMOUNTS NOT OFFSET IN THE STATEMENT OF ASSETS AND LIABILITIES |  |  |  |
LIABILITIES: |  | GROSS AMOUNT OF RECOGNIZED LIABILITIES |  |  | GROSS AMOUNT OFFSET IN THE STATEMENT OF ASSETS AND LIABILITIES |  |  | NET AMOUNTS PRESENTED IN THE STATEMENT OF ASSETS AND LIABILITIES |  |  | FINANCIAL INSTRUMENTS |  |  | COLLATERAL PLEDGED |  |  | NET AMOUNT* |
Forward foreign exchange contracts |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Morgan Stanley |  | $ | 1,043,070 |  |  | $ | – |  |  | $ | 1,043,070 |  |  | $ | - |  |  | $ | – |  |  | $ | 1,043,070 |

| *The | net amount represents the amount owed by the Fund to the counterparty as of December 31, 2023.

30

Barings Global Short Duration High Yield Fund 2023 Annual Report

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED)

December 31, 2023

The Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) issued Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) No. 2011-11 “Disclosures about Offsetting Assets and Liabilities” (“ASU 2011-11”). These disclosure requirements are intended to help better assess the effect or potential effect of offsetting arrangements on a Fund’s financial position. In addition, FASB issued Accounting Standards Update No. 2013-01 “Clarifying the Scope of Offsetting Assets and Liabilities” (“ASU 2013-01”), specifying which transactions are subject to disclosures about offsetting. In order to better define its contractual rights and to secure rights that will help the Fund mitigate its counterparty risk, the Fund may enter into an International Swaps and Derivatives Association, Inc. Master Agreement (“ISDA Master Agreement”) or similar agreement with its counterparties. An ISDA Master Agreement is a bilateral agreement between the Fund and a counterparty that governs certain OTC derivatives and typically contains, among other things, collateral posting terms and netting provisions in the event of a default and/or termination event. Under an ISDA Master Agreement, the Fund may, under certain circumstances, offset with the counterparty certain derivative financial instruments’ payables and/or receivables with collateral held and/or posted and create one single net payment. The provisions of the ISDA Master Agreement typically permit a single net payment in the event of default including the bankruptcy or insolvency of the counterparty. Bankruptcy or insolvency laws of a particular jurisdiction may restrict or prohibit the right of offset in bankruptcy, insolvency or other events. In addition, certain ISDA Master Agreements allow counterparties to terminate derivative contracts prior to maturity in the event the Fund’s net assets decline by a stated percentage or the Fund fails to meet the terms of its ISDA Master Agreements. The result would cause the Fund to accelerate payment of any net liability owed to the counterparty.

For derivatives traded under an ISDA Master Agreement, the collateral requirements are typically calculated by netting the mark to market amount for each transaction under such agreement and comparing that amount to the value of any collateral currently pledged by the Fund and the counterparty.

Cash collateral that has been pledged to cover obligations of the Fund and cash collateral received from the counterparty, if any, is reported separately on the Statement of Assets and Liabilities as cash collateral held at broker or cash collateral due to broker, respectively. Non-cash collateral pledged by or received by the Fund, if any, is noted in the Schedule of Investments. Generally,

the amount of collateral due from or to a party has to exceed a minimum transfer amount threshold before a transfer is required, which is determined each day at the close of business of the Fund, typically based on changes in market values for each transaction under an ISDA Master Agreement and netted into one amount for such agreement and any additional required collateral is delivered to/pledged by the Fund on the next business day. Typically, the Fund and counterparties are not permitted to sell, re-pledge or use the collateral they receive. To the extent amounts due to the Fund from its counterparties are not fully collateralized, contractually or otherwise, the Fund bears the risk of loss from counterparty non-performance. The Fund attempts to mitigate counterparty risk by entering into agreements only with counterparties that they believe have the financial resources to honor their obligations and by monitoring the financial stability of those counterparties.

| I. | Foreign Securities

Investing in securities of foreign companies and foreign governments involves special risks and considerations not typically associated with investing in U.S. companies and the U.S. government. These risks include valuation of currencies and adverse political and economic developments. Moreover, securities of many foreign companies, foreign governments, and their markets may be less liquid and their prices more volatile than those of securities of comparable U.S. companies and the U.S. government.

| J. | Foreign Currency Translation

The books and records of the Fund are maintained in U.S. dollars. Foreign currency transactions are translated into U.S. dollars on the following basis: (i) market value of investment securities, assets and liabilities at the daily rates of exchange, and (ii) purchases and sales of investment securities, dividend and interest income and certain expenses at the rates of exchange prevailing on the respective dates of such transactions. For financial reporting purposes, the Fund does not isolate changes in the exchange rate of investment securities from the fluctuations arising from changes in the market prices of securities. However, for Federal income tax purposes, the Fund does isolate and treat as ordinary income the effect of changes in foreign exchange rates on realized gain or loss from the sale of investment securities and payables and receivables arising from trade-date and settlement-date differences.

31

Barings Global Short Duration High Yield Fund 2023 Annual Report

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED)

December 31, 2023

| K. | Counterparty Risk

The Fund seeks to manage counterparty credit risk by entering into agreements only with counterparties the Adviser believes have the financial resources to honor their obligations. The Adviser monitors the financial stability of the Fund’s counterparties.

| L. | New Accounting Pronouncements

In March 2020, FASB issued ASU 2020-04, Reference Rate Reform: Facilitation of the Effects of Reference Rate Reform on Financial Reporting (“ASU 2020-04”), in January 2021, the FASB issued ASU 2021-01, Reference Rate Reform (Topic 848): Scope (“ASU 2021-01”), and in December 2022, the FASB issued ASU 2022-06, Reference Rate Reform (Topic 848): Deferral of the Sunset Date of Topic 848 (“ASU 2022-06”), which provides optional, temporary relief with respect to the financial reporting of contracts subject to certain types of modifications due to the planned discontinuation of the London Interbank Offered Rate (“LIBOR”) and other interbank offered rates as of the end of 2021. The temporary relief provided by ASU 2020-04, ASU 2021-01, and ASU 2022-06 is effective for certain reference rate-related contract modifications that occur during the period from March 12, 2020 through December 31, 2024. Management is evaluating the impact of ASU 2020-04, ASU 2021-01, and ASU 2022-06 on the Fund’s investments, derivatives, debt, and other contracts that will undergo reference rate-related modifications as a result of the reference rate reform. Management is also actively working with other financial institutions and counterparties to modify contracts as required by applicable regulation and within the regulatory deadlines.

3. | Advisory Fee

The Fund was previously a party to an investment management agreement with the Adviser, a related party, dated October 25, 2012 (the “Prior Management Agreement”). Effective September 1, 2022, the Fund entered into an amended and restated management agreement (the “New Management Agreement”) that supersedes the Prior Management Agreement in its entirety. Pursuant to the Prior Management Agreement, the Fund agreed to pay the Adviser a fee payable at the end of each calendar month, at an annual rate of 1.00% of the Fund’s average daily managed assets during such month. Effective August 6, 2020 the Adviser had waived 0.15% of its fee payable from the Fund. The waiver expired on August 31, 2022. Effective September 1, 2022,

pursuant to the New Management Agreement, effective September 1, 2022, the Fund has agreed to pay the Adviser a fee payable at the end of each calendar month, at an annual rate of 0.85% of the Fund’s average daily managed assets during such month. Managed assets are the total assets of the Fund, which include any assets attributable to leverage such as assets attributable to reverse repurchase agreements, or bank loans, minus the sum of the Fund’s accrued liabilities (other than liabilities incurred for the purpose of leverage).

Subject to the supervision of the Adviser and the Board, the Sub-Adviser manages the investment and reinvestment of a portion of the assets of the Fund, as allocated from time to time. As compensation for its services, the Adviser (not the Fund) pays the Sub-Adviser a portion of the investment management fees it receives from the Fund, in an amount in U.S. dollars equal to 35% of such investment management fees (“Sub-Advisory Fees”).

4. | Administrator Fee

The Fund has engaged U.S. Bancorp Fund Services, LLC, d/b/a U.S. Bank Global Fund Services (“Fund Services”) to serve as the Fund’s administrator, fund accountant, and transfer agent. The Fund has engaged U.S. Bank, N.A. to serve as the Fund’s custodian. The Fund has agreed to pay Fund Services a fee payable at the end of each calendar month, at an annual rate of 0.075% of the Fund’s average daily managed assets.

5. | Income Taxes

It is the Fund’s intention to qualify as a RIC under sub-chapter M of the Internal Revenue Code and distribute all of its taxable income. Accordingly, no provision for federal income taxes is required in the financial statements.

The tax character of dividends paid to shareholders during the tax years ended in 2023 and 2022, as noted below, was as follows:

|  | 2023 |  |  | 2022 |
Ordinary Income |  | $ | 28,756,173 |  |  | $ | 25,425,498 |
Total Distributions Paid |  | $ | 28,756,173 |  |  | $ | 25,425,498 |

The amount and character of income and capital gain distributions to be paid, if any, are determined in accordance with federal income tax regulations, which may differ from U.S. GAAP.

32

Barings Global Short Duration High Yield Fund 2023 Annual Report

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED)

December 31, 2023

Permanent items identified during the year ended December 31, 2023 have been reclassified among the component of net assets based on their tax basis treatment as follows:

ADDITIONAL PAID IN CAPITAL |  | ACCUMULATED LOSSES |
$(1,038,466) |  | $ | 1,038,466 |

The permanent differences are primarily attributable to non-deductible excise taxes. The Fund’s excise tax expense of $1,038,466 as shown on the Statement of Operations represents excise tax on undistributed income.

The following information is provided on a tax basis as of December 31. 2023:

Cost of investments |  | $ | 436,337,514 |
Unrealized appreciation |  |  | 10,367,537 |
Unrealized depreciation |  |  | (44,694,303 | )
Net unrealized appreciation/(depreciation) |  |  | (34,326,766 | )
Undistributed ordinary income |  |  | 25,192,014 |
Undistributed long term gains |  |  | – |
Distributable earnings |  |  | 25,192,014 |
Accumulated gain/(loss) |  |  | (151,660,783 | )
Total accumulated gain/(loss) |  | $ | (160,795,535 | )

The capital loss carryforward is available to offset future taxable income. The Fund has $14,195,867 of short-term capital loss carryforwards and $137,490,226 of long-term capital loss carryforwards, both of which have unlimited expiration.

The Fund recognizes the tax benefits of uncertain tax positions only where the position is “more likely than not” to be sustained assuming examination by tax authorities. Management has analyzed the Fund’s tax positions and has concluded that no liability for unrecognized tax benefits should be recorded related to uncertain tax positions taken on U.S. tax returns and state tax returns filed since inception of the Fund. No income tax returns are currently under examination. Tax years ended December 31, 2019 through December 31, 2023 remain subject to examination by the tax authorities in the United States. Due to the nature of the Fund’s investments, the Fund may be required to file income tax returns in several states. The Fund is not aware of any tax positions for which it is reasonably possible that the total amounts of unrecognized tax benefits will change materially in the next 12 months.

6. | Investment Transactions

For the year ended December 31, 2023, the Fund purchased (at cost) and sold securities in the amount of $211,304,930 and $198,377,166 (excluding corporate actions and short-term debt securities), respectively.

7. | Credit Facility

On November 8, 2012, the Fund entered into a $200,000,000 credit facility with BNP Paribas Prime Brokerage International, Ltd (“BNP”). On January 6, 2014, the Fund entered into an amended agreement with a variable annual interest rate of one-month LIBOR plus 0.75 percent. On April 28, 2022, the Fund entered into an amended agreement with a variable interest rate of USD SOFR plus 0.76 percent. Unused portions of the credit facility will accrue a commitment fee equal to an annual rate of 0.65 percent.

The average principal balance and interest rate for the period during which the credit facility was utilized for the year ended December 31, 2023 was approximately $105,700,000 and 5.76 percent, respectively. As of December 31, 2023, the principal balance outstanding was $109,500,000 at an interest rate of 6.14 percent. If measured at fair value, borrowings under the credit facility would have been considered as Level 2 in the fair value hierarchy (see Note 2A) as of December 31, 2023. For the year ended December 31, 2023, the total amount of income netted against the interest expense was $57,631.

8. | Securities Lending

Through an agreement with the Fund, BNP may lend out securities the Fund has pledged as collateral on the note payable. In return, the Fund receives additional income that is netted against the interest charged on the outstanding credit facility balance. As of December 31, 2023, the Fund has pledged securities as collateral in the amount of $223,289,296. As of December 31, 2023, $103,797,164 of the Fund’s pledge securities were lent out by BNP.

9. | Common Stock

The Fund had unlimited shares authorized and 20,064,313 shares outstanding as of December 31, 2023 and 2022. There were no changes to shares outstanding during the year ended December 31, 2023 and 2022.

33

Barings Global Short Duration High Yield Fund 2023 Annual Report

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED)

December 31, 2023

10. | Aggregate Remuneration Paid to Officers, Trustees and Their Affiliated Persons

For the year ended December 31, 2023, the Fund paid its Trustees aggregate remuneration of $126,250. During the year ended December 31, 2023, the Fund did not pay any compensation to any of its Trustees who are “interested persons” (as defined by the 1940 Act) of the Fund. The Fund classifies Mr. Mihalick an interested person of the Fund.

With the exception of the Fund’s Chief Compliance Officer, all of the Fund’s officers are employees of the Adviser. Pursuant to the Agreement, the Fund does not compensate its officers who are employees of the Adviser.

The Fund’s Chief Compliance Officer is a Principal Consultant of ACA Group (“ACA”). For the period February 27, 2023, to December 31, 2023, the Fund paid ACA an annual fee plus out-of-pocket expenses for the provision of personnel and services provided related to the Fund’s compliance program. Prior to February 27, 2023, the Fund’s previous Chief Compliance Officer was an employee of the Adviser. For the period January 1, 2023 to February 26, 2023, the Adviser paid the compensation of the previous Chief Compliance Officer of the Fund.

The Fund did not make any payments to the Adviser for the year ended December 31, 2023, other than the amounts payable to the Adviser pursuant to the Agreement.

11. | Risks

Investment Risks

In the normal course of its business, the Fund trades various financial instruments and enters into certain investment activities with investment risks. These risks include:

Below Investment Grade (high yield/junk bond) Instruments Risk

Below investment grade securities, commonly known as “junk” or “high yield” bonds, have speculative characteristics and involve greater volatility of price and yield, greater risk of loss of principal and interest, and generally reflect a greater possibility of an adverse change in financial condition that could affect an issuer’s ability to honor its obligations. Below investment grade debt instruments are considered to be predominantly speculative investments. In some cases, these obligations may be highly speculative and have poor prospects for reaching investment grade standing. Below investment grade debt instruments are

subject to the increased risk of an issuer’s inability to meet principal and interest payment obligations. These instruments may be subject to greater price volatility due to such factors as specific corporate developments, interest rate sensitivity, negative perceptions of the financial markets generally and less secondary market liquidity. The prices of below investment grade debt instruments may be affected by legislative and regulatory developments. Because below investment grade debt instruments are difficult to value and are more likely to be fair valued, particularly during erratic markets, the values realized on their sale may differ from the values at which they are carried on the books of the Fund.

The Fund may invest in bonds and loans of corporate issuers that are, at the time of purchase, rated below investment grade by at least one credit rating agency or unrated but determined by Barings to be of comparable quality. The Fund may also invest in other below investment grade debt obligations. Barings consider both credit risk and market risk in making investment decisions for the Fund. If a default occurs with respect to any below investment grade debt instruments and the Fund sells or otherwise disposes of its exposure to such instruments, it is likely that the proceeds would be less than the unpaid principal and interest. Even if such instruments are held to maturity, recovery by the Fund of its initial investment and any anticipated income or appreciation would be uncertain and may not occur. Market trading volume for high yield instruments is generally lower and the secondary market for such instruments could contract under adverse market or economic conditions, independent of any specific adverse changes in the condition of a particular issuer.

Borrowing and Leverage Risk

The Fund may borrow, subject to certain limitations, to fund redemptions, post collateral for hedges or to purchase loans, bonds and structured products prior to settlement of pending sale transactions. Any such borrowings, as well as transactions such as when-issued, delayed-delivery, forward commitment purchases and loans of portfolio securities, can result in leverage. The use of leverage involves special risks, and makes the net asset value of the Fund and the yield to shareholders more volatile. There can be no assurance that the Fund’s leveraging strategies would be successful. In addition, the counterparties to the Fund’s leveraging transactions will have priority of payment over the Fund’s shareholders.

34

Barings Global Short Duration High Yield Fund 2023 Annual Report

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED)

December 31, 2023

Credit Risk

Credit risk is the risk that one or more debt obligations in the Fund’s portfolio will decline in price, or fail to pay dividends, interest or principal when due because the issuer of the obligation experiences an actual or perceived decline in its financial status. Credit ratings issued by credit rating agencies are designed to evaluate the safety of principal and interest payments of rated instruments. They do not, however, evaluate the market value risk of below investment grade debt instruments and, therefore, may not fully reflect the true risks of an investment. In addition, credit rating agencies may or may not make timely changes in a rating to reflect changes in the economy or in the conditions of the issuer that affect the market value of the instruments. Consequently, credit ratings are used only as a preliminary indicator of investment quality. Investments in below investment grade and comparable unrated obligations will be more dependent on Barings’s credit analysis than would be the case with investments in investment grade instruments. Barings employ their own credit research and analysis, which includes a study of existing debt, capital structure, ability to service debt and to pay dividends, sensitivity to economic conditions, operating history and current earnings trends.

One or more debt obligations in the Fund’s portfolio may decline in price, or fail to pay dividends, interest or principal when due because the issuer of the obligation experiences an actual or perceived decline in its financial status or due to changes in the specific or general market, economic, industry, political, regulatory, public health or other conditions.

Derivatives Risk

Derivatives involve special risks and costs and may result in losses to the Fund. The prices of derivatives may move in unexpected ways, especially in abnormal market conditions. Some derivatives are “leveraged” or may create economic leverage for the Fund and therefore may magnify or otherwise increase investment losses to the Fund. The Fund’s use of derivatives may also increase the amount of taxes payable by shareholders.

Other risks arise from the potential inability to terminate or sell derivatives positions. A liquid secondary market may not always exist for the Fund’s derivatives positions. In fact, many over-the-counter derivative instruments will not have liquidity beyond the counterparty to the instrument. Over-the-counter derivative instruments also involve the risk that the other party will not meet its

obligations to the Fund. The use of derivatives also exposes the Fund to operational issues, such as documentation and settlement issues, systems failures, inadequate control and human error.

Derivatives may also involve legal risks, such as insufficient documentation, the lack of capacity or authority of a counterparty to execute or settle a transaction, and the legality and enforceability of derivatives contracts. The U.S. Government and foreign governments have adopted (and may adopt further) regulations governing derivatives markets, including mandatory clearing of certain derivatives, margin and reporting requirements and risk exposure limitations. Regulation of derivatives may make derivatives more costly, limit their availability or utility to the Fund, or otherwise adversely affect their performance or disrupt markets.

Duration Risk

The Fund may invest in investments of any duration or maturity. Although stated in years, duration is not simply a measure of time. Duration measures the time-weighted expected cash flows of a security, which can determine the security’s sensitivity to changes in the general level of interest rates (or yields). Securities with longer durations tend to be more sensitive to interest rate (or yield) changes than securities with shorter durations. Duration differs from maturity in that it considers potential changes to interest rates, and a security’s coupon payments, yield, price and par value and call features, in addition to the amount of time until the security matures. Various techniques may be used to shorten or lengthen the Fund’s duration. The duration of a security will be expected to change over time with changes in market factors and time to maturity.

Foreign Securities Risk

Investments in securities of non-U.S. issuers (including those denominated in U.S. dollars) may involve more risk than investing in securities of U.S. issuers. Foreign political, economic and legal systems, especially those in developing and emerging market countries, may be less stable and more volatile than in the United States. Foreign legal systems generally have fewer regulatory requirements than the U.S. legal system, particularly those of emerging markets. In general, less information is publicly available with respect to non-U.S. companies than U.S. companies. Non-U.S. companies generally are not subject to the same accounting, auditing, and financial reporting standards as are U.S. companies.

35

Barings Global Short Duration High Yield Fund 2023 Annual Report

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED)

December 31, 2023

Additionally, the changing value of foreign currencies and changes in exchange rates could also affect the value of the assets the Fund holds and the Fund’s performance. Certain foreign countries may impose restrictions on the ability of issuers of foreign securities to make payment of principal and interest or dividends to investors located outside the country, due to blockage of foreign currency exchanges or otherwise. Investments in emerging markets are subject to greater volatility and price declines.

In addition, the Fund’s investments in non-U.S. securities may be subject to the risks of nationalization or expropriation of assets, imposition of currency exchange controls or restrictions on the repatriation of non-U.S. currency, confiscatory taxation and adverse diplomatic developments. Special U.S. tax considerations may apply.

Liquidity Risk

The Fund may, subject to certain limitations, invest in illiquid securities (i.e., securities that cannot be disposed of in current market conditions in seven calendar days or less without the disposition significantly changing the market value of the security). Illiquid securities may trade at a discount from comparable, more liquid investments, and may be subject to wide fluctuations in market value. Some securities may be subject to restrictions on resale. Illiquid securities may be difficult to value. Also, the Fund may not be able to dispose of illiquid securities at a favorable time or price when desired, and the Fund may suffer a loss if forced to sell such securities for cash needs. Below investment grade loans and other debt securities tend to be less liquid than higher-rated securities.

Loan Risk

The loans in which the Fund may invest are subject to a number of risks. Loans are subject to the risk of non-payment of scheduled interest or principal. Such non-payment would result in a reduction of income to the Fund, a reduction in the value of the investment and a potential decrease in the net asset value of the Fund. There can be no assurance that the liquidation of any collateral securing a loan would satisfy the borrower’s obligation in the event of non-payment of scheduled interest or principal payments, or that such collateral could be readily liquidated. In the event of bankruptcy of a borrower, the Fund could experience delays or limitations with respect to its ability to realize the benefits of the collateral securing a loan. Loan participations and assignments involve credit risk, interest rate risk, liquidity

risk, and the risks of being a lender. Loans are not as easily purchased or sold as publicly traded securities and there can be no assurance that future levels of supply and demand in loan trading will provide the degree of liquidity which currently exists in the market. In addition, the terms of the loans may restrict their transferability without borrower consent.

These factors may have an adverse effect on the market price of the loan and the Fund’s ability to dispose of particular portfolio investments. A less liquid secondary market also may make it more difficult for the Fund to obtain precise valuations of the high yield loans in its portfolio. The settlement period (the period between the execution of the trade and the delivery of cash to the purchaser) for some loan transactions may be significantly longer than the settlement period for other investments, and in some cases longer than seven days. It is possible that sale proceeds from loan transactions will not be available to meet redemption obligations, in which case the Fund may be required to utilize cash balances or, if necessary, sell its more liquid investments or investments with shorter settlement periods. Some loans may not be considered “securities” for certain purposes under the federal securities laws, and purchasers, such as the Fund, therefore may not be entitled to rely on the anti-fraud protections of the federal securities laws.

Management Risk

The Fund is subject to management risk because it is an actively managed portfolio. Barings apply investment techniques and risk analyses in making investment decisions for the Fund, but there can be no guarantee that such techniques and analyses will produce the desired results.

Market Risk

The value of the Fund’s portfolio securities may decline, at times sharply and unpredictably, as a result of unfavorable market-induced changes affecting particular industries, sectors, or issuers. Stock and bond markets can decline significantly in response to issuer, market, economic, industry, political, regulatory, geopolitical, public health and other conditions, as well as investor perceptions of these conditions. Such conditions may include, but are not limited to, war, terrorism, natural and environmental disasters and epidemics or pandemics (including the recent coronavirus pandemic), which may be highly disruptive to economies and markets. Such conditions may also adversely affect the liquidity of the Fund’s securities. The Fund is subject to risks affecting

36

Barings Global Short Duration High Yield Fund 2023 Annual Report

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED)

December 31, 2023

issuers, such as management performance, financial leverage, industry problems, and reduced demand for goods or services.

Prepayment and Extension Risk

Prepayment and extension risk is the risk that a loan, bond or other investment might be called or otherwise converted, prepaid or redeemed before maturity. This risk is primarily associated with mortgage-backed and other asset-backed securities and floating rate loans. If the investment is converted, prepaid or redeemed before maturity, particularly during a time of declining interest rates or spreads, the Fund may not be able to invest the proceeds in other investments providing as high a level of income, resulting in a reduced yield to the Fund. Conversely, as interest rates rise or spreads widen, the likelihood of prepayment decreases and the maturity of the investment may extend. The Fund may be unable to capitalize on securities with higher interest rates or wider spreads because the Fund’s investments are locked in at a lower rate for a longer period of time.

12. | Subsequent Events

The Fund has evaluated the possibility of subsequent events existing in this report through the date that the financial statements were issued. The Fund has determined that there were no material events that would require recognition or disclosure in this report through this date.

37

Barings Global Short Duration High Yield Fund 2023 Annual Report

REPORT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM

To the Shareholders and the Board of Trustees of Barings Global Short Duration High Yield Fund:

Opinion on the Financial Statements and Financial Highlights

We have audited the accompanying statement of assets and liabilities of Barings Global Short Duration High Yield Fund (the “Fund”), including the schedule of investments, as of December 31, 2023, the related statements of operations and cash flows for the year then ended, the statements of changes in net assets for each of the two years in the period then ended, the financial highlights for each of the five years in the period then ended, and the related notes. In our opinion, the financial statements and financial highlights present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the Fund as of December 31, 2023, and the results of its operations and its cash flows for the year then ended, the changes in its net assets for each of the two years in the period then ended, and the financial highlights for each of the five years in the period then ended in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America.

Basis for Opinion

These financial statements and financial highlights are the responsibility of the Fund’s management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on the Fund’s financial statements and financial highlights based on our audits. We are a public accounting firm registered with the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) (PCAOB) and are required to be independent with respect to the Fund in accordance with the U.S. federal securities laws and the applicable rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the PCAOB.

We conducted our audits in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements and financial highlights are free of material misstatement, whether due to error or fraud. The Fund is not required to have, nor were we engaged to perform, an audit of its internal control over financial reporting. As part of our audits, we are required to obtain an understanding of internal control over financial reporting but not for the purpose of expressing an opinion on the effectiveness of the Fund’s internal control over financial reporting. Accordingly, we express no such opinion.

Our audits included performing procedures to assess the risks of material misstatement of the financial statements and financial highlights, whether due to error or fraud, and performing procedures that respond to those risks. Such procedures included examining, on a test basis, evidence regarding the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements and financial highlights. Our audits also included evaluating the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall presentation of the financial statements and financial highlights. Our procedures included confirmation of securities owned as of December 31, 2023, by correspondence with the custodian, brokers, and agent banks; when replies were not received from brokers and agent banks, we performed other auditing procedures. We believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinion.

DELOITTE & TOUCHE LLP

New York, New York

February 29, 2024

We have served as the auditor of one or more Barings LLC investment companies since 2013.

38

Barings Global Short Duration High Yield Fund 2023 Annual Report

RESULTS OF SHAREHOLDER MEETING

The Annual Meeting of Shareholders (“Annual Meeting”) was held on Monday, August 8, 2023. The shareholders were asked to elect Thomas W. Okel as Trustee for a three-year term. The shareholders approved the proposal. The results of shareholder voting are set forth below:

SHARES FOR |  | WITHHELD |  |  | TOTAL VOTED |  |  | % OF SHARES VOTED FOR |
Thomas W. Okel |  |  | 992,477 |  |  |  | 16,874,700 |  |  |  | 94.12 | %

The Fund’s other Trustees, David M. Mihalick, Mark F. Mulhern and Jill E. Olmstead continued to serve their respective terms following the Annual Meeting.

39

Barings Global Short Duration High Yield Fund 2023 Annual Report

INTERESTED TRUSTEE

NAME (AGE), ADDRESS |  | POSITION(S) WITH THE FUND |  | OFFICE TERM AND LENGTH OF TIME SERVED |  | PRINCIPAL OCCUPATIONS DURING PAST 5 YEARS |  | PORTFOLIOS OVERSEEN IN FUND COMPLEX |  | OTHER DIRECTORSHIPS HELD BY DIRECTOR
David M. Mihalick (50) 300 South Tryon Street Suite 2500 Charlotte, NC 28202 |  | Trustee |  | Trustee since 2020 |  | Head of Private Assets (since 2021), Head of U.S. Public Fixed Income and Member of Global Investment Grade Allocation Committee (2019-2021), Head of U.S. High Yield and Member of Global High Yield Allocation Committee (2017-2021), and U.S. High Yield Research Analyst and Portfolio Manager (2008-2017), Barings LLC. |  | 5 |  | Director (since 2020), Barings BDC, Inc. (business development company advised by Barings); Director (since 2021), Barings Capital Investment Corporation (business development company advised by Barings); Trustee (since May 2022), Barings Corporate Investors and Barings Participation Investors (closed-end investment companies advised by Barings); and Trustee (2020-2021), Barings Funds Trust (open-end investment company advised by Barings).

40

Barings Global Short Duration High Yield Fund 2023 Annual Report

INDEPENDENT TRUSTEES

NAME (AGE), ADDRESS |  | POSITION(S) WITH THE FUND |  | OFFICE TERM AND LENGTH OF TIME SERVED |  | PRINCIPAL OCCUPATIONS DURING PAST 5 YEARS |  | PORTFOLIOS OVERSEEN IN FUND COMPLEX |  | OTHER DIRECTORSHIPS HELD BY DIRECTOR
Mark F. Mulhern (64) 300 South Tryon Street Suite 2500 Charlotte, NC 28202 |  | Trustee |  | Trustee since 2021 |  | Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer (2014-2021), Highwood Properties, Inc. |  | 5 |  | Director (since 2016 (Triangle Capital)), Barings BDC, Inc. (business development company advised by Barings); Director (since 2020), Barings Capital Investment Corporation (business development company advised by Barings); Director (since May 2021), Barings Private Credit Corporation (business development company advised by Barings); Trustee (since September 2022), Barings Private Equity Opportunities and Commitments Fund; Director (since 2020), Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE: ICE); Director (since 2020), ICE Mortgage Technology; Director (since 2015), McKim and Creed (engineering service firm); Director and Audit Committee member (2012-2014), Highwood Properties (real estate investment trust); and Director (2015-2017), Azure MLP (midstream oil and gas).
Thomas W. Okel (61) 300 South Tryon Street Suite 2500 Charlotte, NC 28202 |  | Trustee |  | Trustee since 2012 |  | Executive Director (2011-2019), Catawba Lands Conservancy. |  | 5 |  | Director (since 2018), Barings BDC, Inc. (business development company advised by Barings); Director (since 2020), Barings Capital Investment Corporation (business development company advised by Barings); Director (since 2021), Barings Private Credit Corporation (business development company advised by Barings); Trustee (since September 2022), Barings Private Equity Opportunities and Commitments Fund; Trustee (since 2015), Horizon Funds (mutual fund complex); and Trustee (2013-2021), Barings Funds Trust (open-end investment company advised by Barings until 2021).
Jill Olmstead (60) 300 South Tryon Street Suite 2500 Charlotte, NC 28202 |  | Trustee |  | Trustee since 2021 |  | Chief Human Resources Officer, (since 2018), LendingTree, Inc.; and Founding Partner (2010-2018), Spivey & Olmstead, LLC (talent and leadership consulting firm). |  | 5 |  | Director (since 2018), Barings BDC, Inc. (business development company advised by Barings); Director (since 2020), Barings Capital Investment Corporation (business development company advised by Barings; Director (since 2021), Barings Private Credit Corporation (business development company advised by Barings); and Trustee (since September 2022), Barings Private Equity Opportunities and Commitments Fund.

41

Barings Global Short Duration High Yield Fund 2023 Annual Report

OFFICERS OF THE FUND

NAME (AGE), ADDRESS |  | POSITION(S) WITH THE FUND |  | OFFICE TERM* AND LENGTH OF TIME SERVED |  | PRINCIPAL OCCUPATIONS(S) DURING PAST 5 YEARS
Sean Feeley (56) 300 South Tryon Street Suite 2500 Charlotte, NC 28202 |  | President |  | Since 2017 |  | Vice President (2012-2017) of the Fund; Managing Director (since 2003), Barings; Vice President (since 2011), Barings Corporate Investors and Barings Participation Investors (closed-end investment companies advised by Barings); and Vice President (since 2011), CI Subsidiary Trust and PI Subsidiary Trust.
Christopher Hanscom (41) 300 South Tryon Street Suite 2500 Charlotte, NC 28202 |  | Chief Financial Officer |  | Since 2021 |  | Treasurer (2021-2023) of the Fund; Senior Director (since 2023), Director (2018-2023), Associate Director (2015-2018), Analyst (2005-2015), Barings; Chief Financial Officer (since 2022), Treasurer (since 2017), Barings Corporate Investors and Barings Participation Investors (closed-end investment companies advised by Barings); and Trustee (since 2022), Chief Financial Officer (since December 2022), Assistant Controller (2020-2022), CI Subsidiary Trust and PI Subsidiary Trust.
Andrea Nitzan (56) 300 South Tryon Street Suite 2500 Charlotte, NC 28202 |  | Treasurer |  | Since January 2023 |  | Managing Director and Chief Accounting Officer (since 2020), Barings; Principal Accounting Officer (since January 2023), Barings Corporate Investors and Barings Participation Investors (closed-end investment companies advised by Barings); and Principal Accounting Officer (since January 2023), CI Subsidiary Trust and PI Subsidiary Trust.
Gregory MacCordy (70) 300 South Tryon Street Suite 2500 Charlotte, NC 28202 |  | Chief Compliance Officer |  | Since February 2023 |  | Chief Compliance Officer (since February 2023), Barings BDC, Inc. (business development company advised by Barings); Director (since 2021), ACA Group; Director (2018-2021), Alaric Compliance Services LLC.
Ashlee Steinnerd (42) 300 South Tryon Street Suite 2500 Charlotte, NC 28202 |  | Chief Legal Officer |  | Since February 2023 |  | Secretary (2021-February 2023) of the Fund; Managing Director (since April 2022), Head of Regulatory (since 2021), Director (2019-2022), Barings; Chief Legal Officer (since February 2023), Secretary (2020-February 2023), Barings Corporate Investors and Barings Participation Investors (closed-end investment companies advised by Barings); Chief Legal Officer (since February 2023), Secretary (2020-February 2023), CI Subsidiary Trust and PI Subsidiary Trust; Chief Legal Officer (since February 2023), Secretary (2020-February 2023), Barings BDC, Inc. (business development company advised by Barings); Chief Legal Officer (since February 2023), Secretary (2020-February 2023), Barings Capital Investment Corporation (business development company advised by Barings); Chief Legal Officer (since February 2023), Secretary (2021-February 2023), Barings Private Credit Corporation (business development company advised by Barings); Chief Legal Officer (since February 2023), Secretary (2022-February 2023), Barings Private Equity Opportunities and Commitments Fund; and Senior Counsel (2011-2019), Securities and Exchange Commission.

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Barings Global Short Duration High Yield Fund 2023 Annual Report

OFFICERS OF THE FUND (CONTINUED)

NAME (AGE), ADDRESS |  | POSITION(S) WITH THE FUND |  | OFFICE TERM* AND LENGTH OF TIME SERVED |  | PRINCIPAL OCCUPATIONS(S) DURING PAST 5 YEARS
Alexandra Pacini (31) 300 South Tryon Street Suite 2500 Charlotte, NC 28202 |  | Secretary |  | Since February 2023 |  | Assistant Secretary (2020-February 2023) of the Fund; Director (since April 2023), Associate Director (2021-April 2023), Analyst (2017-2021), Barings; Secretary (since February 2023), Assistant Secretary (2020-February 2023), Barings Corporate Investors and Barings Participation Investors (closed-end investment companies advised by Barings); Secretary (since February 2023), Assistant Secretary (2020-February 2023), CI Subsidiary Trust and PI Subsidiary Trust; Secretary (since February 2023), Assistant Secretary (2020-February 2023), Barings BDC, Inc. (business development company advised by Barings); Secretary (since February 2023), Assistant Secretary (2021-February 2023), Barings Capital Investment Corporation (business development company advised by Barings); Secretary (since February 2023), Assistant Secretary (2021-February 2023), Barings Private Credit Corporation (business development company advised by Barings); Secretary (since February 2023), Assistant Secretary (2022-February 2023), Barings Private Equity Opportunities and Commitments Fund; and Assistant Secretary (2020-2021), Barings Funds Trust (open-end investment company advised by Barings until 2021).
Matthew Curtis (52) 300 South Tryon Street Suite 2500 Charlotte, NC 28202 |  | Tax Officer |  | Since 2022 |  | Managing Director and Global Head of Tax (since 2017), Barings; Tax Officer (since 2022), Barings Corporate Investors and Barings Participation Investors (closed-end investment companies advised by Barings); Tax Officer (since 2022), CI Subsidiary Trust and PI Subsidiary Trust; Tax Officer (since 2022), Barings BDC, Inc. (business development company advised by Barings); Tax Officer (since 2022), Barings Capital Investment Corporation (business development company advised by Barings); Tax Officer (since 2022), Barings Private Credit Corporation (business development company advised by Barings); and Tax Officer (since 2022), Barings Private Equity Opportunities and Commitments Fund.

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Barings Global Short Duration High Yield Fund 2023 Annual Report

APPROVAL OF INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT AGREEMENT AND SUB-ADVISORY AGREEMENT

The Investment Company Act of 1940 (the “1940 Act”) requires that both the full Board of Trustees and a majority of the Trustees who are not interested persons of Barings Global Short Duration High Yield Fund (the “Fund”), as defined under the 1940 Act (the “Independent Trustees”), voting separately, annually approve the continuation of the Investment Management Agreement (the “Management Agreement”) between the Fund and Barings LLC (“Barings”) and the Sub-Advisory Agreement between Barings and Baring International Investment Limited (“BIIL Sub-Advisory Agreement” and, together with the Management Agreement, the “Agreements”). The Trustees considered matters bearing on the Fund and the Agreements at their meetings throughout the year, including a review of the Fund’s performance at each regular meeting. In addition, the Trustees met at a meeting held on August 8, 2023 (the “Meeting”) for the specific purpose of considering whether to approve the Agreements for the Fund. The Trustees’ review process and considerations in approving the Agreements are summarized below.

Prior to the Meeting, the Trustees requested and received from Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP, independent legal counsel to the Independent Trustees, a memorandum describing the Trustees’ legal responsibilities in connection with their review and approval of the Agreements. The Independent Trustees met prior to the August Board meeting with independent legal counsel to discuss their duties, the memorandum and the Agreements. The Trustees also requested and received from Barings extensive written and oral information regarding various matters including, but not limited to: the principal terms of the Agreements; Barings and its personnel; the Fund’s investment performance, including comparative performance information; the nature and quality of the services provided by Barings to the Fund; the financial strength of Barings; the Fund’s fee and expense information, including comparative fee and expense information; the profitability of the advisory arrangement to Barings; and the “fallout” benefits to Barings resulting from the Agreements.

The Trustees’ conclusion as to the continuation of the Agreements was based on a comprehensive consideration of all information provided to the Board and not the result of any single issue. Some of the more significant factors that influenced the Trustees’ deliberations are described below, although individual Trustees may have evaluated the information presented differently from one another, giving different weights to various factors. It is also important to recognize that the Board’s review of the Agreements is the result of ongoing review and discussion, rather than a single discussion. The Trustees’ conclusions may be based, in part, on their consideration of these arrangements throughout the year and in prior years.

The Trustees considered the terms of the Agreements, including the scope of the advisory and non-advisory services provided under the Agreements or otherwise. In evaluating the nature, scope and quality of the services provided by Barings and BIIL, the Trustees considered the specific responsibilities of Barings and BIIL in the day-to-day management of the Fund, the qualifications, experience and responsibilities of the portfolio managers and other key personnel that are involved in the day-to-day management of the Fund, the ability of Barings and BIIL to attract and retain high-quality personnel, and the organizational depth and stability of Barings and BIIL. The Trustees also considered the trading capabilities of Barings and BIIL.

Based on information provided by Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. (“Broadridge”) and Barings, the Trustees reviewed the Fund’s net total return investment performance, as well as the performance of peer groups of funds, over various time periods. The net total return performance of the Fund ranked in the 2nd quintile of its Broadridge performance universe for the one-year period, in the 1st quintile for the three-year period, and in the 4th quintile for the five-year period ended June 30, 2023 (the 1st quintile being the best performers and the 5th quintile being the worst performers). The Trustees also reviewed the Fund’s performance in comparison to a custom peer group developed by Barings comprised of ten (including the Fund) high-yield closed-end funds that employ generally similar investment strategies and invest in the same asset classes as the Fund. Relative to the custom peer group, the net total return performance of the Fund ranked, respectively, 2nd, 1st, and 7th out of ten funds for the one-year, three-year and five-year periods ended June 30, 2023. The Trustees felt that BGH’s ability to invest in senior secured loans, structured credit and non-U.S. securities required additional infrastructure and resources relative to peer funds using a pure high yield bond strategy. In the course of their deliberations, the Trustees also took into account information provided by Barings during investment review meetings conducted with portfolio management personnel during the course of the year. After reviewing these and related factors, the Trustees concluded, within the context of their overall conclusions regarding the Agreements, that they were satisfied with Barings’ and BIIL’s responses and efforts relating to investment performance.

44

Barings Global Short Duration High Yield Fund 2023 Annual Report

APPROVAL OF INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT AGREEMENT AND SUB-ADVISORY AGREEMENT (CONTINUED)

The Trustees considered the investment management fee paid by the Fund to Barings pursuant to the Management Agreement. The Trustees noted that Barings (and not the Fund) pays BIIL its sub-advisory fee under the BIIL Sub-Advisory Agreement. In assessing the reasonableness of the fee paid by the Fund under the Management Agreement, the Trustees considered, among other information, the Fund’s management fee and the total expense ratio for the Fund’s shares as a percentage of net asset value and the advisory fee and total expense ratios of peer groups of funds based on information provided by Broadridge. The Trustees considered that, according to the Broadridge data, the Fund’s effective management fee (which includes Barings’ advisory fee and Fund administration fees) and total expense ratio were each higher than the Broadridge expense group median for common and leverage assets. The Trustees also reviewed the Fund’s advisory fee and total expense ratio in comparison to a custom peer group developed by Barings comprised of ten (including the Fund) high-yield closed-end funds that employ generally similar investment strategies and invest in the same asset classes as the Fund. The Trustees considered that, according to the custom peer group data, the contractual advisory fee of the Fund ranked 3rd out of 10 funds. The Trustees also reviewed materials provided by Barings describing fees paid by other similar accounts managed by Barings, noting that Barings typically charges higher fees on its global accounts than on accounts that are invested primarily in domestic securities.

The Board noted that, because the Fund is closed-end and does not continue to offer its securities, its size was relatively stable and it was unlikely that Barings would realize economies of scale from the Fund’s growth other than through capital gains and income. The Trustees reviewed information prepared by Barings regarding Barings’ costs of managing the Fund, and the profitability of the Management Agreement to Barings. In considering the profitability to Barings, the Board noted that BIIL is an affiliate of Barings and is paid by Barings, and, therefore, did not consider its profitability separately.

The Trustees also considered the character and amount of other incidental benefits received by Barings and BIIL. Additionally, the Trustees considered so-called “fall-out benefits” to Barings and BIIL, such as reputational value derived from serving as investment manager to the Fund. The Trustees also considered costs incurred by Barings in connection with the organization and initial offering of the Fund.

On the basis of the information provided, the Trustees concluded, within the context of their overall review of the Agreements, that the management fees charged to the Fund and the sub-advisory fee paid by Barings to BIIL represent reasonable compensation in light of the services being provided by Barings and BIIL to the Fund. Based on their evaluation of factors that they deemed material, including those factors described above, the Board of Trustees, including the Independent Trustees, concluded that the Fund’s Management Agreement with Barings and the BIIL Sub-Advisory Agreement should be continued for an additional one-year period through August 2024.

45

Barings Global Short Duration High Yield Fund 2023 Annual Report

FUND DIVIDEND REINVESTMENT PLAN

INDEPENDENT TRUSTEES

Jill Olmstead

Trustee

Mark F. Mulhern

Trustee

Thomas W. Okel

Chairman, Trustee

INTERESTED TRUSTEES

David M. Mihalick

Trustee

OFFICERS

Sean Feeley

President

Christopher Hanscom

Chief Financial Officer

Andrea Nitzan

Treasurer

Gregory MacCordy

Chief Compliance Officer

Ashlee Steinnerd

Chief Legal Officer

Alexandra Pacini

Secretary

Matthew Curtis

Tax Officer

The Fund offers a Dividend Reinvestment Plan (the “Plan”). The Plan provides a simple way for shareholders to add to their holdings in the Fund through the reinvestment of dividends in additional common shares of the Fund. Shareholders will have all dividends, including any capital gain dividends, reinvested automatically in additional shares of the Fund by U.S. Bancorp Fund Services, LLC, as Plan Agent, unless a shareholder elects to receive cash instead. An election to receive cash may be revoked or reinstated at the option of the shareholder. All distributions to investors who elect not to participate in the Plan (or whose broker or nominee elects not to participate on the investor’s behalf) will receive dividends and distributions in cash.

Whenever the Fund declares a dividend payable in cash or shares, the Plan Agent, acting on behalf of each participating shareholder, will take the dividend in shares only if the net asset value per Fund share is equal to or less than the market price per Fund share plus estimated brokerage commissions as of the payment date for the dividend.

When the dividend is to be taken in shares, the number of shares to be received is determined by dividing the dollar amount of the cash dividend by the net asset value per Fund share as of the dividend payment date or, if greater than the net asset value per Fund share, 95% of the closing share price on the payment date. Generally, if the net asset value per Fund share is greater than the market price per Fund share plus estimated brokerage commissions as of the dividend payment date, the Plan Agent will endeavor to buy shares on the open market at current prices promptly after the dividend payment date.

The reinvestment of dividends does not, in any way, relieve participating shareholders of any Federal, state or local tax. For Federal income tax purposes, the amount reportable in respect of a dividend received in shares of the Fund will be the fair market value of the shares received, which will be reportable as ordinary income and/or capital gains. Investors should consult with their own tax advisors for further information about the tax consequences of dividend reinvestment.

There is no brokerage charge for the reinvestment of dividends in additional Fund shares; however, all participants pay a pro rata share of brokerage commissions incurred by the Plan Agent when it makes open market purchases. There is no direct service charge to participants in the Plan, though the Fund reserves the right to amend the Plan to include a service charge payable by participants.

Additional information about the Plan may be obtained from, and any questions regarding the Plan should be addressed to, U.S. Bancorp Fund Services, Plan Agent for Barings Global Short Duration High Yield Fund’s Dividend Reinvestment Plan, P.O. Box 701, Milwaukee, WI 52301.

46

Barings Global Short Duration High Yield Fund 2023 Annual Report

JOINT PRIVACY NOTICE OF BABSON CAPITAL MANAGEMENT LLC AND

BARINGS GLOBAL SHORT DURATION HIGH YIELD FUND

This privacy notice is being provided on behalf of Barings LLC and its affiliates: Barings Securities LLC; Barings Australia Pty Ltd; Barings Advisers (Japan) KK; Barings Investment Advisers (Hong Kong) Limited; Barings Funds Trust; Barings Global Short Duration High Yield Fund; Barings Corporate Investors and Barings Participation Investors (together, for purposes of this privacy notice, “Barings”).

When you use Barings you entrust us not only with your hard-earned assets but also with your personal and financial data. We consider your data to be private and confidential, and protecting its confidentiality is important to us. Our policies and procedures regarding your personal information are summarized below.

We may collect non-public personal information about you from:

| ∎ |  | Applications or other forms, interviews, or by other means;

| ∎ |  | Consumer or other reporting agencies, government agencies, employers or others;

| ∎ |  | Your transactions with us, our affiliates, or others; and

| ∎ |  | Our Internet website.

We may share the financial information we collect with our financial service affiliates, such as insurance companies, investment companies and securities broker-dealers. Additionally, so that we may continue to offer you products and services that best meet your investment needs and to effect transactions that you request or authorize, we may disclose the information we collect, as described above, to companies that perform administrative or marketing services on our behalf, such as transfer agents, custodian banks, service providers or printers and mailers that assist us in the distribution of investor materials or that provide operational support to Barings. These companies are required to protect this information and will use this information only for the services for which we hire them, and are not permitted to use or share this information for any other purpose. Some of these companies may perform such services in jurisdictions other than the United States. We may share some or all of the information we collect with other financial institutions with whom we jointly market products. This may be done only if it is permitted by the state in which you live. Some disclosures may be limited to your name, contact and transaction information with us or our affiliates.

Any disclosures will be only to the extent permitted by federal and state law. Certain disclosures may require us to get an “opt-in” or “opt-out” from you. If this is required, we will do so before information is shared. Otherwise, we do not share any personal information about our customers or former customers unless authorized by the customer or as permitted by law.

We restrict access to personal information about you to those employees who need to know that information to provide products and services to you. We maintain physical, electronic and procedural safeguards that comply with legal standards to guard your personal information. As an added measure, we do not include personal or account information in non-secure e-mails that we send you via the Internet without your prior consent. We advise you not to send such information to us in non-secure e-mails.

This joint notice describes the privacy policies of Barings, the Funds and Barings Securities LLC. It applies to all Barings and the Funds accounts you presently have, or may open in the future, using your social security number or federal taxpayer identification number – whether or not you remain a shareholder of our Funds or as an advisory client of Barings. As mandated by rules issued by the Securities and Exchange Commission, we will be sending you this notice annually, as long as you own shares in the Funds or have an account with Barings.

Barings Securities LLC is a member of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) and the Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC). Investors may obtain information about SIPC including the SIPC brochure by contacting SIPC online at www.sipc.org or calling (202)-371-8300. Investors may obtain information about FINRA including the FINRA Investor Brochure by contacting FINRA online at www.finra.org or by calling (800) 289-9999.

December 2023

47

| (b) | Not applicable for this Registrant.

Item 2. Code of Ethics.

The Registrant adopted a Code of Ethics for senior financial officers (the “Code”) on October 17, 2012, which is available on the Registrant’s website at www.barings.com/bgh. During the period covered by this Form N-CSR, there were no material amendments to, or waivers from, the code.

Item 3. Audit Committee Financial Expert.

The Registrant’s Board of Trustees has determined that Mr. Mark F. Mulhern, a Trustee of the Registrant and a member of its Audit Committee, is an audit committee financial expert. Mr. Mulhern is “independent” for purposes of this Item 3 as required by applicable regulation.

Item 4. Principal Accountant Fees and Services.

The Registrant has engaged Deloitte & Touche LLP (“Deloitte”) as its principal accountant to perform audit services, audit-related services, tax services and other services during the past two fiscal years. The following table details the aggregate fees billed or expected to be billed for each of the last two fiscal years by Deloitte.

Fees Billed to the Registrant:

|  | Deloitte Year Ended December 31, 2023 |  |  | Deloitte Year Ended December 31, 2022 |
Audit Fees |  | $ | 122,000 |  |  | $ | 120,000 |
Audit-Related Fees |  |  | 0 |  |  |  | 0 |
Tax Fees |  |  | 14,245 |  |  |  | 14,000 |
All Other Fees |  |  | 0 |  |  |  | 0 |
Total Fees |  | $ | 136,245 |  |  | $ | 134,000 |

Non-Audit Fees Billed to Barings and MassMutual:

|  | Deloitte Year Ended December 31, 2023 |  |  | Deloitte Year Ended December 31, 2022 |
Audit-Related Fees |  | $ | 6,421,489 |  |  | $ | 4,868,947 |
Tax Fees |  |  | 3,813,040 |  |  |  | 2,904,186 |
All Other Fees |  |  | 337,269 |  |  |  | 2,273,325 |
Total Fees |  | $ | 10,571,798 |  |  | $ | 10,046,458 |

The category “Audit Fees” refers to fees incurred for an audit of the Registrant’s annual financial statements or for services that are normally provided by the principal accountant in connection with statutory and regulatory filings or engagements for those fiscal years. The category “Audit-Related Fees” reflects fees billed by Deloitte for various non-audit and non-tax services rendered to the Registrant and Barings and

MassMutual, such as a SOC–1 review, consulting and agreed upon procedures reports. Preparation of federal, state and local income tax and tax compliance work are representative of the fees reported in the “Tax Fees” category. The category “All Other Fees” represents fees billed by Deloitte for consulting rendered to the Registrant, Barings and MassMutual.

The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 and its implementing regulations allow the Registrant’s Audit Committee to establish a pre-approval policy for certain services rendered by the Registrant’s principal accountant. During 2023, the Registrant’s Audit Committee approved all of the services rendered to the Registrant by Deloitte and did not rely on such a pre-approval policy for any such services.

The Audit Committee has also reviewed the aggregate fees billed for professional services rendered by Deloitte for 2023 and 2022 for the Registrant and for the non-audit services provided to Barings, and Barings’ parent, MassMutual. As part of this review, the Audit Committee considered whether the provision of such non-audit services was compatible with maintaining the principal accountant’s independence.

The 2022 fees billed represent final 2022 amounts, which may differ from the preliminary figures available as of the filing date of the Registrant’s 2023 Annual Form N-CSR and include, among other things, fees for services that may not have been billed as of the filing date of the Registrant’s 2023 Annual Form N-CSR but are now properly included in the 2022 fees billed to the Registrant, Barings and MassMutual.

The registrant has not been identified by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission as having filed an annual report issued by a registered public accounting firm branch or office that is located in a foreign jurisdiction where the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board is unable to inspect or completely investigate because of a position taken by an authority in that jurisdiction.

The registrant is not a foreign issuer.

Item 5. Audit Committee of Listed Registrants.

The Registrant maintains an Audit Committee composed exclusively of Trustees of the Registrant who qualify as “independent” Trustees under the current listing standards of the New York Stock Exchange and the rules of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The Audit Committee operates pursuant to a written Audit Committee Charter, which is available (1) on the Registrant’s website, www.barings.com/bgh, and (2) without charge, upon request, by calling, toll-free 1-866-399-1516. The current members of the Audit Committee are Mr. Mark F. Mulhern, Mr. Thomas W. Okel and Ms. Jill E. Olmstead.

Item 6. Investments.

(a) | Schedule of Investments is included as part of the report to shareholders filed under Item 1 of this Form.

Item 7. Disclosure of Proxy Voting Policies and Procedures for Closed-End Management Investment Companies.

The Registrant’s Board of Trustees has delegated proxy voting responsibilities relating to the voting securities held by the Registrant to its investment adviser, Barings. A summary of Barings’ proxy voting policies and procedures are set forth below.

Summary of Barings’ Global Proxy Voting Policy:

Barings understands that the voting of proxies is an integral part of its investment management responsibilities and believes, as a general principle, that proxies should be acted upon (voted or abstained) solely in the best interest of its clients (i.e. in a manner believed by Barings to best pursue a client’s investment objectives). To implement this general principle, Barings engages a proxy service provider (“Service Provider”) that is responsible for processing and maintaining records of proxy votes. In addition, the Service Provider, a recognized authority on proxy voting and corporate governance, provides research and recommendations (including environmental, social and governance topics) on proxies to Barings as its research provider (the “Research Provider”). It is Barings’ Global Proxy Voting Policy to generally vote all client proxies for which it has proxy voting discretion in accordance with the recommendations of the Research Provider or with the Research Provider’s proxy voting guidelines (“Guidelines”), in absence of a recommendation. In circumstances where the Research Provider has not provided a recommendation or has not contemplated an issue within its Guidelines, the proxy will be analyzed on a case-by-case basis.

Barings recognizes that there are times when it is in the best interest of clients to vote proxies (i) against the Research Provider’s recommendations or (ii) in instances where the Research Provider has not provided a recommendation vote against the Guidelines. Barings can vote, in whole or in part, against the Research Provider’s recommendations or Guidelines, as it deems appropriate. The procedures set forth in the Global Proxy Voting Policy are designed to ensure that votes against the Research Provider’s recommendations or Guidelines are made in the best interests of clients and are not the result of any material conflict of interest (“Material Conflict”). For purposes of the Global Proxy Voting Policy, a Material Conflict is defined as any position, relationship or interest, financial or otherwise, of Barings or a Barings associate that could reasonably be expected to affect the independence or judgment concerning proxy voting.

Summary of Barings’ Proxy Voting Procedures:

Typically, Barings will vote all client proxies for which it has proxy voting discretion, where no Material Conflict exists, in accordance with the Research Provider’s recommendations or Guidelines, unless (i) Barings is unable or determines not to vote a proxy in accordance with the Global Proxy Voting Policy or (ii) an authorized investment person or designee (a “Proxy Analyst”) determines that it is in the client’s best interests to vote against the Research Provider’s recommendations or Guidelines. In such cases where a Proxy Analyst believes a proxy should be voted against the Research Provider’s recommendations or Guidelines, the Proxy Team will vote the proxy in accordance with the Proxy Analyst’s recommendation as long as (i) no other Proxy Analyst disagrees with such recommendation; and (ii) no known Material Conflict is identified by the Proxy Analyst(s) or the Proxy Team. If a Material Conflict is identified by a Proxy Analyst or the Proxy Team, the proxy will be submitted to the Governance and Conflicts Committee to determine how the proxy is to be voted in order to achieve that client’s best interests.

No associate, officer, director or board of managers/directors of Barings or its affiliates (other than those assigned such responsibilities under the Global Proxy Voting Policy) can influence how Barings votes client proxies, unless such person has been requested to provide assistance by a Proxy Analyst or Governance and Conflicts Committee member and has disclosed any known Material Conflict. Pre-vote communications with proxy solicitors are prohibited. In the event that pre-vote communications occur, it

should be reported to the Governance and Conflicts Committee, the relevant Head of Compliance and/or General Counsel prior to voting. Any questions or concerns regarding proxy-solicitor arrangements should be addressed to relevant Head of Compliance and/or General Counsel, or the respective designees.

Investment management agreements generally delegate the authority to vote proxies to Barings in accordance with Barings’ Global Proxy Voting Policy. In the event an investment management agreement is silent on proxy voting, Barings should obtain written instructions from the client as to their voting preference. However, except for those jurisdictions where written explicit delegation is required such as Hong Kong, Taiwan and South Korea, when the client does not provide written instructions as to their voting preferences, Barings will assume proxy voting responsibilities. In the event that a client makes a written request regarding voting, Barings will vote as instructed.

Obtaining a Copy of the Proxy Voting Policy

Clients can obtain a copy of Barings’ Proxy Voting Policy and information about how Barings voted proxies related to their securities, free of charge, on the Barings website: https://www.barings.com/globalassets/2-assets/content/global-investment-policies/barings-global-proxy-voting-policy.pdf, by contacting the Chief Compliance Officer, Barings LLC, 300 South Tryon, Charlotte, NC 28202, or calling toll-free, 1-877-766-0014.

Item 8. Portfolio Managers of Closed-End Management Investment Companies.

The following disclosure item is made as of the date of this Form N-CSR unless otherwise indicated.

PORTFOLIO MANAGER. Sean Feeley serves as President of the Registrant (since 2017) and was formerly a Vice President (from 2012-2017). Mr. Feeley is a portfolio manager for Barings’ U.S. High Yield Investments Group. He is also a member of the firm’s U.S. High Yield Investment Committee and the Global High Yield Allocation Committee. Mr. Feeley is responsible for the portfolio management of various high yield bond total return strategies. He also currently serves as a Vice President of Barings Corporate Investors and Barings Participation Investors, both closed-end investment companies managed by Barings. Mr. Feeley has worked in the industry since 1996 and his experience has encompassed the credit market across a variety of industries. Prior to joining Barings in 2003, he worked at Cigna Investment Management in project finance and at Credit Suisse, where he worked in the leveraged finance group. Mr. Feeley holds a B.S. from Canisius College (magna cum laude) and an M.B.A. from Cornell University. He is a Certified Public Accountant (inactive) and member of the CFA Institute.

PORTFOLIO MANAGEMENT TEAM. Mr. Feeley has primary responsibility for overseeing the investments of the Registrant’s portfolio, with the day-to-day investment management responsibility of the Registrant’s portfolio being shared with the following Barings and Baring Investment Services Limited investment professionals (together with the Portfolio Manager, the “Portfolio Team”).

Scott Roth serves as a Vice President of the Registrant (since 2012). Mr. Roth serves as head of Global High Yield at Barings, and is responsible for the firm’s high yield bond, senior secured loans and multi-asset credit total return strategies. Mr. Roth is also the Chair of the Global High Yield Allocation Committee and U.S. High Yield Investment Committee, as well as a portfolio manager for various high yield bond and multi-asset credit portfolios. He has worked in the industry since 1993 and his experience has encompassed fund management, underwriting, leveraged loans and high yield. Prior to joining Barings in 2002, Mr. Roth was a vice president at Webster Bank and was a high yield analyst at Tower Square Capital Management. He also served as an underwriter at Chubb Insurance Company. Mr. Roth holds a B.B.A. from Western Michigan University, an M.B.A. from the Ross School of Business at University of Michigan and is a member of the CFA Institute.

Craig Abouchar is a member of Barings’ European High Yield Investments Group and the European High Yield Investment Committee. He is a lead portfolio manager for the firm’s European High Yield Bond business, and he is responsible for the portfolio management of numerous strategies. Mr. Abouchar has worked in the industry since 1994 and his experience has encompassed a focus on below-investment-grade assets across all investment types and geographic markets. Prior to joining Barings in 2016, he was Co-CEO, Europe of Castle Hill Asset Management. Prior to Castle Hill, Mr. Abouchar was a portfolio manager at Ignis Investment Management. He was also previously the chairman of the board of directors for the European High Yield Association. Mr. Abouchar holds a B.B.A. in Finance from Emory University, an M.B.A. in Finance and International Business from Columbia University and is a member of the CFA Institute.

Chris Sawyer is Head of Barings’ European High Yield Investments Group, as well as Chair of the firm’s European High Yield Investment Committee and member of the Global High Yield Allocation Committee. Mr. Sawyer is responsible for the portfolio management of several loan, high yield bond and multi-credit strategies. He has worked in the industry since 2005. Prior to joining the trading team in 2008, he was a member of the portfolio monitoring team where he was responsible for the ongoing credit analysis of individual portfolio assets. Mr. Sawyer holds a B.Sc. in Economics and Business Finance from Brunel University.

Adam Schauer is a member of Barings’ U.S. High Yield Investments Group and is responsible for the portfolio management of various U.S., Global and ESG-focused strategies. Additionally, Mr. Schauer has an active role leading the development of ESG investment capabilities for the Global High Yield team. Previously, he was the Head of Client Portfolio Management for the Global High Yield Investments Group and was responsible for new product development, marketing and servicing existing high yield strategies. Mr. Schauer has worked in the industry since 2007. Prior to joining Barings in 2009, he served as an Investment Banking Analyst at Edgeview Partners focusing on merger and acquisition advisory services across a broad range of industries. Mr. Schauer holds a B.S.B.A. from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a concentration in Finance.

OTHER ACCOUNTS MANAGED BY THE PORTFOLIO MANAGEMENT TEAM.

PORTFOLIO ADVISORY TEAM (A) (B) |  | ACCOUNT CATEGORY |  | TOTAL NUMBER OF ACCOUNTS |  |  | APPROXIMATE TOTAL ASSET SIZE (A) (B) |  |  | NUMBER OF ACCOUNTS WITH PERFORMANCE- BASED ADVISORY FEE |  |  | APPROXIMATE ASSET SIZE OF PERFORMANCE- BASED FEE ACCOUNTS
Sean Feeley |  | Registered Investment Companies |  |  | 10 |  |  | $ | 1,414 |  |  |  | 0 |  |  | N/A
|  | Other Pooled Investment Vehicles |  |  | 5 |  |  | $ | 986 |  |  |  | 0 |  |  | N/A
|  | Other Accounts |  |  | 22 |  |  | $ | 4,228 |  |  |  | 0 |  |  | N/A

Craig Abouchar |  | Registered Investment Companies |  |  | 0 |  |  |  | N/A |  |  |  | 0 |  |  | N/A
|  | Other Pooled Investment Vehicles |  |  | 9 |  |  | $ | 5,498 |  |  |  | 0 |  |  | N/A
|  | Other Accounts |  |  | 12 |  |  | $ | 2,949 |  |  |  | 0 |  |  | N/A
Scott Roth |  | Registered Investment Companies |  |  | 6 |  |  | $ | 685 |  |  |  | 0 |  |  | N/A
|  | Other Pooled Investment Vehicles |  |  | 12 |  |  | $ | 5,483 |  |  |  | 0 |  |  | N/A
|  | Other Accounts |  |  | 26 |  |  | $ | 5,187 |  |  |  | 0 |  |  | N/A
Chris Sawyer |  | Registered Investment Companies |  |  | 6 |  |  | $ | 289 |  |  |  | 0 |  |  | N/A
|  | Other Pooled Investment Vehicles |  |  | 12 |  |  | $ | 11,534 |  |  |  | 0 |  |  | N/A
|  | Other Accounts |  |  | 10 |  |  | $ | 1,778 |  |  |  | 0 |  |  | N/A
Adam Schauer |  | Registered Investment Companies |  |  | 2 |  |  | $ | 103 |  |  |  | 0 |  |  | N/A
|  | Other Pooled Investment Vehicles |  |  | 0 |  |  |  | N/A |  |  |  | 0 |  |  | N/A
|  | Other Accounts |  |  | 2 |  |  | $ | 640 |  |  |  | 0 |  |  | N/A

(A) | Account asset size has been calculated as of December 31, 2023.

(B) | Asset size in millions.

MATERIAL CONFLICTS OF INTEREST. The potential for material conflicts of interest may exist as the members of the Portfolio Management Team have responsibilities for the day-to-day management of multiple advisory accounts. These conflicts may be heightened to the extent the individual, Barings and/or an affiliate has an investment in one or more of such accounts. Barings has identified (and summarized below) areas where material conflicts of interest are most likely to arise and has adopted policies and procedures that it believes are reasonable to address such conflicts.

Transactions with Affiliates: From time to time, Barings or its affiliates, including MassMutual and its affiliates acts as principal, buys securities or other investments for itself from or sells securities or other investments it owns to its advisory clients. Likewise, Barings can either directly or on behalf of MassMutual, purchase and/or hold securities or other investments that are subsequently sold or transferred to advisory clients. Barings has a conflict of interest in connection with a transaction where it or an affiliate is acting as principal since it has an incentive to favor itself or its affiliates over its advisory clients in connection with the transaction. To address the conflicts of interest, Barings has adopted a Global Principal Transactions, Cross Trades and Other Affiliated Transactions Policy, which ensures any such transaction is consistent with Barings’ fiduciary obligations to act in the best interests of its clients, including its ability to obtain best execution in connection with the transaction, and is in compliance with applicable legal and regulatory requirements.

Cross Trades: For some of its advisory clients, Barings can affect cross-trades whereby one advisory client buys securities or other investments from or sells securities or other investments to another advisory client. Barings can also affect cross-trades involving advisory accounts or funds in which it or its affiliates, including MassMutual, and their respective employees, have an ownership interest or for which Barings is entitled to earn a performance fee. When Barings effects cross-trades there is an inherent conflict of interest since Barings has an incentive to favor the advisory client or fund in which it or its affiliate has an ownership or economic interest and/or is entitled to a performance fee. In order to address this conflict of interest, cross trades involving advisory client accounts are required to comply with Barings Global Principal Transactions, Cross Trades and Other Affiliated Transactions Policy, which ensures any affiliated transactions is consistent with all applicable regulatory requirements governing such transactions and with Barings’ fiduciary obligations to the clients involved in any such transactions.

Loan Origination Transactions: While Barings or its affiliates generally do not act as an underwriter or member of a syndicate in connection with a securities offering, Barings or its affiliates (or an unaffiliated entity in which Barings or its affiliates have an ownership interest) can act as an underwriter, originator, agent, or member of a syndicate in connection with the origination of senior secured loans or other lending arrangements with borrowers, where such loans are purchased by Barings advisory clients during or after the original syndication. Barings advisory clients purchase such loans directly from Barings or its affiliates (or an unaffiliated entity in which Barings or its affiliates have an ownership interest) or from other members of the lending syndicate. In connection with such loan originations, Barings or its affiliates, either directly or indirectly, receive underwriting, origination, or agent fees. As a result, Barings has a conflict of interest in connection with such loan origination transactions since it has an incentive to base its investment recommendation to its advisory clients on the amount of compensation, underwriting, origination or agent fees it would receive rather than on its advisory clients’ best interests. To address the conflict of interest, Barings has adopted a Global Principal Transactions, Cross Trades and Other Affiliated Transactions Policy, which ensures any such transaction is consistent with Barings’ fiduciary obligations to act in the best interests of its clients, including its ability to obtain best execution in connection with the transaction, and is in compliance with applicable legal and regulatory requirements.

Investments by Advisory Clients: Barings has the ability to invest client assets in securities or other investments that are also held by (i) Barings or its affiliates, including MassMutual, (ii) other Barings advisory accounts, (iii) funds or accounts in which Barings or its affiliates or their respective employees have an ownership or economic interest or (iv) employees of Barings or its affiliates. Barings also has the ability, on behalf of its advisory clients, to invest in the same or different securities or instruments of issuers in which (a) Barings or its affiliates, including MassMutual, (b) other Barings advisory accounts, (c) funds or accounts in which Barings, its affiliates, or their respective employees have an ownership or economic interest or (d) employees of Barings or its affiliates, have an ownership interest as a holder of the debt, equity or other instruments of the issuer. Barings has a conflict of interest in connection with any such transaction since investments by its advisory clients can directly or indirectly benefit Barings and/or

its affiliates and employees by potentially increasing the value of the securities or instruments it holds in the issuer. Any investment by Barings on behalf of its advisory clients will be consistent with its fiduciary obligations to act in the best interests of its advisory clients, and otherwise be consistent with such clients’ investment objectives and restrictions.

Barings or its affiliates can recommend that clients invest in registered or unregistered investment companies, including private investment funds such as hedge funds, private equity funds or structured funds (i) advised by Barings or an affiliate, (ii) in which Barings, an affiliate or their respective employees has an ownership or economic interest or (iii) with respect to which Barings or an affiliate has an interest in the entity entitled to receive the fees paid by such funds. Barings has a conflict of interest in connection with any such recommendation since it has an incentive to base its recommendation to invest in such investment companies or private funds on the fees that Barings or its affiliates would earn as a result of the investment by its advisory clients in the investment companies or private funds. Any recommendation to invest in a Barings advised fund or other investment company will be consistent with Barings’ fiduciary obligations to act in the best interests of its advisory clients, consistent with such clients’ investment objectives and restrictions. In certain limited circumstances, Barings offers to clients that invest in private investment funds that it advises an equity interest in entities that receive advisory fees and carried profits interest from such funds.

Employee Co-Investment: Barings permits certain of its portfolio managers and other eligible employees to invest in certain private investment funds advised by Barings or its affiliates and/or share in the performance fees received by Barings from such funds. If the portfolio manager or other eligible employee was responsible for both the portfolio management of the private fund and other Barings advisory accounts, such person would have a conflict of interest in connection with investment decisions since the person has an incentive to direct the best investment ideas, or to allocate trades, in favor of the fund in which he or she is invested or otherwise entitled to share in the performance fees received from such fund. To address the conflicts of interest, Barings has adopted a Global Side by Side Management and Other Conflicts Policy which requires, among other things, that Barings treat each of its advisory clients in a manner consistent with its fiduciary obligations and prohibits Barings from favoring any particular advisory account as a result of the ownership or economic interests of Barings, its affiliates or employees, in such advisory account. Any investment by a Barings employee in one of its private funds is also governed by Barings’ Global Employee Co-Investment Policy, which ensures that any co-investment by a Barings employee is consistent with Barings’ Global Code of Ethics Policy.

Management of Multiple Accounts: As noted above, Barings’ portfolio managers are often responsible for the day-to-day management of multiple accounts, including, among others, separate accounts for institutional clients, closed-end and open-end registered investment companies, and/or private investment funds (such as hedge funds, private equity funds and structured funds), as well as for proprietary accounts of Barings and its affiliates, including MassMutual and its affiliates. The potential for material conflicts of interest exists whenever a portfolio manager has responsibility for the day-to-day management of multiple advisory accounts. These conflicts are heightened to the extent a portfolio manager is responsible for managing a proprietary account for Barings or its affiliates or where the portfolio manager, Barings and/or an affiliate has an investment in one or more of such accounts or an interest in the performance of one or more of such accounts (e.g., through the receipt of a performance fee).

Investment Allocation: Such potential conflicts include those relating to allocation of investment opportunities. For example, it is possible that an investment opportunity is suitable for more than one account managed by Barings but is not available in sufficient quantities for all accounts to participate fully. Similarly, there can be limited opportunity to sell an investment held by multiple accounts. A conflict arises where the portfolio manager has an incentive to treat an account preferentially because the account pays Barings or its affiliates a performance-based fee or the portfolio manager, Barings or an

affiliate has an ownership or other economic interest in the account. As noted above, Barings also acts as an investment manager for certain of its affiliates, including MassMutual. These affiliate accounts sometimes co-invest jointly and concurrently with Barings’ other advisory clients and therefore share in the allocation of such investment opportunities. To address the conflicts of interest associated with the allocation of trading and investment opportunities, Barings has adopted a Global Investment Allocation Policy and trade allocation procedures that govern the allocation of portfolio transactions and investment opportunities across multiple advisory accounts, including affiliated accounts. In addition, as noted above, to address the conflicts, Barings has adopted a Global Side by Side Management and Other Conflicts Policy which requires, among other things, that Barings treat each of its advisory clients in a manner consistent with its fiduciary obligations and prohibits Barings from favoring any particular advisory account as a result of the ownership or economic interests of Barings, its affiliates or employees, in such advisory accounts. Any investment by a Barings employee in one of its private funds is also governed by Barings’ Global Employee Co-Investment Policy, which ensures that any co-investment by a Barings employee is consistent with Barings’ Global Code of Ethics Policy.

Personal Securities Transactions; Short Sales: Potential material conflicts of interest also arise related to the knowledge and timing of an account’s trades, investment opportunities and broker or dealer selection. Barings and its portfolio managers have information about the size, timing and possible market impact of the trades of each account they manage. It is possible that portfolio managers could use this information for their personal advantage and/or to the advantage or disadvantage of various accounts which they manage. For example, a portfolio manager could cause a favored account to “front run” an account’s trade or sell short a security for an account immediately prior to another account’s sale of that security. To address these conflicts, Barings has adopted policies and procedures, including a Global Short Sale Policy, which ensures that the use of short sales by Barings is consistent with Barings’ fiduciary obligations to its clients, a Global Side by Side Management and Other Conflicts Policy, which requires, among other things, that Barings treat each of its advisory clients in a manner consistent with its fiduciary obligations and prohibits Barings from favoring any particular account as a result of the ownership or economic interest of Barings, its affiliates or employees and a Global Code of Ethics Policy.

Trade Errors: Potential material conflicts of interest also arise if a trade error occurs in a client account. A trade error is deemed to occur if there is a deviation by Barings from the applicable standard of care in connection with the placement, execution or settlement of a trade for an advisory account that results in (1) Barings purchasing assets not permitted or authorized by a client’s investment advisory agreement or otherwise failing to follow a client’s specific investment directives; (2) Barings purchasing or selling the wrong security or the wrong amount of securities on behalf of a client’s account; or (3) Barings purchasing or selling assets for, or allocating assets to, the wrong client account. When correcting these errors, conflicts of interest between Barings and its advisory accounts arise as decisions are made on whether to cancel, reverse or reallocate the erroneous trades. In order to address the conflicts, Barings has adopted a Global Client Account Errors Policy governing the resolution of trading errors and will follow the Global Client Account Errors Policy in order to ensure that trade errors are handled promptly and appropriately and that any action taken to remedy an error places the interest of a client ahead of Barings’ interest.

Best Execution; Directed or Restricted Brokerage: With respect to securities and other transactions (including, but not limited to, derivatives transactions) for most of the accounts it manages, Barings determines which broker, dealer or other counterparty to use to execute each order, consistent with its fiduciary duty to seek best execution of the transaction. Barings manages certain accounts, however, for clients who limit its discretion with respect to the selection of counterparties or direct it to execute such client’s transactions through a particular counterparty. In these cases, trades for such an account in a particular security or other transaction can be placed separately from, rather than aggregated with, those

in the same security or transaction for other accounts. Placing separate transaction orders for a security or transaction can temporarily affect the market price of the security or transaction or otherwise affect the execution of the transaction to the possible detriment of one or more of the other account(s) involved. Barings has adopted a Global Best Execution Policy and a Directed or Restricted Brokerage Policy.

As discussed above, Barings employees have the ability to trade in securities that are purchased, held and sold by or on behalf of Barings’ advisory clients, subject to a number of limitations. See above for a discussion of restrictions on employee personal securities transactions contained in Barings’ Global Code of Ethics.

Barings and its portfolio managers or employees have other actual or potential conflicts of interest in managing an advisory account, and the list above is not a complete description of every conflict of interest that could be deemed to exist.

COMPENSATION.

Barings (Investment Adviser):

Compensation packages at Barings are structured such that key professionals have a vested interest in the continuing success of the firm. Portfolio managers’ compensation is comprised of base salary and a discretionarily allocated incentive bonus, which includes a performance-driven annual bonus, and may include a deferred long-term incentive bonus and also may contain a performance fee award. As part of the firm’s continuing effort to monitor retention, Barings participates in annual compensation surveys of investment management firms to ensure that Barings’ compensation is competitive with industry norms.

Base Salary

The base salary component is generally positioned at mid-market. Increases are tied to market, individual performance evaluations and budget constraints.

Annual Bonus – Short Term Incentive (STI)

The annual bonus pool applies to all associates in the firm. Factors impacting the potential bonuses include but are not limited to: (i) investment performance of funds/accounts managed by a portfolio manager, (ii) financial performance of Barings, (iii) client satisfaction, and (iv) teamwork. STI is typically paid in February/March following the performance year for which the aware is based.

Long-Term Incentives (LTI)

Barings’ long-term incentives are designed to share the long-term success of the firm and take the form of deferred cash awards, which may include an award that resembles phantom restricted stock; linking the value of the award to a formula including Barings’ overall earnings. A voluntary separation of service will result in a forfeiture of unvested LTI awards.

BIIL (Sub-Adviser):

The Sub-Adviser’s remuneration structure is designed to support and further BIIL’s business strategy, objectives, values and long-term interests. Packages aim to facilitate the retention of existing employees and attract high calibre new employees in order to achieve the best results for BIIL and its clients. As a result, packages offered should be competitive with those available to professionals working in London in relevant areas (including banking, private equity, asset management, corporate finance advisory, law, and accounting).

Remuneration Components:

Remuneration arrangements for employees currently comprise some or all of the following components:

(a) fixed salary;

(b) awards under the short-term incentive scheme (“STI”);

(c) awards under the long-term incentive scheme (“LTI”); and

(d) share of carried interest in certain funds (“Carried Interest”).

Fixed Salary:

All Employees receive a fixed salary, payable in monthly instalments. Fixed salaries are reviewed from time to time. Fixed salary for an earnings year is determined following the completion of the end-of-year appraisals for the previous year. Staff members are notified of any change to their fixed salary in February.

Short-Term Incentive Scheme:

All Employees are eligible to be considered for an STI award each year. While STI awards may be made in non-cash form, all awards have been made in cash to date. Similar to the US employees, awards to UK employees are determined following the completion of the end-of-year appraisals for the earnings year to which they correspond and are based on divisional and individual performance metrics, taking into account the profits generated by the firm.

Long-Term Incentive Scheme:

LTI awards are used to reward and retain employees that senior management consider are key to Barings’s business. All employees are eligible to be considered for an LTI award each year. Awards are based on performance measurement, taking into account the profits generated by the firm. LTI awards are entirely made in non-cash form.

BENEFICIAL OWNERSHIP. As of December 31, 2023, members of the Portfolio Management Team beneficially owned the following dollar range of equity securities in the Registrant:

Portfolio Management Team: |  | Dollar Range of Beneficially Owned* Equity Securities of the Registrant:
Sean Feeley |  | $ 100,001-$500,000
Craig Abouchar |  | None
Scott Roth |  | $ 10,001-$50,000
Chris Sawyer |  | None
Adam Schauer |  | $ 50,001-$100,000

* | Beneficial ownership has been determined in accordance with Rule 16(a)-1(a)(2) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended.

Item 9. Purchases of Equity Securities by Closed-End Management Investment Company and Affiliated Purchasers.

Not applicable for this filing.

Item 10. Submission of Matters to a Vote of Security Holders.

Not applicable for this filing.

Item 11. Controls and Procedures.

(a) | The principal executive officer and the principal financial officer of the Registrant evaluated the effectiveness of the Registrant’s disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Rule 30a-3(c) under the Investment Company Act of 1940 (the “Act”)) as of a date within 90 days of the filing of this report and based on that evaluation have concluded that such disclosure controls and procedures are effective to provide reasonable assurance that material information required to be disclosed by the Registrant on Form N-CSR is recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time periods specified in the Securities and Exchange Commission’s rules and forms.

(b) | There were no changes to the Registrant’s internal controls over financial reporting (as defined in Rule 30a-3(d) under the Act) during the Registrant’s full year that have materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, the Registrant’s internal control over financial reporting 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

The registrant did not engage in securities lending activities during the fiscal year reported on this Form N-CSR.

Item 13. Recovery of Erroneously Awarded Compensation.

Not applicable for this filing.

Item 14. Exhibits.

| (a) | (1) ANY CODE OF ETHICS, OR AMENDMENT THERETO, THAT IS THE SUBJECT OF DISCLOSURE REQUIRED BY ITEM 2, TO THE EXTENT THAT THE REGISTRANT INTENDS TO SATISFY THE ITEM 2 REQUIREMENTS THROUGH THE FILING OF AN EXHIBIT.

The Registrant has posted its Code of Ethics on its website at www.barings.com/bgh.

| (a) | (2) A SEPARATE CERTIFICATION FOR EACH PRINCIPAL EXECUTIVE OFFICER AND PRINCIPAL FINANCIAL OFFICER OF THE REGISTRANT AS REQUIRED BY RULE 30a-2 UNDER THE ACT.

Filed herewith.

| (a) | (3) ANY WRITTEN SOLICITATION TO PURCHASE SECURITIES UNDER RULE 23c-1 UNDER THE ACT (17 CFR 270.23c-1) SENT OR GIVEN DURING THE PERIOD COVERED BY THE REPORT BY OR ON BEHALF OF THE REGISTRANT TO 10 OR MORE PERSONS.

Not applicable for this filing.

| (a) | (4) CHANGES IN THE REGISTRANT’S INDEPENDENT PUBLIC ACCOUNTANT.

There was no change in the registrant’s independent public accountant for the fiscal year reported on this Form N-CSR.

| (b) | CERTIFICATIONS PURSUANT TO RULE 30a-2(b) UNDER THE ACT.

Filed herewith.

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): |  | Barings Global Short Duration High Yield Fund
|  |  |  | By (Signature and Title): |  | /s/ Sean Feeley
|  |  |  |  |  | Sean Feeley, President
|  |  |  | Date: |  | March 11, 2024

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/ Sean Feeley
|  |  |  |  |  | Sean Feeley, President
|  |  |  | Date: |  | March 11, 2024
|  |  |  | By (Signature and Title): |  | /s/ Christopher Hanscom
|  |  |  |  |  | Christopher Hanscom, Chief Financial Officer
|  |  |  | Date: |  | March 11, 2024

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