Josh Duitz, Head of Global Equities at abrdn, discusses his firm’s Global Dynamic Dividend Fund (AGD) and abrdn’s global income and infrastructure strategy more generally. In his interview with Jane King, Duitz says structural changes in the U.S. economy are creating exciting, new opportunities to invest in infrastructure, including energy transition, the increasing use of data in technology, and population growth. He also talks about the potential impacts of the 2024 presidential election on infrastructure investing

John Cole Scott, President and Chief Investment Officer of CEF Advisors, gives an update on the universe of closed-end funds (CEFs), business development companies (BDCs), and interval funds as the second quarter of 2024 gets under way. Scott provides perspective on CEF performance based on his advisory firm’s various equity sector indexes. He also highlights specific funds that are doing well in the current economic environment based on discount, dividend, and manager analyses.

Matthew J. Nealon, Managing Director and Co-Head of Structured Products Business Development at Nuveen, sat down with Jane King to discuss Nuveen’s structured products platform. The platform includes closed-end funds, interval funds, business development companies (BDCs), and other alternative investment strategies. Nealon also provides an overview of Nuveen, its history of underwriting municipal bonds, and the global firm’s current municipal strategy.

Axel Merk, Founder and CEO of Merk Investments, talks about his firm’s ASA Gold and Precious Metals fund (ASA), a non-diversified closed-end precious metals and mining fund established in 1958. Merk discusses the impact that activist hedge fund Saba Capital Management is having on the fund and its shareholders as it moves to change the board and close ASA’s discount. He also gives his view of the current state of the gold and silver market.

On December 15, 2023, CEF Advisors President John Cole Scott dug into his firm’s research and data (CEFData.com) on closed-end fund discounts and seasonality, providing insight into their potential investment impacts. He also discussed related tax strategies for retired investors and gave a brief 2024 outlook, which was provided in full on the January 6, 2024, NAVigator podcast.

Chris Oberbeck, Chairman of the Board, CEO, and President of Saratoga Investment Corp., sat down with Jane King on November 1, 2023, for a NAVigator Interview. Oberbeck talked about Saratoga (SAR), a debt-focused business development company (BDC), and it’s strategy. He discussed the potential benefits of investing in private credit markets and the impacts of the current economic environment.

Duncan Farley, Portfolio Manager for RBC BlueBay Asset Management, digs in on event-driven credit and the overall performance of the BlueBay Destra International Event-Driven Credit Fund, a continuously offered closed-end interval fund. Destra serves as advisors to the fund and BlueBay Asset Management is the fund’s sub-advisor. Farley also talks about the potential benefits of the interval fund structure, which he says for his team provides a “very unique way to match investors’ liquidity requirements with the underlying liquidity profile of the investments that we’re investing in.”

Christian Munafo, Chief Investment Officer, Liberty Street Advisors, Inc., sat down with Jane King on October 4, 2023, for a NAVigator Interview to discuss private equity markets. Munafo talked about why companies are staying private for longer and he touched on recent developments in the secondary market.

Gretchen Lam, CEO of Octagon Credit Investors, LLC, sat down with Jane King on August 30th, 2023, for a NAVigator interview to discuss the U.S. loan market. Lam, who at the time of the interview was Octagon’s Senior Portfolio Manager, gives an overview of the late-2023 loan market and provides background on senior loans and collateralized loan obligations (CLOs).

Cheryl Pate, Senior Portfolio Manager, Angel Oak Capital Advisors, sat down with Jane King on August 15th, 2023, for a NAVigator interview to talk about the state of the U.S. banking sector in the wake of various bank failures in early 2023.