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PODCAST

The NAVigator

Active Investment Company Alliance

The NAVigator, from the Active Investment Company Alliance (AICA), talks all-weather investing and "excellence beyond indexing" through the use of closed-end funds (CEFs) & business-development companies (BDCs). AICA – a new organization that includes a diverse constituency that runs from investors through fund sponsors – aims to help investors & advisors plot a new and different course to financial success, via the tactical use of securities that mix active management within listed & non-listed

business investing

All Episodes

10:33

How current events are impacting the capital markets

The NAVigator ·

2022/03/18

Seth Brufsky, chief executive officer for the Ares Dynamic Credit Allocation Fund, says that conditions since the end of the year have changed from concerns over what the Federal Reserve would do, 'changing the calculus' for how people should and will invest. Brufsky says the focus entering the year was on floating-rate investments, but now that there are lingering concerns about inflation and higher rates that -- along with geopolitical concerns -- are forcing investors to re-evaluate priorities

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10:14

Your questions answered with Mike Taggart, AICA...

The NAVigator ·

2022/03/11

Mike Taggart of Taggart Fund Intelligence, the executive director of the Active Investment Company Alliance, returns to The NAVigator following up on his recent discussion of buying assets rather than discounts by answering some questions from the audience about the persistence of discounts and where discounts fit into the picture once you have purchased a fund.

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10:59

AICA's Scott: Closed-end fund 2.0 is off to a strong...

The NAVigator ·

2022/03/04

John Cole Scott, chief investment officer at Closed-End Fund Advisors and the chairman of the Active Investment Company Alliance, says that 20 investment firms have launched 30 new funds under the 'Closed-End Fund 2.0' format since 2019, and the results and opportunities are promising. While the new funds show an average discount over 7 percent, the new structure returns the funds to net asset value after 12 years, which means that some of these funds are long-term bargains right now; he names four

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09:14

Taggart: As unrest widens discounts, buy the asset...

The NAVigator ·

2022/02/25

Mike Taggart, founder of Taggart Fund Intelligence and executive director of the Active Investment Company Alliance, says that the stock market's rough January along with the war between Russia and the Ukraine have put the market in a tizzy and widened discounts for closed-end funds by over 1 percent on average this year, but he notes that while discounts have become attractive, they don't make for automatic buying opportunities. Some closed-end funds, Taggart says, will stay at deep discounts and

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11:51

BDCs and middle-market credit can solve rising-rate...

The NAVigator ·

2022/02/18

Chris Oberbeck, chairman and chief executive officer at Saratoga Investment Corp., says that the structure of business-development companies -- which allows assets to increase in value when interest rates rise, while keeping liabilities fixed, thereby raising spreads -- makes them particularly attractive to investors looking for better real yields in a rising-rate environment. Oberbeck explains, generally, how BDCs will be able to weather the first rate increase, whenever it happens, with much less

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18:21

Bonus episode: Rate and inflation picture are...

The NAVigator ·

2022/02/14

Maury Fertig, chief investment officer at Relative Value Partners, discusses the factors he considers when picking closed-end funds to add to client portfolios, and how those criteria have been impacted by headlines about rising rates and inflation, along with the stock market's heightened volatility and January losses. Fertig says that current conditions have changed some of his focus, moving him away from floating-rate funds -- which were trading at a significant discount a year ago, but which are

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10:50

What to expect from closed-end funds in a rising-rate...

The NAVigator ·

2022/02/11

Mike Taggart, founder and chief executive officer at Taggart Fund Intelligence -- the recently appointed executive director of the Active Investment Company Alliance -- talks about his research into how closed-end funds have performed in rising-rate cycles, and also looks at how senior-loan funds perform, noting that the closed-end fund structure can make it harder for senior loans to live up to their narrative as being a plus asset when rates are going up.

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11:21

In the closed-end discount cycle, now is the time to...

The NAVigator ·

2022/02/04

Rob Shaker, portfolio manager at Shaker Financial, says that the market's recent struggles have re-started a cycle and repetitive pattern that closed-end fund investors should recognize and take advantage of. It starts when excessive selling pressures -- which the market experienced in January -- results in 'excessive selling' that widens discounts; once those selling pressures ease, the market rebalances and restores equilibrium, and investors take advantage of the bigger discounts to snap up

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13:04

Blue Bay's Farley: Lots of market events, limited...

The NAVigator ·

2022/01/28

Duncan Farley, portfolio manager at BlueBay Asset Management -- manager of the BlueBay Destra International Event-Driven Credit Fund -- says that the many headline events affecting the market aren't all buying opportunities. The best opportunities in event-driven investing come from good companies with bad balance sheets or difficult circumstances, where the interval fund structure allows management to ride them back to good health, generating above-market returns in the process.

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10:08

With or without legislation, infrastructure's on the...

The NAVigator ·

2022/01/21

Connie Luecke, senior portfolio manager for Duff and Phelps Investment Management and chief investment officer of the DNP Select Income Fund says that the recently passed infrastructure bill -- plus the potential for elements of the Build Back Better bill to be broken out and passed -- should provide a business boost to energy and utility companies, communications firms and more, but she also explains why legislation isn't the only reason why infrastructure is poised to be a strong sector in the

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11:16

Cliffwater's Condrell: Middle-market credits smooth...

The NAVigator ·

2022/01/14

Alex Condrell, managing director at Cliffwater discusses the firm's direct lending index and corporate lending fund and how investments in middle-market corporate credit should stand up to the challenges of rising inflation and interest rates, providing something close to historic return levels of 9 percent for the asset class without extending recklessly out the risk spectrum.

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10:32

Flat Rock sees big value in the trade-off of...

The NAVigator ·

2022/01/07

Robert Grunewald, chief executive officer at Flat Rock Global discussing how the interval-fund structure provides stability that allows a 'non-bank bank' -- which is the way he describes his firm -- to trade off some liquidity in pursuit of higher fixed-income returns. Operating in 'middle market credits' and investing in first-lien credits, Grunewald says that despite changing interest-rate and inflation conditions it remains reasonable to expect a return in the 7 percent range for the year

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10:15

John Cole Scott's crystal ball view of 2022 in...

The NAVigator ·

2021/12/30

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.

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09:53

Big premiums and high dividend yields key a banner...

The NAVigator ·

2021/12/23

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.

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10:50

How shareholders benefit from 'follow-on offering' trend

The NAVigator ·

2021/12/17

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.

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10:45

Activism isn't waning, but rules governing it are...

The NAVigator ·

2021/12/10

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

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08:49

Consider an interval fund as the place for your muni...

The NAVigator ·

2021/12/03

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.

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09:12

Infrastructure needs will fuel real asset plays for...

The NAVigator ·

2021/11/26

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,

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11:20

A check on BDC developments, and performance versus...

The NAVigator ·

2021/11/19

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.

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10:29

Closed-end fund 2.0 is a bigger deal than the ETF...

The NAVigator ·

2021/11/12

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

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