Meet NAVigator Podcast host Chuck Jaffe
Jane King interviews financial journalist Chuck Jaffe, host of AICA’s NAVigator Podcast. Jaffe discusses the genesis and purpose of the podcast, saying its aim is to enlighten the public about closed-end funds and spotlight the investment industry professionals who work with them. He says podcast discussions are never scripted and seek to provide a useful mix of educational and timely fund performance information.
John Cole Scott on BDCs vs. private credit funds, AI impacting money management, and more
John Cole Scott, President of Closed-End Fund Advisors and Chairman of the Active Investment Company Alliance, shares takeaways from a recent industry conference focused on business development companies (BDCs). He talks about how...
VettaFi’s Islam on the highs and lows of applying rules to CEF investing
Roxanna Islam, Head of Sector and Industry Research at VettaFi, discusses the benefits and flaws of applying rules-based investing to closed-end funds. She notes that changes in the industry have forced changes on a rules-guided index of...
When the industry tries to narrow discounts, ‘that’s good for all of us’
Rob Shaker, portfolio manager at Shaker Financial Services, says that economic conditions — the debt-ceiling debate, troubled banks, higher interest rates and persistent inflation — have created a situation where the market isn’t climbing the...
Nuveen’s Dave Lamb on how fund firms are reacting to increased activism
Dave Lamb, Head of Closed-End Funds at Nuveen, says there is a "much more aggressive form of activism today than what we saw years ago," and notes that it's driven entirely by discount-arbitrage opportunities rather than whether a fund is...
John Cole Scott on new trends reshaping closed-end funds
John Cole Scott, President of Closed-End Fund Advisors and Chairman of the Active Investment Company Alliance, talks about the good and bad in recent industry developments. For example, Scott discusses how fund sponsors are taking...
BlackRock’s Minar on how the firm is changing discount plays
Stephen Minar, Managing Director and Head of Closed-End Funds at BlackRock, discusses a contemporary conundrum in the closed-end fund industry: How discounts drive money flows into closed-end funds but also attract activist...
Sizemore: “The Fed’s actions have changed, but the discounts remain”
Charles Lewis Sizemore, chief investment officer at Sizemore Capital Management, says that while short-term rates are as high as they are likely to be, the "massive discount" created in closed-end funds while rates were on the rise have not...
Angel Oak’s Triick says mortgages are in a fixed-income sweet spot now
Clayton Triick, Head of Portfolio Management, Public Strategies at Angel Oak Capital Advisors — part of the team running the Angel Oak Strategic Credit Fund — says that fundamentals and valuations seldom get aligned the way...
Liberty Street’s Munafo on opportunities in late-stage private venture
Christian Munafo, Chief Investment Officer at Liberty Street Advisors, which runs the Private Shares Fund, discusses how late-stage private venture companies are generating a huge chunk of economic power off most...
abrdn’s Mondillo says record discounts plus solid yields should pay off for muni investors
Jonathan Mondillo, head of North American Fixed Income at abrdn, says that record discount levels for municipal bond closed-end funds, coupled with attractive yields on those funds, are creating real opportunities for investors. However...