We have designed and written our closed-end fund (CEF) Solutions Center materials for a broad range of audiences: from investors who have never invested in CEFs before, to those who use them as portfolio staples.
The Solutions Center is a dynamic line-up of educational presentations aimed at making our readers more proficient CEF investors. Over time, we will expand the Solutions Center lineup to address your questions.
There are three levels of presentations:
- CEF Basics: These are directed toward investors who are not familiar with closed-end funds.
- Before You Invest: These are directed toward investors with a passing knowledge of closed-end funds, but who haven't invested in them yet, or have invested very little. Understanding of CEF Basics is presumed.
- CEF Investor: These contain more advanced or esoteric topics that will be of interest to seasoned CEF investors.
The following slides explain the levels in more detail.
CEF Basics: Any investor with an interest in closed-end funds must understand the basic concepts before even considering investing through a CEF structure.
Basic concepts include:
- Discounts and Premiums
- Total Return, Yield, and Price Return
- Return of Capital
- Leverage
Before You Invest: Once the basics are covered, it's important to understand some concepts in greater detail to avoid any hidden surprises that the closed-end fund structure could spring on you after you put your hard-earned dollars to work.
These concepts include:
- How to use discounts and premiums to your advantage
- Assessing whether your income will likely be sustainable
- How your fund's leverage levels could affect its price
- Finding information about your closed-end fund
CEF Investor: These slides are written with the seasoned closed-end fund investor in mind. This series aim to help investors draw on the benefits of closed-end funds to enhance their overall portfolios and develop their own frameworks to assess the suitability of individual CEFs for their investment needs.
Topics include:
- How to make rights offerings work for you
- Is your board of directors acting as a true steward?
- The ins and outs of various investment strategies
