The NAVigator in 2025: Rewarding the Informed, Active Investor in an Evolving Market Landscape
For listeners of The NAVigator Podcast, 2025 was a year that reaffirmed the value of curiosity, expertise, and nuance in the increasingly complex world of closed-end funds and business development companies. In every corner of the market—whether it was navigating rate cuts, dealing with narrowing discounts, or assessing activist trends—The NAVigator served as an anchor for investors seeking insights that cut through the noise.
Each episode underscored the importance of data discipline and centered conversations that translated quantitative insights into real-world portfolio applications. Despite tackling sophisticated topics—tax-loss harvesting mechanics, dispersion analysis, or leverage ratios—each episode remained conversational. Host Chuck Jaffe brings a journalist’s curiosity and a skeptic’s edge, inviting guests to explain not just what they believe, but why it matters.
Let’s look back at some highlights from 2025 that underscore the value of the Active Investment Company Alliance’s weekly podcast, The NAVigator.
A Snapshot of 2025: Expectations and Outcomes
Few traditions in financial journalism are as valuable—or as humbling—as reviewing past forecasts. John Cole Scott, President of CEF Advisors and Chairman of the Active Investment Company Alliance (AICA), opened 2026 by grading himself on how his 2025 predictions played out.
In “The Year in Review” (Jan. 2, 2026), Scott and host Chuck Jaffe revisited expectations for inflation, Treasury yields, discount levels, and sector performance. It wasn’t a victory lap, but it revealed several surprises.
For long-time listeners, the retrospective was vintage NAVigator: blending data, macro context, and reality checks. For new listeners it was an eye-opening entry point into the podcast’s longitudinal analysis.
Return of the Active Manager
Throughout 2025, many episodes captured the tension between macro uncertainty and investor opportunity. Bryce Doty of Sit Investment Associates warned in December that “every new Fed chair does something dumb,” anticipating turbulence and opportunity when Jerome Powell stepped down.
Meanwhile, Ares Management’s Seth Brufsky dissected how falling rates were reshaping high-yield and CLO portfolios, illustrating how thoughtful credit managers extract alpha from volatility.
The year’s discussions around interest rates revealed a consistent theme: active management was back at the center of the story. With macro data shifting faster than passive portfolios could adapt, managers described how dynamic allocation decisions—across credit, income, and real assets—were re-establishing their importance.
Activism Makes a Global Round Trip
Activism was another theme that came full circle in 2025. In February’s ”How Activism in Britain Holds Lessons for American Closed-End Investors” (Feb. 21, 2025), Richard Stone of the Association of Investment Companies compared the UK’s collaborative engagement model to the more adversarial U.S. environment.
By December, Stone returned in “Is Activism in the UK Following or Leading the Action in the U.S.?”(Dec. 19, 2025), showing how cross-pollination between markets was accelerating. That full-circle narrative—how activism’s tone, scope, and regulation evolve internationally—illustrates why The NAVigator is valued not just by investors, but also by fund sponsors and governance professionals.
When Bulldog Investors co-founder Phil Goldstein appeared at AICA’s 2025 Fall Roundtable in November, his candid reflections on the state of activism captured an industry in transition. The combination of rising retail participation, court challenges, and moderating fund discounts created fertile ground for debate.
Private Credit: Expanding the Frontiers of Yield
Private credit was arguably the topic of the year. In podcast coverage of AICA’s 2025 BDC Forum, guests like Bob Marcotte of Gladstone Capital Corp. and Oppenheimer’s Mitchel Penn detailed the landscape of non-bank lending—from credit losses and valuations to how Washington, D.C. policy decisions influence the industry.
CION Investments’ Mark Gatto appeared on the podcast multiple times, underscoring how both private credit and infrastructure investing were redefining income options for yield-seeking investors. Trinity Capital’s Kyle Brown emphasized that nearshoring and government energy policies were accelerating domestic investment in private credit, keeping the space active despite rate volatility.
Closer to year’s end, John Cole Scott featured in several episodes such as “Are Falling Rates, Changing Conditions Setting Up BDCs for a Fall?”(Sept. 26, 2025) to contextualize how private credit might play out in 2026.
Building Community One Conversation at a Time
Behind the scenes, The NAVigator also reflects the vibrancy of the Active Investment Company Alliance. Recorded frequently at AICA conferences—from the BDC Forum in June to the Fall Roundtable in New York in November—the podcast captures the pulse of the industry directly from its thought leaders.
These sessions go beyond marketing pitches. They reveal how fund operators, legal experts, and activist investors debate structure, regulation, and innovation. For professionals unable to attend every event, subscribing to The NAVigator delivers that same front-row access.
In an era when algorithms can mimic analysis but not understanding, The NAVigator reminds us that insight still requires conversation—and that the best compass for uncertain markets is the human one calibrated by data, discipline, and experience.
With over 50 episodes across the calendar year, the podcast’s 2025 archive reads like an encyclopedia of market psychology, strategy, and structure. But unlike textbooks, these podcasts preserved the immediacy of decision-making in motion. They documented how analysts and investors adapted as policy, yield curves, and sentiment shifted.
By listening weekly, investors gain access to decision-makers interpreting real-time developments rather than reacting months later.
So, before the next episode drops, browse the vault of 2025 conversations. Then subscribe for 2026. Because in a market that rewards adaptability, the smartest investors aren’t just watching; they’re listening.
Listen to The NAVigator, AICA’s weekly podcast.