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 structures. Subscribe now to get regular updates on everything you need to know to succeed with CEFs & BDCs.

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28 episodes
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English

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May 29 · 14 min
Kayne's Hamilton: 'Historic' oil drawdowns create energy infrastructure opportunities
Gordon Hamilton, Senior Managing Director for Kayne Anderson, Portfolio Manager for the Kayne Anderson Energy Infrastructure fund, says that there will be a big call on U.S. energy infrastructure companies to meet global demand for propane, butane, crude oil and natural gas as the world gets through the current energy crisis created by war in Iran. Coupled with an energy "supercycle" driven by artificial-intelligence needs, it is creating a positive long-term demand picture where infrastructure should be able to have persistent performance even if current events or A.I. expectations add concerns to the market.
May 22 · 17 min
Sit's Doty says rates will rise, peak and shift downward by year's end
Bryce Doty, Senior Portfolio Manager at Sit Investment Associates, says that "the worst is over as far as yields going up," noting that the next shift could be down, but he calls the conditions "tricky" and emphasizes that investors "need to be in the right part of the curve." Doty's case hinges on oil prices; if oil stays below $110, it's viewed as inflationary, but above that level "we have a problem, and so does the rest of the world." At that point, central banks will have to cut rates to "save economies from disaster." Doty, whose team manages $2.7 billion in closed-end fund-of-funds for separate accounts, likes two-year TIPS, municipal bonds and high-yield corporate bonds. He also discusses the IPO market, closed-end rights offerings and the quality of private credit investments.
May 15 · 12 min
CEF Advisors' Scott breaks down how bad news has impacted BDCs
John Cole Scott, President of CEF Advisors and the Chairman of the Active Investment Company Alliance, looks at the recent issues in business-development companies, which got hammered in March as the market punished software investments, including lenders who made loans to software firms. While BDCs rebounded in April, they remain significantly down, and Scott discusses how the companies with the biggest troubles have higher yields and bigger discounts, but the top performers are delivering a better return on equity and are the better, safer bet while the industry gets through the current rough patch.
May 8 · 16 min
Calamos' Freund: Concerns are 'distractions,' not market impediments
Matt Freund, Co-Chief Investment Officer at Calamos Investments, says that productivity, GDP growth and earnings are "what matters," and that the headline risks that are driving consumer sentiment are "distractions" from a market backdrop that is solid. He says inflation remains the big risk, but notes that the investor sentiment is creating opportunities, particularly in closed-end funds, and especially in senior loans and high-yield bonds, where discounts have widened this year.
May 1 · 17 min
Enduring investment lessons from the legendary Mark Mobius
Dr. Mark Mobius, widely considered the father of emerging markets investor and a man who helped put the world into everyone's grasp during his long career running funds at Templeton, passed away in mid-April. John Cole Scott, President of CEF Advisors, recounts Mobius' legacy and lasting lessons by digging into interviews conducted by his father, George Cole Scott, Founder of the Closed-End Fund Letter, with Mobius over the decades. Scott, the chairman of the Active Investment Company Alliance, makes sure to include why Mobius felt that the closed-end fund structure was particularly useful for emerging markets investors following his value-oriented strategy.
April 24 · 15 min
Liberty Street's Gutierrez on private investment trends in A.I.
David Gutierrez, Vice President at Liberty Street Advisors and part of the team running the Private Shares Fund, says that private markets are similar enough to public markets that artificial intelligence is now one of the big sweet spots in both. However, he says the best opportunities involve infrastructure more than AI itself. Gutierrez notes that the Private Shares Fund—an actively managed, continuously offered closed-end interval fund investing in late-stage venture capital and private company opportunities—is focusing heavily on AI infrastructure right now. For instance, he explains how the shift from copper-based to optical-based networking in servers has become an investable trend, and how this trend depends not on AI performance but rather on the demand for more AI technology support. Gutierrez also discusses shifting trends in how long private companies are waiting before going public, and how geopolitics could be impacting private firms.
April 17 · 12 min
Veteran manager says that for all the headline risks, this is a 'generic widening'
Rob Shaker, Portfolio Manager at Shaker Financial Services, says that while the headlines may have investors on edge, the fear-based selling that gripped the market around the start of war in Iran created a "generic widening" of discounts for closed-end funds. Shaker, who is a "discount-capture investor," says the current widening and recovery was caused mostly by "the irrational effects of excessive selling pressures overall," which means that the bad news is not creating fundamental problems for industries so much as temporary issues affecting share values. He says we could see more generic widening and narrowing until the market gets clarity on the headlines.
April 10 · 13 min
Despite scary headlines, low-A.I.-risk BDCs are worth a new look now
With the market kicking business-development companies in the teeth, John Cole Scott , President of CEF Advisors, digs into his firm's data looking at "artificial-intelligence risk scoring" to find BDCs that have been hurt by headlines without holding tainted portfolios. BDCs relied heavily on software companies, due to the tech sector's blend of strong fundamentals, innovation and ability to resist economic fluctuations, but have suffered as investors fear for the future of software in the face of challenges from artificial-intelligence companies. Scott, who also serves as chairman of the Active Investment Company Alliance, went looking for BDC's with "low AI risk, clean credit and sensible leverage and costs," and came away from the analysis convinced that investors should lean into the troubles. Specifically, he mentions funds from Nuveen and Kayne Anderson as worth watching now.

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