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.

Roxanna Islam, Head of Sector and Industry Research at VettaFi, sat down with Jane King on August 3, 2023, for a NAVigator interview to discuss the mechanics of exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and closed-end funds (CEFs).

Jonathan Mondillo, Head of U.S. Fixed Income at abrdn, sat down with Jane King on July 19, 2023, for a NAVigator interview to discuss the fixed income landscape for municipal bonds and opportunities in closed-end funds.

Closed-End Fund Advisors President John Cole Scott sat down with Jane King on June 13, 2023, for a NAVigator interview to discuss the Q1 2023 earnings season for business development companies (BDCs).