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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

12:28

Nuveen's Chintapalli says the high-yield market...

The NAVigator ·

2025/10/31

Ravi Chintapalli, Client Portfolio Manager covering leveraged finance for the Nuveen Global Fixed Income team, says that he has never seen a high-yield market that has been higher quality than what he is seeing now. That helps to explain tighter spreads, and suggests they should not shy away from high-yield because they're being compensated for "the true level of default risk in the market." On the loan side, Chintapalli says that while the Federal Reserve has entered a rate-cutting cycle, it

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12:53

Year-end action - not bubble worries - will drive...

The NAVigator ·

2025/10/24

Discount-capture investor Rob Shaker, Portfolio Manager at Shaker Financial Services, says that he's "not seeing anything in the closed-end fund space that would point to any type of bubble conditions." He sees generic, slow widening of discounts happening now, mostly due to a mix of year-end tax-loss moves starting now and some fund-specific actions, rather than because investors have lost faith and courage in current market conditions. Still, Shaker does see potential market storms coming and he

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15:20

John Cole Scott on what's next for the BDC, private...

The NAVigator ·

2025/10/17

John Cole Scott, President of CEF Advisors, discusses the changing landscape of business-development companies and the details he gleaned from attending the recent Eversheds BDC Roundtable, which focused on legislative and other issues that are creating challenges and opportunities for the industry. Scott, the Chairman of the Active Investment Company Alliance, weighs in on the potential for changing quarterly reporting requirements, the impact of easing restrictions of holdings for retirement plans

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15:18

Variant's Hicks on mixing an impact on more than...

The NAVigator ·

2025/10/10

Drake Hicks, Head of Impact Investing at Variant Investments, discusses the unusual intersection of closed-end funds with impact investing, which goes beyond ESG (environmental, social and government principles) to invest in projects which have a purpose beyond just a profit margin. The firm runs the Variant Impact Fund, a high-yield closed-end interval fund whose assets are aligned with the United Nations' sustainable development goals, and Hicks talks about how shareholders benefit from the

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14:05

XA's DiBernardo on covered-call strategies gaining...

The NAVigator ·

2025/10/03

Ray DiBernardo, Portfolio Manager of the XAI Madison Equity Premium Income fund, says that covered-call strategies have become increasingly popular of late, as investors want to goose income while reducing market risk. DiBernardo, an analyst at Madison Investments, notes that investors have been intrigued by covered-call strategies for about two decades, but the availability of more options-based strategies through the advent of ETFs has made investors more aware of how to find income-enhancement

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16:17

Are falling rates, changing conditions setting up...

The NAVigator ·

2025/09/26

John Cole Scott, President of CEF Advisors, talks about how current conditions have made for nervous times in the business-development company space, and he looks at history to determine whether the risks are systemic rather than situational. The conversation looks at how the BDC space has gotten extensive scrutiny recently from the Financial Times and on sites like Seeking Alpha, with some observers forecasting trouble ahead; Scott, who is also the chairman of the Active Investment Company

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15:04

With his fund up 100% this year, veteran manager says...

The NAVigator ·

2025/09/19

Axel Merk, Chief Investment Officer of the ASA Gold and Precious Metals Fund, says that while gold has been rolling this year, the start of rate cuts along with a weakening dollar and persistent geopolitical risks (including tariffs) make it that there is no end in sight for the precious metals rally to continue. ASA Gold, which invests largely in junior mining companies, is up more than 100 percent year-to-date (compared to roughly 40 percent gains for physical gold ETFs), but still carries a

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12:48

John Cole Scott on when CEFs have the edge over ETFs

The NAVigator ·

2025/09/12

John Cole Scott, President of CEF Advisors, acknowledges how many consumers shy away from closed-end funds, fearing complexity or an investment type they don't fully understand. The chairman of the Active Investment Company Alliance would obviously favor closed-end funds, but he sizes up situations where a closed-end fund and an ETF or a fund-of-funds cover the same asset class and why he would choose one over the other or whether he might mix and match for better balance.

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20:00

NAVigator bonus: CEF Advisors' Scott on picking and...

The NAVigator ·

2025/09/09

In this interview from the "Money Life with Chuck Jaffe" podcast, John Cole Scott, President of CEF Advisors, discusses his "trifecta analysis" of closed-end funds and how he will frequently add or drop funds to take advantage of market conditions and make the most of tax circumstances, capturing incremental gains and minimizing incremental losses to squeeze the client's desired result in their portfolio.

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11:03

Tortoise's Thummel says it's 'the best time i've ever...

The NAVigator ·

2025/09/05

Rob Thummel, Senior Portfolio Manager at Tortoise Capital, says that this is "the best time I have ever seen" in a three-decade career to be investing in energy. Thummel, who manages Tortoise Energy Infrastructure, notes that the U.S. has grown into the largest energy producer and energy exporter in the world, but that it now needs expanded infrastructure to build on that leadership position. Moreover, the energy sector and technology sector have come together with the development of artificial

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14:01

XA's Flynn on how crypto, private equity will impact...

The NAVigator ·

2025/08/29

Kimberly Flynn, President at XA Investments, discusses the recent executive order signed by President Trump that allows a dramatic expansion of alternative assets to be part of 401(k) and other retirement plans. While the headlines have made it seem like crypto bros will blow up their retirement plans with alternatives, Flynn discusses how many firms running life-cycle and target-date funds may decide to make allocations to more alternative asset classes, which could create opportunities for

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11:34

Oppenheimer's Penn: 'Fairly valued' BDCs

The NAVigator ·

2025/08/22

Mitchel Penn, Managing Director of Equity Research for Oppenheimer & Co., says that business-development companies are now "fairly valued" by the market, which means that their biggest potential gains for the remainder of the year will come from simply capturing dividend payouts. In 2026, with the industry likely facing interest rate cuts, BDCs will see their return on equity shrink in line with rate declines, saying that for every 1% cut in rates, BDC payouts would be expected to shrink in step. In

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15:52

Calamos' Freund expects 4 rate cuts in a year,...

The NAVigator ·

2025/08/15

Matt Freund, Co-Chief Investment Officer at Calamos Investments, expects the Federal Reserve to make "a couple of cuts this year, followed by two or three cuts next year," and that those moves will be made while inflation stays at current levels or rise slightly. With those cuts, Freund thinks there will be a steepening yield curve, around 3 percent, creating more opportunities. Freund, whose team manages the Calamos Closed End Fund Income & Arbitrage ETF, says that the yield curve changes would

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14:18

A battle over closed-end activism is now awaiting a...

The NAVigator ·

2025/08/08

Kenneth Burdon, an attorney with Simpson Thacher and Bartlett, discusses the court cases between Saba Capital and four closed-end fund sponsors that has wound its way to the U.S. Supreme Court and that is expected to force a change in the tactics of the industry's most prominent activist investor or in the way management companies protect themselves against aggressive shareholder actions. Saba challenged the four companies' actions in adopting a Maryland law that makes it more difficult for outside

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14:34

CEF Advisors' Scott on the realities and mirages of...

The NAVigator ·

2025/08/01

John Cole Scott, President of CEF Advisors and Chairman of the Active Investment Company Alliance, digs into his firm's data to look at how many categories of closed-end funds are delivering double-digit yields now, in some cases doubling the average payouts in the underlying asset class. He talks about judging how real the big payouts are, and which areas of the market are delivering the best combination of yield and discount.

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18:17

Aberdeen's Akus on the struggles facing healthcare,...

The NAVigator ·

2025/07/25

Jason Akus, Head of Healthcare Investing for Aberdeen Investments, says that current conditions for healthcare and biotech investing are making for "one of the most challenging, difficult and dislocated environments I've seen." While trades in technology, artificial intelligence and the Magnificent Seven stocks have driven the stock market back to record-high levels, Akus notes that healthcare has been flat in 2025 with biotech faring only slightly better; moreover, healthcare has been flat for two

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12:42

Veteran manager says volatile market has...

The NAVigator ·

2025/07/18

Rob Shaker, Portfolio Manager of Shaker Financial Services, discusses "discount-capture investing," and how the market's wild moves around tariff announcements this year made the strategy particularly sensitive to the emotional changes of investors. Shaker says the overall trend for 2025 has been a "generic narrowing" of discounts — by roughly 2 percent on equities and 1 percent on fixed income — but there was a rapid, fear-based 'generic widening' when tariff policies were announced in April and

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13:27

John Cole Scott on the assets he expects to thrive...

The NAVigator ·

2025/07/11

John Cole Scott, President of CEF Advisors, discusses how three areas that lagged during a strong first half of 2025 — municipal bonds, senior loans and master limited partnerships — are poised to be leading categories among closed-end funds for the remainder of the year. Scott, the chairman of the Active Investment Company Alliance, picks out funds that he thinks are poised for a good run in each category, and discusses refining asset allocation plans to deliver more-resilient income.

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15:16

Trinity's Brown: Near-shoring, interest rates and...

The NAVigator ·

2025/07/03

Kyle Brown, chief executive officer at Trinity Capital, sees the private-credit boom continuing, in part fueled by government efforts to generate business gains in the United States. That has created a new wave of capital expenditures — and a 20 percent year-to-date increase in demand for private credit — that is likely to power the private lenders for the foreseeable future. For Trinity, the company has doubled in size in roughly three years, but the current demand gives it room to grow further,

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11:45

Allspring's Schueller says this 'muddle-through...

The NAVigator ·

2025/06/27

Mike Schueller, Co-Manager of the Allspring Income Opportunities fund, says that high-yield bonds are poised to be steady performers through the current wave of headline risks and market uncertainty because the economy is solid enough that there's no reason to expect a spike in defaults. With the potential for recession "having receded into the background," he's expecting a "muddle-through economy," with defaults remaining at current low levels, allowing high-yield to keep delivering "high,

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338 results

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