Adams Funds participated in the Closed End Fund Association’s Advisor Summit on February 27, 2018 in New York. Lawrence Hooper, General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer at Adams Funds, presented as part of a panel discussion with other leaders in the closed-end fund (CEF) industry on “CEF Trends & Opportunities.”
The panel discussed some of the benefits of incorporating CEFs into investor portfolios. The CEF structure provides portfolio managers with permanent capital to invest, enabling them to consider investment opportunities with a longer-term horizon. This includes investments with less liquidity, as they are not forced to liquidate positions to meet investor redemptions, which could negatively impact returns.
CEFs offer the same level of active portfolio management as open-end funds, but typically at a discount. The funds are usually fully invested, which means that there is little cash drag on returns. Expense ratios can also be lower for CEFs. At Adams Funds, for example, the expense ratio is 0.56%, which compares favorably to the average for all U.S. equity funds of 0.77%, according to Morningstar.
Another compelling aspect of CEFs for many investors is the distributions the funds pay. Adams Funds is committed to a 6.0% distribution, which many investors have chosen to reinvest. The impact of reinvesting these distributions over time is significant and is illustrated in the chart below. For example, an investor in ADX who reinvested their distributions since 2002 experienced a total return of 293.1%. This compares to a 42.2% stock price return during this period. For PEO, while the stock price return during this period was 3.4%, the total return for investors was 212.2%.
CEFs remain a compelling investment vehicle for buy and hold investors. While some investors may be concerned about the discounts many CEFs trade at relative to their Net Asset Value (NAV), our research has found that over the long term, our investors have not been disadvantaged by a trading discount. For example, there is a high correlation between the performance of ADX’s NAV and share price over time. Over the past ten years, the NAV and share price have moved together 99.5% of the time, and the results for the past 20- and 30-year periods are similar.
In summary, our Funds offer investors the benefits of an actively-managed investment portfolio, low expense ratios, consistent distributions, and the potential for meaningful total returns for buy and hold investors.
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Since 1929, Adams Funds have consistently helped generations of investors reach their investment goals. Adams Funds is comprised of two closed-end funds, Adams Diversified Equity Fund, Inc. (NYSE: ADX) and Adams Natural Resources Fund, Inc. (NYSE: PEO). The Funds are actively managed by an experienced team with a disciplined approach and have paid dividends for more than 80 years across many market cycles. The Funds are committed to paying an annual distribution rate of 6% or more, providing reliable income to long-term investors. Shares can be purchased through our transfer agent or through a broker. For more information about Adams Funds, please visit: www.adamsfunds.com.
For further information, please contact:
Lyn Walther
Director of Shareholder Communications
410.752.5900 or 800.638.2479