Barings Corporate Investors : 2020 Annual Report - Barings Corporate Investors

2020

Barings

CORPORATE INVESTORS

2020 Annual Report

BARINGS CORPORATE INVESTORS

Barings Corporate Investors (the "Trust") is a closed-end management investment company, first offered to the public in 1971, whose shares are traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the trading symbol "MCI". The Trust's share price can be found in the financial section of newspapers under either the New York Stock Exchange listings or Closed-End Fund Listings.

INVESTMENT OBJECTIVE & STRATEGIES

The Trust's investment objective is to maintain a portfolio of securities providing a current yield and, when available, an opportunity for capital gains. The Trust's principal investments are privately placed, below-investment grade, long-term debt obligations including bank loans and mezzanine debt instruments. Such private placement securities may, in some cases, be accompanied by equity features such as common stock, preferred stock, warrants, conversion rights, or other equity features. The Trust typically purchases these investments, which are not publicly tradable, directly from their issuers in private placement transactions. These investments are typically made to small or middle market companies. In addition, the Trust may invest, subject to certain limitations, in marketable debt securities (including high yield and/or investment grade securities) and marketable common stock. Below-investment grade or high yield securities have predominantly speculative characteristics with respect to the capacity of the issuer to pay interest and repay capital.

The Trust distributes substantially all of its net income to shareholders each year. Accordingly, the Trust pays dividends to shareholders four times a year in January, May, August, and November. The Trust pays dividends to its shareholders in cash, unless the shareholder elects to participate in the Dividend Reinvestment and Share Purchase Plan.

In this report, you will find a complete listing of the Trust's holdings. We encourage you to read this section carefully for a better understanding of the Trust. We cordially invite all shareholders to attend the Trust's Annual Meeting of Shareholders, which will be held virtually on April 23, 2021 at 1:00 P.M. (Eastern Time) at the following websitehttps://viewproxy.com/barings/broadridgevsm/.

PROXY VOTING POLICIES & PROCEDURES; PROXY VOTING RECORD

The Trustees of the Trust have delegated proxy voting responsibilities relating to the voting of securities held by the Trust 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 Trust's website athttp://www.barings.com/mci; and (3) on the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's ("SEC") website athttp://www.sec. gov. Information regarding how the Trust voted proxies relating to portfolio securities during the most recent 12-month period ended June 30, 2020 is available (1) on the Trust's website athttp://www.barings.com/mci; and (2) on the SEC's website athttp://www.sec.gov.

FORM N-PORT

The Trust files 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 (i) on the SEC's website athttp://www.sec.gov; and (ii) 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 Trust's website athttp://www.barings.com/ mci or upon request by calling, toll-free, 1-866-399-1516.

LEGAL MATTERS

The Trust has entered into contractual arrangements with an investment adviser, transfer agent and custodian (collectively "service providers") who each provide services to the Trust. 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 Trust.

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

The Trust's registration statement and this shareholder report are not contracts between the Trust 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 CORPORATE INVESTORS c / o Barings LLC

COUNSEL TO THE TRUST Ropes & Gray LLP

300 South Tryon St., Suite 2500 Charlotte, NC 28202 1-866-399-1516http://www.barings.com/mci

Boston, Massachusetts 02111

CUSTODIAN

State Street Bank and Trust Company Boston, MA 02110

ADVISER

Barings LLC

300 South Tryon St., Suite 2500 Charlotte, NC 28202

TRANSFER AGENT & REGISTRAR DST Systems, Inc.

P.O. Box 219086

INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM KPMG LLP

Kansas City, MO 64121-9086 1-800-647-7374

Boston, Massachusetts 02110

2020 Annual Report

PORTFOLIO COMPOSITION AS OF 12/31/2020*

Public Debt 1.5%Cash & Short-Term

Investments 10.3%

PORTFOLIO COMPOSITION AS OF 12/31/2019*

Public Equity 0.4%

Public Debt 0.4%

Cash & Short-Term

Investments 10.6%

Cash & Short-Term

Loans44.6%

* Based on market value of total investments

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Barings Corporate Investors

TOTAL ANNUAL PORTFOLIO RETURN (AS OF 12/31 EACH YEAR)*

%

30

20

10

0

-10

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

2017

2018

2019

2020

Barings Corporate	Bloomberg Barclays U.S.	Credit Suisse Leveraged
Investors	Corporate High Yield Index	Loan Index**

* Data for Barings Corporate Investors (the "Trust") represents returns based on the change in the Trust'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 Trust's shares due to the difference between the Trust's net asset value of its shares outstanding (See page 12 for total investment return based on market value). Past performance is no guarantee of future results.

** The Credit Suisse Leveraged Loan Index was added in 2018 to represent the Trust's portfolio composition

which now includes a material amount of floating rate securities.

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