MILWAUKEE–(BUSINESS WIRE)–UMB
Fund Services (UMB) released its third annual comprehensive report
on unlisted closed-end funds (CEFs), including interval and tender-offer
funds today. The research was conducted by FUSE
Research Network (FUSE).
Key elements of the study include number of funds and assets, top funds
and firms, market update and outlook, insight into advisor use and
manager spotlight.
“After servicing these products for more than 20 years, it is exciting
to see interval funds not only growing in number of funds, but also in
asset size as we see more acceptance and stronger interest from
financial advisors,” said Terry Gallagher, executive vice president,
director of fund accounting and administration at UMB Fund Services.
“Our research partnership with FUSE continues to be beneficial in
informing investment managers and financial advisors, serving as the
most comprehensive annual report on CEFs.”
Key data from the report:
-
The size of the unlisted CEF market has grown steadily since 2014,
ending 2018 at nearly $53 billion in assets under management. -
Interval funds in number and assets continue to outpace tender-offer
funds. Since 2014, interval funds have grown at an annual rate of
42.9% to end 2018 with $27.2 billion in assets. During the same
period, tender-offer funds dropped to $25.6 billion with a compound
annual growth rate of negative 2.1%. -
Although assets in the two structures are nearly even, asset growth
for interval funds during the past five years has been significant. In
2014, assets in interval funds were only $6.5 billion, while
tender-offer funds were nearly $28 billion—showing the dramatic growth
with interval fund assets and the retraction from tender-offer funds
we see today. -
At year-end 2018, interval funds represented 51.5% of the unlisted CEF
marketplace, which is a significant increase from the 19% seen in 2014. -
FUSE anticipates the growth of unlisted closed-end funds to continue
in 2019, but at a slower pace than 2018, with interval funds as the
key driver of that growth.
Methodology applied by FUSE:
Underlying asset data and general vehicle attributes (e.g., strategy
type, inception date, minimum investment, etc.) are collected by FUSE
from audited annual report filings as well as unaudited semi-annual
reports and quarterly schedule of portfolio holdings (Forms N-CSR/
NCSRS/ N-Q). FUSE searched through all the N-2 filings over the past
five years in the SEC’s Edgar database to identify funds. In addition,
tender-offer filings were searched for the past 12 months to identify
tender-offer funds that were launched more than four years ago. Please
see the complete report for additional details on methodology.
For a copy of the report, Unlisted Closed-End Funds: Market
Update Amid Building Momentum, visit here.
UMB Fund Services, headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, offers a
complete line of products and services to the fund industry, including
fund administration, fund accounting, tax, investor services and
transfer agency, distribution* and custody*.
About UMB:
UMB Financial Corporation (Nasdaq: UMBF) is a financial services company
headquartered in Kansas City, Mo. UMB offers personal banking,
commercial banking, healthcare services and institutional banking, which
includes services to mutual funds and alternative-investment entities
and investment advisory firms. UMB operates banking and wealth
management centers throughout Missouri, Illinois, Colorado, Kansas,
Oklahoma, Nebraska, Arizona and Texas. For more information, visit UMB.com, UMB
Blog or follow us on Twitter at @UMBBank, UMB
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LinkedIn.
*Services provided by UMB Distribution Services, LLC and UMB Bank, n.a.
Contacts
Kristin Kovach, 816.507.1069
[email protected]
