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Resource Hub
Closed-End Funds
This resource hub includes ICI committees, research, and policy positions on trends affecting the closed-end fund market, including shareholder activism. A closed-end fund, a type of investment company, generally issues a fixed number of shares that are listed on a stock exchange or traded in the over-the-counter market. The assets of a closed-end fund are professionally managed in accordance with the fund’s investment objectives and policies, and may be invested in stocks, bonds, and other securities.
Committee & Working Groups
Closed-End Investment Company Committee
The Closed-End Investment Company Committee discusses and addresses regulatory and compliance issues affecting the management and operations of closed-end funds.
Alternative Closed-End Fund Working Group Committee
The Alternative Closed-End Fund Working Group provides a forum to raise, discuss, and address legal and operational issues related to interval funds, tender offer funds, and business development companies.
ICI Contacts
News & Publications
News & Publications
Fixing Our Broken Proxy Voting System
November 15, 2024—Just as publicly traded companies do, mutual funds, ETFs, and closed-end funds periodically submit items to their shareholders for approval, including director nominations and other policy and governance matters. Shareholders typically vote by proxy, rather than in person, on these items.
Only Activist Raiders Would Miss Annual Meetings
September 12, 2024—Powerful activist investors have been abusing the New York Stock Exchange's annual shareholder meeting requirement for listed closed-end funds, a requirement that provides little benefit to long-term shareholders and costs them millions of dollars. The NYSE's proposal to change its rules and eliminate this burden is the right move, and we urge the Securities and Exchange Commission to permit this rule change to protect long-term shareholders.
Closed-End Fund Activism Surges, Shows Need for Congressional Action
May 14, 2024—ICI’s latest research shows that the number of traditional closed-end funds (CEFs) has continuously fallen for more than a decade as pressure from activist investors has surged. The report, The Closed-End Fund Market, 2023, takes a close look at the latest trends in the CEF market.
ICI Thanks House for Protecting Closed-End Fund Investors
March 7, 2024—Today, ICI President and CEO Eric Pan released the following statement after the House passage of a bipartisan amendment being considered as part of H.R. 2799, the Expanding Access to Capital Act of 2023, sponsored by House Financial Services Committee Chair Patrick McHenry.
Research & Statistics
Research & Statistics
Support NYSE’s Proposal—End Unnecessary Annual Meetings for Listed Closed-End Funds
August 27, 2024—The New York Stock Exchange’s (NYSE) annual shareholder meeting requirement for listed closed-end funds (CEFs) is creating an end-run around the investor protections of the Investment Company Act of 1940 (1940 Act), the landmark law governing mutual funds and other registered investment companies.
Listed CEF Activism by the Numbers—The Takeover of Voya Prime Rate Trust (pdf)
Before 2020, Voya Prime Rate Trust had an investment objective to provide income and preserve capital and invested almost exclusively in senior loans.