Advisor: The Advisor assists in the operation of the fund by providing investment advice, research, and administrative services when a separate administrator is not employed.
Annualized Total Return: A total return performance calculation based on the fund's NAV and includes the reinvestment of all income and capital gains distributions. Returns are annualized to show the average annual return for the specified period.
Benchmark: The name of an index that the fund is compared against.
Capital Gain: Amount of money the fund has made selling stocks or other securities and has distributed to shareholders. The figure shown is the dollar amount distributed per share. Capital gains are paid to fund shareholders on a per share basis. When a capital gain distribution is made, the fund's net asset value drops by the amount of the distribution because the distribution is no longer considered part of the fund's assets.
Classification: The Lipper portfolio-based classification given to a fund based on its actual capitalization and style.
Cumulative Total Return - Market Price: A total return performance calculation based on the fund's Market Price that includes the reinvestment of all income dividends and capital gains distributions.
Cumulative Total Return - NAV: A total return performance calculation based on the fund's NAV that includes the reinvestment of all income dividends and capital gains distributions.
CUSIP: A number that uniquely identifies issuers of securities and their financial instruments.
Discount/Premium: This represents the percentage by which the fund's market price exceeds or is less than its NAV.
Dividend Frequency: General frequency with which distributions are declared by the fund: daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, semi-annually or annually.
Exchange Ticker: The unique identifier assigned to each closed-end fund for reference and quote data from the stock exchange on which it trades.
Ex-Dividend Date: The first day of trading when the buyer of a fund is no longer entitled to the most recently announced dividend payment.
Total Expense Ratio: The total fees and expenses charged by a fund for all the various services needed to run the fund.
First Public Offering (FPO) Date: The date of the commencement of operations of a fund under the Investment Company Act of 1940 as shown in the fund's prospectus or annual report.
Fiscal Year End: Last day of a fund's fiscal year.
Fund Manager: The name(s) of the portfolio manager(s) of a particular fund.
Fund Manager Tenure: The year in which a particular fund manager began managing a fund's portfolio.
Fund Type (asset type): The Fund Type is based on the asset class of the majority of securities within a portfolio (i.e., equity = stock).
Holdings: The underlying securities of a fund.
Inception Date: The date of the commencement of operations of a fund under the Investment Company Act of 1940 as shown in the fund's prospectus or annual report. Inception Date is also known as the First Public Offering (FPO) or Initial Public Offering (IPO) date.
Income Dividend: A taxable payment declared by a company's board of directors and given to its shareholders out of the company's current or retained earnings. Dividends are usually given as cash, but they can also take the form of stock or other property.
Investment Objective: The category in which a fund is placed based on its investment objective and policies as set forth in the fund's prospectus.
Investment Policy: Description of the fund's investment policy as gleaned from the prospectus and annual report.
Growth of/Investment Value of $10K: Cumulative total return performance, including accruals. For each fund a series of up to 120 performances.
Leveraged Assets: The percentage of fund assets that is invested in speculative investments such as preferred stock, private debt and other illiquid investments. These assets involve certain risks that include higher volatility of net asset value, the likelihood of more volatility in market value of Common Stock and the possibility that the fund's return will fall if interest rates rise. However, leveraged assets can also have positive affects on fund performance including the potential for enhanced returns. Investors should review all offering materials carefully and take special care when investing in funds with leveraged assets.
Lipper Average: The Lipper Average is the average performance of all funds within a Lipper fund classification for any time period specified.
Lipper Fund Classification: The classification to which a fund has been assigned in Lipper's database.
Managed Distribution Policy: Fund maintains a managed-distribution policy of either a specific percentage of NAV, or a flat dividend rate, irrespective of actual net income earned. In the latter case, payments may include return of capital and/or capital gains.
Management Company: The name of the entity that assists in the operation of the fund.
Management Fees: The portion of a fund's total expense paid to the fund's advisor and administrator.
Market Price: The market/exchange closing price of a closed-end fund as of the latest trading day.
NASDAQ Ticker: The unique symbol assigned by the NASD to each individual fund that is eligible for listing on the National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotation System (NASDAQ).
NAV (Net Asset Value): The dollar value of a single share based upon the value of the fund's assets, less liabilities and divided by the number of shares outstanding. NAV may be more or less than the market price for the fund's shares.
NAVs and Market Prices are not adjusted for any distributions. When a fund goes 'ex-dividend' NAVs and Market Prices will drop by the amount of the dividend, assuming no change in appreciation.
NAV Change: A fund's NAV increase or decrease from the prior period to current trade date. Shown in dollars.
Percentile Rank (NAV or Market): A group of funds' performance values sorted in ascending or descending order, then a percentage value between one and 100 percent is assigned to each member of the group. The top percentile (1) is designated the best performing whereas the bottom percentile (100) is the worst performing.
Portfolio Turnover %: The percentage of the fund's assets that were sold during the most recent fiscal period.
Premium/Discount: This represents the percentage by which the fund's market price exceeds or is less than its NAV.
Percentage Return: This shows the percentage gain or loss in the fund's market price and NAV for the period indicated as calculated by Lipper. The calculations don't reflect sales commissions and assume investors reinvest all distributions.
Rights Offering: This is a plan through which current shareholders of the fund are given the 'right' to purchase additional shares in proportion to their current holdings, at a stated price. The offering price is often below the market price (and NAV) which is an inducement for shareholders to exercise their rights. However, this can also result in dilution of the fund's NAV. It is one way that an established fund may increase the amount of capital at work in the fund, since the shares purchased in a rights offering are newly issued. Shareholders who take advantage of the offering by exercising their rights will maintain their percentage ownership in the fund (the ratio of shares they own to all shares available). In addition, in a transferable rights offering, shareholders have the opportunity to benefit from the sale of their rights.
Return Calculations: Returns and premiums/discounts are calculated by Lipper using most recent NAV and market values as of the date indicated. All returns are adjusted for any rights offerings and/or splits which may have occurred. Returns also assume reinvestment of all dividend payouts.
Quintile Rank (NAV and Market): A group of fund's performance values sorted in ascending or descending order then separated into one of five equivalent ranges of those values, synonymous with one-fifth of the population.
Sector: Equity fund sectors represent groupings of stocks in a particular market subset (e.g., utilities, transportation). Fixed income fund sectors represent groupings of bonds of a particular quality (e.g., A Rated, Government/AAA Rated).
Total Expense Ratio: The total fees and expenses charged by a fund for all the various services needed to run the fund.
Total Net Assets (TNAs): Total Net Assets for the latest month end date.
Total Return: A total return performance calculation based on the fund's NAV or market price for the specified time period and includes the reinvestment of all income dividends and capital gains distributions.
Yield:
Distribution Yield: Total 12-month cash payments per share, divided by ending market price (or NAV, as appropriate). Such payments may include unknown combinations of income, short- and long-term capital gains, and return of capital. Commonly known as Market (NAV) Yield. This should not be considered the equivalent of total return performance calculations. Yield figures are as of most recent month-end.
Income Only Yield: Based upon the latest annual report, net investment income (NII) for common shares (after subtraction of dividends paid on preferred shares) in full dollars, divided by average net assets (ANA) in full dollars, expressed as a percentage; it does not include return of capital. Thus, $2.2mm NII on $100 MM ANA would be 2.2%. Yield figures are as of most recent month-end.