The NAVigator

John Cole Scott, chief investment officer at Closed-End Fund Advisors and the executive chairman of the Active Investment Company Alliance, returns to the podcast this week and turns his lens forward, giving his 2022 projections for discounts, new funds, shareholder activism and more, and including some funds he says are well-positioned and constructed to benefit from the economic conditions that lie ahead.

John Cole Scott, chief investment officer at Closed-End Fund Advisors and the executive chairman of the Active Investment Company Alliance, reviews 2021, discussing the high number of closed-end funds that are currently trading at premiums, and the rebound that has represented in performance, as well as the expansive use of leverage, current high levels of dividend yields and more.

Nathan Briggs, a partner in the asset management practice at Ropes and Gray, discusses the burgeoning trend and inner workings of 'follow-on offerings' -- where closed-end funds raise additional capital and add to their outstanding shares -- and the mostly positive impact these actions have for shareholders.

Thomas DeCapo, partner at Skadden, Arps -- one of the largest law firms representing interests in the closed-end fund industry -- discusses developments and changes to the activist environment, noting that one thing he believes will not change is the high level of activity due to the many funds facing activists with stakes of 10 percent or more. DeCapo also discusses industry rumors that regulators are considering changing control-share statutes that have a major impact on how closed-end funds are governed.

Parth Doshi, vice president of closed-end funds at Nuveen, discusses the firm's new interval fund -- Nuveen Enhanced High Yield Municipal Bond Fund -- and how it compares to other closed-end funds. Muni bonds are a new area for the interval fund structure -- the Nuveen offering is just the second muni interval fund -- and Doshi discusses why investors might favor one structure over the other, or how both could be used in a diversified portfolio.

Gaal Surugeon, portfolio manager at Brookfield Asset Management's Public Securities Group, says that investing in physical assets like infrastructure and real estate provides inflation protection with stabilized yield potential and long-term growth prospects tied to the economic cycle, but the short- and mid-term prospects for real assets is also attractive now, given the economic recovery, investments in infrastructure and the need to fund upgrades to the underpinnings of society like airports, toll roads and more.

Stephen Hester, partner at Wide Moat Research and editor at the Intelligent REIT Options Advisor newsletter, offers his take on new developments within the business-development company realm, and compares how current market conditions are making BDCs an attractive alternative to real estate investment trusts, noting that the standard BDC cycle periodically makes them a buying opportunity -- especially compared to REITs -- and one of those times is now.

Michael Spatacco, director at Bancroft Capital, says that the latest evolution in closed-end funds will have more impact on the closed-end fund business and the evolution of funds and how they are sold than exchange-traded funds had on the traditional mutual fund industry. In a wide-ranging discussion on the state of the closed-end fund business, Spatacco says that the ETF evolution mostly changed the way funds are built, with the underlying investments remaining mostly the same; the changes in the closed-end fund business have dramatically expanded new offerings and who will participate in new funds, which is leading to the development of more new and interesting closed-end funds.

Matt Kence, portfolio manager for the Aberdeen Credit Income Strategies Fund (ticker ACP), says that the headwinds facing high-yield investors -- higher inflation and concerns over rising interest rates -- can be overcome with diligent security selection from the wider range of options available now thanks to record levels of bond issuance. Kence notes that if the economy delivers inflation and growth at the same time, high-yield bonds should do well, but the worry is that if inflation stunts growth -- which is not his base expectation -- that's when real troubles could arise.

John Cole Scott, chief investment officer at Closed-End Fund Advisors and founding chairman of the Active investment Company Alliance, gives his take on wher business-development companies stand midway into earnings season and with the New Year just around the corner. He highlights four individual BDCs, talks about portfolio construction and highlights an upcoming BDC event that the Alliance will host later in November.